Gibson Les Paul Vintage Mahogany

2005 Made in USA, 22 Frets, Solid Body - Mahogany Top and Back, 2 volume, 2 tone, 3 way switch, 2 Burstbucker hums, Finish is kind of a wine red satin type color. Gibson tuners kluson style. 59' V neck profile. Includes a Hard Shell.

Suits pretty much any music style, although I mainly use it for only rock rhythm. Great for any type of rock played through my Peavey Valveking or my GNX4. The sound is very deep. Unfortunately, like mentioned previously the guitar has a hum sound to it whenever you take your fingers off any metal parts. Also, tube amps tend to give me a little bit of a shock.

I do love the sound however and the $10 to get the grounding fixed should make it great.

Well, I got this from Musician's Friend after playing one in a Guitar Center. The guitar was set up pretty nicely although the D string's intonation was pretty off, although all the others were near perfect. Haven't had a chance to get it to a professional yet.

I love the finish on this guitar, but that's mainly cause I don't like the extreme flashiness of Les Paul's and the guitar gets polished as you play it, it's pretty darn cool. Almost no hardware flaws

This guitar friggin rocks in the durability department. I am stationed in Iraq at the moment and it's made it with me to the US and back here. I've had a window fall in on it after a mortar attack and the pickup mounts were scratched and a small ding was put into the wood, but the guitar is really solid. In fact, I call it My "$900 slab of wood".

The finish won't last for a long time, but that's the basically the point, they knock almost $1000 off the price by using this cheap finish. Just keep it in a hardcase.

The strap buttons suck. Two days after I got this guitar it fell off the strap buttons and the cable pushed the jackplate straight into the guitar's body. Soon after I ordered some Dunlop Straploks and haven't had this problem again. In fact, I would swing it around my head and not worry now.

Yes I can depend on it. They oughta certify this guitar military grade now.

I have used this at gigs without a back up but you should always have one anyways.

N/A, never dealt with gibson

I've been playing for 5 years, I own 2 other electric guitars, which are a homebuilt stratocaster built from parts from all major parts dealers, an Oscar Schmidt by Washburn strat HSS. I own 3 acoustics, Ibanez AEF18ENT and 2 cheap ones. I have a Peavey Rage III practice amp and a Peavey ValveKing 112. A Digitech GNX4 and multiple effects.

If this were stolen I'd organize a military mission to neutralize the thieves with extreme prejudice. Definately I'd buy another one.

I love it's deep sound, especially on the middle position and neck, I hate the hum I get because of the improper grounding. My favorite feature would be the 2 volumes and 2 tones.

I compared it to a Fender American Strat HH and an Epiphone Les Paul. This one just had that sound.

I wish it had binding. Lacquer sucks but I wish it had binding.

Make sure you get straploks, they are like $15 and they will protect you from making the same mistake I did. It's definately worth the money.

American made, 2005, Gibson Les Paul Studio Edition. Full 3-piece mahogany body, '59 profile "V" neck, 22-frets, trapezoid abalone inlay, 2 Alnico 5 Burstbucker Pros, 3-way, 2 tone, 2 volume, chrome hardware. Finish is very light, brown stain. I actually really like the way this guitar is finished, though it won't be for everyone. If you wanted quilted maple or tobacco burst, this isn't for you. I like that there isn't a thick lacquer on it, though. Makes me feel more connected to the instrument. Oh yeah, the strap buttons are small, so I would recommend lockers, just in case

Sound is fantastic. The electronic on this guitar are the same as the new Standards and Classics, so you are getting a great sounding guitar for a fraction of the price of those other LPs. Sure, no fancy finish, but this just feels classic, and anyway, it's the sound that is important and this has it in spades. One thing, though. The setup from the factory was subpar. A little high, but the intonation was off. After getting it professionally reset, I have to say that this guitar sings. Harmonics are nice, great clean sound (a little bright sometimes, but then tone knobs, huh?), growling under distortion. I play through a Fender Princeton Chorus and a Vox Valvtronix 15 watt hybrid combo amp. Have also played one through a Blues Deluxe RI, Bassman RI, and Twin Reverb. All sound great (would probably go with the Bassman, but who wouldn't?). All in all, a fantastic sound.

Ok, here is where the problems with the guitar come out. At the Guitar Center near my house, they had about 5 of these guys. I played all of them, and they were varied in quality. Some of them had bad sanding under the cut, others were not set up very well. I chose the "best" of them, even finish, decent setup, no apparent flaws. However, when I took it to get professionally setup, the guy told me that it has a twisted neck. Fortunately, this doesn't affect playability, and it didn't affect getting an awesome setup on it, but it could have, so watch out for this. Hence, the "5".

This thing is like a tank, really. Heavy enough, too. I have had it since September, no issues. The only thing I can think of is that the finish is so light that the wood may dent easily. I would definitely recommend a belt-wear patch, unless you like the character it gives the guitar. But it can stand up to a lot, for sure.

Haven't had to contact them.

I have been playing for about 4 years and this is my first electric. I also own a Martin 000-CXE (love it), and a 1980 Yamaha Classical (great guitar). Since I have had this guitar since September 2005, I thought it was about time to write this review. After the reset, I took her home and probably didn't put her down for around 3 hours. Fantastic sounds, great responsiveness. I love this guitar and would never think of selling it (not that I would sell any of my guitars). Great guitar, highly recommended

Made in the USA, 2005. 22 Frets. Carved mahogany top and mahogany back. Dull satin\matt-like, unpolished finish... Almost like a plain brown stain... 1959 rounded Les Paul mahogany neck with trapezoid inlays. Rosewood fingerboard. Tune-o-matic bridge with stopbar. Chrome hardware. Alnico 5 BurstBucker Pro pickups. 2 volume and 2 tone knobs, 3-way pick up switch. I give features an (8) because nothing is a 10, and 9 is still to high... The tuners are questionable. I prefer sealed tuners, whether they are Gibson or Grover doesn?t matter. I believe the guitar would stay in tune much better...

I have been playing guitar 7 years. I play Christian rock. Some clean sound for a worship setting... I sometimes jam out to a bluesy-rock, and sometimes a country sound, and can do rhythm or lead... This guitar's sound can easily fit in to any setting. I'm not sure whether it can do a metal or death metal sound. Never tried?

If you take your hands off the guitar when plugged in, you can hear an annoying ground hum. I don?t know if all of these guitars are this way, but mine is. I?ve tested the hum on 2 different amps, 3 different locations, and with several different cables. It?s still there. Its not a problem to me because my hands are always touching something on the guitar. (Strings, Bridge) It does not hum then.

95% of the time I play though a Crate GT1200H/G412SL Half Stack. This is a very nice sounding amp, considering it was only 500 bucks and sounds great with this guitar.

They guy a few below wasn?t exactly correct about how the guitar couldn?t do pinch harmonics. It can. They sound fine? But for some reason, it is a little bit difficult to get them to come out on this thing? The stock strings that it came with are junk. They sound bad and don?t stay in tune. Take them off first thing. I use SIT 10?s.

I give sound a 9. Again, nothing is a 10. And this thing really does sound great!

Ouch, this guitar's factory setup was horrible. The intonation was extremely off. It took me about a half an hour to get it almost perfect. The low E and A strings had some fret buzz. That was because the action was too low on that side. It took about 10 minutes to adjust the action and get the buzz out. The action did come a bit low, and again that?s why it was buzzing.

The adjustable poles on the pickups which control how much volume each string has was set up perfectly to my ears.

All the hardware was installed very well. They nut looks good. The inlays look 100 times better up close when compared to an epiphone guitar. (Epiphone?s are great guitars too). The frets and fret-board are well made together. No noise in the pickup selector or knobs.

I thought the brownish color of the finish was ugly the first time I saw this thing, but it has grown on me tremendously. Also, where your forearm rubs, the color is fading, and the finish is being polished over time. I like they way it looks, it adds a worn look to it... It?s a companionship then, knowing your own arm has discolored and polished the guitar. LOL.

So I give the factory setup and finish a 6 on my guitar. After spending a few minutes adjusting, I give it an 8, I can?t make it a 10. But it?s perfect to me?

Will this guitar withstand live playing? Yes, it?s a strong road worthy guitar.

The Hardware does last.

Is the finish good enough to last, or does it seem thin and easy to wear off with lots of playing? The finish is good, but like I said above, it will discolor and polish where your arm rubs. It?s a good thing though, you don?t have to constantly polish your guitar from sweat and finger prints.

Strap buttons are solid, but look smaller than normal.

I can depend on this guitar. But everyone needs a backup no matter how expensive your guitar is...

No problems yet, and dont forsee any...

I have been playing guitar 7 years. I also play a Martin DC16GTE, Mandolin, and blues style Harmonica. Most likely I would replace this guitar with the exact same one if lost or stolen. It depends on what kind of money I have on hand... or upgrade into the 1,200 dollar range. They?re nice, but it?s not necessary for anyone to buy a 3,000 dollar guitar. If you can afford it like pocket change then more power to you. I think sound and quality stops at 1,800 bucks... But that?s my opinion...

One last thing! This guitar comes with an extremely nice Gibson case. It was made in Canada. It has a combination lock on it, and a blanket to cover your guitar when the case it closed. This keeps fuzz from getting in your strings?

Overall I would say 8 personally, but it really is a fantastic value for 900 bucks! So I give it a 10.

The usual line up of Les Paul features. This particular model uses the Gibson Deluxe (Kluson style) tuners, a mahogany top, Burstbucker Pro pickups, a '59 neck profile, speed knobs, and has no binding and a satin finish. Like all studio models there are no inlays in the headstock. The finish is surprisingly attractive and no online pictures I've found can quite do it justice. It included an average quality hardshell case.

I'm running this thing through a Vox AD120VT and it's absolutely stunning. There aren't words that can describe exactly how good these pickups are. I play a lot of hard rock, blues, and clean fingerpicking and there are no disappointments.

As far as I'm concerned the factory set up was perfect: action a little on the high side, neck pickup a little low, intonation perfect. I do plan on switching to lighter strings and resetting the intonation but the action and pickups will not be messed with. The overall build quality is higher than expected. The only thing I found was a slight ding on the back of the neck, but it's nothing even remotely serious and is hardly even noticable.

The first Gibson I owned was made in 1963 and was still fantastic when I got rid of it a couple of years ago. I forsee no problems in the future.

I've owned Gibson's for 5 years now and haven't had a reason to call them up yet.

I've been playing for about 6 years now and go through equipment more than I care to admit. After finally picking up an acoustic last year that I'm perfectly satisfied with I do believe I've found the same thing in an electric with this one. I would not hesitate to buy another one and will not hesitate to recommend it to anyone. I knew I wanted an LP when I started researching this model and finally settled on this one in particular after some lengthy comparisons with the Epiphone Elitist models. The only thing I distinctly didn't like about this model was truss rod cover engraved with the word "Studio" that completely didn't match the raw feeling of the rest of the instrument. I very highly recommend replacing the truss rod cover with a blank one.

2005 Gibson Vintage Mahogany Les Paul Studio. All the same features as the standards and studios without the fancy finish and bindings. Mahogany top instead of maple. Burstbucker pickups.

I play mostly punk and skater thrash/metal-anything from Green Day to Suicidal Tendencies, and sometimes some classic metal or rock like Black Sabbath or Led Zeppelin. I play through a Peavey 5150 2X12 combo usually with no effects but sometimes with delay/flanger/phaser. The burstbucker pickups are great. They have a very clear midrange and awesome crunch. I used to own a 1981 Les Paul standard and wasn't sure how the burstbuckers would compare but they are easily as good or better depending on your style of music. They get a better distorted rock tone that the 490/498 pickups IMO. This thing gets great harmonics and is very easy to play. The neck has a nice thick profile but not too thick, it's just right for my tastes but might not be sleek or thin enough for some people. I haven't found anything I dislike about this guitar yet-I can't put it down!

I bought mine used so I can't really comment on the factory setup. I did play one of these briefly at guitar center before I bought mine and the action was low, no buzzing, and the intonation was spot on. The finish on mine has no flaws and is absolutely beautiful if you like the satin/ stain/no gloss look. The lack of a gloss finish on the back of the neck is incredibly comfortable and easy to play. The one I played at guitar center, though, had some rough spots especially on the curve between the neck and the lower horn. It was very rough in a few spots like the saw marks were not sanded out. For this reason, I'd be hesitant to buy one from Musician's Friend just because you can't see what the finish is like before you buy it. If your buying it from ebay or somewhere similar, make sure you get alot of high res pictures. Mine had alot of close-up high res pics on the auction listing but I was still a little worried. I got lucky though because mine's perfect. If I was rating the finish on mine I would give it a 10, but since the one at guitar center had a bad finish I have to rate them lower overall.

This guitar has all the quality components of a Les Paul standard so it will hold up to just about anything. The finish will show some wear over time, especially where your arm rests on the body and on the back of the neck but this adds to it's character IMO and well worth the $1000 you'll save over a glossy finished standard. The strap buttons tend to be too small and make your strap slip off. I replaced mine with dunlop strap locks. This guitar is as dependable as any guitar you could buy but I would never gig without a backup.

I've never had to use Giibson customer support-with this guitar or my 1981 Les Paul standard so I think that speaks volumes about the quality of Gibson guitars.

I have been playing on and off for about 20 years. My other guitars are both 80's Kramers-one with a Floyd and one without. I love this guitar, the pickups and the finish are great for my tastes. I compared this guitar to the Les Paul studios and the Les Paul Special SL humbucker. I chose this one for the Burstbucker pickups and the carved top which the special does not have. The regular studios are like $1200 so this guitar is a bargain! If someone stole this guitar I'd buy another one as soon as I possibly could-but I'd make sure the finish was good.

2004, the first and fifth digit will give you the year
same features as any les paul

incredible!
treble pup cuts like a knife
rhythm pup very warm and dark
using a dsl 50 watt and a 410 fender
both sound great

a few minor adjustments - now perfect

come on - it's a gibson

the best

les paul's rock! nothing better

Typical Les-Paul Studio minus the finish. The Finish and Guitar are part of their Faded series. The finish is a light coat of Brown Stain with a Laquer sealer, Thats It! Some may not like it, I love it since it helps the Tone come through. I have ENOUGH guitars with 14 coats of Clear on them. 59 profile neck, BB-Pro Alnico-5 pups. The rest is your typical Les-Paul. One thing that Should be noted. Th back of the guitar is 3-piece and the top is 2. All of them from what I have seen are the same. Not a bad or good thing. Just the way it is. The neck IS 59, I have seen alot of comments stating it was felt the neck is somewhere between a 60 and 59. Its a 59! Guitar is all Mahogany which also be noted. Instead of a carved Maple cap the Vintage Mahogany has a Mah. cap!

Incredable, I own 3 Pauls a few Hamers and various other Gibson Semi-Hollows and P-90 equipped guitars. This is one of the best sounding guitars I have heard to date. The BB-Pro's are without a doubt the best sounding pick-ups Gibson has made to date. No muddyness, clear, balenced and articulate. Hands down the best neck pup I've heard. And the bridge isn't to bad either! Thw Combo of these pups, the all Mahogany build, 59 neck, and the lack of finish, produce one of the BEST sounding Les-Pauls I have heard in a long time. I said I have two other LPs which both are higher end LPs. They both sat in the case. The Hamers and Gibson 335 and 135 were getting all the play. Its a different story now with this guitar! I've been reaching for this LP all the time.

I bought mine at GC. I have heard the stories about the QC from Gibson? Maybe ordering one sight unseen from MF isn;t the BEST idea. But I picked this up of the shelve at GC and there is absolutly NOTHING wrong with the guitar. Frets are WELL done, I polished them and cleaned the fretboard. I also added a bone nut and changed the strings and re-ser the action. The guitar is spot on. But it was straight from the factory. Just that the frets were dirty and the guitar need to be cleaned. Beside I always add the bone nuts.

Gibson is on the money. E-Mail them and they will get right back to you. Ask them some BULL....and ya you might not hear back from them. The guitar is WELL built and will last a lifetime if taken care of properly.

Excellent

I've been playing since the 60's. I own a impressive collection of guitars and amps. What I don't own I probly have in the past. There's not much out there I haven't tried. I have been at this a long time. I am VERY impressed with this guitar and the new LP-Standard Faded with the 50's neck! These two guitars remind me VERY MUCH of the Gibson's of yesteryear, 50's to be exact! I am thinking about buying another. Thats how much I like this one. I also think for someone to give this guitar a overall rating of 1 is a shame. You will be hard pressed to find a better playing/sounding Les-Paul. If you buy a guitar sight unseen. And you wind up upset due to QC issues, whos at fault? Blame yourself for not getting out there and doing the leg work. When I bought this guitar, I played EVERY single High-End Les-Paul at Guitar Center that day. The 58, 59, and 57RIs and the Standards and Classics. I already own a Standard and Classic. I am very tempted to sell my two and to purchase a Standard Faded with a 50's neck. My Vintage Mahogany and the Faded Standard I played at GC that day were the TWO BEST Les-Pauls in that store. Yes they sounded better than the RIs. Maybe not ALL of them, but the ones in the store that day! This guitar is a outstanding value that probly won't be around for long. The sound of this guitar is second to NONE!

2005 Made in the USA and solid as a rock !
(I know the sales man and he hooked me up nice for a new LP!)
Mahogony on mahogony a beautiful red stained Les Paul.
Burstbucker pickups sound awesome!
Les Paul Studio model with a nice hardshell case *included*

This guitar looks crappy in the Pictures.. you have to see it in person to see this beauty!

My music style from blues to all forms of rock is a perfect match for this LP.
I have a Fender Blues Jr. Tube Amp. I play at home and at gigs, once the tubes warm up man this guitar sounds really nice!
When I was buying this guitar I had a choice from a Regular LP Studio, and a Fender American Strat,i tried all 3 (including this one) this LP blew all those away! The sound was nice and rich and when you set it to treble its very bright and smooth at the same time. Those BurstBucker Pro pickups sound amazing (they also come on LP Standards!) Even the regular LP Studio doesnt have these bad boys!
The ONLY dislike i would say is the guitar tends to untune a bit only the D and B strings for me.. ive heard this on other reviews too.
The more i play it, however the less this problem happends so i guess thats good!

Everthing on this guitar is perfect.. I mean you have to realize why its so marked down in price.. No paint and no maple.. This brings down the price drasticly.. giving us this guitar!
This Guitar Resembles the "59 Black Beauty" Same as this guitar the Black Beauty was ALL mahogony.
One thing i love about this guitar is the Neck. ITs a 59 sytle neck WOW it feels so great! Most of all its SOO smooth you can move fast with comfort.
This guitar is for sure the best bang for your buck once you play and hear it you will be sold!

I personlly love a heavy Les Paul. It feels very durable and the hardware (BurstBucker Pro pickups.. THAT COME ON A STANDARD) cant go wrong with that!

The only thing i would say is the finish.. its thin so that means its going to wear alot faster.. (which means it will get that vintage look..lol)
Im thinking of having it sent to gibson to get the face painted custom painted.. but thats in the near future!

I emailed Support to find out exactly when it was made and also to get all the specs of my guitar.. (this guitar was made in 2004 and 2005 so far) Got my reply within 24 hrs.. support seams to be perfect to me!

Ive been playing for 10 years now..
If it were lost or stolen id end up in jail.. ill leave it at that =P
I love the fact that i FINALLY own a Gibson Les Paul!! It's not just some cheap stuff put together.. its actually got a REALLY good sound and feel to it.
My favorite feature i would say is the 59 Neck. its just SOOO smooth and fast! Think about it.. most LP's have the neck painted with a clear finish.. its not as fast and if your palms are swety it will stick..(Amazingly..this LP stands above them all!!)
Let me put it this way.. i had $1500 dollars..I was looking for a LP Studio (i didnt know they had this model out).. so
I played a Regular LP Studio at $1300 (just doesnt feel and sound the same.. the Regular LP Studio did not sound as rich as this LP)
And also compared it to a Fender Amercian Standard Strat at $1250 ( great feel but the sound was o..k.. which didnt appeal to me)
This is when i saw my guitar.. i picked that bad boy up and like i said the FEEL and SOUND is unbeatable.. this guitar sounds like a $2000 LP.. When the sales man told me the price almost screamed.. if your in the market for a quality guitar this is the one!!

As far as features it's very simple, but what this guitar does have it's got in spades. Burstbucker pro p/u's, 22 frets, mahogany body, mahogany top, '59 rounded mahogany neck, rosewood fingerboard.

I play MAINLY your rock family of music (everything from classic rock to black metal), but I play at least a little of everything (gotta have my vintage blues). I play this through a Fender Princeton Chorus (original model) and I can get some of the weirdest sounds for that amp. With a little tweaking, I've got something d*mn close to Dickey Betts's sound, and I can also get pretty close to Zeppelin-esque overdrive. The high gain sounds are good, nothing spectacular, but it's most likely due to my amp (should be getting a Marshall TSL100 at some point). I can tell this thing can definitely do high-gain stuff, because my WASHBURN DIME gets less drive out of that amp. Has a very warm, full sound, but then again, what Gibson LP doesn't? Didn't expect it from a Les Paul, but I turned down the tone knobs to about 5, switched to mid p/u pos., turned up my mids and took out some treble, clean channel, and I had a jazz tone I think gives a vintage ES-335 a run for its money!

Straight out of the box this thing had super-low action with no buzz whatsoever-just the way I like it! Didn't seem to have any problems. Oh, GOD and the neck feels so NATURAL in my hands. It's like my left hand and that neck were a match made in Heaven. Very well-balanced too. Only complaint is the tuners aren't what I wish they were. No problem though-I'm gonna outfit mine with Gotoh Kluson locking tuners.

I don't gig, so keep that in mind as you read this section of the review. Hardware seems like it will last, hasn't started to rust on me yet (had it since August). Finish seems rock solid, and it's not a bad finish, looks beautiful. Just wish it came in cherry sunburst. If I gigged yet, I wouldn't even bother with a backup, I've had NO trouble with this guitar.

Never had to use it.

I've played about 2 years and this is probably the best guitar I'll ever own-and I like it that way. If this thing were stolen, let me put it this way-a certain thief would wind up dead in a nearby creek. I f****ing LOVE THIS NECK! God, I never thought I'd be able to shred, but it's like the neck keeps my entire wrist eased but also supported, and I can just fly across the neck (sloppy as I may play). Just wish it had a whammy on it...what? Probably gonna put a Stetsbar on it (you think I'd cut into my baby to put a Floyd on it???? YOU'RE CRAZY!!!)

This has all been covered in the previous reviews.

I love this guitar, and it will probably get the most playing time of my small collection. I have a 81 Les Paul Custom that I have been refurbishing (repairing some finish cracks, replacing POTS, new bridge) that will now take even longer to finish because my motivation is gone.

The Burstbucker Pro pickups are excellent for my taste. Much quieter and responsive that the Duncans in my Schecter, the PRS designed in my Santana SE, or any of my other guitars. I could not be happier with the tones from this guitar. Slab-o-Mahogany with great pickups and a great neck.

After hearing a lot of complaints of the quality of Gibson USA products here and on other forums, I was sceptical. I was not dissapointed with the fit or finish in any was. Factory setup will need some minor tweaks to suit my tastes, but other than that (which is NORMAL) it's flawless.

Time will tell, but given the straight-forward, no frills nature of this guitar I don't expect any issues.

Have not had to deal with them yet.

No frills rock and roll machine. Exactly what I was looking for in this purchase.