Gibson Les Paul Studio

Overview

The Gibson Les Paul Studio is a great guitar! If you want a Les Paul but don’t want to spend over two grand this is it. The mahogany body and carved maple top give this classic guitar a super thick tone. The electronics and pickups are quality and great sounding.

The price may seem a bit steep but when you look at other Gibson Les Paul models is seems pretty inexpensive. The Studio does not have all of the frills of a Les Paul Standard or Classic but you are paying for a quality guitar, not all of the cosmetic extras. If you choose to make the investment this will probably be a guitar that you will keep for the rest of your life.

Price   -  9/10

$1319.00

Not a bad price for an American made guitar that comes with a hardshell case.

Sound Quality   -   9/10

If you are looking for a glassy spanky Strat tone, that is one base that this guitar can’t cover. You might just want to go out and buy a Strat. If you like a fat robust tone that you can use for just about any style of music then the Les Paul Studio is for you. I love the knob and pickup setup on Les Pauls. You can blend the pickup in a ton of different ways to come up with your own custom sounds.

Build Quality   -   8.5/10

Gibson build quality is usually pretty great. They can be a little inconsistent but there is a lot of handwork that goes in to these guitars so that is kind of understandable. The only real issue I have with the quality of this guitar is with the vintage style tuners. They can be kind of fragile. I have seen a lot of people with Gibsons buying tuning keys to replace the ones that have broken.

Features   -   8.5/10

• Made in USA

• Carved maple top

• Mahogany body and neck

• Set neck

• Tune-O-Matic bridge with stopbar

• 490R and 498T Alnico 2 humbucker pickups

• 2 volume 2 tone and 3-way pickup selector switch

• Hardshell case included

• Finishes include: Ebony, Alpine White, Fireburst and Wine Red

• Rosewood fingerboard

• Ebony fingerboard on Alpine White model

• 22 frets

• Nut width 1.695″

• Acrylic trapezoid inlays

• Scale 24-3/4”

Ease of Use   -   8.5/10

Nothing complicated here. Two volume knobs, two tone knobs and a three-way pickup selector switch. Plug and play!

Pros

• It’s a Les Paul!

• Fat tone and lots of sustain

• Great quality

• Hardshell case included

Cons

• It’s a pretty heavy guitar, not great on the back if you have to stand a lot.

• (Gibson is making the Studio models chambered now. That helps some.)

• Kind of expensive but not so much when compared to other Les Paul models.

• Not a big fan of the vintage style tuners, I have seen a lot of them break off.

• Set-ups out of the box are a bit inconsistent from guitar to guitar.

Overall Rating   -   8.7/10

I recommend the Les Paul Studio if you want the Les Paul tone but don’t want to go in to debt for a guitar. It may not be as flashy as some of the other Les Paul models but it sounds just as good to me. If you have a bad back you might want to opt for a Gibson SG or something lighter.