The Guitar Magazine – September 2019

streaked ’board. The neck is a short-tenon
quartersawn mahogany affair, while the revised
fingerboard binding – still with a slightly tangerine
hue, but slimmed down dramatically for more of a
1950s appearance – means that the nibs are smaller
and less intrusive for players with a wide vibrato.
The Standard’s figured top impresses at this
price point, with the centre-joined flame maple
shimmering under lights and much like an old LP,
it can look almost plain from some angles and erupt
from others.
In order to show off as much of that flame as
possible, our review model comes without its
pickguard fitted, but it ships with one in the case
should you prefer the ‘guard on’ look. If drilling
holes in a pristine new instrument is intimidating,
then we’d recommend asking if the scratchplate can
be fitted at the point of sale. It’s somewhat easier to
fit the Tribute model’s absent ‘poker chip’ pickup-
selector surround, which also ships in the case.

IN USE
Although both of our review guitars have shipped
without their screw-coil polepiece heights being
optimised and have slightly sharp edges at the nut,
the basics are otherwise all present and correct. The
frets have been installed neatly and the ends are
nicely rounded on the Tribute’s unbound fingerboard,
while the thin satin lacquer on the back of the neck
provides a very smooth ride.
Every Gibson USA model’s frets are levelled and
dressed by a Plek machine and even when we test the
Plek machine’s capabilities with some extreme bends
in high registers, there’s no choking or fretting out to
be found.
The Tribute’s rounded C profile is slim but
hugely playable and doesn’t paint you into any
stylistic corners. The maple neck and ‘ultra modern’
weight relief translate into an airy and enthusiastic
performance that’s really appealing and although it
lacks some of the midrange power of a solid-bodied,
mahogany neck Lester, there’s plenty of sustain. Many
will prefer its breezier sound, especially in an era
where cleaner and more textural tones predominate.
The 490R and 490T aren’t the pickups most
loved by Les Paul aficionados, but the alnico II units
certainly sound good in this context. It’s simply a well
put-together, fuss-free instrument that does exactly
what it’s supposed to and can cover a lot of ground.
Moving on to the Standard, the out of the box
setup is again very good indeed. It’s dreamily
playable, and unlike many original Bursts and slavish
reissues, you don’t have to flip the G saddle around
to get it to intonate correctly. We love the neck –
Gibson has resisted the temptation to go for a huge
mid-50s profile and instead, this beautifully rounded
carve has a medium-depth more akin to a ’59.
Comparing the two neck carves is interesting,
because it illustrates that dimensions only tell part of

the story. Even though the Tribute fattens out a little

more at the 12th fret, it feels sleeker overall, while

the ’50s model feels fuller because of its more even,

gradual taper as you head up to the octave marker.

Does double the price mean double the tone?

The reality is it never does, but the Standard’s

Burstbucker tones do feel a little more complex in

the midrange, with more sophistication and depth

overall. While it isn’t as vintage-authentic as an R9

loaded with unpotted pickups wired 50s-style, there’s

still more subtlety here than some of the production-

line Standards of the last couple of decades.

Neither instrument has too thick or syrupy a neck

pickup and there’s much more versatility across the

board as a result – especially in the often-overlooked

middle setting, where experimenting with your

controls delivers a wide range of sounds. We’ve said

it before, but try knocking back the neck volume

to about 8.5 with the pickup selector in the middle

position – it’s such an expressive voice for lead work

and you don’t have to pile on the gain to get plenty

of sustain and harmonic content to work with.

Although traditionalists might bristle at the Tribute

model’s cost-saving specifications, such as weight

relief, a 5mm shallower body and PCB-mounted

ABOVE TOP The Tribute’s

controls are PCB mounted to

reduce assembly costs

ABOVE BOTTOM The view

inside the control cavity of

the Les Paul Standard ’50s

reveals hand-wiring and

Orange Drop capacitors

REVIEWS

GUITAR MAGAZINE 31