Gibson Les Paul Studio

2004 Made in USA; Nashville, TN. 22 frets, mahoghany back and neck, carved maple top, red wine stain with semi flamed wood showing through(Very nice!), gold hardware with Grover kidney shaped tuners, two tone and volume controls with black top hats, H/H 490R/498T passive humbuckers. The body is supposed to be "slightly thinner" than the conventional Studio but if it is thinner not by much. The fretboard is rosewood with 3/4 sized trapeziod inlays. The 3/4 trapeziods and the Grovers(Thank you!) are the only differences I can see that are different from other Studio models. It does have a cheap pickguard that I plan on changing for a 3-ply. It was supposed to come with a gig bag but came with a TKL hardshell Gibson case instead, much to my delight. Also included a multiwrench and paperwork consistant with a new Studio. I am surprised at how nice this guitar was for the money($750). I don't know if it was an overstock or second or what but I've gone over this thing with a magnifying glass and can't see any defects. I expected a cheap version but was surprised by the looks which are actually better than the conventional Studios I looked at.

I play metal, rock, jazz, country, and fingerpick. This guitar does it all. I use a Laney Pro Tube 50 through a Marshall 1960A 4X12 cab when I need distortion and this guitar sounds awesome. I also have a Peavey Special 130 that I use for clean sounds. This guitar goes from metal/shred to mellow jazz and country without a hitch. I love it. It does not have the Fender twang for that I use a Warmoth strat with Fender Lace.

The action wasn't bad but needed lowered and the intonation was off. Pro set up fixed all that. I strongly recommend a pro set up on any new guitar. Everything else was top rate. I went over this instrument looking for flaws and found none. The craftsmanship is excellent. I've heard Gibson get a bad rap on other reviews but this isn't one of them. Everything was tight and solid. I cant' believe the top is flamed!

This guitar will definitely stand up at a live gig. I'm pleased with the fact it came with Grovers as opposed to green key Klusons which in my opinion are junk. The only things I'm changing on this guitar are the nut(I'm chaning to graphite), the strap buttons(Strap locks) and the pichguard. I recommend putting strap locks all guitars. I wouldn't use any guitar on a gig without backup.

I e-mailed Gibson for info. on this unheard of guitar and...no help there. They did get back to me but said the specs were the same on all Gibson Studio Les Pauls and that this one was "slightly thinner" than others. I measured and it isn't. It's the same. I don't know if this guitar was NOS or what but you won't find any info. on it anywhere.
I got it from Musician's Friend and thought I was buying a cheap($749) guitar and was delighted to find it was better than standard. Got a hardshell logo case and Grovers so I'm happy. I'm giving customer support a 9 since they did get back to me in 24 hrs.

I've been playing for 39 years and own a bunch of guitars including a Gibson ES-135 from the 50's. I've owned and played every guitar you could possibly think of and this is the best value for the money I've ever seen from Gibson and from Musician's Friend. I really lucked out this time, this one time. Usually you get what you pay for with the exception of the old USA Peaveys which in my opinion are the best guitar values out there.....ROCK ON~PONO!

Mine was made in 2004 in USA, 22 frets, nitrocellulose finish, tone and volume for each pickup,2 humbuckers,mahogany body with a maple top, ebony fretboard, gibson deluxe tuners, gibson usa hardcase came with it. only an 8 because it doesn't have a coil tapper and there's no binding on the body.

This guitar suits all of my styles, and i play everything! blues, metal, punk, rock, pop. but what it really excells in is classic rock like led zep, ac-dc and stuff. I play through a marshall solid state mg, sometimes a digitech rp 200 aswell and it's brilliant! the bridge pickup is perfect for those 10 minute solos and the neck pickup has got a really creamy tone that's great for bluesy stuff.

The guitar was set up fine. everything was perfect although i did have to lower the action slightly.

This guitar was built like a tank! i've only had it 3 weeks so it hasn't had a lot of time to break but the guys at gibson know how to build a guitar. the only problm is the nitro finish. it cracks from any severe temperature change, it gets rubbed off by leather and synthetic leather, and you can't put it on a normal stand because the rubber stuff destroys the finish.

I've been playing 4 years and if this were stolen, i would rip the guys guts out and feed them to him! then i'd buy a les paul standard. it's the best all round guitar you can buy for the money, i compared it with the tokai love rock, and epi les paul custom. It blew them out of the water! If you're thinking of buying one then go for it. you'll never look back.
if you have any questions please email me.

I have a beautiful ebony 1993 studio with full size mother of pearl trapezoid inlays.It has a seymore duncan humbucker in the bridge position and a gibson humbucker in the neck position.The tuners are schallers that stay in the best tune no matter how hard you play I love those tuners.The neck is a fifties style round back that just fits in your hand perfectly and lends itself out for perfect playing. I got this guitar from Carl Sandoval who made Randy Rhoads polka dot flying-v. I go to him for adjustments on my other guitars and he had this one lying around and he sold it to me me for a lousy 250.oo dollars can you believe that.

This guitar gives out a great full sound which makes playing rock music a dream. I play it through a Marshall jcm800 amp and must I say that it is unstoppable.

The guitar has perfect action of course I had Mr. Sandoval give me that adjustment right before I purchased it from him and I havent had to adjust it since.

This guitar is made like a tank. I have a Gibson Explorer I use as a back up guitar but I usually dont have to resort to using it unless a string breaks while I am playing.Th finish is getting a little dull but I know that it has plenty of life in it still.

I've been playing for about 15 years and I've been in plenty of bands mainly playing rock music and I usually have had Jackson guitars and Charvel strats but ever since I started playing Gibsin Guitars there is no looking back.Since I got my studio guitar it has given me a greater respect for the Les Paul and I cant wait to get more of them.

This is my first LP after playing a strat for 15 yrs. and WOW! no comparison there! I was originally looking for a standard when the nice guy at guitar center asked me if I had thought about a studio and actually I had not but when I played one they felt and sounded the same.The studio just doesn't have all the fancy binding around the body and it even has the same tuners as the standard which shocked the hell out of me!!I ended up buying mine from ebay and it is a 2001 wine red w/chrome hardware.Absolutely beautiful.This guitar is built and then some.It is heavy and it feels like heaven to the fingers.Anyway,if you're thinking about buying one it truly is money very well spent.Oh yeah,if you're confused about gibson or epiphone- gibson only usa made top notch woods and build,lasts forever.epiphone made in china,indonesia,japan and other places.Pick em up side by side in the store gibson is way heavier than epiphone due to quality woods. The les paul studio is a guitar that will forever keep you happy!!

Like heaven! Growls nicely with bridge pickup but also has very warm jazzy neck pickup.Middle pickup sounds as good as the other two!If you like to do alot of pinches you will now love to do them!Overall,les paul studio has very versatile sound from chunky and hot to warm and fuzzy.I run mine through a 5150 head to ampeg 412 cab. Can get a very nasty metal sound or southern rock or whatever sound.The guitar kicks serious butt!!!I think this guitar would sound good out of a tiny gorilla practice amp!!

No complaints here either.Beauty,beauty,and more beauty!! Everyone has setup preferences that are best suited to their playing style.The action is fine for me because I'm not a shredder,but if that's you then you might want to have a shop lower the action for you.The bridge is adjustable but you can only go so low before you get fret buzz.Strings bend really easy.Whole step bends-not a problem!Some guitars you end up hitting the other string due to the fact that bending them takes more effort.Not the les paul!!

I would use it on stage without a backup only if I had straplocks because the stock ones are tiny for such a heavy guitar.God forbid you should drop it.Could you imagine how awful you would feel! If your a stage or standup player GET STRAPLOCKS!! Other than that the finish lasts as long as you let it(take care of it and it will take care of you)gold hardware does wear off.Mine is chrome but it is personal preference.The chrome will rust if you let it go so either of them looks sweet.Speed nobs are cool and pickup switch will last.

have not dealt with and probably will never deal with

I love everything about this guitar.It is in my opinion THE ONLY guitar there is.Again,not to offend lovers of other guitars but it truly is a remarkable piece of work that will bring you,your kids,your grandchildren,your great granchildren etc.. hundreds or possibly thousands of years of enjoyment!!J U S T G O B U Y O N E ! ! ! !

My guitar was made in the U.S.A. in 2001 (September 11th after checking with the serial number). Has standard Les Paul 22 jumbo frets and controls. Mahogany body and neck with maple top and finished in beautiful pewter. It came with a Gibson gig bag (top quality) and accessories pack.

I play mainly rock (classic and heavy) with a bit of contemporary music and metal. I play it through a Marshall MG15CD and a Boss ME-50 Multi-effects unit. The gibson humbuckers are an absolute joy and deliver awesome rock sounds in all three settings, although the neck pickup can sometimes be a bit woolly on the lower frets. If it's rock you play then this is the guitar for you, if you want funk or pop by a strat (but don't as I hate them). For the money I doubt that you could buy a better sounding quality rock guitar.

The standard factory setup was ok but I have actually raised the action to eliminate fret buzz. It's a problem on Les Pauls as the frets are so large. It is perfect now and doesn't slow down my playing at all. The body and pickups are perfect.

This guitar is built to last. Everything about it is quality and over-engineered. Buy bigger strap buttons though as they are quite small. Even with a gibson at this money you get a nitro-cellulose finish that will improve with age and will not look cheap like other makes.

Never had to.

Don't hesitate if you are thinking of buying a Gibson Les Paul Studio. They are fantastic guitars that give you the true Les Paul experience at half the cost of a Standard. I would not consider parting with this guitar with anything other than a Gibson, and even then it would have to be very, very special.

gibson les paul studio, 3 way switch 2 volume, 2 tone ect.........
the only features i would like to see are locking tuners, maybe coil taps, and strap locks stock. I am completley satisifed with what it has though so its like what a reviewer said below an 8 out of 8

i play rock, jazz, and blues and this thing kicks ass for rock. tons of chunk, great mids, great highs, this is the ultimate rock guitar!

cant comment on factory set up because i got it used, after set up by store owner though plays BEAUTIFULLY, wow what a difference!

les pauls last forever, but i havent had this one too long so i wont comment here.

havent dealt with gibson and hope i never have to

i love this guitar, exellent value used. everybit as good as a standard for 1/2 the price, cant be beat just play as many as you can to find the best one!

Everyone knows the features on a Les paul. So I'm not going there.

It's a Les Paul, what would you expect from the insturment that defined popular music. This specific one was just bought but is a 1990 model. I just sold a 2004 model to get this one, reason... the newer models chamber the bodys, taking away from the fullness of the guitar, not much, but enough that I could notice. The downsie, my 2004 only weighed 5lbs or so, this one weighs in around 9-10lbs. It's worth it though, sounds great.

Ok, this guitar is almost 15 years old, it looks unbeleavable. The finish never faded after al these years of play. The gold hardware(which on my 2004 faded after a week)dosn't look like it's been touched. They must of done something diffrent back then cause it dosn't seem to fade like they do now.

These guitars are some of the most reliable out there, the electronics are top of the line, great stuff, well made. I never go without a back up, but I would never worry about this guitar stoping on me. The tunners suck though, change them right away and it's all good!

Gibson is great, they will always help you out.

Nothing I would want to change about these guitars. I have loved them for years and will continue loving and buying them till I can't play anymore. Then I will just hang them so I can admire there beauty.

Gibson Les Paul Studio, bought December 2004. This guitar has stock specifications -- check Gibson web site for details. Wine red with chrome hardware.

Giving it an 8 only because I know that other features theoretically exist that this guitar does not have, but there are none that I am missing! So I guess you could say 8 out of 8.

Very rich, full sound. 'Treble' pickup has nice cut and even a little twang. 'Rhythm' pickup is perhaps a tad too 'thick' and resonant making it a little less clean on clean - if that makes any sense, but I'm just being picky. In the middle position you get a wonderfully rich and full-bodied sound, but with some cut.

I compared it very carefully side by side in the shop with an LP Standard, playing extensively both clean and distorted. Both sounded excellent in their own right, but I neither was 'better'. The Studio was 'growlier' and the Standard was a bit 'smoother' or 'bluesier'. So it's down to preference. Difference was extremely subtle anyway, and wouldn't be noticeable unless you played them side by side in a quiet room with no other instruments!

Off the rack, the action and neck relief were already perfect. No fret buzz at all. Intonation is just slightly out, but the shop will do me a free setup as part of the sale.

Fit and finish are totally immaculate, other than what seem to be some naturally-occuring nicks in the edge of the rosewood fretboard. If I'm really picky I'll point out that one of the electronics access plates on the back isn't aligned 100% correctly with the cavity in the body that they've carved out for it.

Seems very solid and tight, but only time will tell!

n/a

I had been shopping for an LP Standard. But when I compared the two side by side, I could not tell any quality differences whatsoever, either with the sound or the build. The sound was practically identical, and personally I thought the Studio was a nicer, cleaner looking guitar.

So, even though I had the budget and willingness to buy a Standard, I saw nothing in that guitar that justified it. I asked myself, "name one thing about the Standard that you like better." I couldn't do it, so out the door I went with the Studio, at half the price!

I bought this used about 9 years ago--it's a 1991 Black Les Paul Studio (made in the USA) with an ebony fretboard and trapezoid ivory inlays. The guy who owned it before me replaced the Gibson tuners with black Grovers. He gave me the originals but I've left the Grovers on. Not sure what other features I'd want in a guitar, except maybe the ability to split the humbuckers and use them as single coils every now and then.

It's solid Mahogany and weighs a ton. A couple years ago my left shoulder was bigger than my right because of gigging/having it strapped on for 5+ hours a week. The Gibson molded case it came with has seen better days. It's done an admirable job protecting this guitar all over the country but I've had to add angle braces to keep it from splitting open, I've replaced the hinges, and the handle and one of the latches are pretty much broken. But the pink fuzzy inside and satin cover sheet look great and command respect.

The sound is fantastic. My preference is blues lead but this guitar is pretty versatile. Not the same clean tone as a nice Fender but as soon as you add just a touch of distortion this thing really sings. My first amp was a Peavey Special 130 and it even sounded good through that but I've been using a Marshall half stack for the past 8 years and love it. I used to have a mid 70's Fender Twin Reverb but this guitar just sounds much better through a Marshall.

I can take this guitar and my Boss Blues Driver pedal and plug it into any amp and the tone is great. Great for thick rhythm sounds using the neck pickup and sharp solos with the bridge pickup. Using a wah-wah pedal mostly depressed also sharpens the tone nicely.

The action on this thing is amazing. As good or better than any Les Paul Standard I've played. On the rare occasions I let someone else play her they are very impressed. I can do things soloing on this guitar that are just flat out not physically possible on other electrics. Regular polishing has kept the black finish nice and shiny.

I gigged/practiced/recorded/travelled with this guitar 3+ times a week regularly for 6 years and it held up awesome. The thing is a tank. The only reason I brought a backup to gigs was in case I broke a string. The guitar came with strap locks and I recommend them. I did have to replace the pickup selector switch once and re-soder a couple of those connections but I chalk that up to normal wear and tear.

I've been playing 11+ years, this was my third guitar but I consider her my first wife. I used to own a beautiful USA Tele and it didn't hold a candle to my Gibson. I also have a Gibson Blue Ridge acoustic, an Epiphione 12-string and a Seagull. If it was stolen I'd launch a nationwide manhunt. (I've memorized the serial number and use it as my lottery numbers.) Seriously though if it was stolen after I stopped crying I would probably spring for a Les Paul Standard--another Studio just wouldn't be the same. If the house were on fire this is first thing I'd rescue.

By far the best money I've ever spent. My sentimental attachment to this particular guitar notwithstanding, I can't imagine a better electric than the Les Paul.

to the best of my knowledge I bought a 1992 Les Pual studio wine red finish with gold hard ware. The reason I purchased this guitar was I needed the classic les pual feel and humbucking sound. The guitar came with Seymour Duncan JB and pearly gates pickups; I went back to restoring this guitar with new gibson gold finish 490R & 490T pickups. Sounds great and true to gibson. I don't know if the 92 model had these pickups or not ; but I noticed that the pickups aren't the same number , so I don't know if they are balanced per se. I know that SG's had 490's pickups in both neck and bridge position and they sounded great. I really think balanced pickups are the best tone. I really dig the Gibson ebony fretboard , I saw a new LP supreme with ebony fretboard with blonde streaks! I guess this model was made before the mass marketing and lessed quality that gibson now exhibits; a real shame becuase overall it's a great company with great designs. I've got the original gibson case by TKL, the lock doesn't work , but they case is still good. I wish I didn't have a case that said the brand name on it beucase of un wanted attention on gigs. A great guitar with the classic sound and feel from LP's

After I put the gibson pickups, they sound really came through nice a warm and clean. All the subtle overtones and sustain the guitar produces with the mahagonay woods really shines clear. The feel is nice and easy, you can play really relaxed with a nice big tone. I really think gibson makes a good pickup and many folks underestimate their sound quality.

Action is great, really easy to play. It does balance well on the shoulder but like most LP's, not the carved chamber ones; they're heavy. They do strian you when you play in sitting postition on your knee, so get a strap and balance the weight on your shoulder for compensating your hip and back.

Over time , the gold finish hardware has faded, except for the kluson tuners for some reason. Even my new gold pickups have diminished to to light hand contact. the red wine wood finish is classic and really red , not brownish like other tints.

I don't know how the factory set up was since I purchased this one used. It was set up really nice from the seller/tech, played like a dream.

Very stable, does well in lots of climates. stays in tune, neck set is stable, electronics are good , not noisy. My strap buttons were replaced so I don't know about the originals. I'm wearing out the finish from my arm sweat , kinda of turning it milky/greyish tarnish color.

Overall, very well made, made in the USA still!

I've called Gibson for other matters, great customer service , very professional.

I'm a professional guitarist in the AFM (11-637) I've used this guitar in all types of gigs, great guitar for any style of play. I would have a hard time replacing this guitar, since I like the pickups so much compared to the new LP studios! Very classic guitar, every rock player should own one!

Rescued in 2002, 1993 Les Paul Studio. Black laquer finish with ebony fretboard and chrome hardware. Block inlay on fretboard, deluxe tuning machines. Found it in a pawn shop covered in "tobacco" residue from previous owner. Fretboard was dingy, jack plate was bent, and two tone knobs were missing. Few minor dings here and there, pickups and pickguard were scratched up, i honestly don't think it had ever been wiped down since Gibson packaged it up new. This thing led a hard life and needed a good home. Came with a very plush Gibson gig bag and shop owner threw in a Marshall G50CD. I'd say I got my money's worth.

Makes a very nice compliment to my Fender American Series Stratocaster. They get equal time in the studio and on stage. I've played blues, classic rock, metal and it fits in very well. There is nothing like the sound of a Les Paul through a Marshall Stack, sends chills up my spine. Not noisy, unless i want it to be. I play througha GNX3 and it really makes this guitar versatile.

Guitar was very rough when i found it. Gave it a setup, polish, strings, replaced control knobs and jack plate. Now plays like a brand new one. Love the laquer finish, it is aging quite nicely. Pickups are scratched but thats the way i found it. Routed and aligned perfectly. Hardware is holding up well. Still using original tuners with no problems.

Very reliable. It gets alot of stage time and studio time. Just finished a demo and this thing snarled and growled like a true Les Paul shoud. Strap buttons were replaced with straplocks. Finish is laquer, have had issues with certain guitar stands messing up the paint, but overall holding up well after years of apparent abuse by previous owner.

Never had to deal with them, but I'm sure they would back up their products.

Been playing Since 1987, do alot of session work and some live cafe', club, local bar stuff. I feel like i rescued this abused guitar and gave it a new life. In return it has given back to me ten fold. There is no mistaking the classic Les Paul growl when i crank into this guitar. It isn't a nice quilt top or flame top, and will never be a show piece or collectors item. Instead it is a true workhorse. Live or studio or just jamming, it has never let me down and i don't forsee it ever doing so. I hold a deep attachment to the guitar after seeing the condition it was in. If someone ever steals it, i hope they die a cruel, horrible and slow death.

I bought this guitar in june of 2004. There arent any special features. The things i like the most about this guitar are the tuners, tune-o-matic bridge, and the sounds potential.

This guitar is made of Mahogany with a Carved maple top, and im sure you already know that from one of the other 250 reviews just like this one. Hand made in nashville tennessee. 50's rounded neck profile, 22 frets, 490R 498T pickups. Nothing special 8 of 10.

I play all types of music. This guitar is good for all types of music.

I changed the treble position 498T pickup. Its a great pickup, i just thought the pickup was too bright, and unclear on this guitar. It sounds awesome on an SG though. All i needed to do was change the treble position humbucker. TRY TO GET SOMETHING AS DIRTY SOUNDING AND NOT BRIGHT AS POSSIBLE TO COUNTERACT THE DISPICABLE MAPLE TOP! ITS TOO DAMN BRIGHT! I put a Gibson Dirty Fingers humbucker in the bridge. It made a big difference for the better, but still.

Playability? If you play lead, and play frets 15 and on, you will hate this guitar. This guitar is EXCELLENT for the rhythm guitarist. The fat neck is solid for rhythm. Lead is a different story.

Personally, i think this guitar is too awkward, fat, and stubby for me. The only good thing about this guitar is the killer beefy sound. Can be bright, but i took care of most of that problem. The only thing that keeps me from selling the guitar is the sound and the fat neck for rhythm. WHen im not playing anything solish, then ill use this. I would suggest getting a REALLY DIRTY PICKUP for this guitar if your a rock guy because it makes the guitar growl with power. I just think that we as rock and metal guitarists should use this guitars fat body to its potential, toss the pussy pickups, and put one of the pickups i mentioned below in it. Trust me.

Overall. I give the sound a 10. Why? It may be bright, but...soundwise, it doesnt get any better. It doesnt. Especially after you change the 498 to a more fitting pickup. Go to www.dimarzio.com and check out the X2N, D Sonic, and check out the Gibson 500T. Those are the pickups i suggest.

Good finish. What can i say, they did their job. It shines, looks good. Hey, what am i gonna say?

A ROCK i SAY, A ROCK. I suggest changing the strap buttons, they are small. Theyve fallen of my strap a few times. Besides that ITS A ROCK, A ROCK I SAY, A ROCK.

Gibson is the best. Excellent service.

Overall. Heavy, awkward, heavy, unplayable lead guitar. The only thing i like about the guitar is for rhythm, and its sound(with the right pickups...the fat body equals fat beefy tone).

2001 MIA
Carved Maple top
2 volume
2 tone
HH
490R/498T



the tuners suck. my epiphone stays in tune much better. albeit, my epiphone sheraton is a very nice guitar, but you'd think that the extra hundreds that this thing costs it'd have twice the tuning stability.

i feel that the tune-o-matic is a horrible design. never did like it. too often my strings break at the bridge. damn burss.

the neck is fat. gotta love it.

came with a brown case and the velvet(ish) colored interior. very nice. i prefer it over the new cases which are black with the grey interior.

gotta knock off points for the tuners.

When I jam with people, I play typical rock. By typical rock I mean along the lines of bands ranging from ACDC to (old) Oasis to Bush to The Sex Pistols. When I'm working on my own material, my tone much more resembles the newer Oasis tone. I generally use my Maxon OD808RI in front of my blues jr or hot rod deluxe or i just crank up the blues jr, full throttle preamp volume, and lose the maxon.

I really dig this for my rock tone, but when I'm doing my own stuff I tend to lean more towards my Epiphone Sheraton. I prefer semihollowbodies for my signature tone.

Regardless, the Les Paul does sound sweet. It sings with sustain and has more body than most other guitars.

the action was okay when i got it. i set it up to my likings when i got it, but i do that with all of my guitars. but yeah, the action was pretty decent which is strange for gibson, their action usually sucks, especially the recent ones. i can't tell you how many es333s i played and every single one had terrible action and intonation except one, but that was used so i dont think it counts.

pickups were adjusted fine. i've not touched them.

finish is decent. its a dark green. most people think its black until they see it in a certain reflection in the light. i'm not huge on the visual appearance so i don't particularly care.

i must say though, some of the upper frets are a bit iffy.

the saddle on my high E string is really lose on my tune-o-matic. thats my only complaint here.

i've been playing since January of 2000. I've had several electric guitars including two fender strats, a fender MIJ tele (very nice), brian moore i8, gibson sg, gibson blueshawk, and others. I got this guitar a little over two years ago and i've had it longer than any other guitar (acoustic and electric) that i've ever owned. When I got it, i was really big into rock. I had the Marshall JCM halfstack and what not so it was PERFECT. Now, its still a very nice alternative to my usual semihollow, slightly distorted tone. If it were stolen I'd probably get another Les Paul somewhere down the road, but I'd probably just fix the wiring in my Epi first.

If you like rock or blues or metal and even jazz (i prefer hollow bodies and semis though) the Les Paul is a great choice, especially the studio.

My Les Paul Studio is a 2003 build, 22 frets, solid top, 2 volume and 2 tone knobs, 2 humbuckers (490R and 490T), Passive electronics, Body is mahogany with a carved maple top, finish is a beautifil fireburst with gold hardware, bridge is a tune-o-matic with a stop tailpiece, old school 3 a side tuners (Gibson deluxe), fat neck which is maple with a rosewood fingerboard and jumbo frets, came with a Gibson hardcase. This is how guitars are supposed to be made... never leaves you wanting

This baby is made for rock and blues, face it, you own one or want one. I use it with a Marshall JCM 900 4102 and it just sings tone and sustain. It is not noisy at all and the whole package makes a beautiful full, toneful sound which can be varied so much thanks to the 4 seperate volume and tone controls. There is nothing to dislike about this guitar, it is perfect

Factory setup was rubbish but the tech played around with it and then I took over for final touches. It doesnt take much to get it setup the way you want and it is a small part of it... all guitars really should be setup properly to be all that they can be. The pickups were set fine, mostly it was the action, oh and the 10's should be 11's (strings). There were no flaws on her but thats what you expect when you buy a Gibson

This guitar is as solid as they come, hardwearing, tough, a true live guitar, hardware (gold) will fade if not looked after but who cares? the vintage, worn look makes it look even better. I recommend getting straplocks on it though. I use this baby live with other guitars but not as backup... you can easily depend on this tank!

Never dealt with them but the website rocks and most dealerships look after you. I bought mine from Jacksons rare guitars and I got so many freebies thrown in! I doubt many people will need support.

Ive been playing for 14 years and I own this LP studio, a washburn N1, an ESP EC-50 and a BC rich Bich... this is my fave by far. If it were stolen Id definately buy exactly the same one. Owning a Gibson is the best feeling, it makes you want to play more and you sound so much better. I didnt play any other guitars, this one chose me when I picked it up.

I wasted so much time and money buying inferior guitars, I wish Id just saved up and bought this one in the beginning... maybe a Flying V will be next.

Pricing is a little extreme but I suppose there isnt a lot you can do about that... no point in buying an Epiphone to save a little, they dont compare! but Ill take off a point because they are so much more expensive in Australia

Don't know when it was made, wine red with gold hardware.

Great all purpose guitar. Especially well suited to blues, rock. Play mostly through a peavey effects processor but sounds great through my vintage solid states and one tube fender bassman too! (Baseman with really old and dirty DOD overdrive awesone)

I bought this one used but it plays really great. Nice, low action. The only finish problem is that I guess I play it too much and I am starting to feel the inlays (though not when I'm furiously trying to play it)

I have had some hardware issues...three way came loose early on and I had to get it fixed (broke a connection). Jack is impossible to keep tight. No playability issues to date and I have had it for about seven years.

n/a

Super great and terrific. I am trying after a custom guit on ebay now, will let you all know if it is as good as reputation. I wish I had a Langcaster. Also, studio really plays like the $1000 and up Les Pauls, I don't know if I would spend the money when this product is so good!

Everybody knows...simplicity...no fancy tricks!

Most people post a review after 2 days of the purchase of an instrument, this review is 9 years after my purchase.
First of all, I've never heard an electric guitar sounding that good acousticaly! It realy has tone. This guitar doesn't need high output pu's to simulate sustain, like with other Dimarzio equiped guitars.
Don't get me wrong, I have 3 ibanezzes Jem. They sound amazing, have good sustain but the main reason why they have sustain is because of the pu's. The difference is that the Gibson sounds much warmer and has a more natural sustained sound.
It has more sustain than any guitar and sounds very "fixed".

Inlays not that good but what the hell...

Because of its simplicity, the most reliable guitar ever. The only hing that you can't do is swapping the neck but who wants an epiphone les paul???

Most of you know the stats for this guitar. If not check out another review. I LOVE my new Les Paul. I got it from Guitar Center. I got a limited editon its Metallic Black, 1st one since the 70s and it has platinum hardware, because of Gibsons platinum anniversary this year. I came new out of the box with a nice setup. I suggest anyone wanting something better than they have save up and get this guitar. NOW!

This guitar can get just about any sound that you want. Of course it helps if you run a Mesa Boogie 20/20 power amp with it. I play mostly Punk, Metal, and some Rock. But I do like to play alittle bit of everything. My set up is just my Mesa 20/20 (1st edition, the one with the chrome face) and a Rocktron Gainiac. I dont use any effects. My cab is one I made myself.

This is my 1st Gibson and everything was to my liking out of the box. Except I do need to get the neck adjusted a little, it does buzz a little.

This guitar is solid. I think that it will last for ever.

NA

I have been playing for 3 years and havent played anything better. I also own a Schecter Omen 6 (my 1st guitar) loaded with an EMG 85/81 setup. I would make sure as hell I would get another one if it were to be stolen. I chose this over a SG standard and I liked that but it was too lite for me. So I went with this one. And you should too.

This is a 2002 Gibson Les Paul Studio (Left Handed)with a beautiful deep transparent wine red color and gold hardware. Pickups are stock 490R and 498T. The tuners are Gibson Deluxe Green Keys. I believe that the neck is a 59' style. It's a little wider than what I am used to but didn't take long to adjust. Very nice aged-looking rosewood fingerboard with trapazoid inlays. It came with a black reptile case that is awesome. Even though the studio models don't come with body and neck binding like the higher priced models, they are still eye-catching. I love the look of it.

I play lead guitar in a praise & worship band at my church. Our style is very much like Journey and Foreigner. This guitar gets this sound perfectly. I run the Les Paul through a Zoom GFX-8 straight into the mixer and have captured any sound that you can get through any amp. I knew that Les Paul's were known for their fullness in sound, and this one is no different. I have read reviews about the stock pickups that come with these Studio's and the majority say they don't like them. To me they have the best balance in sound I have ever heard. Rich & full sound that is not at all muddy yet not overly bright either. It's perfect in my opinion. I have found that I can get any sound out of it, from hard rock to melodic rock to jazzy/blues to clean country. This thing can do it all. I have been using a 2001 Fender American Series Stratocaster(Left Handed) that I bought new back then and got a great sound but it lacked in the bottom end that I can get with this Les Paul. Between the two guitars that I have now, I can cover the whole spectrem. In my honest opinion, a Les Paul and Stratocaster is all you need to cover every style.

The guy I bought this from had it professionaly setup before selling it. The action is perfect. It stays in tune and there is no fret buzz anywhere. The finish on this thing is flawless. The gold hardware after two years has not tarnished at all. I can't find a single flaw on the guitar. It's as perfect a guitar as I have ever seen.

Les Paul's are built like a tank. The finish looks to be very solid and seems to be able to withstand alot of playing. I do think that over time the gold hardware will start to tarnish at some point. But the key to keeping all of it like new is to clean it after every gig. The only thing I can say on the downside is about the strap buttons. They are a bit small. I will be replacing them with something else. I don't feel real safe straping on a 9+ lbs. guitar with the strap buttons that come on a Les Paul. Other than that, it's great.

I have called them in the past solely on inquiring about there left handed models. They were helpful and friendly, but as alot of people know the left handed line of top quality guitars are limited and seem to get discontinued quickly. I don't hold Gibson for fault on this, simply because most guitar makers are the same do to the lack of demand. I rate this as no opinion due to me not having to need their service. And I hope I never have to.

If this guitar was lost, broken, or stolen I would surely get another one. I have been playing for 20 yrs. and in that time I have acquired many guitars. Currently I own a Alvarez 12-String, a Alvarez 6-String, a Alvarez Classical, a Gibson/Epiphone Strat style electric, a Fender American Series Stratocaster, and now this Gibson Les Paul Studio. What more could I want.

Gibson Les Paul Studio made in april 1993 obviously in U.S.A., 22 frets, maple top (not laminated). 3 way switch, 2 tones/ 2 volumes, 2 humbuckers (490R 498T), mahogany solid body, maple top, mahogany neck. Finish in transparent wine red. Tune-O-Matic bridge, Gibson Deluxe tuners (vintage style), Ebony fretboard. All the hardware is golden, I prefer nickel (it lasts more), and I prefer modern locking machine heads but for a vintage style guitar the installed hardware is the right-one.

Great sound for Blues and Rock, also suitable for jazz. I use to play it with a 2.0 version POD directly connected to a P.A., I play it also with a fendere Hot-Rod deluxe amplifier, both configuration give a great result, warm sound, very dynamic and powerful solos.

The original set-up was terrible, very high action, actave totally out. I had to bring it to a techcnician that set-up it very well. For the other finish the guitar was good, the fretboard was comfortable and all the thing seemed to be at their place.

The body, the fretboard and the neck are as new (the guitar is 11 years old), while the pick-ups and the bridge are loocking a little damaged, that's why I prefer nickel hardware instead of gold. I installed a cuple of safe-lock strap buttons instead of the original ones because the guitar is heavy and the strap esaly came out and made the guitar fall. For everithing else i think that the guitar is reliable and will last more than the owner.

If you want a certain kind of sound, you have to buy a Gibson, ibought a Studio because the price was lower than a Standard but the sound is the same and the feeling good. I'd like to buy a standard one.

2003 Les paul studio, Ebony with chrome h/w.
You all know the score already. I would like to say that the les paul has always had the advantage over strats because a) you can mix pickups, b) you can do the stuttering thing (at the end of londons calling) and c) you can do drop tuning in the middle of a gig and all of the rest of the string won't go out of tune. Right that's that off my chest. Don't need/want a wanky bar. The studio has every you need without having to pay for the stuff that you don't need (binding, inferior burstbuckers, extra weight and a pretty top)On the minus side i will say that the grovers, as fitted to my epiphone les paul are superior to these deluxe tuners in that they turn smoother and feel more positive. However I have had no tuning problems, they look nicer and dare i say it, I think they make the guitar sound better due to the lighter weight.

The best sounding guitar I have owned. I've had a 98 les paul standard(One dimensional, dull sounding, heavy lump)then I moved on to a 89' USA strat which was my third and last strat (too thin sounding).The studio definitely sounds more dynamic than the standard and has a whole lot more sustain than the strat. When playing live the sound you can feel the guitar ringing in your hands. It's just very natural woody sound that cuts through and the controllable feedback nicely predictable and there if you want it which for me is all the time.

Not good. The gibson logo (a transfer on the studio) is misaligned, the saddle slots are not perfect, the laquer has not been applied to an area around the stop-tail,the action and intonation were both out,the machine heads were loose, the frets feel "square", the finish is black all over and sticky(nitrocellulose!!) This is annoying on a brand new guitar and some people would have sent it back but all the about points DON'T MEAN JACK SHIT!!!!.

Sort out the intonation and action yourself
I have played the guitar in and the frets are fine
Who cares about the logo
The stickiness of the neck wears off

My advice to you is to set it up and play the damn thing and you will realize that all you care about is the sound, the playability, the feature and the reliabiliy, Although my transamber epiphone looks, plays and is finished better.(oops, sorry gibson)

Solid. Doesn't go out of tune. Pay #8 for some schaller straplocks as you'll need em cause the buttons are too small. You can take it to a gig, take it out it's case with no need to tune, play for 2 hours and not worry about a thing. A workhouse.

N/A

Played for 15 years. Best guitar i've owned - not the best playing, not the best looking, not the best finished but whatever, i've totally fell for it because I've played gigs in the past and have been unhappy with my sound and now i've found the sound i'm after - I have sustain, controllable feedback, dynamics, everything. I use either a laney LC50 or a Marshall AVT50 amp mic'ed up for this. I'm happy and for the first time in years i'm not looking through the mags searching for my next step up.

Pretty standard stuff on this guitar. However these are the guitars that set the standard.

Here are the specs right from Gibson's site:

Les Paul Studio
Manufactured in: Nashville, TN
Download Les Paul Studio Datasheet

BODY
Top Species: Carved maple top
Back Species: Mahogany

NECK
Species: Mahogany
Profile: '59 Les Paul Rounded
Peghead Pitch: 17?
Thickness at 1st fret: 0.818"
Thickness at 12th fret: 0.963"
Heel Length: 0.625"
Neck Joint Location: 16th fret

FINGERBOARD
Species: Rosewood; Ebony on Classic/Alpine Wht, Platinum
Scale length: 243/4"
Total Length: 18.062"
Nut Width: 111/16"
Width at 12th fret: 2.062"
Frets: 22
Inlays: Pearloid trapezoid, none on Platinum

HARDWARE
Plating Finish: Chrome or Gold
Brushed Chrome on Platinum
Bridge: Tune-o-matic
Tailpiece: Stopbar
Knobs: Black Speed
Tuners: Green Key

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

CASE
Exterior: Black Reptile Pattern Hardshell
Interior: Dark Grey Plush with Black Shroud
Silkscreen: Silver 'Gibson USA' logo

Rated an 8 since I'd prefer to have the ability to split pickups on a stock guitar. Just for the extra versatility. If you don't care about that stuff then bump this rating up to a 9.

Total Rock and Roll with this guitar. And total Blues. And total ability to play to Country to. Gotta love it. You just back down on the volume with a great tube amp and you'll cover lots of tones.

Since this guitar has a maple top it really helps bring out some bite and not as dark as solid mahogany guitars.

Tons of sustain as expected. Sustain and tone come with a price: Weight. Its no Parker NiteFly that's for sure.

Bought it used from Guitar Center. This guitar was near mint condition. No signs of wear at all. They could have resold it as new and no one would have known the difference. Appreciate their honesty.

Fretboard was too dry when I got it. No biggie. Slapped on new strings, oiled the fretboard and this thing is a freaking lighting sled of action!

Frets were dressed pretty well. Small nit-noy stuff around fret work, inlays...but nothing to dissuade me from getting this tone machine.

Routing is freaking great! Pulled the pickups and rear plate just to check out the super neat finishing techniques inside. God Bless Gibson on this too.

Would have rated a 10 but had to oil the fretboard and file out the G-string slot in the nut since the G-string kept popping out on bends.

I'd rather put in a little elbow grease and save some big bucks on a quality ride like this.

Feels like it could withstand tons of abuse. Solid. Nothing is loose. All bolted down really well. Well have to see how long the gold plating lasts though. It wears off way too fast on my Epiphones...hopefully this will take more wear and tear.

Haven't gigged it yet...but totally expect it to make it without backup.

Haven't dealt with Gibson yet personally so don't know. Emailed them for a build date on my guitar so we'll see how long it takes them to get back to me.

Been playing almost 20 years. Have owned a few electrics in my life time. This is by far my most expensive guitar. Have taken pride in the past of getting great tones and great playing guitars without spending much money. However, I figured I'd not go cheap for once and get a true classic guitar that will not depreciated as much or as fast as all the guitars.

I tried and compared tons of guitars and this is what I ended up with. Sold my Wolfgang Special and a Parker NiteFly for this thing. Neither one played as well or had as much tone. I expected more from Gibson and the price payed and I think this guitar has delivered the goods.

1991 gibson les paul studio mande on the US of A. It has 21 frets i think. mahoganybody and neck. You know the features. just check the gibson website. the only difference is that on the newer ones they use rosewood fretboards. mine has ebony-i like it better. The newer ones seem to be heavier. The newer ones just dont feel the same. maybe cuz i bought mine used and its broken in. It has a vintage sunburst finish(beautiful).

This gibson screams! i would never change the stock pickups. Think classic Marshall crunch. This guitar suits my style perfectly- I play jazz, rock, blues, funk...pretty much anything, and this baby can handle it. I play this guitar through a crate 212 120 watt combo and a fender 110 25 watt combo. In my opinion it sounds better through the fender (duh). the sustain very rewarding(partly because of the set neck, dense mahogony, and maple top) and its very resonant. Again, very versitle. Each pickup has its own volume and tone. Very Cool. The pickups are transparent sounding and retain clarity at high gain settings. Bridge pickup-amazing, although i wish the neck pickup was a bit lower output so that it doesnt push the clean channel into overdrive when i try to play jazzy stuff. But no big deal- I just roll back the guitar volume a little bit.
No guitar sounds perfect, but this one is pretty close.I give it a 9.

i got it used so the factory setup doesnt apply, but it took very little adjustment when i switched the 9 guages for DADDARIO 10-52's. I sut it up myself-plays like a dream.pickups were adjusted good.everything else is flawless.

This guitar is a tank- i mean that not only is it durable, but it has some weight to it too, but thats another thing. It will withstand live playing if youre not one of those guys who swings the guitar around your body trying to look cool. The finish has held up nicely from being used and from 1991. I use a dunlop cleaning maintenence kit so that helps. I took off the old strap buttons and installed dunlop strap locks(highly recommended, but washers work just as good. It is very dependable, but ill never gig without a backup. Thats plain stupidity. I might break a string. thats my only reason for a backup.

Im 17. Ive been playing 7 years and some months. I own A PRS knockoff with a duncan custom bridge and seymour duncan jazz neck pickups, a squier strat, a Fender Frontman 25R combo amp, A Crate gx212 combo, A dunlop crybaby, monster cables, and a digitech rp100. If it were stolen i'd find another made 1993 or earlier. Theres no reason for me to pay 1150 for a new one. I like the way the older ones are feel. I wish it came with a metal jack plate-the stock one is plastic and non durable and will be changed. It would be cool to have a coil tap switch, but then again thats what a strats for.Id like to have locking tuners although the stock ones are pretty stable. Ill probably get locking grovers. I just couldnt pass it up for the price. Very well built. kinda makes me want to buy only American made stuff. Nothings perfect---9

This is a 2004 US-made model. Mahogany body, maple top, the usual LP fare. 3 way switch, 2 tones, 2 volumes. APassive Gibson 498T in Bridge, and 490R in neck. Transparent wine red finish, single cutaway body style with tune-omatic bridge. Rosewood fretboard, mahogany neck. Came with Gibson case.

The sound of this baby is awesome. It's got that nice and warm beefy sound, with killer sustain. Through my Marshall AVT50, it can handle pretty much everything from squeaky-clean blues, to more distorted-blues rock, to classic rock, and hard rock, not exactly great for metal, but I almost never play metal, anyways. The pickups give a great punch, the neck delivers AWESOME lead tones, and the bridge will give you equally amazing rhythm tones, and can even do lead work really well. The middle selector is also great if you want to play something on the clean channel, it delivers a nice bright, yet beefy sound. My only complaint is that the neck pickup doesn't do bassy stuff real well, but then again, most neck pickups sound exactly like that, but if you fiddle with the tone knobs, you can get some nice sounds for rhythm stuff, but they're just not as good as on the bridge pickup. Which brings me to something else, the bridge pickup tends to be a little noisy, but not too much.

Out of factory, the setup was great. The action was a tiny bit too high for my tastes, but it can be lowered really easily with the tune-o-matic. The intonation was dead on from open string to 22nd fret. Everything was great.

Quite reliable, solid as a tank. I'd say it could take abuse for well over 20, 30, 40 or more years. Hell, it's a Gibson, right?

I've emailed Gibson several times, and they responded within 24 hours. Very helpful and polite. This guitar also has a Lifetime Warranty.

I've been playing just under a year, and I truely love this guitar. It'll probably stay my main guitar for quite a long time, as it seems to take the abuse I put it through very well. I also love the sound, and even though people may complain about their necks, I, myself, truely love the feel. This baby sounds great both clean and distorted, and that's the reason it simply is amazing. It's also a great deal for the money (comparing it to other Gibsons), but you can always haggle, that's what I did, and got almost 1/3rd of the price off.

It's a standard les paul set up, two humbuckers, two volume, two tone with a 3-way pickup switch. I really like the tuners though, they stay in tune very well. It also came with a deluxe hardshell case, so I was happy. The pickups are the 490R in the neck and the 498T in the bridge. I love the bridge pick up. My guitar is a Wine Red with the Gold Hardware. They say the gold hardware can ware off which I don't doubt one bit if you don't take good care of it. Just make sure you wipe your guitar off after your done playing it and it will be fine, remember sweat is the enemy of the guitar.

This guitar rocks, it's just what I needed. My groups music is pretty heavy and this guitar delivers. I play it ran through varies effects, delays, trelmlo, wah stuff like that and then it all goes into my Marshall Mode 4 which is plugged into two Madison 4x12. This set up rocks, it's clean and clear but at the same time can be brutal if I want it. The neck pick up is great for them creamy sounding leads as well.

The guitar was set up great, but I never like the factory set ups, as soon as I got it home and before I even plugged it in I cranked the tail piece down as well as the tune of matic to get the string closer to the fret board. But thats just me, I like a low action. The guitar has no flaws, scratchs or anything, it's a Gibson and they know how to build a guitar.

As far as I know this guitar will withstand a live performance as well as months on the road. My Epiphone Les Paul did great on the road and I would only expect more from this guitar. But I won't know what shes like on the road or live for a few months when were finished with our newest record.

Never had to deal with Gibson, not yet anyways and I hope I don't have to anytime soon, but the warrenty process was easy as can be, and thats cool.

I have been playing for 10 years now and this is my 5th guitar. I love it, I have wanted a true Gibson Les Paul since I first laid eyes on them. This one in particular was the one I wanted for the past 6 months and I finnally got it and it's everything I had ever dreamed. If anything happened to this I would probablly cry and then go buy another one just like it.

Les Paul Studio 2002, (Alpine White GoldHw) USA. Ebony fretboard.
Solid case.

It has fat, full and lovely sound. It works great for every style I get into. HardRock,Blues, Funky, Jazzy, 70'sPowerRock... I use it through Cry-baby->TubeWorks RockOverdrive->EH BigMuffPi->EH SmallStone->Sovtek Mig-100H->Sovtek 4x12.
I doesn't make noise at all.

When I bought my Paul I felt very surprised. I have not to adjust anything to start playin with my band. It was even in tune (Standard D#) Tune half step upper and start playing.
Pick up selector and both volume and both tone controls make no noise at all.

I had it for a few months so I'm not sure, but It seems to be for all life.

It has 2 years warranty. I'm in Europe, I thik in the USA the warranty is forever...?

I'm in love with my guitar!!! if it's stolen or anything, I would buy another one.
The only thing about it is that because of the color (white), it gets dirty ten minutes before I get it from the case...

A 1998 model made in usa all studio made in usa 22fret 2 humbucker 496rt 498rt the rest you know

The sound is fucking good when i buy this LP i was a 12 years boy and its a dream for me now i have 19years i play for 11 years and its the fucking best guitar i have i use a 65' deluxe reverb amp and the sound il to beautiful to explain :P no noise full sound me i like to play some 70' rock like acdc and led zep so its perfec i love thios guitar

the finish of my studio its unbeliveble a forest green whit gold hardware the paint is perfect il like the decal of wood SORRY FOR MY ENGLISH IM A QUEBECOIS !!! french hehe

durability is the most important point the only thing broken on my guitar is the tone bouton but the rest is build like rock i use this guitar 6years now and its never broke i use it on stage with no back up

???? i dont know

i been playind for 12 years aproximatly now i have 3 guitar a gibson les paul studio 98 a fender stratocaster custom shop 69' model time machine and a fucking gretsch 6120 chet atkins 1962 ORIGINAL my dad sold to me :D if il stolen i buy another one its sure i love the versatibility of this guitar so BUY IT

This is a 1995 Les Paul studio, wine color, with chrome hardware purchased at a hole in the wall music store in Griffin Ga. Made in the USA with a black pickguard which was soon removed for personal choice. It has the standard two humbucker config and rosewood fretboard. The color is solid with a bit of grain coming through, its definently not pretty wood, hence the solid color. It came with a gig bag that has since been dumped for a more substantial case.

I already own a 1986 LP custom so I already love LPs, but I liked the wine colored model and it responded very well playing it in the store for a while so I purchased it. I use it with a crate Vintage tube combo amp. The electronics are top shelf, quiet, and the pickups sound like LPs should sound. Blazing with distortion and ballsy clean. It has the traditional LP balls. My pickup selector switch malfunction in 2001 and had to be re soldered.

Finish was superb and still looks great, I take very good care of it. I assume the store set up the guitar, but I set the action a tad lower when I got it home. I have made one adjustment to the neck over the years, a very minor one , and its back to perfect. The hardware is showing some minor wear, nothing to be worried about though. There were no flaws on the guitar and after 9 years only one very minor ding.

This guitar withstands live playing and it will last. Only after about 5 years of owning it did I notice how it sounds better today. But this is not uncommon with guitar woods. Factory strap buttons were gone a long time ago and replaced with locking straps. I can depend on this guitar it onle let me down once ( pickup selector switch) I could use it on a gig without a backup (but I will never do that)

Never delt with Gibson, never needed to. I would never let anyone I didn't know (their expertise) to service this guitar unless it needed major repair. Warranty has long expired I suppose.

Been playing 20 years. I would hate it seriously if I lost it or it was stolen. Not sure if I would buy it again unless my other LP got gone too, I would probably buy some sort of PRS, or Carvin type guitar. I love its reliability, and of course its looks because nothing looks better than the LP shape, but most of all I love the sound.It practically plays it self, so much easier than straight neck bolt on strats. I also own 1986 Gibson LP custom (black)Carvin Bolt, Yamaha se 250 (first electric), 2 1962 Strat copies I built myself from plans (s,s,s and 1 H ) and a 1988 Epiphone LP junior (with steinberger tremelo!)that is in the midst of a total breakdown, redesign (chucking that trem!)and overhaul. Amps include 1998 crate vintage club 50 tube combo, and a 1985 Peavy classic chorus 130 combo (that just won't die already)and various pedels, processors, and my 1986 proco rat distortion box.

you know

10, for me, I coulda went with the classic, with the 500, and 496 pick ups, but definitley too snappy for my tastes, I LOVE 490's, and when I want a harder edged sound the 498 is just fine, seriously, though the neck 490 is a wonderful pick up, extremely versitile for blues rythem, and jazz, you know happy major scle stuff, very pretty, the 498 rocks, sorry aboot stressing them, but in my opinion, these burstbuckers that are being outfitted on the standards and what not are junk, go 57' classic, 490, 496, 498, and 500, if you can well worth it, you can really make any of those pick ups (especially the middle 490, 496 and 498) do anything

Solid as a rock, NO complaints, except for after a while, it kind feels like you're carrying a rock, but that goes with the territory, no biggie, I would suggest and kind of locking strap mechanism,

would withstand anything, I've had my share o problems, but I can't recall anyone i know having major problems with Gibsons, including myself, c'mon dudes, they're all handmade in Memphis, the folks know what they're doing

100%, had a few questions, which were answered basically before I could even ask them

I understand the phenomenon with Gibsons', especially Les Pauls, I'm sure you have others picked out (custom, 57 gold top), but honestly, having played many of them, I say you can't go wrong with a studio or classic, they're not ridunkulously expensive, and can anyone honestly think of something majorly different you'd gain by spending an extra grand, I think by the point you decide to spend on a Gibby Les, it pretty much depends on the player, not the tool, maybe a few tricks here and there, but you'll get crazy mileage out of any Gibson, they're well crafted, and sound delicious

This is a 2004 gibson lp studio ebony chrome hardware, it was handcrafted in the usa like all gibsons. Has 22 frets, solid-top, 2 vol 2 tone, mahogany body carved maple top, tune o matic bridge, gibson vintage tuners, big fat neck, comes with a reptile skin gibson usa hardcase, and tool.

I play any type of rock and this guitar definately suits my style. I run my lp thru a digitech rp-50 to an old roland cube 60. The pickups do not buzz, they are silent. It has a very rich sound. This guitar plays great soft and clean, or heavy and crunchy. I dont have any dislikes about the sound of it, it sounds awesome.

When i recieved my guitar the action was PERFECT, not too high or low. The pickups were adujusted perfectly as well. This guitar came with absolutely no flaws or anything, i clearly made sure of that.

This guitar would definately withstand live playing. Im sure i wont have any problems with the hardware theyll last a lifetime. The finish seems very thick. The strap buttoms were on just fine, but i replaced them with straplocks, the original were pretty small. I could definatley depend on my lp, nothing bizzare has happened only the natural things like broken strings. This guitar does come slightly out of tune quite often, if i could get locking tuners my lp would be perfect. Of course like all lps it is quite heavy, but im used to it, but my shoulder gets sore after a while of playing. I would probably not have to bring a backup for my lp, but i would to be safe.

The customer support on this guitar was really good. I ordered this guitar and recieved it in a week, set up perfectly. I havn't had to deal with gibson personally. Im pretty sure the warranty is a lifetime.

Ive been playing for a year and a half. Besides my setup, i own an epiphone 80's acoustic guitar. If this were stolen or lost i would by a new one. I love the nice thick sound of this guitar, the feel of the neck, and pretty much everything else. Theres nothing i hate about this guitar, the tuners could be a bit better, but overall there okay. My favourite feature is probably the thick neck, its really comfortable to play. I comapared this guitar to a peavey evh wolfgang, and an gibson sg special. I chose this guitar because it had an all around better sound, the finish on the neck was most comfortable, and the pickups were most powerful. I just wish it had grover locking tuners, that would be just perfect. Overall i think gibson makes the nicest guitars and they did a great job on mine. Im going to continue to buy gibson products, even if they are expensive its worth it.

Std Gib Studio features. Great Gibson case with shroud. Rosewood neck. Fireburst Maple top. Gold hardware. Added Schaller strap locks. I gave it a 9 because the tuners chould be better than the Green Gibson Deluxe tuners.

Acceptable sound. Not as muddy as most people claim. Pretty much sounds like "old time rock n roll" music. No noise that I can hear when close to my current amp. I am using an original Crate CR-1 amp and a Crate MX-10. Would like to buy a tube amp someday. Play mostly blues and old rock and the stock pickups work great on both styles.

Action had to be lowered. Constant fret buzzing. Turns out this guitar is SUPER sensitive to the A/C or heater. Neck is constantly changing and have had to have it setup several times at my guitar dealer. I love the looks. I tried all the Gibsons in the store from the cheaper Studios to the more expensive Customs and ES series and this was the only one without fret buss, in the beginning! This is my first Gibson and probably my last one. This is a great guitar and I have mixed feelings about it, but I'm leaning towards keeping it since it is a joy to play once I ignore the buzz.

Have knicked the back of it with a music stand and I was ready to cry. Didn't do much damage, but seeing the knocj just pisses me off. The guitar is not as heavy as it's more expensive siblings. I'm too lazy so I play it sitting down.

N/A

Overall, I'll probably keep this guitar since it is a Gibson and I've always wanted one. If this was stolen, I'd take it as a sign and buy a PRS or something. Still, these guitars are too overpriced. I just recently purchased a Carvin CT4M PRS-style guitar. I look forward to getting it when it is shipped 3 months from now!! I think it'll be worth the wait. I'll probably put this Gibson away and never talk about getting another one again.
Guitars that I've had - Carvin CT4M (soon), Gibson LP Studio, Godin SD, Epi Std DLx, Epi Classic, Godin Radiator, Godin LGX, Godin LG, Fender Am Std Dlx, Fender Sqr, Ibanez RG, Celebrity Applause, Fender Bass (a BASS!!??)

Mine's ebony (black) with trapazoid inlays. I got it used with stock pickups (490R-498T), Sperzel locking tuners, SKB case (not a freedom), and it had the Schaller strap bottons for the straplocks. These mods were a big plus in my buying this guitar. Why ibson doesn't sell them standard with a hard shell case is beyond me, but hey, someone went ahead and threw one in with the deal so I'm happy. Oh yeah, it has a mahagony body and neck, maple top, ebony fret board, Tune-o-Matic bridge/stop bar tail piece. The only gripe I have with Gibson is this: when you look up the specs on the 490 and 498 pickups, the after market ones have 4 conductor wires, but if you crack open a Les Paul Studio with stock pickups, they'll have a single wire with the braided shield, making it un-tapable. Most people wouldn't notice or care, but it would be nice to have the option.

It sounds like a Les Paul; Standard, or Custom (unless equipped with Burstbuckers). Deep thick humbucker sound that's not too over the top. The wood compliment sounds rather throaty when compared to a Maple neck guitar. The main thing is, when you pay extra for a standard, or custom, you're paying for cosmetics. Transparent finish, and binding, maybe a little more mother-of-pearl. The Custom has a ebony fretboard, but anyone who's gonna pay the extra for a custom is gonna pay that much no matter what. Soundwise though, the Studio sounds every bit as good as its more expensive bretheran.

The action was set well upon purchase. The neck is set so no worries about gaps. Mine has a few wear marks on the neck just from being played that much. The pickups have never been touched since I've had it. The finish is great except where the previous owner had their stickers, but this is not Gibson's fault.

I think these guitars have more then proven themselves on countless stages. The harddwere is well designed. The newer ones seem to be coming with "Classic" tuners, which I've never been a fan of, but mine has Sperzels anyway. I highly recomend either Sperzel or Schaller Tuners. I also recomend straplocks on every guitar, but especially Les Pauls due to the location of the top strap button.

I only dealt with Gibson a few times, but they are tough to get a hold of.

This guitar is exactly what I expected. I needed a good guitar, I love Les Pauls and for $400 I couldn't go wrong. I think Studios are the best bang for your buck at normal new cost as well. I may switch out the pickups to a p90 in-humbucker-shape to go along with the 10" speakers of my Silvertone 1485 (this amp doesn't do well with the 490-498). This guitar would be worth replacing, but if I had to go new, I'd probably pay a little extra for the Classic, with the 496-500 pickups. The Studio is definalely a great guitar, even for a "lesser" Gibson. Other low line Gibsons have shotty fret work I've noticed, and the Les Paul Faded is closer to an SG with its wood compliment. This guitar has become the bar by which others are measured as far as the sound I'm looking for.

My Les Paul was made in June 2003 in the USA. It's a regular Les Paul guitar, the same as the Standard but with the older pickups and no binding on the neck or body. Before i bought this guitar, i was slightly wary about the chunkiness of the neck but when you get to hold this thing i think you'll find that the neck is good chunky not bad chunky - very comfortable. It came with a good quality Gibson case and i also got some polish and a strap thrown in to. Not loads of features but if it was features i wanted, i would buy a food processor.

In my own time i play a lot of Blues and Classic/Modern Rock. I also play in a band that's a little more avante garde and i found that this guitar works well in all situtations. I play through a Marshall Guvnor+ into a Marshall AVT 100 amp. If you want a good clean sound - you can get a nice strumming tone like on stairway to heaven or a chunky jazzier tone. Distortion and this guitar's bridge pickup go so well together. I found this guitar does everything from lightly cranked 60's rock to Zakk Wylde high gain lead.For some more modern styles this guitar can sound a bit to traditional but the best thing is it has a real "presence" - even under distortion the sound doesn't get lost in the mix.

This guitar was exemplary when i bought it. Compared to a PRS CE24 that i tried at the same time, the fretwork didn't seem so precise but still the finishing was top class. The guitar was set up perfectly and was harmonically in tune. There are a lot of horror stories about the lacquer on Gibbos but i've had no problem.

The one problem i had was that the jack socket kinda fell apart after a little knock but like a woman, if you treat it well it'll provide you with years of great "service". I also recommend putting some of the rubber bits from Grolsch bottles on the strap buttons to avoid any accidents.

I've never dealt with Gibson so i don't really have an opinion.

I've been playing about 3 years now and this is my first "proper" guitar. This guitar has a top quality tone that'll make your playing stand out in a live situation but it'll also expose bad playing too. It reeks of quality from the nice wine red finish to the really heavy body. I wish this guitar was white so i could look like Randy Rhoads but apart from that it's nigh on perfect.

Tengo una studio de 1992, por supuesto americana.La pague 750 dls en argentina , usada.
Con 22 trastes (no me vengan con giladas son suficientes para cualquier guitarrista de verdad)
2 humbuckers y los controles de cualquier les paul (1 volumen para cada mic , 1 tono para cada mic , llave de 3 posiciones)
Los mics q trae son unos alnico pasivos.

No existe nada mas versatil a la hora de tocar q una buena les paul , no me vengan con las cagadas de ibanez ni ese tipo de boludeces , esas son guitarras para nenas.
Mis guitarristas favoritos son de la decada pasada (gilbert , kotzen, wylde) o sea q en casa toco lo q quiero y en vivo responde perfecto , lo mismo con mi banda Jaque Reina en la cual afinamos en do.
No es ruidosa para nada.
La uso con un wah jim dunlop cry baby , un compresor ed-1 de marshall y un super chorus boss.

gibson es sinonimo de prolijidad , nada mas q decir , (encima mi studio es deluxe , con todos los accesorios dorados)

una gibson dura toda la vida.

Hace 8 a?os q toco y creo q nada va a superar la fuerza de una gibson , son para rockear , bvlusear o lo q mierda quieras.
Si me la robaran buscaria al ladron y le meteria una par de ibanez por el ojete a ver si son tan angostas como dicen. y si no lo encontrara trataria de comprarme una custom!!!!!

It's a Les Paul ... You know the features
Mine is black with gold hardware and trapezoid inlays

I play mostly the early Black Sabbath stuff and it sounds great for distorted sounds.
Altough I used it most of time for heavy music, you can find all kinds of tone ... from clean jazz sounds to bluesy overdrive from classic rock "hotter than hell" distortion!
It's a killer guitar!

The guitar was buzzing in the upper frets, I took it to a complete set-up and it has been playing flawlessly ever since

Rock-solid guitar .... will last a lifetime

Never dealt with them

I've been playing for a little over 4 years and this is my first "real" guitar ...
I've compared it to a Les Paul Standard, but that was just too much for my wallet!
This is the "real deal" ... go and get one and you will not regret!

You know what you're getting.. It's a design classic..!

The LP is not famous for it, but there are a great variety of tones available from this guitar. I play a wide range of modern rawk (not metal) and some classic stuff too with a twinge of blues/country and I just love the sounds... The natural cellulose finish (more on this later), glued neck and mahogny body give it richness, transparency and sustain- even when unplugged! The bridge pup has a great lively, lead tone and the 'middle' position is highly usable on clean sounds. If I had to fault it it would be on the neck pup, just falls a tiny bite short of that defined richness for me... But hey aren't these the same pups that come as standard on the Custom..? Three times the price and you get a bit of gaudy styling and an extra 1/8 inch...? I am not complaining!

I got an excellent deal from a well know west London guitar shop, which meant no frills and a factory set up!

The nut was cut to high for the factory strings in it (9-46 I believe, but felt more like 10s to me) which meant the action was too high for my taste at the first few frets. The fret ends also felt a little rough when moving up and down the neck- some people don't mind this from an unbound neck but I do and it's not hard to get right. The intonation was ok but not perfect, pup heights approximated optimum positions.

An extra #30 spent on a pro set-up (buffed fret ends, properly filed nut, adjusted bridge action and intonation, new set of 10s, pups adjusted for optimum output) and it plays fantastically- I am 100% happy with it. But why should I have had to have done this? Some people claim Gibson send 'em out expecting them to be set up again (hence the nut being undercut etc) but surely this can't be true..? I know the studio is the 'cheap'end of the lp range but it ain't cheap compared to Fender etc...

Plus points- can't fault the bookmarking (love the simplistic styling of the studio) and love the sound of the cellulose finish (I hear it will age beautifully too...) once I'd got use to the stickyish feel (a decent cloth is a must). Minus points for a few tiny splodges (glue or finish?) at the neck/body join- easily avoidable surely?

When using a JMP100 re-issue head and cab I noticed a distinctive humming when not playing which can be stopped by touching the bridge. This suggestes to me that the guitar is earthed through the bridge, it has only happened on one specfic amp.. Again, avoidable...

I decided to show a few friends my new acquisition late one Saturday night. Gravity caught me off my guard, off popped the strap on the body and down she went. The result- a perfect mould of the strap button in my lovely wooden floor (I caught it as it hit the ground). But not a single mark on the guitar- it's a tank, so many plus points there.

A lesson was learnt- strap locks are a must! How many years have they been making these guitars?.. again there must be a simple solution?

After a relatively short time the gold hw began to tarnish slighlty due to a reaction with my palm. This is really rubbish and reading below, a common problem. I cloth it down before and after playing- no difference.

The natural finish, whilst sounding great, gives in too easily to buttons, belts etc for my liking (a necc evil I suppose) and the ebony colour means it shows up finger prints and dust like no other. Polish away!

But you can sure depend on it! Anmd the tolex case that comes with it can only lenghten its lifetime.

Gibson's lifetime warranty sounds superb... except it doesn't apply outside the USA (surely the UK qualifies as the 51st state these days?) and Rosetti (Gibson's UK distrubtors) no longer give a warranty (aboslute rubbish) referring you to your original shop's warranty which is for one year.. Hmmm.

Don't be put off by my fault finding, there are a lot of positives that have been said below that I won't repeat.

I have highlighted the small faults I have found because I believe they are maddeningly easy for a company like Gibson to solve (I am sure they know about these issues) and it's important to bear these things in mind when buying. Overall, the pluses far outweigh the minuses.

I love this guitar, love its tone, love its looks and love its value for money (in terms of the Gibson LP range only). I am really happy with it and hope that guitar playing will still be cool when I have grandchildren so they can have it!

1995 USA 22 frets 2 Humbuckers 2 vol/2tone.
Finish is dark wine red with chrome hardware.
Classic stripped down rock guitar.

I bought it to replace my Epiphone Les Paul Standard, which looked the part, but didn't feel good to play, and never really felt like my guitar. This guitar is a BEAUTY. I've never been so involved with a guitar in my life, it chose ME. It has that crispy tone just before it barks and roars which tells you it's the real McCoy.

I love everything about this guitar even the wear and tear the previous owner gave it. The guitar was set up so well that I didn't realise even after my 18 years of playing that a guitar could feel so easy to play. The guitar was 2nd hand so the guy in the shop must know his onions. It is just worn in nicely and I will never sell it.

I have yet to gig this baby. On one hand I can't wait to, on the other, I'm scared of letting her out into the big bad world, but I know I must. I think as long as you don't drop a Les Paul, it will last you forever.

This is where Gibson have really managed to mess up. As one of the most famous names in rock, they seem to have employed the geeks from school who were too limp to be memorable. They would not properly answer my questions, or tell me why they couldn't transfer registration of ownership to my name. I will buy Gibson guitars again, and look forward to the day that I can afford a Standard, but sometimes second hand guitars are the ones you buy. It was the SAME price as a new one but was of a higher standard being a '95 model. If they want to sell new guitars, they shouldn't try and cut corners for profit.

Pro for 3 and a half years, own a Rhodes, Takamine EN10C (see review) Fender Performer 1000 (see review) Marshall AVT20 (review coming) Roland Cube 30 (review coming) and a Japanese Fender Telecaster. This guitar is such a beautiful thing, it is a joy to play, listen to and look at. Like I said before it chose me and I would replace it with another one if I lost it. If only Gibson didn't employ such benders to run their "customer support"

Gibson Les Paul Studio
2 volume, 2 tone, 3 way switch
Chrome 490R 498T humbuckers
6 strings
fireburst

Rich clean tone....even with heavy distortion.

Great action...easy to play...finish is great.

It was a great guitar, but then it happened. I was sitting there playing some skynyrd and doing some great pinches. The next thing I knew Heard a loud pop and intense pain. I took my bandana off and looked down "WOW" I said! The headstock broke clean off, bounced off the fretboard and richocheted into my left testicle. Other than that it is a pretty rigid guitar.

They still havent got back to me yet!

not bad, just be careful with the neck! Wear a cup!

I'm reviwing a 2001 Ebony Les Paul Studio 2 humbucking pickups (stock Gibson 490R and 498T)with chrome hardware and Kluson style plastic button tuners. The usual Les Paul stuff, mahogany body with maple cap, 2 volume 2 tone controls, tune o matic bridge ect. It is what it is, you're not buying features here, you're buying the "tone".

I play classic rock, R&B, some top 40, and a little country. My setup for playing clubs is Les Paul/American Standard Strat/Warmouth Telecaster into Marshall Ed-1 Comp>Vintage Jen Crybaby Wah>VooDoo Labs Proctavia>VooDoo Labs Sparkledrive>Menatone KOB>Boss CE-2>Line 6 MM-4>Boss DD-3 into a Musicman RD 112 One Humdred.

Typically a Les Paul suits classic rock/hard rock, and it does so in spades, but I also find that it works for many other tones I'm after. The only tones missing for me are those in between sounds in the 2 & 4 position on a strat. Obviously it's a case of different horses for different courses. A Les Paul has a tone suited for some songs, and strats for others.

I was pleasantly surprised at how bright my guitar was. I was fully prepared to ditch the stock Gibson pickups because they have a bit of a reputation for being muddy, but this guitar must have a particularly resonant maple top. It doesn't lack treble at all, but it's not ice picky either. Mids are woody and complex, and the lows are there to round out the tone without muddying things up.

The fretwork was excellent and the action is great. It was sort of low when I got it, and I was able to lower it even more with no buzzes. This thing plays like a dream now.

Initially I was having problems with tuning stability. It turned out that the strings were binding at the nut. The fact that I use 9's tells me that the nut was improperly cut at the factory. I'm still not 100% sure that I won't replace the Kluson style tuners with Grovers for a more solid feel and even better stability.

This guitar must have spent quite sometime in the store before I bought it, because there was arm wear present on the body. The finish dulls slightly at the top of the lower curve where your right arm rubs on the body. Also, the all black plastic "look" of this guitar did nothing for me. I replaced the pickup surrounds and switch tip with creme, the speed knobs with gold ones, and the pickguard and switch cover with peraloid. None of these problems affect playability, but ya gotta look good, right.

This guitar was well put together. No mystery rattles or loose parts. It's solid and will last. I'm not sure if the arm wear issue is indicative of the finish quality or not. I always use a backup, but not necessarily a double humbucker, mahogany body, maple cap model.

Never had occasion to deal with Gibson.

I've been playing over 25 years and I've owned over 40 different guitars over the years, including a 1970 Les Paul Custom. I'd rate this guitar highly and feel it's a great value compared to a Standard. Cosmetically, I wish it had bindings, but I may even look into having them added later. This guitar plays like a dream and sounds great.

Bought it used a october '02.. It's a '92 modell with a wine red finsh, chrome harware and an ebony fingerboard.. Doesn't have that nice Gibson logo in pearl like the standards though..

It's the best guitar I've ever heard, and I've tried a lot of guitars! I've worked in a guitar shop, and tried almost every guitar out there.. Love the fat neck this guitar has. The pickups sound unbelievable! It's the stock ones that says Gibson USA.. I play punk/rock, rock and it suits my needs perfect..

I bought it used, so it came set-up like it's previous owner liked wanted it.. The strings were to close to the neck and the pickups were a little bit low.. It has a few scratches, but I think that only adds personality.

I use this guitar with my band, and I never worry that something will go wrong with it..

Been playing for about 8 years now.. If it was stolen, I would probably do anything to get it back.. Can't imagine not having this guitar by my side.. I knew the first time I tried it that there was something special about it.

HERE'S THE DEAL, guys will tell you the Studios are LP light and to steer away from the Gibson low end crap. I was focused on a LP Classic because I dig the ceramic pups and the overall look---hell I wanted a Standard, who doesn't, but I need to feed my kids. I got the Studio because of this ridiculous price and because I thought the black and chrome looked evil. I plugged it in and had to hold on for dear life. This thing is the 800 pound gorilla in the room. Sure, I'd love to have gone with the Classic, but the Studio is ALL Les Paul ALL the time.

Born July 27, 2003, ebony with chrome hardware, a badass looking guitar. (I don't get the whole gold hardware craze. Makes an axe look like a Toyota.) You know the basics, a LP with alnico pups, no binding, gibson tuners, tune o matic bridge. Nice finish, a black mirror. 1/8" less mahogany than a Standard, but hell, its plenty heavey for me. Great case. Can't believe they used to come with a gig bag. Love the fat neck--thicker than my Martin!

The best sounding, most versatile humbucker guitar for under a grand. Played Schecters, Ibanez, PRS Santana, all good, but not an LP. Plus, a USA made instrument. Pups are hotter than I thought. Spits fire turned up, so I keep them around 7. I love the dual volume / tone pots, the whole LP design. It is such a competent rock guitar that I think it doesn't get the recognition it deserves for being a really great jazz and blues instrument. There are even a few twanky country tones available through the bridge pickup. My guess is if I can't get the tone out of it its becaus I frickin don't know how.

Was kinda worried after reading about so many horror stories coming out of Nashville. But this jewel has no flaws, straight neck, frets in great shape, action pretty good from the factory. I had my guitar guy do a set up and really, there wasn't much work for him to do. Dude shoulda payed ME to play with it.

Won't be droppin it on the headstock. First thing I did was put in strap locks. Otherwise, I think you could hammer railroad ties with it. If an intruder breaks in my house, I hit him with the Paul. No, check that, I just play an A chord. He runs from the house with bleeding ears.

It will probably outlive me, so when my newborn daughter joins a punk band in 2016, she won't need a new guitar.

I have contacted Gibson numerous times and they have always been great. I had an intonation question on Sunday, called left a message and that afternoon a nice Nashville gentleman called me back! They were very helpful in my deciding between the Studio and Classic. I was concerned that I needed to pay up to get a "real" Paul and they assured me the Studio would get it done. It dose and then some.

I've been playing a while, I'm not great by any means, but I know how I want to sound. This guitar has an amazing range from soft jazz to thrash metal. I find myself discovering new tonal possibilities with each practice. I have an '88 USA Strat and a Martin D-15. I play through a Peavey Classic 30. Its all good. There's always more gear out there and more money to spend, but I'm really happy with my stuff.

2003 Gibson USA Les Paul Studio "Swamp Ash" came from Misc. Music Sales in a factory sealed box. To my suprise the guitar was tatally set up perfect with .10's and no flaws! The natural finish on the swamp ash body and natural satin finish on the nmohagany neck make a cool combination to the already sweet sound of a Les Paul.

Features an ebony fretboard with no inlays. Very refreshing to be honest. A swamp ash body that provides a wide variety of tones by using the volume and tone controls. Unlike any other Les Paul I've owned. Pickups are the same as the Standard (490R and 496T)

Lots of sound here...Very airy and natural sounding. This is my first guitar I've had with the natural satin finish. The finish or lack thereof seems to not dampen or hold back any sound at all like a finished guitar does. (My sound testing was done with a Mesa Boogie Single Rectifier 1x12 combo) This guitar has a loud sound to it without it even being pluged in. Good sign for a great sounding guitar. No muddiness to the sound, crisp and clear on the clean tones as well. Has a little "spank" to it! probably due to the sound characteristics of the swamp ash body and ebony fretboard, yet this guitar retains all the balls of Les Paul is known for in all of pickup selections. Thumbs up!

Action was a little high for me but I lowered it my to my liking. No flaws in the finish at all. Satin finishes are had to screw up! If you are wanting a museum piece, this is not the guitar for you as the guitar feels very natural. You can feel the wood grain but the more you play it the better it naturally polishes it self.

Reliable! except for the typical weak spot (headstock) on all Les Pauls.

Very nice guitar. Destined to be a classic. I mean, when is the last time you remember Gibson making a Swamp Ash Les paul? Great purchase! Great value for under a $1000 Tyr one!

This guitar was born on august 14th 1997, black with gold mechanics and a rosewood fretboard with full size pearl trapezoid inlays. This guitar also has a fully thick mahogany body, later models were slimmed(supposedly because people werent buying LP Standards when these were identical except the bindings)It originally featured the Neck 490 and bridge 498 alnico pickups.

The way I described this guitar to my parents might give you an idea of what youre dealing with here: Its The grand piano of guitars, increadible sustain with full huge tone. We did a recording recently where we compared it to a Shecter C1+ aswell as an Crucianelli vintage semi-acoustic and everyones opinion was that hearing the gibson was like having a lid lifted of the sound.
But the stock bridge pickup(498t) just didnt cut it, its a very average pickup that just doesnt cut it so I replaced it with a DiMarzio Super Distortion and that really kicked the tone towards heaven, absolutely top notch proffessional sound. A very clear and classical sound like 70s rock but it can go to the farthest deathmetal/grindcore extreme without a problem.
I have a very widespread playing field that goes from extreme metal to jazz and this guitar can do it all very convincingly, versatility yes. I have played it through loads of amps too so the tone is in the guitar rest assured of that.

I bought it used so I cannot answer for the factory setttings but I was able to set the guitar up so good it practicly plays itself, the string height is perfect and the intonation is very good(not buzz feiten good obviously).Its something with the frets too, theyre just the right height and width for my playing. In short, it is difficult to find a guitar that you can adjust to near-perfection but this guitar can do it.
It had no flaws except the gold paint on the bridge is comming off slowly as all gold-plated stuff does eventually. The finish is great too, I can use it as a mirror. It did have very pale rosewood fretboard which wasnt very atractive but I dyed the wood black with some leather dye and now it looks amazing.

This guitar is a rock(weightwise too, this is one of those really really heavy LPs some people dont like..almost 5kilos), it can probably take being smashed through a wall but the stock strap buttons are too small so I had them replaced with locking ones.

never dealt with them.

Ive been playing for as long as this guitars has existed, it came out of the factory when I got my first guitar(an unknown Charvel soloist model) Apart from the two guitars mentioned I also own a 1960's Eko Tramp II. But this guitar is my favorite and the one I play the most, I got it for my 20th birthday(2000) and i have fallen completely in love with it. The only other thing I wished it had was a Buzz Feiten intonation system but it really doesnt need it.
If youre thinking about going out and buy one of these I just want to say that not all LP Studios sound as good as this one so youll really have to look and when you find it, throw away the stock pickups and replace them, you wont get full potential from your guitar without top-notch pickups.

I play an ebony Gibson Les Paul Model '97 Studio guitar made in the USA. It was bought second-hand in May 2001 from Crane's Music in Cardiff and it was love-at-first-strum, despite it being customised in what I later learnt to be quite a bizarre set-up for a Les Paul.
There is a fair old weight on this guitar, but the thought of playing an instrument constructed from mahogany is reassuring. The hardware and pick-ups are all chrome. As far as I can tell both pick-ups look like the standard issue Alnicos but I am unaware of whether they have been replaced at any point. The controls on this guitar are two volume, two tone and a 3 way selector switch and it has a tune-o-matic bridge. The guitar came with a Gibson USA gig-bag and they also threw in a strap and some plecs.

I play a lot of Led Zeppelin, and then a broad spectrum of music around that; from Metallica to Artimus Crisis, Pink Floyd to Blur. I find that using this guitar I am able to achieve such a wide variety of tones - ranging from bright, passive or trebly tones to chunky, rich mid-tones. I particularly enjoy the sustain and tone I can get with this guitar on most decent amplfiers, most notably Marshall amps (I use a Marshall Valvestate VS65R amp for praciticing and gigging). The down-side is that it feels strange whenever I play a more airy guitar such as a Stratocaster as I am so used to the chunkiness and full-on-ness of my Les Paul.
I can also get some superb sounds out of the guitar through a crybaby wah-wah.

When I bought this guitar the action was unusually high, but I left it for over a year before getting it sorted out. Although not noticabely affecting the sound produced, adjusting it did improve my ability to use the guitar to its full extent. I advise anyone that finds the action on their guitar too high/too low to get it adjusted to suit your needs - you will feel much more at ease with your guitar.
I think its about time I got some new pick-ups put in the guitar to further improve the sound quality, as the ones I have in at the moment are just typical standard issue pick-ups that have probably been pushed to their limits.
The only flaws with the guitar was that there was a huge mark on the bottom of the instrument near the jack-input. This is the reason for the significant reduction in price the shop were asking for this guitar.

This guitar is so solid that you feel one-hundred percent sure its not going to fall apart on you mid-performance. If looked after properly and cleaned regularly it fells as though this guitar could survive until the end of time. There is nothing flimsy or unstable about the guitar. I've used it for lots of gigs and I've never had a back-up guitar; its never let me down.
I've played the guitar more-or-less every day since I bought it and it shows hardly any signs of wear. I keep it nice and clean (essential when you own a black ebony guitar like this) and remove any dust that builds up. I see no signs of the finish wearing off.

The people who sold me this guitar were very helpful and I think I got it for a reasonable price (somewhere between #600 and #700 if I remember correctly). I feel quite safe buying a slightly older 97 model asI generally think older stuff was built to last longer.
The guy who adjusted the action on the guitar was Simon Jones from Swansea who was very helpful in explaining to me the peculiarities of the guitar's configuration when I bought it and did a fine job adjusting it to my specifications.

I have been playing guitar for somwhere between 6-7 years. I started off using a Les Paul copy made by Hohner which did the job initially, but became ran down due to a combination of it generally being a cheap guitar and being overused and mistreated. When I bought this Gibson Studio it was a moment of pure excitement as I realised that I now owned a proper guitar with the capabillity of creating the sounds I wanted.
If I could ask one question to the people who sold me this guitar I would inquire about the bizarre high-action set-up and would have asked more about the previous owner i.e. where did the large scratch come from, and in what ways had the guitar been altered in the shop?
The only foreseeable problem I can see with this guitar is that it weighs quite a lot more than your average solid-body electric guitar and I am quite prone to having an achey back. I may consider buying a lighter guitar in the future that I can switch to at various points in my band's set.
Overall I can vouch for this being an all-round dependable instrument with high-quality tone and feel.

My studio is a 2003 Wine Red with gold hardware. It was made in Nashville, Tennessee. I have a diamond plate pickguard and truss rod cover that I bought from pickguardfx.com. This guitar has 490 and 498 humbuckers, with four speed knobs (two for volume/two for tone.) Came with Gibson USA case.

This guitar fits my style perfectly. I use this with a Marshall JCM 800 2203ZW, Limited Edition Zakk Wylde head and stack, a Dunlop Rotovibe, a Morley Bad Horsie, and a Boss SD-1. This guitar is not noisy, even with a high gain amp. This guitar can achieve a great full sound. I can make it a metal master, a classic rocker, or a bluesy acoustic. It has a great variety. I like the sound very much, but I do want the EMG Zakk Wylde 81 and 85 pickups.

This guitar was set up good from the factory, and I've had no problems with it. Nothing has been wrong with it so far. I've never seen any flaws so I'll give it a ten.

I think my guitar will withstand live playing. None of my gold has wore off yet so I'm pleased. The top of the guitars finish has dulled a little bit, but that's because I sweat alot and I play it 24/7. The strap buttons are solid but I'm putting Dunlop strap locks on it anyways. I wouldn't use this guitar without a backup only because I play a variety of styles that I need different tunings for.

Never talked to Gibson.

I've been playing guitar for a little over 2 years and I own my Gibson, a Schecter C-1 Elite, an Ibanez Destroyer, an Ibanez RG-270, a Fender Jimi Hendrix Strat, a Fender Mexican Strat, a Marshall JCM 800 2203ZW, a Fender Twin Amp, and an Ibanez IBZ10 for home usage. I wish I could have gotten my Zakk Wylde pickups with it. If it were stolen I'd kill the son of a bitch that took it and I'd probably buy a Gibson Les Paul Custom. I love just about everything about it but the pickups. I compared this guitar to PRS's, Fenders, Gretschs, BC Richs, Jacksons, Schecters, Peaveys, and Ernie Balls and it out shined them all. I highly recommend this guitar to the rocker on a budget.

As below. Mine is a 2003, ebony with rosewood fingerboard, chrome hardware, yadda yadda...

Compared to my 1977 Les Paul Custom, this one is a lot brigher. I use it for just about everything (country, jazz, blues, etc.) and find it just as versatile as my Strat. The plain black finish was a little hard to get used to at first, but I'm liking the unpretentious nature of it now. No bindings, just a maple top on mahagony. Lovely full Gibson tone! Weight...well that should be dead issue now. I can live with it.

The set up from the factory was okay, believe it or not. I might want to change the nut in the future to make for wider spacing but everything else is fine.

Haven't had it long enough to comment on this one. May do an update later.

I've been playing guitar for 35 years. I also have a USA Srat and Tele, as well as a Larrivee and Yamaha classical. I play the electrics thru a Fender hot rod deluxe. I didn't have to play too many other Gibsons. I know that you can't go too wrong with them. But I would never buy a guitar without playing it first. I check the usual (cracks, alignment, tuners, etc.) and then let my ears have the final say. This is a great value. It's a no frills Les Paul that has the same pickups and carved top as the best ones. I don't think you can possible go wrong with one of these.

95 Glossy Black Les Paul Studio. Pearl trapezoid inlays, 490 and 498 Humbuckers, 4 volume and tone knobs, 22 frets...Finish was glossy black, no binding, pickguard had been removed (I bought a pearl one for 15 bucks and it looks great). Neck is a bit fatter than I am used to but not as fat as some I have played. Mine came with a gig bag, I think the bag originally went to the Les Paul Jr the guy was selling, but oh well it was brand new.

I play mostly grunge/alternative/rock/metal. So pretty much everything really from Neil Young to Zeppelin to Foo Fighters and Metallica. This guitar works great for what I wanted. I learned on a Dean Avalanche (strat copy) that is a great guitar in itself but didn't have the balls I was looking for. I fretted (no pun intended) over several guitars to upgrade, but was set on a Les Paul Body style. Didn't think I could afford a real one, so I went back and forth around the 500 dollar range with the PRS Tremonti SE, Gibson Faded Special, an ESP, Dean EVO, or Epiphone Les Paul. Was just about to order a Tremonti when I found this honest to goodness Gibson LP Studio in the Austin Classifieds for $600. I paid the guy $500 bucks when it was all said and done. Have to say I can't believe I thought about buying anything else. Sound is...well...like a Gibson. There is a reason these things are the standard. Output blows my Dean away on either neck or bridge setting. Tone controls actually control the tone. Humbuckers are dead quiet.

The action was all screwed up when I bought it, someone had lowered it all the way down so all the strings were touching the frets. But the bridge is so easy to adjust, a few turns of the thumbscrews and I was playing with decent intonation, and no buzzing. Once I took it to BooLou Bass and Guitar in San Antonio...they set it up right and it plays like a dream. The inlays are perfectly and tighly routed, finish is great. Set neck is tight and totally solid. If you know anything about Les Pauls you will know its heavy. So if your a puss and can't handle it don't buy it, get a strat. Its not as heavy as a Standard or Classic, however.

Read all the other reviews and they will tell you that the strap buttons will give out. They do. I played mine for all of 5 minutes and my strap came off while I was playing. 15 bucks later, I had some strap locks and no more worries. Someone before I bought it dropped it, and a couple of the original tuners' pegs are loose, but the tuning is rock solid and I have not had any problems keeping in tune. Lots of people like to switch to grovers or others, but mine have been working great despite loose pegs. I don't gig yet (working on that) but will have no doubts gigging with it.

Never talked to them, the web page has lots of cool stuff on it though like instructions on how to read the serial numbers of Gibsons.

500 bucks for a Gibson LP Studio with no problems?? are you kidding it was a great deal. I have been playing off and on for 8 years or so, just recently started really getting into it and improving. If it were stolen I would tear my hair out, have a fit and go buy a LP Standard or Classic just because I want to look like Jimmy Page and I'll prob never get as good a deal on another studio. I wish it had tits and really long legs so I could spend even more time with it but other than that I am very satisfied.

1993 made in the USA, big(jumbo?) frets, 2 volume, 2 tone, gloss black finish, grover tuners, ohsc

And the two best parts ...
* ebony fretboard
* two P-90 pickups

I've been using humbuckers for the past ten years, but now I've found another great sound ... P-90'S !!! Tony Iommi had p-90s in one of his early SGs, Pete Townshend was notorious for his ... Leslie West as well. It's funny, not long before I picked this guitar up, I was listening to Mountain and totally admiring West's tone.

For me, this guitar is a hard rocker. I'm into the Sabbath, Mountain, Clutch, C.O.C. type of sound/style. This guitar is perfect for that. It can be thick, full, crunchy and bitting sounding.

I don't play much clean stuff, but this axe has a great clean sound as well.

I have two Carvin X-amps that I alternate. One has EL34s, the other 6l6's. Both get run through a HiWatt cabinet with 4 12" GT75 celestions. And both Carvins have been biased hotter for more power tube crunch.

I also have a Boogie Subway Rocket for "at home practice."

I haven't played it through either the EL34'ed carvin, nor the Boogie yet, but I'm confidant that it'll sound great.

On the 6l6'ed Carvin, this axe just roars. These pickups in conjunction with this body style just make the perfect combination for the burly, crunchy, gnarled tone that I like. And switching pickup configurations and making volume/tone alterations during a song is easy. The tonal possibilities offered here are very useable too.

I usually keep may gain around five so that the power tubes can add their character as well. The rest of my equipment is a Boss EQ out front used as an overdrive (boosting mids/highs and volume), a Dunlop Wah out front, and a Marshall Jackhammer for when I play a song requiring high gain. In the effects loop there's a Boss BF-2 Flanger.

This was bought used so the store set it up for me before I bought it. It has 10s now and the action is fine. It plays like a Les Paul should.

I still need to mess with the neck pick-up adjustment a little, but I'd only be improving on an already great tone.

The only problems this guitar has is what appears to be a neck repair (but not an ugly or really bad one) and it has some battle scars. Also, some previous owner installed some tiny screws on the front in positions that look like they would hold a bigsby, but I can't see a bigsby being held down by these little things. Who knows?

All these little things just add to the guitars character. It's a workhorse and it's very much my style.

Hopefully the neck repair will hold. Other than that, I foresee no future problems, so long as I don't drop it!

This guitar is now my number one stage guitar.

n/a

I've been playing 10 years. I bought my first Gibson (1974 SG Standard) about a year ago with the intention of playing it out. It sounds and plays WAY better than any new standard I've played (and it was cheaper) But it's such a nice guitar that it hardly makes it to band practice. So my main axe has been a 1981 Ibanez Blazer (an inexpensive yet excellent playing and sounding guitar).

But now I finally have a Paul of my own, and you'd better believe that it will get some stage time! It has the sound I want, it has the feel I want, and it has the character I want. I've never seen a Studio like this one, and I hope I never do again. It makes this one that much more special.

Made in 1999 USA. 22 frets, carved maple top mahogany back.
One Volume and one tone knob for each humbucker.
Think it's alnico picups.
The body is mahogany, and the fingerboard is rosewood. Black finish.
Chrome-finish on the metal-pieces.
Tune-O-matic bridge, tuners brand i really don't know.
Came with a standard gibson case and tools.

I used to play 70's rock'n roll.. early Kiss/Black Sabbath, nicely mixed with early punk (Sex Pistols, The Jam, Kennedys, and later punk (NOFX, No USe for A name, and so on) which this guitar really is best suited for in my opinion, although you could also play a mean blues on it. Used it wit a Marshall JCM 80.
The guitar can be noisy indeed, but when played clean also can bring a more "pristine" sound. I'd say a full sound.
What i dislike about it, is that it's kinda "muddy", which makes it hard to play 50's rocknroll without it sounding like 60's rock'n roll..

The sound is "just right" for hard rock, punk and in some cases blues, but would leave a rockabilly or jazz musicians pretty unsatisfied.

I'd say the guitar was pretty well set up from the factory, although I lowered the bright E,B strings a notch. I can not recall it having any finish-laws at all really.

The guitar will absolutlely withstand live playing, and keeps in tune for ages. It's very dependable, and weighs as much as half a car, so i suppose it is built to last.
The only thing that's not up for the job is the cable-intake. This has a tendency to loosen and eventually fall off, which is not a good thing in the middle of a gig.

Haven't tried it.

I've been playing guitar for 8 years, and own a epiphone accoustic, and a Washburn J9.
I probably would've bought this guitar again if it was stolen from me, but not entirely sure.

Hate about it: The muddy "bass" tone when I would like a bright tone.
Love about it: The full and rich sound playing slow blues, and the crunch on punk.

Typical Les Paul specs. Fellow Paul lovers know the drill.

I play classic rock and some gospel.This axe is so smooth it could cut through butter. Very mellow when needed or the nastiest sound you could dream of.

Had to file the nut down a bit.As many users before me have stated BUY STRAP LOCKS AND HAVE THEM INSTALLED BEFORE YOU LEAVE THE STORE!!!!!!!!

This axe will outlive me. Can be used as a baseball bat.Watch that headstock, other than that very reliable. Finish on mine was purrrrrrrrfect.I would gig with my Paul without a backup.

Liftime warranty. My 3rd les paul and never needed it.Very helpful when I asked them anything.

I love it.People who wine about the price should check out the resale values the Les Paul brings!!!!!!!

2003, USA made. Solid swamp ash body, mine has a one piece top, mahogany neck w/ 59 profile, satin transparent nitro finish, has Gibson hot alnico 498 in bridge, 490 in neck. No coil taps or other features. Nice and simple, but just enough control to get a good variety of sounds. Every thing else is Les Paul, nuf said.

This guitar will do everything. However, this is NOT your father's Les Paul. I like that. It has an amazing punch and pop to the sound, swamp ash is my favorite tone wood. With the mahogany neck, you don't get the tele sound, it has a pop but is much more rich and full. By pop I don't mean bright, it isnt, but it just has that rich snap that only swamp ash can give you. The best of both. It is very cool to be able to get that sting and sustain from the same guitar. Metal to country without a problem. But then roll back the tone on the neck, and you get some very usable warm clean sounds. This is my new favorite guitar.

I was very skeptical, based on some of the lower priced Gibsons I've seen lately. No flaws, stunning grain pattern, setup like a dream. No sharp frets or buzzes, no imperfections. Nice job Gibson.

Wood and strings, gee, not much to break or fade away. The satin finish should take a major beating and never show it. My only nit would be strap locks and locking tuners, but I can do that later.

My experience with Gibson has been good. I wouldn't say great, but good. They are kinda stuck up, but they are professional and treat you with respect and get the job done.

Playing 30 years, been through a lot of gear. If this went away, I'd have to get another. This is the one I always reach for now, regardless of what I want to play. It will fit in any environment on any stage and do the job with a unique sound that I won't be without again. There is not a better value on the market today.