Gibson.com: Gibson Les Paul Studio '60s Satin

4/2011: Top species changed from mahogany to maple.

Les Paul Studio ’60s Satin

This robust package, available exclusively at Guitar Center, gives you the stripped-back look of the Les Paul Studio and the dynamic pickup duo that is the 490R and 498T, but with a slim-tapered ’60s neck and a sophisticated monotone palette. The Les Paul Studio ’60s Satin is jet-black down to the details. When building this guitar, our luthiers spared no ebony guitar parts – the pick guard, knobs, jack plate and toggle switch all serve this guitar’s moody exterior. Engineered for comfort and maximum tone, with traditional weight relief and a pair of Gibson’s best-loved humbucking pickups, this guitar is ready to play.

Body

	Species The Les Paul Studio ’60 Satin is comprised of several pieces of the finest mahogany and a solid maple cap, secured together by Franklin Titebond 50 glue, which provides an everlasting bond. The body of this guitar has been designed with maximum tonal resonance in mind.
	Grade The Les Paul Studio ’60s Satin body is Grade C.
	Design The guitar’s interior is treated to Gibson’s traditional 9-hole relief to give you enhanced tone and manageable weight.
	Average Weight The average weight of a Les Paul Studio ’60s Satin body is 5.54 lbs.
	Tonal Characteristics The mahogany body of the Les Paul Studio ’60s Satin cranks out tone that is somewhat soft, but extremely well balanced, with good grind and bite. It has the potential for good depth, with full (though not super-tight) lows, velvety highs and a slightly compressed response. Its maple cap adds snap, sizzle and sustain. And like a number of Gibsons, the Les Paul’s interior has weight relief cavities, which gives you a guitar that is louder acoustically and features increased sustain and resonance.

Finish

	Color This Les Paul Studio ’60s Satin comes in a stunning Satin Ebony finish.
	Surface Texture The Grain Textured Satin Finish not only reduces the sheen of the guitar but also allows you to feel the natural grain of the mahogany.
	Process The Les Paul Studio ’60s Satin gets its finish by hand in a process that demands several coats and many hours. Unlike a lot of our competitors, who settle for a polyurethane finish, Gibson opts for a nitrocellulose finish that will encourage the natural vibration of the instrument for a purer tone. In addition, a nitro finish is very porous and actually gets thinner over time. That way your guitar’s wood can breathe and age beautifully.

Neck and Headstock

	Species The neck of the Les Paul Studio ’60s Satin is constructed from a solid piece of Grade-C mahogany, the hands-down best choice for guitarists who demand a strong but lightweight neck. Before becoming “putty” in the hands of Gibson’s skilled craftsmen, the mahogany is milled and cut to a highly desirable “quarter sawn” wood grain orientation and then kiln dried until it has reached optimum moisture levels.
	Truss Rod Gibson’s traditional truss rod, found in most all of our guitars, is highly responsive to the individual adjustments you’ll want to make to personalize and optimize string action and sustain.
	Grade C-Grade
	Profile This Les Paul Studio ’60s Satin is fitted with Gibson’s classic ’60s neck profile, which is the more modern, slim-tapered neck most commonly associated with the Les Paul and SG models of the early 1960s.
	Joint Angle 5.0°
	Headstock Angle The Les Paul Studio ’60s Satin headstock is carefully angled at a tried-and-true 17 degrees, which increases pressure on the strings and helps them stay in the nut slots. An increase in string pressure also means there is no loss of string vibration between the nut and the tuners, which equals better sustain.
	Logo The Gibson logo — one of the most globally recognized logos of all time — is silkscreened in gold onto the headstock of the Les Paul Studio ’60s Satin.
	Tonal Characteristics The angled, classical-style peg head offers enhanced sustain.
	Average Weight The average weight of the neck on a Les Paul Studio ’60s Satin is .97 lbs.

Neck Fit

	Joint Gibson uses what is known as the Mortise & Tenon joint to bind neck to body so that the two pieces form one solid unit. This time-tested joint style has been used in all the great woodworking arts—from shipbuilding to cabinetry—and has been proven to yield a stronger neck and body than if the instrument was made from a single piece of wood.
	Adhesive The adhesive used to join neck and body on the Les Paul Studio ’60s Satin is Franklin Titebond 50, one of the strongest glues on the market today.
	Tolerance When fitting the neck and body together, we take advantage of our precise measuring equipment so that all angles, pitches and alignments maintain a tolerance within .005 of an inch. Not only does this help to keep your guitar in tune but it also maintains proper string alignment relative to the fingerboard.
	Joint Angle Tolerance 0.0° (+/- 15 seconds)

Fingerboard

	Species The Les Paul Studio ’60s Satin is equipped with a baked maple fingerboard, loved by guitarists the world over for its sustain and bite.
	Radius The 12-inch radius of the Les Paul Studio ’60s Satin fingerboard provides smooth note bending capabilities and eliminates “dead” or “choked out” notes, common occurrences on fingerboards with lesser radiuses.
	Frets The Les Paul Studio ’60s Satin sports 22 frets.
	Inlays The acrylic trapezoid inlays that decorate the fingerboard of this Les Paul Studio ’60s Satin are made of Figured Acrylic, giving these classic inlays the mother-of-pearl look you lust for.
	Tonal Characteristics Baked maple is loved by guitarists the world over for its sustain and bite.

Nut

	Material The nut on the Les Paul Studio ’60s Satin is made from Corian, which is mainly composed of acrylic polymer. It’s a very durable material, delivers enhanced sustain, and holds the tolerances of the precision cuts made by Gibson’s PLEK machine. It is installed into the top surface of the neck, butting up to the end of the fingerboard to ensure proper tone and sustain transfer.
	Width The width of the nut on the Les Paul Studio ’60s Satin is approximately 1.695”.

Pickups

	Model In the neck position, the uncovered 490R uses Alnico II magnets and features pole-piece spacing suitable to the string spread at the neck position. In the bridge position is Gibson’s uncovered 498T “Hot Alnico” pickup, which uses a punchy Alnico V magnet and modified coil windings to provide more oomph for rock lead work.
	Wire Material The wire used in both the neck and bridge pickups is made from copper.
	Coil Material The coil of each pickup is made from ABS plastic, which is hard and durable and can withstand a broad range of temperatures.
	Pole Piece Material The pole pieces inside each pickup are made from either nickel or gold.
	Pole Piece Position From Nut In the neck pickup, the pole pieces are positioned 18 5/8" from the nut, while the pole pieces in the bridge pickup are positioned 23 7/16” from the nut.
	Magnet Position From Nut The Alnico II magnet in the 490R is positioned 19” from the nut, while the magnet in the 498T is positioned 23 1/8” from the nut.
	Tonal Characteristics This combination of pickups gives you the warmth, depth and clarity you’ve come to expect from Gibson’s humbuckers, first introduced in the 1950s.

Electronics

	Volume Controls The Les Paul Studio ’60s Satin features two black Speed volume controls with potentiometers made by CTS. The pots (short for potentiometer) have an ohm reading of 300k, which allows for a smooth variation from soft to loud.
	Tone Controls The Les Paul Studio ’60s Satin features two black Speed tone control knobs with a potentiometer made by CTS. The pot has an ohm reading of 500k, which is the highest value for a panel pot, and provides a very smooth transition between highs and lows.
	Toggle Switch The Les Paul Studio ’60s Satin features one three-way toggle switch made of stainless steel and adorned with a black cap and a black washer. This switch acts as the instrument’s pickup selector. In the down position, only the bridge pickup is active. In the middle position, both pickups are active. In the up position, only the neck pickup is active.
	Output Jack The Les Paul Studio ’60s Satin features a 1⁄4” output jack made by Switchcraft. Its super heavy-duty construction holds your guitar cable securely in place. The jack is accented with a plastic black jack plate.

Hardware

	Tuning Keys The headstock of the Les Paul Studio ’60s Satin is equipped with Vintage tuning keys with pearloid buttons.
	Bridge In 1954, Gibson rocked the world when it debuted the tune-o-matic bridge, setting a standard for simplicity and functionality that has never been bettered. Included on the Les Paul Studio ’60s Satin, the Tune-o-matic provides a firm seating for the strings, allowing the player to adjust and fine-tune the intonation and string height in a matter of minutes. It also yields a great union between the strings and body, which results in excellent tone and sustain. The bridge on this Les Paul Studio ’60s Satin is made from Zamak then plated with Chrome, and each one weighs approximately .11 lbs.
	Tailpiece Every Tune-o-matic bridge is combined with a separate “stopbar” tailpiece, which is essentially a modified version of the earlier wraparound bridge that’s designed to further enhance the connection between the strings and the body. The stopbar tailpiece on this Les Paul Studio ’60s Satin is made from Zamak then plated with Chrome, and each one weighs approximately .24lbs.
	Strap Buttons This Les Paul Studio ’60s Satin’s aluminum strap buttons are the same style and design that Gibson has used since the early 1950s.

Plastics

	Pick Guard The Les Paul Studio ’60s Satin is fastened with a black plastic pick guard with the same classic measurements that have been designed to protect and accentuate Les Pauls for years.
	Truss Rod Cover As with most Gibson guitars, the truss rod cover on the Les Paul Studio ’60s Satin is made from vinyl plastic, and is shaped like an antique bell. The truss rod on this guitar is engraved with the word ‘Studio.’
	Control Knobs The control knobs on the Les Paul Studio ’60s Satin are Gibson’s Black Speed knobs, found on many vintage and modern Gibson guitars.
	Pickup Trim Rings The pickup trim rings on the Les Paul Studio ’60s Satin are made of black ABS plastic.

Strings

Gauge
The Les Paul Studio ’60s Satin is fitted with genuine Gibson strings, sizes .010 - .046.

Accessories

Gig Bag
Each Les Paul Studio ’60s Satin comes with a deluxe gig bag that features the classic Gibson logo silkscreened on the front, and plush lining on the inside to protect the guitar.

Les Paul Studio ’60s Satin

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