Gibson Les Paul Studio

Mahogany body and neck with a plain maple top. Two humbuckers etc. It's a basic Les Paul with no binding. The only thing ornamental on my guitar is the gold hardware and trapezoid inlays. If you can buy a higher end model.

It sounds like all Gibson Les Pauls sound when they come from the factory. The pickups are fairly muffled. I have replaced them with Dimarzio Virtual Vintage pickups. This was a drastic improvement. I play mostly rock/jamband music through a Mesa Boogie Maverick. The guitar can be fairly versatile. The bridge pickup is bright and the neck pickup is warm sonding.

People fool themselves into thinking that they buy a Gibson because of attention to detail. I have yet to see a new Gibson guitar with a decent paint job. I ended up stripping the paint and applying a tongue oil finish. The natural neck feels great and it looks better than the crappy black paint with the orange peel. People buy Gibsons because of the name. Plain and simple. The standard tuners are horrible. The plastic buttons strip out after a while and need to be epoxied back on. Save yourself the hassle and buy metal button tuners. The inlays are just plastic and they are not very well cut. They use a lot of filler to fill in the gaps.

Other than the tuners the guitar has been durable. It's a ten pound plank of wood. The headstock broke off during a car accident. I don't fault Gibson for that. Mine is a 1992 model and they only gave you a gig bag with it.

It's headstock was severed in a car accident I had. I sent the guitar to Gibson and they wouldn't touch it. They wanted almost $1,000 to put a whole new neck on it. I ended up having the guitar repaired by the Martin Guitars (yeah the acoustic dudes). They spliced a new piece of wood in and repainted the back of the neck all for a grand total of $300. It's worked flawlessly for over 10 years.

I've been playing guitar for eighteen years and spent six years in college as a classical and jazz guitar major. All my equipment is pro level. I have the above mentioned Les Paul, a 1991 Fender American Standard Stratocaster, a 1962 Gibson Melody Maker, a 1997 Heritage H-535, a 1998 Heritage Eagle Natural, a Modulus Graphite CMT3, and a Musicman Petrucci model. I won't even get into my acoustics, amplifiers or effects. This Les Paul was my first "good guitar". Gibson is a company that has achieved a level where they no longer have to produce good instruments for people to buy them. The only thing original about my guitar is the wood. Musicians Friend currently sells these guitars new for $1100 and up. This should be a $500 guitar. If you are a player looking for a new guitar try not to be fooled by the hype that surrounds a name brand. Look beyond the headstock. If you are a parent looking to buy your child a nice guitar don't just buy a guitar that the salesman at Guitar Center steers you toward. Ask people who play. Look and see what's out there.

Here's a 2001 Les Paul Studio for you. Made in the USA at the Nashville plant. Mahogany body & neck, maple cap, rosewood fretboard, mediium frets, Grovers, 490R and 498T pickups, CTS 500K pots. Stop tail & tune-o-matic bridge. Ebony finish, black Top-Hat knobs. Brown HSC with pink plush fur and veil, locking latch. Weighs in at around 7.5 pounds.
Bought this guitar used from the original owner. Hey, it's got all the best features of a Gibson Les Paul, namely the sound and feel of a well crafted instrument. No beauty contest winner, but she gives it up in the important categories of playability and tone.
This is a dead stock LP Studio except for the strap buttons, which I changed to Schaller strap locks.

I play rhythm guitar (and I do some soloing as well) in a 4 piece band, covering rock, surf and light jazz standards-from Beatles to Led Zepellin to the Ventures. I'm using Les Paul type guitars, mainly. I have a Jay Turser Serpent ("Chalice" headstock inlay) with GFS Dream 180 Pups, a Jay Turser Goldtop (Moon headstock inlay) with LACE Hemibuckers and the stock Gibson Les Paul. The Turser guitars have upgraded tone/volume pots as well as pickups. I also have an Ibanez SA160QT "fat strat" and a very nice Jay Turser Tele Deluxe- the model with the humbucking pup at the neck. The Tele also has upgraded pups and pots / cap. I use GHS BOOMER 009s on the Les Pauls and GHS BOOMER 010s on the Ibanez & Tele guitars.
I have several amps that I use with the LPStudio.
1. Roland BC 60 with Eminence SWAMP THING;
2. Roland BC 30 with Eminence WIZARD;
3. Stock Fender Champ 25 SE,
4. Stock Fender Princeton Chorus (Red Knob)
5. Heavily modified Peavey Transformer with op-amp, factory eProm (V. 2), speaker and
memory upgrades.

I use the LPStudio with the Rolands and the Peavey, mainly. With the Roland amps I use a BOSS ME 5 analog pedalboard for effects. For medium to larger venues I use the ME 5 with both Rolands set up on stage-right and left-in mono. The high effeciency (SPL at 102 dB) of the eminence speakers make these amps very loud and toneful.
The Peavey (50 watts RMS-solid state) is a smaller venue amp-coffeehouse type venues. The Peavey has it's own digital effects built in, but with analog preamp, gain and power sections. It's nice and compact for small venue playing and it sounds excellent with the modifications mentioned.

Okay...now for the critical stuff on the LPStudio. First of all it has that true "Les Paul sound" that you hear on a million records. (So do my Jay Turser LPs, especially my Goldtop with the LACE pickups.)
For clean tones I rely on the volume and tone pots a lot. Rolling back the CTS volume pots results in a sligh loss oh high end but I have come to like that aspect of having the volume knob on 7 instead of 10. Rolling back the tone pots is effective and useful, too.
The alnico pickups both respond well to volume and tone pot manipulations. In fact, this guitar is the most responsive of all my Les Pauls to its volume and tone pots.
As for the pickups: The 490R in the neck position is fat with a nice, warm signature-typical of what you would expect from a medium output alnico 2 type pickup. It has a classic PAF tone with a slight upper mid emphasis & fatness. Very nice.
The 498T has the more pronounced upper mid / high emphasis and alnico 5 magnets, along with a hotter output-maybe a full 30% hotter than the 490R. It will overdrive a preamp in an amp all by itself, but not nearly as much as a hot ceramic magnet pickup. For rock music the 498T is a good choice, as it tends to be rich with harmonics when overdrive or distortion is called into play, but it can cop the warmth of a PAF with the volume rolled back a bit, in overdrive situations. The middle position (both pickups on) is useable with overdrive/distortion and it is very, very musical when played squeaky clean or at the "in-between" region-clean with a bit of hair-that is often used for blues and jazz.
The guitar exhibits decent sustain and resonance. Pickups are well potted, quiet and do not slip into microphonic feedback at low to medium heavy gain levels. They DO slip into pleasing, harmonic feedback easily with medium gain levels on the amp; a very nice feature that sustains notes and chords with blooming harmonic overtones. The guitar works well with overdrive pedals, distortion pedals and compressor pedals of average quality.
Overall the Gibson alnico pickups are well behaved and toneful, but not overly remarkable. They are designed to deliver the Gibson LP signature tone and they do this very well.
My personal opinion is that the combination of the 490R and 498T is the best choice

Fretwork is flawless. No adjustment to the neck was necessary. I adjusted the action a bit and set the intonation, which I do to all my guitars every time I change the strings. I adjusted the pickups to obtain a balance of 55% / 45% for the neck / bridge relationship. All of these adjustments are "user preference" adjustments that anyone would make to suit themselves. Intonation and string height is easy to set on this guitar. Tuners (Grover kidney beans) are excellent. Good, solid chrome hardware throughout. Nitro finish was messed up in a few places-can't say if it came that way or if the previous owner was responsible. Overall fit and finish is okay for my "less-than-perfect" standards. I'm much more interested in playability and sound than in cosmetics.
Playability is excellent. This guitar has the " '59 round" profile. Just perfect for me. I prefer it to the slim profile on some LP necks.
After I did my preferred setup, this guitar performs like a champ. It is easy to play and the electronics are easily adjusted on the fly, using the tone and volume pots. Overall fit and finish is great after my personal setup was done. No complaints with overall fit, finish and action as I received it from the previous owner. I think Gibson did a good job putting this guitar together.

I use all of my guitars for live performance playing. I'm not overly hard on my guitars but I don't baby them either. For run-of-the-mill performance playing I would rate this as my most robust guitar, just because it's heavy and well constructed. My Tele and my Serpent would be close seconds to the LPStudio in terms of reliability and durability-only AFTER replacing the pickups / electronics on those guitars.
I never ever play live without at least one backup guitar, and I switched to the solid state amps years ago because of the notorious failure rate of tube amps in live performance situations. (We gigged last Friday and our lead guitarist's tube amp died before the first note was struck!)

Never dealt with GIBSON USA. Hope I never have to. They have a decent website and there are several other good websites specializing in Gibson guitars. No opinion here.

I began playing back in 1967; got serious about playing in a band around 1970 and switched from bass to electric guitar in the middle seventies. Started playing seriously in the early 80s. I've been gigging for a couple of decades-all told. I mentioned my gear collection above. I have Roland micro-amp, a wah pedal, a Metal Zone, a Digitech delay and Twin Tube preamp, an ART processor, a KORG G1 and a ZOOM G2. I have some recording gear as well.
I was fortunate to have come across a genuine Gibson Les Paul that was in good condition and affordable, so that's why I bought it. I would not pay the inflated "brand new" prices for Gibson products, as I don't feel they are worth even half of what they sell for-even discounted. I bought my Les Paul for $300.00 with a beautiful HSC so i guess I got a steal. That said, my two Jay Turser Les Paul guitars are 200-dollar guitars (brand new prices) that are made of mahogany with carved tops and decent hardware / pickups / electronics. Stripping these cheap Chinese-made guitars and rebuilding them with superior electronics (pickups, pots & switches) have rewarded me with two very fine Les Paul type guitars-each under 400 dollars.
I would buy the Gibson LPStudio for 400 dollars, as I feel it is worth that price and it needs no further upgrading. I would not pay 1200 or even 600 for a new LPStudio (or any other fancy guitar when I can build a nice Jay Turser for 400 dollars. I do not see the superiority / advantage in having GIBSON stamped on the guitar, frankly. Guitars are tools to me...not works of art or statements of coolness. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the fine craftsmanship, beautiful woods and finishes that go into older Gibson, Heritage and modern PRS guitars, for example...but for me it's about the usefulness, playability and sound of the instrument. As long as I can develop my own quality tools for 400 bucks...I'm not going to spend one penny more.
I'm comparing this LP with my other Jay Turser LPs. Overall quality of build is better, including hardware-tuners, bridge, tailpiece, nut, electronics, frets, jackplate, pickup rings, pickguard, etc. But it's not that much better than the upgraded Jay Turser stuff to warrant the waaaaaay higher price tag, in my opinion.
I love the high build standard; I hate the price tags on new Gibsons.
I wish it was a LPStandard Cherry Burst, with AAAA flamed top, gold harware, original '57 PAFs, curly maple neck and ebony fretboard-all for the same $300 bucks that I paid! (Okay, so that's a lot to ask!)
I like this guitar and I'd buy it again at $400 or below. That's just me...my buds were dumfounded at the price tag when I brought this to rehearsal. Most people would be delighted to but this guitar at 600-800 bucks-used.

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.