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From Our Research Team:

Back to Basics Look and a Great Value

What can we write about the Gibson Les Paul that hasn't already been written? It all comes down to this: Ever since its introduction in 1952, the Les Paul has had an impact on both guitar players and on music itself. What started out as Gibson's answer to the introduction of solid body guitars in 1950, turned out to be perhaps the most influential of them all. What started out as a simple gold-top guitar has turned into a veritable rainbow of colors, in configurations to meet everyone's needs, wants and yes, even budget. It's a rock and roll icon. Think '60s Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, Mike Bloomfield all the way up to Slash with Guns N Roses or Velvet Revolver. Yeah, it's really that cool. Now, here's the Les Paul Studio Faded. So your first question is, what's missing? As far as we can tell, it boils down to the unbound body and the traditional carved maple top has been replaced by carved mahogany top. Could that be all? Sure looks that way. You have a carved mahogany top over a mahogany body, a '59 rounded neck profile with granadillo fingerboard and two screaming humbuckers.


Gibson Les Paul Studio at a Glance:

• Carved mahogany top in Wine Red finish over a mahogany body with gold-plated hardware.
  
• 1959 rounded mahogany neck with rosewood fingerboard
  
• Two Alnico magnet humbuckers - 490R (neck) and 498T (bridge)

Unique carved mahogany top and mahogany body
The Les Paul Studio Faded marks a departure from the traditional carved maple top in favor of a carved mahogany top. Not only does mahogany have a smooth, mellow tone, but the the mahogany woodgrain showing through. The Les Paul Studio Faded may be the fattest sounding Les Paul ever! This model features gold-plated hardware.

That Chunky '59 Profile Neck
The first Les Pauls had chunky necks, which were perfect for some players. By 1960 the neck underwent several modifications until it became what's known as the slim-taper design, which also had a legion of devotees.The '59 neck profile is a nice compromise between the two. It's solid mahogany with a granadillo fingerboard and those classy pearloid trapezoid markers, so it has that warm, classic Les Paul feel while still allowing easy access to the upper frets so you can really dig into your solos!

Two Hot Humbucking Pickups
Look, when you're talking about a Les Paul, you're talking about that big, fat, smoky humbucker sound. Forget all those thin "out-of-phase" guitar sounds that the session players overused in the 1980s and (sad to say) right through much of the '90s. That's not for you, is it? Of course not. You've got that nice chunky neck in your left hand and you're grabbing big fat power chords and soloing all up and down the fingerboard. You want that Les Paul sound, not some wishy-washy compromise (though it's okay for some people, just not you). So Gibson put two huge-sounding humbucking pickups on this baby with hot Alnico magnets - a 490R in the neck position and a 498T in the bridge position.


Les Paul Studio Features:

• Color: Wine Red
  
• Top: Carved mahogany
  
• Back: Mahogany
  
• Neck: Mahogany with 1959 rounded profile
  
• Fingerboard: Granadillo with pearloid trapezoid inlays
  
• Number of frets: 22
  
• Pickups: Two humbucking pickups with Alnico magnets
  
• Controls: Two each tone and volume with three-way pickup selector switch
  
• Tailpiece: Stopbar
  
• Bridge: Tune-o-matic
  
• Knobs: Black Speed
  
• Machine heads: Green Keys
  
• Hardware: Gold-plated
  
• Case: Black reptile pattern hardshell

Gibson: Don't Mess with a Good Thing
Gibson guitars have been around for well over a century. When guitarists are looking for an outstanding combination of superb tone and playability along with great looks and gorgeous finishes, the choice for most of those 100 plus years has been Gibson. From their amazing collection of fine acoustics to the electric guitars that literally rewrote music history, Gibson guitars have been on almost every chart-topping album from artists like The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Cream and Led Zeppelin. These "first call" instruments also cross an enormous array of diverse styles, from folk and country to blues and hard rock. With that resume, it's not surprising that so many of Gibson's best-selling instruments have changed little over the decades. Because there's just no sense in messing with a good thing!

Specification Detail Manufacturer Part Number LPSTWRGH1