Gibson USA Les Paul Studio

The Les Paul Studio has been a popular choice of hard-working guitarists everywhere ever since its introduction in 1983. Now, Gibson USA brings increased sonic versatility and performance upgrades to a new Les Paul Studio as part of its big 2013 Year of Les Paul celebrations. The 2013 Les Paul Studio blends timeless tonewoods and components with improved comfort, powerful humbucking pickups with built-in coil-splitting switching for the added versatility of single-coil tones, and the classic looks that define it as a genuine Gibson Les Paul. To ram it all full speed into the 21st century, the 2013 Les Paul Studio is now also available with optional Min-ETune™ automated “robot” tuning, which can be added to your guitar with no internal modification for a nominal upcharge. All this, and the 2013 Les Paul Studio looks stunning in your choice of Ebony, Alpine White, Wine Red, or Vintage Sunburst finish, all in high-gloss nitrocellulose lacquer, or Goldtop with dark back and neck. A left-handed version is also available, and for an added touch of class, there’s a 2013 Les Paul Studio Gold Series, with gold-plated hardware and pickup covers, and a gloss top finish with satin back and neck. The 2013 Les Paul Studio is tone-assured right from the start, thanks to a foundation of the traditional tonewoods that helped to make the Les Paul Standard legendary when it first arrived six decades ago. A carved solid maple top lends bite and articulation to the sound, while a select mahogany back—treated with Gibson’s new modern weight relief pattern to increase playing comfort and enhance resonance—contributes superb warmth and depth. A solid, quarter-sawn mahogany neck is glued in and carved in the fast 60s SlimTaper™ profile, and topped with a rich brown Granadillo fingerboard with 22 medium-jumbo frets and traditional trapezoid inlays. In keeping with the stripped-down Studio ethos, the body and fingerboard are left unbound, but the 2013 retains elegant touches in its pickguard, hot-stamped truss-rod cover, and black or gold speed knobs, depending on finish. Classic Gibson construction ensures optimum playability, too, along with traditional specs like a 24 ¾” scale length, a 1 11/16” width across the PLEK-cut Corian™ nut, and a 12-inch fingerboard radius for smooth, easy bending. A pair of Gibson USA’s Modern Classics™ humbucking pickups prime the 2013 Les Paul Studio for unparalleled tonal versatility. Both are made in the image of the legendary PAF humbucker, with Alnico magnets and 42-AWG wire, but adapted for the demands of contemporary players. A 490R in the neck position offers vintage warmth and throaty blues tones, while a hotter 498T in the bridge belts out all the scorch, sizzle and sustain you require. Furthermore, both are wired for coil splitting, with individual push-pull tone-control switching to tap authentic single-coil tones, which are even wired for hum cancelling in the middle position. The innovative pairing of a Tune-o-Matic bridge and Stopbar tailpiece ensure solid sustain and precise intonation, while a set of high-quality TonePros™ vintage-style tuners—upgradable to the automated Min-ETune System for a nominal charge—ensure smooth, accurate tuning. Go for gold with the 2013 Les Paul Studio Gold Series, and get the same features with classy gold-plated hardware. Each guitar includes a black Gibson hardshell case, owner’s manual, and truss-rod wrench, and comes covered by Gibson USA’s Limited Lifetime Warranty and 24/7/365 Customer Service.