Gibson Vintage Mahogany LP Studio

guitars, reviews

I recently purchased a Gibson Vintage Mahogany Les Paul Studio from Guitar Center at a reasonable Memorial Day Weekend Sale savings.

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I was told that - other than the faded, matte finish - the guitar is otherwise identical to the other LP Studios hanging on the wall, their polished glossiness reflecting the ceiling flourescents in sunburst glory. (I swear, that’s what they were doing!)

The official Gibson site does not list the Vintage Mahogany, under the Studio section or elsewhere, so there was a dearth of sources against which I could authenticate the salesman’s claims. Luckily, that did not deter me, especially after reading extremely positive reviews. In fact, where a review did contain negative comments, it seemed to echo a common refrain: Make sure you get a good one because Gibson is cranking out these models and some of them are clunkers. So, I made sure I got a good one.

I’ve played my single coil fender strat forever, and it was time to try the warmer humbucker sound. The LP is noticeably louder than my strat, and has a comfortably fat neck. The wood’s faded, matte look is not for everyone, which is apparently why they are priced a few hundred dollars lower than their lacquered brethren. (Nothing beats getting a deal because you like something that others may not).

I am still tweaking my sound, but so far the tone of the VM through my Fender Blues Jr. NOS is extremely pleasing, even at bedroom levels. With two pickups, a basic 3-way switch and separate volume/tone controls for each pickup, the VM provides just enough fiddling fun without overdoing the options or cluttering that vintage wood.But I am just one set of amateur ears.

Here’s the buzz and hiss from other parts of the cyber-world:

Harmony Central Reviews
Guitar Center Reviews
Musician’s Friend Reviews
Amazon Reviews
Epinions Review

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guitarblog @ June 15, 2007