		5.0 (2)
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Gibson Les Paul Studio Faded Maple Top Electric Guitar Heritage Cherry...

Delivers all the performance and power of the standard Studio, but with a thin, faded finish for an aged, vintage look and more resonance. Crafted with a mahogany body with maple top, mahogany neck, and rosewood fingerboard. The 490R neck and 498T ...

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Searched Gibson Les Paul Studio Faded Maple Top Electric Gur Heritage Cherry Sunburst in Reviews

A very pleasant surprise

Sound	I played the Gibson Les Paul Studio with a Faded Cherry finish ($1149 CDN) soon after playing a ESP LTD EC-256 that I have also reviewed for this site, and it was a revelation -- It taught me why people copy the Les Paul. When playing through an Orange Tiny Terror, the entire guitar seemed to resonate in my hands -- I could feel it vibrating even at modest volumes. That classic sounds that Les Pauls make when the player hits a pinch harmonic was present in spades -- a squealing high note that somehow, seemingly inexplicably, has bottom end. Regular notes and chords seemed to have depth and weight, while being soaring and open at the same time. The pickups, I later learned on the Gibson website, were Burstbucker Pros. These were hot and rich, but with great harmonic depth and warmth. I don't know whether these were responsible for the guitar's singing sustain, or the thin hand-rubbed nitrocellulose lacquer was the contributing factor, but I do know that this guita felt like a living being in my hands.
Action, Fit, & Finish	The guitar might have been set up before being offered for sale, as it played great immediately. The neck, with its thin nitrocellulose lacquer finish, felt like bare wood, so it was easy to move around the neck. The fretwork was wonderful, and the frets were larger than I expected -- for some reason, I was under the impression that Les Pauls favoured a smaller fret wire. The neck was a lot thicker than I normally like -- in fact, I said to the salesman "great, another log neck." Then I tried to play it. I felt like a different player. I wrenched into the solo from "Crying in the Rain" off the "Whitesnake" album, and played it better than I ever have. I then launch into the opening riff for Ozzy's "Miracle Man, and promptly played it cleaner than I ever have. I came away with the distinct impression that for years I had been barking up the wrong tree on neck thickness -- this guitar simply worked for me. Were it not for the look of the guitar (I am a sucker for a maple top), I might have pulled the trigger on a completely unjustifiable expense.
Reliability & Durability	n/a -- played the guitar in a store
Customer Support	n/a -- played the guitar in a store

Liked about it

Tone: Simply stunning -- rich, full, hot, but with an airy headspace to the high notes. The whole body sang and vibrated while the amp growled and squealed. It felt like you could play anything on it and sound good. Simply one of the most musical instruments I have ever played.
Playability: When a guitar inspires you to play better, that's a very good thing. I did things better on this guitar than I have on guitars that I have owned for years. That says a lot.
Price: This is the cheapest U.S.A.-made Gibson you can get. It was over eleven hundred dollars in the store I was visiting, and felt like a bargain.

Didn't like

Looks: I wasn't sold on the faded cherry finish, with the mahogany body and mahogany top. When you look at a Les Paul with a nice maple top and a honeyburst finish next to it, it looks cheap. But then, by direct comparison, it is. Perhaps that's why it's a Studio model -- it isn't about looking good, it's about sound.

Overall satisfaction:

5.0

By Philboski
Feb 08, 2010

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Gibson's wanting to compete and they are throwing down! Look out Overseas!

Sound	This guitar sounds great with the burstbuckers I played.. I think that's what they were.. Man, this guitar sustains for ever.. it has that LP sounds that just works.. It rings perfect. Gibsons wood just works.. Don't ask me why. I like other guitars, but I always find something about a note here or a fret there that has to be tweaked at some point. Not with this thing.. It rocks.. it's totally responsive like it anticipates what you want it to sound like if that makes sense. Total rock, or blues machine.. Maybe even country, but I don't play that so woudn't know..
Action, Fit, & Finish	Perfect.. I think they use the PLEK system made in Germany I believe.. Perfect setup
Reliability & Durability	Outstanding of course. It's a set neck guitar with good wood and it's just built well. You can fell it.
Customer Support	I've never had to use them for a broken item, but they've been great about helping me find serail number info, and model numbers, etc,. For the longest time in the 70's and then again in the late 80's I was a gibson groupy..