Gibson Les Paul Studio

Mine is a 1993, black, with gold hardwear and block markers. The 'Studio' I'm told, was produced for guitarists who just wanted a Les Paul, but didn't require the binding or fancy maple tops. All the usual Les Paul 'features'. 2 pickups, 2 tone controls, a mahogany body with a maple top. Just what you'd expect. Not overburdoned with features, but its not that sort og guitar.

I used to own a '76 Standard which sounded completely different. I also still own my '76 Custom, which is also very different, so obviously something has happened to Les Pauls between then and now. Maybe this does sound the same as newer Les Pauls, but it doesnt sound the same as mine. It lacks any of the warmth that the original T-Top humbuckers. I'm no expert, but maybe the faily thick paint job does the tone no favours. Whatever it is, I wasn't impressed.

Like nearly all Les Pauls, the action is great. The gold hardwear is mildly tarnished, but so what? No flaws to speak of, although I didn't like the plasticky feeling fretboard. It felt cheap.

Its only 16 years old. These things should last. They cost enough! An utterly dependable guitar, but take a spare as strings can break at the most inconvenient times.

Been playing since the '60's and have owned too many guitars, but at least I know good from bad. Youre probably reading this because you may be contemplating buying one. If so, they are pretty good, but not worth ??1000 new. A lot of late 70's MIJ guitars like Greco, Yamaha and Tokai are better buys. Ive had both, so I know. None of them get close to a decent 70's Gibson. Everything about the real thing is better, so dont get taken in by the hype about Japanese copies being better, or the Studio being as good. Theyre not. I bought this because I was getting nervous about using my Custom 'live', but it just didnt suit me. Not to say it wont suit you, but this is a personal rating.

- 1985
- Made in USA
- 22 frets
- Sunburst
- Bound ebony fretboard
- Mahogany 60's slim taper neck with unbound headstock
- Mahogany body with 3-piece multi-bound maple cap
- Tim Shaw PAF reissue humbucker pickups
- 2 tone knobs with 100K pots
- 2 volume knobs with (I think) 300K pots
- Gold hardware
- Tune-o-matic bridge with stop tailpiece
- Grover Deluxe tuners (swapped in for the original Gibson Deluxe tuners)

Made for only two years (1984-1985), this rare guitar is closer to a Standard than a Studio or a Custom. It has a 60's slim-taper neck that's available on a Standard. Also neck binding with unbound headstock like a Standard. The body is multi-bound like a Custom, but only on the front side. The body is slightly thicker than a modern-day Studio, though I hadn't had the chance to compare it to a modern-day Standard or Custom. And it has abalone "dot" inlays instead of the trapezoids or blocks found on most other Les Pauls.

This is a similar model to a Les Paul Studio Standard, except the Studio Standard has chrome hardware instead of gold, and the body binding is single-ply.

Oh, man! The sound of this guitar is the next best thing to a time machine that takes you back to the 60's and 70's. Really impressive vintage rock 'n' roll sound. I use a Roland VGA-5 modeling amp with it, so there's quite a variety of tones that I can squeeze out of it.

The 80's Tim Shaw pickups are not as hot as the modern 480R/498T, and not nearly as bright. They also don't feed back quite as easily as the 480R/498T. But they have this vintage edge to them that's hard to describe. The bridge pickup has a lot of bite, even on the bass end, and makes for an incredible crunch on overdrive (Marshall stack or Fender Blackface). Both pickups clean up nicely with a softer attack or turning down the volume knobs. The neck pickup is a smooth solo singer in overdrive, and very full and jazzy on a clean amp (Roland JC-120). It sounds close to an arch-top hollow-body electric, whereas the 480R/498T combo resembles an acoustic on the same amp settings. Turning the tone knobs down takes away the brightness very quickly, and turned all the way down creates a muffled "behind a drywall" sound; at this point there's no longer much of a difference between the bridge and neck pickups.

I bought this guitar used on eBay, and it's 24 years old. I have no idea how it was set up from factory, but by now the frets are worn down to almost nothing, and I'm considering a refret. The finish is a gorgeous Sunburst, and it nicely shows off the textures of the tone woods.

The previous owner replaced the original Gibson Deluxe tuners with Grovers because the originals broke. Other than that and a few dings and scratches, the guitar is very solid, with many years of life ahead. Except for the frets, all hardware is perfectly fine, though it shows quite a bit of wear.

I'm pretty sure the warranty expired a few decades ago.

I've been playing for about 6 years, on and off, purely as an amateur. I own a '00 Les Paul Studio Gothic, a DeArmond M-66 electric, a Taylor 214-e acoustic, a cheapo Yamaha C-40 classical, a Roland VGA-5 modeling amp, and a Roland FC-200 foot controller.

I wish this guitar had strap locks and less worn-out frets. If it were stolen, I would hunt down the perp and put his head through a (cheap) solid-body electric.

I'm mostly comparing it to my other Les Paul, the '00 Gothic, which is much more of a hard rock guitar (think Scorpions, Def Leppard) that also sounds like a bright acoustic on a clean amp; this one is more of a classic rock guitar on overdrive (think 60's rock 'n' roll, Led Zeppelin) and a blues guitar on clean.

Just picked this up last week I should probably wait awhile to write a review but Im so Blown away by this guitar I dont see how it could make any differance except maybe improve I was going to buy a faded brown studio for 700 brand new with HS case I had it on lay away for about a month But every time I went in to play it it seemed as the intonation was not right I asked them to fix it or change the strings and they never did. As I was getting ready to pay for the guitar I noticed a solid maple body, top and neck studio model with Gold Hardware and mother of pearl inlay on the frets and stunning finish. Just gorgeous. It had been on layaway like mine But the guy said it was his buddies and he really didnt have the cash for it and asked me if I wanted to play it BINGO ! totally different feel tone and fret action It was certainly heavier with the solid maple body It was 200 more but well worth the money and with a gorgeous hard shell case I couldnt pass it up 2 humbuckers and 3 position switch The Bridge pick ups are sooo clean Middle seems to suit me fine all around and neck for some heavy sustain when i when i need it

I play 2nd guitar in one band old school blues and rock Hendrix SRV trower clapton stones etc My Strat was not cutting over my leads guitar players ripping (strat with super reverb and about 8 effects pedals and boxes it was tinny and weak I had a fender super sixty but I couldnt get the Loud clean sound i needed I got rid of the super sixty and went with a hot rod 2-12 big improvment but still not what i wanted and was coming up short. I added a boss distortion pedal and it helped but not quiet there. Add the LP Massive improvement. No boss box just drive channels on my hot rod Playing the hot rod on 2 or 3 at rehersal Amazing difference and since i do play some lead the lp was just so easy to play and the sustain forget about it. I typically sit down some time during rehersal 3- 4 hours I stood the entire time today and had no fatiuge the balance is great I was getting some noise on the Neck pick ups But dont know if that is the amp or the lp I suspect its the lp but i can live with it. The other band is mainly an accoustic duo with original songs and some old doors kinks GFR you name it we play it I brought it with me yesterday and wow I would say it improved my sound quality about 20 %I rate myself an avg player I love slow blues however and the note bending and sustain are just awesome and the different sounds between pickups are are great help I just have to get use to volume adjustments

The first 3 times I played this guitar i was constantly out of tune pretty much after every two songs I dont know if this is normal it seemed to have calmed down today But the noise in the neck pick up I may take back and have them take a look and maybe do a set up on it It was a factory set up I personally think they should set these up in house before they are sent out

Built like a brick Sh*t house Unless I spin around and hit a building column I dont know how you could damage this ax! Again with the solid maple body with a maple top its a beast I havnt played a LP std or Custom for more then a few minutes because never had the money to even bother but I think I pretty much have found as close as im going to get If I cant be happy with this one Ill never be Again the difference between the faded studio and this one was miles apart

Been playing on and off for years Ive owned pretty much everything bunch of teles strats jaguars ( ugh) silvertone dan electro ( first) martin taylors yamahas and a gibson Es 300 about 40 years ago with my marshall 50 watt head WHEre are they now ??? My last favorite was my PRS custom 22 that was a dream to play It got damaged by being left in a trunk for two weeks in the summer and was never really the same( woops) I still have my g & l strat which i plan on selling and buying a japanese mustang to replace thats a fun guitat and I have a 1992 fender SRV Strat Im picking up next month only because i always wanted one and I found one for a great deal and it is dead mint Buying it more for collectable then anything else and a few acoustic guitars Seagull and epiphone I Honestly cant see me playing out with anything other then the lp My lead guitar player said when I walked in the studio" What the hell are you doing with and LP in this strat band ? "When we where done he walked up to me and said "That guitar sounded amazing" :)

2000 Gbson Les Paul Studio
$400 used (but never actually used just left in case)
Wine Red Gold hardware
Maple top
Fat neck
I want to put a bigsby on it but I expected it not to have one anyway

Fantastic It fits anything from jazz to metal (I hate metal though) and sounds incomparable compared to my other guitar. It sounds great on any sound level no problems whatsoever. Deep bluesy sound dominates this guitar as is expected with les pauls.

The action was a bit high but I like it that way so I was happy (only a small bit high. Pickups sound fantastic. Everything on this guitar was set up beyond expectations

This guitar can take some abuse but it comes away with dings moreso than my other guitar. You dont knotice them unless you look really closely the guitars so beautiful you just dont care. Vare dependabe guitar. One strap button got pressed into the body somehow before I owned it but It works fine.

Never had to call customer support as I said very reliable.

Overall incredible guitar for the price you get at guitar center or musiciansfriend. It's ideal for blues but is well siuted to most other genres. Holds together well. the neck siuts me very well and I can move around with ease. stays in tune like a dream. If you can BUY THIS GUITAR!

I aquired a Gibson Studio Gem Series. With the P90s it's unbelievable the dynamics and harmonics I am able to get from this guitar. By aquired I mean that I traded straight across a Vintage Gibson 335S Custom for the LP Studio Gem. For us it was a win win deal even though the 335S is worth more than the LP.

It suits my style as I play a lot of blues flavored licks.

Tight and awesome finish. It is Amethist.

Well built and heavy like a Les Paul should be.

I've always played Gibson and Fender with either Fender or Marshall amps. I've been playing for 43 years. Gibson is the best.

This is a 2000 as far as I can tell. It has the half size inlays which look ridiculous. What were they thinking in Nashville? The neck is a Gibby boatbottom which is just meaty enough. I love it. Everything is Stock. Came with the Gibby case (brown one w/pink veil & plush.) The finish is black with chrome hardware.
I sold a 1990 LP Standard, bought this one and pocketed a nice chunk of cash for other projects. I'm totally satisfied with the choice I made to switch to the Studio version.

I'm using either a Fender Blues Deluxe RI (2006) or a Laney LC 30 with this guitar. Pedals are Bad Monkey and Jimi Hendrix purple Wah-Wah. The Studio has a much warmer tone than the LP Standard and it seems to sustain a lot more. Pickups are 490 and 498 so that's all alnico.
With the Fender (2 X 6L6)it really kills. I use the volume controls a lot when using the Fender because that's just how a Blues Deluxe has to be played. There is no loss of tone with the volumes at 3-5 save for a little bit of the very top end. Those 6L6 tubes are the best! Love 'em.
With the Laney (4 EL 84 tubes) it shimmers more and has a depth of tone to die for through a Celestion GB speaker. Really, it is just beautiful. Great for jazz and works well for a more country sound, too.
Overall the tone of the LP Studio is all I ever wanted. My preference is warm and smooth tone with good sustain, whether clean or overdriven. I find the sound is better than the LP Standard I sold.

I've owned 5 Gibby Les Pauls over the years including this one. Ironically, this is my favorite and the cheapest one. I highly recommend this model to anyone who loves the warmer side of the Les Paul tone curve. Bear in mind that it has a thicker neck but you'll probably like it just as much or more than the slim neck.

Made in the USA in 2008, 22 frets, mahogany top, back and neck with rosewood fret board, 2 volume, 2 tone controls and three way selector. Burtsbucker pickups, "green key" kluson tuners, neck is somewhere between 50's and 60's slim taper. Mine is worn cherry finish. Comes with Gibson's snake skin case.

I play mostly Gospel music, Contemporary Christian and some Blues. I have a Crate V50 tube amp that I play through and a Fender Princeton 650 (with DSP), clean, no effects pedals. I love the sound of this guitar. I was told when I bought it that it probably would do very well for the type of music I play but it is perfect. Don't let a salesperson tell you what you do or don't like. The Burstbucker are wonderful and you can definetely tell a difference in the sound due to the nitro finish it has. If you know how to adjust your amp and your guitar, you can get endless tone with this guitar.

This is the worn cherry studio model, so don't expect it to be a stunning beauty. It is what it is. I like mine. The action and intonation were good, the pick guard seems a little weak (I may just take it off), the nut will need to be filed out a bit, but everything else seems to be very good. I've never had any issues with the kluson tuners on any of my guitars, it holds tune very well, maybe I'm just lucky. I'm giving an 8 for this section because, like I said, it is what it is. If you're looking for something that will turn heads, then you're going to have to spend three times what I did, maybe four. I think for the price, the action, fit and finish are very good on this guitar. Besides, you're gonna pay this much for a guitar made in China or Korea, and MOST of them, just don't have the tone that this does.

This is a solid guitar, except the pick guard (like I said above). You cand depend on it but I wouldn't gig without a back up no matter what kind of guitar I had as my number one. The strap locks on Gibsons are small for some odd reason but you can change them or if you have an expensive one or vintage LP that you don't want to drill into, you can take a small rubber washer from the local hardware store and put it on over the strap button after you put on the strap and it will hold nicely.

Ok. I've used them a couple of times to check serial numbers and such, but not for warranty or anything like that.

I've been playing for 30 years. I've owned them all and some I wish I had never let get away. This is a keeper. I've had Gibson Custom shop LP's, Vintage Re-Issues Gibsons, Deluxe Strats and Teles, MIM Strats... Pretty much everything from Western Auto (if you can remember that) to high end custom shop stuff. This is an excellent guitar for the money. I used to say that I would never buy one of these cause the finish was so basic but, you know what? It sounds better that my Custom Shop LP which cost more than four times what this one did and I'm not afraid I will get a scratch on this one. It's a working man's axe. Play one and see for yourself, it's worth the money and there's no comparison on the sound.

It's a les paul!!!!! but here the are anyway!


BODY
Top Species: Maple top
Back Species: Mahogany



FINGERBOARD
Fingerboard Species: Rosewood; Ebony on Classic/Alpine Wht
Scale Length: 243/4"
Number of Frets: 22
Inlays: Pearloid trapezoid



ELECTRONICS
Neck Pickup: 490R Alnico magnet humbucker
Bridge Pickup: 498T Alnico magnet humbucker
Controls: Two volume, two tone, three-way switch



CASE
Interior: White Plush
Case Exterior: Black Reptile Pattern Hardshell
Silkscreen: Silver Gibson USA logo
NECK
Species: Mahogany
Profile: 59 Les Paul Rounded
Nut Width: 111/16"
Neck Joint Location: 16



HARDWARE
Plating Finish: gold
Tailpiece: Stopbar
Bridge: Tune-o-matic
Knobs: Black Speed
Tuners: Tune-o-matic


Strings: NOT EVEN SLINKY'S .13-56

She's is one sexy mother*******!!

I play in a stoner/thrash/metal band and this is the best guitar i have ever played. i have used ESP, Fender, BC Rich, Jackson to name a few but nothing compares to this guitar.

I use this guitar through a Peavey 5150 and Marshall Mode 4 cab and it sounds great. It has so much balls, even with stock pickups it cuts through like a knife. The other guitarist in my band plays a Gibson flying V through a dual rec/genz benz cab and this les paul sh*ts all over it (ok i am a bit biased, but it ******** does ok!!)

When i'm playing on the lead channel this guitar demolishs walls, melts faces, leaves people running for there lives. Then i wind the volume down, switch to clean and all of a sudden it sounds like an angel. People start crying and reminencing about the good old days.. If I switch it to the neck Pickup the old boy down the road brings his rocking chair and starts singing about his woes.

This guitar has as much filth/lushness as you could want.

Best guitar ever..................who know;s.....but for me.....

I ******** LOVE IT!!!

Perfect no faults what so ever!!

to early to say, but this guitar will outlive me thats for sure!!

I have been playing for about 15 yrs and as i mentioned previously i've used a variety of Guitars but nothing quite like this.

If some one stole i would remove their testicles with a blunt knife. Then go and buy another one.

2005 Wine Red Gibson Les Paul Studio (Gold Hardware)
Made in USA.

I won't go into the detail, as it's the same as everyone else said.

I got this guitar used. The pick-ups are not the greatest you can get from Gibson (obviously) but I do like the sound I get from the Bridge Pick-Up when I have my distortion pedal on. I would rather a Seymour Duncan Jazz in the neck.

I run this through a Marshall Microstack with an Old Digitech Death Metal pedal. Gives me a really good Thrash / Old School Death Metal sound. Perfect for what I play.

The pick-ups are really quite on this guitar, even when I have my distortion cranked there is very little noise.

This is where alot of people have problems with these guitars. It seems to be pretty hit and miss with flaws in this Model from Gibson. I bought it used, so I do not know how it was set-up from the factory. The guy I purchased it from said he had a pro-setup done on it, so there is no fret buzzing. The neck is straight and the fret board has no humps and the finish is fine. (Few dings in it, but that is to be expected from a 5 year old guitar.) The previous owner said that the input jack was really flimsy when he bought the guitar, so he had it replaced.

I have owned a 2000 Gibson SG Standard, 2003 Gibson Les Paul Custoum and 1998 Gibson Explorer. Compared to all those Gibsons, I would say that this guitar holds its ground. Obviously, it's not as flashy looking at the Custom and has weaker pick-ups and "lesser" body wood. But overall it was worth the money.

My advice is make sure you inspect the guitar closely before you purchase it. Especially the neck and fretboard, that seems to be where people have the most problems with the Studio's.

*My rating is based on the guitar after having a Pro-Setup.

This guitar has been kicking for 5 years, un-gigged and is in great condition still. Few dings and scratches, nothing I can't live with.

The hardware has some wear on it, the finish is coming off on the bridge and bridge pick-up corners. (Picking hand rubbing against it, palm muting alot :P).

The finish on this guitar is beautiful, really nice color and goes really well with the gold hardware. I can't find any flaws in the finish.

I would definitely use this at a gig without a backup, it's a solid guitar and well worth the money spent on it.

Never had to deal with Gibson. But I have always heard good things from people who have.

I have been playing for about 8 years on and off. (Didn't play very much during college, started playing daily again about 3 years ago.) I currently own a Jackson Dinky, BC Rich Jr V and this guitar. I have owned other Gibsons and Epiphones in the past.

If it was stolen, I would probably buy a Les Paul Standard or Custom. Just because I don't know if I would find another Studio that is as good as this one or without any flaws.

I love the look of the guitar and the feel of the neck is great. Has really good action and the pick-ups are decent enough for what I need right now. If I gig this gutiar, I will be putting some Seymour Duncans in it.

I don't really hate anything about it. I hate the fact that people have had such problems with these guitars. For a $1000 price range guitar from a USA made Company, there shouldn't be so many problems with the neck on these guitars. I'm glad I got lucky and found a good one.

2002 USA made ebony 22 fret 490 498pickups, V V T T controls. Durable Gibson Case with pinky lining and coffin blanket.

Nice understaed les Paul look, the chrome on the tuning pegs, pickup covers and other hardware looks sharp on the 'blacked out' LP body. Nice combo

Sound is very good. NOT near as full as my standard fitted with burstbuckers so this guitar is NOT a suitable tone alternative. The pickups are quiet, tone controls are quiet. This guitar is a bit beatup and its has taken it all. BLOWS AWAY the newer really light feeling studios - night and day difference in feel. The stock 490R pickup is too woofy and moddy to my liking. I have found I have to tweak my amp a bit to be happier with that sound. I'd BET slapping burstbucker pros would make this a GREAT alternative to LP standard at 1/2 the price :-) There are weaknesses to the stock pickups but thrugh a Mesa Boogie or other real tube amp, i bet it will suffice most purposes.

everything on the guitar works as it should. been dropped a few times due to the tiny strap knobs, and the neck is not snapped just dinged. bridge is slightly mis placed i.e. 1st string does not go over the saddle right in the middle where as on a standard the bride to pickup pole alignment is perfect. The saddes come 'non-notched' for this purpose i believe, for the less care in the process on teh floor. Everything else is good and accurate i..e placement of nut, strings run parallel to the fretboard edges nicely ... fret edges just needed a bit of emery cloth to improve the feel, which is nothing that a half-decent setup tech would do for you anyways.

very solid guitar, can easily gig without a backup

been playing 25 years. Was curious about the "Studio is just like a Les Paul" and while the feel is similar the mojo of the new burstbuckers just is not there; A good solid usable guitar that stays in tune. I would bet, puting in burstbucker pros would give the studio a real run for the Standards money, with some finishing and fit issues. I have seen some very cheap feeling later models 2007 and 2008 and they are very very different thant the older heaveier ones. For someone playing in questionable neighbourhoods and don't want to see their 3,000 standard get stolen, no one in the crowd would really know you were playing "just a studio".

Mine is a Wine Red Les Paul Studio, about 3 or 4 years old, bought it used, but as new condition. Came with the original Gibson hard case. Usual standard Studio spec - 490R neck pickup, 498T bridge. Very nice maple top - lovely wood grain, just beautiful finish when the light catches it right.

Well, it came with the standard 490R and 498T pickups, which I'm afraid to say, are utterly dreadful. I tried and tried to get good tones from them, endlessly tweaking the heights, but in the end gave up. I carefully removed the pickups and installed a set of Sheptone Tribute PAFs. Light years better. The best thing I can say about the 490R and 498T...at best they will make your guitar sound like it is out of tune. At worst...better not go there...suffice to say they are muddy, clangy, noisy, just plain awful. Why anyone who cares about their tone would leave these pickups in the guitar I don't know. I use my Les Paul with a Peavey Valveking Royal 8, which I have upgraded with a Celestion Super 8 speaker, and Groove Tubes. It sounds great now it has the Sheptones in. The neck pickup can be really thick and creamy, but without getting muddy like the horrendous 490R. Good variety of tones from this guitar, just tweak the knobs a bit. The bridge sounds brighter as is usual, but it is never harsh or piercing, just perfect. My advice, if you buy this guitar - CHANGE THE PICKUPS FOR SOMETHING BETTER.

This is, sadly, where the guitar falls down - very badly. The major weaknesses are the fretboard, nut, and pickup selector switch. Firstly, the fretboard - and this is my biggest gripe with this guitar - the quality of the rosewood used for the fretboard is downright awful, and absolutely shocking for a ??1000 guitar. What I mean is that it is rough as bricks - simply not smooth at all, it has little ridges and striations from the darker stripes in the rosewood which give a really rough texture to the fretboard. This is in my opinion REALLY, REALLY bad. My ??300 Aria Pro II PE has a higher quality rosewood fretboard than this - nice and smooth and dark, and frankly, it wipes the floor with the Gibson. The fretboard on the Les Paul is so rough that it makes smooth bending nigh on impossible. I've tried polishing and cleaning the fretboard but to no avail. The wood is just too poor quality to allow smooth playing. I didn't notice at first, but there's some really poor quality workmanship on the frets, or more precisely the wood next to the frets - which on some frets is bevelled slightly parallel to the frets and all the way along the fret across the fingerboard. This looks like shoddy workmanship to me, but luckily doesn't affect playability to badly (but that isn't great anyway). The action was badly set up, but I bought this guitar 2nd hand so thats just how the previous owner had it set up. Maybe he liked it like that, but it wasn't right for me. The factory standard nut on the guitar is shocking - the high strings constantly bind in it, such that accurate tuning is almost impossible, and when you do get it in tune, it stays in tune for all of about 20 seconds worth of playing. I replaced the nut with a hand crafted bone one, which is a vast improvement on the stock. Why Gibson puts such awful nuts on their instruments is a mystery. The nitro-cellulose finish is very nice and shiny, but beware - it is high maintenance and marks easily. It needs frequent polishing to keep it looking good. The neck also becomes very sticky quickly which really slows down your playing. In summary; to get this guitar set up properly, you will probably have to be prepared to put some work in on it - replace the nut for something better like bone or man-made ivory. Be careful to inspect the fretboard closely and pay particular attention to the quality of the wood and smoothness. Gibson stuck a real poor quality plank on this one. It's let the guitar down so badly, I'm going to sell it. Shame on you Gibson. This is more like a ??200 guitar in this state. All of my so-called 'cheap' Korean made guitars are vastly superior. I think that says it all really.

Guitar is very solid feeling and heavy. Electronics seems durable, except for the dodgy pickup selector switch which WILL work loose in time. Whether I would use it to gig without a backup is irrelevant, because I wouldn't use it to gig with in the first place. I'd use my Aria Pro II PE Anniversary, which is a vastly superior guitar at a fraction of the price of this Gibson. In all honesty, the Aria wipes the floor with the Gibson Les Paul. The finish will scratch and mark easily, but that's somewhat inevitable with a nitro finish.

No contact with them really, except a question about bridge height and tailpiece height which they replied to promptly by email.

I've been playing for 10 years. All my other guitars are Japanese made or Korean made. All are cheaper by a long way than the Gibson and all bar none are better, by far. Only time will tell if I will grow to love this guitar. It is nice to have that Gibson name...and it's a real Les Paul...it's just such a let down to what I was expecting. I thought I was upgrading to a superior instrument, but what I was actually doing was getting an expensive piece of crap. With the really inferior quality fretboard, I see no way to get this guitar playing like my Aria's do. Save your money and get a Japanese or Korean made guitar. Much better made, much higher quality AND much cheaper.

two humbuckers, fatter neck, 2 tone and 2 volume pots, gold hardware, black.

Sound is thick. Play through a Genz Benz Black Pearl with a Keeley modded DS-1. Output on the pickups is very hot, very clear and very good for rock and metal. Moves a LOT more air than my strat.

Everyone's complaining about this area - I have zero complaints. This guitar was set up PERFECTLY with 10's, right out of the box. Frets are perfect, tuners perfect, nuts perfect. The slightly shorter scale makes 10's bend like 9's on a strat which means you get a thicker, meatier tone without the rigid feeling. It's light -lighter than my hot rod 50's strat (which has a nitro-finish as well so it's not just the poly).

I'm giving an 8 here because of the headstock problem - they do break, and it doesn't take much. My SG fell face down on the carpet and the headstock broke. And that's supposedly the new, stronger headstock design. You could play cricket with a strat with no ill-effect.

Don't know.

This is a fantastic guitar. I'm normally a strat guy, but many, many strats are garbage and you really have to search and pay a lot to find a good one. This guitar is light, feels great, sounds much more "in your face" than a strat and costs as much as an american strat which, in my mind, makes this guitar a way better value.
Most beginners don't realize how much the little things count. For instance, any "real" guitar has a nitro finish. If it doesn't, you're playing a hunk of plastic with a pickup in it. The fret job, nut precision and neck quality is also crucial - I've had plenty of thousand dollar strats that fretted out when bending somewhere past the 12th when set up low, and that makes the guitar pretty much useless.
As far as LP's go, the holes in the body cavity make a big difference with weight and balance, and the maple top is a huge part of the sound.
This guitar has it all.

Same basic design Gibson has used since the 50's no surprises here. But that's what I was looking for a no frills Gibson Les Paul.

Did get far enough along in my evaluations of 4 different new Les Paul Studios to actualy plug one in.

Here is where the problem is. I went to a local guitar shop with money in hand with the goal of buying a new Les Paul Studio. Of the four they had in stock I could not find one that did not have major flaws. Major enough that I did not even bother pluging in the guitars to check out how they sounded. One had a huge hump in the fretboard around the 14'th fret. Another had a twist in the neck. The third one I checked out had a bow so bad and action so high that I wondered if Gibson or the guitar shop ever did any testing/setup at all. The fourth had many finish flaws. In addition to these obvious flaws all had very poorly dressed frets with many buzzing and intonation problems and very poorly cut nuts rendering them basicly unplayable. These guitars would best be suited for stripping them of their electronics and burning the bodies.

Don't know although they kinda felt like toys compared to my 1990 Standard.

N/A

Overall the whole experience has left me a bit upset. I was ready to buy and money was no object but I couldn't find ONE Studio that was not a complete mess and these were brand new 2008 and 2009 models at a well known major retail Guitar Center. Should have been factory rejects. I don't know what's going on with Gibson these days but I buy a new guitar at least once a year and I won't be buying a new Gibson ever again. What a shame.

I think just about everybody knows what a Les Paul is and what it looks like, right? Mine was made in 2005, Nashville TN. Mahogany neck and body (with a laminated maple top). 490R, 498T humbuckers, nitrocellulose finish (love it btw). Tune-o-matic bridge, gibson deluxe tuners, two volume knobs - one for each pickup, two tone knobs (cuts off treble, doesn't add bass) - one for each PU

I play mostly blues, blues-rock, garage-punk-rock and any kind of simple, fast and loud music I can come up with. It is no accident that two of six strings are E's and that is my favourite octave. Playing it thru a fender blues junior using a digitech hot-head distortion.

This is the 4th guitar I've owned and it beats all the others like a drumstick. You can play just about anything with this guitar, all you have to do is turn the knobs and voila!

The sound ranges from gentle finger-picking that reminds me of a certain mountain spring on a hot day - way up to a crunchy fat tone or ear-tearing falsettos, distortion mayhem, sometimes I get so thrilled while playing I have to tame myself not to break it in pieces.

I have never played a guitar that can express your emotions in realtime better than this one, you can really slide through the songs, sound angry when the time comes, then get calm and moody, then get jolly and ridiculous... it responds to the way you feel and whatever you need to express at the time, this guitar can be the medium.

Bought mine second hand in a TERRIBLE condition.
When I saw it I almost cried, the guy clearly has had no idea how to take care of your gear (intonation completely botched, rusty strings) I spent quite some time cleaning it up, adjusting the action and intonation. Neck was set up right, obviously the mark didn't fiddle around with the truss-rod (thank god). The finish has a few scratches and one visible flaw, but the wood is pretty like a picture and the guitar has a overall road-worn look.

We play every Friday and I practise every day and this guitar feels and looks like it will last (outlive me perhaps!). I intend to get the finish fixed, it's supposed to be easier to re-finish a nitrocel. than a polyureth. - donno.

I do a lot of heavy strumming, bending, altogether I like to give the bastard a hard time and the strings hold the tune perfectly unless the conditions (humidity, temperature) are too high/too low. I use and recommend straplocks, the buttons are quite subtle and I like to move a lot while playing.

I sent some mails to Gibson CS re: stopbar height and they told me what I needed to know. no prob here.

Bought it used, so good-bye gibson warranty.

I've been playing guitar since I was a kid, but my first electric came in 2004 from my first full-time salary - a Squier strat. Prior to this I've owned a Fender Tele (disliked the tin-can sound) and Gretsch Electromatic hollowbody (too flimsy and weak).

Once I played with a fella who used the same amp, we were playing without any effects and I f**king drowned his Fender Strat although I had my amp and guitar set way below his volume. Sorry Fender, but this is a REAL guitar. I also heard that guitars with a glued-in neck have a better sustain than with a screwed-in neck - ??

I hope Cuco(pron. choo'chow - I call it after a brand of a really heavy slovak red-currant wine because it resembles the colour) will stay with me as long as I live but if stolen (or accidentally smashed) I hope I would get the money together for a 2008 standard.

I really like the way it is built, and the wood texture is beautiful I think. And you can adjust it to your own needs - don't be afraid to experiment with the pickup height, string gauge, action - the sound differs slightly when you change the setup.

This is a 2000 model in ebony. I picked it up second hand from the original owner. Nice meaty, thick neck with a rosewood fretboard and medium jumbo frets. The pickups are 498T and 490R with CTS 500K pots and your garden variety 3-way switch. Mahogany body with a thick maple cap, weighing in at just over 8 pounds. Chrome hardware including GROVER tuners. Standard Gibby 24 3/4 scale. Trapezoid inlays.
Excellent quality sound and feel. Playability is outstanding-no issues at all. Basically it's a Les Paul w/o binding, figured top or headstock inlay...and inflated price. LOL Short learning curve due to the fact that it sounds so good no matter where the knobs are. Nice.

It's all that you could ask for from a Gibson Les Paul. Rich and fat throughout the volume/tone pots' range in clean, overdriven and distorted modes. The pickups are excellent with a hot alnico 5 bridge and a soft alnico 2 neck. The bridge pickup overdrives my amps ever so slightly with the guitar's volume at 10. It's a cool, dirty-grainy sounding grit that works very well for clean soloing. I wouldn't consider changing it out for any other pickup. It is exactly what I expected it to be. On the other hand the neck pickup is cut from a different cloth entirely. It's very warm with about 80% of the power that the bridge pickup has. I find it works well as a full sounding rhythm pickup behind solos played by our other guitarist because it is fat and big sounding, filling up the space behind the solo without crashing into the solo. With both pickups on the rhythm sound is a perfect balance of warmth and treble.
So much for the clean side of this thing.
I like to use the volume pots to control the overdrive/distortion from my pedals. I use several pedals in my setup: BOSS BD2->BOSS OD1->BOSS DS1->->BOSS CE2->Fender Blues Jr or Blues Deluxe or Roland Blues Cube.
For songs requiring overdrive or distortion I start with the BD2 on all the time for just a light overdrive. Depending on how much drive I need I step on the OD1 or the DS1. That's it. The LP sounds great with these pedals and amps. I have no complaints whatsoever. From blues all the way up to heavy hard rock it delivers a consistent clear, rich, harmonic sound. The harmonic feedback and sustain is incredible. Sweeeeeet!
I play blues, rock, early rock n roll and jazz standards with a 5 piece band. There is not a thing I would change about the sounds I can get from this guitar. It's perfect Les Paul tone, period.

No complaints about the hardware or electronics. The finish is another story. Mine has several finish flaws including paint streaks, orange peel and areas of overspray. These are obvious factory finish flaws. The QC guy was out sick on the day this guitar was made, I guess.
Personally I couldn't care less but when you lay out the kind of cash that these go for new, you have a right to expect more. Most customers would be pissed about finish flaws as blatant as these. I'm not happy about the finish flaws but the sound and playability of this magnificent guitar more than make up for it. Nevertheless there is no excuse for such shoddy workmanship in the paint department. So: Shame on you, Gibson.
I swapped out the 3-way switch with a Switchcraft model because Gibbys are notorious for bad 3-ways. It was still working okay when I replaced it. Better safe than sorry IMHO.

Gibbys are known for their longevity. Good woods, durable hardware and build quality are hallmarks of their products. This one will be passed on to my son someday-I'm pretty sure of that. In the meantime I treat it with respect and wipe it down after each session. I thoroughly clean it and set the action & intonation every time I change the strings. I expect it will be around for a long time. Rock solid.

No comment.

I picked up up the guitar back in 67 when I was in high school. Over the years I have owned mostly cheap knockoffs of Fenders and Gibsons. I bought a Gibson L6-s in the 80s and liked it but I sold it later. When I had the chance to buy a (used) REAL Gibson Les Paul for a low price I immediately jumped on it. It has turned out to be all I ever expected from a real deal LP. I am completely satisfied. I own several LP knockoffs and a few Strat & Tele knockoffs that I'm also satisfied with but none of them are in the class of this instrument. You can feel the quality and hear the difference when you pick it up and plug it in. For the 300 bucks I paid for it (with mint Gibson H S Case!) I have to rate it as a 10-excellent, fantastic value. I'm very happy with this guitar.

This is a 2005 LP Studio. I think we're all well aware of the features. It's Alpine White with gold hardware and box stock.

It's a Les Paul, of course it sounds great even stock. Gibson may have cut a few corners on fit and finish with studio models, but they didn't spare the electronics.

I used to play LP's back in the 80's on stage and I hated the weight, this one is just as heavy as I remember them being. But that weight is what helps give them their incredible tone and sustain. I haven't played one of the newer "Light weight LP's" but I have a hard time believing they can get this tone after lightening the body.

Here is where I have a slight problem with the guitar. It's Alpine White and I've heard they had problems with this finish. I already expected things like no binding, but this finish is awful. If I'd bought the guitar for it's looks I'd be highly upset. It almost looks like spider web cracks on the front of the guitar, but close examination reveals it's just a poor finish.

It doesn't affect the playability or the sound, but for the amount of money you'd think Gibson would've remedied this before they released the guitar.

I'm just relying on previous experience with Gibby's here...they will stand up to whatever road abuse you throw their direction. Unless you fall face first off stage onto a wood dance floor using your LP as a buffer zone. They don't take that abuse well at all, but I don't imagine there are to many guitars that do.

No idea.

It's a heavy LP with loads of sustain and a great tone. If I cared about fit and finish I would've bought a standard or custom. I've played Gibby's all my life and while this isn't a 1960's LP, neither is the price.

Nashville made in 2001 according to the serial number. Black nitro finish with chrome hardware including Grover tuners (thank god!) The neck is slightly more substancial than the thin neck Les Paul, which is fine with me. I like a little meat on my guitar neck. Standard electronics and the 490 / 498 pickups, which I like. Other than that it's just another Gibson Les Paul for the low rent crowd, like me.

I run this with the volume pots around 5 and the tone pots at 3-5, depending on the song. What I really like about the 490 & 498 pickups is the sweet spot they have with the volumes rolled back. A lot of pickups lose their grip unless they are on "10" but not these. I adjust my amps to suit the rolled back volume (basically I use the Fender 6-6-6 standard) and when I want to solo i just roll the guitar volume up to 8-9. The pickups totally respond. I use a single MXR Distortion III pedal, which is on 100% of the time to give my Fender Blues Deluxe a little kick. The MXR volume and gain dials are at 12 o'clock, and the tone is up at 1 o'clock. There is no overdrive at these settings with the guitar volumes at 5. Advance the volumes to about 7 and you get a nice light OD. At 8-9 you get a solo tone with some bite. The LP Studio really shines as a tool in my hands. What I mean is, I can control my tone, drive and volume from the guitar without having to have preamps, boost pedals and EQ pedals. To me the ability to control the variety of sound all from the guitar is the most important attribute of any guitar, period.
On the other hand if you're a player who likes all knobs on 10, the guitar will deliver a full-on signal to whatever effects and amps you use. The 498 will overdrive my Fender Blues Deluxe all by itself-no problem. The 490 is not as hot but it is very warm and rich at full volume like a good alnico II pickup, which it is.
This guitar is everything I was hoping for. No need to change anything, sound-wise.

I bought it second hand but the flaws in the finish are factory flaws. It has a few slight scratches from the previous owner but the orange peel in the finish was done in Nashville. I don't care so much about the finish flaws, but it should be mentioned here. After a new setup and intonation tweak the thing plays wonderfully. No complaints.

This model is built pretty well. I have no worries at all regarding the hardware.

I bought mine for 350 bucks with a HSC. Great price/value for a real Gibson. I have no complaints about this guitar, especially for the price I paid. If you just have to have a Gibson Les Paul, try the low rent version, a.k.a. the LP Studio model. It has all the attributes of the Les Paul, but at a lower price point. At a 350 dollar price point this thing is an excellent value. I'm keeping mine!

Pretty good action and tone my favourite guitar!
I dont have much to say on it.

It is a really giid guitar for things like gnr/ velvet revolver / slash's snakepit
im using an marshall slash sig amp and cab and it sounds like slash's guitar
It make much noise with 7 dist if u try 10 dist it blows you out of your room and it makes a good bright sound pretty nice for blues licks
the guitar is a real rock master but blues sound so nice to that it wil destroy your heart

i love this guitars sound!

The wood is a fantastic kind of wood for rock or blues music
ive never opend the guitar but
so i cant say much over how the pickups are adjusted
but its a good action.

the reliability was not fantastic but but if u are carefull with your guitar theres no problem

the customer suport is super so i will give them a 9
because they are not allways friendly

got this in i think 2001. wine red gold hardware, standard les paul feaures.

i play mostly metal and classic rock. runing it straight into crate blue voodoo. the sound is great. the neck pick up is full and warm. the bridge is chunky and sharp. i love the sound of this guitar. i had a esp ltd viper with emgs and it never sounded as good as this guitar.

within the first week i had it the tunners were slipping, but guitar center gave me a whole new set for free. action was just a little high for me but that was an easy fix. other than that its great.

soild guitar, been playing it for about 8 years without problems. defintly get some strap locks cause it tends to come off the button by the neck a lot.

ive been playing for about 15 years. this is my favorite guitar. ive played les paul customs and tryed to feel/hear a defference but i cant. great guitar, i highly recomend it to anyone who wants great les paul sound but doesnt feel like paying for the white border line around the body and neck of the more expensive les pauls.

Les Paul studio in Alpine White with ebony fretboard.

I'm not a fan of Gibson pups, microphonic and muddy.

Here's the problem, the guitar buzzed horribly with high action. I sighted the neck and saw a hump on the fret-board between the 9th and 13th fret making the guitar unplayable. I took it to a Fender master tech who has done warranty for Gibson and he said the same thing, I paid him $100 to dress the frets to get me by. He did what he could but it still buzzed real bad. I sent the guitar back to Gibson and they had it for 2 months, to my dismay they did nothing but more fret dressing. It still buzzes horribly even with high action. I called Gibson and they said they would work on it again but I'm not waiting another 2 months for them to do nothing.

Don't know, can't play it.

Nice on the phone, LOUSY techs, worst warranty work I've ever had done it the past 25 years of playing.

What a waste of money, Gibson is not what they used to be.

1992 model with Ebony fretboard. bought used at a guitar show. Made in USA. Came with original pickups which were later replaced. All black finish with a gig bag. I love having separate tone and volume knobs for each pickup. The 8 is bc it'd be amazing if it came with sperzel tuners (i had to add those)and coil tap switches. My favorite feature is the slick ebony fretboard.

Suits any style i play fantastically. That would be rock, blues, and any kind of metal. You can strum my guitar unplugged and you know it's going to be good! Tone is slightly brighter and snappier than a Standard LP or a new Studio due to the ebony fretboard. The original pickups have been replaced but they sounded great while they were in there. For my style, I pretty much could have left them in there but I got curious. Now I have the EMG 81/85 set in there so it's pretty much been delegated as one of my pure metal guitars. I play through a Mesa Boogie Rectoverb and 5150 and with those in there, it sound so good for metal it's RIDICULOUS. I've recently started feeling bad about having them in, because they make it such a one trick pony. So I'm gonna throw the EMGs into another guitar and put a lower output set in here so it'll be more verstile and I get to play it more. Probably a set of SD '59s or Burstbucker Pros.

I bought the guitar used at a show but the guy who owned it must have been a tech or something. Best action I could ever wish for. Slippery ebony fingerboard, perfect intonation, resonance, tone, action. Nice thick '59 neck that fits my hand like a glove. I have another LP that I prefer slightly in terms of sound but thats because of the pickups in that guitar. The playability on this one is seriously amazing! And I thank my lucky stars because all the other Studio models I've played in stores have been crap compared to mine. I definitely lucked out. Whenever I pickup another guitar, this is the one they immediately get compared to.

Hell yes, it has withstood drunk and reckless live playing! It's got some belt buckle scarring, a chip on the headstock from getting dropped, and a few dings here and there from other accidents. The output jack got a little bent and had to be replaced. The knobs have gotten loose and had to be reset. But it's only gone into the shop twice since i've had in 10 years. Straploks got put on a long time ago. It's had every gauge of strings from .008 to .012s. Damn right, i can depend on it. Everything should be made this rugged.

no clue, never needed them.

Been playing 18 years now. I've had alot of guitars, but i'm trying not to buy anymore now, haha! I also currently have a Gibson Faded V, Epi Elite LP, Ibanez RG3120, ESP LTD Ninja V, and a Gibson Melody Maker. The Elite sounds amazing too and probably gets played the most but nothing touches the playability on my Studio. Like I said before, I'm gonna put some more versatile pickups back into it just so I can play it more. It's simply my favorite guitar and there is nothing else I wish it had. I'm just thankful, this one's mine.

This is the 2007 Left-Handed model. Typical Les Paul Studio features. I've never owned or played a Les Paul befor this one, so I have nothing to compare it to.

Again, this is th efirst Les Paul I've ever owned/played. I was expecting great things, but was extremely disappointed in the tone. It was muddy, boomy and lacked spark or clarity. Except for maybe metal, I found this guitar useless.

This was my biggest disappointment. The guitar, out of the box, had an oily almost slimy feel to it, especially the neck. The tuners did not hold the strings in tune. Worst of all, the frets on the edges were sharp and extremely uncomfortable against the hand and fingers.

It's a shame that Gibson would let a $1,400.00 guitar pass quality control in this condition.

Don't know, I returned the guitar right away.

Gibson, was helpful, through email, when I had a question.

My Les Paul Studio was made in 2004/2005 in the United States and it is a great guitar. It has 22 frets and a carved maple top. It has two volume and two tone knobs with a 3-way pick-up selector(Which I like for the solo to Bulls on Parade). The pick-ups are 490R and 498T Alnico Magnet Humbucker pick-ups(H/H). The Les Paul Studio has a Rosewood fingerboard and a Mahogany neck and body. It also has a tune-o-matic bridge with a stopbar tailpiece. The normal stuff. I just wish it had better tuners.

I love the bridge pickup for Metallica songs like enter sandman which use heavy distortion. The neck pickup is good for solos like the massive one in sweet child o' mine. It has a great slash sound. Even with my little Spider III 15 watt amp it sounds good. The pickups are pretty hot.

I bought my guitar from Guitar Center and I didn't have to setup anything. The guitar sounded perfect right after I got how.

This guitar is amazing. My cat went behind the guitar stand and it dropped. I picked it up and there was nothing wrong with it. It just needed to be retuned. I can easily depend on it. My other Gibson's neck snapped and that is why I got a new one.

I don't know. Pretty good I guess.

I have been playing for five years now and this is the best guitar I have ever owned. When I bought the guitar, I also bought Grover Tuners beacause the Green Keys are terrible. Buit you get what you pay for.

2003 model USA made Les paul studio in fireburst.
22 frets.
Solid mahogany body.
Mahogany neck with rosewood fretboard.
Tune-o-matic bridge.
3 way selector switch.
2 volume 2 tone knobs.
Pretty standard stuff, not a bonanza brett michaels.

The stock pick ups that come with this guitar, the 490 and 500 blah blahs are very decent pick ups. Classic Les Paul easily achievable. However after an influx of money i replaced the pick ups with British made and hand wound Bareknuckle pickups, which are pretty much the highest output inactive humbuckers you can get without being a dick. The rest of the review applies to the stock pick-ups aswell but be aware that the bareknuckle pick ups make distortion RADICAL compared to awesome- No guitar can hold a candle to the sustain you get from half metric ton of mahogany. Neck pick-up is easily my favourite( use for blues and slash tones), it produces a very very rich and warm tone that could coax a duck into an eggcup and undress by 11. Neck sounds excellent on distortion or clean but you wont be achieving anything anything near as glassy as a strat. Bridge pick up is a nice contrast- It has piercing bite great for metal rhythm and more shreddy leads when distorted. On the clean side of the lake the bridge pick up isnt really my thing - sounds too thin probably because of the high output of the pick up. Inbetween position is a nice balance of the 2 and some good Clapton tone with some of the tone knobs turned down a ways.

Fireburst finish looks delicious, better than wine red in my opinion and worth the extra 40 pounds or so. Action wise there was no fret buzz or dead notes upon recieving this guitar from the shop. Action was fine but i adjusted (easily)to my own preference. Stayng in tune isnt a problem, no more so than any other guitar without locking tuners. no worries here.

I bang this guitar around like tuesdays roast, the finish has a few knocks and some worn edges but that just adds to it i think. HOWEVER and i cant stress this enough: If your gonna leave this guitar about, make sure you have a good quality stand because where the neck meets the headstock is EXTREMELY THIN and is almos too easy to crack or snap completely if it falls over. So really be careful - dont let your springer spaniels run all over the house willy nilly. Secure them fast to a radiator or anvil before even thinking of E minor pentatonic. lesson learnt. Apart from that the electronics seem reliable and the jack is fine aslong as you keep it tight.

Pfff havnt a clue. I guess its good

Get this guitar if you want Les paul tone at a very reasaonable price and can live without the poncey finish's for Dermatologists with more money than sense. Sweet sweet distortion and some very nice clean tones and sustain like a *****.

I think anyone can look pretty much anywhere and find this.. It came with a hard case. It's painted black and so is the neck which I've not seen on any other guitar I've played.
I got it brand new about four years ago - 2004 I suppose.

Before I got it I played a Yamaha Pacifica 112 and that was really bright - this is much fuller and warmer. I didn't like this at first but I play mostly AC/DC so I've grown to like it.
It sounds nice at the neck position when playing through a clean amp or something more bluesy.

The fretboard is rough as bricks but I like it that way now.
The pickup selector wasn't fitted properly - the switch wouldn't flick all the way in both directions so it could easily be knocked into the middle; not good. I had to chisel bits of wood off inside to fix this. Bad!
The pickups don't sit flat - poor. The control knobs weren't pushed on straight.
There were mould marks on the plastic tuner knobs. Cheap
Bass strings buzz like hell on the frets.
The back of the guitar is not contoured so you've got right-angles sticking in your rib cage!
It same with 10s fitted and I've gotten used to bending/vibrato at that gauge. The neck is nice and thick.
I wish it didn't have the pick guard though. It protects the areas my pick doesn't go and I'd get rid of it were it not for the screw holes that'd be left behind.
Getting to last couple of frets is restricted (speshially on the bass strings).
The G-string has a problem staying in tune with the others after a day or so - no real problem though.

Well it seems pretty tough. I don't treat it like a baby - it's not an ornament.
It's taken knocks by tables, etc. I've stabbed it with pencils when I make mistakes.
But it hasn't fallen out of shape.
The gold plate has come of the metalwork where my hand rests - I don't mind this, I use it as a measure of how much I play it.
Oh, yeah, the first thing I did was replace the strap buttons. I sometimes don't wear steel toe-capped boots and I like my toes as they are.
The pickup selector needs a few attempts to make contact - very poor.
If I were to gig with it I'd need to fix some things that were wrong from the factory.

I took it back to the shop about the fret buzz. The guy was really friendly and fetched a PRS from the display and it looks like maybe I was just hitting the thing too hard.
Never actually dealt with Gibson but the website looks nice.

I've been playing for 6.63 years. Not long but I know what I like and my limitations.
It might sound like I'm whinging about the guitar - that's because when I got it it had so many flaws that I didn't expect from a 'quality' guitar. My ??180 Yamaha was set up perfect and everything just worked.
However.. I do love to play it. It feels good in my hands. My fingers fall just right to make chords. Slides and bends come naturally.
But it's been a tough love. I reckon I could've got a better copy for a lot less money.
So, subconsiously I must be a snob beacuse I would've felt sad with a copy.
A guitar from the 50s without modern Japanese improvements in manufacture.
Last word? It is part of me now, flawed like me. I see other people with sleek guitars and I think, 'Oh how the other half live'.