NGGD - warm, brown and steamin'...

[markb]

... but far from a piece of ****


Les Paul by Mark Bowerman, on Flickr

Meet my "new" '08 LP Studio Vintage Mahogany. Apart from a couple of tiny nicks here and there it's like new. I can't say the same for its case though! My word, but this is a light and resonant guitar. I assume it's chambered. It's also amazingly bright for an all 'mahogany LP too, must be the Burstbucker Pros. Roll down the tone controls for more girth, no problem. A bit of a surprise this one, just one of those guitars that follows you home.

 

[Hampus]

Happy NGD!

Congratulations, that's a nice guitar!

Sent from my cobra phone

 

[Spudman]

Very nice. I love that finish. Those are awesome guitars. Everyone I've either heard or played has been great.

 

[marnold]

Sweet! I like that one a lot.

 

[NWBasser]

Awesome.

Happy New Guitar Day!

I played one of those once at the local GC and nearly risked my marriage to bring her home with me.

 

[guitartango]

Hi Mark,

Welcome to the Studio owners club, mines a red wine one built around 1986 a very good guitar. My case has been through the wars as well.

 

[markb]

Awesome.

Happy New Guitar Day!

I played one of those once at the local GC and nearly risked my marriage to bring her home with me.

That's not a problem for me these days

 

[Katastrophe]

That's a beautiful guitar! Congrats, man!

 

[FrankenFretter]

Nice guitar, Mark! I've only played a couple guitars that had the Burtsbuckers, and I found them to be a bit bright for my tastes, which seems to be your experience as well. You could always do a magnet swap for some A2s to tame them a bit, should you feel inclined. That finish is a real winner, I must say. How's the neck on that?

 

[markb]

The neck is described in all the stuff I can find on these (there's some confusion as to what's what in faded finish Studios) as a "'59 profile". It's quite chunky but very nicely shaped. Rounder than the D neck on my J45 and tapers nicely toward the head.

 

[R_of_G]

I love the finish on that guitar.

Congratulations Mark. I hope it brings you years of enjoyment.

 

[Tig]

Good find! A well made Studio with BB's makes for a great guitar.

 

[Robert]

Congrats! I would for sure like to try it. Come on over for a jam!

 

[Katastrophe]

The more I look at this guitar, the more features I see in the grain patterns on the body. That mahogany really does look unique! It looks like you got a special Gibby there, man.

 

[MarkHenry]

Very nice Guitar. The finishing is wonderful. I like this six string Guitar very much. Congratulations.

 

[duhvoodooman]

Very nice indeed! :thumbsup

 

[otaypanky]

sweet ~
'reminds me of a model I had years ago called 'The Paul'. I think it was walnut. Except that one wasn't chambered, which I think is a really neat feature. Not only for weight relief but it has a unique sound. Enjoy :AOK

 

[NWBasser]

The neck is described in all the stuff I can find on these (there's some confusion as to what's what in faded finish Studios) as a "'59 profile". It's quite chunky but very nicely shaped. Rounder than the D neck on my J45 and tapers nicely toward the head.

I found the neck profile and worn finish to fit my big hands perfectly. Better than nearly every guitar I've played. I loved the tone too.

Given the chance, I'll nab one these one day!

 

[markb]

The worn finish feels odd at first but after a bit of playing a normal lacquered neck just feels sticky. Hmm, where did I put that steel wool?
What I like most is that the body and cap appear to have been made from one piece of mahogany.

Now I've done the usual little setup items it's playing even better. I thought these were given the Plek treatment at the factory but here's my list:

Raise stop tailpiece. These are always screwed right down on any Gibson style guitar I buy. In this case the strings were fouling on the back of the bridge.
Add relief to neck - about a 1/4 turn to lose a slight buzz on the low strings around the 5th fret. Fixed.
Readjust action for altered neck relief. Lowered a bit on the treble side.
Fine tune pickup heights and polepieces for action adjustments.

 

[Brian Krashpad]

The grain on that'un is really nice.

Congrats!

 

[Kazz]

I have the 2006 version of this same guitar along with a 2008 Limited Colours edition Studio and I prefer the all mahogany studio to the LC in every way. Mine is not bright like yours tho mine has the growl that made me fall in love with Gibson Les Pauls to begin with.

 

[Katastrophe]

Kazz! Good to see you, brother!