HNGD! The reason I picked the guitar back up in recent times is cuz I stopped by a GC (which I've done from time to time for YEARS) and happened to pull down an Ebony LP Studio that was just perfect! This thing was a beast, it was perfectly intonated and just sang out LAMF. Before this occasion I hadn't really considered buying another guitar; I had been strung out for more than a few years and my guitar purchases had just been a revolving door- I'd buy one, like it a lot, play it for a week or so, then get my $ f#ck&d up and turn around and pawn it for about 20% of what I had just paid for it. So I gave up on even buying them for a couple years (about five).
But like I said, I came across this one particular LP Studio that just SPOKE to me (more like sang to me, but anyways...). I knew right there, on the spot, that this was the ONE; I didn't like this guitar a lot (like I had with the others)- I loved it! I knew that when push came to shove I would NOT sell this guitar for ANYTHING. I don't care if it was for the phone bill (guess you'll have to talk to me when you see me, folks) or if I was short on the rent (I may be sleeping on the sidewalk, but I'm sleeping next to my baby) I was going to hold onto this one. So I pulled some strings, made some calls, and got the $ together to buy it outright. I walked through the front doors of GC a man with a mission. The only thing was- they sold it!
I think this really speaks to the quality of Studios, though. I had owned 25-30+ guitars, all different makes and models, and none of them had that "It-Factor" that this Studio had. I mean, I played some Standards, some RIs, some SGs- you name it, I played it, and none of them had the tone that this one had that just called out my name. Don't get me wrong- on average, most Standards sound better than most Studios (to me), most Custom Shops sound better than most Standards (to me), etc. etc. You get what you pay for- on average, that is. But as we all know, each guitar is unique, with it's own unique tone, it's own unique sound, it's own unique qualities. You can find some diamonds in the rough, that's for sure. The folks that like to knock this model or that year have their collective head up their collective a$$.
Again, Congrats on your beautiful new baby. Hope you guys grow together, learn together, mature together and take over the world together.