New SmartWood Les Paul Studio from Gibson

Gibson USA has created a new, full-size Les Paul Studio model in Muir wood as part of its ongoing Les Paul Exotics guitar series. The new guitar reaffirms Gibson's commitment to producing quality instruments that utilize only Forest Stewardship Council and SmartWood Certified Woods. Gibson partnered with the Rainforest Alliance six years ago when it introduced the world's first line of eco-friendly SmartWood guitars.

"Ultimately, our goal is not to promote certified-wood guitars as something special, but to bring our industry to a point where the use of certified wood is standard procedure," says Henry Juszkiewicz, Gibson chairman and CEO. "We utilize sustainable harvested wood as much as possible with all of our models."

The Les Paul SmartWood Studio guitar has a Muiracatiara, or Muir, top and a mahogany back. Muir grows extensively in Brazil but ranges from southern Mexico through Central America to the Amazon Basin. The beautiful grain varies from shades of brown to red with irregular stripes that range from dark brown in the heartwood to grayish white in the sapwood. The fingerboard is made of the species Preciosa (Prec) and is inlaid with pearloid dots.

Gibson USA's newly designed truss rod cover with a floating leaf is now the official logo for its SmartWood series. The guitar has gold hardware and Alnico humbucker pickups. The case is covered in burlap material and has the Gibson USA Certified stamp logo.

FSC and SmartWood programs guarantee that harvesting practices are managed properly. They take great steps towards preserving the ecosystem and the cultures in these sensitive environments, and deforestation is not allowed.