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King Loudness « Faded Studio with P90s »
Published on 08/13/11 at 21:29This is basically a Les Paul Studio Faded model that features everything about the regular Studio Faded model, but it features a pair of rippin' P90s instead of the humbuckers for a different tonal flavour.
The Gibson Les Paul Studio Faded was designed as a slightly lower market version of their famed Les Paul Studio model. What it offers differently is that the finish is not shiny and glossy using many buffed out coats of nitro lacquer, but rather it just uses pore filler and a couple of thin coats applied over top of it to provide a thinner "faded" finish. It is more satin in the feel so it is a bit slicker and faster to play and hold in my experience. Often Gibsons feel glossy and sticky after hours of play, but that's not the case with this guitar. It's made in the USA and features a mahogany body and neck with a rosewood fretboard, Kluson tuners, tune-o-matic bridge and stopbar tailpiece, and a pair of Gibson P90s replacing the standard Burstbucker Pro pickups... pretty cool.
UTILIZATION
The design of the Les Paul was never one that I'd have considered ergonomic at all, because of it's rather clunky/limited upper fret access, the heavier weight, the single cutaway, and the fact it only has 22 frets. However, this guitar bucks a little bit of that because of the chambered body that it features (something Gibson has started doing as of 2006 to it's LP guitars) as well as the thin finish that makes the feel a bit faster.
Getting a good tone out of this guitar is dead simple. It's an all mahogany plank of wood... turn every control to ten, plug into a good tube Marshall and hit an open A chord and it will sound amazing... the LP into a Marshall is the pinnacle of rock guitar tone.
SOUNDS
I've tried this guitar through many different amps and to me, the solid mahogany construction sings best when plugged into a high gain British voiced amp such as a Marshall or Orange. The P90s offer a raunchy tone that's somewhere in between a Les Paul Junior or Special and a regular Faded Studio... not quite as refined as the humbucker Faded and not quite as raunchy as the slab bodied Junior or Special. Still though, the tones are good. The cleans are pretty vintage in nature and have a natural quality that makes the sound of the guitar come through while playing at all time. Great for all styles of music from blues to shred... it's simple so you just gotta let your hands do the rest.
OVERALL OPINION
All in all I think Gibson's onto a winner with the LP Studio Faded. It's a great guitar for the $850 that it costs and hey, it's a USA made Gibson with good woods, good pickups and that unmistakeable Gibson sound. Though it's not the most versatile rig ever, it certainly sounds rockin' to my ears. The P90 model is not one I've seen many of, but it's certainly cool and I imagine Gibson took inspiration from this guitar for their recent '50s and '60s Tribute Studios.
Definitely give one a whirl if you see one around... they're scarce but worth hunting down.
The Gibson Les Paul Studio Faded was designed as a slightly lower market version of their famed Les Paul Studio model. What it offers differently is that the finish is not shiny and glossy using many buffed out coats of nitro lacquer, but rather it just uses pore filler and a couple of thin coats applied over top of it to provide a thinner "faded" finish. It is more satin in the feel so it is a bit slicker and faster to play and hold in my experience. Often Gibsons feel glossy and sticky after hours of play, but that's not the case with this guitar. It's made in the USA and features a mahogany body and neck with a rosewood fretboard, Kluson tuners, tune-o-matic bridge and stopbar tailpiece, and a pair of Gibson P90s replacing the standard Burstbucker Pro pickups... pretty cool.
UTILIZATION
The design of the Les Paul was never one that I'd have considered ergonomic at all, because of it's rather clunky/limited upper fret access, the heavier weight, the single cutaway, and the fact it only has 22 frets. However, this guitar bucks a little bit of that because of the chambered body that it features (something Gibson has started doing as of 2006 to it's LP guitars) as well as the thin finish that makes the feel a bit faster.
Getting a good tone out of this guitar is dead simple. It's an all mahogany plank of wood... turn every control to ten, plug into a good tube Marshall and hit an open A chord and it will sound amazing... the LP into a Marshall is the pinnacle of rock guitar tone.
SOUNDS
I've tried this guitar through many different amps and to me, the solid mahogany construction sings best when plugged into a high gain British voiced amp such as a Marshall or Orange. The P90s offer a raunchy tone that's somewhere in between a Les Paul Junior or Special and a regular Faded Studio... not quite as refined as the humbucker Faded and not quite as raunchy as the slab bodied Junior or Special. Still though, the tones are good. The cleans are pretty vintage in nature and have a natural quality that makes the sound of the guitar come through while playing at all time. Great for all styles of music from blues to shred... it's simple so you just gotta let your hands do the rest.
OVERALL OPINION
All in all I think Gibson's onto a winner with the LP Studio Faded. It's a great guitar for the $850 that it costs and hey, it's a USA made Gibson with good woods, good pickups and that unmistakeable Gibson sound. Though it's not the most versatile rig ever, it certainly sounds rockin' to my ears. The P90 model is not one I've seen many of, but it's certainly cool and I imagine Gibson took inspiration from this guitar for their recent '50s and '60s Tribute Studios.
Definitely give one a whirl if you see one around... they're scarce but worth hunting down.