So I'm gonna make my first real post about my currently sought after guitar, the Gibson Les Paul Studio Worn Cherry. I love this guitar, I've had many discussions about it with a close friend of mine, who can't understand my addiction, he thinks I'm an idiot for not going with a gold top or something just as flashy. I think that's what I love about this guitar in worn cherry, it's not flashy. Being a studio, it's not flashy in the slightest. The studio, for those of you who don't know is Gibsons stripped down version of the original Les Paul Standard. Now, I'm not earning nearly enough to consider getting a Standard, but the studio however is on the line, which always leaves me thinking about it, but never buying it. It's within reason at around £670, but also maybe slightly too far, when I consider what else I can do with £670, and the grief I'll get for buying one when I already own an Ibanez S Series, the S470.
"You only need one guitar" - the saying that's probably true, yet for 99% of guitarists just can't be accepted, as soon as we get a new guitar that we've wanted for ages, a month later, we're thinking about the next one we can get our hands on, right guys? Well then you know my pain, I've been playing my S for about 6 months now, not that long really, but you can see where my desire is coming from, maybe the S fails to humble my appetite, I often wonder if it was the right guitar to pick. At the time, it was the only guitar in my mind, I loved how thin it was, and how innovative it was with the ZR bridge, and all the other bits of technology. When you've been playing a stratocaster for a year, you really want to upgrade to something that rather than being basic, is right up the other end of the scale. Rather than a tremolo that only goes one way, you start having these desires for a floating trem, you've seen Satch play Crushing day, and you know even though you're not good enough to play that song, you at least want to be able to try it day in day out, as if you've suddenly unlocked your inner potential, and you'll wake up the next morning with Malmsteen's Fingers (That kinda sounds like a disease or illness). But I finally got the S, and I had the floating trem, the locking nuts, the Humbucker, Single, Humbucker pickup combo, with the 5-way selector, all these great things, all the variety, and it was then I realised, I don't need this stuff, I need a guitar that just sounds great, that has the tone and the sustain, so what better than a Les Paul? Well, there is nothing with better sustain, that's for sure. That beautiful mahogany body, that doesn't create the sound and tone, it sings it. It's like attaching Pavarotti to a guitar neck.
Back to the flashiness, the worn cherry is the only colour I want the guitar in, it just looks great, it looks like the craftsman who designed it bled for the creation of this fine looking guitar. The great thing about my desire for the worn cherry is that this is also the cheapest of the Les Paul Studio range, it retails over here in the UK at about £670. You're no doubt getting a lot of guitar for your money with this one, and so I really want to get my hands on one, my own one. Fancy sponsoring me or donating to make this dream a reality? Aha, I'm joking of course, half of getting a guitar is working for it, makes it more special when you finally get it, even if I am 50 years old by the time I get it, presuming the swine flu doesn't get me before then of course.
This desire has brought me agony over the past week, I can inform you. I've mentioned the retail on these things being £670 over here, well then imagine my pain when one goes for under £400 on eBay, and I just don't have the money at this very time to make it mine. I really need to make some more cash, so next time that sort of opportunity pops up, I can capitalise.
I guess I'll finish this article by asking for any opinions, what do you think of this guitar, or the whole Studio series of Gibsons? If you play one, I'd love to hear your opinion on it, please leave a comment or contact me. :)
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I read only part of your blog, but I think I can say "I feel your pain." I purchased a worn Brown SG, and after I got it, I thought it was the best guitar I ever owned. The "worn" series by Gibson is not just a great marketing method, it's also a must-have series in their line of guitars. The reason I say this is that the worn guitars breathe: you can feel them resonate like no other Gibsons. I intend to purchase a worn Cherry Les Paul for my brother, who can afford nothing, and who, when he receives it and plays it, will discover that he loves it. These guitars come alive when you play them. The lack of a hard finish on the guitars lets them breathe, and you feel their life as you play them. Highly recommended. I also own a satin black Flying V, and it breathes like the worn guitars. I understand why you'd like one, and I think if you get it, you will absolutely love it. Good luck, rock out, blues onward, and wail forever! --RZ, NJ, US
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