Les Paul Studio... Pros and Cons.

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Spin Doctor

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What are the pro's and cons of the Les Paul Studio?

I've seen alot of these on Ebay. I don't want to pay a couple of thousand for a Les Paul. But I CAN afford to pay 8 or 9 hundred for one of the Les Paul Studios.

I just want to use it to play live with my garage rock/punk band.

What is good or bad about them?

Thanks, I know you guys always know the answers. You are swell.
 
They are completely useable. I have one. I have had it for 10 years. I might swap out my pickups for Burstbuckers though because my friend has those in his LP and I really like them. But you should just play one first. They are IMO the entry level of the "real" Les Paul lineup.
 
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Mostly

They just lack some of the cosmetic touches that can add a lot to the price.

I think some of the hardware may be a little cheaper, too, but that is by no means to say it's cheap.

I can't remember if the neck is bound or not.

It's just a little less fancy, mostly.
 
I use a Studio Lite model which I really like except for the ceramic pups in it which I don't really care for, IMO I think that alnico pups sound much better.
 
OK cool. I'm gonna use this thing live. I don't care about pups. Just the sounds. $800 for a great sounding guitar that stays in tune... I'll get one!

Pups? I'm not dog lover. Just gimme that SOUND. The sound of the Les Paul. No fancy cosmetics. And I want it to be black just like my coffee.
 
Outlaws said:
They are completely useable. I have have one. I have had it for 10 years. I might swap out my pickups for Burstbuckers though because my friend has those in his LP and I really like them. But you should just play one first. They are IMO the entry level of the "real" Les Paul lineup.
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I agree with that. I'd even go as far to say that the Studio's feel cheap. At least the ones I've played. Some where between Epiphone and real Gibson land.
 
studio ?

i have played a few studio's they can be hit or miss ......... some had nice playing necks.... great tone ............. some had huge necks.... no tone. play it first ......... if you can :D
 
LPs

I have had a couple of LPs in my day the first a gold top back in the early 70's.
The current one a VERY nice 2000 studio. The guitars played the same there was no difference in feel of the 2. The Studio I have plays nicer and has much better action than the last LP I played at GC. My studio may be a higher level than some as it has an ebony fret board and massive jumbo frets much larger than the old goldtop.
I have to believe the LPs GC carries are made to meet a price point atleast those cheap ones for 800-1000. I think I payed about $1400 for mine almost 7 years ago.

Cons I don't know if any one has mentioned it but they are extremely heavy for their small compact size. The pickups are good but not great. The neck is a bit on the fat side like most Gibsons. Quality of build about the same as any other guitar. The only other Gibsons I would ever considering owning would be a ES325 and a Hummingbird.

I have 4 Strats and 2 teles but only 1 LP so I guess I'm not as big of fan of the fat muddy sound of the LP as use to be.
 
Quote from Spindoctor:

"OK cool. I'm gonna use this thing live. I don't care about pups."

Just where the hell do you think the sound comes from?

Also consider an SG. The sound difference between an LP studio and an SG is negligible. Aside from styling, the guitars are very similar.-Richie
 
I have a white LP Studio. Love it - it's a wonderful playing/ sounding guitar. I replaced the tuners with chrome Grovers and took off the pick guard - makes a big difference in the looks. I also have a LP Custom. Both are wonderful instruments. Highly recommended.
 
I was going down this road also....

I tried the studios, the mahogany studio - very nice ($799) and the standards w/ the 50's and 60's necks....I thought that I really wanted a Les Paul, BUT I finished up buying a Paul Reed Smith CE22. It plays perfect out of the case, and beats the LP's when you consider both tone AND playability. I now have the PRS, a 1974 SG custom, and a newer MIA strat and I feel that I have three guitars that can cover a lot of territory.

Next guitar will probably be a nice acoustic and then maybe a LP standard... but for now I am a happy camper... :)

Why do you want a LP Studio?

Thanks,
Dara
 
WARNING!!!!! The studios of today are not compairable to the ones from the early 90's.... Try to find one of the earlier ones as they have ebony boards, inlays, better PuPs, wood and QC.

Im not saying that the new versions are sub-par or anything, but if you can find a 92 or 93 for $600-$850...... I would DEFFINATELY take this over the newer ones w/ rosewood boards for a grand.

These guitars are great players and sound just a sweet as a standard.... just not as flashy!
 
i agree...find a 90's one. many of them came with ebony fret boards, which i think are only available on the les paul custom now, and in my opinion, ebony beats the hell out of rosewood.

pro's:
-an affordable hi-end guitar
-les pauls look cool and are eye candy for clients
-they sound great
-they are big heavy peices of wood, and resonate as such, very deep

cons:
-9 million pounds and will break your back
-all les paul tuners suck, get grovers or schalers
-you need a great amp to get the stock pickups really rockin, i have invaders in mine even those i have a single rec and a sovtek mig 100 through a mesa cab, just meatier
-no fancy binding, rounded edges, etc (but frankly, i hate that stuff anyway)
 
another endorsement of the early 90's studios, i have one and it is a nice guitar. Mine is hefty, but not quite as heavy as i have heard some of these get. Great sounding less paul, undecorated.

You can find these for less than $800 as well. For about $600 hard to beat for the price in my opinion.

That said, i have had mine for about 5 years and i have decided to start working toward a "real" guitar. Saving for a 335 and never looking back. I'll probably sell my studio here then :)

Daav
 
Flamin Lip said:
WARNING!!!!! The studios of today are not compairable to the ones from the early 90's.... Try to find one of the earlier ones as they have ebony boards, inlays, better PuPs, wood and QC.

Im not saying that the new versions are sub-par or anything, but if you can find a 92 or 93 for $600-$850...... I would DEFFINATELY take this over the newer ones w/ rosewood boards for a grand.

These guitars are great players and sound just a sweet as a standard.... just not as flashy!
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I agree with this post as well as others in regards to the 90's Studios. I have three of them (all from '90 - '94). In addition to the ebony fretboard and probably better quality control, they have the 490R/498T pickups, which were what were being put in the Standards at the time.

I will occasionally pick up a new Studio to try out amps, and, to me, they don't feel as solid as the ones I have. And, in my humble opinion, the rosewood they're using nowadays just seems kinda cheap.

I, like Spin Doctor, primarily play in the punk/garage/indie style, and when playing live, I've accidentally and intentionally dropped, thrown and rolled-around the floor with my '94, and it's still rockin'.

They're not necessarily pretty with nice tops and the binding and such, but you can get a used one reasonably (around $600.00 or so), and more than likely, if you keep it for a year or so and don't kill it, you can pretty much get what you paid for or more if you sell it.

I would eventually like to have a nice Goldtop or Standard with a Sunburst finish, but as far as a workhorse guitar that sounds great everytime I plug it in, you can't beat a Studio...especially the '90's models.
 
I agree the 90's models are better (most of the time) I have a 1990 that is awesome sounding. One other thing to note is the studios don't have a maple cap. The Maple cap makes the higher end LP's have a brighter tone. Personally, I prefer a Studio to the other models.
 
Micter said:
I agree the 90's models are better (most of the time) I have a 1990 that is awesome sounding. One other thing to note is the studios don't have a maple cap. The Maple cap makes the higher end LP's have a brighter tone. Personally, I prefer a Studio to the other models.
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As far as I know...the Studio's do have a maple cap.

Even from Gibson's current website:

"BODY
Top Species: Carved maple top
Back Species: Mahogany"
 
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