Les paul Tribute T info...

Exorcist

£600 is still a LOT of money in my book, send it back if you can. 

Musicman20

I've seen expensive 335s in custom colours with extremely poor QC....much worse than you mention above. 

Musicman20

PhilM said:

Received my Honeyburst Tribute T the other day. A few things I've noticed on mine:

• Its not really a burst finish, the outer is only just darker
• The "faux binding" hasn't been masked off. The effect comes from the honey stain on the maple top being lighter than the stain on the body material
• I have a couple of high frets - which I am confused about because I was under the impression these guitars were Pleked
• The nut looks messy
• There are superglue stains on the fretboard
• Oiling the fretboard seemed to pull a load of black dye off. Probably normal for rosewood these days
• The pots are inconsistent in feel

I had another one on order with another retailer for almost 3 months, until I found a retailer with 3 in stock. My example is one of the £599 ones. I noticed this morning that the retailer I got this one from has them back at £799 again. 

Am I being too fussy for a £600 guitar? Nothing on the list is an issue, or un-resolvable but, based on other people's reviews, I'm wondering if I have a "Friday Afternoon" guitar. Or - has there been a whole batch made quicker/cheaper (minus the Pleking/binding masking/QC)? Is this the reason for the price yo-yoing from £799-£599-£799?

I don't think my pots are perfect but they work well. I haven't oiled my board but I bet it would be the same. However nothing has come off on my hands.

No issues with frets, nut or stains. In fact the fret job is super smooth. It stays in tune well.

The burst finish and faux binding is probably the same on all. 

PhilM

Pickguard off and in the sun - things aren't looking so bad   



Had a bit of free time to set up and play and it plays well. Suspect the nut is cut a little high, and the high frets mean things are a little buzzy between frets 1-4  but only when digging in hard.

• Its not really a burst finish, the outer is only just darker - Non-issue, just wasn't quite what I was expecting
• The "faux binding" hasn't been masked off. The effect comes from the honey stain on the maple top being lighter than the stain on the body material - As above
• I have a couple of high frets - which I am confused about because I was under the impression these guitars were Pleked - Fixable by the Luthier I use. 
• The nut looks messy - Fixed when aforementioned Luthier replaces the nut with a bone one
• There are superglue stains on the fretboard - Scraped the worst off with a blade. Just left with some residue in the wood pores. Would acetone work here? Its not on an inlaid fret and obviously no binding to worry about.
• Oiling the fretboard seemed to pull a load of black dye off. Probably normal for rosewood these days - The black dye seemed to be covering up the glue stains. Fretboard has responded nicely to another oiling.
• The pots are inconsistent in feel - replacing pots is easy enough.

Also spotted this, although it'll be an easy fix

With my pragmatic head on - I've paid £599 for something that should be £799 (I'd love to get to the bottom of why). Great pieces of wood, decent quality hardware and pickups. Tuners feel great. Oh, and the name on the headstock 

The rest is fixable/replaceable. Should it be the case? At £799 yes, but maybe not so much at £599 all things considered.

Is it better than my 2014 Epi Trad Pro? Erm, that a tough one to answer.

PhilM

The burst is almost unnoticeable indoors 

darthed1981

Is it better than my 2014 Epi Trad Pro? Erm, that a tough one to answer.

I find this comparison really interesting, and I often make it between my own 2016 Gibson Faded Studio in Satin and my Epiphone Les Paul Custom Pro.

I'm very fond of both guitars, the first bought after playing it as a lovely musical instrument, the second bought later as I've always craved a white LP custom as I'm a big Manic Street Preachers fan, and my budget will certainly not stretch to a Gibbon LP Custom.

Both sound great, both play great, though the neck on the Gibson feels nicer as it has a satin finish and a nice C shape. 

Overall, the Gibson is better, but there is literally nothing wrong with the Epiphone at all, the amount of slagging Epis get absolutely amazes me.  I've never played a bad one.

PhilM

darthed1981 said:

Is it better than my 2014 Epi Trad Pro? Erm, that a tough one to answer.

I find this comparison really interesting, and I often make it between my own 2016 Gibson Faded Studio in Satin and my Epiphone Les Paul Custom Pro.

I'm very fond of both guitars, the first bought after playing it as a lovely musical instrument, the second bought later as I've always craved a white LP custom as I'm a big Manic Street Preachers fan, and my budget will certainly not stretch to a Gibbon LP Custom.

Both sound great, both play great, though the neck on the Gibson feels nicer as it has a satin finish and a nice C shape. 

Overall, the Gibson is better, but there is literally nothing wrong with the Epiphone at all, the amount of slagging Epis get absolutely amazes me.  I've never played a bad one.

There's not really much in it I guess, but I've always suspected this particular Epiphone is a pretty good example of what the factory can produce - probably better than a lot of 2014 Gibsons. Certainly didn't need much work other than a new nut and a setup. QC is spot on, although the book-matched centreline in the paper-thin flamed top runs under the G string, not up the centreline of the body, but that's purely cosmetic. Its also made of Asian mahogany - no maple cap.

The Gibson wins on feel, but it cost twice what the Epiphone did!

The original plan was for the Gibson to replace the Epiphone and the PRS 245 but I've got a feeling I might keep the Epiphone and stick some bucker-sized P90s in it.

darthed1981

The original plan was for the Gibson to replace the Epiphone and the PRS 245 but I've got a feeling I might keep the Epiphone and stick some bucker-sized P90s in it.

I've got five guitars with buckers in so have often considered switching one for P94s. If you locate a good affordable variety of P94s let me know!

Lev

How does the tribute compare to the PRS Singlecut SE? 

Jez6345789

I keep looking for one of these but find every site advertising them has them to order nothing to buy
anybody have any links where you can but one. 

cheers

tony99

Jez6345789 said:

I keep looking for one of these but find every site advertising them has them to order nothing to buy
anybody have any links where you can but one. 

cheers

they keep coming up in small batches, someone on here is selling his though, is it @ellwood ?

PhilM

Tricky question really - I don't view the 245 as a "Les Paul copy", more like a model in its own right. It feels too light and the finish too plastic for my taste in singlecuts. Shorter scale too, so playing requires care to not over bend. However, both PRS guitars are very easy to play. I prefer guitars you have to fight a little to get the best out of. The 245 will be up for sale shortly. It gets the least playtime out of the collection.

Fortheloveofguitar

Jez6345789 said:

I keep looking for one of these but find every site advertising them has them to order nothing to buy
anybody have any links where you can but one. 

cheers

GAK and GG had gold tops back in. Not sure about honeyburst 

PhilM

An update for you a week further down the line.

I have negotiated a refund to the value of the shop having it collected, inspected/reworked and sent back to me so I can have the work done locally. Happy with this - seemed the sensible choice given the lack of availability of these guitars currently, and no idea of an ETA of any more. I spent some more time setting it up to avoid the buzzing caused by the frets and took it to band practice Thursday night. Absolutely amazing guitar, couldn't put it down. Can't stop smelling it either...

This morning I swapped the A2 magnet in the 490R for an A5 and that has made all the difference to the muddy (to my ears) neck pickup without having to change the EQ on the amp. I have a few pics of the procedure if anyone is interested in doing the same.

In short, despite having to deal with a few QC issues myself, its a keeper. 

groovie

Musicman20 said:

So I've decided to keep mine. I'm looking at a hardcase, and it doesn't have to be a Gibson case.

Anyone used a Gator case like this before?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0006GRRQI/ref=ox_sc_act_title_8?smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&psc=1

Mine was s/h with this case - most people love the case more than the guitar when I open it. There's the fancy bit that covers the guitar top and the case is a little snug but good all round.
Great guitar for the money.

fandango

Musicman20 said:

So I've decided to keep mine. I'm looking at a hardcase, and it doesn't have to be a Gibson case.

Anyone used a Gator case like this before?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0006GRRQI/ref=ox_sc_act_title_8?smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&psc=1

@Musicman20  .... have you considered a Hiscox case?

Musicman20

fandango said:

Musicman20 said:

So I've decided to keep mine. I'm looking at a hardcase, and it doesn't have to be a Gibson case.

Anyone used a Gator case like this before?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0006GRRQI/ref=ox_sc_act_title_8?smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&psc=1

@Musicman20  .... have you considered a Hiscox case?

Thanks yes I definitely am! 

TomL

I have a 2016 50s Tribute T - excellent guitar. I couldn't be happier with it. It has a bit of a basic/stripped back look without the binding, but it still looks great. The set up is basic too - no coil tapping etc. In terms of sound and feel it's all there. The satin finish is silky smooth. It feels 'proper'. It has a lovely crisp clear sound, and it feels like the guitar just soaks in the tones.

Its one of 3 Les Pauls I have - the other 2 are Epis (one of which is a '56 Goldtop which I won't compare as it has P90s rather than humbuckers).

I've upgraded my Epi Custom Pro so it now has CTS pots, Orange Drop caps, a Bone nut and Seymour Duncan Jazz (neck) and JB (bridge) pickups. It sounds SUPERB! It's a keeper. In terms of how it sounds - I think it stacks up against a lot of Gibsons. But it doesn't feel as good. It still feels a bit clunky and plasticy (due to its poly finish) compared to the Tribute.
Although there's nothing at all wrong with the quality of Epiphones. I have several Epi models. I'm a big Epi fan.

Cost wise - considering the upgrades I made to the Epi, there's not much in it.

If you're going solely on price - go for a stock Epi (Custom or Standard). Great guitar that looks, sounds and plays great - just not as good a Tribute.

If its sound that matters either the Tribute or buy an Epi and mod/upgrade it. No need to mod the former, but the latter option offers more choice.

If it's about the name on the headstock - go for the Tribute. (For me as much as I love my Epis, the desire for a Les Paul with Gibson on the headstock kept gnawing away at me - the Tribute was an affordable way for me to resolve that - I wasn't going down the Chinese knockoff route!)

If it's about looks/bling - Epiphone

If it's about how it feels - Tribute

There's no right or wrong answer.

Musicman20

There seem to have gone back up in price....a little anyway.

Fortheloveofguitar

Musicman20 said:

There seem to have gone back up in price....a little anyway.

Yes you're right. GAK still at £599 for both finishes. Most others now asking £679