Gibson Les Paul Studio

See above entries
Gold hardwear, black finish

Considering this is only my second guitar, I don't have to much to base it on, and I'm probably a little bias towards it (my old one is a cheap Peavy Predator) But I have found it to be the smoothest sounding guitar for the price (and arguably for higher prices) that I have ever played. The tone is wonderful, and well rounded, although I do occasionaly miss the bright tones of a single coil. This guitar is almost silent.

The action on this guitar was (and still is) near perfection and as far as hardware is concerned, everything was flawless. The finish left a few things to be desired (although this might be on account of the store), the headstock was slightly scratched up and some of it was discolored (from black to kind of a silver)

Here, unforunatly, my praise slightly ends. After about a month of ownership, the rythym/treble switch slightly messed up, it had actually rotated (don't ask me how) from it's original position, at one point it was a full 180? from it's original position.
This guitar however is no unplayable, I tripped over the chord of my paul and as a result of which my guitar actually fell over, right on the side of the headstock (I still almost cry when I think of it) which caused the case of the G tuning machine to break. Unforunatly, the replacement parts I need to special order and will cost around $70. Although this was my stupidity, I doubt the machine would have broken on my lil' ol' peavy.

never tried

What can I say? I love my Les Paul.

I bought this new in '90 and it's been my main guitar ever since. It's bugrandy with a beautiful maple top, it gets a lot of compliments, I still haven't seen a top like this on a studio. It has the ebonyfretboard which is a real dream to play, I've heard that they are making them with rosewood fretboards, I would opt for ebony. It's your typical studio set up 2 humbuckers, 3-way switch and independent volume and tone knobs for each pick up. Great neck, had to replace jack plate and tuners.

This guitar really sounds great, I've played it through a number of amps (currently an Ampeg Reverbarocket) and it has always sounded good. Very high threshold before feedback, very crunchy in treble and very sweet in rhythm. Middle selector (both p/u's) doesn't do much for me neck p/u overpowers bridge in this position. I've had no desire to upgrade to a standard or custom since owning this guitar, I've tried them and they don't offer enough of an improvment over this guitar to justify spending the money. One thing I find very interesting is the incredible sound chages you get with different string gauges.

This guitar was beautiful the day I bought it and still is today (and I've beat the crap out of it). The finish is a beautiful translucent burgandy, the maple top is incredible and arched. Factory set up wasn't bad, believe me I've bought new guitars that I couldn't believe were allowed to leave the factory in the condition they were in (are you listening Fender). The action needs to be played with to get what you want out of it but won't take long (hey no 2 players like the exact same action).

I have beaten the living hell out of this guitar and it still looks and sounds great. It's been dropped more times than I'd like to mention but a lot of that comes from the strap buttons. I have since put strap locks on and that problem has disappeared. My biggest complaint is the tuners, the factory tuners are screaming pieces of shit. Two of the tuners openned up after only 2 years and I replaced the entire set after 3 years. I replaced them with Gibson tuners and haven't had a problem since. All in all this is an absolutely great guitar for the money. PERIOD.

I really haven't had any problems with this guitar so I couldn't tell you, but, I have e-mailed gibson and they have responded vey promptly ( are you reading this Ampeg/Kamen)

I've had it for 9 years it's my main guitar, I'd replace in a second if anything happened to it, though, I would replace it with a '95 or earlier, the newer models don't have nearly as nice of tops or finishes as the older ones. If your looking for one save some money and buy it used, these guitars stand the test of time and hold up incredibly well, the newer ones aren't as pretty as the older ones. I use this as my main guitar when playing live and I back it up with a ashburn Les Paul (also a great guitar) only because I'm very rough on strings and have a tendency to break them. I will never get rid of this guitar it's a gem (or as Mr. Havisham would say its a peach).

It has the basic les paul setup. A 490r and 498T humbucker just like most other Les pauls. White with gold hardware. Two volume and tone controls and three way switch gives you pretty good tone-shaping ability.. It does everything I want it two, but can't get a pristine clean sound. Coil tapping would be a nice feature such as the Jimmy Page model, but thats $5,000. Thats an extra feature though so I couldn't rate it lower

what can I say its a Les Paul. Don't think that it can't compare to a Standard or Custom. They have the same woods, and pickups. The only differences are that it doesn't have binding and isn't quite as thick, but not much less. It has that Gibson growl that can't be imitated.

I bought it used so has some flaws. The finish is white, so there isn't much to say about that. The only flaws are the ones from being used. The action was fine when I got it. It plays like a dream. However, the gold on the pickups show some wear on them which is a problem with all Gibson Humbuckers. If you get silver ones, then you don't have a problem. It doesn't abnormally go out of tune unlike some Fenders.

I've never gigged it, but I will be facing that test very soon. The strap buttons are terrible! When I first got it, the strap constantly fell off. It doesn't really seem to anymore. Its pretty weird because when my friend comes over and plays it, it always falls off. He doesn't adjust the strap or anything. It never falls to the floor fortunately. It just falls into your hand. I still haven't gotten any straplocks, which has been dumb on my part. But they're 36 bucks at the place I go to. so I'll be checking that place out. They're a must have or else you'll regret ever buying the guitar when you have to take it into the shop Maybe my grip on it changed. Otherwise its a really solid guitar. Never had any problems with it.

Its fantastic. Just as good as the higher priced cousins. A sunburst would be nice though and would be my only reason getting a Standard if I ever do. It's pretty foolish, but who doesn't want a sunburst. The one thats white with gold hardware which is what I got is very nice looking.

Bought in 1998, new 22 frets, same construction as LP Standard (laminated mohagany and maple), same electrics (H-H, 2 vol 2 tone), Stop bar tailpiece, tuno-o-matic bridge, grover tuners. Mine is a concord with gold hardware. The color looks brown indoors but is quite purple in sunlight. The neck has dot inlays instead of the trapazoids that some of the old ad copy says. The finishes are all solid colors, so don't look for wood grain. Remember this is a cheap version of the standard, so they had to cut corners somewhere. Accessories kind of sparse for a $1000 guitar, a crappy gig bag and a tuning tool. Not even instructions on how to set it up or care for it. I rate it a little low because of the lack of accessories, a hard case wouldn't have cost Gibson that much more.

Sound is awesome. This is 1 of 2 major reasons to buy one of these. I don't even need to go into why this is a great metal ax. Played finger-style, it has the rich sounds of an acoustic (don't throw away that Martin though). I couldn't find any settings that were bad. The middle position (both pickups) makes an awesome blues tone. To get the most out of that setup, set both volume knobs at half so that their tone knobs both work, that gives all sorts of sound possibilities. After playing a strat, I didn't know what a tone knob was for. I always thought that if you turn it down, it was supposed to make the guitar sound crappy. With this ax, the tone knob brings out the warmer harmonics.

Fit and finish are excellent. The action on mine is set kind of high to get all the notes to play the way I think they should. Setting the action below Gibson's specs makes for fret buzzing real quick. I would say that the standard setup is a medium action; don't look here for an ultra low one. The original strings are genuine crap. I yanked them after 2 weeks, the plating was coming off from bending strings. I put on some D'Marzios, they seem to do well. If you know of something better, let me know.

This is not cheap built, it will take the abuse of playing live. The strap buttons seem kind of smallish, but they have never actually failed me; they have a different shape. The knobs look a little cheap, they wobble when you turn them. Probably my biggest complaint is that nitrocellulose lacquer that Gibson continues to use, its a bitch to keep clean and fingerprints will attack the finish.

This is the other reason to buy one of these. You need to go to their website. It has all the instructions that didn't come with the guitar. You can download the schematic for the electrics, that way you'll understand what I meant with setting the knobs. I emailed them for a missing warranty card, they responded back the next day and gave me a history of my serial number. They have a reputation for being first rate in backing up their stuff.

I would replace this thing in a minute if it got lost. I had originally bought a Fender Am Delux Strat, for about the same money, and thought it was a total piece of shit. I sent it back and got this instead. In comparison, I think the fender played faster but the sound sucks in comparison. It worked out for the better. I wish it had a hard case.

It was made in 1998 in the USA. It has the following:- 22 frets, laquared paint finish, 3-way selector, tone and volume pots for both pickups, 2 humbuckers which are a 490R ceramic in the neck and a 498T Alinco in the Bridge. The body is solid Mahogany, black finish, Tune-O-Matic bridge. It has Grover Tuning machines. The neck is of medium thickness. The hardware is all chrome. A gig bag is included.

It suits me almost perfectly. I play lots of styles but mostly vintage style Rock, blues and Harder rock like Zeppelin. I also love playing stone roses music. I use a Kustom 40W amp,stop laughing, which has got a great clean channel. It sounds fantastic. The Bridge pickup gives a Chunky Fat Riffing sound.Listen to some Zep to hear this sound. The neck is louder than the bridge in treble so I back off the tone and volume a bit when using it. It sounds great clean and can easily be used to play hey joe and other clean/mild overdrive blues. This Guitar has really good harmonics all the way up the fretboard. The intonation is also good. The only thing i don't like is the Bridge pickup clean as it is a bit too thick, however thats why its so good at riffs! so I am not really complaining. It's a Les Paul and therefore its heavy and solid, which gives that amazing tone and sustain. It sounds so good.

I bought this Guitar from my local music store in Edinburgh. The set up the intonation and action on the guitar. They did a good job too as I have no problems with it. As for the factory set up, I don't know as the shop set it up, but it couldn't have had perfect intonation as the shop had to adjust it. The finish was flawless until last week (don't lean your les paul against a wall). One of the tuning machines was slightly loose but this was easily fixed. I bought one with the black finish as I liked it best and it had dots for fret markers as I don't like the diamond inlays. If you are buying one check out the Wine red transparent finish as it is beautiful.

This Guitar is really solid. It will withstand a gig if your shoulder and back can stand the weight(small price to pay for the tone though). The chrome hardware has lasted really well so far. By the way don't buy a les paul with gold pickups. I put strap locks on the day I bought it because the top stap button is useless when you stand up with the guitar as the strap slipped off far to easily. I would not use the guitar with out a backup as that is tempting fate.

I have played guitar for around 2 years. I also have a yamaha Pacifica 112, a boss ME-30, 3 cheap amplifiers, a squirer strat, 2 Kay acoustic guitars and a Wah pedal. I insured it as soon as I bought it. If it was lost or stolen I would claim insurance money and buy another one straigt away. Only differnce would be I would maybe buy a wine Red finish instead.
If you are thinking of buying a Epiphone les paul DON'T. Save up and get the Gibson as it sounds so much better. Ignore all those non- guitar playing freinds and relatives who tell you its a waste of money, this guitar is well worth it and will bring a smile to your face every time you play it. You will not regret buying a Gibson Les Paul. Don't pay the extra cash for a Standard as it sounds exactly the same as a Studio, and who wants to pay an extra #500 for a nicer paint job. Its the sound and feel of the guitar that counts. (The studio is beatiful anyway).
E-Mail me with any questions you may have.

This guitar has been sitting in the store for about two years now. The salesman said that they got from Gibson sometime in 1996. I got the serial no of the guitar and verified it with Gibson and found out that it was a 1995 model. Well, even if this was'nt a brand new model it sure looks new. Body is mahogany FLAME-MAPLE TOP. YES IT IS A RARE VINTAGE SUNBURST STUDIO MODEL. What a luck, all Studios right now comes in plane color.Changes color depending on angle(see below) At first i thought that this was a joke but when Iconfirmed it with Gibson, they indeed released a Studio in VSB. It also features a mahogany neck and rosewood fingerboard with trapezoidal inlays. Two volume two tone pots and 2 humbuckers.The salesman said that it features 57 classics humbucker according to the Specifications that came when it was shipped but Gibson said those were 490r and 498t. Chrome hardware and comes with a very nice and well-padded gigbag.
And so with the flametop, the only difference between this and a Standard is that it has no binding and the body is a little thinner.

This is my first Les Paul and was really amazed at at the tone of this guitar aside from the sustain no other can do naturally. The sound is superbly fat. Below is an analysis of the pickups. I run the Les Paul through a Zoom 3030(i dont use the built-in patches-they suck, i had my ex-teacher cook different clean and dirty sounds according to my playing style) and goes through a Marshall VS65R(nice-amp).
Bridge Clean Using the clean patch of my 3030 sound is almost an exact copy of Guns 'N Roses clean sound. Very round and somewhat bell-like. Can't pass for a Fender clean but good enough for my needs.
Bridge Dirty This is where the bridge pickup excels. It has a heart-pounding, really kickin' distortion but it won't do the metal thing. Perfect for rock.It is important that you play with volume and tone knobs in order to get different sounds. 10 is very limiting. Ease the volume between 2-4 and you get a nice overdrive, go to 8-9 and you get a very nice distortion. Play with the tone knobs to suit your treble preference. I play mine between 6-9 depending on the song.
Neck Clean Sound is very deep and chimy you could almost hear bells ringing.I seldom use this except whe covering songs that uses fender clean.
Neck Dirty Is this real ? The sound i get is very sweet almost similar to a Seth lover and Alnico II Pro probably way sweeter. I use this 90% when playing lead. Sound is almost a 100% percent replica of November Rain's sweet lead. But i spent a lot of time tweaking my amp and just got lucky at the effects settings done by my ex-teacher.
At the time i bought the axe, i was planning on changing the pick-ups with Seth Lovers but now it's got me thinking. The only problem i have with this guitar is when i strumm open chords in high gain situations. Its a little muddy. This can be cured about 50 % better by making the guitar PERFECTLY IN TUNE. And i mean perfect. Unless your one of those players with perfect pitch capabilities, I think you'll have to use a GOOD tuner not just cheap ones whick sucks.
I had a GTX23 loaded with Gibson 500t and Dimarzio Cruiser. The 500t are way hotter than 498t technically but because of the Les Paul body, it has a higher output than the 500T's.
I played many Studios before settling on this one. Try as many as you can and get the best sounding one

When i bought it, the salesman had it setup before they sold it to me. Funny but the setup seems to do me fine. It came with 9's. Finish has some flows. It has a tiny ding at the back of the neck and a little scratch at the back of the body. Fortunately the top has no flaws. If you will look the guitar at a perpendicular position it is a sunburst but when you slightly angle it, it becomes a honeyburst similar to the Jimmy Page model but a little brighter.

I think this guitar will outlive all of us as long as you wipe it every after playing(I wipe it a lot). The guitar really feels solid and could withstand any beating though i haven't used it live yet, if my other guitar can this will do it much better. You can use this without a backup since it is not a floyd-type. But don't take chance. If you have to play with out a backup you are probably 95% sure that the strings won't break. Also I'm planning on changing the strap to locking ones. I don't leave anything to chance. This is not a cheap guitar and if I drop it, I don't think I'll be able to find another Studio in Vintage Sunburst like this although the store still has a last one.

Gibson guys are probably one of the best. I e-mailed twice(verifying the guitar)before buying the guitar and they reply within 24 hours or less. I don't have a lifetime warranty, just a 6 months warranty from the store.

I've been playing for 6 years now and don't limit myself to one type of music. This guitar can almost do most of my needs except when playing metal(I use my GTX 23 for the metal thing). I use the Les Paulfor Blues , Rock , Hard Rock , Punk and Pop.
Don't settle for anything when buying a Les Paul. Go for a Gibson. When i first came to the store , they had an Epiphone Les Paul Custom and it was no way near the Gibson in terms of sound , looks and how solid it felt. Plus Gibsons are made of solid Mahogany for that SUSTAIN. Though they are expensive, it is worth every penny

Mine is the stereotypical Les Paul Studio with the wine red finish, i know for a fact this is the most common model ( i have seen many others like it). Mine was made in '94, so i have the ebony fretboard, THANK GOD, i hate the grainy feel of rosewood and am most dismayed to learn Gibson is using it on the new Studios. i like the thick neck on mine (despite the fact that i have small hands), and the short scale, this guitar is extremely easy to play, and comfortable. It makes me feel and sound like a better guitarist than i am. My only complaint is the tuners, the stock Kluson tuners are shit. Replace them with Sperzel ones, i had to, when i bought the guitar the tuner for the g- string kept falling off, and the rest slipped out of tune pretty easily. The Sperzel tuners fixed that, and they look futuristic, too. But the neck feels incredible, the only other guitar i've ever picked up with a neck that luscious was my friend's Hamer Special.

This guitar sounds great even when it's not plugged in, the maple and mahogany combination produces a beautiful resonance. When i bought it, the guitar had very light gauge strings which made the distortion too spongy sounding, but increasing the gauge ( i play 12s) fixed the problem and added tone. It has a good clean sound, but everything i play sounds like Sabbath, which the guitar does very well. i think the Les Paul sounds especially good when paired with a Traynor amp, or a Randall.

The action is easily adjustable, even though i bought the guitar used and the bridge is slightly damaged. As i said, my guitar had a lot of hardware flaws, but the neck and body are near perfect. Also, the pickup selector switch is coming loose, i suspect it will fail soon, but it can easily be replaced, it's tone is so good i'd put up with a few minor repairs. i do the work myself and only pay for parts.

Overall, i would say you can depend on this guitar. It feels very heavy and solid, which i find comforting. i have a back up guitar, but the difference in feel is so drastic i hope i never have to use it.

Never dealt with Gibson, i bought the guitar used when it was three years old.

i have owned many guitars and this one feels the best, i'd never part with it. If it were stolen, i'd find the guy and beat him to death with it. I'd buy another one, but not a new one because of the repugnant rosewood fretboard.

1991 studio Les Paul. You know what a Les Paul looks like! Its your standard Les Paul except the day before I bought it the bridge pickup fizzled out on it, so I got a brand new classic 57 installed for free. heh heh. Its all black, ebony fretboard (the only way to go) trapezoid inlays, gold hardware. Just gorgeous. Big fat neck on this mofo, jumbo frets. Came with a really neat case. Kind of a black plastic with injection molded handle. (The first time I gigged with this thing, we came home and accidentally dropped it out of the window 4 feet up on the headstock of the case. Opened it up and it wasnt even out of tune.) Rating 9. What else do you need in a guitar?

This thing sounds awesome. Its a paul so of course its deep with lots of sustain. Its played through a marshall valvestate 100 watt half stack. That will have to do for now. I know that the valvestate sucks. But it works for now. There is NO noise through this thing when you mute the strings with your hand. Effects are for dork asses. Use the amp and ONLY the amp. I really like the weight of this guitar, It is very heavy and thats how it should be.

Ok heres the deal. I have a few gripes here. Where the neck meets the body, you can see remenants of glue on the left side of the guitar. But thats no biggie, and you have to really look to see that. The pickups kick some ass. But I think I will soon be replacing the bridge pickup with a seymour duncan distortion. I hardly ever use the clean so that will do just fine. As far as other finish flaws, the guitar was used and had some belt buckle scratches and what not on it. But I got a great deal so I'm not complaing. Besides, they just add a little charchter to the guitar anyways.

This guitar kicks some ass live. The only thing I need to do is put on the damn strap locks cause it keeps slipping off. And I need my yearly setup. Its gone a little out of whack, and could use an intonation. I never have a backup guitar and dont need one.

Never dealt with em. But they have a pretty neat website

Ive been playing for about 9 years now. And this has been my first really good guitar. I would definetly buy it again, but only if I got the same price. Otherwise I would probably just buy a new SG.

According to the serial number, made in 1993, according to the potentiometers, made in 1992. Came with a gig bag.
It's your typical Les Paul-- Maple top, Mahogany body. This one has an ebony fretboard with trapezoidal inlays, no binding, black finish (Beautiful). Has Alnico 490R at the neck and Alnico 498T at the bridge, passive tone and volume for each pickup. 3 way switch. Not too simple, not too complex.
The only difference between this guitar and a Standard or Custom is the Mahogany is 1/8" thinner, and it has no binding. All the electronics are the same.

I play with volumes and tones wide open. Here is a sound by sound analysis.
Bridge Pickup: Clean-- Very tight and even. Gives a bright clean tone with good low end without being jangly. Has a very nice *ring* to it.
Mild OD-- Nice bite-- can be a little harsh if you don't know how to tweak it (amp dependent, too). Good rock sound.
Heavy OD-- Hard hitting, but very smooth. Harmonic response is excellent. Doesn't have the very harsh high end distortion. The mids and lows get distorted, the highs sound more like they get extremely compressed. This to me is a wonderful tone. (Also amp dependent).
Neck Pickup: Clean-- A richer, deeper tone than the B.P.U. Excellent with a little flange or chorus. Much darker tone, not in your face like the other.
Mild OD-- Sweet, Sweet, Sweet. With my amp (Marshall VS100) it gives a very rich, fat, Fender tone with a little more ringing in the high end. A very warm, bell like tone.
Heavy OD-- Not very good for this. Sounds a little too rubbery.
Both Pickups: Clean-- Sharp attack, deep ringing. Good country tone.
Mild OD-- About like the neck on Mild OD, except a little more high end. Brings out the mid-range a little more, too.
Heavy OD-- Same as Neck PU

I can't remember the factory setup on action. Anyone who relies on factory set action and intonation doesn't understand guitars very well. You have to customize it to suit your playing, everyone is different. This guitar has plenty ability for me to get my ideal tone and action.
All the hardware was put in the right position from the factory. After a while, the pickup selector was shorting out on me wen I went to the neck pickup. I just cleaned it and bent the electrodes so that they made better contact. No other electronic problems.
The volume and tone knobs can be broken pretty easily if you aren't careful with them. So does the plastic on the selector (And the replacements never fit).
OK, here is the major, major problem with this guitar, and any Les Paul for that matter. The placed where the neck becomes the headstock. This is a high leverage point, but the nature of the mahogany wood of the neck makes it weak. If your guitar gets knocked over, it could crack pretty easily, and it's a bitch to see it happen. It can be fixed, but you really don't want to have to go through all that. Be careful.

With common sense, this guitar will take a lot of abuse. I rarely break a string on the thing (2 or 3 a year). The finish has worn in the place where my arm rests on the top (just on the edge) and on the back where it sits against my body. There are various nicks and scratches, but that's just typical wear and tear. The hardware still shines chrome, so no problems. I depend on it.

I've been playing for 6 years, had this guitar for 5 years. I know a lot more about the care and maintenance of guitars, so the beating it had during the earliest years will not happen again. It has everything I need, and I would buy another without hesitation-- except Les Paul Studios now only come with dot inlays and rosewood fretboards instead of ebony. Oh well. The tones on this guitar cannot be topped.
For info on my tones, read my entry into the Marshall VS100H database.

It's a Les Paul, so you know the shape, features, etc. Two humbuckers, one three-way switch, and independent volume and tone controls for each PU. Very versatile. Super easy to set up as far as the action. Big difference between this and what I am used to playing (which isn't shabby, by any means). The tuners are nice, it has all the construction features of the more expensive guitars in the Les Paul line, and the black finish is beautiful. The gold toned hardware is wearing off abit, but to me it adds to the guitar's attitude! Comparing it to my friend's Custom Deluxe, there is no binding, and the routing of the pearl inlays on the fretboard is a little off of perfect. Everything else seems pretty close to identical.

I play mainly blues and classic rock, although I have been known to do anything from punk, industrial, etc etc. If it's a music style, then I've attempted it. I've only had the Les Paul for two days, so my opinion is limited somewhat. I have the action set very low, and on the treble setting, it is quite twangy. Not a Tele by any stretch, but different than I expected. With the independent tone/volume controls, as well as the ability to run both PU's or separately, this guitar is very versatile. Perfect for any style of music. It has noticeably better sustain than my other guitars (Kramers), but I lost some of that deeper, longer lasting tone when I set the action low. I'll probably be playing with that for a while until I get ot perfect, but it's so easy to do I don't really mind! The guitar runs pretty quiet, which is a nice change coming off a main guitar that has two single-coils and a humbucker.

I got the guitar used, so I can't comment on the stock set up. It is really easy to set the action, and the Tune-O-Matic bridge is so much more solid than the Floyd Rose's I am used to. It is absokutely solid, and I can't see not having it for the rest of my life.

Solid as a rock. Legendary performance. I would replace the strap buttons with locking ones. Finish seems durable, and it is definitely the most dependable feeling guitar I have.

I got it used, and it's from 1990, but it's warranty card is still in the case. We'll see what happens when I fill it out!

I can't imagine ever buying a $900 guitar. I found a diamond in the rough with this one. A little work and elbow grease and it looks great now. Nicest guitar I've ever had, and probably will be unless it gets ripped off or something. Just goes to show that you can get pretty much anything for the right price if you wait long enough and keep your eye open.