Les Paul Studio or Tribute

DaiCapp

Thinking of getting a Les Paul and have been looking at the Studio and the humbucker loaded Tribute (50's I think) - I wondered if anyone had any experience of them and which one offers the better value and Les Paul experience. I'm not a massive Les Paul user but one would be handy to have around (hence why I'm not up for splashing out on a Standard)...


Thoughts and experiences would be much appreciated - Coda have a Studio in at the moment which looks attractive but a bit of wisdom from you guys would be great before jumping in the car for a 300 mile jaunt :-)


Many thanks!

nick79

I've got a 2016 Studio faded and it's great. Sounds great, plays great, feels great. I've used it loads for practising and gigging and it holds up well. Build quality is very good and it just feels really nice to play.

corona55

I have a 70 's tribute, 2013 which is nice to play and has really good sustain, it came with dirty fingers pickups which I replaced with 59 PAF' s from the creamery which sound sooo much better. Whenever I play this guitar I always have difficulty putting it down as it sounds so good - definitely recommended. 

Parker

Not played a recent Studio, but I'd rate an early Studio above a Tribute I once had. It looked great but didn't feel as solid

DesVegas

I have a studio and it's marvellous. Very powerful when dimed but cleans up well.

Nikko

I have a 2016 50s tribute. Sounds fantastic, well finished, not too heavy. I actually considered selling it a short while ago as I couldn't get on with the neck (thought I needed something slimmer) but have since decided to man up and keep it. I'm pleased with the decision as it's so good. I got it from Coda also.

DaiCapp

Many thanks for the thoughts folks - I'll probably end up going for a studio - I wring the neck on my guitars so s good solid feel is always good!

menamestom

I've been thinking about both of these also.  Currently looking for a PRS S2 Satin to try as well.  I know the PRS is all mahogany, so slightly different but I'm wondering whether it will be worth the extra £200-300 quality wise.  Will be trying both the Les Pauls tomorrow.

DaiCapp

menamestom said:

I've been thinking about both of these also.  Currently looking for a PRS S2 Satin to try as well.  I know the PRS is all mahogany, so slightly different but I'm wondering whether it will be worth the extra £200-300 quality wise.  Will be trying both the Les Pauls tomorrow.

be interested in your thoughts on the Gibsons... personally I've had a few PRS and I just don't get on with them. I very much appreciate a workmanlike guitar, nearest I got to a PRS that suited was a Mira otherwise they're a bit flash for me :-)

menamestom

DaiCapp said:

menamestom said:

I've been thinking about both of these also.  Currently looking for a PRS S2 Satin to try as well.  I know the PRS is all mahogany, so slightly different but I'm wondering whether it will be worth the extra £200-300 quality wise.  Will be trying both the Les Pauls tomorrow.

be interested in your thoughts on the Gibsons... personally I've had a few PRS and I just don't get on with them. I very much appreciate a workmanlike guitar, nearest I got to a PRS that suited was a Mira otherwise they're a bit flash for me :-)

I'll let you know tomorrow. The PRS I'm looking at is the singlecut S2 satin which is stripped right down.  Basic satin finish and dot inlays, so pretty workmanlike itself.  I'm not into fancy finishes either.  But still the PRS is £300 more than the Gibson faded and I would imagine the Gibson has better pickups.  

William Williamson

I tried a Gibson LP Tribute and an Epiphone Tribute Plus (I think? The ones both with Classic 57's) and didn't really find much different between them. On the other hand that might just be how good the Epi was, rather than a reflection on the Gibson.

57Deluxe

In recent years the Studios have been chambered. Wether this is for the better is out there, but I prefer a solid hunk if possible. My 2006 is heavy and has an ebony fretboard.

Sounds massive.

http://i68.tinypic.com/2isfjo3.jpg

menamestom

Tried them both today, both reasonable but I preferred the studio faded, mainly because of the pickups which were better for lower gain.  I quite liked the guitar, the necks are a nice handful but not too chunky.  Played it through a Blackstar amp HT something which was not great and both would need a setup tweak but ultimately they tick the box of nice stripped down guitars.

I might buy the faded later in the week.  I'd like to try it through another amp, cant help thinking it would be killer with some stormy Monday's and a set off 11's on it, but the Burstbucker pro's sounded pretty good and it is not fair to judge too much through the HT amps.

I'll try the 50's tribute again if I go back, I preferred the more stripped finish on the faded but there was not much between the guitars acoustically so If I'm planning on changing pickups it's as broad as it is long.

Still fancy trying the PRS though....

nick79

I've played the PRS S2  a fair bit, and i prefer the Gibson. Just feels better to me, the neck on the PRS is nice but not quite as beefy as the LP. For what it's worth the pickups and hardware on the S2 are Korean made (to keep costs down) and whilst it sounds pretty good i reckon the Gibson nudges it. Plus it's a few hundred quid dearer. 

Cirrus

The tributes, IIRC, are a bit less well finished to keep the prices down. I love mine, but I tried 4 and picked the best - was surprised how variable they were in sound and feel, as I thought they were all set up by that plec machine or whatever it's called... I guess I'd say, make sure you try a few.

DaiCapp

menamestom said:

Tried them both today, both reasonable but I preferred the studio faded, mainly because of the pickups which were better for lower gain.  I quite liked the guitar, the necks are a nice handful but not too chunky.  Played it through a Blackstar amp HT something which was not great and both would need a setup tweak but ultimately they tick the box of nice stripped down guitars.

I might buy the faded later in the week.  I'd like to try it through another amp, cant help thinking it would be killer with some stormy Monday's and a set off 11's on it, but the Burstbucker pro's sounded pretty good and it is not fair to judge too much through the HT amps.

I'll try the 50's tribute again if I go back, I preferred the more stripped finish on the faded but there was not much between the guitars acoustically so If I'm planning on changing pickups it's as broad as it is long.

Still fancy trying the PRS though....

Really good to know, thanks - think I'll play a few but I'm strongly leaning to a studio...

DaiCapp

57Deluxe said:

In recent years the Studios have been chambered. Wether this is for the better is out there, but I prefer a solid hunk if possible. My 2006 is heavy and has an ebony fretboard.

Sounds massive.

http://i68.tinypic.com/2isfjo3.jpg

My... that's the ideal, white with ebony board. Not so many around but worth keeping an eye out for!

stimpsonslostson

Cirrus said:

The tributes, IIRC, are a bit less well finished to keep the prices down. I love mine, but I tried 4 and picked the best - was surprised how variable they were in sound and feel, as I thought they were all set up by that plec machine or whatever it's called... I guess I'd say, make sure you try a few.

This sums up my experience buying my sg tribute too.

 I tried every SG in GuitarGuitar & settled on the one I liked best, which happened to be the 50s Tribute & therefore at the lower end of the price range (leaving me more pennies for a nice acoustic  )

menamestom

Weight wise the faded was on the lighter side for a Les Paul, but it had masses of low end.  Very resonant too.

BoopDeWoop

I have the new 2017 Tribute Goldtop and it's quite nice. I like the stripped back feel and it's very light. Still sounds huge and the neck is a good size.

57Deluxe

@DaiCapp ; - yes mine is the Ivory White as opposed the normal Artic White that you tend to see now (with gingery 'baked alaska' boards!). Spec Is my homage to those 70's models you saw on TOTP all the time then!