sparquelito Posted October 4, 2020 Posted October 4, 2020 I'm driving across town later today to check out/play a 2017 Gibson Les Paul 'Custom Studio'. It has many features that I like, a LOT. The natural rough finish, whiskey nitro stain, the double-slug pickups, the pickup selector switch down low, and best of all, 1 Volume, 1 Tone control. I love the idea of two knobs instead of four, and repositioning the switch allows me to pluck, pick and strum up the neck without negotiating the pickup selector switch. And I have never been fond of the trapezoid inlays and Les Paul pick guard, so that's a plus. Anybody have any experience with this model? 1 Quote
Sybo Posted October 4, 2020 Posted October 4, 2020 No but I can tell you..... I LOVE IT!!!!!!!!! Quote
merciful-evans Posted October 4, 2020 Posted October 4, 2020 me neither, but we discovered before a similar preference for simplified controls & no pickguard (ES-339 Studio). I also love the finish. The colour & grain are perfect. Quote
sparquelito Posted October 5, 2020 Author Posted October 5, 2020 Well, I went and looked at the 2017 Les Paul Custom Studio, and it was pretty beat up. A previous owner left it bone-stock, but it had some wear, tear, and scuffs. The guy or gal was an aggressive player, surely. I talked them down a bit, just because of the relic'ed appearance, satisfied after checking it out thoroughly. The sound, tones, neck, playability, and feel are all fantastic. Fretboard is flat and beautiful, though the rosewood was in need of some oiling. I paid $625 for her, and got a new set of Primo Slinky's and a small jug of F-ONE Oil for free. This model retailed at an MSRP of $899 back in 2017, so I'm pretty happy with the deal. She cleaned up real nice, and I let two heavy applications of the oil soak into the fingerboard before I wiped her down and buffed her down with wax. Mounted the Primo Slinky's, (I top-wrapped, just because that's how she was set up earlier with the old strings, and she played and sounded fantastic), stretched them in, tuned her up, and she is a rock and roll beast. Love it. And at 7 lbs, 3 ounces, she's the lightest Les Paul I've ever owned.🙂 Quote
sparquelito Posted October 5, 2020 Author Posted October 5, 2020 And here she is with her brother, also a 2017 S Series Gibson. Two happy siblings in my house now!!🙂 1 Quote
sparquelito Posted October 5, 2020 Author Posted October 5, 2020 The original factory soft case/gig bag came with it. I must say, I like it a lot better than the type that was issued in 2018 and 2019.🙂 Quote
merciful-evans Posted October 5, 2020 Posted October 5, 2020 Pretty beat up as you say. It sort of suits that stripe of guitar though. That rich finish shows up especially well on your table shots. I'd give it houseroom for certain.👌 Next to my pristine 2015 LP, they'd be odd sisters; the debutant and the tomboy 1 Quote
sparquelito Posted October 5, 2020 Author Posted October 5, 2020 1 hour ago, merciful-evans said: Pretty beat up as you say. It sort of suits that stripe of guitar though. That rich finish shows up especially well on your table shots. I'd give it houseroom for certain.👌 Next to my pristine 2015 LP, they'd be odd sisters; the debutant and the tomboy I'm just glad that it plays nicely, stays in tune, and sounds great. Because it's one rough-looking rascal, for sure. I guess I never need to worry about being precious with it. I once bought a really nice Fender Aerodyne Jazz Bass. Shiny ebony with a beautiful edge binding. It was so pretty that I worried about getting smudges and fingerprints on it. Next thing I knew, I sold it to a guy who really coveted it, and who promised to beat it all to hell. I think it's kind of liberating, not worrying about framming it into things, and putting a scuff on it. 😐 1 Quote
kidblast Posted October 5, 2020 Posted October 5, 2020 I've seen worse!! it's definitely still got a lot of notes left in it. it's the guitar you don't have to worry about keeping pristine. It is liberating.. 1 Quote
sparquelito Posted October 9, 2020 Author Posted October 9, 2020 I dropped her off at Tom Shepherd's guitar shop in downtown Huntsville today. He's going to a proper job of getting the fret ends ultra-smooth, silky, and snag-free. If I did the job myself I would botch it, and be really sorry. 🙂 Quote
merciful-evans Posted October 9, 2020 Posted October 9, 2020 7 hours ago, sparquelito said: I dropped her off at Tom Shepherd's guitar shop in downtown Huntsville today. He's going to a proper job of getting the fret ends ultra-smooth, silky, and snag-free. If I did the job myself I would botch it, and be really sorry. 🙂 I have had a guitar in work (for frets) at home for months now. Its not work I enjoy. This will be the 3rd guitar I have fret levelled. I am at the crowning stage right now. Lots of care and lots of patience required. I keep finding excuses for doing other stuff. 2 Quote
Sgt. Pepper Posted October 16, 2020 Posted October 16, 2020 It's pre-beaten so feel free to smack a cymbal at will while gigging. 1 Quote
sparquelito Posted October 22, 2020 Author Posted October 22, 2020 I ended up pulling the guitar out of the downtown shop yesterday. The fellow wasn't able to get to it, and I had given him two weeks. Kind of made me mad. A phone call would have been nice. (7 to 10 days was the expectation.) I took it to a good friend, Danny Matthews (the fellow who has built one tele for me, along with a pedal and an amplifier), immediately. He had it done this morning. Frets are shiny, smooth, and snag-free. Life is good. Pinch, the pickups are advertised as 'double-slugs', Alnico 5 DS-A5 Rhythm and DS-A5+ Lead humbuckers.😐 Quote
merciful-evans Posted October 24, 2020 Posted October 24, 2020 On 10/22/2020 at 10:46 PM, sparquelito said: I ended up pulling the guitar out of the downtown shop yesterday. The fellow wasn't able to get to it, and I had given him two weeks. Kind of made me mad. A phone call would have been nice. (7 to 10 days was the expectation.) I took it to a good friend, Danny Matthews (the fellow who has built one tele for me, along with a pedal and an amplifier), immediately. He had it done this morning. Frets are shiny, smooth, and snag-free. Life is good. Pinch, the pickups are advertised as 'double-slugs', Alnico 5 DS-A5 Rhythm and DS-A5+ Lead humbuckers.😐 I've had that happen to me to. The luthier I use once kept a guitar for months. I became obsessed imagining something had gone wrong. Was he ill, dead, in prison? Once I realised he was just busy I phoned him every day to re-prioritize me. 1 Quote
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