Gibson Les Paul Studio

Mine's a '91, maple/mahogany,w/ebony fretboard & trap inlays.I added a chrome metal pickguard and Gotoh chrome tuners.Uses standard '59 LP contour neck--plays like butta!!!Bought mine used like new from American Music in '91;former owner's wife 86'ed the deal,I guess... Paid $500 including LP case,that's in small minded American dollars Jonathan,you PUTZ.Since then ,I've added Schaller strap-locks(a must)and play through a weird ART amp set-up that actually sounds really good.The pickups are the stock 490 & 498T's w/the stop tailpiece/tune-o-matic bridge.NO complaints here!!!It's black.

This my #1 guitar,it sits alongside a thinline Tele,SG standard and my coveted Seagull(right on,Nate).The sound obviously is like any good LP,the bridge gives great bite,thick tone,endless sustain and strikes me as being pretty dark-could be the ebony fretboard.Back off the gain and it "clangs" nicely.Flip to both pickups and you get a wonky kinda warmer but still biting sound-think "Achille's Last Stand" ,late Zepplin.On the neck,it's warm, thick soaring tone in overdrive-you can play the blues for Greeny,dude.This guitar can do the authentic clean stuff really well for those highbrow canadian jazz geeks too.My effects consist of Crybaby,amp settings(chorus,comp,reverb&contour)and guitar controls,no frills, in other words.Being a humbucker axe,I get little noise unless standing in front of amp or tv,the tone nobs do work although I rarely mess w/ them.Volume nobs work consistently,no problems.

Set up is a personal thing,I got mine used , so I can't comment on factory job.I've set my action lowish w/ 10's and no buzzing,p/u's are about 3\16 off the strings for attack goodness without compromising sustian or warmth.Build quality is well above average but not quite as nice my '99 SG standard-some roughness around fret edges and some minor finish blemishes-hell,I may have even done some of it using electrical cleaner on toggle .The Gibson Dlx tuners are not the best at their job of maintaining the tuning,mine would often slip on the G from bending strings and after breaking off a tuner in a fall(pre-strap locks)I went with Gotohs.Otherwise this guitar is built like a brick poophouse,trust me.

If you play live ,this guitar will last ,the finish probably won't,but who cares?!Les Pauls get better with use and age -do get strap locks, though.You can depend on the LP studio for anything from gigging to home defense.It's the perfect working class Paul with all sound without having to store it in a vault.

No opinion here.

I love good guitars. I listen to anything from Lyle Lovett to Soulfly,Johnny Cash to the T-Hip.I've played for over 11 yrs.,the same Les Paul Studio for 9 of them,I own other aforementioned guitars,but this one I'd miss the most if stolen.It may not be the most versatile or pretty,but it's got BALLS.I'd definately replace it with another Paul.

Made in 1991. The features are standard, so I`ll be brief. Wine red, mahogany back, maple top, unusual ebony fretboard, nickel hardware. I bought it used in January 1998. The guitar came with a Canadian-made hard case and no strap. The only problem was with Schaller-made tuning pegs. They were loose and two of them broke after four months. I first replaced them with Schaller locking ones because I wanted easier string changes in the event I broke a string mid-set. You know, I had no replacement guitar at that time. Subsequently, I replaced the tuners again with, surprise, Schaller-made DeLuxes, almost the same type as that which had broken before. You might ask why - well, the "original Gibson DeLuxe" replacements that I could get from the authorized dealer here would be Schaller-made anyway except that they would be more than twice as expensive. And I didn't want Grovers because of the price. Thus far, the Schallers have been fine for about five months. I rate it 8. Everyone knows what features Les Pauls have, and as I was in fact looking for an used wine red Studio, so I was fully satisfied except for the tuners.

The sound was, well, just what I had been looking for: midrange-thick, loud, rich in harmonics, plus the option of two distinct pickups. One thing about the tone controls: I haven't heard better tone pots in about ten years that I've been seriously into electric guitars. I play in a band that mixes folk, klezmer and punk and this guitar gives me so many tonal options that I cannot really use all of them. For instance, in an A-minor gypsy blues, I play a solo on the neck pickup with the tone all the way down, then flick the switch to the bridge which has its highs full on, and it is what you expect - a completely different sound. I experimented with taking off the nickel plated pickup covers but I put them back on as the sound just wasn't IT without them. I play this through Laney LC15 all-tube 1x10" combo and there's nothing it can't play.

The guitar arrived set up for 011 strings so I had to mess with it a little as I play 010/046 strings. Otherwise, there were no visual flaws except for slight wear on the back. But the guitar was used so what. The electronics, the body routing and stuff was fine. I am giving it an 9 because it was not fabulous, but OK.

I spent about one year gigging with this guitar without backup and it was no problem except for its weight. I replaced the stock strap buttons with Schaller strap locks and bought a heavy duty leather strap and it was just fine. I have already talked about the tuners, so the other big bummer is the guitar's weight. I break strings regularly and I think that's got something to do with the weight. You may say I'm stupid but this is my theory: as the heavyweight sits on my shoulders, I am no longer relaxed as I have to endure the weight, so my picking hand is not relaxed as much as I'd like it to be. So it bashes the strings way too brutally - this summer, I played an outdoor festival and when the high e broke mid-set, I said: go on, never mind. But three songs later I yanked off the d string, and that was it for the Paul. I had to use my bandmate's acoustic. I know, great tone woods do weigh some, but I am getting tired of the weight. Otherwise, the guitar is very fine and dependable and I would gig with it without backup. I am giving it a 5 solely because of its weight. Oh, almost forgot: the former owner sold it because it was too heavy and had ruined his spine; later I met him and he told me never to sell the guitar because it had such a great tone that he hadn't been able to find a reasonably lightweight guitar that sounded that good:-)

None. Never dealt with Gibson.

I have been using it for about 2.5 yrs now and it's my best guitar. It is uncomfortably heavy for gigging, but otherwise it's just great. If it were stolen or lost, I would probably try to buy something lighter like an SG or so, but I'm afraid the sound wouldn't be so complex. Before this guitar, I had been playing an old Czech bolt-on with a single bridge pickup - a notch above the "toy" grade, and the difference between the guitars and the fact that I had been playing it for so long caused me to take some three or four months getting used to the Paul. Yes, it took me some three or four months to find out that the Paul was actually better. It's hard to find a good compromise between a good tone and a light weight. Maybe I'll just keep the Studio under my bed and use it for recording (if any) and use my new acquisition, The Hawk (which I have too short a time to review here) for gigging. I am giving it an 8 here, just because of the weight. The price that I bought this for equals roughly 500 USD which is great for a Gibson, given that at the time I bought it this type of guitar used to cost an equivalent of about 700 USD new without a case.

I recently purchased this Les paul Studio with a ruby finish and gold hardware. It is a carved maple top with mahogony back with a mahogany '59 rounded les paul rosewood fretboard neck. H/H 490R/498T pickups, which are standard for les pauls. The ruby finish is transparent so you can see the maple underneath, but it is just normal wood. Grover tuners, tune-o-matic bridge. Two volume, Two tone, 3 way switch. It has a nice cutaway that makes it pretty easy to access the 22nd and 23rd fret.

I play punk, satriani, and anything else that sounds good. This guitar makes it all sound amazing. I play on a really low end squier 25gr amp, that is a pile of crap, and it still sounds pretty damn good. I cant say if its noisy or not, since im not really sure if my amp adds noise..but i can say that it is quieter than with my old Ibanez rx guitar.

The guitar came in perfect condition, no problems whatsoever with setup. The action is great, easy to work with. The pickups are adjusted perfectly for the changing string height. NO flaws whatsoever.

I am going to replace the current strap buttons with a strap-lok system, because Les Pauls are notorious for falling off normal straps. The finish seems nice and thick, but it isnt anything exotic, just a nice transparent ruby :). I havent played any gigs yet, but im sure it would be fine.

I haven't dealt with Gibson before, so i cant help here.

Ive been playin for about 4 years now, and i am 100% satisfied with this guitar. I own a crybaby wah and a squier 25gr amp. I in fact used this site as a guideline to help make my decision. If it was stolen, i would definately buy another one, they rule. I love everything about it, i hate nothing about this guitar. If you decide to buy it, i hope you like it as much as i did :)

91 Les Paul Studio, made in Kalamazoo,MI, on or about March 13 (serial number decoding).Twenty-two frets, solid top... i'ts a Les Paul.No modifications as far as I know. Mahogany body and neck, maple top. Apparently i'm somewhat lucky to have an ebony fretboard in a Studio. Trapezoid mother of pearl inlays(I still haven't decided which is my favorite), and what I was told is ivory tuners. The dealer said,"They don't make 'em like that anymore". The finish is something I wonder about to this day, as I have not been able to find more info on mine specifically. You see, the top is half flamed, half natural. The top half, that being the one with the toggle switch, is flamed. The bottom half, natural. Good idea, as i don't think I would have thought of it. I'ts the best of both worlds and I was so "starstruck" by the guitar that I really didn't notice until I got it home. '59 rounded neck that seems to work just right for me. The dealer was, what I thought, pretty cool for throwing in a Gibson hardshell case. Would've cost me about 190$ otherwise. You know, the pink plush with satin (or silk, I don't know my fabrics) cover sheet in the brown leatheresque case. I bought a Gibson accessory pack shortly thereafter including; strap, 5 picks, metal slide, polish with cloth and a handy string winder. Oh yeah, it also included a capo (I never use it!). That was about 30$. My father has a '65 SG and his brother a 58 Les Paul Junior. For this reason everything (or as much as possible) has to be Gibson. One more thing, I play Gibson flatwound strings (medium light). Seems alot of people, formerly me, don't even know they exist. Flatwound means just that, flat. No ridges on the srings. Sort of like big b's or high e's. Facilitates sliding very much so.

I'll be honest, I wanted a Les Paul because Slash plays one. You see, my guitar playing happened on accident. A friend of mine wanted to learn and I had a musical background (tuba, that's right, a tuba) so I seemed more inclined to learn quickly. So my choice was somewhat superficial. I play grunge and seem to have a little blues in me. Though i will learn most anything technical merit. I recently bought a Marshall JCM 602, so they're still getting to know each other. Sounded great through a '65 Gibson Falcon. I'm noticing some unwelcome distrtion in the rythym mode, but this is probably through my processor. Quiet. Quiet when switching pickups or just doing nothing. Due to the fact that I use flatwound strings, I cannot give a roundwound string critique (what the rest of the world uses). I can however say that in rythym pickup mode you will get a nice fat bluesy tone with the tone knob turned down. Put it in lead pickup mode, turn the tone all the way up, and pretend you have a single coil. Again, due to my strings, I would say it has a deeper tone than you might find on a "normal" Studio. I definitley love this guitar's sound.

I bought it used, and I wonder what the previous owner was thinking by selling it, so I had to find my preferred settings from his. I don't like how high the action is. I could very well lower it, and I have, but I don't want to hear buzzing when unplugged. I worry about an electric guitar's sound when unplugged. I should have my head examined. I've lowered the bridge pickup a little to prevent that. There are some minor flaws in the finish, file marks near the neck-body area. There is a little bit of finish overlapping in the same small area. I have also inherited a faulty tuner, no doubt from the previous owner. My d tuner cover on the back used to pop off when tuning. this is fron the small metal brackets braking off. Super glue fixed that, I didn't want to use it, but it worked. Unfortunately it seemed to have stiffened up the tuning action that on the other 5 is smooth and easy. Also, there is a painfully obvious knick arond the base of the body. I try not to look at it and would like to fill it somehow.

This guitar will probably outlive me. I have dropped it twice. Not intentionally, mind you. USE STRAP LOCKS!!! This heavy guitar will fall otherwise. I will not think of this guitar as anything but reliable. Make no mistake, this guitar is heavy. I have built up my stamina as far as standing with it. I guess i'm an average sized guy, and I have stood for about 2 hours or so with it lately. At first it was a little rough, but this is not neccesarily an issue. I'm not in a band and really have no plans to be. So, I don't need it for 4 hour concert sets. I'm just havin' fun.

I've been playing guitar for a little over five years now. I think i'm just beginning to form my own style. I also own a smallbody Kasino, single humbucker, not of the highest quality. I've got a cheap quality classical acoustic, I don't know who i'ts made by or anything else, but it was my first guitar and with action higher than Mt. Everest and a baseball bat for a neck it made me a better player. I have an Epiphone PR5E acoustic electric with lower action than my Les Paul! I like the Epiphone and got it for a good price. I was somewhat in a daze at the dealer when getting the Paul, so I didn't ask much of anything when I bought it. I did a layaway making 400$ a month at a part time job. I got it in 2 months. Do the math. I starved. If this guitar were lost or stolen, which i've had nightmares about, really I have, I would quite upset as i'm probably not going to find anothr one just like it. I love this guitar. It is my most prized posession. I only wish the previous owner would have kept it in more pristine condition. But it's nearly 10 years old, accidents happen, and I don't think I could have done any better. I do want to get an Ibanez for whamming and other sides of the spectrum. I bought this guitar in May of '97. Everytime I look at it I get a great feeling. I almost always smile.

Gibson Les Paul Studio, Black with gold hardware, all standard features for a Studio inc 2 tone knobs, 2 volumes and a 3-way pick-up switch. The only thing I was disappointed with was the gig bag, I was really expecting a hard case, but thats not the guitar its-self.

Wow, what can I say, its a Les Paul. Its a typical Les Paul sound, great deep and resonent sounds that only a guitar of this calaber can produce. If like me you want the ultimate guitar that will play soulful sounds, but rock as hard as the rest, this is the one. Ive got nothing but praise for the Les Paul sound, once you have got one, you`ll never want to put it down.

This guitar looks great, obviously not quite as good as the Standard or Custom, because thats why you pay the extra. When I got it, I had to reduce the action and lower one of the pick-ups, but who doesn't tinkered with your guitar to get the best, factory settings are not for everyone. When I got it, second hand, it had hardly been used, all it had was a few plectrum scratch's, which is quite understandable, but its such a pain to keep clean, I almost feel like wearing gloves just to play it. Yet, my dads standard is just as bad, only it shows up on mine because its black.

Its heavy, which makes you feel like your actually holding a guitar, thats why I like Gibson rather than a Fender, its not that fender are not quality, its just that I like to feel my guitar. The guitar will be able to withstand anything, however will it look good afterwards? probably not, from what I've heard about the gold hardware you would be lucky for it to stay gold, and the body will not stay unmarked for long, you can breath near it and it`ll dint.

I have always dreamed of a Les Paul, Ive had copies, ie Epiphone, but they just dont compare. Nothing plays music for the soul as much at the guitar that is made for you, and as soon as I held my first Les Paul, I knew it was my guitar. This Studio is my first Les Paul, and it wont be my last, I will upgrade to a standard and then a custom, but now I am content, Ive got the greatest guitar in the world, and I can play until my fingers drop off.

I'm pretty sure my Studio is a '99. The features are pretty straight forward for a Paul. Nice solid maple top, two volume, two tone, three way togle. Two humbuckers 1 490R and one 498T. The finish on mine is a beautiful Trans. Emerald Green. The maple grain shows through wonderfully . Tune-O-Matic bridge and stop tailpiece, and 22 jumbo frets. It has all the features I needed when I bought it.

If you dig blues or metal you can certainly find your sound here. I play through a Marshall tube half stack. This guitar can sear the paint off the walls. It has a really decent clean tone too. All you have to do is kick the togle back to rythym add a little stereo chorus and some delay and the sound is so rich and thick you can almost taste it in the air. Like all Gibsons it does get a little muddy when the tone is rolled back, but that's not the kind of thing to bother me.

I had to do some action adjustment when I got it home. Not so much because it was setup poorly. Just because I prefer a really low action to help with fast runs. There was a hair line scratch on the back of the body when I got it. I buffed that out though and have managed to keep from tearing it up since. I do need to complain about Gibsons choice of finishes. They use Nitro Celulose. NC is literally eaten away by human sweat. I have to clean the guitar each and every time I pick it up. If I hadn't been doing so there probably wouldn't be any finish on the neck by now. The strap buttons are also way too small. If you get a Les Paul get yourself a locking strap too. The last thing anyone wants to do is drop a $1000 guitar

I have to admit this thing is built like a brick. There's nothing I love more than playing on a large chunk of lumber. This guitar weighs close to 10lbs. This really doesn't make for a good gigging axe. I have to say though that because of it's tonal range I would definatly use it live... Not without a backup though. Fans don't pay to watch you change strings.

Never Dealt with them, but I've heard bad things

I've been playing for close to five years now. When I bought this guitar it was the gem of my collection. Even though it will always have a special place in my heart I do know now that there are guitars that are as far above the Les Paul as it is above a Mexican Strat. I now own a Rick Turner Model 1, and a David Thomas McNaught Phoenix. These guitars are truly a cut above the rest. If you want to know more about them read my reviews.

good les paul setup. Two pickups, 2 tone, 2 volume, 3 way selector switch, 22 frets. simple setup but it works.

For its price this is a great sounding guitar. The pickups are the best thing about this guitar, they give you the classic les paul sounds, but at a much cheaper price. Once again though, if your looking for the bright thin strat sounds, this is not the guitar for you.

the action was set-up perfectly, but even if it wasn't, it's very easy to adjust. My main complaint is the tuning pegs. This guitar never stays in tune. Its a good idea to replace them if you buy this guitar.

the finish on these guitars practically dents and wears off if you touch the guitar. After 5 years with mostly home playing and a couple of gigs (used as a backup)the guitar looks like hell. The thing is it still plays and sounds as well as it ever did. unless you want your guitar to look perfect throught the time you own it, its not really a big deal.

If you want the les paul feel and sound, but are like me and can't afford a real one, this is the guitar to buy. Its a great guitar for its price range.

'94, 22 frets, ... standard les paul setup. Black w/ gold hardware. Ebony Fretboard, trap pearloid inlays.

Sounds awsome, great through most amps. I usually play through a fender bassman 100. Amazingly warm fat tone, sound great with just about any distortion, or even clean.

Plays great, looked for a while for an older one to get the ebony fret board. One of the smoothest guitars I have ever played.

The gold hardware kind of sucks, it just wears off quickly, but the guitar is still great looking. NEED to get a locking strap upon purchase, I am used to playing strats and have almost dropped this thing several times the first two weeks I had it until I got a good locking strap.

I have been playing for 6 years, and this is one of the best guitars that I have not only owned, but also played. This is a great guitar that looks great, and still sounds better than it looks.

My guitar was USA made in 1989. I bought it used for $650 at a vintage guitar show a couple of years ago. Lots of the same features as any other Studio. 22 frets, 2 tone and 2 volume knobs, etc. But mine was made far enough back that it came with the ebony fingerboard, which I am grateful for. On my other guitars the rosewood is fine but this guitar's fretboard is just unbelievable! It is really like playing on silk and makes a huge difference in playing smoothness... Came with a gig bag. Dual tone and dual volume controls are nice. Alot of guitars only have one common volume for both pickups.

I play both good old rock and also metal. Great for almost any style with a few adjustments. The stock pickups were, in my opinion, really nice. They sounded great clean and gave a tremendous rock sound when dirty. Skynyrd to Van Halen to any old Zeppelin crunch is in those pickups as long as you're playing through a decent amp. Thinking back, I really didn't need to change them but I went and put EMGs in them (81 and 85). This made my guitar perfect for my metal playing. My guitar is now a crunching rock only machine that just sings or screams on leads! BUT like I said, looking back the original pickups would have suited me just fine. I liked them alot. I really think that the tone of this kind of guitar sounds best without a high output pickup though so, I am going to put the EMGs in my Jackson and have that be my metal guitar as I put the originals back in the Les Paul. Either that or I'll put in some milder Duncans in it. Anyhow the Studio itself is a fantastic guitar with awesome rock, metal or heavy blues capabilties regardless of pickups installed in it. Just play through a GOOD amp and the guitar will shine. I play this through a Mesa Boogie Rectoverb, Marshall DSL50, and a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe.

If I were a shredder I could play waaay faster on this fretboard than I could on any of my others. Try to get an ebony board. BIG difference from the new rosewoods! Finish is over ten years old and still looks great. Mine is black. There are wear and tear dings in it but no manufacturer flaws. I play with 10 gauge strings. Action has always been perfect and is easily adjustable. This was all perfect.

This guitar DOES withstand live playing and my only gripe with it is that the tuners on were mine Gibson Deluxes and they were okay I suppose. I guess I just like to bend strings really hard because they did slip regularly for me. I am having them replaced with locking tuners. Strap buttons will want be replaced real fast with strap-loks for live playing. Finish is still perfect. I know, I am being harsh for something as small as good tuners but they they come stock on other really good guitars.

Never had to deal with them.

I've been playing for 11 years and I am thrilled with the deal that I got for this axe. But if it were lost I would NOT buy a new one. I'd definitely shop for a used one again. The Gibsons perform, but so do a ton of other guitars which aren't selling a name half as much as Gibson are. For a little more money on another companies guitar you can get a better painted finish, coil splitters, AND locking tuners! I've bought and own plenty of expensive gear. Some of that is worth every penny (Mesa amps are winners BTW), other times I learn something from the purchase. I've owned the Studio long enough to be in love with it but as much as I do love it, I have come to the conclusion that the only way to buy a Gibson is to get a good used one. If you want a solidbody guitar that is WAY better than a Standard and still cheaper, the Ernie Ball Axis series smokes it. If you want a guitar that's just as good as a Standard, get the Les Paul Studio. This is a great guitar.

Made in U.S.A. in August, 1999. Mahogany body with arched maple top, really fat mahogany neck (set-in), rosewood fingerboard, pearl dot position markers, cool Grover tuners - a BIG upgrade in comparison with vintage-style plastic Klusons (yuck), Tune-o-matic bridge - stop tailpiece, 2 vols, 2 tone controls, 490R / 498T humbuckers, 3 way toggle switch. Simple and perfect.
Finished in Ebony with Chrome hardwear.
What else do you need? A Floyd tremolo? Hopefully not...

Well, I considered myself to be a die-hard Fender guy, but it just happenned so that I ordered a Gibson - the other choice for me was a Lone Star Strat, but I wasn't sure about it, and I sold my Parker - bye, darling - and forked the cash to a friend in Chicago, who bought this Gibson. May be, I was trying to have a non-singular :)) kind of a tone. I was really uptight when the guitar arrived - so much afraid to hear the Kramer type of xlean tone. I was wrong. Thank you, Jesus. This thing is not a Fender, 100% sure. So if you wanna have the twang, don't even touch Gibsons. It sounds like a piano in comparison with most guitars. Uncapable of strumming - think Smells Like Teen Spirit. But it sounds so noble, so mature and deep - nearly makes you cry. Thick, throaty and warm. Unbelievable. I realize now, why so many people go GAGA and totally crazy about Les Pauls - they are worth it. Heavy.
Distorted - a HUGE BASSY IN YER F***ING FACE crunch. Endless sustain - what else could you expect?
GRUNGY! Think Soundgarden.
Some people may consider this guitar way too muddy though and er... low-toned. If your main guitar is GL ASAT and you need that tone, don't buy a Gibson.

Black! Love it. Looks way better with chrome hardwear, and this doesn't get as ugly after a year of playing as those quasi-golden pickups do. Nice feeling, all in all. Never clean, though. A constant pain in th ass. And yeah, don't forget the straplocks!!!!

Head / neck joint - if you break this, go buy another axe. Forget this one. Unrepairable. The rest is virtually undestructable. Graham Coxon plays Les Pauls live cause they are built sturdier then Fenders.

?

The best guitar I have ever played (the rest was Parker NiteFly, a dozen of Strats, PRS - they should call themselves POS, it's closer to the tone these guitars have - and some other axes, all the big names). I like it.