Gibson Les Paul studio

Talfsen · Newbie Alert Joined: 14 May 2008 Posts: 1

Hi!
I'm from Norway, but next week I'll go to New York to visit relatives. I intend to bring back to Norway a Les Paul Studio.
At the moment, Musicians friend sell LP Studio vinatage mahogany for $850.
What do you think about the quality of this compared to a LP studio with alder top from 1995? This could be an alternative from ebay.

Thanks for your view about this.

Tobben, Norway

George E · Posted: Thu May 15, 2008 3:42 am Post subject:

Gibson created their "studio" line of guitars to create a lower cost instrument without sacrificing any performance. The intention was to leave off all of the bits and pieces that only contributed to appearance, while leaving everything that contributed to good sound. That's why they call them "studio" instruments, since in the recording studio it doesn't matter what an instrument looks like, only the sound matters.

So, I'd suggest asking yourself how important is it to you that your guitar looks good? Does a fancy grained layer of wood on top or a binding strip around the edge that are "just for pretty" matter to you? If so, go for the alder top. If all you care about is tone and sustain, then you're the person the studio line of Gibsons was meant for.

And, there's a third option. You could be a minimalist like me, and find that the pure, simple, and unadorned lines of the stripped down studio models actually look better than the fancy ones. But that's purely personal taste.