Gibson Les Paul Custom Studio, Worn Ebony (Amazon Exclusive)

If you're expecting to get a Les Paul with all the bells and whistles, this Gibson is not for you. This is a bare-bones LP meant for studio production use, not to make a fashion statement on-stage. I understand why there was a bad review due to the damage from shipping, but that feedback should be provided about the seller, not the product. That being said, this is a very good instrument for the price and an authentic piece of the Gibson family of guitars.

Great guitar for the price. The denim color seems more green than blue but overall this is a great deal for a USA guitar. But its not all USA The volume and tone pots say Korea on them. Not sure about the pickups but Im going to think they are Korean too. Guess they took a look at PRS S2 and said if they can put Korean electronics we can too. Photo attached.

Holy disappointment Bat Man! I love the look of these guitars so I ordered one and this is what I got. The finish is beautiful and the sound Is good but who wants a damaged headstock? In all likelihood, the headstock will totally break off. I am not sure if this is a shipping or Gibson issue. This guitar came with no documentation or hardware and was not shipped in the original packaging. Crack in the neck at the headstock is shown in the pictures.

My son is the most active musician in our family so I asked him to give his opinions about this guitar. In (mostly) his own words, his thoughts follow. Over the past 65 years, the Les Paul guitar has gained widespread popularity, professional respect, and earned it's iconic name, and this "Studio Custom" is a perfect example of why. I confess that I've wanted a Les Paul since the very first day I started playing guitar. So, needless to say, I was very excited to have the opportunity to own one. In the weeks that I've been playing it, I'm MORE than impressed with how absolutely amazing an instrument it is. When it finally arrived, I was greeted by the large, bold Gibson logo on the box. It was packaged securely with Styrofoam, at the top to protect the head, in the middle to support the neck, and also on the bottom to protect the body. It was also inside a very well padded, dual pocketed gig bag that sports the Gibson logo. I finally got to the moment I'd waited for. I pulled the "Les Paul" out of the gig bag and observed the quality craftsmanship. I was impressed with the finish, the feel, and the attractive design of this guitar. The natural wood grain in "Whiskey Gold" finish is so unique that pictures really can't do it justice. When I saw it online, I thought, "Well this looks cool, but also kind of bland." After seeing it up close and in person, I am in love! There was a small blemish (as pictured) on the edge of the bottom-front body, but it's not worth making a fuss about to me. Fortunately, the manufacturer's warranty covers these things if you don't choose to accept them. After looking it over, I held it in my lap and played it unplugged. I was again surprised that, while I did need to tune it SLIGHTLY, the action and intonation was absolutely perfect and needed no tweaking whatsoever! (It does come with its own socket/screw driver tuning tool for intonation if needed.) This guitar feels amazing! The action is superb, and moving your hand up and down the swamp ash fret board is so easy and fun. I feel that anyone from beginner to professional skill level would enjoy playing it. Despite the many great things I have said about it, I had one, major problem with my guitar. When I finally plugged it into my amp and heard the tone of the guitar, I found that my bridge pickup didn't produce any sound. I was pretty upset, but after messing with the pickup switch I found that the sound started coming through. After investigating further, I found that the switch for the bridge pickup was not completely connecting. I gently pushed the metal contact point a little farther to complete the connection and have had no problems since. For me, this was an easy enough fix, but for someone less "tech savvy", this could be a return issue. Fortunately, both Gibson and Amazon have great return policies and will repair or replace your instrument, usually with as little aggravation as possible. I am pretty happy with the sound of this guitar. I've been playing a Paul Reed Smith SE22 Custom with after market installed Dimarzio pickups. In comparison, I feel that the Gibson (depending on which pickup your playing through) has a slightly more twangy/full sound (if you can imagine that) and isn't quite as "active" as the PRS. I would attribute this mostly to the Dimarzio pickups. For what it's worth, I most often play stuff from the Classic rock genre (Zeppelin, Floyd, Young), Heavy Metal (Sabbath, Pantera, Metallica), and also Grunge/Indie Genre (Nirvana, Pixies, Sonic Youth). To summarize, even with it's few issues, I highly recommend this guitar! The pickups that come from the factory are very high quality and, with a good distortion pedal, you can get a very nice, playable, and acceptable sound. However, if you play more metal than anything else, I suggest considering some EMG's so you can get that bright, active, heavy metal tone and hit those nice, loud pinch harmonics. Considering the issues we faced in a new instrument, I'm rating 4 and a half stars. Without them, it would be a five star product. I will update if there is more to add as time passes.

So happy with this guitar. Plays great, looks great and didn't pay all the dough for a real Gibson made in the USA!

Awesome guitar for the price.

New for 2017 Gibson has introduced the new S series of USA made guitars. I received the Les Paul Custom Studio in Whiskey Gold finish. Similar in quality and name to the Paul Reed Smith S2 line which is also made in America. They both share the same nitrocellulose finish. The Gibson is made from swamp ash while the PRS S2's are made from mahogany. This is the first guitar I have owned made from swamp ash and also my first Gibson. It's lighter than other mahogany guitars I have played. This could be attributed to the 9-hole weight relief Gibson uses on their guitars. I am fairly impressed with the build quality. All jacks and knobs are tightly screwed in, unlike some Chinese made guitars I have owned. No pot hiss, or static from the jacks either. Very smooth volume and tone controls. I also appreciated the scarfed heel which made playing those lower frets much easier. Gibson describes this guitar as vintage-modern, which I would say is pretty accurate in looks and sound. I was able to get classic 70s and 80s tones out of it but also newer tones like Queens of the Stone Age or Three Days Grace. I would have preferred this guitar to have locking tuners like my PRS S2, but seeing how this guitar comes in at 200 dollars cheaper and is still 100 percent made in the USA I can’t really complain. For anyone looking for a high quality American made guitar at this price level, you really can’t go wrong with this one.

Junk

Una buona chitarra! Ottimo rapporto qualità prezzo, una chitarra equilibrata dai suoni puliti ma anche decisi. Potenziometri ben calibrati la loro corsa è ben dosata.

Un sonido más agresivo que la LP Studio 2016, el acabado es mate y resalta las vetas de la madera, tal como se observa en la fotografía, a luz de día se aclara un poco el tono. La maquinaria es menos robusta a la Studio 2016, aunque cumplen su función, están expuestas a ser movidos/girados al aplicar cierta fuerza pues no van atornillados, al recibirla, una de los postes de la maquinaria estaba girado unos 90 grados, supongo que en la revisión de aduanas el inspector metió a la funda la guitarra forzando la maquinaria. El acabado de trastes es bueno, el acabado lateral del mástil es descuidado la altura en que se une con el cuerpo de la guitarra. Esto último me parece reduce la calidad del acabado. Es ligeramente más liviana a las ediciones 2016.

I was under the impression it may have been marked,it was in a box that had protection,also it was in a quality Gibson padded gig bag. The guitar was immaculate,not even a small scratch anywhere XLNT bargain. I can only assume that the wear marks all over the front of the box,would have made it hard to sell through retail.So to the van driver who let it slide about in the back of his van, Cheers Mate,you saved me a nice few quid.And yes the guitar plays great.

Die geilste Klampfe, die ich seit Jahren in den Händen hatte - für das Geld! Als eingefleischter Stratocaster-Spieler auf Country-Schiene, suchte ich schon seit Jahren eine Ergänzung zu meinen Metal-Eskapaden. Das ist sie! Zwar habe ich als Obelix ein kleines Problem mit der Zierlichkeit dieses Instrumentes, aber sie ist sowas von sensibel unter meinen Fingern! Leute - die macht wumms! War mir meine 78er Les Paul immer zu langweilig, waberig und ätzend, ist das Ding an meinem Engl Souvereign einfach der Brüller! Die hat solchen Druck, dass ich ernsthaft im Lead das Gain zurücknehmen muss, da sich sonst kein vernünftiger Ton mehr erzeugen lässt! Abnehmer obergeil! Eine entsprechende Sauberkeit beim Spiel erwartet dieses hochsensible Tier allerdings auch - sie ist ziemlich mikrofonisch. Bestens eingestellt geliefert, nichts nachzujustieren - allerbeste Verarbeitung. Ein echter Schnapper für 572,00€ mit Gigbag - aber ich hätte für den geilen Sound auch 2000€ ausgeben - Wolf Hoffmanns Sound wollte ich - habe ich! Euer Stefan

Chitarra arrivata in perfette condizioni, corredata di garanzia e certificazione Gibson Made in USA. Strumento all' altezza delle aspettative. Stupenda la finitura che risalta le venature naturali del legno.