Transcript
Les Paul Standard versus Les Paul Studio. Same pick-up configuration, two hum bucking pickups, same tone control (so you’ve got volume, volume, tone, tone), a three-way pickup selector. The Les Paul Studio is pretty bare bones. They went to cheaper hardware, cheaper tuning keys. The pickups aren’t the same. While they are the same type of pickup, they are not the same pickup. They do sound a little different. A Les Paul Studio is a way to get a guitar with a Gibson name that’s a solid Les Paul, but without the hefty price tag that comes with a proper Gibson Les Paul standard. It’s still a great guitar.
They did things with the Les Paul Studio that they didn’t really get into with the traditional Les Paul Standard, things like stripping the finish off of them and releasing a guitar that was just basically an oil finish, which in turn actually makes the guitar more resonant. So, you’re sort of at an advantage there, and you paid less money for it. Budget-minded individuals look towards the Les Paul Studio if you can’t afford a Standard. It’s still a great guitar and you can always upgrade hardware and pickups like that eventually down the road. You get yourself a way in to see what a Les Paul is like without having to starve for too long. Traditional Les Paul’s are generally expensive. You’re looking at $2,600 new for a Les Paul. Used, you can get them for about $2,000, $2,200. Les Paul Studios you can find some for like $675 used. They’re definitely an affordable, good guitar.
