Page 106 - Guitar Classics Magazine - The Les Paul Bible 2019

REVIEWS

ABOVE The Les Paul Tribute of the Tribute’s plain grain. Strap buttons revert to then we’d recommend asking if the scratchplate can
in Satin Tobacco Burst is daintier, vintage-style units, but it’s a straightforward be fitted at the point of sale. It’s somewhat easier to
weight relieved and features mod if you prefer something more secure. With no fit the Tribute model’s absent ‘poker chip’ pickup-
a maple neck
weight relief and a one-piece mahogany back, it’s a selector surround, which also ships in the case.
heavier guitar, but not excessively so, and at a shade
OPPOSITE TOP The Tribute’s
controls are PCB-mounted to under 9lb, it’s lighter than many 50s instruments and IN USE
reduce assembly costs balances well, whether seated or standing. Although both of our review guitars have shipped
The rosewood ’board is a darker and more without their screw-coil polepiece heights being
OPPOSITE BOTTOM Vintage- attractive slab than the Tribute’s lighter, purple- optimised and have slightly sharp edges at the nut,
style machineheads with streaked ’board. The neck is a short-tenon the basics are otherwise all present and correct. The
keystone buttons adorn the quartersawn mahogany affair, while the revised frets have been installed neatly and the ends are
headstocks of both models
fingerboard binding – still with a slightly tangerine nicely rounded on the Tribute’s unbound fingerboard,
hue, but slimmed down dramatically for more of a while the thin satin lacquer on the back of the neck
1950s appearance – means that the nibs are smaller provides a very smooth ride.
and less intrusive for players with a wide vibrato. Every Gibson USA model’s frets are levelled and
The Standard’s figured top impresses at this dressed by a Plek machine and even when we test the
price point, with the centre-joined flame maple Plek machine’s capabilities with some extreme bends
shimmering under lights and much like an old LP, in high registers, there’s no choking or fretting out to
it can look almost plain from some angles and erupt be found.
from others. The Tribute’s rounded C profile is slim but
In order to show off as much of that flame as hugely playable and doesn’t paint you into any
possible, our review model comes without its stylistic corners. The maple neck and ‘ultra modern’
pickguard fitted, but it ships with one in the case weight relief translate into an airy and enthusiastic
should you prefer the ‘guard on’ look. If drilling performance that’s really appealing and although it
holes in a pristine new instrument is intimidating, lacks some of the midrange power of a solid-bodied,

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