animalfarm Posted July 24, 2011 Share Posted July 24, 2011 Bought this one in 2008 when I made up my mind to rejoin the Guitar Army (Gitarmy?) after a too-long absence due to military service and career focus. I looked at M/F catalogs for months, focusing mainly on the lower-priced gits like LP Specials and LP-100s. In the end, I WANTED Set-Neck and Wood Grain, and this just fit my needs and was wallet-friendly. I bought. I STILL have. Happy! GIT: 2008 Epiphone LES PAUL STUDIO Worn Brown/Satin Finish - QingDao (EE) product PRICE PAID: $349.00 (Was same price then as today) FROM: Musician's Friend FEATURES: Set mahogany neck, Fatter D shape - More Meat, but not a Baseball Bat Rosewood fingerboard Mahogany body with carved top Hot open-coil Alnico Classic humbuckers Bridge Pickup - Black Open Coil HOTHB8B, 13.5K Neck Pickup - Black Open Coil HB6N, 8.3K Chrome hardware - Grover D-Tips Stock Tune-o-matic bridge with stopbar tailpiece 22 Frets Dot fingerboard inlays Black Speed knobs 2 Vol. 2 Tone controls 3-way selector switch 24.75" scale 1.68" nut width COLORS: Worn Brown (satin finish) Worn Cherry (satin finish) Ebony (satin Finish) FIT/FINISH: On arrival, I was like a kid at Christmas! Came with all the case candy, including the unshielded cable for the amp (BUZZZZZZZ). Still have the cable, just use it for Korg tuner. Total inspection, No damage, No finish cracks, neck as straight as arrow, knobs on straight. Intonation pretty darn close, action was set to Factory Specs, which is a tad high for my tastes, but ME changed it. It was NICE to feel a Les Paul in my hands again. Was very satisfied with my Epiphone purchase, and I was a GIBSON owner previously. I knew not to use polish on a satin finish, so I snagged a real Chamios for wipe-downs. Worked so well, I use a Chamios on every git I have and occasionally hit the Glossy ones with Guitar Polish. The SATIN finish is starting to show "slightly glossy" areas from my rubbing on it, but that's just "MOJO". The Worn Brown/Woodgrain finish IS nice to look at - The Drummer that I jam with keeps trying to BUY it from me. SOUND QUALITY: Stock Pups are: Bridge Pickup - Black Open Coil HOTHB8B, 13.5K, Neck Pickup - Black Open Coil HB6N, 8.3K Due to the solid Mahogany construction, they DO tend to project a lot of the Lower Frequencies, and may sound "muddy" to some. But don't fear, you can still get your "Pinch Harmonics", and they'll keep you happy until the "Mod Bug" hits you. To that end, I ebayed a set of GIBSON 498T/490R pups from a 1992 Gibson Les Paul for a REEEEELY good price, and upgraded the Tuners to Gibson Deluxe Tulips. My choice. Yes, BIG difference in sound. IMPRESSIONS: Still have it. Won't sell it. I can definitely feel the difference between the Studio Neck and my LP Classic neck, but either one is highly playable. An advantage to the "FAT D" neck is that it doesn't react much to temperature and humidity changes like the thinner neck on my LP Classic. Pretty much stays where you put it, but will need the occasional tweak as the seasons change. I'm very happy with my choice. MANDATORY PICS: STOCK with Factory Pups and Tuners: AFTER PUP & TUNER upgrades: BONUS PICS: First - "REAL" Gibson Studio (worn brown), Second - Epi Studio with upgrades (just gotta replace them fret inlays...) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RaSTuS Posted July 24, 2011 Share Posted July 24, 2011 Another beauty Greg, you sure can pick 'em, some good upgrades too, great review. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bloozeguy Posted July 26, 2011 Share Posted July 26, 2011 Congratulations on a real sweeitie, and, IMO, one of the better bargains out there! A stopry of One That Got Away: Saw one just like this in the "seconds" section of a local store for $219. (yes, you read that right!). The only thing that at all appeared (or sounded) to be wrong was the plastic cover of the toggle was missing. Went to get it a couple days afterwards--gone! Now, my loal GC has a "clearance" model (but cherry/gloss) for the same price. Hmmmm... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RaSTuS Posted July 26, 2011 Share Posted July 26, 2011 Now, my loal GC has a "clearance" model (but cherry/gloss) for the same price. Hmmmm... Hey, that's instant Angus vibe right there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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