Gibson Les Paul Studio Electric Guitar,Worn Cherry Satin

by Gibson USA

Product Features

• Newly Designed Mahogany Back with Maple Cap
• '50s Rounded Neck Profile
• Rosewood fingerboard with Figured Acrylic Trapezoid Inlays
• Pair of Burstbucker Pro Pickups
• Grover(TM) tuners with Kluson-Style Green Keys

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 19.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S. and to APO/FPO addresses. For APO/FPO shipments, please check with the manufacturer regarding warranty and support issues.
• Shipping Advisory: This item must be shipped separately from other items in your order. Additional shipping charges will not apply.
• ASIN: B0002E53JW
• Item model number: Les Paul Studio
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,138 in Musical Instruments (See Top 100 in Musical Instruments)
  • #71 in Musical Instruments > Guitars > Electric Guitars > Solid Body

Product Description

The arrival of the Gibson Les Paul Studio Electric Guitar in 1983 offered guitarists all the essential elements of a Les Paul Standard, including a carved top and humbucking pickups. Its simple yet elegant design quickly helped it become the most popular model in the Les Paul Series. Cutting-yet-rich tone—the hallmark of the Les Paul—pours out of the 490R and 498T Alnico II magnet humbucker pickups, which are mounted on a carved maple top with a mahogany back. The faded finish models are equipped with BurstBucker Pro pickups and a mahogany top. The Les Paul Studio Electric Guitar includes a Gibson hardshell case (Faded and satin finish models come with a gig bag) and a limited lifetime warranty. Body and Finish A solid, carved maple top and chambered mahogany body give the Les Paul Studio the same tonewood combination that has been helping Les Paul Standards rock for nearly 60 years. And each of its four available nitrocellulose finishes makes for a stunning looking guitar, even while its no-frills approach eliminates body binding and pickguard. Mahogany is a medium-dense wood with excellent resonance and superior sustain, and it offers a rich, round, warm tone, but with plenty of high-end sheen and good mid-range presence. Add a solid maple top, and the guitar's tone is enhanced with added clarity, sustain and definition. The body's chambering also enhances its mellow acoustic resonance, and adds further air to the midrange content. Pickups Gibson's 498T and 490R pickups ("T" for treble, and "R" for rhythm) have the traditional characteristics of the original "Patent Applied For" pickups of the late 1950s, with a few upgrades. These pickups take advantage of wax potting, which does away with any air space inside the pickup, therefore lessening the chances of microphonic feedback. The result is a humbucker with the tonal characteristics of an original PAF, with a slight increase in upper mid-range response. The Gibson 498T bridge pickup is the 490R's ide

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

43 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful and Versatile -- Great sound at a great price, March 8, 2008

By 

Nessander - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Gibson Les Paul Studio Electric Guitar,Worn Cherry Satin (Electronics)

I play mainly bluesy rock (a little bit of jazz, no metal) and was looking to buy a second electric guitar, and went into my local guitar shop to try this out. I wasn't particularly looking for a Les Paul, but after trying out a few other guitars (some of the Joe Satriani Ibanez's) I saw this lying around and was intrigued by the natural wood look. The look is a matter of taste -- I've seen people note it as a negative or as a positive. You have to check it out and see for yourself. Personally, I think it looks very cool and classy. Both my mother and wife thought it looked great, too, but, as I said, it's a matter of taste.

Anyway, I picked it up and the first thing I noticed is that it is a lot lighter than the standard Les Pauls. I liked this, because I tend to find them a bit too heavy for my liking. I plugged it into a VOX AC 15 tube amp and proceeded to sit there for over an hour playing. The guitar has great tone and a variety of sounds, which it achieves with good quality Gibson burstbucker pickups. I really love the sound of this guitar when played through the VOX -- it can be really mellow and silky, fat and chunky, or bright, depending on how you adjust the settings. I find all three of the switch settings (rhythm, mixed, and lead) to be useful. The other nice thing is that since you have four knobs -- two volume and two tone (one for each humbucker) -- you can set them completely separately and then use the switch to go from (for example) a lower volume rhythm sound to a higher volume lead sound just by flipping the switch. This is pretty cool. My other electric only has one volume switch, so I can't do that.

After surfing the web for reviews of this guitar (which are overwhelmingly positive), the only negative comment I saw (except for people who don't like the natural wood look, which is a matter of taste) had to do with possibly shoddy quality control at Gibson. One reviewer said he tried 9 of these guitars and each was set up differently. Knowing this, I asked to try both of the 2 guitars that were at the shop. I looked at them carefully, and they both seemed set up very similarly, and both played very well right out of the box. The action was really low, which made for great playing, but a little bit of buzz. Since this didn't come out when playing through an amp, though, I decided not to adjust it to make the action higher. In short, this guitar is very playable, and felt great in my hands.

Basically, the sound is classic -- good for blues, jazz, bluesy rock, and hard rock, but probably not metal (not sure -- I don't play it so I wouldn't know). Despite being a bit lighter than the standard Les Paul models, this guitar has great sustain like all other Les Pauls. If you are interested in a Les Paul guitar, this is a great option for the under $1K category. If you can afford the more expensive models, then go for it, but this does not in any way feel like a cheapened "poor man's" Les Paul. It has solid construction and good quality components.

The only other possible place where they might have cut corners on the components is the tuners, which may not be all that great, but you can buy a better set for $60 and switch them out. I'm playing mine for a while first to see how they go, and if they're not that good, I will switch them. If so, that would be a very minor flaw in what is a really great guitar and an unbeatable price. Also, it comes with a hard case (this might be changing soon, not sure) which is worth about $150, making the price even better. If you're shopping in this category, definitely check one out. I decided to pick up the VOX 15 too and they're sounding fantastic together!

37 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Yes - its worth the price, October 6, 2004

By 

DaveM (Spain) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Gibson Les Paul Studio Electric Guitar,Worn Cherry Satin (Electronics)

Just the facts: Paid the extra for the expedited delivery. Guitar arrived in hard shell case packed in original Gibson cardboard box - on time and no damage. Some buzzes coming from a and e strings, haven't done any tweaking yet. Fret work seems even, but a bit sharp on the ends. Neck feels just right - not too fat. Sound is classic Les Paul. No inlay on headstock - just a sticker. I would buy another one.

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Incredible Guitar - Great Value, March 6, 2008

By 

Peter Marone III (San Diego, CA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Gibson Les Paul Studio Electric Guitar,Worn Cherry Satin (Electronics)

I've played guitar on and off since my teen years. As a fan of 60s rock, especially Jimmy Page, I've always wanted a Les Paul. I wanted to delve back into guitar this year, and started looking at Epiphone Les Paul models until I found this for less money.

The guitar lacks some of the frills of a normal Gibson LP, but it does not sacrifice quality or the classic LP feel and sound. A nice, solid mahogany body provides full LP sound and sustain for days (ok... maybe just a day or so!). The 50's style neck feels very good, and with a polishing or two the neck becomes very quick.

The cherry, chrome and black finish is very sharp and gives the LP a unique look. As with the neck, the body feels a bit dry/rough upon delivery, but a quick polishing or two smooths everything out.

My last electric guitar was an 80s Ibanez (in the 80s). I can still remember the feel of that guitar, and I'm blown away with the feel of the Les Paul. It's a heavier, solid guitar that just "feels" right to me when I'm standing or sitting. A wide range of sound available from the 3 way pickup switch and individual volume/tone controls.

I might be a bit biased as it's been almost a 20 year dream for me, but if you are looking for s Les Paul as a first guitar or on a limited budget, this is the way to go.

I only have one gripe - the strings were cut pretty short - sometimes just barely a single wind on the tuner post - and they didn't keep tune very well. I've since replaced the strings and I'm not experiencing such a problem with tuning.