Les Paul Studios

[bdubbs]

I was under the assumption (which may be wrong) that studios (not talking VM) are Les Pauls without binding and maybe a lower quality toggle switch depending on the year, I had to switch mine out for a switchcraft after the original stopped working.

 

Everytime I see a thread it goes "probably close to the sound of a studio but not a standard, etc." Is this a true statement or am I correct to think the studio is a stripped down (visually) of a standard with different pickups?

[northpark]

well the pickups aren't necessarily different

 

the only big difference that I can think of is most standards that i've come across have the 60's neck while studios have had the thicker 50's neck

[smorgdonkey]

I was under the assumption (which may be wrong) that studios (not talking VM) are Les Pauls without binding

That's right. Minus binding and minus a fancy finish...for the most part, the Studios are black (ebony), white, or wine red. There are small runs and special colours used once in a while but for the most part, they are one of the 3...



...and northpark is right with his neck comments in that the Studio tends to have the '59 neck carve.

[tiltsta]

It kind of depends on which standard. The current standards have a lot of chambering, PCB mounted pots, a locking jack, a new neck profile, and a different type of neck joint (a top loaded long tenon style), locking tuners, locking bridge, and different pickups. Plus the binding and fancy wood top you mentioned. Probably more differences, but those are the high points. I think most of these changes have little effect on the sound of the guitar, with the exception of the chambering and the pickups. To my ears, a studio sounds pretty much as Les Paulish as my 2004 standard and my 2008.5 (new spec) standard. Listening to them blindly, I could not tell a difference.

[Fireproof]

Probably more differences, but those are the high points. I think most of these changes have little effect on the sound of the guitar, with the exception of the chambering and the pickups. To my ears, a studio sounds pretty much as Les Paulish as my 2004 standard and my 2008.5 (new spec) standard. Listening to them blindly, I could not tell a difference.

 

 

Yep - that's what I've had. Visual appointments have been changed, and as long as you are comparing with the same type of pick ups, it should pretty much sound like a regular Les Paul.

 

Here's what Gibson has to say:

 

 

All the elements of the legendary Les Paul Standard are still there, including that fat and sweet maple-and-mahogany tone through two genuine Gibson humbucking pickups. By eliminating a little of the window dressing

[smorgdonkey]

One generalization (if I might risk it) is that I never really cared much for the stock pickups in my Studios but all mine are non-chambered. I had a 2008 (chambered) and thought that the pickups sounded fine. I don't know if I would have fell out with them had I kept the guitar but in that case the stock pickups seemed satisfactory to me.

[flummox]

I was under the assumption (which may be wrong) that studios (not talking VM) are Les Pauls without binding and maybe a lower quality toggle switch depending on the year, I had to switch mine out for a switchcraft after the original stopped working. Everytime I see a thread it goes "probably close to the sound of a studio but not a standard, etc." Is this a true statement or am I correct to think the studio is a stripped down (visually) of a standard with different pickups?

 

 

As the others have said, they've changed the Standards a lot since the Studios came along. It has a lot more in common with the early 90s Standards than the newer ones. I don't find the playing experience to be much like a "real" LP. But all the good stuff is there, and it's an excellent player in its own right.

 

I've had three of them and none had anything but the usual Gibson switch. But some of them do have 300k pots and can benefit a lot from switching to 500k's.

[GAS Man]

northpark makes a bit of a valid comment there. The pickups may be different on the Studio, but a lot of their pickups just move around in rotation whether it's Classic 57s, 496&500, 490&498 or now the newer flavor, the Burstbucker Pros.

The Studio's 490/498 pickups are found on many Les Paul Customs and the Les Paul Supreme, so they are not a lower grade, but are a more modernized version, higher output, of the classic PAF pickups.

But with Gibson, the higher up you go on their food chain, the better the pick of materials tends to be. Plus, absolutely, there's no body binding.

I've found after buy a dozen different LPs that they just all tend to have their own voice depending upon a lot of different factors of build, amount of chambering, materials and electronics. My VM for example weighs around 7 pounds and my Custom weighs closer to 10.


It's also worth noting that the original concept of the Studio was to make a lighter weight Les Paul. Since it was also tagged "The Studio" it was also produced with less frills to be seen more as a working tool than a flashy piece. I have an '83 which was the first year any Studios were made, and I've since bought two more, one for my son and the Robot version for myself. Even the Studios have changed considerably over the years.

This is a 1983 Studio ("Custom Shop Edition"). It had dot inlay, both neck and body binding and nickel instead of chrome hardware.

[fuzztone]

This is a 1983 Studio ("Custom Shop Edition"). It had dot inlay, both neck and body binding and nickel instead of chrome hardware.

Wow,that is an awesome Studio!

[Fireproof]

GAS Man - that is an outstanding looking Studio!! Very nice!

[drawdeep]

Yeah, there are lots of different flavors of the Studio throughout the years.

My #1 LP is an LP Studio Lite from 1996- Tobacco Sunburst, Ebony fretboard, Grovers, gold HW, and the 490/498 pickup combo. 95% of an LP Custom in every way that matters to me for 1/3 the price and I think the best bang for the buck LP you can get.

[bdubbs]

Yep - that's what I've had. Visual appointments have been changed, and as long as you are comparing with the same type of pick ups, it should pretty much sound like a regular Les Paul. Here's what Gibson has to say: I have two Studios and love them. Of course, I still GAS for a "standard" of some sort, but that'll have to wait. For now, I love playing my studios...

I def also want a standard at some point. Hopefully by the time I am looking to buy I can figure out which flavor I want.

 

My studio is a swiss cheese year, I do love the ebony fretboard.