Bought my 2003 Wine Red Les Paul Studio earlier this year in Portland, Oregon. Went into my music shop to kill time and console myself after the break up of a relationship. Turns out a local musician, a drummer by trade, bought a Strat, a Tele, and the Les Paul, thinking that he wanted to make the switch to guitar. Must be nice to just start out with one of each of those. Anyway, he quickly found he didn't really like it for whatever reason and sold all three back to the store. The Fenders were gone within three days and only the Les Paul remained. I played it for a long time in a private room and just couldn't believe how wonderful it felt.
I was one of those guys who never thought I'd own a Gibson. Maybe it was the amazing tone. Maybe it was retail therapy after the breakup. Maybe it's a combination of both, but I left the shop with the guitar, complete with the Gibson USA hardshell case, and a smile on my face.
I've enjoyed playing it every day since. Wonderful guitar. I changed the look of it a bit to suit my taste. Sorry I'm not any better at taking pictures (or figuring out how to get large, full-sized photos uploaded) than I am at shredding.
