Gibson Les Paul Studio

Gibson Les Paul Studio 50's Tribute

The Gibson Les Paul Studio 50's Tribute guitar stands out as one of the most sought after and highly collectible guitars I've personally come across in years. Being a limited edition they sold out very quickly. The only new ones you can still get your hands on are turning up here on ebay. Soon all those will have been sold off.

Knowing this was an opportunity that doesn't come along very often, I took a trip to the Gibson factory in Nashville and hand picked several of these guitars--one for myself and a few others to sell. This Honey burst model had nice tight straight grain on the neck as well as the body which not only makes it look good it enhances the sound quality. I'm a luthier so I obsess over wood grain. The maple top has a beautiful golden honey color. It was the prettiest of all the ones I had to choose
from by far. The satin nitrocellulose finish is thin and even which will allow the wood to breathe properly.  As it ages it will look absolutely incredible. 

Gibson did a great job giving these guitars true vintage vibe. There's what I would call a "rawness" to them that works. They didn't go overboard but they did put some scuffs, small imperfections and marks here and there as well as light scratches on the back plates and on the pick guard. Thus the "Worn" designation. The trapezoid inlays are an aged yellowish color. The P-90 pickups were the perfect choice for this guitar and it also has quality electronics and hardware. You feel just as comfortable playing it as you do putting it in a display case. When you hold it in your hands you'll see what I mean.

I posted all the technical details about this guitar below.

Being a guitar tech I fine tuned the setup with fairly low action and adjusted the intonation for maximum playability.  I weighed it at 7 pounds 4 ounces. I then detuned the strings slightly so the neck will be safe during shipping.  As an added precaution I wrapped the headstock with bubble wrap.  Aside from the setup I only had it out of the box long enough to get some photographs and put it back in the box ready to ship. So it's BRAND NEW and will come packed in the original padded gig-bag, then the original Gibson labeled box and then I put that box inside another bigger box with some additional padding to keep it well protected during transit. The original paperwork is tucked inside the pocket of the gig-bag.  The guitar will ship via Fedex fully insured and a tracking number will be emailed to you.

The folks at Gibson really combined all the right ingredients to produce a guitar that will DEFINITELY increase in value over time.  This one is a keeper.

Body

Species
- The body of each Les Paul Studio 50s Tribute is crafted from
chambered mahogany, joined to a solid carved maple top with
ultra-strong Franklin Titebond 50 glue. These classic tonewoods have
yielded some of the most legendary sounds in the history of rock.

Tonal
Characteristics - Mahogany is a medium-dense wood with excellent
resonance and superior sustain, and it offers a rich, round, warm
tone, but with plenty of high-end sheen and good midrange presence.
Add a solid maple top, and the guitar’s tone is enhanced with added
clarity, sustain and definition. The body’s chambering also
enhances its mellow acoustic resonance, and adds further air to the
midrange content.

Design
- The Les Paul Studio 50s Tribute follows the classic lines of the
Les Paul Standard, with a gently arched top and a single cutaway on
the treble side of the neck/body joint for improved upper-fret
access. The body’s back is routed with a number of chambers which
serve to both reduce overall weight, and to enhance the guitar’s
resonance.

Finish

Surface
Texture - A grain-textured satin finish with 30-sheen lacquer gives
the Les Paul Studio 50s Tribute a pre-worn look that enhances its
vintage image, and offers a smooth, comfortable playing feel.

Process
- The Les Paul Studio 50s Tribute is hand-finished in nitrocellulose
in a process that is carefully monitored to ensure minimum build-up,
in an effort to produce a finish that breathes with the guitar and
enhances natural resonance, and the final coat is hand-rubbed with a
flattening agent to enhance its aged appearance.

Neck
and Headstock

Neck
Species - The neck of the Les Paul Studio 50s Tribute is constructed
from solid mahogany, cut using the superior “quarter sawn”
orientation for improved strength and resonance.

Neck
Profile - The neck on the Les Paul Studio 50s Tribute is carved to
Gibson’s comfortable, rounded 50s profile, which offers a smooth
playing feel in the hand. This neck shape has been a favorite with
many players since its arrival on the Les Paul in the early 50s.

Radius
- The 12-inch radius of the Les Paul Studio 50s Tribute fingerboard
provides smooth note bending capabilities and eliminates “dead”
or “choked out” notes, common occurrences on fingerboards with
lesser radiuses.

Tonal
Characteristics - The angled, classical-style peg head and mahogany
neck work together to provide exceptional tonal richness and
resonance from the neck, with a good string definition and sustain.

Tolerance
- When fitting the neck and body together all angles, pitches and
alignments maintain a tolerance within .005 of an inch. Not only does
this help to keep your guitar in tune but it also maintains proper
string alignment relative to the fingerboard.

Joint
- Gibson uses what is known as the Mortis & Tenon joint to bind
neck to body so that the two pieces form one solid unit. This
time-tested technique has been used for millennia in all the great
woodworking arts—from shipbuilding to cabinetry—to create one
solid wood unit from two separate sections, and has been proven to
yield a stronger neck and body than if the instrument was made from a
single piece of wood.

Headstock
Angle - The Les Paul Studio 50s Tribute headstock is carefully angled
at Gibson’s traditional 17 degrees, which increases pressure on the
strings and helps them stay in the nut slots. An increase in string
pressure also means there is no loss of string vibration between the
nut and the tuners, which equals better sustain.

Truss
Rod - Gibson’s traditional truss rod, found in most all of our
guitars, is highly responsive to the individual adjustments you’ll
want to make to personalize and optimize string action and sustain.

Fingerboard
and Nut

Fingerboard
Species - The neck of the Les Paul Studio 50s Tribute carries a
rosewood fingerboard, the traditional fingerboard of the original Les
Paul Standard. Rosewood is both hardwearing and sonically
superlative, adding sweetness and depth to the guitar’s overall
sound.

Frets
- The Les Paul Studio 50s Tribute sports 22 medium-jumbo frets, all
immaculately dressed and polished.

Inlays
- The Les Paul Studio 50s Tribute fingerboard carries acrylic
trapezoid position-marker inlays, echoing the traditional look of the
original Les Paul Standard.

Nut
Material - The nut on the Les Paul Studio 50s Tribute is made from
Corian, which is mainly composed of acrylic polymer. This popular
synthetic alternative to bone offers a very durable material,
delivers enhanced sustain, and holds the tolerances of the precision
cuts made in the slotting process. It is installed into the top
surface of the neck, butting up to the end of the fingerboard to
ensure proper tone and sustain transfer, and its nut slots are cut
with Gibson’s PLEK system to ensure precise fit, break angle, and
string spacing.

Nut
Width - The width of the nut on the Les Paul Studio 50s Tribute is
approximately 1.695”, the traditional nut width of Gibson electric
guitars.

Pickups

Pickups
Model - The Les Paul Studio 50s Tribute is equipped with a pair of
Gibson’s P-90 single-coil pickups, as used on Les Pauls from
1952-’56. Gibson USA’s P-90s are acclaimed as the finest
reproductions of original 1950s P-90s available today.

Magnet
Material - Gibson’s P-90 pickups use Alnico V magnets for a rich,
warm response with plenty of bite.

Tonal
Characteristics - Although they are among Gibson’s oldest pickup
designs, P-90s have retained devoted followers for more than 60
years. These single-coil pickups have about the same output power as
vintage PAF humbucking pickups, with a little more punching power in
the midrange, added high-end bite, and a raw, slightly grainy voice
overall that makes them perfect for rock and roll, blues, roots-rock,
and countless other styles of music.

Electronics

Volume
Controls - The Les Paul Studio 50s Tribute uses an individual volume
control for each pickup, which consists of a quality 300k linear
potentiometer for a smooth, natural volume roll-off.

Tone
Controls - The Les Paul Studio 50s Tribute features individual tone
controls for each pickup. The pots have ohm readings of 500k, are
non-linear, and each carries a .022mF “Orange Drop” tone
capacitor which allows a smooth transition from bright to warm.

Toggle
Switch - The Les Paul Studio 50s Tribute features one three-way
Switchcraft toggle switch. In the down position, only the bridge
pickup is active. In the middle position, both pickups are active. In
the up position, only the neck pickup is active.

Output
Jack - The guitar features a 1?4” output jack made by
Switchcraft.

Hardware

Tuning
Keys - The headstock of the Les Paul Studio 50s Tribute is equipped
with vintage Kluson-style tuners with green tulip buttons. These
tuners provide a classic look in line with the model’s lineage, and
smooth, robust performance.

Truss
Rod Cover - As with most Gibson guitars, the truss rod cover on the
Les Paul Studio 50s Tribute is made from black and white vinyl
plastic, and is shaped like an antique bell.

Strap
Buttons - The Les Paul Studio 50s Tribute’s aluminum strap buttons
are the same style and design that Gibson has used since the early
1950s.

Pickguard
- The Les Paul Studio 50s Tribute carries a single-ply vintage cream
pickguard.

Bridge
- In 1954, Gibson revolutionized guitar hardware when it debuted the
Tune-o-matic bridge, setting a standard for simplicity and
functionality that has never been bettered. Included on the Les Paul
Studio 50s Tribute, the Nashville Tune-o-matic provides a firm
seating for the strings, allowing the player to adjust and fine-tune
the intonation and string height in a matter of minutes. It also
yields excellent coupling between strings and body, maximizing
resonance, tone, and sustain. This bridge is made from Zamak then
plated with chrome, and each one weighs approximately .118 lbs.

Tailpiece
- Every Tune-o-matic bridge is combined with a separate “stopbar”
tailpiece, which is essentially a modified version of the earlier
wraparound bridge that’s designed to further enhance the connection
between the strings and the body. The Les Paul Studio 50s Tribute’s
stopbar tailpiece is made from Zamac then plated with chrome, and
each one weighs approximately .24 lbs.

Control
Knobs - The control knobs on the Les Paul Studio 50s Tribute are
Gibson’s gold Top-hat knobs with silver inserts, as found on many
vintage and modern Gibson guitars.

Strings
- The Les Paul Studio 50s Tribute is fitted with genuine Gibson
strings, sizes .010 - .046.

MADE IN USA!