Epiphone Les Paul Tribute Plus Electric Guitar Midnight Ebony

Comments about Epiphone Les Paul Tribute Plus Electric Guitar:

The action came very low. So low that any lower and you may get fret buzz. That means you may get some fret buzz with certain setups, like using flaccid 9's strings or certain types of string material. Perhaps nickle strings, I'm not sure. I'm using bronze strings which are stiffer and I'm currently getting no fret buzz. Just be prepared to raise the bridge a bit if necessary.

These '57 pickups are amazing. Raunchy lows and bright mids/highs. The EXACT same sound as the Gibson LP Traditional. The only difference is the push/pull pot location. On the Gibson, the top knobs push/pull. On the Epi, it's the lower knobs. I adjusted the pickup height so that they're closer to the strings. That gave it more detailed tone and slightly higher volume.

The frets came quite dull from the factory. I had to polish them with ultra fine sand paper (1500 grit, with water) slightly to get them smooth. Now they play very well.

These stay in tune better than the Gibson's, because the nut is plastic (low friction). The Gibson nuts are bone, which grip the strings after bends. My Gibson LP Standard Premium (3.4k) goes out of tune ALL THE TIME!!! I end up playing this Epiphone since it's nearly ALWAYS in tune.

The maple top has lots of flame to it, but it doesn't look as nice as the Gibson. Gibsons have a slight 3D effect to them, and it has to do with how the wood is stained (more labor intensive, which adds to the cost).

The Epi's have a different shape neck: less rounded on the edges, more rectangular and less C-shaped. The carved maple top plateaus on top (flatter on top, less rounded), and this doesn't matter on any level. It's just a difference in design.

I absolutely hate these particular Grover locking tuners. You have to use a flathead screw driver to release the string lock. It took me a while to figure out how to string the strings, and the locking mechanism'd cut through the strings the first few times. Be sure to practice with ample string length, because you may end up with too short a string to use.

Comments about Epiphone Les Paul Tribute Plus Electric Guitar:

I bought this guitar and a Gibson LP standard. This Epi tribute performs very similar at a fraction of the price. It has unbelievable sustain and is great for a wide variety of styles. I would recommend anyone on a budget to check out this guitar. You won't be disappointed.

Comments about Epiphone Les Paul Tribute Plus Electric Guitar:

This guitar is great to look at and stays in tune very well even with heavy bending, my complaint is the action is a quarter inch high off of the frets when shipped , when you lower the action to a playable level it has fret buzz very bad , so bad it has become a piece of eye candy! Will be saving for a Gibson !

Comments about Epiphone Les Paul Tribute Plus Electric Guitar:

I was very much looking forward to playing this guitar after reading various sites online reviews. I received the guitar in the mail and the packaging looked fine, as did the git and the case. The only blemmish on the guitar was the natural wood finish shown ever so slightly through the saphire finish (just below the pickups.)

After tuning the guitar I started playing. I noticed something wasn't quite right when I started playing it (higher up on the frets: 5-9). After picking each note along the fret board, I noticed a pattern. On the 6th, 5th and 2nd strings, there were intonation issues where the note had added vibrato. The pulsating became worse as I moved to the highter frets. Frets 4-12 on the 6th and 5th strings all had a vibrato issue making chords sound muddy with any gain added. The 2nd string had a similar issue, but it was only affected from frets 7-12. And with those three strings, once I moved to notes above the 12th fret, the sound became clear again. All of the other strings (while fretted) sounded fine. Even just playing chords between frets 1-3 (Mel Bay chords) sounded great. However once I moved up to the higher frets, the vibrato sound started (again only the 6th, 5th and 2nd strings were affected.) If the strings were in sync with the vibrato, it might have sounded cool, but since they were not, it really sounded horrible. I spoke to a couple guitar techs for their opinion, and as much as they wanted to take my money, they suggested I send this guitar back. So with that, I mailed it back and I am awaiting an exchange. I hope the new guitar doesn't have this same issue. For now, I have given this guitar two stars. I will update this review once I receive the replacement, and had time to check it out.

Comments about Epiphone Les Paul Tribute Plus Electric Guitar:

This guitar arrived with no flaws. It really is a beautiful guitar. Other than a string change (for me) it's good to go. Sounds good through an inexpensive mustang 1 and really shines through a tube amp. The case is pretty decent. I don't trust the strap locks. Overall I am very satisfied.

Comments about Epiphone Les Paul Tribute Plus Electric Guitar:

Just as described (used, one small nick by binding close to jack plate). Otherwise, immaculate. Although made in China, I do not see how the craftmanship could be any better. Maple cap, AAA flame veneer top, unchambered body, Gibson 57 Classic pickups. Looks great, sounds great, plays great, set up perfectly.

Comments about Epiphone Les Paul Tribute Plus Electric Guitar:

I owned gibson les pauls and fender strats and this tribute plus is awesome in every since of the word and i will never let this guitar go for any reason so till death do we part only.

Musician's friend is my only music store and i'm totally pleased with my order and customer service with this store. Thank you and keep on playing.

Comments about Epiphone Les Paul Tribute Plus Electric Guitar:

I've played about a dozen Les Paul guitars in over fifty years of playing and this one fits in with the best of them. The neck feels right and the setup from the factory was right which was surprising. The intonation and action were right on and all I did was change the strings to my favorite set. The reason I chose this one was the total package that was included. Gibson Classic 57s, split coils, locking Grover tuners, a hard shell case, strap locks, and a great looking finish. I could not find a flaw in the finish anywhere. The only questionable thing about the guitar was a film of something black that stained my fingers when I played it. I thought at first it was just the strings but after changing them and seeing the same thing I found that the black stain was coming from the fret board itself. I was able to wipe it off with a clean soft cloth with a lot of rubbing and now it is clean. Still don't know what that was all about. The actual tone and versatility of the guitar with the Gibson pickups and the coil splitting capability are a great feature to make this guitar everything a Les Paul should be. I've got three other Epiphone guitars and this one is in the running for first place among the others....although I think its a close race. I would highly recommend this Les Paul model to anyone wanting a Les Paul guitar. If this is what Epiphone calls a tribute to Les Paul they are paying him a nice compliment.

Comments about Epiphone Les Paul Tribute Plus Electric Guitar:

quality was better than expected.

Comments about Epiphone Les Paul Tribute Plus Electric Guitar:

A beautiful guitar! Love the quilt top, plays very well. always been a Fender man, but definately get those rock sounds you can't get with a strat.