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Gibson Les Paul Studio '60s Tribute £749
Goldtops are like buses! We check out two very different, cost-effective variations on a theme
Chris Vinnicombe (Guitarist), Wed 22 Jun 2011, 11:36 am BST
As we write, the second-biggest brand in the guitar universe finds itself at the mercy of mixed fortunes.
Having survived and rebuilt following the disastrous Nashville floods of May 2010, Gibson's biggest headline-grabber in recent months, the Firebird X, is still awaiting release following more delays as a result of the exploration of "additional functionality".
However, for all the hype surrounding a rare $5,570 'bird, at the other end of the price scale - and with much less fanfare - Gibson has launched some very interesting guitars of late.
Alongside the sub-£500 maple-bodied Melody Maker series that debuted at Frankfurt Musikmesse, comes this pair of affordable Goldtop Les Pauls: the Epiphone Joe Bonamassa Les Paul Goldtop and the Gibson Les Paul Studio '60s tribute.
Epiphone Joe Bonamassa LP Goldtop
"The public have been screaming for a more affordable Gibson Les Paul for a long time now, and this delivers it."
The thinking behind this guitar is straightforward: in this economic climate, few can afford to drop three-and-a-half grand on Bonamassa's aged Gibson Custom signature model.
Sure, it's an absolute beauty, but it's the same price as a serviceable used car...
Back in the real world, your £499 buys a well-appointed Epiphone version with solid spec where it counts. The BurstBucker pickups, genuine Grover tuners, LockTone tune-o-matic bridge and stud tailpiece, straplocks and a pink-lined Epiphone hard case are all welcome improvements to the basic Epiphone Les Paul Standard template.
In addition, the cosmetics have been 'Bonamassa'd': a black-finished back, mixed control knobs plus black plastic pickup surrounds, scratchplate and toggle switch ring. Like the Custom Shop version, these features are all based on the heavily modified '55 Goldtop that came through Joe's father's shop when he was 11 years old.
The black plastic parts won't be everyone's cup of Earl Grey, but we like them, and although the metallic gold hue here isn't '50s-accurate, it's not unappealing.
We have always felt that a dark back offsets a goldtop finish more effectively than the mid-brown hue sported by the Gibson '60s Tribute model also on test. Indeed, enough people agree for Gibson to offer a dark back option on its Custom Shop '57 VOS model.
That said, it wouldn't be unreasonable for the JB Les Paul's high-gloss polyurethane finish and virgin nickel hardware to carry a 'sunglasses required' disclaimer. Next to the worn satin Gibson Studio model it almost looks and feels like a guitar encased in plastic, albeit a very resonant one.
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User comments (1)
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I was just getting a few sets of strings in my local guitar shop when i noticed a 60s tribute goldtop in the display. I remembered reading the Guitarist review which was generally positive but not overwhelmingly enthusiastic - 4 stars and some issues as mentioned in this article. The shop owner told me his distributor told him about these things and his response was that it must be pretty low quality to have a price tag of 699 euro. I don't know if his distributor was trying to get him to stock more of them but this example is almost flawless. No tooling marks/scuffing, fretwork immaculate, well cut nut (PLEK'd i believe), the satin nitro finish is somewhat smoother than my brother in law's SG faded, in fact the only 'flaw' I could find was the control cavity plastic covers do not fit perfectly. Action as supplied is medium with perfect (for my taste) neck relief. I bought it because it is very well made and sounds absolutely sublime but on close examination at home the most surprising thing is that the body is a single piece of mahogany - after reading up on this model on a few of the usual types of forums this seems to be very unusual for the tributes, but not unheard of.
I compared it directly to my 6year old epi LP classic (150 euro price difference) - the gibson just kills it. The Gibson feels more 'alive' - possibly due to the chambering but I suspect it is more to do with the higher quality woods and lack of polyester 'coffin' finish, it has superior string to string balance - the epi seems subdued on the lower strings and less resonant on the higher, and has that unmistakable gibson 'feel' - powerful, positive but malleable. The epiphone feels somehow muffled, squidgy, unfocussed when unplugged - I struggle to put it into words! I am not down on epiphone - I have 4 of them and generally really like them, my favourite being the 66 wilshire reissue (no poly finish...) but the Gibson tribute is superior to all of them in feel and sound.
I have had bad gibsons too, mail order jobs that left me decidedly underwhelmed with shocking QC issues such as poorly cut nuts/bridges and other finishing problems.
My advice to any prospective buyers of the tribute is play before you play. Gibson it seems has always had a reputation for shipping out shoddy sub par instruments - there are numerous horror stories out there, but it also ships some serious 'player' class instruments - this one spoke to me when I took a palmful of her sweet neck and I just had to take her home, one of those times when an impulse buy turns out to be a weirdly serendipidous event!
5 stars in every category - pure gold!
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MusicRadar rating
Pros
Brilliant raunchy vibe thanks to the satin nitro finish and P-90s. Extremely cool looks. Well-priced for a USA Gibson.
Cons
Limited edition. Slightly scruffy finishing. Some may prefer the fatter neck of the '50s version.
Verdict
If you've never owned a P-90-loaded Les Paul then this is the perfect guitar to fill the void. Be warned: you might just fall in love!
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User rating
Where to buy
Buy product from Andertons Music Company
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Specification
Les Paul Studio '60s Tribute
- Price:
- £749
- Includes Bag:
- true
- Scale Length (Inches) (Inches):
- 24.75
- No. of Frets:
- 22
- Case Included:
- false
- Hardware:
- Nickel-plated Nashville-style tune-o-matic bridge and stud tailpiece, vintage-style tuners with pearloid buttons
- Country of Origin:
- USA
- String Spacing (mm):
- 52
- Weight (lb) (lb):
- 8.1
- Neck Material:
- Mahogany
- Left Handed Model Available:
- false
- Pickups:
- 2 x P-90-style single-coils
- Nut:
- Synthetic, 43mm
- Fingerboard Radius:
- 305mm (12-inch)
- Scale Length (mm) (mm):
- 629
- Inlays:
- Trapezoid
- Weight (kg) (kg):
- 3.6
- Fingerboard Material:
- Rosewood
- Pickup Switching:
- three-way toggle pickup selector switch, individual volume and tones for each pickup
- Body Style:
- Single-cutaway solidbody electric
- Available Finish:
- Worn gold, worn ebony, worn heritage cherry sunburst, worn honeyburst, worn white
dadgad
37 weeks ago.
User rating 5 of 5