Gibson Les Paul Studio 2012 Electric Guitar - Ebony

Known for being the gigging musician’s guitar of choice the Gibson Les Paul Studio 2012 Electric Guitar gives you all the tonality, quality and superb playability of the standard but without all the extra aesthetics that bump the price up.

However with the arrival of the 2012 studio comes a great selection of finishes to feast your eyes upon. The American-made craftsmanship is still apparent with the 2012 Gibson Les Paul Studio and the classic wood combinations are still in place for perfect resonance and sustain. The new Studio even features two Alnico-magnet humbuckers with coil-splits, giving you the versatility of both humbuckers and single coils from the same instrument.

Body

Just like the Les Paul Standard the Gibson Les Paul Studio 2012 is outfitted with the same tone and playability thanks the same combination of a mahogany body with a solid carved maple top. All the depth of tone and richness you could want comes readily supplied by the mahogany while the top offers up superb clarity and snap. What’s more the 2012 Gibson Les Paul Studio’s body features Gibson’s new modern weight relief to provide even more resonance than before, whilst also lowering the weight of the instrument.

The new range of Les Paul Studios also feature a dynamic choice of colours: Ebony, Fireburst, Inverness Green, Pelham Blue, Radiant Red, Silver Pearl, Vintage Sunburst, Wine Red. All are finished in a high-gloss nitrocellulose lacquer. The Ebony and Silver Pearl Gibson Les Paul Studio 2012s feature a black plastic trim, while the rest have a classic vintage-style cream trim.

Neck

With strength and resonance being of paramount importance the solid mahogany neck of the Gibson Les Paul Studio 2012 has been quarter-sawn and glued-in. Keeping things comfortable, and fast, the neck is carved to the ’60s-style SlimTaper profile and is topped by the new granadillo fingerboard.

Finishing off the construction of the Gibson Les Paul Studio 2012 to a high standard it features PLEK-cut Corian nut, Tune-o-matic bridge, stud-mounted wraparound tailpiece, and vintage-style TonePros tuners.

Electronics

Loaded up on the 2012 Gibson Les Paul Studio is a pair of Gibson USA Alnico humbuckers: 490R in the neck, 498T at the bridge.

The 490R, with its Alnico II magnet and original PAF spec coil winding, gives you warmth of tone and great articulation. The Alnico V magnet and extra turns of wire of the 498T give plenty of punch and grind, great for lead and crunch.

A new feature for the Gibson Les Paul Studio 2012, but one that is very welcome, is the coil-split switching on each pickup via the guitar’s volume controls. Lifting the volume control for the pickup you have selected will give you fat, single-coil tone with improved output balance. With both pickups you together you get hum-cancelling and low-noise operation when used separately.