Anybody enjoy their Studio more than other LPs?

[v-man]

I just have the Ebony Studio with Ebony board to fulfill my LP needs, and that it does, being less a fan of fancy/traditional tops and more a fan of the Customs and other solids like the Silverburst, I’m really just out the bindings on a custom for a fraction of the price.

I am curious about the rest who have owned a number of examples and found equal or perhaps greater preference with their Studios (and what these LP/Studios were). It seems like a potentially likely seeing how construction/materials are the same and one may have lucked into a nicer-built studio than the Standard, Deluxe, etc.

 

[jstarr]

Mid 90s Studio in Alpine White with Ebony board = one of the best LPs ever made.

 

[tzd]

My only LPs are Les Paul Studio Deluxe (2011) and Les Paul Special Pro Humbuckers (2015), both are great, never had the need to for anything higher end than that.

 

[BKS]

I can't compare as my custom shop les paul dc Pro I so different from my 2 older studio's. My studio dc is closer and close but I prefer the ebony board on the cs.
Both other studio's are normal heavy single cuts and of all my les pauls I prefer my 91 with ebony board.

 

[Javiersson]

I have only 1 LP Studio, and couldn't be happier. 2014 model in honeyburst, 1 Piece body. The built is good, I love her.

 

[Nintari]

Studios are great, but let's hold on a sec...there's more to a LP Custom than just the fancy binding. That said, a Studio is not simply a Custom sans binding.

I don't know. If Jimmy Page and Slash can do what they did with a Standard and knock-off of a Standard... then maybe customs are more smoke than substance. At least tone wise.

 

[Rob H.]

I thought I’d sell my ‘02 Studio when I got my Custom Shop ‘58 and ‘68. I remember taking pictures to prepare a listing. But nope. Couldn’t do it. It’s too nice a guitar. 4 years later and I love it as much as ever.

 

[haywoodwebb]

I have a 2016 Standard and a Studio. I like both of them equally for different reasons. The Studio is every bit a top quality guitar.

 

[ARandall]

I don't know. If Jimmy Page and Slash can do what they did with a Standard and knock-off of a Standard... then maybe customs are more smoke than substance. At least tone wise.

Well done, a textbook case of False Equivalence logical fallacy.

 

[Peter M]

I don't know. If Jimmy Page and Slash can do what they did with a Standard and knock-off of a Standard... then maybe customs are more smoke than substance. At least tone wise.

Well, there are many Custom-slinging guitar legends who I'm sure would beg to differ. As for a non-legend such as myself lol...I can tell you that a Studio would never trick me into thinking it could replace my Custom, Standard, or Classic.

 

[Nintari]

Well done, a textbook case of False Equivalence logical fallacy.

Whatever helps you justify your love for something, I suppose. Personally, I have nothing against customs. I'd not hesitate to buy a black one with nickel hardware any day of the week if the right one came around and I had the money. But to think you're somehow going to get more tone out of a custom than you would out of a well-built standard, or somehow you'll have something "better" tone wise is just a wee bit past my level of believably. There's literally no proof of that. If there was, again... you'd see the big boys all playing them. But you don't. Because it's not true.

 

[ARandall]

However none of your contributions here prove this one way or the other. The above post is another hot mess of poor assertions and irrelevance.

And there are plenty of top guitar players who use Customs. So not even that can be used as an argument.
Your real name isn't Doug by any chance? You're very good at digging.....

 

[ARandall]

And lets face it - this thread is about a Studio. So your point is not even about that model in the first place.

The studio does have a thinner body....by I think about 1/4" give or take. So nominally this may make it a little different overall. And if you look at say an ebony fretboard version vs the Custom then the latter guitar has a bigger headstock. So given its importance as the place for string anchoring there might be a slight difference there.
However most Les Pauls will be more or less in the same ballpark. Sometimes construction elements can make for different guitars, and sometimes wood can make for different guitars. But they will all be variations on the Les Paul tone.......I mean its not going to sound like a banjo or a strat for example.

For me whenever I pick up a guitar that is different, its more the case of finding what tuning it likes the best, and what sort of pickups fit best. Plenty of times I have swapped pickups between 2 rather mediocre instruments to find each guitar is now twice as good.
Some might be best suited to heavy distortion and others for edge of breakup, other for crunchy rock tones.

 

[judson]

have 3 studios, 1983, 1990 and 1993 ....the 1993 was the first les paul i bought after starting to play again after a way too long hiatus...

the ebony boards are a huge plus for me and obviously the price for what i consider great guitars. i can mod them to suit my wants or needs and dont give a rats ass who thinks its right or wrong...swap pickups to see what i might like for awhile, they all play great for me as i made them to suit what i needed or wanted from each.

Each are different in their own way as are the other Gibsons i have ...i consider myself fortunate to have a large variety of guitars to chose at any moment. The studio's get enjoyed as much as my R8 or 70s Deluxes...and others...its all fun!

left to right..

1990 was wine, stripped and rattlecan black
1993 was wine, stripped, water base dyed
1983 was ugly ass purple poly some idiot did, stripped and clearcoat after the biggest pain of stripping poly!!!

 

[sonar1]

My 2005 Ebony Studio w rosewood board and trapezoid inlays on the neck is HEAVY.
Sounds great with the stock 490/498 pickup set.
Fully Les Paul sounding.

 

[ARandall]

My 06 studio must be chambered as it's light....under 8lbs.
Mine doesn't have the same punch as the solid les paul guitars I own, it was the first Gibson I bought after a lengthy playing break so initially it sounded good, but after I got the 2012 trad I noticed the lack of low thump.

 

[musicmaniac]

I used to gig a Studio all the time, love it!

 

[TorzJohnson]

I have some Standards - nicer looking and more expensive LPs. But my Studio plays and sounds every bit as good to me. I love the ebony board, the pickups and yes - I totally LOVE the weight relief. I probably do play it more than the others.

I got it several years ago when I was dead broke. It came up on Craigslist for dirt cheap and coincidentally my boss gave me a cash bonus the day before, so I was in the right place at the right time with the right money.

So this guitar was a ray of sunshine in my broke-ass life at the time, and for that reason I'll never get rid of it.

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[Rds]

i love my studios. i dont value or play them more than any other guitars i have but i think the ones i have are great. A 91 and 94 both with ebony boards. a wine red and ebony. i will never sell the wine red. shes been with me a long time and sounds awsome.

 

[InTheEvening]

I briefly owned this wonderful axe, a 2005 Les Paul Studio in Classic White with ebony board. It was awesome and I def didn’t feel anything significantly lacking in this compared to my standard or custom. They do all feel and sound different due to hard ware and spec differences but all get that “Les Paul” sound. I only sold it because I needed the cash for a p90 guitar but I miss it and am keeping an eye out for another ebony board LP studio. Phillip McKnight on youtube discussed this as well iirc and I believe he said the same, a good LP studio can be just as enjoyable as a standard. However, whether it’s the extra bling, or just the hardware and pickups being more to my tastes, the LP Custom and standard are still my favorite. But I wouldn’t be surprised if I found a studio I liked as much or more. Each Les Paul varies so much, there’s gems and dogs from each line and the gem could be a studio, standard, or custom.