Gibson Les Paul Studio

2005 Wine Red Gibson Les Paul Studio (Gold Hardware)
Made in USA.

I won't go into the detail, as it's the same as everyone else said.

I got this guitar used. The pick-ups are not the greatest you can get from Gibson (obviously) but I do like the sound I get from the Bridge Pick-Up when I have my distortion pedal on. I would rather a Seymour Duncan Jazz in the neck.

I run this through a Marshall Microstack with an Old Digitech Death Metal pedal. Gives me a really good Thrash / Old School Death Metal sound. Perfect for what I play.

The pick-ups are really quite on this guitar, even when I have my distortion cranked there is very little noise.

This is where alot of people have problems with these guitars. It seems to be pretty hit and miss with flaws in this Model from Gibson. I bought it used, so I do not know how it was set-up from the factory. The guy I purchased it from said he had a pro-setup done on it, so there is no fret buzzing. The neck is straight and the fret board has no humps and the finish is fine. (Few dings in it, but that is to be expected from a 5 year old guitar.) The previous owner said that the input jack was really flimsy when he bought the guitar, so he had it replaced.

I have owned a 2000 Gibson SG Standard, 2003 Gibson Les Paul Custoum and 1998 Gibson Explorer. Compared to all those Gibsons, I would say that this guitar holds its ground. Obviously, it's not as flashy looking at the Custom and has weaker pick-ups and "lesser" body wood. But overall it was worth the money.

My advice is make sure you inspect the guitar closely before you purchase it. Especially the neck and fretboard, that seems to be where people have the most problems with the Studio's.

*My rating is based on the guitar after having a Pro-Setup.

This guitar has been kicking for 5 years, un-gigged and is in great condition still. Few dings and scratches, nothing I can't live with.

The hardware has some wear on it, the finish is coming off on the bridge and bridge pick-up corners. (Picking hand rubbing against it, palm muting alot :P).

The finish on this guitar is beautiful, really nice color and goes really well with the gold hardware. I can't find any flaws in the finish.

I would definitely use this at a gig without a backup, it's a solid guitar and well worth the money spent on it.

Never had to deal with Gibson. But I have always heard good things from people who have.

I have been playing for about 8 years on and off. (Didn't play very much during college, started playing daily again about 3 years ago.) I currently own a Jackson Dinky, BC Rich Jr V and this guitar. I have owned other Gibsons and Epiphones in the past.

If it was stolen, I would probably buy a Les Paul Standard or Custom. Just because I don't know if I would find another Studio that is as good as this one or without any flaws.

I love the look of the guitar and the feel of the neck is great. Has really good action and the pick-ups are decent enough for what I need right now. If I gig this gutiar, I will be putting some Seymour Duncans in it.

I don't really hate anything about it. I hate the fact that people have had such problems with these guitars. For a $1000 price range guitar from a USA made Company, there shouldn't be so many problems with the neck on these guitars. I'm glad I got lucky and found a good one.

2002 USA made ebony 22 fret 490 498pickups, V V T T controls. Durable Gibson Case with pinky lining and coffin blanket.

Nice understaed les Paul look, the chrome on the tuning pegs, pickup covers and other hardware looks sharp on the 'blacked out' LP body. Nice combo

Sound is very good. NOT near as full as my standard fitted with burstbuckers so this guitar is NOT a suitable tone alternative. The pickups are quiet, tone controls are quiet. This guitar is a bit beatup and its has taken it all. BLOWS AWAY the newer really light feeling studios - night and day difference in feel. The stock 490R pickup is too woofy and moddy to my liking. I have found I have to tweak my amp a bit to be happier with that sound. I'd BET slapping burstbucker pros would make this a GREAT alternative to LP standard at 1/2 the price :-) There are weaknesses to the stock pickups but thrugh a Mesa Boogie or other real tube amp, i bet it will suffice most purposes.

everything on the guitar works as it should. been dropped a few times due to the tiny strap knobs, and the neck is not snapped just dinged. bridge is slightly mis placed i.e. 1st string does not go over the saddle right in the middle where as on a standard the bride to pickup pole alignment is perfect. The saddes come 'non-notched' for this purpose i believe, for the less care in the process on teh floor. Everything else is good and accurate i..e placement of nut, strings run parallel to the fretboard edges nicely ... fret edges just needed a bit of emery cloth to improve the feel, which is nothing that a half-decent setup tech would do for you anyways.

very solid guitar, can easily gig without a backup

been playing 25 years. Was curious about the "Studio is just like a Les Paul" and while the feel is similar the mojo of the new burstbuckers just is not there; A good solid usable guitar that stays in tune. I would bet, puting in burstbucker pros would give the studio a real run for the Standards money, with some finishing and fit issues. I have seen some very cheap feeling later models 2007 and 2008 and they are very very different thant the older heaveier ones. For someone playing in questionable neighbourhoods and don't want to see their 3,000 standard get stolen, no one in the crowd would really know you were playing "just a studio".

Mine is a Wine Red Les Paul Studio, about 3 or 4 years old, bought it used, but as new condition. Came with the original Gibson hard case. Usual standard Studio spec - 490R neck pickup, 498T bridge. Very nice maple top - lovely wood grain, just beautiful finish when the light catches it right.

Well, it came with the standard 490R and 498T pickups, which I'm afraid to say, are utterly dreadful. I tried and tried to get good tones from them, endlessly tweaking the heights, but in the end gave up. I carefully removed the pickups and installed a set of Sheptone Tribute PAFs. Light years better. The best thing I can say about the 490R and 498T...at best they will make your guitar sound like it is out of tune. At worst...better not go there...suffice to say they are muddy, clangy, noisy, just plain awful. Why anyone who cares about their tone would leave these pickups in the guitar I don't know. I use my Les Paul with a Peavey Valveking Royal 8, which I have upgraded with a Celestion Super 8 speaker, and Groove Tubes. It sounds great now it has the Sheptones in. The neck pickup can be really thick and creamy, but without getting muddy like the horrendous 490R. Good variety of tones from this guitar, just tweak the knobs a bit. The bridge sounds brighter as is usual, but it is never harsh or piercing, just perfect. My advice, if you buy this guitar - CHANGE THE PICKUPS FOR SOMETHING BETTER.

This is, sadly, where the guitar falls down - very badly. The major weaknesses are the fretboard, nut, and pickup selector switch. Firstly, the fretboard - and this is my biggest gripe with this guitar - the quality of the rosewood used for the fretboard is downright awful, and absolutely shocking for a ??1000 guitar. What I mean is that it is rough as bricks - simply not smooth at all, it has little ridges and striations from the darker stripes in the rosewood which give a really rough texture to the fretboard. This is in my opinion REALLY, REALLY bad. My ??300 Aria Pro II PE has a higher quality rosewood fretboard than this - nice and smooth and dark, and frankly, it wipes the floor with the Gibson. The fretboard on the Les Paul is so rough that it makes smooth bending nigh on impossible. I've tried polishing and cleaning the fretboard but to no avail. The wood is just too poor quality to allow smooth playing. I didn't notice at first, but there's some really poor quality workmanship on the frets, or more precisely the wood next to the frets - which on some frets is bevelled slightly parallel to the frets and all the way along the fret across the fingerboard. This looks like shoddy workmanship to me, but luckily doesn't affect playability to badly (but that isn't great anyway). The action was badly set up, but I bought this guitar 2nd hand so thats just how the previous owner had it set up. Maybe he liked it like that, but it wasn't right for me. The factory standard nut on the guitar is shocking - the high strings constantly bind in it, such that accurate tuning is almost impossible, and when you do get it in tune, it stays in tune for all of about 20 seconds worth of playing. I replaced the nut with a hand crafted bone one, which is a vast improvement on the stock. Why Gibson puts such awful nuts on their instruments is a mystery. The nitro-cellulose finish is very nice and shiny, but beware - it is high maintenance and marks easily. It needs frequent polishing to keep it looking good. The neck also becomes very sticky quickly which really slows down your playing. In summary; to get this guitar set up properly, you will probably have to be prepared to put some work in on it - replace the nut for something better like bone or man-made ivory. Be careful to inspect the fretboard closely and pay particular attention to the quality of the wood and smoothness. Gibson stuck a real poor quality plank on this one. It's let the guitar down so badly, I'm going to sell it. Shame on you Gibson. This is more like a ??200 guitar in this state. All of my so-called 'cheap' Korean made guitars are vastly superior. I think that says it all really.

Guitar is very solid feeling and heavy. Electronics seems durable, except for the dodgy pickup selector switch which WILL work loose in time. Whether I would use it to gig without a backup is irrelevant, because I wouldn't use it to gig with in the first place. I'd use my Aria Pro II PE Anniversary, which is a vastly superior guitar at a fraction of the price of this Gibson. In all honesty, the Aria wipes the floor with the Gibson Les Paul. The finish will scratch and mark easily, but that's somewhat inevitable with a nitro finish.

No contact with them really, except a question about bridge height and tailpiece height which they replied to promptly by email.

I've been playing for 10 years. All my other guitars are Japanese made or Korean made. All are cheaper by a long way than the Gibson and all bar none are better, by far. Only time will tell if I will grow to love this guitar. It is nice to have that Gibson name...and it's a real Les Paul...it's just such a let down to what I was expecting. I thought I was upgrading to a superior instrument, but what I was actually doing was getting an expensive piece of crap. With the really inferior quality fretboard, I see no way to get this guitar playing like my Aria's do. Save your money and get a Japanese or Korean made guitar. Much better made, much higher quality AND much cheaper.

two humbuckers, fatter neck, 2 tone and 2 volume pots, gold hardware, black.

Sound is thick. Play through a Genz Benz Black Pearl with a Keeley modded DS-1. Output on the pickups is very hot, very clear and very good for rock and metal. Moves a LOT more air than my strat.

Everyone's complaining about this area - I have zero complaints. This guitar was set up PERFECTLY with 10's, right out of the box. Frets are perfect, tuners perfect, nuts perfect. The slightly shorter scale makes 10's bend like 9's on a strat which means you get a thicker, meatier tone without the rigid feeling. It's light -lighter than my hot rod 50's strat (which has a nitro-finish as well so it's not just the poly).

I'm giving an 8 here because of the headstock problem - they do break, and it doesn't take much. My SG fell face down on the carpet and the headstock broke. And that's supposedly the new, stronger headstock design. You could play cricket with a strat with no ill-effect.

Don't know.

This is a fantastic guitar. I'm normally a strat guy, but many, many strats are garbage and you really have to search and pay a lot to find a good one. This guitar is light, feels great, sounds much more "in your face" than a strat and costs as much as an american strat which, in my mind, makes this guitar a way better value.
Most beginners don't realize how much the little things count. For instance, any "real" guitar has a nitro finish. If it doesn't, you're playing a hunk of plastic with a pickup in it. The fret job, nut precision and neck quality is also crucial - I've had plenty of thousand dollar strats that fretted out when bending somewhere past the 12th when set up low, and that makes the guitar pretty much useless.
As far as LP's go, the holes in the body cavity make a big difference with weight and balance, and the maple top is a huge part of the sound.
This guitar has it all.

Same basic design Gibson has used since the 50's no surprises here. But that's what I was looking for a no frills Gibson Les Paul.

Did get far enough along in my evaluations of 4 different new Les Paul Studios to actualy plug one in.

Here is where the problem is. I went to a local guitar shop with money in hand with the goal of buying a new Les Paul Studio. Of the four they had in stock I could not find one that did not have major flaws. Major enough that I did not even bother pluging in the guitars to check out how they sounded. One had a huge hump in the fretboard around the 14'th fret. Another had a twist in the neck. The third one I checked out had a bow so bad and action so high that I wondered if Gibson or the guitar shop ever did any testing/setup at all. The fourth had many finish flaws. In addition to these obvious flaws all had very poorly dressed frets with many buzzing and intonation problems and very poorly cut nuts rendering them basicly unplayable. These guitars would best be suited for stripping them of their electronics and burning the bodies.

Don't know although they kinda felt like toys compared to my 1990 Standard.

N/A

Overall the whole experience has left me a bit upset. I was ready to buy and money was no object but I couldn't find ONE Studio that was not a complete mess and these were brand new 2008 and 2009 models at a well known major retail Guitar Center. Should have been factory rejects. I don't know what's going on with Gibson these days but I buy a new guitar at least once a year and I won't be buying a new Gibson ever again. What a shame.

I think just about everybody knows what a Les Paul is and what it looks like, right? Mine was made in 2005, Nashville TN. Mahogany neck and body (with a laminated maple top). 490R, 498T humbuckers, nitrocellulose finish (love it btw). Tune-o-matic bridge, gibson deluxe tuners, two volume knobs - one for each pickup, two tone knobs (cuts off treble, doesn't add bass) - one for each PU

I play mostly blues, blues-rock, garage-punk-rock and any kind of simple, fast and loud music I can come up with. It is no accident that two of six strings are E's and that is my favourite octave. Playing it thru a fender blues junior using a digitech hot-head distortion.

This is the 4th guitar I've owned and it beats all the others like a drumstick. You can play just about anything with this guitar, all you have to do is turn the knobs and voila!

The sound ranges from gentle finger-picking that reminds me of a certain mountain spring on a hot day - way up to a crunchy fat tone or ear-tearing falsettos, distortion mayhem, sometimes I get so thrilled while playing I have to tame myself not to break it in pieces.

I have never played a guitar that can express your emotions in realtime better than this one, you can really slide through the songs, sound angry when the time comes, then get calm and moody, then get jolly and ridiculous... it responds to the way you feel and whatever you need to express at the time, this guitar can be the medium.

Bought mine second hand in a TERRIBLE condition.
When I saw it I almost cried, the guy clearly has had no idea how to take care of your gear (intonation completely botched, rusty strings) I spent quite some time cleaning it up, adjusting the action and intonation. Neck was set up right, obviously the mark didn't fiddle around with the truss-rod (thank god). The finish has a few scratches and one visible flaw, but the wood is pretty like a picture and the guitar has a overall road-worn look.

We play every Friday and I practise every day and this guitar feels and looks like it will last (outlive me perhaps!). I intend to get the finish fixed, it's supposed to be easier to re-finish a nitrocel. than a polyureth. - donno.

I do a lot of heavy strumming, bending, altogether I like to give the bastard a hard time and the strings hold the tune perfectly unless the conditions (humidity, temperature) are too high/too low. I use and recommend straplocks, the buttons are quite subtle and I like to move a lot while playing.

I sent some mails to Gibson CS re: stopbar height and they told me what I needed to know. no prob here.

Bought it used, so good-bye gibson warranty.

I've been playing guitar since I was a kid, but my first electric came in 2004 from my first full-time salary - a Squier strat. Prior to this I've owned a Fender Tele (disliked the tin-can sound) and Gretsch Electromatic hollowbody (too flimsy and weak).

Once I played with a fella who used the same amp, we were playing without any effects and I f**king drowned his Fender Strat although I had my amp and guitar set way below his volume. Sorry Fender, but this is a REAL guitar. I also heard that guitars with a glued-in neck have a better sustain than with a screwed-in neck - ??

I hope Cuco(pron. choo'chow - I call it after a brand of a really heavy slovak red-currant wine because it resembles the colour) will stay with me as long as I live but if stolen (or accidentally smashed) I hope I would get the money together for a 2008 standard.

I really like the way it is built, and the wood texture is beautiful I think. And you can adjust it to your own needs - don't be afraid to experiment with the pickup height, string gauge, action - the sound differs slightly when you change the setup.

This is a 2000 model in ebony. I picked it up second hand from the original owner. Nice meaty, thick neck with a rosewood fretboard and medium jumbo frets. The pickups are 498T and 490R with CTS 500K pots and your garden variety 3-way switch. Mahogany body with a thick maple cap, weighing in at just over 8 pounds. Chrome hardware including GROVER tuners. Standard Gibby 24 3/4 scale. Trapezoid inlays.
Excellent quality sound and feel. Playability is outstanding-no issues at all. Basically it's a Les Paul w/o binding, figured top or headstock inlay...and inflated price. LOL Short learning curve due to the fact that it sounds so good no matter where the knobs are. Nice.

It's all that you could ask for from a Gibson Les Paul. Rich and fat throughout the volume/tone pots' range in clean, overdriven and distorted modes. The pickups are excellent with a hot alnico 5 bridge and a soft alnico 2 neck. The bridge pickup overdrives my amps ever so slightly with the guitar's volume at 10. It's a cool, dirty-grainy sounding grit that works very well for clean soloing. I wouldn't consider changing it out for any other pickup. It is exactly what I expected it to be. On the other hand the neck pickup is cut from a different cloth entirely. It's very warm with about 80% of the power that the bridge pickup has. I find it works well as a full sounding rhythm pickup behind solos played by our other guitarist because it is fat and big sounding, filling up the space behind the solo without crashing into the solo. With both pickups on the rhythm sound is a perfect balance of warmth and treble.
So much for the clean side of this thing.
I like to use the volume pots to control the overdrive/distortion from my pedals. I use several pedals in my setup: BOSS BD2->BOSS OD1->BOSS DS1->->BOSS CE2->Fender Blues Jr or Blues Deluxe or Roland Blues Cube.
For songs requiring overdrive or distortion I start with the BD2 on all the time for just a light overdrive. Depending on how much drive I need I step on the OD1 or the DS1. That's it. The LP sounds great with these pedals and amps. I have no complaints whatsoever. From blues all the way up to heavy hard rock it delivers a consistent clear, rich, harmonic sound. The harmonic feedback and sustain is incredible. Sweeeeeet!
I play blues, rock, early rock n roll and jazz standards with a 5 piece band. There is not a thing I would change about the sounds I can get from this guitar. It's perfect Les Paul tone, period.

No complaints about the hardware or electronics. The finish is another story. Mine has several finish flaws including paint streaks, orange peel and areas of overspray. These are obvious factory finish flaws. The QC guy was out sick on the day this guitar was made, I guess.
Personally I couldn't care less but when you lay out the kind of cash that these go for new, you have a right to expect more. Most customers would be pissed about finish flaws as blatant as these. I'm not happy about the finish flaws but the sound and playability of this magnificent guitar more than make up for it. Nevertheless there is no excuse for such shoddy workmanship in the paint department. So: Shame on you, Gibson.
I swapped out the 3-way switch with a Switchcraft model because Gibbys are notorious for bad 3-ways. It was still working okay when I replaced it. Better safe than sorry IMHO.

Gibbys are known for their longevity. Good woods, durable hardware and build quality are hallmarks of their products. This one will be passed on to my son someday-I'm pretty sure of that. In the meantime I treat it with respect and wipe it down after each session. I thoroughly clean it and set the action & intonation every time I change the strings. I expect it will be around for a long time. Rock solid.

No comment.

I picked up up the guitar back in 67 when I was in high school. Over the years I have owned mostly cheap knockoffs of Fenders and Gibsons. I bought a Gibson L6-s in the 80s and liked it but I sold it later. When I had the chance to buy a (used) REAL Gibson Les Paul for a low price I immediately jumped on it. It has turned out to be all I ever expected from a real deal LP. I am completely satisfied. I own several LP knockoffs and a few Strat & Tele knockoffs that I'm also satisfied with but none of them are in the class of this instrument. You can feel the quality and hear the difference when you pick it up and plug it in. For the 300 bucks I paid for it (with mint Gibson H S Case!) I have to rate it as a 10-excellent, fantastic value. I'm very happy with this guitar.

This is a 2005 LP Studio. I think we're all well aware of the features. It's Alpine White with gold hardware and box stock.

It's a Les Paul, of course it sounds great even stock. Gibson may have cut a few corners on fit and finish with studio models, but they didn't spare the electronics.

I used to play LP's back in the 80's on stage and I hated the weight, this one is just as heavy as I remember them being. But that weight is what helps give them their incredible tone and sustain. I haven't played one of the newer "Light weight LP's" but I have a hard time believing they can get this tone after lightening the body.

Here is where I have a slight problem with the guitar. It's Alpine White and I've heard they had problems with this finish. I already expected things like no binding, but this finish is awful. If I'd bought the guitar for it's looks I'd be highly upset. It almost looks like spider web cracks on the front of the guitar, but close examination reveals it's just a poor finish.

It doesn't affect the playability or the sound, but for the amount of money you'd think Gibson would've remedied this before they released the guitar.

I'm just relying on previous experience with Gibby's here...they will stand up to whatever road abuse you throw their direction. Unless you fall face first off stage onto a wood dance floor using your LP as a buffer zone. They don't take that abuse well at all, but I don't imagine there are to many guitars that do.

No idea.

It's a heavy LP with loads of sustain and a great tone. If I cared about fit and finish I would've bought a standard or custom. I've played Gibby's all my life and while this isn't a 1960's LP, neither is the price.

Nashville made in 2001 according to the serial number. Black nitro finish with chrome hardware including Grover tuners (thank god!) The neck is slightly more substancial than the thin neck Les Paul, which is fine with me. I like a little meat on my guitar neck. Standard electronics and the 490 / 498 pickups, which I like. Other than that it's just another Gibson Les Paul for the low rent crowd, like me.

I run this with the volume pots around 5 and the tone pots at 3-5, depending on the song. What I really like about the 490 & 498 pickups is the sweet spot they have with the volumes rolled back. A lot of pickups lose their grip unless they are on "10" but not these. I adjust my amps to suit the rolled back volume (basically I use the Fender 6-6-6 standard) and when I want to solo i just roll the guitar volume up to 8-9. The pickups totally respond. I use a single MXR Distortion III pedal, which is on 100% of the time to give my Fender Blues Deluxe a little kick. The MXR volume and gain dials are at 12 o'clock, and the tone is up at 1 o'clock. There is no overdrive at these settings with the guitar volumes at 5. Advance the volumes to about 7 and you get a nice light OD. At 8-9 you get a solo tone with some bite. The LP Studio really shines as a tool in my hands. What I mean is, I can control my tone, drive and volume from the guitar without having to have preamps, boost pedals and EQ pedals. To me the ability to control the variety of sound all from the guitar is the most important attribute of any guitar, period.
On the other hand if you're a player who likes all knobs on 10, the guitar will deliver a full-on signal to whatever effects and amps you use. The 498 will overdrive my Fender Blues Deluxe all by itself-no problem. The 490 is not as hot but it is very warm and rich at full volume like a good alnico II pickup, which it is.
This guitar is everything I was hoping for. No need to change anything, sound-wise.

I bought it second hand but the flaws in the finish are factory flaws. It has a few slight scratches from the previous owner but the orange peel in the finish was done in Nashville. I don't care so much about the finish flaws, but it should be mentioned here. After a new setup and intonation tweak the thing plays wonderfully. No complaints.

This model is built pretty well. I have no worries at all regarding the hardware.

I bought mine for 350 bucks with a HSC. Great price/value for a real Gibson. I have no complaints about this guitar, especially for the price I paid. If you just have to have a Gibson Les Paul, try the low rent version, a.k.a. the LP Studio model. It has all the attributes of the Les Paul, but at a lower price point. At a 350 dollar price point this thing is an excellent value. I'm keeping mine!

Pretty good action and tone my favourite guitar!
I dont have much to say on it.

It is a really giid guitar for things like gnr/ velvet revolver / slash's snakepit
im using an marshall slash sig amp and cab and it sounds like slash's guitar
It make much noise with 7 dist if u try 10 dist it blows you out of your room and it makes a good bright sound pretty nice for blues licks
the guitar is a real rock master but blues sound so nice to that it wil destroy your heart

i love this guitars sound!

The wood is a fantastic kind of wood for rock or blues music
ive never opend the guitar but
so i cant say much over how the pickups are adjusted
but its a good action.

the reliability was not fantastic but but if u are carefull with your guitar theres no problem

the customer suport is super so i will give them a 9
because they are not allways friendly