Talentless Hack
Suffers From OCADHDD
I'm a Strat / super-strat type of guy.
For whatever reason, I found myself in the music shop today checking out an Epiphone Les Paul Custom. I am not going to lie, the thing was just awful. Action so high that when bending a string, the fingernail would go under the next string. The stings themselves were probably picked from Slash's garbage during his GnR days. Fretboard dried out. The usual years of neglect from hanging in a guitar store. All these things could have been fixed with about an hour but the Made in China stamp on the back of the headstock had me asking myself if the fretboard cleaner, strings and time was just going to delay the inevitable of it being returned to the store because it is just not worth it. Tried a couple more Epiphones based on looks and price tag. Pretty much the same conclusion as the first one: If I wipe off all the dust, fingerprints and grime, will it just fall apart?
I was about to leave the store because the LP urge was completely gone but in the middle of all the same looking sunburst guitars, there was a solid maroon one sticking out like a sore thumb. I figured since I already have wasted enough of my time, caught a social disease and was headed to the hospital for a tetanus shot, I might as well not even bother looking at the name or price tag before grabbing it. The dust, finger prints, grime and lack of care was no different than anything else I have tried but something was different. It was almost like I had done the setup on it myself but better. Playing past the 15th fret was a hassle but it didn't leave me dreaming of the time I was having a root canal like the other LPs in the past did.
I looked at the headstock and saw the Gibson name on it. Well that explains it, I don't see myself paying huge money when for the same amount I could get at least 2 or 3 upper ranged Ibanez super-strats. So as I was putting the guitar back, the price caught my eye and I had to stop what I was doing and take a closer look at it. Were my eyes playing tricks on me? This cost about $300 more than the highest priced Epiphone. Oh, this must be made in Korea or Indonesia then because I don't have to sell my kidneys on the black market to afford one. Nope, made in the USA stamped on the back of the headstock. Puzzled, I look at the name on the truss rod cover, it said Studio. I look and find another one with the same Studio name on it thinking I just got lucky but other than the color and the amount of teenager Cheetos finger grime on it, there was no difference. Well that is odd. How does it stack up next to something that cost twice as much then? I find a Standard and the biggest difference I see is this one has binding and the Studio doesn't. Bling, that is only the beginning of the differences right? Nope. Played exactly the same to the point if I was wearing a blind fold, I wouldn't be able to tell the difference.
I ask the sales person to write down the information of the red guitar along with the price and his name in case I decided to pull the trigger. Put the card in my pocket without even looking, thank him and away I went. Later when I got home and looked at the card, it said Gibson Les Paul Studio 2008 with the price below it. 2008? What the hell does that suppose to mean? The date stamp said 2010. After a quick google search, I guess that Gibson made a bunch of changes in 2008 and again in 2012. The price difference isn't really there meaning that they cost practically the same.
What should I be looking for when comparing the 2008 models with the 2012 models? Is there anything fundamentally wrong with the Studio to the point where it would be worth paying twice as much for a Standard? Is there anything else I should be looking for that are not obvious to someone who is not familiar with LPs?
For whatever reason, I found myself in the music shop today checking out an Epiphone Les Paul Custom. I am not going to lie, the thing was just awful. Action so high that when bending a string, the fingernail would go under the next string. The stings themselves were probably picked from Slash's garbage during his GnR days. Fretboard dried out. The usual years of neglect from hanging in a guitar store. All these things could have been fixed with about an hour but the Made in China stamp on the back of the headstock had me asking myself if the fretboard cleaner, strings and time was just going to delay the inevitable of it being returned to the store because it is just not worth it. Tried a couple more Epiphones based on looks and price tag. Pretty much the same conclusion as the first one: If I wipe off all the dust, fingerprints and grime, will it just fall apart?
I was about to leave the store because the LP urge was completely gone but in the middle of all the same looking sunburst guitars, there was a solid maroon one sticking out like a sore thumb. I figured since I already have wasted enough of my time, caught a social disease and was headed to the hospital for a tetanus shot, I might as well not even bother looking at the name or price tag before grabbing it. The dust, finger prints, grime and lack of care was no different than anything else I have tried but something was different. It was almost like I had done the setup on it myself but better. Playing past the 15th fret was a hassle but it didn't leave me dreaming of the time I was having a root canal like the other LPs in the past did.
I looked at the headstock and saw the Gibson name on it. Well that explains it, I don't see myself paying huge money when for the same amount I could get at least 2 or 3 upper ranged Ibanez super-strats. So as I was putting the guitar back, the price caught my eye and I had to stop what I was doing and take a closer look at it. Were my eyes playing tricks on me? This cost about $300 more than the highest priced Epiphone. Oh, this must be made in Korea or Indonesia then because I don't have to sell my kidneys on the black market to afford one. Nope, made in the USA stamped on the back of the headstock. Puzzled, I look at the name on the truss rod cover, it said Studio. I look and find another one with the same Studio name on it thinking I just got lucky but other than the color and the amount of teenager Cheetos finger grime on it, there was no difference. Well that is odd. How does it stack up next to something that cost twice as much then? I find a Standard and the biggest difference I see is this one has binding and the Studio doesn't. Bling, that is only the beginning of the differences right? Nope. Played exactly the same to the point if I was wearing a blind fold, I wouldn't be able to tell the difference.
I ask the sales person to write down the information of the red guitar along with the price and his name in case I decided to pull the trigger. Put the card in my pocket without even looking, thank him and away I went. Later when I got home and looked at the card, it said Gibson Les Paul Studio 2008 with the price below it. 2008? What the hell does that suppose to mean? The date stamp said 2010. After a quick google search, I guess that Gibson made a bunch of changes in 2008 and again in 2012. The price difference isn't really there meaning that they cost practically the same.
What should I be looking for when comparing the 2008 models with the 2012 models? Is there anything fundamentally wrong with the Studio to the point where it would be worth paying twice as much for a Standard? Is there anything else I should be looking for that are not obvious to someone who is not familiar with LPs?
