Various Gibson LP models question.

I own a Gibson LP Studio that cost just over half the price of other Gibson LPs.

You obviously get what you pay for so could somone please tell me if the Studio model has an inferior sound to the more expensive ones? Or is the difference more cosmetic?

Thanks in advance. :)

the studio is all mahogany where as the regular LP has a maple top which does give a slight difference in tone...... the studio is a great guitar with great tone. the resale value is a big difference to consider.. a studio may go down in price.....a regular LP will retain it's value and even go up.(why I do not know) but if you you want the best bang for your buck and very good tone the studio does fine imo. I would say it is mostly a cosmetic/resale value difference.

Originally Posted by: craigsdaddy... You obviously get what you pay for so could somone please tell me if the Studio model has an inferior sound to the more expensive ones? Or is the difference more cosmetic?...

hmm... no, sir, you do not always get what you pay for. Unless the name on the headstock is worth a lot to you, your only criterion should be whether the guitar in your hands gives you satisfaction equal to, or better than, the price demanded by the numbers on the hang-tag.

I am unimpressed by Gibson, so I regard most of them as over-priced. That said, most of the Gibson players I communicate with seem to think that the Studio is a good guitar, simply lacking some of the cosmetic pimping given to it's flashier brethren. If the truth be told, the layer of maple on top of the body is much to thin to do anything but [u]look[/u] good. Absolutely ZERO effect on tone. The pickups may not be quite as good as some others out there, but the fact is that a lot of LP owners install after-market pups in their LPs. Go figure, huh? Anyway, if you are happy with the way your guitar feels in your hands, and it plays the way you think a guitar should play, then it's the right axe for you. And you already own it, so you're in a good place, yes?

The consensus I get from other LP owners is that if you install a pair of Duncan Antiquities humbuckers, and set them well away from the strings (too close to the strings tends to 'choke' the tone), you are likely to have a guitar that sounds every bit as good as the vintage LPs that now sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars to collectors that don't actually play them.

Confused? Don't be. LPs of a certain model and a certain age now fetch insane money, based entirely on the fact that people who should know better are willing to pay insane prices for them. Put a pair of Antiquities in your Studio, bathe in the wonderful tones you can produce, and enjoy the fact that you can actually take your guitar out of the house and play it in public without hiring a security company and an armoured truck.

Originally Posted by: Lordathestrings If the truth be told, the layer of maple on top of the body is much to thin to do anything but [u]look[/u] good. Absolutely ZERO effect on tone. .

I was gonna say that but my balls are not as big as thou arts. :o
But I have a Gibson SG and it rocks :p they are overpriced, the $3000 and up LPs are way overpriced imo. uh oh ...I hear a Ninja creepin'!!

No ninja worries - he got his for $80!

I've owned a '62 SG and a '71 LP Recording. Sold 'em both. Don't miss 'em. I've got a dozen guitars to entertain myself with. And so far, none of them were more than $1000.

Shechter + Yamaha = best bang for your buck IMO.

well i went to an epiphone les paul standard and did not need a second home mortgage i tried many different guitars and this included gibson les pauls i couldnt see 20 dollars worth in difference let alone several grand ...

Originally Posted by: LordathestringsNo ninja worries - he got his for $80!

I've owned a '62 SG and a '71 LP Recording. Sold 'em both. Don't miss 'em. I've got a dozen guitars to entertain myself with. And so far, none of them were more than $1000.

as we age... having a guitar around your neck that weighs more that most new cars becomes an issue as well :D

I own a Stagg L500 Les Paul Custom copy that i got from eBay for £50 / $100 and a mate of mine who's been gigging for 25 years can't find any difference in tone between this and his Gibson Les Paul Standard! i'm stoked, he's gutted! I agree with LATS gibsons are overpriced.

Originally Posted by: elklanderccShechter + Yamaha = best bang for your buck IMO.

I don't know about Schecters - I go for hard-tails, and any Schecter I've seen in the shops had some kind of trem on it. Their reputation certainly speaks to very good value for the money.

I have 6 Yamahas, ranging in age from a pair of 1965-66 SG-2s to a pair of 1984 SBG-1000s (as in my avatar). I have one Odyssey Custom V, and the rest are Washburns.

Yea, they recently introduced FR and Bigsby trems, I geuss that's why the shops are puttin them out. The bigsby fits in with they're big hollow body models, but I don't thing they should have put the FR's on the C1's. The bodies are too think for them to feel comfortable. If you ever get the chance to play a hard tail, do so... then look at the price tag.

Originally Posted by: LordathestringsNo ninja worries - he got his for $80!

Yeah on that one the bang for the buck might have created a parralell Universe. being that it is an Anniversary model thus coming out of the Gibson Custom shop I would have no qualms about paying $3K for Betsy now. I did like you say replace the pickups though.

I own a 2003 Les Paul studio...I dont know if things have changed since then, but my studio has a maple top. When I got mine, both the Studio and The standard used the same pickups,(think they were 490T and 418s or summin like that...but with Alnico magnets.) at that time, as far as I know, the only mahor difference was that the studio had no binding and the standard did.
The wood is probably also of a slightly higher quality if you shell out for a standard...but all in all, both models, great as they are, are overpriced.

Originally Posted by: LordathestringsI don't know about Schecters - I go for hard-tails, and any Schecter I've seen in the shops had some kind of trem on it. Their reputation certainly speaks to very good value for the money.

The flagship Schecter model... The C-1 comes most commonly in a carved maple top hardtail with a Gibson style stop tailpiece and compensated neck angle.... Very similar to a PRS double cut. I would give the PRS a 10 on quality and a Schecter about an 8.5/9.... The average Gibson would be between 7 and 8.5.

Schecter C-1 Classic > Gibson Standard/Studio Les Paul

They're also almost a 1,000 dollars less in most cases.

As for the difference between the Studio and the Standard... Generally the Studio comes only in flat colors with polished nickle or black hardware with no binding.... It's a stripped down Les Paul in the truest form... The Standard comes in metallic colors and sunbursts, has binding, and comes with chrome/gold hardware... The Gibson on the neck is often inlaid rather than painted on as well. Atleast that's the way it use to be when my buddy was looking for an LP... He ended up getting a Teal/Blue flipflop Studio LP for 800 bucks.

If I ever got an LP... I'd get a PRS single cut... Simple as that.

I've got a Schecter string through body and it's super sweet. I bought it from PRS player and it's by far my favorite guitar to date. I love the tone, the feel, there's just nothing about it not to like. It's the older model C-1 blackjack. If I had a whole bunch of cash and nothing to do with it I would probably pick up a Les Paul but I'm a poor redneck. :cool:

I own a Les Paul Standard and have no regrets with what I paid for it. This guitar produces the results I'm looking for. "Ol' Trusty" is one of the favorites in my collection. I teach lessons to one of my students who works at the local Stripper Bar. She recently purchased a nice LP Standard, thanks to all of the idoits who think She's pretty!!!!!! People spend $$$$$$ on all kinds of crazy things.
I do let her hang around an extra 10-15 minutes or so, just to make sure she understood everything!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Smokin..........................
I knew that LP would come in handy!!!! It's the real deal..

I don't hear much difference between the two.
I have a studio and I don't notice a tone difference between the studio and the standard especially for the price difference.