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James... « Better than expected »
Published on 12/27/11 at 09:09 Traditional Weight Relief Mahogany Body with Maple Top
Mahogany Neck with Rounded, Traditional Profile
22 Fret, Rosewood Fingerboard with Acrylic Trapezoids Inlays
Grover 14:1 Kidney Button Tuners
Burstbucker 2 and Burstbucker 3 Alnico Humbuckers
Includes Gibson Hardshell Case
I was not going to pay the full price for one of these, but on sale around $1400ish I wanted to see how good these actually were. This appears to be a very high end goldtop les paul studio with a pickup switch. The Grover tuners are a welcome upgrade. Trapezoid inlays don't hurt. Some colors in the studio look bad without the binding. I think this one is actually okay without it. It's a cool looking guitar.
UTILIZATION
Of course it's heavy, but since these are weight relieved now and the studio weighs a pound or two less than the standard/custom models, it is about as light as you can find a les paul. It does seem like there is an attention to detail here that isn't apparent in most studio models or even the standard ones. I've owned a few studios over the years and the craftsmanship on this guitar is a step up I think. The playability is good. Setup out of the box was junk like most Gibson factory setups. The bridge needed major adjustment and I even had to mess with the truss a bit. No harm no foul. Plays well enough now. Fretwork is good. Electronics all seem stable. Grover tuners keep tune better than my other studio even without a nut filing. I'm impressed here. The neck feels identical to my les paul traditional.
SOUNDS
The burstbuckers are great and I'm really glad they chose to put them in this guitar. These are one of the few Gibson pickup sets that I don't feel like I have to scrap when I buy a new les paul. They have a perfect balance between classic 50's PAF tones and the hotrodded overwound ones of the 70's. Probably the best pickup Gibson has made besides the 57 classics. I usually play this guitar through a Matchless Spitfire combo or a Suhr Badger 18. Seems to really like those amps. I imagine it would sound supreme through any cranked marshall style amp. Haven't gotten a chance to play it through my splawn stack yet.
OVERALL OPINION
I didn't really expect much from this guitar as I thought it was going to be an overpriced les paul studio for all purposes, but the extra attention to the little details on this artist model impressed me. The price is very fair considering this is basically an LP studio with all the issues (pickups/tuners/finish) worked out. I'm not a big goldtop guy but I like it on this guitar because it isn't so overstated with appointments. I say pick one of these up before they run out. I believe it's a limited run.
Mahogany Neck with Rounded, Traditional Profile
22 Fret, Rosewood Fingerboard with Acrylic Trapezoids Inlays
Grover 14:1 Kidney Button Tuners
Burstbucker 2 and Burstbucker 3 Alnico Humbuckers
Includes Gibson Hardshell Case
I was not going to pay the full price for one of these, but on sale around $1400ish I wanted to see how good these actually were. This appears to be a very high end goldtop les paul studio with a pickup switch. The Grover tuners are a welcome upgrade. Trapezoid inlays don't hurt. Some colors in the studio look bad without the binding. I think this one is actually okay without it. It's a cool looking guitar.
UTILIZATION
Of course it's heavy, but since these are weight relieved now and the studio weighs a pound or two less than the standard/custom models, it is about as light as you can find a les paul. It does seem like there is an attention to detail here that isn't apparent in most studio models or even the standard ones. I've owned a few studios over the years and the craftsmanship on this guitar is a step up I think. The playability is good. Setup out of the box was junk like most Gibson factory setups. The bridge needed major adjustment and I even had to mess with the truss a bit. No harm no foul. Plays well enough now. Fretwork is good. Electronics all seem stable. Grover tuners keep tune better than my other studio even without a nut filing. I'm impressed here. The neck feels identical to my les paul traditional.
SOUNDS
The burstbuckers are great and I'm really glad they chose to put them in this guitar. These are one of the few Gibson pickup sets that I don't feel like I have to scrap when I buy a new les paul. They have a perfect balance between classic 50's PAF tones and the hotrodded overwound ones of the 70's. Probably the best pickup Gibson has made besides the 57 classics. I usually play this guitar through a Matchless Spitfire combo or a Suhr Badger 18. Seems to really like those amps. I imagine it would sound supreme through any cranked marshall style amp. Haven't gotten a chance to play it through my splawn stack yet.
OVERALL OPINION
I didn't really expect much from this guitar as I thought it was going to be an overpriced les paul studio for all purposes, but the extra attention to the little details on this artist model impressed me. The price is very fair considering this is basically an LP studio with all the issues (pickups/tuners/finish) worked out. I'm not a big goldtop guy but I like it on this guitar because it isn't so overstated with appointments. I say pick one of these up before they run out. I believe it's a limited run.