Gibson Les Paul Studio

Mine was born on Jan 8, 2001 in Nashville. It has that very nice ebony finish with chrome hardware, including a nice set of kidney-bean Grovers. Tune-a-matic with stop tail. Pickups are 490R and 498T. Rosewood fingerboard. Nice medium frets. Mahogany body, mahogany neck with the '59 round profile, and the standard Les Paul maple cap tops off the body. CTS pots and poly caps. What a nice guitar. First of all, this is a Gibson Les Paul. Secondly, this guitar is a legendary instrument-PERIOD. What a nice guitar. Those are the features, folks. This guitar just drips

My favorite styles are rock and blues. I also do surf and some oldies (60's style rock) and a little jazz. I'm playing this through a Peavey Transformer with the 2nd generation chipset, upgraded memory and op amps-plus a nice Eminence Swamp Thing. My other amp is a Roland BC 60 112. Both are nice amps-let me tell ya. The BC 60 is outfitted with an Eminence Wizard. I use a cheap, DOD Attacker as a boost, in front of my amps. I like it because it has compression as well as a nice 9 dB clean boost.
Okay, enough of that.
The Les Paul is nice and fat with either pickup, or both. The guitar is absolutely quiet and does not feedback except for the nice harmonic type of feedback. The alnico type pickups are warm, well defined and the bridge 498T has a perfect growl for rock and blues. The neck 490R is very warm and rings perfectly for old school rock, blues and jazz. Excellent sustain. Maybe mine is a ringer-it's my first Gibson Les Paul-but when it went up against my buddy's LP Standard, it killed with authority. The LP Standard has the ceramic Gibson pickups-not my cup of tea. The alnico II neck and alnico V bridge pickups are extremely expressive for my style. What great, pure tone and presence.
Played through an amp or even unplugged this Gibson really has a great tone, sustain and resonance. I love it.

Not bad at all. I got it second hand but the previous owner never played it much. It was brand new, truth be told. I like the 59 round neck and the "feel" of this great guitar. Perfectly balanced instrument, for sure. Fit and finish was not absolutely perfect, folks. There was some oversprat and a bit of orance peel. Okay...so you have to get up close at about 6 inches to see it...but it's there. I thought the Gibson Company was better than that. Other than the less than perfect paint job, it's pretty much flawless. I love this guitar and the way it fits into my hands. Killer.

Everything is built very well. I think the strap buttons are lame but the rest is top shelf. I always bring a second guitar whenever I play. It just makes sense.

I have been playing electrics for decades. Epiphones, Ibanez, old no-name electrics and recently, Jay Turser models. This is my first Gibson Les Paul. I owned a Gibsom L 5-S once and it was very nice too. Don't get me wrong...I like my Tursers, my Ibanez and the Epiphone SG I recently gave to a friend was a very nice guitar, too. The Gibson is in another class-it's pretty high end. I'd buy this again in a heartbeat. For the 700-800 bucks that these bring on eBay (used of course) I think the price is right.

Just read 6StringBruiser???s review. Don???t know where he???s from but I???m from South Florida. Looking at Les Pauls in 4 different large music stores in my area, I can say with complete integrity that Gibson products and Fender products are only former shells of the instruments they built their reputations upon. In other words, these manufacturers produce inferior products at inflated prices, no matter where the product fits into the marketing scheme. In other words a custom shop, high end Gibson will be just as sloppy as a Les Paul Studio-in terms of build quality. So why pay for the expensive, inferior product when the cheaper ones are built to the same low class standards? Musicians don???t work for these companies anymore-accountants, salesmen and low-skilled builders do. Long gone are the days when the GIBSON name meant something special.
My ???Special??? is a 2004 model. It has finish flaws, too. Luckily it has the Grover tuners instead of the Kluson clones that are so terrible. Best features? It plays well and sounds pretty good. It has good CTS pots. By comparison, I have a Jay Turser LP Goldtop that I picked up for 125 bucks. It was a ???second??? with a few finish flaws. I stripped the pickups and pots from it. Installed LACE Hemibuckers in both positions and installed decent 500K audio tapers pots / premier caps. This guitar kicks the stuffing out of the Gibson Les Paul Studio-PERIOD-in both appearance and sound. Playability is about the same. So???now you have some perspective on where I???m coming from when it comes to having ???respect??? for the Gibson name. It???s just another guitar in my collection of guitars, that???s all.

Nothing ???wrong??? with the LP Studio, mind you. I bought it ???like new??? for a mere $300 bucks with a perfect case AND a like-new Boss Metal Zone pedal. The guitar is actually like a new guitar-which is to say it came from the factory with orange peel and other paint / finish blemishes and a pickup switch that needed repair. So much for Gibson Quality Control. These guys don???t care because ???everyone wants a GIBSON, right????
The guitar sound good and plays well. I have no complaints because I bought it to play not to sit around and be seen. I think I paid what it is actually worth, based on my other Jay Turser and Ibanez guitars. It is certainly not better than the others mentioned, to the extent that would justify a price of 800 to 1000 bucks-street price. I never paid more than 300 for a guitar, including replacement PUPS, electronics, nuts, strap-locks, etc. My Tursers were all bought off eBay for 100-200 bucks. Replacement pickups and parts all came from eBay stores. The Gibson sounds just like a Les Paul with the 490R and 498T pickups should sound. Very good. I play it through Roland Blues Cubes and a Peavey Transformer 112-modified with premium speaker and the upgraded prom / upgraded memory / upgraded op-amps.

It's all been said here. Guitars coming out of China for dirt cheap prices are made at least as well. Fit and Finish is at least as good as Gibson. They don't "build instruments" at Gibson. Instead, they "produce revenue generating products, with high profile name recognition." Got it?

It???s sturdy.

I???ve heard they???re pretty good. No experience.

I would pay 300 again-not more. It???s worth 300 without the pedal / HS Gibson case that came with it. Bottom line is that you will get a much nicer guitar if you buy a pre-1985 guitar with the Gibson logo on it. But you won???t find one for $300! I???ll keep buying Jay Tursers and fixing them up the way I like ???em. I don't see enough of a differnce to justify paying more than 300 bucks for the Gibson name. It's just not worth it.

Alpine White, Ebony Neck, Gold Hardware. I changed out the pups for Torres Customs, had the neck tone changed to a master tone, and changed the bridge tone to a master mid boost/cut.
I'm rating it a 6/10. The hardware is good, but not the best. The paint is a little sloppy, and the gold is peeling.

When unplugged, the ebony neck gives it a really cool punchy tone. The sustain is good, but not quite as good as some higher end Gibsons.

Plugged in it sounds really good, though I am so into Fenders, I don't use this guitar as much. I've change the pups and added a mid-range boost/cut, so I don't know how much of the original/stock tone is coming out. Overall, the guitar sounds good when running clean (though not a very clean guitar) and somewhat muddy when playing with a TS9. The mid-control is very helpful for balancing things out, I would suggest getting one immediately.

Tune-o-matic brige works perfectly. The neck is nice 'n strong, I like the weight of the guitar.

The finish is pretty crappy; I'm suprise it's made in the USA. It seems like an older Mexian-made or Korean made Epiphone or Squire... but I didn't buy the guitar for the looks, that's why they make the higher end Gibsons!

The guitar gets a 9 or 10 for functionality, but a 3 for the finish and cosmetics... ave of 6

So far so good, I've had it for 2 years. The finish on the gold hardware is wearing off, but that's to be expected. No functional issues.

It's a guitar. You can't rely on the manfuacturer to hold your hand, you need to maintain it yourself or via a local guitar tech.

For me, I twisted Guitar Center's arm to give it to me for $800 instead of $1300, so it's an excellent value. I never use stock pups, since Gibson does not know what amp and effects I use, it would be impossible for them to make the guitar especially for me.

For someone who wants that true LP sound, without spending $2500, and is willing and able to do some custom work, this guitar is an excellent value.

For someone who buys is stock and expects it to outshine a LP Custom.... come on, be realistic.

Gibson Les Paul Studio in Alpine White with gold hardware. Basic 2 humbucker setup. The white one comes with an ebony fretboard. We all know the specs.

Sounds really good, but plays like crap. The finish on the neck feels sticky, not smooth or fast at all. The action is nice and low with little fret buzz.

The factory setup was good, but the fit and finish was HORRID! There is "orange peel" all around the neck pocket, Dirt and sawdust under the paint in various places all over the guitar, something is rattling inside under the top (I checked in the control cavities and found nothing, so the object causing the rattle must be inside a cavity routed for weight reduction under the maple top), stripped screws, and a small crack in the headstock. Remember, I bought this guitar NEW off the showroom floor! When I returned the guitar, the guys at the store told me that all Gibsons are like that, and showed me a Custom with the same exact problems! NOT FOR MY MONEY! The guitar was promptly returned for a full refund. I'm done with Gibson.

I wouldn't know, I never got the chance to play it live. I know the strap buttons it comes with are ridiculously small and useless.

Had to argue to return it, but that's not Gibson's fault. Building a crappy guitar and selling it for over a thousand dollars is their fault.

I've been playing guitar for 22 years, and have had my share of guitars, some great, some crap. I had lusted after this Gibson fo YEARS until I had the money to buy one. Imagine my disappointment when I got the thing home and started to really look at it. You may think I am silly for not noticing such obvious flaws in the store, but I made the mistake of thinking that because it was a Gibson, that it would be of high quality and workmanship. I was wrong.

2007 Gibson Les Paul Studio. Ya know the specs. Transparent, wine red finish with gold hardward. Gibson tuners. 490R pickup in the front and Seymour Duncan Custom pickup in the bridge. Pickup covers removed to get rid of some microphonic feedback. The rating of 6 is due to the fact that it is a meat-and-potatoes, barebones Les Paul, which is killer. The only things that disappointed me was a pickup selector switch that crapped out in 2 days and those ridiculously small strap buttons that Gibson insists on using. Got rid of those and got some Dunlop Straploks. Gibson...MAKE SOME MORE ROBUST STRAP BUTTONS PLEASE!!!!

Well of course this damn thing shines! Here's the signal chain: Les Paul to Dunlop Slash wah pedal, Aphex compressor, Digitech Screamin' Blues overdrive pedal (for solos) into a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe. I play guitar for my church worship team (never thought I'd say that!) and also play in a classic rock band on the side once in a while. This thing resonates like a mother!!! I actually really liked the 498T pickup but since I had a Custom in a guitar that I was selling, I figured since I paid $80 for that one I should keep it and man does it frigging bring out the character of this guitar. Pick harmonics come out easy. Funny thing. I seemed to struggle with my ESP Eclipse that I owned when it came to pick harmonics. This Les Paul with a passive pickup just makes them jump out. Clean, the guitar sounds great for jazz on the front pickup. Works well with the jazz inspired tunes that i play with the band. The neck pickup is a little dark but it's a damn Paul! This is without a doubt the best sounding guitar I've owned. It crunches like no other.

For some reason, a Paul is just so smooth to play. Billy Duffy from The Cult once said he switched from a Gretch White Falcon to a Les Paul because "it's got a bit more meat, a little more wait" and also "it's just easier to play the damn thing." The action is awesome on this thing. I like it low and it does that without buzzing out. The nut is cut properly and strings don't slide out. The only flaws I saw were the pickup selector switch, which stunk and the bridge on the low E string was not slotted deep enough. Those have been remedied.

The thing is built solid. I worry about set neck guitars dropping so that's why I put on the strap loks. The finish is well done and hasn't rubbed off. I've played this thing live for 2 months straight now. It stays in tune, which is amazing since I'm a heavy hitter. I was worried about the standard Gibson tulip-style tuners but these work great.

This is a shout out for Leroy Braxton at Guitar Center in Scottsdale. He's one of the very few G.C. employees that really know what they're talking about. He always takes time to answer my questions.

I'm not going to lie, I'm probably very biased. I play guitar guitar because of Slash and have wanted a "real" Paul ever since I started playing 10 years ago. I'll be honest, the Epiphones I've owned have been great guitars and I really don't know if Gibson Les Pauls are THAT much better, but there is just something intangible about this thing. The guitar players and the chicks both swoon over it :-) It just plays like and sounds like a dream. I don't foresee myself ever getting rid of this thing.

Ebony Les paul single cut mahogany body with maple top. Mahogany neck with rosewood fretboard and standard size trapazoid MOP inlays. Gibson 490R 498T humbuckers with 2 volume, 2 tone controls. Mine came with Sperzal locking tuners, and Schaller straplocks (2 things I'd put on the guitar anyway. Standard Tune-O-Matic bridge with stopbar tailpiece.

The standard Les Paul sound without the inflated price tag. The mahogany gives the guitar a throaty sound not found in standard alder-maple guitars, so it's definitely darker in character then a Fender. The neck pickup's quite warm, generally too warm for my taste, but it does help make the Les Paul versitile. The bridge pickup has the sound I love in Les Pauls. It's quite harsh when used with overdrive, when used clean, it still comes off crunchy; not a very clean pickup.

The finish is flawless other then a few blemishes from the previous owner. The action is perfect, and I've never had to mess with it. The frets are well set and comfy compared to the Les Paul Studios Gibson's been putting out lately (especially the Faded series).

This thing's been around for quite a while before I bought it and it will probably be around much longer. I've heard of necks snapping on these, but never had a problem with a Gibson myself.

I've had good dealings with Gibson in the past, but I've heard they've gotten quite pompous as of late. This concerns me in future purchases, but for now I can only rate on my dealings.

Great guitar, great price. Not a huge sound difference between Studios and Standards. Standerds may look prettier but the cost is much higher (especially for a guitar that's mass produced at this magnitude).

Very beautiful finish (Wine Red ( gold hardware - seeing it on GC or other websites do it no justice at all . You must see it in your hands. The difference is night & day. Studio LP single cut very fast fretboard -& 22 of 'em - tuneomatic bridge / green key tuners (these could have been better_) but stays in tune great . 59 rounded neck dual alnico humbuckers mahogany & maple / rosewood / Bought new Feb 2007 nice hardshell case Superior Gibson USA made once again - the finish is one of the nicest AA around, gotta see it live though to really appreciate it.

I play live in Christian group / but practice also country to hard rock - will handle all styles the clean pretty stuff is great and so is the distortion has great bluesy tones when needed. No noise at any level / all P/U settings great / bridge is a little bright. otherwise sound is nice & fat like a LP should be . I once owned a Custom Gibson LP / this studio sounds as well for about 1/3 the cost

Intonation was off a little . action a little high / I done a minor intonation set up / then took it to a pro for the tweaking / they found the truss rod completely loose = was rattling / after that it was perfect, everthing else was fine - If you buy one get it set up right, it will make all the difference. Mass produced - oh well they all can have problems , don't get me wrong this is a GREAT guitar.

Guitar is very durable , I have only used it live a few times, but this is not my 1st rodeo with Gibson & I expect it to outlive me = Its a Gibson, no need to say more. The finish is the finest I've seen, for the price, hardware nice / small worry about the tuning keys though, could be better. Has typical Gibson strap buttons. so go get yourself a set of Dunlop strap locks & a quality strap to hook them to, other than that - very playable & dependable / no need for a backup on my end

I have never needed CS in all the years I've owned Gibson products. I would suppose they would be great from what I hear. Warranty is lifetime but non-transferable

I've been playing 35 + years ( on & off) also use a Mitchell AE Fender amp & el cheapo Behringer I play live straight into sound board with a Boss ME-50 . I would buy another Studio if needed . Now that it has great set up it is an awesome guitar at a great value. After shopping around (reading reviews) I chose this for the name and cost was in my range. Having owned other Gibsons I knew about the quality they offer. I traded in a PRS SE w/stoptail for this - nice guitar for the $550 but had issues w/sound - distortion sounded cheesy .

2003 Gibson LP "Studio" (no binding on maple capped mahogany body).
Gloss nitro lacquer over wine red; gold hardware; retro acorn tuners; 490R/498T AlNiCo humbuckers; 22 medium/jumbo frets on unbound rosewood w trapazoid MOP inlays fingerboard. Mahogany 1-piece neck.

Nice Canadian made TKL hardshell case.

Really great and potent midrange wallop with a snarl.
Nice burbling snarl when you back it off a bit.
No hum.
Full range.
Good for any electric guitar duties on any style of music, clean or distorted. Can grind, sing, or be clean and somewhat mellow, or crisp.
Surprisingly good for Country and Jazz even.

I use it with Fender type tube amps. An Allen Class Act, for tweed sounds, and a hot-rodded BF Bandmaster for cleaner sounds. Sounds Classic with either.
Also works good with Hot Rod Deluxe, et al.

I really like the 490/498 series pickups. I had them on a previous (older) Studio too. I like their range and versatility.
I generally am not a huge fan of humbuckers. I prefer single coils. But these I like. They're not muddy.

Clean and sophisticated.

I don't see how the two I've had could be any better for fit and finish.

The frets are great.

The older one I had before had an ebony fingerboard, which I liked a lot, but the rosewood fretboard on this one is great too.

It's simple, but with an understated elegance. Kinda working class but not really crude in any way.
A nice US manufactured workhorse that's inviting to play for long periods.

Neither of mine have seemed especially heavy, but feel substantial.

Industry standard professional level electric guitar.

The gold finish is holding up better than imports do around here (Coastal California).

The toggle switch sometimes "misses" its engagement when going to the neck pickup alone, starting earlier this year. Sounds thin until you reset it. Just once in a while. When it gets worse I'll replace it. Maintenance stuff.

The strap buttons are small. I use breadloaf wrapper closures over the strap ends for safety.

Bought it used.

I've never had any trouble with any of several Gibson guitars I've owned.

I've played guitar for 45 years or so. Also have a Telecaster, and an archtop acoustic.
Played gigs for about 30 years (always had a day job), but I'm just a dedicated amateur anymore. I play out a half a dozen times a year, but there's no real money in it around here anymore, though lots of my friends are still doing the club wars.

This LP Studio is my favorite guitar of all time. I don't know exactly why I traded off the other one I had before. Thought I was "going acoustic" for a minute, I guess.
I love its sound and it plays great. Stays in tune well. Versatile.
I really like these 490/498 pickups. Really an improvement, to my ears.

Previously I always liked hollowbody "Jazz" guitars, but LP's with 490's will do Jazz fine too. And then you can turn right around and play Rock, Blues, Country, whatever.
Hella versatile.

Needless to go over all the features over again considering many have already discussed these in detail.
I bought the Alpine White/ gold hardware model... Gorgeous to the eye but lacking some features considering the price paid for...

I play Hard rock,blues,jazz,funk.. I have a Hughes & Kettner Trilogy head (This amp F%&#$%@ rocks!!!!!) with a Marshall 2X12 cab, I also have a Avatar 2X12 cab... and Line 6 POD XT...I purchased this guitar as a back up guitar, my main axe is a PRS Custom 22 (Kick ass guitar) ... I figured I really like the humbucker sound and I really cannot afford another PRS, so let me give Gibson a shot for the price...
At first I thought WOW!!! what a great tone... then after a couple of rehearsals and gigs I realized that this guitar has no "Character" compared to the PRS, it is very muddy specially when used with distortion and/or overdrive it really lacks a lot of personality, I really don't think a $1,300.00 should have this "tone" issues; some guy on one of the reviews spent probably an additional $300.00 in new pick-up's for a brand new $1,300.00 guitar??? .. no offense to you buddy but that's insane... anyhow.. Many people in my audience and sound engineers approached me and told me "Don't use the Gibson it sounds "empty" compared to your PRS; The PRS sounds so much better" That's when I though "shit... I made the wrong frickin' choice I'm screwed... ebay here I go" I guess this just shows you that the search for "the perfect tone" is a trial and error process. Luckily for me they took care of me at Guitar Center and I was able to return the Gibson... I purchased a beautiful Fender American Deluxe Ash Telecaster, butter scotch finish... great guitar.. excellent compliment for my PRS... after playing a PRS... Gibson??? What the hell was I thinking?????

The second I bought the guitar and took it home and put it in it's stand I said "what a beauty" it really is a beautiful instrument (all looks). Gorgeous finish and the gold hardware really complements well.
the first red flag came up... nasty fret buzz on the High E and B strings... I got so pissed.. I just took it back to the store and they raised the action for about 30 miles to get rid of the buzz... I got so f%$#@&* pissed I said "you want something right you got to do it yourself" so I fixed the issue myself.. the neck is one of the best parts of the guitar.. the ebony fretboard is excellent...

The string buzz really messed it up for this section of the review... I would have given it a 10 if it wasn't for that.

It looks pretty solid guitar for the most part... only with the exception of the tuning pegs... they are made out of cheap plastic and they look like they will brake easily even if you dare to put 11's or 12's on it.

I called to register the instrument and they were wonderful.. very good service.

Very overpriced instrument with huge room for improvement... I would never consider spending my money on a Gibson guitar ever again.
If you have the money... do yourself a favor and but a PRS guitar... that is a serious guitar no flaws.. full of beautiful tone... there is just no comparison.

My LP Studio was purchased on the net in December 2006. I had to wait several weeks for delivery-apparently many dealers ran out of them in the color I wanted. The finish on mine is "Fireburst", which is a dramatic 3 color burst similiar to Gibson Vintage Sunburst. It was the color that caught my eye on this axe. It really stands out with the gold hardware! As a bonus, mine came with a lightly figured top. The whole appearance totally exceeded my expections-I love it! The neck is similar to a current Les Paul Standard with '50's neck. Definately not slim, but not overly fat like my '58 VOS. The Studio does not have binding on the neck (or body) so it feels a bit less tall and bare, but it is fun and easy to play. Overall, my guitar weighs about a pound less than a normal Standard, which is probably about right since it has no body binding and the body/wood seems not as thick. All of this makes it more more tolerable to strap on for hours - it's light - at least, mine is. The hardcase that came with the guitar is a beautiful black Gibson lockable case with white furry lining (!!!) inside. It is unique and cool. I don't know if this particular case is specific to the color of my guitar or if all Studios get it.

When I ordered this guitar, I did not expect what I got. The sound is absolutely incredibly good. I have had many Les Pauls and I currently own a 2006 '58 VOS Sunburst. This particular Studio sounds so clear and articulate, with lots of drive, bite and lots of flexibility. It's just outstanding-way beyond all the previous Standards I have owned(I'm wondering if Gibson installed BurstBuckers or '57 Classics on mine by mistake???. The best way I can describe it is that it sounds like the best vintage SG you could ever lay your hands on, and it also can do the Dickey Betts thing. (As a side note-I recently acquired, but returned, a new "Vintage" SG, so I was able to compare that axe to the Studio too). I have tried the Studio with all types of music, pedals and a few amps, and it works great. My '58 also sounds great but has a different, smoother, thicker sound (and weighs a ton). The best thing to come out of all of this, is that although both guitars are very different, they compliment each other and are so much fun to play! I lucked out.

I have inspected the guitar very carefully over the past several weeks and have found no flaws, no marks, etc. The glue assembly around the neck/body joint is not as quite as neat as my '58 VOS, but still very acceptable. Construction on the '58 VOS is flawless as you would expect-difficult to compare to, against a lesser priced guitar, but the Studio holds it own. Intonation was decent-I reset it slightly with my strobe tuner and it continues to sound fine and tune up easily. String height was ok. The finish is shiny and beautiful. I would say that this particular axe was built carefully by the folks at Gibson. I am very proud of it and feel that it was built at a "good time" at the factory. Maybe the holidays have something to do with it...

It has worked flawlessly since I got it. No pot noise, good string setup and everything works. It would be dependable for gigging.

Never called them.

I have been playing over 30 years. I play guitar, bass and drums. Not currently playing in a band, I just use my guitars at home for fun through a modified Bassman top and 2X12 Mojo cab with Celestions. Also own a Fender Stage amp for lower volume practicing. I play Allman Brothers, Clapton, Cream, Doobie Brothers, etc. I'm convinced that I was lucky enough to get a great guitar from Gibson this time-like the one you would pick out in a store after trying several others. This Studio is a charm. I have had other LP Standards that were heavy, boring and quite generic sounding with no notable "character" and badly shaped necks. My '58 VOS is a great guitar and I thought you had to spend 3 grand to get that quality and sound, and fun, but this Studio ranks way up there too. I don't know if other Studios sound like mine, but I am extremely amazed and happy with it and plan to keep it forever.