I admit to not having a huge amount of experience with Gibsons/LPs - my mate at school had an Epiphone Les Paul which seemed OK but didn't feel right for my preferences, I tried a Gibson SG years ago in a music shop, and I had a Tokai Love Rock which although nice, again felt a bit plasticky and I didn't get with. So for years I narrow-mindedly dismissed LPs and Gibson stuff as not suiting me, preferring more Fender-style guitars overall.
Last night I picked up my mate's Les Paul Studio which he bought in 1997 - so could have been made any time in the mid 90s. He claims lots of parts have been replaced over the years, and I noticed it had metal tuners/machineheads (which is my preference to the classic ones). It's been beaten up, has cigarette marks, chips, knocks, some bizarre decoration including what look like diamante studs at the bottom, and there's a hole where the pickup selector switch used to be (he's got a replacement lined up to fit).
Apart from the somewhat devastating weight of the guitar, the neck felt great despite being a lot chunkier than I'm used to, and the finish matched the almost satin matt paint over the rest of the guitar so was smooth to play, and the tuning held fantastically despite me playing lots of bends - something my Tokai never managed sadly - and the pickups were great even through his little Peavey Backstage. Proper clarity, subtlety and brutal with gain.
I found myself playing it for ages, not wanting to put it down. And now I want an identical Les Paul Studio (but in slightly better shape than his perhaps!) with the same satin feel neck, metal tuners and tuning stability. Any idea what it might have been, and what a decent equivalent at a sensible price might be? Second hand is fine. Also any guitars from other brands you think might give a similar feel (I know this is hugely subjective and wide open).
(I know, I should have taken a pic. It was ebony with black scratchplate but that could have been replaced at some point.)
Comments
Seriously: If you value it, take/fetch it yourself
They did use all-metal Grover machineheads at some times, although the tulip-key type are more common - it’s easy to change them in any case, no drilling needed, although it will leave six extra screw holes. (Not too hard to fill, especially on a black guitar.)
Most of them also had ebony fingerboards - slightly oddly for a cheaper model, but it was to use up lower-grade wood that wasn’t acceptable for a Custom. It does change the tone and feel slightly so if that’s what you like then you do need one of these and not any other model - other than a Custom.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
You basically got a red one or a black one, with silver hardware or gold hardware. Them's wuz da choices, man.
It's about the only thing that's fixed in my brain, because I got my LP Studio (wine red, gold hardware) in '98 so was paying attention, as it was more money than I felt I had any right to spend on a guitar at the time.
Sunburst
Red and Gold; humorous price expectation
Black
They're all the metal+plastic tuners, and the hard cases will be after-the-fact (they came with gig bags).
As Snags said, they originally came with a gig bag which is a Very Bad Idea - or at least the Gibson one is, it actually stresses the neck rather than protecting it - so budget for a decent hard case if it doesn’t have one. (Or a better gig bag with proper neck protection, but they’re actually more expensive than a hard case.)
For this reason, Studios with repaired head breaks are common, and if done well doesn’t affect the strength or tone of the guitar, but it should bring the price down a bit.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
keep an eye out for an Edwards Les Paul. Very good guitars that are often cheaper than the Gibsons and come with Seymour Duncans as standard.
The current SE Bernie Marsden has a lovely chunky satin neck and is IMHO nicer in almost every way than the Gibson tribute Les Paul I also own. Granted, the tuners are a strange green plastic, but if that is the only issue it's an easily changed one.
https://www.andertons.co.uk/prs-se-bernie-marsden-ltd-edition-vintage-sunburst-2018-sebmsnvs
Black:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Gibson-Les-Paul-Studio-1995-Black-with-HSC/192617691170?hash=item2cd8e8b822:g:f0YAAOSw35FayJMd
Expensive red:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Gibson-Les-Paul-Studio-1993/292670229127?hash=item4424814a87:g:RE0AAOSwoNhbQ7Jo