Gibson Les Paul Studio Plus

2004 Model. Made in the US. All specs have been covered in other reviews. Trans Red color with gold hardware, 490R & 498T Alnico Humbuckers. Mahogany body. The neck is typical Les Paul, baseball bat. Came with Black Gibson USA HSC and adjustment tool.

Love the sound of it. I've owned several Les Pauls over the years and this one is no different in sound. Nice full sound with the neck pup and good grind with the bridge pup. The sound is versatile enough for any style IMO. Nothing to dislike.

The quality is excellent. The finish if perfect, no flaws, no misfits, everything tight and quiet. I changed the strings to 9's from the factory 10's and lowered the bridge a bit to suit my taste. Intonation was perfect and was very easy to adjust string height to my taste.

Older Les Pauls I've owned have had problems with the finish peeling. This happened on two previous guitars. This new one looks like the finish is there to stay. In all fairness my earlier Les Pauls were used with a lot of mileage on them when I bought them. This is my first new one and I am extremely impressed. The only concern I've had with any Gibson has been the headstock. I would take a backup guitar but it's because I also own a Strat and a Tele so I like the combination of the Strat and the Les Paul on a gig.

Never dealt with them. I know the local dealer has good support for in warranty guitars so that is not a concern.

Recommended for any player who can't afford a Les Paul Standard or Custom or just likes the lighter weight. I chose the guitar because of the price and lighter weight. There wasn't much to ask having owned Les Pauls before. The only comparison I made was with a Gibson SG Standard. It has everything it needs and is a beautiful, well built axe. If it were lost, destroyed or stolen I would replace it with another one in a heart beat.

2001 Les Paul Studio plus. Made in the USA, 22 frets. THree-way pickup selecter switch, two Gibson Alcino humbuckers, two volume knobs and two tone knobs. Mahogany body, maple top (classic Les Paul blend), rosewood fretboard. Desert burst finish over flame maple. Grover tuners, classic (traditionally ugly) brown case with stop-your-heart pink lining.

It's a Les Paul. "Industry Standard."

I prefer rock music...it's a broad genre, but a blend of U2 and Rush would get you into my ballpark. It is a very versitile guitar, but I bought it because it comes down on the creamy/rich/chunky side, as opposed to almost anything else--including a PRS. I play through a Boss Gt-6 into a Mesa Boogie combo amp, absolutly love the tone and sustain. I was worried about the richness at first, because this guitar is quite a bit lighter than my friend's LP Standard, but I can't tell the two apart by ear.

Action was nice, No complaints on the pickups or anthing like that. But, after about three months I started popping strings every third time I played. No, really! I had it checked out by a Gibson AAA rated service man. He loved the guitar, but said that my problem was common in Les Pauls, due to the style of bridge. At his reccomendation, I replaced the steel saddle with graphite. Now it stays in tune better and I haven't broken a string since--despite some real abuse.

I don't care for Gold hardware, but I knew that going into it, and decided I could live with it. The flame top isn't dramatic...the flame is quite subtle, which I like better than a very busy grain.

The guitar has survived a lot of playing. When dinged with a metal stand (almost cried) the wood dented, but the finish did not break or chip! The hardware is rock-solid, but the gold finish is already wearing through. I kind of like the aging look, but you might not. I replaced the strap buttons with strap locks immediately. No way I would trust the original buttons.

I hate to gig without a backup, but I have had to a bunch of times, and she's never let me down.

Im not quite sure on the year, but it looks like a 2000 or 2001. It's the wine red model with all gold hardware. 490R and 498T Alnico magnet humbucker pickups. A 3-way pickup selector, two tone and two volume knobs. Solid mohogany neck and body with a 22-jumbo fret rosewood fingerboard and trapezoid inlays. Mine came with a hard tan case with hot pink lining (bleah!).

Basically, I want to be a "shred-master" a-la Yngwie Malmsteen, Michael Angelo Batio, Steve Morse ect. Needless to say I am nowhere NEAR my goal, but this guitar will be with me the entire journey. I love this guitar. The tone is unreal though exceptionally dark, yet warm, which is a nice change from my unbelievably bright and tinny Mexican Strat.

The action was to my specifications the moment I picked it up. The pickups were perfect. There was a small ding on the edge of the front of the body but it is barely noticeable. also I read that the gold bleaches out on the pickups. You are not alone. Mine were bleached out a week after I brought it home.

I would use this in a live setting with out a backup, but I never play with out a backup.

I've never dealt with them.

I have been playing in and out of bands for 4 years. If it were stolen, I would hunt down and destroy the fiend! I love the high gain low noise humbuckers and the sustain for days. I hate the pickup selector switch placement on all Les Pauls. I wish it had something of a tremlo bar but it's not that important.

Made 2003
USA
SOlid Top - AA maple top - WIne red finish ..very pretty ...dark with grain
Pickup very nice and rich - kind of dark
- 490R and 498T Alnicos. Some day may exchange for burstbuckers
Body and neck verfy nice finish and feel.
Case is very nice wityh purple interior. Very solid.
Lock with combination included - nice touch.
its a studio so not alot of ginger bread except for finish. I did opt for the gold plated hardware.

SOund - great - Lespaul warmth and thickness.
WOnt bite thru like a strat...but also achieves a fullness and musciallity that I cant get with my strat. Great combination - strat for the sparkly/bite and volume work (swells) and the lespaul for the buttery crunch and smoothness and fullness well rounded sound.

Setup - one major goof. The electronics were installed upside down
Pickup selector worked backwards and volume/tone controls flip flopped as a result. This was my second try from Musician's friend. The first one ...the bridge pickup didn't work....I decided to keep this and simply turn around the pickup selector. I kind of see the volume controls being an advantage in that I use the bridge and am closer to the volume (the one on top) for the bridge pickup.
Action is excellent - slight buzz on first string at about the 5th fret..one turn of the nut on the bridge (raised the 1st string side) got rid of the buzz.
Sustain is great.

Had since June 2003. So far so good.

N/A

Overall - it is exactly what I was looking for. I'm a blessed man to have an instrument like this.....

1998 Les Paul Studio Plus, Desert Burst. The usual LP stuph...Mahogany body & Neck, Maple cap (Flame on the Plus model), rosewood fingerboard with trapezoid inlays, two humbuckers etc.

Desert Burst is one of my favorite finishes on LPs. There are variations, however. This one has a fairly nice flamed top, but the color is slightly darker than many I've seen. The maple top is very attractive, but it's not in a league with some of the fancier PRS guitars.

Gold hardware and pickup covers.

Classic LP sound, no doubt. This is the second LP I've owned and while the sounds are not identical, they both could be easily identified as LPs - especially when using both pups together.

Very full sound compared to the strat, can get muddy depending on amp settings, but it can also sound glouriously rich and deep. I like this guitar for fingerstyle playing as well as straigh ahead rock. It can get a pretty convincing jazz tone.

Everything seems to be very solid and well put together. There are two things I would change, however. The inlays are a mother-of-toilet seat material which is a little cheesey looking I think. MOP would be worth the few extra $$ I think. The other thing is the bridge/tailpiece arrangement. On mine the tailpiece has to be fairly high up for the whole thing to setup and work right. I've had a good tech check it out and he says that's pretty typical, but it's quite a bit higher than my older LP. Doesn't seem to effect sustain or sound, but I thought it looked a little odd when I first saw it.

This is a solid guitar and I'd have no problems bringing it on the job without a backup...except that strings can break and shit happens and, well, always bring a backup guitar if you can.

I've read these newer LPs are not as well made a the older ones and that may be true, but it seems very solid. Every bit as solid as my older one ('71 or '72, I forget which year), but only time will tell.

Never tried to call them. I somehow wouldn't expect Gibson to give me the time of day.

I've been playing 20+ years and play this guy through a Mesa Blue Angle and/or a 1968 Bassman. I also play a couple of Strats and a Carvin. If it were stolen I'd probably pick up another one.

If you've never played one, a decent LP feels like rock n' roll when you play it. It's got the vibe, the feel, the sound. Many complain about the weight, but that's part of the deal. I don't mind it at all. These guys can absolutely make an amp scream like no stock single coil strat can. That's what they're great at.

This guitar was manufactured on June 29, 2001 in Nashville, Tennessee.

Like most Les Pauls, this guitar has twenty-two frets; a solid maple top; and a mahogany body and neck with a rosewood fretboard. It offers a three way selector switch for a dual, passive humbucker (490R and 498T Alnicos) pickup configuration. The finish is Transparent Red. The hardware, including the Tune-o-Matic bridge, is gold. The tuners are Gibson?s classic Green Keys and are marked, ?Gibson Deluxe?.

The 2001 Les Paul Studio Plus came with the fat 50?s neck. The neck is 24?? scale.
It is worth noting that this guitar has a notable larger peghead than the 2003 Les Paul Standard and, what?s more, the Gibson name is a decal on this model, not an inlay.

This guitar came with a Gibson hardshell case with a Black Reptile pattern, a dark grey plush interior with a black shroud, laying gently on the guitar. The case is branded with the Gibson name but is actually made by TKL in Canada. The guitar came with no tools and doesn?t seem to need any.

The guitar doesn?t necessarily suit my musical style but it definitely commands a not so subtle commitment to bluesy darkness. I find that it truly doesn?t bite like a lighter guitar.

I?m using it with a Line 6 GuitarPort right now and have recently put my amp (TubeWorks RT-2100) in storage because it is unnecessary. The computer is hooked up to a into a 550 watt speaker system from Cambridge SoundWorks that does a damned good and convincing job for my money. As a result of using the GuitarPort, I have hundreds of tones to play with. I think the guitar sounds particularly great without much distortion.

The guitar is quiet and has deep sound. The variety, as I see it, stems from the huge difference in the pickup voicing. All three settings on the pickup selector yield massively different sounds. If I could change anything, I think it would be the weight. Then again, without the weight it wouldn?t have the immortal sustain. In balance, I wouldn?t change a thing.

The guitar was setup fairly well. I had significant buzz on the G until I changed the strings. The pickups are flawlessly adjusted. The top is perfectly bookmatched (like my Jackson KV4 (Natural)) but it is tasteful and elegant. This guitar is prettier than my 2003 Les Paul Standard in Ebony.

As I understand it, all playing is live. I?m not a performer, so if the question is regarding performance playing, that?s a non-issue for me. The hardware seems like it will last. The strap buttons are small and the guitar is heavy. This means I have to be careful. I haven?t had a close call but I can see how I might. I will investigate strap locks but will not modify the guitar in any way.

I have never dealt with Gibson. This guitar came with a Limited Lifetime Warranty.

I've been playing for about six or seven years now. I own a number of other items:

2003 Gibson Les Paul Standard (Ebony)
1999 Jackson KV3 (Black)
2001 Jackson KV4 (Natural)
2001 Jackson DK2 EDS (Eerie Dess Swirl)
1996 Ovation CC01
Rocktron Chameleon
TubeWorks RT-2100 Real Tube Overdrive Combo Amp
Line 6 GuitarPort
Behringer FCB1010 Midi Foot Controller

This guitar is insured, as is all of my equipment. If it were lost or stolen, it would be replaced. That's the beauty of insurance.

I love the tone but fight the weight. There is no comparing this guitar to other guitars. I chose this one because I knew Les Pauls had a tremendous reputation. There?s a reason for that reputation. This guitar is an extraordinarily high quality piece of equipment.

2002 Les Paul Studio Plus 22 frets, Carved Maple top, Desert Burst. Standard LP controls and tuners, but with gold hardware. I changed the black speed knobs to gold tophats. The speed knobs made it look a little bit too ibanezish. The gold bleaches out rather quick-like. While most people would freak out I kind of like it it. It gives a well-aged and well-played appearance.

I mainly play classic rock but mostly Zeppelin and Stones. I think next to maybe a 59' or Custom this guitar is the best for playing Zeppelin. I play through a line 6 Spider 212, which is very basic but provides a good range of tones for the price. I mainly use 4 tone settings which vary from clean to stadium-busting distortion. On the cleaner tones it plays early Stones works. I can almost perfectly mimic the 69' tour sound. Works great for Rockabilly and Chuck Berry. However the heavy stadium sound takes the cake. If you heard my amp you would swear it was Jimmy Page playing Dazed and Confused in TSRTS.

It was a little bit buzzy on the upper frets when I first got it, but when I was changing strings I accidentally knocked off my bridge but put it back on and adjusted it and voila no more buzzing! The finish is simply beautiful, In my opinion 30 yrs from now Desert Burst will probbaly be as classic as the original sunburst or Honeyburst. The neck is beautiful rosewood with pearloid trapezoid inlays. The pick-ups are great the bridge is great for leads while the middle is good for the "make sweet love to me" mellow riffs. However the neck is a bit to muddy for my taste but is well suited for strumming.

Be assured, Les Pauls are tanks they will stand up against almost anything. The strap buttons are a little loose and sometimes will let go when I get a bit into my solos and riffs. It can be fixed with strap locks. Always have my Telecaster as a back-up.

Haven't had to call them. I bought it from a local dealer who fixes me up with all I need.

Played for about 5 years. Also own a Mexi Telecaster and Seagull 20th Anniversary Acoustic.. My LP is the baby of the collection. If it were stolen I would track the thief down and vicisously murder him. But if recovery never happend I would most likely try to get a Custom or Classic. Come on, wouldn't we all? This guitar is great. The first time I played it I knew I had to have it.

go check it out on the site

I love the sound, I've been playing for four years. I use this guitar for allman brothers stuff, (slide, when im not feeling too lazy to change the action), blues, jazz, rock. ( by the way, i noticed alot of people on this site paid more than i did. If you want the price i paid and where i got it, please Email me at l_bad_example_l@yahoo.com

The action is just right, no buzzing, perfect. The finish is beautiful, i bought it in trans red.

I've gigged with this guitar 5 times, no probs yet, i used to use a gibson sg faded. This guitar feels as solid as a rock ( its heavy, like most les pauls).

Fourtunately, I've never had to call Gibsons customer support with either the gibson sg faded or the les paul studio plus

I am 14 years old and ive been playing for 5 years. I love this guitar for the kind of music i play- (allman brothers, blues, jazz,rock). the favorite feature on this guitar is the low cost. i only paid 999$ for this sweet axe and paid 29$ a month. i also love the flamed red maple top.

Les Paul, 2002 USA. 22 frets, AA-grade maple top. 2 volume 2 tone 3 way select switch, basic les paul fetures. 490R/498T Gibson pickups.
Maple top, mahogany back and neck.

I play alternative rock, like Creed, 12 Stones ect. It's very well suited for rock. I use a Marshall JCM2000 TSL122 combo. The guitar isnt noisy at all, it holds up to any setting. Neck pickup has a very nice bass response, maybe too good to some extent. With both pickups, you can get a whole array of clean sounds. If you want a good crunch sound...the 498T is an awsome pickup.
Love the Desert burst finish, and the play of the neck. The gold hardware seems to deteriorate if you don't wipe down the hardware after every play.

I'm pretty sure the guitar had some minor things wrong with it from the factory...I wasnt smart enough to see them at the time. The action was decent enough. I can honestly say that this guitar doesnt have many flaws at all...but, because Gibson mass produces so many of the same guitar, you better make sure that your getting a good one.

I've yet to use this guitar for any live events, but I have no dought that It could do live events. I think the hardware will last...if you keep tight control on wiping it down all the time.
Finish will definetly stand the test of time. I can depend on it.
I wouldnt use it on a gig without a backup though.

Customer support is very helpful. I email them all the time with questions about my guitar. Gibson rocks when it comes to customer support!!

I've been playing now for 2 years, i use a Gibson J-185EC which by the way is one of the best acoustics you could by, if you get one with no factory defects, and also an asortment of amps and effects.
I dont think I would buy the same guitar if it was lost or stolen.
I love how versatile the guitar is. It may have had some minor defects, but once I got them all straightened out I was good to go.
Gibson's are really good...but thats only if you find a really good
one with no defects.

2002 Gibson Les Paul Studio Plus. Take your typical Les Paul Studio, add a nice top, better inlays, and a transparent finish, and you have a Studio Plus. I think it may have a thicker maple cap too, but not certain. One piece Mohogany body, and a one piece mohogany neck. Rosewood fretboard, and a AA flame maple top. I got mine in Desert Burst, which it's also available in Transparent Red. Came with a case. I give it an 8 becuase I found some flaws, and the hell I went through to get this guitar.

I like to play speed/black metal, but I also play mellow stuff too. This guitar covers a lot of ground. I play though my Marshall JCM 2000 TSL 100, into a Marshall 1960A, and I can cover just about any rock tone out there with a tweak of a knob or two. Nothing sounds like a Les Paul. My hot-rodded Epiphone comes close, but the Gibson just kicks ass.

I bought this from Guitar Center, it was still in the factory box. The guy took it out in front of me, and I inspected the finish. n the store, I noted no flaws, but later when I got it home, I did find some. Granted, no one knows they are there unless I point them out, and even then they are pretty hard to find. The finish, where the body meets the neck/fretboard, the finish was rough, and there was a small spot on the back radius near the end pin. Given the picture of the guitar on Gibson's website, the top on mine is pretty plain. Also the color is a bit different, I kept thinking it was a cherry burst - since it is more red than brown.

It's built solid, but no one is stupid enough to gig without a backup. "Gibson Break" is all I have to say on that (meaning headstock will break off if it gets bumped right)
Plays good, sounds great. The nitro finish is quite different than guitars with a poly finish, the spot where my arm rests again the body will be one of the first spots to wear off the finish, since when i playt for a while, it does get sticky in that spot. On the neck, it can get a bit tacky, but nothing too major. Just put some polish on a cloth, and wipe it down afterwards.

Gibson has generally answered my questions within 48 hours, except when I was hammering them about why I had recieved two bad ones along with two more that I would have bought that had flaws, from musicains friend. I had made arrangements to buy a Les Paul Custom from MF as long as they would inspect the instrument before shipping - and they checked two of them, and they said that both of them had finish flaws. I explained to Gibson that they are slacking off in the QA department, since MF says they don;t open the boxes becuase they don;t want to be liable if something is damaged. I told the rep, that this makes them look bad, and they should take steps to prevent this kind of issue. I doubt they give a rats ass about it, they are so money oriented now, they could care less about why someone would have gotten 4 bad guitars, and had to send them back.
Gibson isn't half the company they were 10 years ago.
I do have to say that MF went out of thier way to make me happy on each occasion. I can say that it isn't entirely their fault that I have had this experieince.

This is the third Gibson to enter my home/apartment. I had placed 3 orders with Musician's Friend - the first time, the guitar arrived in the factory box. Pulled it out, and it had 5-7 gouges in the cutaway. Sent it back as defective. as soon as the money was credited back, I placed another order, and the SAME GUITAR SHOWS UP. Same serial number, same damage to the case, everything. I was tipped off since it arrived in a Musician's Friend box... I called in for exchange, and a third one arrived - it had a burn mark in the finish where someone marred it with the buffer, and it had some black stuff on the inlays that came off (black powder, dye?)
I about gave up on Gibson - since Musician's Friend says they don't open the boxes. I couldn't get anything out of Gibson or Musician's Friend on this (finger pointing). Finally, out of the blue, I decided to call the Oklahoma City Guitar Center, and ask if they had this guitar in stock. They told me that they had sold the floor model, and still have this one, in the box, in thier warehouse. I went out, check it out, played it, and bought it. I took this one to a couple of trusted techs, and they both said everything on this guitar is fine (neck isn't torqued)
This is good news for me, I finally got a good one.
I seriously think that other vendors get to pick what they want, or the vendors get crap, and send it back, only for Gibson to rebox, and sell it under cost to Musician's Friend, who in turn sells it at a "discount price". Something stinks of bad business, and I can't dig anything up.
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Now, if it was lost or stolen, I would be very, very, very pissed. It seems to me that finding a good Gibson is hard to do, at least when buying from Musician's Friend.
I have been playing for about 5 years on Guitar, before that, I played drums for 9 years. I like the weight (call me weird), and the neck - it just feels "right" - tonally, it sounds great as is. Some people like the 498T/490R combo, some don't - I do.
I give this a 7 becuase of all the BS I had to go through to finally get a "Good" one. All things considered, if this was the first guitar I recieved - then it would have gotten a 9 or 10.