The Gibson Les Paul Studio has served a niche since its introduction in 1983. With all the right core ingredients, minus the labor-intensive (in other words, expensive) binding, the LP Studio is all meat and potatoes!
As far as the woods are concerned, the Studio model Les Paul IS no different than a Les Paul Standard. Sure, the maple top lacks figuring but that is purely an aesthetic thing. Once plugged in, the Studio is indiscernible from any other model with the same pickups!
A mahogany body with Ultra-Modern Weight Relief gets things started. A carved maple top turns the treble up a notch and adds some top-end compression. The classic Les Paul body shape of the Studio lacks binding but that's it!
The neck is made from Mahogany and it has a Rosewood fingerboard. The neck is carved to the much-loved Slim Taper Neck Profile that is equal parts fast and furious! 1.694" nut width and 24.75" Scale Length combine for a familiar feel. This is a thin neck that plays incredibly fast! The neck lacks the binding of the Standard as well which also helps keeps the cost down.
The humbuckers installed in the studio bring the heat! The 490R in the neck position sings with sustain and thick body. The 498T in the bridge rips and seers with the best of them. Each pickup can be coil-tapped via the push/pull on their individual volume controls. Each pickup also has its own tone control and is accessible on its own or in tandem via the 3-way toggle switch.
Overall, the Studio is the most affordable REAL Les Paul. With USA-Made Humbuckers, high-quality tonewoods, and a full gloss nitrocellulose finish, this isn't an imitation, it's truly the real deal!
