Gibson Les Paul Studio Guitars

mechanicalmastering · Post by **mechanicalmastering** » Sat Nov 19, 2011 7:27 pm

About to pick this up. Taking the amp out of the equation, do you guys ever have trouble getting usable, solid sounds from these? Can't go wrong with a real Les Paul, right? Would a pick-up replacement be worth considering?

Rawk!

radkins · Post by **radkins** » Sat Nov 19, 2011 8:00 pm

My go to guitar is a Standard. Very versatile in the recording studio.

Bro Shark · Post by **Bro Shark** » Sat Nov 19, 2011 9:08 pm

That one seems to have aftermarket pickups. Try and figure out what year it is. But most important I guess is what condition it's in, and how it feels/sounds when you play it. You can go with your gut on that.

GooberNumber9 · Post by **GooberNumber9** » Sat Nov 19, 2011 10:36 pm

I owned a Studio and a Standard for a few years. When I decided I had too many guitars, I got rid of the Standard. My Studio still has a better vibe than any other guitar I've owned. Also, I think the Studio is slightly more playable for me because the neck binding on the Standard slows me down or distracts me or something. Not sure how to describe it. You can definitely get great sounds out of a studio in all pickup positions. I still have the stock pickups in mine and I'm sure with a pickup upgrade it would be even better. The main point is that it's a solid, great sounding piece of wood.

mechanicalmastering · Post by **mechanicalmastering** » Sun Nov 20, 2011 2:56 am

Try and figure out what year it is. But most important I guess is what condition it's in, and how it feels/sounds when you play it

It's a 2009, it's in nearly perfect condition, and it plays and sounds amazing.
$450, I figure that can't go wrong either way.

I'm sure with a pickup upgrade it would be even better

I wonder what a good upgrade would be. Something versatile, not so much on the jazzy or metal side. Hmmm.

mrc · Post by **mrc** » Sun Nov 20, 2011 8:00 am

I've got a 74 Les Paul Signature, Tobbacco Sunburst, (only 85 of those made) http://www.gbase.com/gear/gibson-les-pa ... 74-gold-to Identical to that but for the finnish, I wouldn't change a thing. These are great guitars, and are part of the recording series. They have both an amp and a board level output, no outboard di required.

KennyLusk · Post by **KennyLusk** » Sun Nov 20, 2011 8:35 am

$450 for a LP studio? And you've played it and like it?

No question...buy that puppy.

As far as replacement pup's go, I like Alnico over ceramic FWIW. Gibson 498's are mostly alnico V. Quality.

You might also consider Bill Lawrence's humbucker replacements. They're some of the very best pickups made and really allow you to hear what your guitar is all about. They call him the Emperor of Impedance for good reason.

On the used side, any pickups you can score on ebay from late 70's/early 80's from Matsumoku guitars MIJ (Vantage/Aria/Westone) are fantastic Gibson pickups with major balls and quality alnico V mag's. The guitars themselves are actually pretty sweet sounding but you've gotta make sure the pup's haven't been replaced.

0xeneye · Post by **0xeneye** » Mon Nov 21, 2011 9:22 pm

On the used side, any pickups you can score on ebay from late 70's/early 80's from Matsumoku guitars MIJ (Vantage/Aria/Westone) are fantastic Gibson pickups with major balls and quality alnico V mag's.

My favorite pickup in the world is precisely that - a 70's Aria humbucker.

ashcat_lt · Post by **ashcat_lt** » Tue Nov 22, 2011 10:30 am

My LP Studio is from 97. Pickups replaced with SD 57s and it sounds pretty great. Recently replaced saddles and nut with graphite and string gauge up to 12 and it sounds even better. Sustain for weeks. Nice growl on the neck, big bite at the bridge, and even a bit of jangle in the middle.

I've also rewired it to Master Volume with no Tone, which makes a difference in the treble response. Then there's the series combination of the two HBs, which just crushes the input of whatever it's plugged into!

mechanicalmastering · Post by **mechanicalmastering** » Wed Nov 23, 2011 9:09 pm

ThanX for all the feedback guys, I'll have you all know that I most definitely pick this fine lady up, we've been getting aquanted all week, and I may to ask her to have my baby.

Wow, what an awesome instrument. I've grown up on cheap guitars, food stamps and cockroaches, and I never thought I'd ever own such a nice piece of gear to express myself with. Going from many el-cheapo guitars to a real Les Paul must be the equivalent of making the leap from a Hyndai to a Ferrari, and now I can never look back. Ever. Awesome.

Killer pickup suggestions guys, those Matsumoku pickups sound like a fantastic upgrade, I'm all over it.

Awesome.

KennyLusk · Post by **KennyLusk** » Thu Nov 24, 2011 9:26 am

Life is such a beautiful thing, right?

Congrats MM, You Win

christiannokes · Post by **christiannokes** » Thu Nov 24, 2011 10:18 am

Ooooh I just went in to Guitar Center and played a Studio and loved it- except that the body was like a matte finish instead of glossy. I like how my hand moves on a glossy body I guess. The sound was incredible though.

soundmasterg · Post by **soundmasterg** » Sat Dec 03, 2011 3:57 am

I have a 1993 LP Studio. Its a pretty good guitar but the Epiphone Elites are better and more resonant. I would like to upgrade to a nicer LP at some point, when I get the money. Though for $450 you can't go wrong.

The biggest difference in the sound will be from changing pickups, but a close second will be changing to 50's wiring. I did that to mine, and stuck a set of Dave Stephens's VL PAF clone humbuckers in it. You pay a lot for them but they are guaranteed for life no matter who owns them and they really do sound like a PAF. Of course not everyone wants the PAF sound though. The more modern sounding pickups like most Duncans and Dimarzios sound good for those approaches. Also Lollars and Wolfetones are very good.

Check out the Stephens Design on his site and you tube.

www.sdpickups.com

Greg

mechanicalmastering · Post by **mechanicalmastering** » Sat Dec 03, 2011 10:36 am

Thanx for all the awesome posts guys, seriously.

For pickups, I'm looking for something pretty HiFi, (I don't wanna say,,, modern?), sounding that can be pretty chunky without being raw. Something with a high output that's capable of a little cleanliness & sparkle without playing it too safe. No need for jazz or rounded-sounding pickups, something you could play Pop-Metal or Swing-Metal or Glittery-Hardcore-Rockabilly if such things existed. I'm looking for a set of humbuckers capable of pulling lots of clean information I suppose.

I got this sound in my head. You know how that goes, right?

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Gibson Les Paul Studio Guitars

Gibson Les Paul Studio Guitars

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