Gibson Les Paul Studio Mahogany Electric Guitar  

I bought this guitar expecting the Gibson name being built on Quality wow was i wrong got it and the finish was like a stain not the gloss finish that just about every guitar has played for an hour could not keep it in tune and now 4 months and 3 string changes later still wont stay in tune, a month after i got it the plastic nut cracked replaced it with a proper bone made nut, and the chambered body makes it have a rather bright sound not the ballsy tone that other gibson lps have. If you want a decent guitar either go old les paul or PRS!!!

I would definatly not reccomend this guitar being only 4 months old and the problems it has!

I have had this guitar for just over a year (white).  I love the way it plays, sounds, sustains, everything.  The ebony is great and glass smooth.  The tone can do cleaner jazzy stuff out of the neck, especially rolling off the tone a bit, and it can do straight up rock and I've gotten great metal tones out of it as well. 

The 490R/498T is a pretty nice pickup set.  Kind of "stiff"/compressed, but great for rock.

The knobs are bell shaped, not speed knobs, which can be difficult to grip.

Standard Nashville TOM bridge, very functional.  No need to replace.

The Gibson deluxe tuners are "meh", but are serviceable.

The corian nut can have binding issues on the open G string causing tuning stability issues, but that's largely accredited to the headstock design and will plague just about any LP style guitar.  I swapped the nut for a graphtech, it helped somewhat.

The satin finish is very thin and feels FANTASTIC.  I love the look and feel of the finish.  However, it is very fragile.  The second or third day I put a ding in it from a very light bump.  I'm not someone who deifies my gear and spins around on my eyebrows when it begins to look used, so I don't really fault it because I love the feel of the satin. 

The ebony is great, glass smooth.  Provides for snappy attack.

Switchcraft jack/pickup selector scream quality.  Very stout.

The pots are mounted on a PC board and everything plugs into it.  Haven't had to yank it for traditional point to point wiring, but if you're planning on new pickups, then plan on a new harness as well. 

The case is very sturdy.  No lock on it, but a hasp for your own lock that will actually function rather than the BS keyed locks on most of these cases that rarely work (in my experience).

Guitar is very light, which is a huge plus for me, but does not sound or respond like a light guitar.  Big huge sound, very resonant, great sustain.

Terribly small strap locks.  Given the fragile design of the headstock, consider going to Schallers or Dunlop strap locks.  My strap let go on me while adjusting a music stand and the neck cracked, had to get it repaired.  This is not unique to this guitar but ANY les paul. 

There was a little bit of paint on a fret end on the treble side of the board over the body, but I didn't care.  Everything looked and worked like it was supposed to.  The quality components are quality.  The weaker components are what they are (the corian nut, zinc stop bar). 

Great tone, great playability.  Gibson across the board has really impressed me in the past 5 years, take all of the sour grapes reviews about how Korean clones are superior with a grain of salt.  I got rid of my Korean clone after getting this one.  It got zero play time. 

This is the cheapest way to get a Les Paul with the studio compliment of hardware and the case.  You can gripe about how much they cost for a bare bones Gibson all you like, the fact is labor in the US is more expensive, I don't know that I buy the wood is "better" but it is at least what it represents to be.  The nitro finishing process, from what I understand, can be more labor intensive than a lot of other poly finishes.  I don't know that I buy that it enhances the tone, but I prefer the feel (and smell) of it to poly. 

Where this is priced in the market, it compares favorably.  You can get high end Korean imports at this point without a case with comparable hardware but usually fancier aesthetics.  I wanted a traditional looking/playing guitar and I got it. 

Long story short, I was happy to pay it and might be picking up another one before so much longer.

I flat love this guitar, downfalls of the LP design aside.  It's served me very well.

I researched several new Gibson LP models before deciding on this LP Mahogany Ebony and I am glad I got this.

I know it can get confusing with all of the options that are out there. I was looking for a guitar that sounds and plays like my first Gibson, with an ebony fretboard and hot pick-ups.

This is an upgrade model from the LP Studio faded, and a couple hundred dollars more (with a HSC included)

But when you play this model for the first time, you will know where that extra 200. went.

Ebony is a tight grained, dark, dense fingerboard wood that has been used in the past on many high end Gibson LP's. This fingerboard type is very fast. The tone and the action is alot 'snappier' than rosewood and I prefer these features over other more common models.You also get the 490R in the rhythm (neck) position and a 498T at the bridge, that is the perfect hot pickup combination for this guitar.

Some reviews have said the satin white color had a green tint to the paint. Not mine, the case inner lining does have an off- cream/white color that has some brown hues, so it is possible that the brown-white hue to the lining could create the illusion of a color offset.

You really cannot beat the value of this guitar for a quality USA made guitar with premium woods and components.

Excellent!

Opened up the case and WOW!  The guitar looks incredible! A nice white finish (others have said there's was a cream color, but not mine....it's all white).  The ebony fretboard is nice and black....Great!  This is a top of the line Gibson guitar!

The action / setup and intonation is spot on!  The frets are dressed perfectly....It must have been PLEK'D!  I adjucted the neck to my liking and I lowered the action to 3/16's and there is not a buzz anywhere on the neck........really great fret work on this model. (I had a few gibsons before and this one is a keeper!) 

This guitar is worth every penny!  You will not find a better gibson for the price.  You need to get this model if you are shopping for a Gibson Les Paul!

This is one great guitar.  Gibson has made a fantastic guitar here!

The main thing I want to talk about is the color.  It took 3 months of research before I decided to buy new and a satin finished guitar.  If anyone is in the predicament I am in, you cant go down to the local mom and pop guitar store and sample a gibson.   So the color was difficult for me to grasp. I understood it would not be highgloss but I did not want a faded finish.  The white guitar is not bleach white like the picture shows.  It is closer to cream.  Remeber this is also a mahogony top, and mahogony is a deep rich color.  After seeing how the nirto satin paint works, it isnt hard to understand why the white gains a deep color. It is a very old school cream.  Other than that the guitar is amazing for what you get. I wished they would give it a gig bag option and knock off the 200 extra you pay for the case.