[hbg]

If you look at used guitars, you can find Studio models with the same pickup configurations as most of the Standard models. Pickups are also easy to swap out. Different years also have different necks and fretboard widths and such.

From what I've seen, the biggest consistent differences between LP Studio and LP Standard seem to be the binding, the degree of figuring in the maple top, sometimes the finish and the profile of the carve of the maple top.

I gave a 2015 Les Paul Studio as a gift to my sister last year, and it has beautiful finish and figuring. It also came stock with the '57 Classic pickups, and coil splitting. I've been admiring it so much that I had a search in my feed on Reverb for the same model and just picked one up last week. It's really a super guitar, but has some features that people don't like - robot tuners which a prior owner replaced so not an issue, a wider nut than some years, which I like, and a brass adjustable nut which doesn't bother me but some people dislike. Each guitar was well under $1,000, and I've seen other years of Standard models with the same pickups but not coil split priced from the high-1,000s to mid-2,000s so it feels like a good deal. Both guitars have great tone and are comfortable to play.

Sorry to hijack talking about my new guitar, I guess point is that if you look at different years and models there are so many variations at different price points you can easily find a cool guitar to suit your needs and budget. My search resulted in my opinion that the Studios are not significant lesser quality for a hobby player as much as just not quite as decked out aesthetically (and honestly, I don't like the light-colored binding around the body of an electric guitar, and the unbound neck plays just fine for me).