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.

1999- Les Paul Studio
Bought Yanda's Music
Kearney Nebraska
Emerald Gold Software

The Guitar ever owned. Had problems with old factory strings but had set and now perfect. So good my dad bought one for him self.
We play throught a Marshall-100 amp.

22 fret US made Les Paul Standard minus a bit of binding and an expensive reputation. Stock pickups are ok but i fitted a SD pearly gates to the neck ( has to be heard to be believed, anyone like Gary Moore ) and am considering a SD upgrade to the bridge model. I listen to Peter Green, Gary Moore Paul Kosoff and this guitar has soul and feel in buckets ( anyone into shit such as Vai & Satch should stick to crappy Ibanez and trem abuse, yawn) My model is a lovely ruby red. One moan is that sweat from your picking arm is hard to get off the body but does give it a cool played in look. Trapezoid neck ( thankfully not one of those shitty ones with the dots ) that plays like a dream from the first time you get your hands on it. Neck is 59 style and nice and clubby to the feel. Tuners on mine have been replaced with schaller m6s which are vastly superior.
Finally this guitar is not one of those floyd rose style abominations and is a dream to play. Im sure you know about the tone controls etc.

This guitar has soul in a way whitney houston can only dream of. Gary Moore and Peter Green are both there. I play through Tubescresamer TS9, Boss DD3 into a fender prosonic. This sound is a religous experience, GET YOURSELF CONVERTED. I just love the sound of this guitar.

Buy this guitar 2nd hand and well played in. The 2000 models are a piece of shit. Mine was set up by a guitar builder and its previous owner treated it like a baby. Action can be used at all heights. As i said before a tuner upgrade worthwhile.

Barry White could sit on this thing.

Phoned Rosetti once, what a crock of shit. Nuff said.

i have been playing 20 yrs. this gtr kicks the shit out of toneless crap like ibanez and easily matches the outrageously priced standard. if you can afford the dream of a 59 flametop reissue buy it, if not the studio will fulfill your every need. If i hadnt got mine i would go on the drink!

1993 wine red, gold hardware studio. this is one of the real ones w/ trap inlays and ebony board. the new ones have cheesy dot inlays. essentially this guitar is a les paul standard w/o the bindings. to my knowledge, bindings don't effect the sound so having the extra fancy appeal means nothing to me. the obvious h/h p/u setup w/ 2 tones and 2 volumes.

it has that "les paul" sound so you should know what you're getting before hand. it is annoying that having one pickups volume off w/ shut off the volume for both pickups, but its really not that big of a deal. has that great fat sound that only a paul can give you. clean through good amps sounds great, it can get a little muddy at time, but that sustain and tone is something only a paul can give. not as versatile as strats but very effective at its particular niche.

set up was real nice. action nice and low and everything set up nice. the finish does chip after time and the gold hardware has tarnished quite a bit, but it gives it character. i have to admit i haven't babied this guitar as much as i should have, and the scars and chips are all there to be seen. however, lots of reviewers speak of how after time both the finish and gold do wear off. really not that big of a deal in my opinion. contrary to others, i've never had any problems w/ the tuners or pickups.

built like a tank, it has withstood more than enough falls and tumbles w/o a problem. it is very heavy and very well built. it has withstood gigs w/o a problem and i have gigged without a backup although you really shouldn't. a very dependable guitar

never dealt w/ them

for les pauls, this is by far the best value out there. there is no difference between the studio and standard except for the bindings and i'll be damned if i'm paying 1000 extra for some bindings. i've been playing for 14 years and this guitar is an absolute keeper. i've owned jacksons and fenders before and have played virtually everything else and this has outlasted everything. i like the tailpiece bridge but some options would be nice for it. if it were stolen i wouldn't hesitate to buy another to replace it. the sound just can't be matched by any other guitar. all in all, a great value for a true gibson les paul

The features of the Les Paul have been well documented, but I suppose I ought to just give them a quick run-down. Thick mahogany body and neck, carved maple top, ebony fretboard with trapezoid inlays (mine is a '92 model, before they switched to different fretboard wood and less-Les Paulish dot inlays). Two humbuckers, four knobs -- two volume and two tone), three-click toggle for using either pickup or both. My particular guitar is black with gold hardware, and a black pickguard. The difference between the Studio and the Les Paul Standard is that the Studio lacks binding on the body and the fretboard. The binding does not affect the sound. Also, I believe the Studio is slightly thinner than the Standard, although that might just be me. I haven't checked the specs on that. What I really love about this guitar is that it comes with the '59 rounded neck. Les Pauls either have the rounded '59 neck, or the '60 slim taper. Folks will tell you that slim necks let you play faster, but I don't really care about that. I can play as fast as I need to with the fatter neck. The big thing for me about the fat neck is that it seems to reduce my left-hand fatigue. I can play it forever, and it's comfortable. With slim necks, my wrist cramps up, I get pains if I play a lot, etc. The fat neck feels substantial, solid, and it is extremely comfortable to me. My guitar was bought used, for $500 off an Internet classfieds site with the idea that $500 was worth the gamble and if it sounded bad I could simply throw it up on ebay and maybe walk away with a $30 profit for my troubles. No such problems, and so I've kept it. I have chosen to interpret the number rating for this category as my satisfaction with the features, as opposed to the quantity of features. So, even though it doesn't have a tremolo bar or any newfangled gadgets in it, I give it a ten. I knew what the Les Paul was, and the long-unchanged features are able to meet my desires completely.

Fantastic Les Paul sound. It's got that thick, rich tone in everything it does, but it's not sticky. The neck pickup is really warm and rounded in tone. Clapton's "woman" tone is easily gotten by rolling the tone knob all the way down and playing through a crunchy effects set-up. The neck pickup is the one you want if you're trying to make that "wall of sound" in certain songs. Played clean, it's got a terrific warm-water kind of feel, especially with open chords. The bridge pickup is a little more nasal, and when used to play distorted power chords and palm mutes it has a terrific bite that makes it easy to articulate sounds even in a fairly complex song. If you're trying to get a funkier, RHCP type of sound, then this is the pickup you want. It's not Fender twangy, but it's got more pop than the neck pickup. The tone knobs actually function -- as opposed to some guitars where they seem to do nothing. I don't really like the volume knobs, because it's not an even volume cut-back all the way down. Between 10 and 6, it's a slight change in volume. Between 6 and 3, you can barely tell the difference. But between 3 and two is a drastic volume cut that's hard to fine-tune, especially when you're playing live and need to make the adjustment mid-tune. However, with the right touch, you can milk a lot of "classic"-type sounds out of the two pickups and four knobs. When I'm just noodling at home, I have the gain on my amp put about two-thirds of the way up and can go from a biting crunch to a subtle grainy semi-clean tone just with the guitar's controls. Also, my guitar was from a year where the fretboard was ebony, and to my ears, it sound brighter and more crisp than the Les Pauls with rosewood boards. If what you want is the GNR sound, or the Led Zep sound, or a good thicker jazz/blues/funk sound, then the Les Paul does that as well as any guitar out there. It has great sustain, a good singing voice, and the trademark Les Paul warmth.

As the guitar was bought used, I have no comments on factory set-up, etc. It had some fading on the gold plated hardware, but that is to be expected. I wanted a worn-in guitar, because the reason vintage guitars sound so good is that they've been PLAYED. I believe that the tone improves as the wood gets broken in, sweated on, vibrated, etc. It develops character through playing. A 1958 Les Paul that has never been played will not sound much better than a 2000 LP right off the wall of Guitar Center. But that's just my theory. Anyway, since it was bought used -- extensively used -- I can't comment on the new appearance. When I got it, the only flaws were the aforementioned flaking gold, and a loose input jack. Every now and then I have to use my fingers and tighten the jack, or it wobbles and cuts in and out. Slight oxidation on the metal parts, but nothing that really bothers me.

This guitar is built thick, and it can handle reasonable impacts. It is a workhorse live. Hardware is flaking and oxidizing, but that is to be expected when a guitar is played and sweated on for hours every day. The finish is hard to keep sparkly clean, so if you're someone who wants a spotless guitar 24 hours a day, get a different guitar. I would use this guitar at a gig without a backup. In fact, it is the only electric guitar I own. The one thing Les Paul owners will want to do upon getting a hold of their guitar is to put Strap Locks on. It's a very heavy instrument -- that's where you get your tone, and the sustain -- and the tiny Gibson buttons are no good. $17 Strap Locks and you can play it until you die. It will outlast you.

No clue about the warranty or customer service or anything like that.

I've been playing for seven years, have played Strats , a Parker Nite Fly for a couple of seconds, and several other guitars. All the big names, I suppose. The Les Paul is the one I love, and it seems to love me. My only other guitar is a Seagull acoustic (which I wrote a review for... great acoustic guitar). If my Les Paul was stolen, I'd mourn for a while, but wouldn't necessarily be locked into buying another Les Paul. Gibson seems to have let their QC testing slide way down, and quite simply, it's hard to find a good sounding recent Les Paul. If I did buy another Les Paul, it would be a used one, as old and broken-in as possible. Other guitars I would consider getting would be old Strats, maybe an old Tele, or one of those magnificent White Falcons. But in all likelihood, it'd be another Les Paul.

This guitar is a 99' LP studio, its 22-fret, mahogany neck, rosewood fret bord with trapezoid inlys, humbucking pick ups H/H (490r, 498t), carved maple top- mahogany back, 3-way toggel switch, and 4 knobs. Mine is in this really sweet emerald green stane. Mars was realy nice to me they give me a free gibson USA hard case, free set of strings, and poilsh. I desided not to get the gold hardware cuse i herd it comes off easly.

Fist off, i play rythm for a band and sing, and let my say what a great rythm guitar this is. I play any thing from funk, to matel, and thats why i picked this guitar. Its harder then i thought it would be, its a great matel guitar. I use a Crate 212 comdo, and a mesa/ boggie MKII head, and refiter 4x12 cab. I run it though a boss matel zone, cry baby wha, ibanez tube scremer, digitech whamey padel, and line 6 effect model, it sounds great, just like its big brothers!!!!...but it dosent compet with my PRS custom 24.

This guitar was set up vary well at the factroy. I put a jim dunlop strap lock on it, as i do with all my guitars, becuse of all the jumpn' around i do on stage. But it was set up very well i just rased the briges a bit.

I bought this guitar with some saved up money i got from gigs i was going to use it as a back-up for my PRS custom 24, so i could stop using my ibanez RG 350dx (not that there was any problem with it). The fact is i stell use my ibanez for differnt tunings most of the time drop-d, or b,e,a,d,g,b. And that works well, but i find my self playing the LP more, and more!!! I love my PRS but this guitar is right up there with it. But the pont is i can depend on it and do, i would play a gig with out a backup. Im going to have this guitar for along time. Good old Les pauls, cant bust em.

never had to call gibson, all though Mars music is great, they were very helpful.

Well im falling in love with this guitar!!! Its a great value 1000.00 bucks itsnt that much for this guitar. I cant walk by it with out picking it up. I have been playing for 7 years and im only 15 years old. I dont no what i would do if it were stolen, probly kick the kids ass who stole it, but i might just save up and buy a LP standerd or a custom, or may be a PRS standerd like my hero plays, Tim Mahlony. I wish it had more of a PRS styel neck, its hard going from a PRS to a Gibson, but its a gibson not a prs so, whatever. I hope this helped you out. thanks alot for reading!!!

I dated it on Gibson's website, and that said it was circa 1996, even though I bought it new in 1999 (?????) go figure. My LPS is black with gold hardware, full size trapezoid inlays, and gold Klusons, with a chunky '59 style round neck. A gig bag and a nylon strap were included when I bought it, but I went out and bought a Gibson Hard Shell case, because I dont like gig bags, and I damned if I'm carrying MY LP around in something which doesnt give it the best protection possible!!!!! I love my LP.

WOAH. This thing sounds wonderful when cranked up through any amp. Perfect for Rock and Blues, but it does sound really rich and warm when clean. The only thing is its a wee bit noisy during playing intervals, but I can live with that.

I had to get it set up twice after I bought it. The second time sorted it out and lowered the action more to my liking. The finish is nice, but I've heard so many horror stories about Gibsons nitro cellulose finish, that I am just really careful with it and it feels like I clean it more than I play it! Disappointed with the finish really though, as there are some minor cracks in it already.

This thing is solid. Finish is good, and I think it will last, although there is already some minor cracking in the finish. I've been told that this is normal (NORMAL?). This is my favourite of my 3 guitars. I think I could easily play it live without backup.

Reasonably good. I've contacted Gibson, and their UK distributors, and I've had good, quick responses from both. The warranty is limited lifetime, so its warranted while I own it.

I love this guitar, I love this guitar, I love this guitar, I love this guitar, I love this guitar, I love this guitar, I love this guitar, I love this guitar, I love this guitar, I love this guitar, I love this guitar, I love this guitar, I love this guitar, I love this guitar, I love this guitar, I love this guitar, I love this guitar, I love this guitar, I love this guitar, I love this guitar, I love this guitar, I love this guitar, I love this guitar! Apart from some minor finish issues, its wonderful!

This is a 1997 model, red with gold hardware, full-size fretboard inlays. Overall, the only real difference between this guitar (which my girlfriend bought me for Christmas in '97) and a Standard is the lack of binding--which feels better anyway and will save you money when it comes time to have your frets redone. It includes all the typical Les Paul features.

I'm so tired of people overkilling the 60s blues boom with these guitars, but then, I can't stand listening to Eric Clapton play the same five notes over and over and over again. Every time someone recycles that baby boomer music it makes this guitar seem so common and cheesy. The original design was for jazz. Yeah, that's right: jazz. This guitar is true to that heritage in that it produces beautiful warm clean tones. Try it WITHOUT CRUNCH and see. Learn to play the changes and try some dense jazz chords. Put 11-guage strings on it (there's no need for flatwounds though...you want to retain some flexibility) and adjust your intonation/bridge height and away you go. No, you don't need a tube amp if you can find a good quality transistor amp such as a Roland Jazz Chorus or a Polytone Mini-brute, but nothing more expensive than that. This edition and perhaps only this edition of the Studio is not a throwaway instrument. Explore what it can do. You'll be impressed. And yes, if you want to be Jimmy Page in your living room, it'll do that too. A single coil pickup in between the two humbuckers might add some nice detail to the sound and help to open up new sonic possibilities for this worthy guitar.

They spilled some lacquer on the fretboard. Very sloppy. But that's what happens when a faceless company makes a budget version of a high-end instrument. Another budget-determined minus is the annoying way they dealt with the maple top (the matchpoint is about three quarters of the way up from one side, as opposed to dead in the centre like a normal guitar...also the wood doesn't match at all). It does however still manage to be quite an attractive guitar.

The frets are starting to wear (I play a little every day), but that's a typical Les Paul drawback. The input jack is easily damaged, as is the finish (and I am very careful with this instrument). Also, I suppose because of the chemical action of the persperation on my picking hand, the gold hardware has tarnished badly on the bridge and bridge pickup. I've had to actually change my picking habits to try to avoid more of this. Inconvenient.

The input jack was easily repaired. I've never needed to contact Gibson for anything. Though, I expect because I live outside the their small-minded country and because I am just one of thousands upon thousands of customers, they wouldn't pay any attention to me if I did have a complaint. I won't rate them based upon speculation however.

I am thankful for every day I get to enjoy this guitar. Not many girlfriends are so generous. I can't find fault with the tone or playability. It satisfies both my drive to expand my musical horizons with jazz and yet allows me to revert with ease to grunge, punk, and reggae. I use it with the above-mentioned amplifiers (after dispensing with an oh-so-typical-sounding-Marshall), coupled with a Roland ME-30 pedal effects unit. I would rate this version of the Les Paul higher than the 1976 gold top Deluxe I purchased used in 1989 before I knew what I was looking for. Put the money you save by not pandering to the name "Standard" (which could be as much as $700) into a second guitar, or an amplifier, some earplugs for your neighbours, some jazz lessons, a plane ticket to Victoria (you know...in Canada) to educate yourself on how fabulous it is there, or maybe on your girlfriend (you know...the gift that keeps on giving).

This is an update of my submittal made under name "kraeut@ionet.net". I bought this around 11/98 so this will reflect how it has held up. So I won't repeat myself again. That email address is no good anymore. Most of the stuff I wrote in there is still valid.

After owning this thing some time now, I still love the rich sound it makes. No complaints about the tone at all. If you think it is too dark, try using lighter strings or maybe upgrading that amp. I bought a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe a few months ago and now my tone setup is AWESOME. The amp makes as much difference as the axe. The sound can be varied from almost acoustic to a Lynard Skynard (not with the Hot Rod though).
The neck makes a fairly clean tone, not as thin as a strat. The bridge p/u makes a darker, richer tone that can also be soloed on in some situations. Both p/us together make an awesome blues tone and can add a bunch of expression to the music.

My LP has fared well over the time I've owned it. the frets are still in decent shape after playing at least 1 hour a day (that's hard playing too - lots of bending and string vibrato). There is some fret buzz on the solid strings around the 7th fret - I have to strike the strings gently in that area if the crunch isn't turned up. The knobs, jack and tuning machines are still like new. I don't keep the action very low so that isn't the problem with the buzz (it doesn't affect the buzz much anyway). Other than the fret buzz, the fit and finish are still excellent with 1 major bitch.
I absolutely hate the nitrocellulose finish on it. Why Gibson thinks that a traditional acoustic guitar finish has to be on a solid body is beyond me - I can't see the tone being affected that much. The finish is damn near impossible to keep clean and skin oils are corrosive to it. The finish has a dull area on it where my forearm rests on that uncomfortable corner (another peeve) directly over the bridge. The neck also has some dull spots from fingerprints that couldn't be cleaned off immediately. Playability, at least, isn't affected.
I will say that the first thing you should do it pitch the light gauge strings that it comes with. The gibson brite wires suck anyway and I found that 9's won't stay in tune at all. I put 10's (D-Adderio) on and though it is a bit rougher on the fingertips, they stay in tune for a long time and aren't affected as badly by temperature.

I already bitched about the finish in the Action, fit, finish block. The hardware is still like new on mine. The finish hasn't worn off or chipped, but it is soft and does scratch too easily. The strap buttons look smallish, but they have only failed me when I put it on and the strap was folded over at the button. Now I check if the strap is on right, so I can depend on the buttons. My axe has a tendancy to break the high e string at the tune-o-breakit bridge. I wouldn't use any axe without a backup because I don't want to restring in the middle of a gig.

Haven't really dealt much with the company. The lifetime warranty, at this point, is sort of useless since normal wear and tear aren't covered.

I've had this since November of 98 and it has been my main ax since. I now plug into a Fender HR Deluxe - a tube amp. If you use lots of digital effects or crunch, the subtle tones of this guitar tone will be lost - go find something cheaper with humbuckers that plays good and you'll have more money for strings. If this were lost or stolen, I'd have to look around at what else is out there before I'd buy another one. I like the axe and it suits my playing style well. The buzzy strings annoy me and the fact that the finish is getting ugly pisses me off. I think many people buy these for the snob appeal - that extra few hundred bucks to have a gibson logo on the headstock. I really wish Gibson had the option of putting a whammy bar on, the fixed bridge limits your material.

Jet black color with gold hardware. Very nice looking guitar. Other than that, Its a Les Paul Studio model. I don't see how anyone can give this guitar more than a 5 for features.

Decent sounding guitar. The stock pickups are good. It doesn't get much simpler on the controls. Not very versitile though, It has two sounds, dark and darker. Not a bright sounding guitar. But if thats what your looking for then this is it.

bought this guitar 2 and a half years ago. Set up was ok, but the strings were a little too high for my liking. Finish on the body was very nice.

Good old durable Les Paul. Or so I thought. After owning this guitar for 9 months, this is what I was left with. The frets were worn down almost half way. The beautiful gold hardware was worn down to silver where I rested my palm. A huge crack in the finish developed under my headstock. It started sounding like crap with the worn frets. The stock strap buttons were pretty small so I bought strap locks for it to keep my strap from falling off all the time. It wasn't like I beat this thing either, In fact it was quite the opposite, I take very good care of my stuff. This guitar was built like crap.

Never dealt with them

I ended up trading this guitar in after only 9 months of playing it. It sounded pretty good but the playability was just not there for me. Its big and bulky and started to fall apart. My fingers were always sore from playing but not half as sore as my back. Unless your really in love with the Les Paul sound, There are much better guitars for the money.

1998 US model,22 frets,RZ color,

i play mostly classic rock,blues rock(hendrix,led zeppelin,deep purple,clapton...) and it suits perfectly. i use a peavey 65W and it sounds so well with the les paul! you can have really soft and bright sound as well as big sound with an incredible comfort,the neck is more than nice,it almost makes you play more easily and even better...

all is well adjusted and you can (i do) play ten hours a day without any trouble.

ever dealt with them

i ve been playing for 3 years now and this is my third electric guitar the first i had was a jim harley,then an epiphone lp100,and then this gibson les paul :you can feel the difference when you play on these guitars! i guess if my gibson were stolen or lost i would buy it again!but i like it so much that i m gonna take an insurance on it. on this guitar i just love the comfort of playing and her dreamy sound just an advice:try it!

This is a 1999 Les Paul Studio, black with chrome hardware. It has a 490R in the bridge position, and a 498T in the neck. You've probably seen the specs, so I don't need to go into them : http://www.gibson.com/products/gibson/LesPaul/1999/Studio.html. I give it an 8, but because i was specifically looking for basic, it's a 10 to me.

I play heavy and hard rock (Failure, Quicksand, Far, Black Sabbath) and this guitar suits that style perfectly. I'm also able to pull crystal clear tones from it as well, going through a Mesa Dual Rectifier and a Line 6 Flextone HD. This thing crunches and screams, and manages to sound full and classic at the same time. Its very quiet, even when my amps are ragingly distorted.

When i got the guitar, the set up was great right off the wall. Everything was perfect and it played awesome. My only complaint is that the clearcoat finish does tend to scratch easily, but it adds character to me....

I've been gigging with this guitar for 6 months without any sort of problems. I feel like it would last forever. I use a backup only because i tend toi break strings acting an animal onstage....

Never dealt with them.

I'm very happy with this guitar. I recommend it for someone who wants quality without frill, and needs dependability and flexibility.

costs at that time 22 frets,2 hb,black, golden hardware,

I'm a fingerstyle guitarist and play since over 15 years, started on classic, then moved towards jazz to and up in the fusion between rock, blues,funk and worldmusic. I played on Jazz Chorus 120, have a Hughes & Kettner Attax 200 but will sell this to , to end up with tube preamp(engl tube toner) and tube poweramp(peavay classic)Nowadays i play Godin lgx, which is much more versatile. the studio was ok, sounded less agressive than my first guitar(SD Curlee with 2 x hb dimarzio) but the sound had not that much soul. ones i played on a lp standard which has a different neck connections and it had so much more bottom. That day i decided to go to look for something else Most of the time i'm doing the rhythm part so in this Studio i only had 3 sounds now i have 11(10 electric and 1 acoustic) in the LGX. The Humbuckers sounded good but not brilliant and loud of course. I can not say i found much sounds that pleased me. The arm played well after i lowered the strings to have a faster attack.

I would discribe it as a supermarket guitar, like a car there are a lot the same but you can choose the color. So you think you 've got a personal one but i found it rather a usual guitar, let say that in those days i was misled by the name of the company. It looks well, everything is ok but at an average level. Compared to the Godin i have now, one can see that Mr Godin spends much more time on details.

As it has a simple layout, there is not much what can go wrong.

I never had prob lems with it out of the input jack whick i repaired myself

I choose for Gibson because i came from a classical guitar and the arm is not that small like Ibanez guitars. But in those days i had not much notice of how and what an electric guitar should be like or what music i would play with it. Gibson are good guitars but it is not worth its price. The only Gibsons i would like to play on are the full bodies( l5 and so) but i dont have the money for them

Usa made (of course), 22 frets, solid body, H/H configuration, ebony finish, pearl trapezoid inlays, Gold hardware, blah blah blah blah- just a damn well made guitar

amazing sound, suits almost every style, use it with a a crate halfstack (gx-600 head, 4X12 Cab) can go from mellow clean to crunching ear-bleeding overdrive instantly.

great set up, got it used so cant say how the factory did.

This guitars so heavy and well built I think only cockroaches could outlast it.

never delt with

This guitar just rocks, and has an excellent feel. I have played many guitars before including Fenders (bleeecchh!!), Jacksons, Ibanez, washburns, samicks, BC Rich, ETC. THIS GUITAR BLOWS THE COMPETITION STRAIGHT TO HELL! BUY ONE - however---
****Buy a used one! I have seen the new ones, and well-they are much cheaper and some dont even have the pearl inlay! Mine is a 1990 model w/gold hardware. I would say get one 1996 or earlier****

1994 model, you know the features. 490/498 alnico pu's, nice fat neck, trapezoid inlays, ebony fingerboard, chrome hardware, came all black (but i changed the plastic-parts for cream and it looks much better now), came with the gibson HSC with the weird pink plush. WAY HEAVY, but that's to be expected. nothing i miss in features.

i play classic/alternative rock, and after playing a us std. strat exclusively for a while, i started craving for something else. i still like my strat, but hey, this one's a different animal. can you say rich, full sound?! i mainly use a marshall jtm 45 ri (with a tubescreamer and a bit of delay at times) and it's a great match. tone and sustain for days (can't wait to go to rehearsal tonight!). there's quite some variety from warm and mellow to plenty of bite, and chimey sounds in between. unlike my epiphone riviera it has a very tight and solid feel to it, like the notes flowing right out of my fingers through the guitar and out of the amp (the riviera seems to have some kind of "delay"), very inspiring, indeed. it cleans up very nicely with the volume pots rolled off, the sound doesn't loose its sparkle like on so many other guitars. it's only noisy when i turn the amp up.

i bought it used and have no idea about the factory-job. the guy i bought it from had no idea about setting up a guitar (or what guitar he had in the first place), "dead spots" all over the place! it took me an hour of cleaning and setting it up and it`s a GREAT player now (hey i'm not an expert, but that guy just had no respect!). the finish has a lot of scratches from the previous owner, but - to my surprise - the neck is still flawless. i must say, though, that the fretboard-inlays are done, well, less than perfect. i'm not quite sure yet about the (gibson-deluxe) tuners.

it feels rock-solid. i always bring 2 guitars to a gig and i use strap-locks on my guitars, but i would depend on it - no problem. i like the idea that this guitar is a "work-horse". great sounds and reliability and nothing to worry about when you take it to a gig.

no idea

been playing for 17 years, own a us std. strat a mij tele, an old epiphone riviera and an assortment of marshall and fender amps. like any of you guys i was thinking about adding a les paul to my arsenal for some time, but never felt like shelling out a grand and a half to own one. i havn't had the chance to try a lot of "real" les pauls, but i had a (nice looking) epiphone les paul that i got rid of very fast, and have owned an old gibson "the paul" for some time (nice sounds, awful looks, impossible to tune). needless to say - this one kills them both/NO comparison in sound and feel. i got this because it was so cheap and to see if it could hook me to the gibson "vibe". i guess it did, and if this got lost, i'd get another one, but would probably look for an older standard model. favourite feature is - of course - the SOUND! I think this is a great guitar, and a great gibson "starter". generally, i think gibson goes way over the top with their current market prices - buy one used!

There are already a lot of reviews on this guitar but I decided to throw in my 2 cents. Mine is wine red with gold hardware, ebony fretboard and crown position markers, the usual mahogany body and neck with maple body cap. I like the ebony fretboard with crowns a hell of a lot better than the recent rosewood with dots versions, both for feel and looks.
I bought it new at the local Guitar Center in 1991, it was made in 1990. I never have liked the way the volume control for one pickup can turn off the volume for both pup's but I've have never bothered to get it fixed. The tuners that the guitar came with were pretty low quality and got worse with time. I replaced them with some $30 Grovers from StewMac and they are much better. Standard LP features - 7.

With the stock tuners and pickups, I'd give it about a 7. After replacing the tuners and the pup's, I'd give it a 9 or 10. This may sound a little hard to believe, but I think changing the tuners actually helped the sound a little. I noticed when I was taking the old tuners off, they were not screwed down very tight. When I put the new ones on, I cranked em down pretty tight and the guitar seems to resonate a little better.
But, obviously, the biggest change in sound came from the new pup's. I replaced the stock pups with Seymour Duncan Antiquities and they sound beautiful. The stock pup's had sort of a scooped-mid Guns & Roses type tone with a very edgy, raspy high end which I really don't like. The SD's give the guitar a much smoother, more musical tone that sounds great distorted or clean. I like a Duane Allman/Mick Taylor type of Les Paul tone and the SD's let me get pretty close to that with my low budget LP Studio.

The string slots in the nut are too shallow but not too bad. Not bad enough for me to bother getting it fixed for the last ten years. The factory setup was adequate but not great. There was a little buzzing when bending the high E around the 15th fret but I solved that by raising the action on the treble side a bit.

It's a solid guitar. It's been dropped a few times and keeps on ticking. The finish is the standard poly plastic on most electrics manufactured these days. The strap buttons are too small. I don't think anyone would have a problem gigging without a backup with one of these things. What's going to happen? The neck cracks off in mid-song?

I've never contacted Gibson.

I've been playing for over 20 years, off and on. I've got more equipment than anybody really needs but, hey, I love guitars. I've got 3 strats, a USA Fat Tele, a PRS McCarty, an LP Special with P-90's, the Studio, and a Marshall 50 watt plexi reissue with a 2X12 cab that makes them all sound great. The Studio is probably the best LP value out there right now, especially if you can get an older used one with the ebony fretboard. LP's are ridiculously expensive and a Studio with replacement pickups (and you'll probably want to replace the tuners also) gets you a hell of a nice LP for $650 to $900. The woods and pickups used on the older Studios are exactly the same as the ones on the Standards so it's essentially the same guitar with crappy tuners. If it got lost or stolen, I would probably buy an old one and do the same pup swap, maybe with some Fralin's or SD Seth Lovers just to try them out, or get an LP standard.

It is a std without the binding. Sturdy gig bag. White body Gold covers ebony board and black plate on this one. Nice contrast of colours.(Something Fender should look at)

It is a very one dimensional sound. Plug in to a Marshall. Turn up the gain and go. I wanted a mid priced guitar that does everything. I got seduced by the full on sound and didn't realise that the clean sounds had no life or snap. 1 or 10 depending on your point of view.

Vendor set it up.

Well contructed. White finish lasts better.

Vendor excellent

I traded this for a Strat 3 days after purchase. Its only a Mex one and it suits me even though it is not as well built. Moral of the story. Look at (hear) what you want out of the guitar. Buy the guitar that gets close to how you envisage your sound. This was a case of I can't do what you want but I can do this. Don't be fooled. A wise man learns from his mistakes. A genius learns from other peoples.

Yet another review of the Les Paul Studio. This one's a 1985 model. White finish which has become a bit jaundiced from healthy usage. Basically a Les Paul without the bells and whistles. A few differences from modern versions - the pickups sound closer to classic PAF humbuckers than the pickups on the current make. Dot inlays on the fretboard. Chrome hardware, black controls. Gibson Deluxe tuners. No special features, but you don't buy one of these for special features. Some players complain about the weight. Don't wear it around your knees or spinal trouble will definitely follow. Comfortably positioned around the midriff, you would never know it was there.

This 80s LP Studio has a classic sound that may not be quite as clear and precise as the newer LP Studios, but are, in my humble opinion, warmer and more attractive. You're not going to get Strat-style top-end bite, and you're not going to get Telecaster jangle. Anyone looking for those sounds should know to stay well away from a Les Paul. These Les Pauls may be cheaper than LP Standards, but lack nothing in tone. They are incredibly versatile and can produced sweet, full-bodied jazz tones, classic dirty blues, and, most importantly, a variety of killer classic rock tones. Played clean, it has a rich tone - the neck pickup adds a powerful rumbling bottom-end presence, the neck pickup has great treble character without sounding weak, pretentious or annoying. A guitar with a soul.

Being a second-hand guitar, I had to make a few minor adjustments to get the setup right. The neck has a nice width to it. Everything else was in order. Playbility is odd - this guitar has all the elements, but is not one of those guitars that beg to be played. It lacks idiosyncracy as far as playbility is concerned. Perhaps it's too perfect - so accomodating and so refined that it lacks those little quirks that make some lesser guitars more of a joy to play. Fortunately, the sound more than makes up for a somewhat sterile playability.

This guitar has been through hell and back, and a part from a slight overall discolouration to the finish, which gives it a nice aged look, it's in perfect condition. I'm certain that it would comfortably survive the nine-and-a-half metre drop from my top balcony to the ground.

Never had to deal with Gibson, but I find it hard to believe that a company of their standing could jerk customers around and get away with it.

I've owned this axe for three years. It's utterly dependable, and has just the sound I need. No added frills - if you want a nice spiffy looking Gibson, buy one of the more expensive ones. If, however, you want a high-quality high-performance tool that you intend to use frequently, and you're not overly worried about the looks, buy one of these. New, they're great value. Second-hand, they're a steal. If you're in the market for a top-end Epiphone Les Paul, save up that little bit extra, and get a second-hand LP studio. What you lose in looks, you gain thousandfold in sound. I'm seriously considering buying another of these, real soon.

well i got this about 2 weeks ago and its one pretty guitar.its blood red,has dual humbukers,2 volume,2 tone knobs,mahogany body and top(carved),rose wood fret board, yadda yadda yadda...nice features,pretty basic stuff,love it.

i think it rocks. i play guitar for a metal/emo band reminicent of converge,botch,cave-in....even though no ne can compair to them)it sounds great for that style of music.it also sounds good when i switch channels for the emo parts of the songs and never dissapoints when i do all the weird little sounds(whatever you want to call them). it also sounds great playing cover stuff,anything from punk(misfits,expolited,ramones...) to power violence/grind(spazz,hellnation,acme) to classic rock(CCR,kansas...)i play it through a fender stack,i use a boss metal zone pedal,and a ibanez black noise pedal.ive played lots of guitars from sg's,to vertigos(great guitar),to 3,000 dollar fenders,and this things sounds just as good as most of them.the only time i switch to my trusty fender stratocaster is when i play surf.otherwise it gets the job done.

i got this guitar set up great,the action was low,everything was in place and its solid as can be.looks beutiful too.

well its only been 2 weeks so we will see.

havent had to deal with them,its got a warrenty though,thats always nice.

ive been playing a few years now and it was time to step up to a real guitar.and i think ive found that in the studio.i love the sound,feel,and just how damn heavy it is.if it was stolen id be sad,then i would go head stompin.i would buy it again,or a vertigo if it got stolen.overall its a great guitar if you want a heavy,dual humbuker axe,like me.go buy one,be happy.

Finish is Wine Red, used to be nice. I bought it new as a 97 model, But after only 2 years of mild playing, this guy has seen better days. Standard features, 2 tone, 2 volume. Nothing special..

This guitar sounds awesome... WHEN I CAN KEEP IT IN TUNE! I swear, by the time I get this p.o.s. in tune, the gig is over, and everyone's gone home. The pickups on this guitar are amazing, and i crank it through a Hughes and Kettner Tri-amp 212 combo. I'm thinking about just buying a cheap epiphine and performing a pickup transplant...

The action is way too high, but when I attempt to lower it, i get this god aweful buzz on the 12th fret of the d and g strings. Like I stated above, i have in no way abused this guitar, but it looks like it. The transparent finish scratches when you breath on it. Add to that the fact that I already need an intonation adjustment because the open string notes don't exactly match up to the 12th fret harmonics, and this guitar is imposible to keep in tune

This guitar has barely withstood 2 years of mild home playing... I hardly think it could take live gigs. Luckily, the other guitar player in my band happens to have an extra De Armond (really awesome guitar)that I use for shows, cause there's no way i could trust my Paul for a show. I've had to take it in 3 times now to fix faulty wiring problems. When ever i switch the pickup selector, the volume cuts in and out (no, it' not because i have my volume knobs turned down). And again, the fact that it's impossible to tune doesn't help. I've been playing guitar for 5 years now, and if there's one thing I can do in my sleep, it's tune a guitar... But tuning this one is impossible.

I always deal with the store where I bought it from

The only thing this guitar has going for it is it's pickups. The finish is cheap, trying to tune it is impossible, it's heavy, and with my own experience, the wiring sucks. I had the choice to buy either the Paul Studio, or an SG Standard at the same price, $899. Why I didn't buy the SG instead is something that's going to haunt me for the rest of my life. To anyone who is deciding between the two, take the SG. Or, for a few hundred dollars more, go for the Guild Bluesbird, my personal favorite. Buying the Paul Studio was a waste of my hard earned money. I know i'll probably get some hate mail for this, but i just don't agree with the masses on this one. I'm sure the Paul Standards and Classics are awesome guitars, but the studios are not worth the money. De Armond makes some seriously kick arse guitars for around $625. My point is, there are so many better buys out there than the Paul Studio.

98 Gibson Studio - Wine Red Transparent Finish 22 Fret with LP Standard Inlays Gold Hardware. 2 Standard Humbuckers w/ Standard Gibson stop bridge. Fat neck, medium width, mahogany. 3 way swith (Rhythm, Lead, Clean).

Very versatile sound. Deep basses and high high ends, while being crunchy when needed. SUPERB SUSTAIN, almost cause problems on transitions with other instruments (Guitar into Bass leads).
Playing straight through to a Marshall JCM 900 head with a 60's Vintage straight cabinet.
Quiets down well, for clean playing.

Action is a little high, but no buzzing what-so-ever. No flaws, and REAL easy to tune, but goes out of tune somewhat easily.

Had some problems with the electronics, but covered by a lifetime warranty.
Would bring a backup to a live gig, just in case... But wouldn't feel uncormfatable without a backup.

Warranty though the store was great, in and out in 48 hours. Fixed in-house. No dealing with Gibson direct.

All around great instrument for the price. The first time playing it, you know you have something special.
One tip, try and demo a backroom model. Gibson's are played and abused a lot on the floor.

This is a 1993 Les Paul Studio. It was made in the good old US. Typical LP electronics: bridge/neck pickup with 3-way selector and tone/volume knobs for each p.u. There is a 498T Humbucker in the bridge and a 490R Humbucker in the neck, both of which are passive. It has a mahogany body with about a quarter inch maple top (thinner than the Standard). Mine was finished in a deep wine red stain. It has a mahogany set neck with an ebony fretboard and trapezoid inlays. It has the classic Tune-O-Matic bridge/stop tailpiece along with plastic off-white chess piece tuners. This does an incredible job of keeping the guitar in tune. There is no binding or anything else fancy about this guitar, which doesn't make sense why they would put gold hardware on it...oh well. A 10 because it has a great fretboard, nice gold hardware and everything you would want on a Les Paul.

I have been playing for 4 years now, and enjoy listening to and playing punk, emo-rock, alternative, some blues, grunge and metal. This guitar coupled with my Marshall Valvestate (hybrid) 100W stack will nail any of the aforementioned genres (the blues will equal blues-rock i.e. Zeppelin, Cream, etc.). I run it through a Boss GE7 Equalizer, a Boss Metal Zone, a Boss Super Chorus and then into the Marshall. To test the guitar I also used a Fender '62 Bassman (all-tube) and a Peavey Special 150 (solid state). This guitar is very quiet with most of my effects, with the usual amount of buzz when using high-gain distortion (there is noise even when unplugged). I usually use the guitar's bridge pickup (498T), and rarely activate the neck (490R) which are the same pickups that are on the Standard and the Custom. The sound with the bridge p.u. is high-midddy, somewhat trebly and somewhat bassy. It lacks a brightness and crispness on the extreme-high end and a little punch and clarity on the low end. This is because the guitar is thinner than the Standard/Customs. It is also somewhat quiet. I will probably either replace it with a 500T (as used in Classics) to give it more of those classic Gibson tones or try the Tony Iommi pickup (has anyone played it in a Studio?) to get clearer and better rock sounds.. The neck pickup is great. It almost sounds like a strat in the 2 or 4 position. It works very well with effects like the Super Chorus. Overall, the guitar does a good job with clean tones (I like mine the slightest bit crunchy - bass down a bit and treble up a bit) and distortion (I use it mostly with all tones and gain on halfway). If you set the amp to have higher treble and slightly increased mids and roll off the tone to about 8 on the bridge, you have a blues/rock sound that could probably beat a Standard. If you crank the volume and tone to 10 on the bridge, you get rock, metal or punk according to your amp. Because I am not thrilled with the bridge pickup, I give it an 8.

This is the shining point of the guitar. Whatever it lacks in sound it makes up for in playability. I raised the action up from where it used to be and set it up for 10s (from 09s). I raised the bridge pickup a little to compensate for weak sound and lowered the neck a lot to balance the pickups (I don't know if there's something wrong but the neck p.u. is about level with the pickup ring and the bridge about 1/4" up). That doesn't bother me much since I have never played a LP that was set up to my liking. The finish looks decent, a bit too dark because the only time it really looks transparent red is out in direct sun. But it's a Studio model and wasn't made for looks. I also removed the pickguard (which was black) to give it a different look. The edges of the inlays look messed up, but that's only when there right up by your face. The mother of pearly on them is nice and swirly when a lot of color and reflection (compared to my previous Epiphone's boring plastic) and contrasts nicely with the ebony fretboard. The guitar is incredibly easy to play with my adjustments. The guitar gets a 9 because the good looks and excellent playability even out the oxiding gold hardware (which is like complaining about a dirty Mercedes Benz) and all my adjustments.

This guitar had the absolute worst strap buttons I have ever seen. I didn't even put this guitar in the same room as a strap until I bought Schaller straplocks (shiny gold). I bought them instead of dunlop's because of the store owner's recommendation, but later found that I could get them for half as much (I payed $35 US) at a different store, and the mechanism has failed to hold my guitar due to the metal chipping (which REALLY PISSED ME OFF - dented up my guitar to hell). I am looking into either purchasing dunlop straplocks or seeing if chrome buttons would work better. The finish is as durable as transparent stain is on wood. I am somewhat unsure about taking this out to gig without a backup (it hasn't failed me yet) but the few times it has dropped makes me cautious. It is still my main guitar, though, and I can't gig without it.

I have talked to Gibson asking questions about their guitars, and though they e-mailed me back quickly, they don't have the slightest clue what their talking about. Now when I sent my Epiphone in because of a broken tuning peg, it took me about SIX WEEKS to get it back---because of a TUNING PEG. But that was under warranty and I doubt this guitar is. So I don't think too highly of the company. "1" because they can't answer simple questions and it takes them too long to do simple things.

I have been playing for over 4 years and own this guitar along with a Fender Strat, a Musicman-ripoff bass and my main instrument is the drums. I wish I could have gotten a better straplock system for this guitar and checked out different pickups for the bridge. If it were stolen, I would shop I would look for the ebony finish of this guitar, and not in gold hardware (I know, not as nice a finish). My dream guitar would be a Les Paul Custom (which this guitar essentially is besides the slightly thinner body and no binding), but those cost at least twice as much used, and I haven't played one which has been set up that great. The Les Paul Standards are nice too, but the playability on those are terrible. I would probably just end up with the same guitar which is fine by me.

1992 Les Paul Studio, 22 frets made in the USA. Heaviest guitar that I've ever played and one of the best sounding. Solid HEAVY-ass mahogany. Typical Gibson setup with four knobs; two controlling volume; two controlling tone. Three way pickup selector: rhythm, lead and both. Alnico Humbuckers. Gold Hardware with Trapezoid inlays....... this is one of the nicer Studios. Typical pearl style tuners. I bought this guitar used and it was in excellent condition overall.

I play mostly hard rock and metal and this guitar delivers. I use it for Drop D tuning and open tunings for slide playing. My other guitar has a double locking tremolo which is a pain-in-the-ass to get into other tunings. I play the Studio through a Carvin 212 Bel Air 50 watt combo and I use a Boss MT-2 metal zone distortion pedal for the "scooped" metal sound. I love the sound of this Les Paul.......thick, fat, warm and full. This thing sounds just as good as a Standard, but not as good as a Classic..... I love metal and the 500T and the 490R pickups that come stock with the Classic are the ultimate pickups for thrashing.....but the Studios stock pickups do well and I will be satisfied for years to come. For the money, the Studio is definitely worth it......... especially at used prices. I'll admit, I was skeptical at first, because I've played the Studio Lites in the past and those things blow dog nuts. The Studio is a true Les Paul through and through.

The action is great and easy to set up. The previous owner played with a higher action than I am accustomed to. It was easy to lower the bridge and adjust the intonation. I also had to install .10's instead of .09's. The frets are worn out pretty badly in spots, but the guitar still plays well.

This guitar was put through hell before I got it. Not through physical abuse....... the previous owner played the shit out of this thing. The finish is in good shape and there are just a few scratches on the back and sides. It doesn't look new, but it looks good. This guitar is a dependable guitar. I would definitely gig with it.

Never dealt with Gibson.

I have been playing guitar for over 10 years now. I love this Les Paul. I also have an Ibanez UV777BK Universe 7-string which is my flagship guitar. If I lost the Studio guitar, I would probably upgrade to a used Les Paul Classic, if I could find one for a good price and in good condition. If not, I would settle for a used Standard or even another used studio. I would probably never buy a Les Paul new. These things are awesome but way over priced. The tone is probably the best feature of the Studio.

I think it was made in '92 from the engraving at the back of the head stock. Made in USA. Gold hardware, ebony fret board, everything else is pretty much stock.

I play mostly hard rock, but the guitar has enough crunch for heavier music also. My amp is a Marshall JTM60 with three 10inch cones, and for effects I use mostly Zoom 4040 or my boss pedals(If I'm feeling picky). I go for Gary Moore, Santana like tones and this guitar let's me get that rich creamy sound. By the way I use 011 strings, and the higher gauge really make a big difference in tone. (Bigger, fatter, more definition)

I bought it used so I can't say. But when I got it, it was in excellent condition. All I did was change the strings to 011s, tweak the bridge and off I went. The neck is really comfortable to play and the ebony fretboard is so smooth and silky it makes playing a real treat.

The pickup selector switch came loose, and the gold hardware ain't gold no more but it hasn't let me down yet.

Never dealt with them

I've been playing this guitar almost exclusively for 4 years. Recently I acquired a Patrick Eggle Berlin and I divide my playing between the two. I love the tone, the sustain, the playability, smooth ebony fretboard but it's a bit heavy(I ain't exactly big) and sometimes I miss the old whammy bar. If it were stolen I'd buy it again. If there was choice of bridge(Tune O matic, Floyd Rose etc.) it'd make it a bit more interesting.

This is a 98 LP Studio which means dot inlay on the fret board. 490r PU in the neck position and a 496t in the bridge. 2 tone and 2 volume controls, 3-way switch. Chrome hardware, basically a standard without the binding and trap inlay. Oh and it's thinner than the standard. Mine is a very beautifull Ruby finish. Mahogany body and neck, Maple top and a rosewood fret board. Got this one Gibson USA form fitting case included. Made in the USA.

This guitar is definitely a utility guitar it's got the Gibson Sustain and a good solid sound. I did a review earlier of a LP Classic that I purchased after this one which to me shows this to be a good solid guitar but definitly not Gibson's best. The PU's are very straight forward you can get some nice sounds from both, for me the 496t is a little underpowered especially after hearing the 500t in the classic. A replacement 500t is already on order. The 490r has a good deep mellow sound and I think I will keep it for awhile. I think with the addition of the 500t (which is a OD screamer :)) This will make a great backup to the classic. I play this through both a Marshall 6100LM/1960A Cabinet and at home a VS230R. Can't beat the sound of a LEs Pal through a Marshall IMHO.

The action needed to be lowered a bit and pickups adjusted accordingly but no biggy. I replaced the plastic PU rings, truss rod cover, knobs, pick guard and switch ring with chrome equivilants. The damn thing is stunning. BTW try to find a chrome switch ring these days I was lucky to have snagged one some 14-15 years ago.

It's a Les Paul, it's built to withstand nuclear war or an angry girlfriend which ever comes first. The strap buttons suck (no big mystery there). This is a backup so question answered, but it is damn reliable.

Never called them, but did get a nice letter thanking me for buying/registering it.

I have been playing for about 15 years and own a LP Classic and a jackson PS6t(t for toy) and this thing is great. This is a great way to get a Les Paul for a fairly reasonable price. I play everything but country (no offense to anyone)and it suits my needs perfectly. If it were stolen Hell would hath no fury as this guitar player robbed. :)

Stock...good features...ok pickups, nice control over them with two volumes and tone controls, 3 way switch, gold...the tuners suck though. With my addition of matching seymour duncan invaders in both positions, and new tuners...the best guitar ever.

The stock pickups are very good, but with the duncan this is the only guitar i ever want to play. the sound is so tight and amazing...i play mostly ska-punk, and the cleans this thing can produce is some of the best clean tones i've ever heard. and there is a lot of variety in tones that can be achieved. the only thing i disliked is that the stock bridge sounded very weak and thin on clean.

i got the guitar used, so i don't know about factory set stuff...but as far as errors...do u REALLY care if the inlays aren't perfect? they're not even touched when u play and the incredibley slight differences have no bearing on sound at all. other than maybe some "bad" inlays...perfect when i got it

i beat the hell outta mine and it works just peachy

i dunno

THE beset guitat i've ever played. the only other guitars i want are some sort of 7 string, and an epi night-hawk as a back up to this one for gigs.

This is an update to a previously posted review so I won't bore you with rehashing the specs.

In my original review I said I was going to replace the pickups with 57 classics. Well I put a 57 classic plus in the bridge position and this guitar came to life! This pick up has better balance, definition, and tone than the original stock unit could ever have! Not really good for death metal but those guys really don't care too much about tone anyway but I have to say it is the best sounding guitar I have ever played except for my PRS McCarty! Stay tuned I'm replacing the bridge pickup soon!

1998 Les Paul Studio, cherry sunburst, maple top, mahogany body, all gold hardware (stop tail, tuners, etc), 2 vol, 2 tone, 3 way standard.
Nice fat neck, a lot fatter than a strats. Neck is finished, so not as smooth as a high end strat, but still really fast. Neck fretwork is excellent, and the rosewood board is very nice, although some people swear by the ebony boards of the higher end gibby's.
The body is not solid like a standard's, and this has it's plusses and minuses. On the positive: It's lighter, it sounds a little between a standard and a 335. Negative: not quite the Les Paul chunk.
hard shell case included. Pretty standard setup = 5

I never thought I'd say this: I love Les Pauls. When I began to get into the guitar, a thick neck wasn't for me. But, out of the blue, I tried a nice Les Paul Classic the other day and fell in love with the rihness and sustain and I loved the action. I guess my playing has changed.
I traded my Lone Star Strat for the Studio. I couldn't afford a "real" Paul, so I tried the studio. I must admit I was biased against it from the start because it is the "studio" model. Only the best for me, right (ha, ha)? Plugged it in, and boom! I loved it! I know people are always saying that Les Pauls are the great "overdrive" guitars, but I found that besides outstanding OD and distortion, I got tremendous clean sounds. Being a strat and G&L guy, I know good clean when I hear it. I think the sound chambers of the studio give it a little 335 flavor. As a HUGE BB fan, this was right on for me. Now I can do my heavy stuff and switch right over to a warm, clean bluesy tune. Sustain FOR DAYS! Amazing. I'll say it again: Amazing. This little Gibson has a tremendous variablilty in sound, from clean jazz to crunchy distorted metal. Fast neck practically begging for HUGE bends. Haven't been able to put it down since I got it.

I've heard and read a lot about Gibson quality and that it has been suffering in recent times. So, I was hesitant to purchase one via the classifieds. I tried several new ones, and the feel did vary, but all were pretty good units. I likes this one because of the gold and the nice neck and body. Not nearly as fancy as a higher end gibby, but really nice in it's own right. No flaws that I can find, and I've tried to find em.

It seems like a real workhorse of a guitar. But I can't rate it.

N/A

Having now owned a Les Paul Studio, a G&L ASAT Classic (which I love as well), a Fender Lone Star, a Fender Deluxe Powerhouse Strat, and A Washburn HB 35, I have to objectively say this is the very best guitar I have owned. All pickups are useful and the sound variability is tremendous. The excellent cleans, while much different than my spanky ASAT Classic, are a warm, bluesy dream. The Classic has more of that Texas Blues sound to is, which, as a big SRV fan, I really appreciate. But I've got to play my Chicago blues and this is a great guitar for it. I know people say Gibson is overpriced, and I think they are right. But, in a sense, you get what you pay for, and I have never had the same "experience" playing with any other instrument. I've never sounded this good, my wife even likes my playng andcan tell which songs I'm doing without hints, and it is as light and fun to jam with as my ASAT Classic (Highly recommend G&L for the quality/cost ratio).
On a sad note, I can honestly say I will NEVER buy another Fender guitar. They just can't compare with G&L for the quality and even when they try to sound humbuckery, as with my Lone Star, they fall FAR short of the richness and warmth of a Gibby. Of all my purchases, this was themost expensive, and I usually have GAS guilt that is directly proportional to the price of the GAS. However, this time I have none, because of the amazing sounds I can make with this wonderful instrument. I know I have to buy more, someday. Fantastic guitar.

made in 97, purchased in late98. 22 frets, trapezoid pearl inlays (the new models have dot inlays. 490r and 498t humbuckrers which I think sound great through my marshall tube amp.mahogoney back+ neck, maple top. 2vols., 2tones. Nice fat neck which might not be for some people. Came with a gig bag, for$825 it deserves a hardshell

I play rock and blues and this thing sounds great. Virtually noisless. sustains forever.My only dislike was the plastic schaller tuners which i replaced with chrome grovers purely for the aesthetic value

action, fit were great, as was the finish, which was not the case with most i played .ALL of them i played at g. center had lousy finishes with dot inlays for $75 more

built like a brick, Strap buttons are way to small. I feel as though i can fully depend on this studio

warranty for a year, have'nt dealt with'em

great overall, but be careful, guitar center had alot of dogs, finish and otherwise for more money. i suggest trying a small local store

This dated baby was made sometime in the 80's, I never bothered to ask the original owner the specifics. It's a 22 fretter, with two volume and two tone controls, a three way switch (for the rhythm pickup, the treble pickup, and the combination). You can read the other reviews if you want to know what's inside this baby.

This beaty has the sweetest sound anyone could ever hope to get. It's not mint condition, but it's still sounding great. It's perfect for the great music of the seventies (mainly Lynyrd Skynyrd). I've got a simple Fender Princeton 112 Plus to accompany it, and there's no humming or any other damn noise. The rhythm setting gives me a really sweet, rich sound, while the treble produces a very bright, sharp sound. They compliment each other very well. There's no real "best part" of the sounds on this gal, just a nice, easy to understand, beatiful sounding Les Paul guitar.

This gal's seen a lot of action before she met me, so I can't really comment on how she was the first time someone played her. However, I can say that - aside from a slight bend in the neck that needs some adjusting - she's fit as a fiddle. No, wait, make that she's fit as a Les Paul.

If you want to know how well this gal's stood up, you're gonna have to play her. She could be as old as ten years (maybe even more), but she sounds just as good as the '98 Studio. I can depend on her more than anything or anybody.

Like I said, I didn't get her first-hand, so I haven't had the chance or need to deal with Gibson, so I'm gonna have to give you a little N/A in this one.

I haven't been playing very long, but I figure it'll be a while before I need to go out and get another guitar. If somebody stole this guitar, I would hunt them down, and whoop their ass until they wish their damn parents hadn't screwed around.

It's really a Les Paul Standard, 22 frets without the binding and nice top. This one I bought new in 97' it has the trapezoidal inlays, wine red transparent finish, and chrome hardware. Came with a gig bag but for the money it should have came with a hard case. I'm not sure of the wood on the fretboard I think it's rosewood.

Pretty typical Les Paul fare, a nice big "In your face sound". The stock pickups sound pretty good but leave something to be desired. I am replacing them with a Classic 57 in the neck position and a 57 plus in the bridge slot. I play mostly rock and pop through a Peavy 5150 head and cabinet using a Digitech RP-12 effects processor, the guitar is dead quiet at the highest gain settings. Clean sounds are muddy but tweaking the amp remedies this.

Finish was flawless and the action was a little high but intonation and pickup height were fine. The only problem was a nut slot that needed to be cut a little deeper at the G string (open chords were out of tune). Whatever finish Gibson uses, it really reacts with fingerprints and is a real pain to keep clean.

Havent used it live,..yet but I have played it at many jam sessions and the guitar is solid. Again the finish is realy reactive with skin oils and it really gets grimy! Gibson should really put larger strap buttons on this piece. I havent had a problem yet but like I said I havent used it at any gigs.

After I sent in the warranty card I was sent a nice letter congragulating me on the purchase, other than that I couldnt say.

I've been Playing for 18 years I have always wanted a Les Paul. I have compared it to many others and I am completly satisfied with this guitar although I wish I didn't have to buy a hard case seperatly! If it were lost or stolen I would definitly replace it. I would like to see the colors it is offered in expanded from black, white, and red. I wanted a blue Les Paul but I am not a fan of bound necks and bodies so I compromised with this model and color but it has grown on me significantly. Gibson should offer as an option a nice flamed top on these with a natural finish edge a la' PRS!

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.

1995, bought new. It is a Les Paul, with most of its features copied from a std. I only wish they could make this with an ebony neck, as I am not a big Rosewood fan. The Ebony neck is sooooooooooooo much nicer.

Very muddy, good for blues. Has a very bassy tone. As compared to my 74 Custom, this one is warmer, and I actually prefer to play it clean. I think it is important that if you play a Paul, you experiment with the tone pots. This is critical. Setting of 10 on all volume and tone controls is limiting. My style is anything from acoustic style fingerpicking, and progressive chords/leads. Very rich sound. Be careful with your amp settings. Your bass strings can blow the sound out of the high strings if the settings are not proper. Is unable to obtain a very bright sound.

Everything was right when I got it. I clean it regularly. Any of you that ever bought a New Paul know that their lacquer is very strange, and takes a few years to "cure". Therefore, since my other Paul I bought in 82 when it was 8 years old, I dod not know this. Because of this, the guitar stand did some damage where the body and neck rest on it. Gibson's only response to this is that the lacquer needs time to cure. I find that type of attitude ridiculous. Would it not be better to use a different type of lacquer? Mine is black, as my 74 Custom is also. I know there are a lot of burst fans out there, but a Paul has GOT to be black, with Gold hardware, even if the plating scratches off.

It is a rock. I am rather small, and have been playing these things draped on my shoulder for some 20 years now. With the exception of the permanent indent on my shoulder, I do not mind. If Jimmy Page can do it, so can I. Besides, if they did not have the weight, they would not have the sound (just find a Paul that Gibson decided to drill out some of the wood to lighten it up and you will see what I mean). As usual, this Paul, like all others I have ever seen, does not stay in tune on the G string (I think it is high time Gibson hired a compitent engineer who can design a good tuning machine)

Conversed through e-mail, and they were very prompt to reply. I did not care for the answers, but they were correct (refer to lacquer being damaged by guitar stand).They even sent me a T-shirt.

I have been playing for about 23 years now, and do not consider myself to be a virtuoso. I take this Paul everywhere I go, and it gets more compliments than anything else I have ever owned, including my 74 Custom. A Studio is most definately the best bang for the buck in any guitar. Period.

This guitar is "The Blues". Once you rip off those .010 guage strings and pop on some .13's you have got one mean blues machine. This box has awesome sustain and a killer tone. Pull that pickup switch to the "Bass" setting and solo away. Pure heavenlly thick, dark sound. Only negative is that there is no form vibrato, but then again who wants to tear it up and pop a Bigsby on it?!

You could throw this box off a high rise building and play it after it hits the ground...this is one strong chunk of wood. The only complaint here is that the gold finish on the stop-piece and the bridge pickup is wearing away and turning silver.

Well, the guitar has everything I need. Some kind of tremelo would be nice, but isn't nessecary. The only important "feature" I use is the pick up switch as a mute. The tuners (as dumb as this sounds) need to get used to your playing. After having strings on them for a week they stay in tune very well...but that first week is hell. ANYWAYS...it's fine.

It's a frigin Les Paul, of coarse it sounds good. I play ska-core...i AM ska guitar with this thing. I hate bridge pickups so i use tat as a mute...one thing...the pickups never really "turn off". like at with the volume at zero...there's still noise. But overall it's the best guitar I've ever palyed sound wise.

Action shouldn't count...everyone likes it differnet, as far as feel and fit...can't beat this guitar. I HATE fenders more than anything cuz of their feel, I refuse to play on them. The only other guitar that can compare as far as feel goes in an Ibanez.

Hmmm...let's think...how long have these guitars been around...oh yeah...FOREVER. there's a reason too, these things couldn't break if u dropped them (and i have).

Who deals with Gibson!?

I LOVE THIS GUITAR! It's easy to set the action, the sound is great, I love the ability to mute it, it plays easy, good feel, it has everything. I'm looking into the DC Studios, and I'm still in love with the Ibanez 7 Strings, and RG-570 though.

This is a 98 Les Paul Studio in ebony with chrome hardware. It has a solid mahogany body and a mable top with a rosewood fingerboard. There are two humbuckers, a tuneomatic bridge, 2 volume and 2 tone controls, and a pickup select switch. It came with a Gibson gig bag which is pretty nice. Also, it has the pearl trapezoidal inlays on the neck.

This guitar has wicked tone. I usually play just the bridge pickup and it gives a really meaty, nasty sound. The pickups are very hot and the sustain lasts forever. There is virtually no noise. I do have trouble getting a good clean sound out of it. It is much better when you want distortion.

Everything was set up fine. The guitar is built very well and had no flaws.

I have only had this for a few months, but so far, so good. It seems like a very solid guitar.

It has a lifetime warrenty which I haven't had to use yet.

I have been playing on and off for 10 years now. My other guitar is a Fender Mexican Strat. I really like this guitar when I am playing blues or something needing distortion, although I go back to the Strat when I need a clean sound. One thing I hate about it is the plastic tuner knobs. I mean, I paid almost a grand for this thing, you would think that they could find some metal somewhere. It is a sharp looking guitar, although I would recommend spending a little more to get one of the nice finishes. The wood is just gorgeous and it is a shame to cover it up. If I lost this guitar, I would probably just buy a new bridge humbucker for my strat and call it a day. I do like the guitar, but it was expensive and I probably wouldn't want to have to drop the money again. Once again, though, the tone and sustain really are awesome.

This is a '98 Les Paul Studio in Alpine White with gold hardware. It has a solid mahogany body with a maple top. Two hot output gibson pickups (a 490 and a 498) with gold covers. Standard tuneomatic bridge and 4 pot controls. Came with a superbly padded gig bag. I ordered a hard shell case before recieving the guitar, but after recieving the guitar and gig bag, I realized that the case wasn't really necessary, the gig bag is so good.

I play through a 100 watt marshall valvestate amp, and this combination yields the ultimate tone in my opinion. I play mostly metal and heavy music (alice in chains, deftones, sevendust...), and this guitar is perfect for them. In my opinion, if you want a fat, heavy guitar sound, a les paul such as this is the best guitar you can buy. I mostly use only the bridge pickup for my playing, although the neck one is great for deeper less distorted riffs. The guitar is dead silent while playing (no hum).

one minor scratch on the side of the guitar when it arrived, but other than that the finish was flawless. as far as hardware, everything was superb except for one of the tuning machines which was somewhat hard to fine tune when tuned down. Since much of what I play requires the guitar to be tuned down 1 1/2 steps, the fine tuning thing became more of a problem. For normal tuning or even 1/2 step dropped (alice in chains tuning), this was no problem.

This thing is built like a tank. Other than the fabulous tone, my first impression upon playing it was how solid it felt. I would definitely gig w/out a backup if I had to.

As I mentioned earlier, that one tuming machine was faulty. I sent an email to gibson's warranty department, and I almost immediately got a reply that they would send me a new tuning machine.

I have owned this guitar for about 6 months now. I absolutely love the les paul sound, and for less than $1000, this is one hell of a guitar. Unless you really want the binding and flame top, I see no reason to spend the extra 6 or 7 hundred for the Les Paul Standard. The studio is the supreme rocker for the money, in my opinion. I compared it also to the Ibanez rg-570, and the overall feel of the gibson (not to mention the superior tone) led me to completely ignore the ibanez soon after i tried it. Not that the ibanez is a bad guitar- it isn't- but the gibson is a lot better. I also wanted to look at the les paul studio double cutaway, but I was unable to find any at local music stores to try out.

I got this axe brand spankin' new (1998 model) from a local music store, it's got 22 frets, 2 humbucking pickups, for god's sake it's a Les Paul! You should already know what they look like! Since the music store I got it from is owned by a bunch of cheapskates, the only thing i got with it was a gig bag, strap, and some crummy picks. Oh yeah but let's not forget that lifetime warranty. :)

Okay, first off you should know that I play metal. Having said this I should address all the high brows and nay-sayers that say you can't play metal with a Les Paul. That is bull-$h!t. The Les Paul is just as well suited for full throttle metal as it is for that other alterna-pantywaste music that people use it for. I am running it through a Rocktron Voodoo Valve multi-effects processor/preamp, and then into a Rocktron Velocity 100 poweramp, and then to a Marshall 4x12 cabinet. I must say this is probably the most powerful and versatile rig i've ever put together, and with this Les Paul it sounds just phenomenal. The clean sound is huge and the distortion is just ridiculously fat. Since it is made out of Mahogany you get virtually endless sustain. Also this guitar is shorter than a strat style guitar which allows for less string tension at the same tunings. Have you ever seen anyone do a 1 1/2 step bend at the 1st fret on the 1st string at standard tuning? Not with a strat! (well maybe SRV but he just wasn't human so that doesn't count) The only gripe I have about this guitar is when you play it sitting down the top where the pickup switch is gets annoying, maybe Gibson should have rounded the edges?

As soon as I played this guitar it just felt right. Normally I prefer fairly low action because i play lead a lot, and Gibson had it set up with just the right height. I mean it was perfect. The fret wire that Gibson uses with the studio model is sort of rectangular. This was akward at first but after I started playing on it I'd have to say that I like this fret wire better than the others. A couple of the tuning pegs were loose but I only noticed this after I was changing the strings for the first time. The tuning pegs are otherwise extremely smooth and glide nicely. All the electronics are silent as a mouse, no scratchy sounding pots or other nonsense. Oh yeah don't walk out of the music store without getting them to put on a set of DR strings on your Les Paul, because Gibson strings are horrible.

Seeing as how I've only had this guitar for about 1 month now I can't really give my rating on it. But given Gibson's track record with the Les Paul model, it is probably safe to say that it will take an extreme beating and still sound angelic. (Remember it does have a lifetime warranty!) My Les Paul has gold harware on it and most people I've talked to said that it usually wears off with time but appearance isn't something that concerns me. If you want yours to look all purty-like then get the chrome hardware and stuff it in a glass case. The strap buttons are screwed in solid as a rock but because of the angle of the top button, the strap slips off occasionally. You people with Explorers know what I'm talking about. This is virtually a non-issue though because strap locks are cheap and easy to install. Overall this is a very dependable guitar, every time I plug it in it always amazes me by doing something cool. I bought this guitar so I could use my original as a backup. Of course I wouldn't think of going to a gig without a backup, but let me say this: my original hasn't even been out of the case since I got my Les Paul.

Never had to deal with 'em I did get a lifetime warranty though

I've been playing for about 3-4 years now and own a strat with EMG-81 pickups, and the afore mentioned Rocktron-Marshall combination. I think the Les Paul is by far the best guitar out there. Although they are a bit pricey, they are worth every penny. If it were lost or stolen I would definitely buy another one. I think the only thing I wish it had is rounded edges, but in the grand scheme of things this is a very small complaint.

American made [1987] that I bought used last year on the net for five hundred with an old style hard shell case-with all of my OPPSIES there can be no other case. Black finish of the classic Mahogany body. Tunomatic Bridge no tremelo. I have changed the tuners. Originals were Gibson Deluxes and they are horrible. Neck is classic Gibson and it has two humbucking pickups. Essentially, think Les Paul Standard without the binding. It is good looking guitar but not fabulous and elegant like the Standard.

I play classic rock and nothing sustains like a Les Paul with the resonance of the Mahogony. I can go very trebly with the lead pickup and get a nice jazzy sound with the neck pickup. Had them cleaned and reset but love the sound of the guitar.

Bought it used so I cannot judge the factory set up. Had the best tech in the new york area set it up for me, and his only complaint was with the pickup setup. That is easily corrected.

You could hit someone over the head with this thing hard enough to get convicted for murder and the guitar would still play and stay in tune. Great gig axe, good hardware. Strap button stink on all guitara and the previous owner put strap locks on. Very dependable. Backup-can't afford one and don't need one. If this thing were stolen, I would hunt down the son of a (*&&( and kill him. Or else I'd replace it with another Les Paul

Bought it used and cannot comment

Been playing on and off for twenty years. Had an Epiphone Wilshire that was pretty good [mini humbuckers] but cannot compare to the Paul. I am frustrated that they cost so much and realize how lucky I was to find one this cheap. Does not change the fact that too many collectors are buying up too many guitar and making it impossible for players to play

1997 American made beauty with a Mahogany body and a Maple cap. Gibson Deluxe tuners, no tremelo... well, you guys know the deal, it's a Paul. The neck isn't great, which is why I am planning to buy an Ibanez Rg570 soon. (not to replace the paul, but to complement it) I don't like the finish on the neck (It gets sticky) and I wish the neck was a little thinner, but hey, it sounds great. Two volume pots (I rarely use them) and two tone pots (I never use them).

I play rock, blues, Top 40, lots of heavy metal, and a lot of hard rock. It suits my style pretty well, I play it through a Johnson Millennium and between the 2 of them I can get pretty much any tone I want. It is pretty quiet, but the treble humbucker is a tad microphonic. There isn't a great sparkling clean sound in this baby, but what the hell, if you want clean, buy a fender. The sound ranges from rich and full (both humbuckers on) to bright and sassy (bridge pickup only). I like the sound, overall, it's not perfect, but nothing is.

Decent action, but I never use factory action. The pickup adjustments were ok. I don't know if the top was properly bookmatched or not because it's black. Nitrocellulose lacquer finish, so it can get pretty stick with sweat. No real problems with it.

It's a Les Paul, the finish is great, it's rock solid. I wouldn't gig with anything without a backup (what if you break a string?). It's dependable.

Lifetime warranty, never been repaired.

Great I've been playing for 3 years it is great, could use a faster neck. I would buy it agian.

The features of the Les Paul Studio are pretty complete and consistent, and have been expressed in other submissions, so I won't take your time up here. I will say though that the Studio is essentially the same guitar as the Standard (same hardware, woods, construction), without some of the embelishments (fancy finish and body edging). So one could argue that pound for pound, the Studio is a much better value - but that's all a matter of taste.

The Les Paul Studio has a good range of tone, but is best know for it's crunch/overdriven sound which is typical of humbucker pickups. Clean is good, but not as sweet as a top of the line Strat (I also own a Fender Strat w/lace sensor pickups). Feedback rejection is excellent also due to the humbuckers. Sustain is excellent due to the heavy weight of the guitar.

Action on my Les Paul is excellent, and can be adjusted easily with the tune-o-matic bridge. I haven't needed to adjust nut height, truss rod, etc. One interesting point about the Les Paul is that it's shorter than a Stratocaster, as a result fret span is shorter and string tension is lower (shorter string lengths require less tension to tune to the same note). Having small hands, this makes the Les Paul easier to play than some other guitars. The finish on my Les Paul is visually very stunning; however, I have noticed that the guitar is more susceptible to nicks and scratches that my Strat (poor belt bucke habits I must admit).

I've owned my Studio for about 3 years. The guitar is very well made; however, I have had some problems with the output jack making noise, and I had to replace a potentiometer. The guitar isn't cheap ($), and frankly I would not expect a guitar with this reputation and cost to have these problems (especially after owning a mechanically flawless Strat). So I hate to, but I've got to slam Gibson on this one.

Never dealt with Gibson customer support.

I've been playing for eight years, and own various guitars. The Les Paul is definately my favorite. The Studio sound and playability is worth every penny you'll pay for the guitar. If you want a Les Paul definately buy a Gibson (yes, I once owned an Epiphone), and if you can't afford a Standard, buy a Studio, it's basically the same guitar.

This is a beautiful guitar. It has H/H pickups, 22-frets, 2 volume controls and 2 tone controls and a 3-way selector. The Fret-board is made of ebony. The Body of this Les Paul is finished in a very pleasing dark wine-red tone, with black accents. The tuners are quite nice, I'm not sure of the make, but they are highly reliable. The hardware is all chrome, like pretty much all Gibson guitars.I got it used, so I don't know what accesories it came with originally, but mine came with a high-quality strap and a gig bag. I can't find anything to complain about here.

The sound is incredible. Gibson has made it's guitars legendary for this aspect, and I can easily see why. It is a very powerful guitar, and has an incredible range of different sounds. It never fails to satisfy my thirst, and I can easily switch between the light tunes of the Beatles and such to the wicked-fast power riffs of Aerosmith. No other guitar I have played has ever given me close to as much happiness with the sound as this. A definite king here.

I hate to give a perfect review for all these categories, I don't want to suck up to Gibson or anything. But in all honesty, the action on the Les Paul is fabulous. Bends, slides, Hammer-ons, etc, Gibson has made it easier for me to play smoothly than anything else I've laid my greasy hands on. I love slapping on this guitar, it is simple to get that really cool sound from it. As for the finish, I am highly pleased with it and I love the color. It's Wine-red stain is very pleasing to the eye. There are no flaws, other than a dent that I am at fault for myself. Beautiful job again, Gibson.

I haven't been playing this guitar for even a year yet, so I can't be sure if my comments in this category will be accurate or not. What I have experienced with it, however, is very promising. To my great distress, it fell off a table once and crashed onto the hard floor. It needed a slight re-tuning, as could be expected from such an awful incident, but it lost no sound quality at all. One thing to be careful of, though, is the strap buttons. They are standard, and not low-quality in anyway, but the guitar itself is so heavy compared to most other types, and it tends to slip out. Perhaps this is the strap, but I fixed the problem with a good pair of strap-locks. (about $20). I don't think I'll give it any rating here, I need more time with it. You can be sure, though, that it is a very strong and reliable guitar, and I would use it on a gig anyday, with or without backup.

never had any interaction with Gibson customer support yet.

There is a reason that all the greatest guitar heroes use Les Pauls. Try one, and you'll understand. Playing this Les Paul has made it very difficult for me to enjoy other guitars as much, they fall so short of my expectations now. It fits well into a wide variety of music, mostly rock and blues style. I don't beleive it would work very well with death metal and the like, but it does more than most guitars in all other categories, at least guitars that I have played. If it were stolen, provided I didn't kill myself, I would replace it as quickly as possible. If I found the theif I would be forced to gut him and feed him his own stomach. Gibsons have always been pretty expensive, so people looking for an affordable guitar might want to look elsewhere. Mine was a steal at the price i got it, but new they are real investments. If, however, you are looking into getting a guitar that will go the distance, and kick butt like nothing you have played before, go for a Gibson Les Paul. It will rule your life.

Manufactured: December 1996 Made: USA
Black finish (no binding), chrome hardware, 22 Jumbo frets, mahogany back, maple top, rosewood finger board w/ trapezoid inlays, 24 3/4 scale mahogany neck, 11/16" nut, Tune-o-matic bridge w/ stop bar tail peice, Alinco 490R/498T pickups, two volume and two tone controls, three-way pickup selector switch, stock tuners, padded Gibson gig bag included.

The sound is what attracted me to this guitar. I was always trying to get that "Les Paul Sound." After many attempts, I finally learned that I would have to buy a Les Paul to get that. I play it through a Fender DeVille Deluxe. I play mostly blues and alternative and the amp/guitar combo sounds great. It has an increadible range. It sounds great overdriven or clean. The effects that I currently use are: Vox Wah, Danelectro Cool Cat, Ibanez Tube King, Boss Delay and Flange.

The factory set-up was excellent. However, I did test drive about 15 Les Pauls before I made my purchase decision. The guitar was set-up for nine's and the action is the best I have experienced for my playing style.(low and fast) The intonation was excellent as well. I have found no dead spots. All the hardware was properly installed and the fret work along with the inlays were top notch. The paint finish on the other hand was a bit disappointing. On the neck joint and the headstock there was some orange peel in the finish.

No problems with durability or reliability. Everything seems to be built to last. It stays in tune very well. The strap buttons are solid, but if you are going to use one for gigging I would recomend replacing them with a locking system of some sort. I would use this gutiar with no backup only if they could invent strings that don't break.

It has a life time warranty. I've only contacted Gibson once. I called about getting the correct hue for some touch up paint for a nick I put on the head stock. I e-mailed them and they responded in less then 24 hours. They didn't tell me what color paint or type I would need, but they did recomend me to a local authorized Gibson repair shop.

I've been playing guitar for five years. I also own a Fender Lonestar Stratocaster, Fender American Standard Telecaster, an Ibanez Talman (single cutaway alder body model) and a Parker Fly Deluxe. Since I purchased my Les Paul, I rarely play any of my other guitars. My only regret is that I got the Studio model. I wish I would have spent the extra on a model with a nicer finish. If it were stolen I would definately buy another, but I would get a Standard model. My favorite feature about this guitar is the way it makes me feel and sound like a much better guitarist than I actually am. My other guitars don't give me the same feeling. If you are going to buy a Les Paul, make sure you try several out before making a decision. I have found that they do very greatly. Take the time to find the best one for you.

This is a US Les Paul made by Gibson in 1990. It has 22 frets, mohagany body with maple cap. It has the typical Les Paul 2 humbucker setup with a three way selector and 4 knobs. It has a three piece maple top with no flame- translucent cherry finish.

I play rock and blues plus experimental stuff with my friend. My amp is a Fender custom Vibrolux Reverb. I also have a cool cat chorus(great!) a boss super overdrive and a dunlop wah. This guitar is great!!! It's the best I have ever played. No, it doesn't do the strat sparkle, but is is great at both clean and distorted stuff. This pickups are not all that powerful but they have agreat tone!

This guitar wasn't set up that well when I got it, but I had a local guitar shop doi that for me, slight truss rod adjustment and action change. It's perfect now! It's got a little bit of fretwere now, but the playability is superb. The pickup selector is noisy, but who really cares? THis red finish is almost perfect, but I got the guitar when it was 7 years old, so what can I expect?

Oh, yeah. You could kill someone with it and the guitar would be fine. Very roadworthy. Just get a hard case first because I guess the angled heastock could b damaged.I've had this guitar for almost 2 years and I havn't had a problem

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I've been playing for two years. I have no regrets about purchasing this guitar. I would definately buy something like it if it were stolen or something. I bought this guitar because it has the right feel for me. I really like it's tone and its neck.