On September 17, Gibson announced the new Les Paul Studio, giving it the grandiose name “The One.” In their own words, this classic “has been reimagined and is better and more versatile than ever.” I was excited to see all the new stuff we would get. But after taking a closer look, I had a really hard time finding anything new about it.
One of the things they focused on the announcement was the “Ultra Modern weight-relieved mahogany body with a carved, plain maple cap“. I thought that was nice. After all, a mahogany Les Paul body is usually fairly heavy, much heavier than I’d like.
However, after taking a look at the previous specs… they also had weight relief. Maybe the new relief is more “relieving” than before? That would be unclear, as Gibson’s description ends right there.
However, this wasn’t all. Another thing they put a lot of emphasis on was the SlimTaper neck and the push/pull coil-split volume controls. Well, guess what? Those were also in the previous version.
So, after all, what are the actual upgrades? The only thing I see is that they swapped the Gibson 498T and 490R for BurstBucker Pros. Also, there’s a new binding on the neck… oh wait, as I’m looking at the older pictures, that was also there.
Sadly, it doesn’t stop there. Other things they mention that make this “new” guitar “The One” are a gig bag (they came with a bag already; they are $1000+ guitars, after all) and a nitrocellulose finish (this is the one they have used since 2016, at least).
Well, I forgot to mention they do come in new color finishes, specifically the Cherry Sunburst and Blueberry Burst. They look slick, and honestly, it should have been their emphasis for this campaign.
In the end, it comes down to just two upgrades: new pickups and color finishes.
Don’t get me wrong. These guitars look really nice, and I’m sure many people will love them, as they seem to be fine instruments. However, let’s cut down on the overselling and marketing yapping a bit. It’s okay to just say there are a few new really cool finishes paired with better, upgraded pickups.
I’m sure everyone and their grandmas would still buy one, Gibson.
