Gibson Les Paul Studio 60s Tribute Electric Guitar, Worn Honey Burst Review

Gibson Les Paul Studio 60s Tribute Electric Guitar, Worn Honey Burst is an interesting concoction in the company’s line of bargain-priced, no-frills Les Paul Studio models. At first glance, it resembles more readily the earliest Les Pauls of 1952-56. A buyer might be reminded, however, that it is most obvious such signature, the single-coil P-90 pickups, were the initial option when Gibson re-introduced the classic Les Paul in 1968.

The other main characteristic that aligns the 60s Tribute to the decade it salutes is the slim neck that characterised the 1960 Les Paul Standard. Guitarists who favour this neck say it allows faster fret hand movement up and down the fretboard, but guitarists accustomed to the thicker 1950s necks that still feature with many Les Pauls including within the Studio series may find it a challenging adaptation at first.

 
Gibson first produced the P-90 pickup in 1946 and has used it almost continuously since on many of its electric guitars. These pickups were discontinued on Les Pauls in favor of double-coil humbucking pickups beginning in 1957, but they remained standard equipment on such bargain models as the Les Paul Special and the Les Paul Junior. After a brief re-introduction on the Standard in 1968, and the Deluxe model introduced a short time afterward, the P-90s were discontinued in favour of same-sized miniature double-coils on the Les Paul Deluxe, while the Standard reverted to the full-size double-coils of 1957-60.

On the 60s Tribute, as also on the Studio 50s Tribute of a year earlier and the company’s custom shop re-creations of the 1952-56 Les Pauls, these P-90s continue to produce the sharply raw sound many rock musicians came to prize when re-discovering the Les Paul in the first place. They are suitable whether running the neck pickup alone (a choice of jazz musicians) or the bridge pickup alone. However, setting the toggle switch in the middle position, to run both pickups at once, can also produce a clean, chiming, almost crying sound that makes it ideal for blues, jazz, or even country musicians depending on their tone settings.

Although the pickups themselves are not height-adjustable as the double-coil humbuckers are, the P-90′s six individual screw-like pole pieces can be adjusted for height individually, depending on the tone the guitarist seeks: the closer the pole is to the string, without the string touching the pole when plucked or strummed, the brighter and sharper the tone.

Other than that, the Studio ’60s Tribute shares major characteristics with the entire Studio line: a chambered mahogany body for lighter weight without sacrificing the fabled Les Paul tone and sustain, an unbound maple top, a mahogany neck, an unbound rosewood fretboard, and medium-thick, medium-height frets. They also feature chromium-plated stopbar tailpieces that are adjusted for height and string tension easily, and the “Nashville Tune-O-Matic” bridge with easy-adjusting height and individual, easily adjustable string saddles.

The guitars come in five non-glossy, satin-finished color tops, all of which pay tribute to the popular colors of the Les Paul Standard and Les Paul Custom up to 1960: worn honeyburst, worn heritage cherryburst, worn goldtop, worn ebony, and worn white. All 60s Tributes feature cream-colored toggle switch rings, pickup covers, and pickguards, and gold-colored volume and tone knobs with reflector discs in the knob tops, similar to those on the 1960 Les Paul Standard. Like the satin-finished Studio Faded guitars, the ’60s Tribute is easy to clean, often with a soft cloth, but there are also guitar cleaning liquids and compounds that are safe to use on this finish.

Also like its Studio series siblings, the ’60s Tribute comes at one of the most affordable Les Paul prices, usually retailing for about $850. Likewise, it comes with a soft gig bag for carrying or storing, though here as with other Studio models buyers may choose to spend a little extra money to buy a hard shell case for the instrument.

Gibson Les Paul Studio 60s Tribute Electric Guitar, Worn Honey Burst Features and Specifications:

• Slim Taper Neck
• Dual P-90 soap bar single coil pickups
• Limited Edition
• Gigbag included
• Comes with adjustment literature and documentation for the guitar’s Limited Lifetime Warranty
• Gibson’s customer Service
• Dual P-90 soap bar single coil pickups and slim taper neck

Customer Reviews

Most of the customers were happy with the Gibson Les Paul Studio 60s Tribute Electric Guitar, Worn Honey Burst. They liked the exceptional quality and nice looks. There were no negative feedback at the time of writing this review.

Conclusion

Gibson Les Paul Studio 60s Tribute Electric Guitar, Worn Honey Burst looks like a good choice. It has received a positive feedback from the users and therefore it seems to be worth checking out.

You may also like:

• Gibson Les Paul Studio Electric Guitar, Worn Cherry Satin Review
• Jasmine By Takamine S34C NEX Acoustic Guitar Review