Keith in Dallas Posted July 2, 2016 Posted July 2, 2016 I have a PRS S2 Custom 24 which feels amazing and plays itself, but wanted another guitar with a hard tail for alternate tunings. I saw the 2016 Gibson LP in GC and noticed the G-Force tuning system which is what first attracted me to it. After seeing the new heel design, I really wanted one. I didn't want to spend too much, but the HP features sounded worth the extra price. GC did not have the color I wanted, plus I wanted to avoid tax, so I ordered a 2016 Gibson LP faded studio in satin ebony. Loved the faded ebony color, and sounded great. Also, loved the new heel. The G-Force was finicky. The body, neck, and headstock cuts were sharp - not rounded, which dug into my fretting hand and body. I liked it a lot, but it made me wanting more of a finished product. So, I traded it for the 2016 studio HP in alpine white. The finish was much better - rounded edges all around, and the 490/498 pickups were brighter. The tones I could get with the various coil split configurations were amazing. Sounded great and sustained great as well. Definitely worth the extra price over the faded studio model. I had this for 30 days and even gigged with it. Loved the looks, felt great, but had some QC issues. The finish had some spots that started to appear, the G-Force would never tune the G string, and the knobs were very cheap and wobbled. The volume/tone knobs were all different heights which bothered me. I ended up putting some washers as spacers under the circuit board to even things out. Gibson sent me some replacement knobs as well - but they weren't much better. The neck heel joint is great, but the extra width of the neck didn't play well with my fretting hand. I'm not a shredder, and mostly play power and barre chords. My hand would tend to feel cramped after an hour or so on this neck compared to my PRS which I can play forever. I was on the fence regarding exchanging it for another. Gibson said they would have to look at it first as they don't normally warrant the finish. They recommended I exchange it if I was still in the return period from the retailer (which I was). I contacted Joe at Sam Ash and expressed my concerns, likes, and dislikes. He offered to exchange or another HP, exchange for a studio T, or upgrade to a 2016 Traditional T at a discount. I ended up upgrading, but to a 2015 Sam Ash Traditional Classic. This model has the 60's neck, hand wired circuits, traditional weight relief, and the G-Force tuners. For some reason the G-Force tuners are working great on this model. Sam Ash has been nothing short of amazing in regards to CS. Joe Boisits at Sam Ash paid for shipping both ways, took back a used instrument, didn't charge me any extra fees, and even discounted each of my exchanges. Summary: 2016 Studio faded HP: Pros: Great sound, cool colors, perfect setup in regards to the neck, awesome gig bag, great sustain, Burstbucker pickups sound great, neck heel joint is great for upper fret access and looks cool (my opinion) Cons: Square edges felt unfinished and sharp, wider neck gave me wrist cramps and "cut" into my thumb joint when wrapping thumb around neck, smallish frets makes bending strings more difficult due to finger contact with fretboard, G-Force finicky no matter how much I tweaked it, left me wanting more 2016 Studio HP: Pros: Impressive sustain, 490/498 pickups are amazing, push/pull coil taps and micro switch options offer an amazing amount of versatility, nice smooth rounded edges everywhere making it much more comfortable to play, nuclear proof aluminum guitar case, Alpine White color is gorgeous, perfect setup Cons: although the neck edges were rounded - the extra width still caused hand fatigue for me, volume/tone knobs cheap plastic and wobbly, volume/tone knobs different heights, G-Force finicky again, small frets. I hated to send the Studio HP back for another exchange, as I loved it so much for its sound and versatility. I could remove the G-Force and change the knobs, but in the end, the smaller frets and the wider neck was the deciding factor for me.
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