Gibson Les Paul Tribute - Satin Honeyburst Reviews

So,a few years ago, I bought the Gibson Les Paul Tribute in Tobacco Burst. It was kind of a mod project. I installed Dimarzio pickups, a new bone nut, some locking tuners and gave it a good polishing. It was an amazing instrument, so much so that a friend made me an offer on it that I couldn't refuse.
Fast forward to now. I had been missing that guitar a bit, so I bought another. This time in Honey Burst.
I've been playing it exclusively for a few days now, and I think it's even better than my first one.
It is undeniably a Les Paul in tone, looks and feel. This time, no modifications. I just did a quick setup on it and it's good to go.
I have a few other guitars that are really beautiful to look at, and although this one is no slouch in the looks department, it just feels like it wants to be PLAYED. At the price of a high-end Epiphone, why not get yourself the real thing?
Really a great guitar. This one isn't going anywhere.

I honestly like the feel of these over something super fancy, a true player's instrument. The neck is fuller than a slim taper, but it's just right even with smaller hands. I also prefer the 490T over the 498T. Vintage medium output pickups are just hot enough, but remains very versatile and articulate, not compressed like the hotter pickups. It's my "go to" guitar now.

Well,I'm a 60 year old Musician, and I've been playing for over 50 of my 60 years 6feet above ground! Needless to say, I've been around the Music and Guitar block more times than I'm even gonna go in to.
Two of the main three areas that I want to drive home are the people working at Sweetwater.
Louis Sawyer, my very own "Sales Engineer," is, in my opinion,that Title does him more of a disservice than should be humanly allowed. Why not just call him a Cashier at a Telemarketing Company?
Louis has had the misfortune of having to take care of my Account, not to mention that even worse, he's had to deal with ME for far too many years pulling more strings, doing deals that in today's market in the MI business, might get him yelled at quite severely.
With me being the former Manager of 2 different stores for a "Big Box" Instrument Store, Louis IS the kind of person that I'd be going crazy, trying to fill my stores with CARBON BASED UNITS or Artificially Intelligence Humanoid DUPLATES!
His knowledge of almost EVERYTHING MUSICAL, is unsurpassed. If, by the VERY SMALL CHANCE he doesn't know or have at his fingertips the person or tools to answer my question, he'll have it within a few minutes and immediately call me back or if he's off work and I leave a message, he's back in touch with me within 24 hours or less.
Louis is the man you want on your team!!
Now, to the second person I feel that, although I've only dealt with him one time....lucky him... in the MANY YEARS I have been and will continue to be a Sweetwater Customer, RILEY JAMES in the Tech Department, went WAYYYY above and beyond with my little RINKY DINK issues with my very first Gibson Les Paul,in my 50 plus years of playing.
I've ALWAYS, thanks to my main Guitar PLAYER, Robin Trower, been a Strat Guy and more than likely, always will be in one way or another. Be it a HOT RODDED STRAT, a Charvel, Jackson, HSS, Floyd Rose loaded BACKYARD BUILT Axe, unfortunately built by me.
Just face it, I'm a Strat Lover.
Since I've been playing and touring for most of my life, since Late Middle School until I was hurt in an accident a number of years ago, ALL of my Guitars are now VINTAGE, it's time for me to put back for my kids and Grandkids and start teaching them the LOVE AND CARE OF MY COLLECTION AND THEIR INHERITANCE!!!
My Tribute arrived and it was a scene from the Christmas Movie: Christmas Story, when Ralphie opens his last present and it's the ONLY THING HE WANTED his whole life. The Red Rangers BB Gun, except my present had the Words I've always wanted to read on MY PRESENT....GIBSON LES PAUL!!
Unfortunately; and we can't figure out how, although there's no such thing as "Totally Perfect," even if it hasn't been played or touched, in any way, since leaving the Factory.
The both of us looked at the Pictures of it BEFORE I decided on the 8lb. 14oz. Tribute. All the other Guitars, at the time, had the Protective Thin Plastic, Peel Off Film on them, with the GOLD BURST STICKER, no scratches or dents that we could see I any way.
The Poker Chip is SUPPOSED to be INSIDE of the Case/Gig BAG, which by the way, it the FINEST GUITAR CARRIER, THAT'S NOT A HARD CASE, I'VE EVER SEEN!! IT WAS PERFECT TOO COMING OUT OF THE BOX.
When I opened the beautiful case, the Poker Chip HAD ALREADY BEEN INSTALLED on the Guitar. Whoever installed it, scratched not only the Chip, the Washer and the Cream Selector Knob was scratched up as well as the Pickguard. Unless you look EXTREMELY CLOSE, which I went over it with a fine tooth comb and magnifying glass, I found only 3 or so microscopic dents and a couple other scratches around the Poker Chip.
Riley asked if I took any pictures upon arrival.
I had pictures from the box on my Front Porch throughout the entire opening process.
I sent him the pictures and within less than 5 minutes, he called me back to offer me countless way to make me happy...even up to offering me a whole new Guitar! I absolutely said NO WAY lto that immediately.
This Beautiful, Spalted Maple Cap is what pushed me over the edge to snag that baby.
This Guitar came ALMOST perfectly set up.
There's nobody out there who knows how to set up my Guitars and I knew I'd have to make some MINOR ADJUSTMENTS.
IN MY OPINION ONLY, it may not have the Pearl Type Gibson on the Headstock, Binding or Burstbuckers, but make no mistake.
This baby sounds, and with the Satin Finish of a Maple Neck, plays BETTER ,than the Gloss Nitro Neck.
THIS IS A REAL LES PAUL!!
This may be my 1st LES PAUL, it won't be my last.
Not to mention, I have plenty of friends who own Paul's, I definitely know how they play!!
DON'T BE AFRAID.....
BUY THIS GUITAR AND BUY IT FROM LOUIS SAWYER!!

PICK DROP

Really impressed with the quality of this guitar. Pleked frets play great. Clearance over first fret was .013 for all the strings. I like the more spartan look and the finish feels great. Nice neck and pickups. Does the rock thing nicely. I removed the pickguard and I totally get the Gibson thing with this guitar. Good job Gibson!

I've had a few Epiphone Les Pauls and one I currently have is excellent. It sounds and feels great and the flame maple veneer is beautiful. I also purchased it for an unbelievable bargain at a pawn shop. With that said, I've been hard presssed to find another guitar that I felt as good about but I was in the market. I tried one of the Limited Edition Epiphone Les Paul 50s Standards, being drawn to the overall build, Gibson pickups, and handwired CTS pots. It was nice but it didn't wow me nor did I feel it was exceptionally better than my current Epi. Enter the Tribute. I'm really pleased with the Sweetwater guitar gallery and the ability to select a guitar knowing the weight and actual wood grain. After selecting one with catching maple grain and weight that I favor all I had to do was wait. And that wasn't long because it was shipped the day I ordered. The first time I played it, it just felt better than my Epi. Its like the "Its a JEEP thing. You wouldn't understand." bumper sticker. The first time I drove a manual transmission JEEP Wrangler, its was something different. So is this guitar. I gravitated to it because its budget oriented, looks outstanding, sounds great, and feels like it looks. The main reservation I had when shopping was the Printed Circuit Board controls but now that I've played it I know that PCB works and I'll get over the romanticism of handwired pots. I'm completely satisfied with the purchase (not to mentioned the interest free 36 month financing).
PS - I like the maple neck. It looks cool, feels great, and adds a bit of uniqueness to a Les Paul.
PSS - Sweetwater customer service is excellent and setup was great. I usually buy a guitar and go trough a full setup but with this one I simply adjusted the truss rod a bit because I like almost no neck relief. I'm very impressed.

Love the satin finish for playing at church, doesn't reflect bad. Tobe it great on both pickups. Neck is bright and cuts through, bridge has grit and sweet classic les paul sound in the higher frets. Love seeing the wood grain (honeyburst). I don't use coil splitting so this was perfect. Padded case is really nice honestly, but I ordered it with a hard case before I saw it. Looks great with a leather strap personally. No disappointment at all.

I received my Honeyburst LP Tribute about 3 weeks ago and I'm really happy with it so far. I had it set up by Sweetwater with my favorite strings and it played great right out of the box. This is my first real Gibson after owning several high end Epi LPs over the years and I must say there is a notable difference in the neck feel and playabilty, possibly from the Plek process. So far I've gigged with it twice and it performed flawlessly. Thank you to my sales rep Felipe for doing a great job.

I've always loved strats and still do, but I could never deny that certain something else that a Les paul brought to the table. There is undoubtedly a place where both excel separately but yet in harmony in the rock world.
This tribute series is the perfect place for a strat guy to get that X factor from a Gibson. I didn't need to pay for binding and fancy wood or finishes. All the Gibson grr for the price of a good strat. What more could you ask for?

The playability is amazing with this guitar. I have never played a guitar that had the frets plekked - the ability of me to play certain "fast" music passages has become much easier to play with this guitar. I like the different tones I can obtain with these humbucker pickups. Very nice guitar

Came across this Tribute while Christmas shopping for me! It tunes well, plays well, and is well built. I was happy to see that you could get a Les Paul, American made, with good quality for a great price. Thank you so much to Joe Shafer for all of his help! He took the time, as always, to ensure I would get the best bang for my money. He has helped me with many purchases over the years!
I am retired, so money is a big deal to me. Thank you, Sweetwater and thank you, Joe!

Best bang for your buck Les Paul out there,(in my opinion) great looking LP as I prefer the satin look over the high gloss. I have had a few Gibson Les Paul's in the past, I switched to using Fender Strats and Teles back in about 1982. After smashing my fingers in a van door a few months ago, I decided to go back to the shorter Gibson scale, (to relieve some of the stress to my hand) and Wow! this Les Paul and the SG (I also bought from Sweetwater) ( Joey B. ) are now becoming my main go to guitars. Love them both, feels like I have come back home after a long time away. Gibson quality is back as both guitars straight out of the box needed very little set up (to get them to my liking.) Play this guitar every day and it motivates me (coming up with new, fresh ideas all the time.) Thanks Sweetwater and Joey for all you do... Kelly L.

well made instrument for the price. I am pleased .

I had a 2018 tribute that had serious static electricity never could get rid of it. I bought a boss NS-1 and it helped but not enough. Got rid of it and after a couple years bought a 2021 model and so far it sounds great. I've tried to love strats and telecasters but there's just no comparison to a Gibson. I'm totally satisfied with mine.

Two years ago I purchased a 2020 Gibson Les Paul Tribute in Iced Tea, from Sweetwater of course, and it quickly became my favorite guitar in my collection. I decided to get another in Honeyburst. I've owned several really nice Les Pauls in the past, but there must be some magic in the combination of the maple neck, satin nitro finish, and the 490 pickups that makes this model so playable and have such great tone. I wholeheartedly recommend getting one of these, and actually prefer it over the more expensive models. As always, the Sweetwater team's customer service is the best in the business, particularly my sales engineer, Jim Ridings.

Great sound and easy to play. The satin finished neck offers smooth chord changes or soloing up and down the neck. I prefer the satin finished look over the shiny gloss finish. My only complaint would be the tuners. However it has become my go to guitar.

Don't even debate it, buy it…
I got mine this summer, and really enjoy it!
I'm 55- I've wanted a Gibson LP since i was 14 years old, learning to play Ozzy, AC/DC, Sabbath, Zeppelin, and the like. 41 years later, I've achieved this school boy's dream.
I made some cosmetic changes; got a poker chip, and gold speed knobs. I feel it really lives up to the mental photo i took all those years ago. Every top is different, and mine is very pretty. Not too flashy, but really sharp. The maple neck- most of my guitars are maples, so it was a welcome addition. It took me a minute to get used to the slightly shorter scale, as well as the fact i can't run .009's on it! Too slinky, and you lose all the mojo this guitar has to offer.
I can say it plays great, tuning is stable- not sure why all the issues with tuning- and it delivers on what it's marketed; an inexpensive tribute to its more expensive sibling. As a lefty, you owe it to yourself to pick this up. Price is great, tone is better. I'm thrilled

I absolutely love this Guitar. It came ready to play and play it I did. The tone on this Guitar is absolutely wonderful. I am a Les Paul guy through and through and the Tribute does not disappoint

I am by any means a Gibson LP aficionado but have played a few and own an Epiphone 59 reissue. I am a super fan of the Epi and love its tone, but I have played a 97 classic from my boss at work, and my guitar teachers R9, and the tones are so close. This guitar, however, has a nasty, bright, spanky tone that I love so much. The sustain is great, the tone is what I would expect and more from Gibson, and the feel is top notch for a fraction of the price. Thanks to the knot above the neck volume I have dubbed this one "deadeye" and couldn't be happier. My second Sweetwater guitar, granted not pleked like my 59 epi, but I will never buy anywhere else!!!!

This is my first new Gibson in several years. I've had issues out of the box with most Gibsons I've previously bought - primarily the nuts not being cut correctly. But after a pro setup, they are great playing and sounding guitars, so I've put up with the less than perfect QC.

Having said that, Gibson has really stepped up their QC. My new guitar was flawless, the nut is well cut, it plays and sounds great, is properly intonated, and stays in tune well.

I went with the Tribute over other Les Paul models because I was looking for a very lightweight Les Paul first and foremost. My new guitar is 7.4lbs and is super comfortable to play standing up.

I compared it to my Gibson Les Paul Standard, a beast of a guitar that sounds amazing, but is in the 10lb range and is a shoulder breaker. Both guitars sound great and like Les Pauls, but the Tribute sounds a little thinner and brighter. I suspect it's either the super light weight, or the maple neck. However, I suspect that slightly thinner and brighter tone would actually cut better in a mix, so it isn't necessarily a bad thing.

I'm really digging the maple neck actually. It's smooth, stronger than mahogany, and plays fantastic.

I'm very impressed with this guitar and would highly recommend it for anyone looking for a lightweight, great sounding and playing Les Paul. And if my guitar is indicative of where Gibson is at with QC these days, kudos to them for turning around the QC issues they've had in the past.

OK, so this guitar doesn't have body or neck binding, coil tapping or those extra coats of nitrocellulose lacquer of much more expensive models. However, it makes up for it in tone. Isn't that the main thing? At a much more affordable price point than a Les Paul Studio, let alone a Standard, this guitar is a good value. The neck pickup gets you some very nice blues and clean tones. With the bridge pickup you can go from a slight snarl to a punch in the gut with ease and it remains much more articulate than with high output humbuckers. Takes gain like a champ. I love the highs on this guitar. They are very bright on the bridge pickup but still pleasing to the ear. Chords ring out with clarity. At only about 7.5 lbs I love the weight. Gibson is really on to something with the "modern weight relief". An experienced musician friend recently told me that he believes a Les Paul must have substantial weight to get good tone. I disagree. I've owned a lot of Gibson Les Pauls over the years (and still do) from nearly 10 lb boat anchors to others weighing even less than this one. Each guitar has it's own individual tone - some great and some not so much. But the weight had nothing to do with it to my ears. Like the late, great Leslie West once said, a guitar is just "a tree with a microphone". How the wood reacts with the electronics attached to it is something that you won't know until you strap it on and plug it in. Fortunately, this is a very good one that my nagging back can handle. Shout out to my long-time Sales Engineer, Ryan Wiltermood. He knows what I like and his product knowledge steers me in the right direction. You're the best Ryan!

After deciding what guitar I wanted, I came to Sweetwater and checked their inventory daily. I wanted a lite weight Tribute, as lite and pretty as possible. After about two weeks I finally saw the exact guitar I wanted and bought it. Lewis took care of everything and everyone else I spoke to made sure he received all my messages. Now this, is a musical instrument! The whole Sweetwater experience was one I will gladly come back to whenever I feel the need. All the little extras they offer (setups) is worth it alone. Wouldn't hesitate to buy from them again.

This guitar doesn't need another 5 star review, but I'm going to write one anyway. Make no mistake, this is a Les Paul through and through. It has everything you you need. It may not have the binding or the fancy finish, but it plays and SOUNDS like a Les Paul. THE SUSTAIN! I have not played my other guitar since I got this. I bought this after watching a tour of the Gibson factory on youtube. The tribute is made on the same manufacturing line, by American workers. It's a USA Gibson, and I got a really nice one. Thank you Sweetwater, and thanks to my sales Engineer Jonathan Appleton.

I did not know what to expect when I first plugged this tribute in, and I'm here to say that I was completely delighted with its soundscape & versatility.
It handles hard rock, blues, metal, and mellow jams too.
On top of all of that, I was blown away at the American craftsmanship on display. I cannot locate a single flaw anywhere.
What a terrific value and an even better guitar. True Les Paul Legacy in your hands for around 1K. That's crazy cool news dudes!!

Great Gibson Les Paul guitar, but not too fancy and needed a bit of attention to correctly install the poker chip. A few rough frets on the top side of the neck near the body from 16th to the 20th. For me this was not a deal breaker. But if you want a more complete guitar and can afford it go studio. This is the Same guitar but the studio will have slightly better finishing touches. Super playable!!!! I am pleased.

I've owned many Les Paul guitars over the years and this guitar delivers! Call it a no frills work horse! Great vintage tone, great feeling neck and nothing you don't need! I love the plain top on mine it looks great and the satin finish is awesome (no finger prints!) Best money I've ever spent on a Les Paul! Thanks Sweetwater!

With a few minor item like unable install the poker chip due to only catching a half of a thread. The chip is thicker the nut does not reach out like a good Gibson nut should. I've seen this before on Asian models. 4-5 frets near the body on the top side of the neck are a little rough but not to sharp. The rose wood fret board was a little thin and a little dry. I put lemon oil on it. Other than these small things It plays really well, sounds really great, very straight, great tone and plays fast. Almost a studio. But it's a traditional or like a special. Still has American quality. I recommend it great fit and finish.

Perfect in every way, so sweet! Just knew it would sound great plugged in I was right...QC is also perfect. I studied lots of great reviews for this basic Les Paul and people are usually very accurate....Thanks sales rep. Ronny Jackson and Sweetwater.

I decided to fulfill a lifelong dream of buying a made in the USA Les Paul. I tried a few models: from the Tribute all the way to the Standard. While always budget-conscious, I was ready to go higher if justified.

The Tribute has the satin finish I liked and mostly the maple neck that is simply amazing to me. I went through Kris-amazing guy- at Sweetwater and picked the Honeyburst. It came 3 days later and was perfect out of the box. It is lighter but no too light ( 8 lbs. even). It has a tone that exceeded my expectations and yes I love the 490s that work well with my tube amp. A bargain IMHO as this holds to other model in the Gibson line to me. Grab one before Gibson jacks the price up!

Perfect straight out of the box. The only thing I changed was to lighter ga strings. I don't need to do any other mods to this. If you are thinking about dipping your toe in the Les Paul pool, the tribute is a killer guitar and comparable to Les Pauls twice the price. One of the best guitars in my collection.

Thanks To Max Rice For My 2021 Gibson Les Paul Tribute In Honeyburst Its All I Wanted For Christmas This Year And With Your Three Easy Payment Plan Sweetwater Was At Their Usual Best In Customer Service Kept Me In The Loop Thru The Whole Process Shipping Was Fast Arrived At My Door In Three Days And The Guitar Is Great A Awesome Top Better Than Some Of The Other Tribute's I Have Seen On Your Website And With Your 55 Step Process It Is Awesome And The Pictures That You Sent Are Great I Could'nt Have Asked For A Better Looking Guitar Thanks Again Max Rice For Thinking About Me Thanks Again You'll Be Hearing From Me Again When I'm In Need Of A Marshall Amplifier Thanks Again Mr George Cundiff And Thanks For The Black Soft Case Since I Already Have The Brown One That Came With My Demo Sg Standard And Thanks For Another Demo Guitar You Cant Go Wrong With A Demo Guitar From Sweetwater Even Saved Me Some Money If You Have Any More Demo's Let Me Know I'd Like A Marshall Amp If You Have Any Of Them In A Demo

This is my first "high-end" guitar. And, honestly, it is a big leap from my previous Cort X1...
I have been trying to learn guitar for a few years now, and finally, I have a guitar that calls to be played.
Considering that it is a Gibson... It might sound redundant, but it is very well built and the pickups are awesome.

The softshell case feels like an armour case... Trust me it will protect the guitar...

I'm paring it with my Blackstar HT5 MKII and also with VOX AC15, both combos.

I only had to adjust the intonation on a couple of strings. The guitar is flawless cosmetically and plays as well as it looks. Thanks, SweetWater!

From the first call to Sweetwater to the delivery and the following up I have been amazed at the Customer service. I have always said pay for what you get and always get what you pay for.
I could not be any more satisfied with the 2021 Gibson Les Paul Tribute. Incredible piece of equipment. Excellent tone quality and construction. I am amazed every time I pick it up. Thank you to everyone involved in the construction of this fine guitar.

I bought and then returned the older version, with dot inlays and open coil humbuckers. Besides the improved aesthetics with today's version; trapezoid inlays and covered pups, the quality has improved.

Frets are neatly dressed, no sharp edges as it's predecessor. The Kluson-style machine heads keep the guitar in tune and look better than the dirty tan/greenish color.

The maple top has a nice finish and exposed wood grain. The maple neck is seated properly, is straight and topped with a nice piece of rosewood. Extremely low action without any fret buzz, after a set-up.

The tried and true 490's are fine.

I cleaned and the polished the body and headstock with Virtuoso cleaner and polish. It took the finish from a dull satin to a gloss satin.

The modern weight relief is excellent, it still has some weight yet it's not a boat anchor.

The instrument feels like a worn-in comfy tee shirt. I've owned Standards and Studios and this Tribute holds it own with them.

I was (am?) a Fender guy. Telecaster was always my number one. I have a great late 80's American made model, with upgraded Lollar pickups - sounds and feels terrific. Well, last year I finally scratched the itch to buy a "Gibson style" guitar. Not this Les Paul, but a great deal at Sweetwater on an Epiphone ES-339. I immediately bonded with it. It's a great playing & sounding guitar, and I use it now even more than the tele (they are indeed a great value for the money). It kinda changed my style of playing - for some reason I feel like I respect the fretboard a little more and it makes me more structured, whereas the telecaster makes me wanna fly by the seat of my pants a little more and rip it for some reason (not a bad thing necessarily, just different). Anyway, it stoked my interest in a Gibson even more - I figured if the Epi is so appealing to me, man a real Gibson would be something else. Well, as much as many will argue on Epiphone's behalf vs. Gibson, I'm sorry the truth of the matter is this Tribute just has another level of sonic quality and feel for me. Absolutely loving it.

The satin finish is more my style anyway, so I actually don't miss a gloss finish that pricier Les Paul models might have. The 290 pickups are tried and true Gibson go-to's, and are exactly as described on videos and in reviews. Just sound fantastic, with just the right amount of midrange in my opinion to always cut through the mix effectively with full body, and they clean up very nicely with use of the volume control. I wanted a lighter model, and chose a 7lb 7oz model. (I love that Sweetwater gives weights on the guitars). It feels absolutely fantastic, and there's no lack of beef to the sound or sustain because of the lesser weight. The wood finish throughout is impeccable and the neck is super easy playing, with that little bit of extra meat over a slim C.

As always, AJ Becerra was super helpful and helped get the guitar to me quickly and in very nice setup. I lowered my bridge a tad, but it played excellent out of the box. As a last comment, the soft case is such a nice cherry on top. I prefer soft cases because of the lesser weight, and this one is so padded and thick that you get probably about the best protection you could get short of a hard case. It's a beautiful piece too.

Just received my new 2022 Gibson Les Paul Tribute electric guitar in Satin Honeyburst. It is a very meticulously crafted instrument made mostly of wood, and it looks lie how a real guitar should look. It reminds me of my 1972 Classical Spanish Guitar. It looks all handmade and has nothing unnecessary added on. True she looks a little plain with no fancy imbedded mother of pearl in her headstock and she was made without all the glitter, so much so that I may call her "Jane". Putting that aside, she is a very well made guitar and sounds excellent with not a thing wrong with her. I do my own set ups and all she needed was some minor intonation adjustments and now she's set up perfectly.
Honestly as I am playing and when I look down I see a high quality, no frills wooden electric guitar and she sounds glorious. You know what? That's what I was hoping for and I got what I wanted. Being made in America, Nashville Tennessee, USA means a lot to me. I support America workers and manufacturers as is my right. She is all I ever wanted, a high quality great sounding, easy playing, wooden electric guitar.- Peter age 71

Outstanding, outstanding and magnificent service from start to finish. Cannot thank Sweetwater (Mason, Brian, Cody and Samuel) for the honest, sincere and professionalism they displayed through my purchase. Believe me folks when I say "Sweetwater will do whatever it takes to make you a satisfied customer", it's true. You will not find a better company to purchase any gear/service from..Thanks

Love the Les Paul but going to have to get an SG also started on a blue SG in the sixties

Looks great, sounds incredible and a joy to play.

I previously owned a Les Paul Studio tribute, and it was a great guitar. But I disliked the dot inlays, or rather the absence of the trapezoid inlays- superficial I know! That guitar was an iced tea finish, which looked nice. My new tribute is the honeyburst, and it is absolutely gorgeous. The feel of this guitar is excellent, it kind of seems like it's playing itself sometimes- and it only weights a little over 8 pounds, so I never hesitate to use it for a 2-hour gig.

The 490 pickups are seemingly a slightly lower output, higher than the burstbuckers on my SG but a slightly softer than a '57 classic. They have a very pleasing, round and sweet sound, and of course they have that unique thick Les Paul tone that we all know and love. The bridge pickup is not harsh at all, therefore I employ it more than I normally would with my other guitars.

The satin finish actually has a lot of vibe. I feel the same way about the plain maple top. The way they finished the guitar, it almost looks like the body is bound. The tribute is pricey, but considering the cost and weight of a Les Paul Standard, I think this is a really good value.

This was purchased as a backup, but could easily be my number one guitar. When I don't feel as confident or maybe haven't been practicing as much as I should, this is the guitar I will grab for a gig and it's never let me down.

Something special about having a really good Gibson guitar in your hands. The neck, the body and the sound just can't be duplicated by any other guitar and I don't care how good you Epiphone is. There is no comparison to the real thing. It's just a special guitar.

Totally enjoying this guitar. Very happy with the appearance and the tone is great. You pick it up and end up playing it all night. Stock 10-4 strings probably contribute to that tone but the pickups are very good as well. Under 8 lbs is always good. Still not totally light, which is probably good. Very happy.

If your going to get one of these you have to relise two things. One-Your getting a REAL Les Paul. and two DO NOT buy it without a set up. What a different guitar you will receive than the on from the factory. Thank God Mason Moss (the best sales engineer at Sweetwaters, although they are all very good) talked about a set up. If there was ever a guitar that needed to be set up BEFORE you get it, it's this one. an absolutely fabulous guitar after being set up. This is my second one and all I did was fight the first one so much I sold it but this guitar (once set up) is an entirely different animal. MY God what an awesome guitar. A huge thank you to Mason Moss for all his help. They have GREAT people at Sweetwater and he's one of the best. Thank Mason for one of the best guitars I ever owned.

Gibson has really stepped up the quality this year! The setup on my Tribute was spot on! Fret ends was finished very nicely, frets was pleked! Which really made a huge difference. Fit and finish was perfect! The satin finish is super smooth and looks amazing! The guitar sounds amazing! As always Sweetwater did an awesome job with the shipping and handling! Thanks Alot! She's a keeper!

I just got my Les Paul Tribute and what a beautiful instrument. I was totally blown away. I took the bone nut upgrade and in my opinion it was well worth the money. Just amazing all around!! Great tone, resonance and sustain!
I am sending out a huge thank you to all the folks at Sweetwater and especially to Tad Shaffer my sales engineer!

I have several of the same complaints about pointy fret ends and cosmetic issues other people have mentioned. The initial static noises went away, thankfully. I heard Gibson recently overhauled their production to reduce issues with crafstmanship but it doesnt seem to have changed much from a Les Paul I bought a few years ago.

Complaints about small cosmetic defects aside, I really like the guitar, which is why I give it 5 stars anyway. Some highlights: The pickup tone and balancing seems nice and I have been able to easily get a variety of good sounds. It feels comfortable in the hands and is weight relieved, which I appreciate. I cant really tell the difference in neck shape from a Fender. It feels thin, which I prefer and I like the nitro finish more than the sticky feel some necks have. I'm enjoying the shorter scale for a more slinky string feel.

I recommend hydrating the fretboard ASAP, mine was really dry and it turned a lot darker now and it looks great. It may have helped the fret ends some too.

I've had it for a couple of weeks now.at first I wasn't crazy about it but the more I played it the more I liked it .Thanks Josh the help is appreciated.As many people I'm off work now I have plenty of time to play this lp will get a lot of playing time thanks once again to Josh Strict and the entire Sweetwater team you guys are great

This is an amazing guitar woth a fantastic neck
The actipn was perfect and yhe sound true Les Paul. I havr and do own lotsof guitars and this one , even though I have guitars costing 3 times what thisl one did sits right at the top. The 490s rock and have a beautiful clean tone too. I love this guitar and it plays like a dream. Pne of (if not the best) In my arsenal. Worth twice the price easily!!!

I just received mine a little over a week ago and it's danged-tough to put down. I prefer the feel of satin to gloss, which to me makes this guitar feel so much more alive in my hands. The maple top on mine has a nice grain pattern and even has a little bit of birdseye in a few spots - photos CANNOT do a guitar justice. Flip it around and the mahogany is as rich with deep grain. This is my first Gibson Les Paul, a childhood dream of mine, and I'm NOT disappointed - so resonant, and ridiculous sustain. The maple neck does give a little extra bite to the tone which I was looking for. I prefer a nice slim rounded neck profile, not bulky at all and extremely comfortable for my hands. She has the vintage-style Gibson tuners, but for those concerned with tuning stability they are very smooth and I've had absolutely zero problems staying in tune - and they look awesome, too! I tuned mine down a half-step as soon as I got it and setup the action to my liking, it felt like she WANTED that tuning! I wasn't sure about the stock pickups before I played them, but they have a gnarly crunch and clean airy chime I'm really liking. Also surprising was the included case - probably the best "gig-bag" I've ever encountered shipping with a guitar. Big, BIG thanks my Sales Engineer, Brandt, for helping me get this subtle little gem in my hands!

I've always loved the look and sound of Les Paul's but trying many in the past the quality was not where it needed to be for the price point charged. I recently made the purchase on this Satin Honeyburst tribute. My Sweetwater rep was most helpful. We pulled three to try and this one was not only the lightest of the three but the most resonant as well. The fit and finish was very well done. No sharp frets or dings, neck carve was tight to the body. I've had good luck in the first several weeks with tuning stability as well. No issues with the g-string that can sometimes crop up on Gibson Les Pauls. Pickups are great. Action was set pretty much perfectly from the Sweetwater inspection. Neck pickup has a lot of depth and richness. Bridge pickup has that clarity with the typical Gibson growl. I hope this is a sign that Gibson is back on the right track. I still believe they are a brand where you need to play a few to "find the one" but I'm very pleased with this purchase.

Just got this in today and I'm very impressed with the quality, finish,and tone of this guitar. I've played mostly Fender Strats,some PRS,and Shchecter guitars to date. I've played other guitars as well but none gets close to this guitar. Been avoiding the Les Paul for around 20 years of playing for some reason. If your like me and have tried everything under the sun to get the tone you wont and have came up short give one of these guitars a try. Not quite as heavy as some of the earlier Les Paul's I've played and still retains the tone of the classic 50's and 60's Les Paul's in my opinion. That and the updated electronics. Can't go wrong with Sweetwater's customer service and attention to detail. Came ready to play right out the box. Packaging was great and they do an intense inspection before it leaves their facility. Going to defiantly hang on to this one for sure.

Purchased this guitar a few months ago, so far this is the best playing & sounding Gibson les paul ( especially for the price ) I've ever played. Have played lots of les Paul's in the past but never felt comfortable in my hands . Love everything about it including 490 pickups, slim tapered neck etc . Did have sweetwater to setup prior to shipping. Best Gibson les paul out there for the money in my 40 plus years of playing. Thanks Gibson & sweetwater for such a fine playing instrument!!!!!

I really like the Gibson Les Paul Tribute I just got. It plays great, it plays in tune..even the 1st position E and D chords (sounds stupid reading that, but you know guitars can be flakey out of the box). I did have to raise the string height to 0.055" (in between 3/64" and 4/64") at the 12th fret of the High E to avoid fret out when bending notes on the High E above the 12th fret. I like my strings at least that high anyway. This is not my first Gibson LP; I've had a 74 Deluxe and a 99 Special SL, and still have a 16 Standard purchased from Sweetwater. The weight relief is nice, too. It weighs 8 lbs 3 oz. I like it better than I thought I would.

I had been looking at Fender strats for awhile until I saw the Les Paul Tribute. After looking at countless reviews and youtube I decided to order the satin honeyburst Tribute. Well I made the right choice. The looks of the guitar, and the tone and sustain is fantastic! Thank you Sweetwater!

Purchase the guitar over a year ago explain guitar also came with a soft case nice made here Gibson Les Paul excellent guitar beautiful body had a wonderful salesman mr. McGhee help me with all the steps Sweetwater sells good equipment got very happy with the guitar beautiful sound can beat it for the money I give it five stars in my eyes keep up the good work Sweetwater's love you guys can't wait to the next purchase

I've been a Gibson fan for many years but all the ones I have came used. I thought it was time for me to buy a brand new one and see what it is all about!
I have worked in the past for several years at a famous custom shop building $5K++ instruments, so I have a fairly good understanding this is not that instrument but wanted to try the "foot in the door" Les Paul since it's the one missing from my collection.
First of all, I bought it from Sweetwater because when compared to other stores it seemed to be the one that offered the best deal with a payment plan option at 0% interest and a 55 point inspection.
After I placed my order, within the hour I received a call from a sale representative, that was very nice touch and he offered his knowledge and willingness to answer my questions. I was told my guitar would be packed and shipped ASAP.
A couple of hours after it was sent to me as an email attachment a collection of high resolution pictures of the same very guitar I was going to get, that was as well a very nice gesture.
I highly recommend Sweetwater for your future purchase as they where great throughout the whole process.
Now with the guitar...
I own several Gibsons, primarily Sgs and Flying vs, this guitar compared to those it is quite different.
First off, it has a MAPLE neck as opposed to mahogany, it is very chunky compared to the other, the heel curvature also starts way early than in those guitars (around the 13th fret as opposed to the 15th) so access to higher frets, especially on the bass side is very limited. The neck has a nice satin finish and you can see some of the maple flame underneath.
I did not notice the frets being sharp at all as many people claimed in reviews, however the treble side bevel it's kinda wonky and some frets are rounded more than others...very small detail. the bass side of the maple neck where it means the fingerboard is in places a little squareish, like it wasn't sanded evenly all the way to the fingerboard. Again, that is a minor detail that is not affecting playability. The fingerboard seems to be a little thicker than my other Gibsons and it's made of a nice rosewood. The inlays are very nice.The headstock it's very nicely done and the veneer seems to be thicker than other Gibsons.
The top of the guitar is made of a two piece maple. It does have minor figuring and few little knots here and there, the thickness is different in different parts but that's perhaps also as a result of the top carve. The edges are nicely broken in however still a little squareish. The mahogany two piece body looks good!You can barely notice the joints.
The satin finish it's outstanding, very good job!
When the guitar came out of the gig bag (brown leather also very nice), the three way switch top was missing as well as the poker chip. I installed the top of the switch but not the poker chip, I think it looks better that way.
There was a sweetwater 55 points inspection checklist with it.
In the bag, a strap, manual, warranty card, truss rod wrench and a picture of the guitar at the factory.
When the guitar came off the bag, the fingerboard was very dry. I applied some oil to fix that.
The knobs on the controls where installed unevenly, one was down all the way, almost touching the top, while others where some very high and some in the middle. Either way, just knobs who cares?
While the instrument was supposed to be set up already, I found that the bass side was incredibly high while the treble side was right on the money. The neck was very straight and the nut nice and low.
Unfortunately the tailpiece was bottomed out and the back of the strings on the bass side touched the bridge.
I spent a little bit like 5 minutes to rectify those minor issues. The pickups height was in the right ballpark so some minor tweak was all that it needed.
I went ahead and plugged the Les Paul in couple different amps, first a Roland JC 120 to check the clean and later in a Orange Rockerverb 50 to check the distortion.
I was very happy with what I heard in both. The pickups sounded very good on both amps and only needed a minor tweak of the individual string screws to have an even volume output.
In the majority of the projects I'm involved I play dropped down to B, so I went ahead and changed to my strings of liking (Curt Mangan Stainless Steel) and gave it a try.
The Les Paul needed a minor tweak in intonation (because of the different tuning and string gauge) but it sounded nice with very pronounced mids and overall good lows and highs, for short, this guitar is not just to play classic rock or blues but it can perform a variety of different things. I even tried an open G tuning with the slide and it was terrific.
In my humble opinion, I think this guitar is not a one trick pony but rather a very well balanced machine!
Everything considered, my experience with Sweetwater was 5 stars, however I give the guitar a 4 & 1/2, because while all the marketed features are great, I was disappointed that even with the weight reduction chambers the guitar is really heavy! I know that it can't be as light as all mahogany instrument because of the maple being heavier but this one is even heavier than my firebird and Vs so it's probably not the one you want to strap on for a long set.
Again, this is a minor setback and for everyone looking to purchase one, go ahead, you will find a great versatile & quality guitar!

I.love this guitar. I always wanted a Gibson but paying "$... for a guitar I never really played before was just way too much money to start with. So I got a Gibson Tribute and.It plays and sounds fantastic. For "$... a got a Made in the USA. Gibson that sounds fantastic and plays like a dream. The only thing I can't recommend enough is pay the $... for a set up You will NOT be sorry in fact next to the guitar itself it is by far the best thing you can do for your new guitar. They do an amazing job and not only was I flabbergasted by the quality of the set up, I have been playing guitar for 30 years and always did my own. Not anymore. Sweetwater's set up was phenomenal and way better than anything I could have hoped for. Worth twice the money and if you need a salesman, ask for Mason Moss. Sweetwater's is filled with good peoplee but Mason is incredibly knowledgeable and has a whole team working for him. I promise you will not be disappointed. Sincerely, Steve Giordano

I have had this guitar since Dec and I love it. It is the real thing. The neck is fantastic and it sounds awesome and has incredible versatility. I am not the least bit disapointed. It isn't overly heavy and is close to a Strat weight wise (at least mine is) and I wouldn't trade or sell it for anything. I think it is a great value and I highly recommend it. I am 62 years old and love playing it. In my opinion it's a GREAT buy and I highly recommend it. I have had about every type of fender and tele made and I just switched to Gibsons' and I am delighted with it. It is a winner.

TLDR: Great sounding guitar! Like the maple neck and natural look. Not quite the full Les Paul experience, but a quality guitar still.

Let me start with the most important thing here. This guitar sounds awesome. I'm primarily a low gain, single coil sounds kind of guy. Even with the Les Paul Tribute I play pretty clean, but I'm loving the mellow tones on the rhythm pickup, and frankly the way the bridge pickup saturates my OD pedal makes me want to play some heavier songs.

I'm used to playing a Strat, but I recently got the itch for something different. Nothing more different from a Strat than a Les Paul (in the realm of solid body electrics at least). I'm not in a place in life to drop $ on a standard. I looked at first at the Studios, but ultimately decided on the Tribute because of the Maple neck. Being a Strat player, it's something I'm used to and with the infamous headstock angle being prone to breakage on the more traditional mahogany necks I decided having a maple neck couldn't be a bad thing. The more natural look of the Honey Burst really suits my vibe in what I play and where. Satin neck feels really good, a bit chunkier than I'm used to.

There is some confusion about the accessories this guitar comes with because of the way Gibson has tweaked this model in minor ways over the years. I saw one review that said the gig bag came with only one strap. That used to be true, I've seen one in a YouTube Video. The current gig bag has two straps and one compartment on the front. It is very nice. Until recently I think these came with a handsome brown gig bag, mine came with a black. Ultimately I like it, matches my other gig bags. Gibson has also shipped these with and without the pickup selector poker chip in the bag. This one did not (I double checked everywhere), so I ordered one, only to find that the reason they don't currently ship with these guitars is that the carve of the top doesn't allow enough room for the ring to grab onto the thread with the poker chip underneath. I was able to file down the chip on the treble side right around the center until it fit. It may vary from guitar to guitar, I had to file it down quite a bit. You can't tell I had to modify it unless you look really closely.

Now for the bad. The rosewood on the first few frets has kind of a funky smell. This isn't unheard of, but not a common problem. I doubt you'll have the same problem. It is a bit stubborn of a smell, but I think over time with some treatment it will eventually dissipate. The real issue I have with this guitar is really just the way Gibson does things as opposed to Fender. My first electric, and still my primary instrument, is a Fender American Special Stratocaster that I bought 12 years ago. At the time it was the cheapest American Strat you could buy, much like the Les Paul Tribute is the cheapest American Les Paul. The thing is Fender doesn't make you feel like you have an cheaper instrument. In fact there is a flagship American Professional II Stratocaster that looks identical to my Strat on the market. Sure my Strat is missing a few features from that Strat, and I'm sure if I got my hands on one there would be some subtle niceties, but overall the quality doesn't feel that far apart. Gibson is a different story though. This guitar is a little bit thinner than a standard. It has a matte finish, which you may like better, but it's still different than the more expensive Gibsons. It lacks the binding (which I know is an expensive process). Overall these are kind of petty things, but they aren't unimportant to me. I know it's about the sound, and it sounds great! But I still find myself looking at the standards dreaming about the day I can get one. A little part of me wishes I went with a studio. I know a lot of Gibson players like the old school finishes versus the modern ones found on the Studio, but I like a modern look and the gloss would match my strat a little bit better.

This is a great sounding guitar! Really happy to have an authentic Gibson at my disposal and to add some classic humbucking sounds to my arsenal, but ultimately this is indeed a "Tribute" to the Les Paul more than the full Les Paul experience. That doesn't bother a lot of people. It nags at me just a little bit. I hate to be that guy, but if you're that guy or gal too, its just something to consider.

The good; this thing has the tone in spades.
The baad; Sorry but the finish SUX!! Looks like a 200.00 guitar. Guess thats what you get if you dont have top dollar.
Side of the fretboard looks like it could use some serious sanding although the frets are fininshed fine.
Set up is skecthy to me with the bass side of the bridge well higher than the treble side? Tho intonation/playability is fine.
Someone waved a chicken foot over this thing so Im keeping it for that tone, just kind of a head scratcher overall.

I never was a fan of GLITZY GUITARS. I prefer simpler features. It has all of the necessary qualifications to be a true Les Paul but with simpler looks. To me it has the ingrained look of an older gold top that might have been sanded on the top to reveal the wood as was so popular in the 1970's. Good tone, good feel...good sound.

Phenomenal fit and finish. No sharp frets, slightly dry fretboard. Color is much darker than these pictures make you think it would be. Switch has a slight electronic hiss in the treble position. Backing down the volume takes it out of my range of hearing, so all is well. Tuning and intonation are spot on. Kudos to Greg and SW!

PROS:
I love this guitar (especially Sweetwater's whole pick out exactly which model you want so I got the lightest one that had some nice subtle flame) and I love how it sounds and feels

CONS:
Finish work on the whole fingerboard is AWFUL. Sharp frets and roughed up sides of the rosewood to be specific. You shouldn't have to buy a fret smoothing kit or have to sand down edges and ignore the parts you can't fix if you're spending over a grand on a guitar...

There's plenty to like about this affordable Les Paul... timbers were stunning, craftwork was spot-on, the hardware was substantial in its materials and actually operated smoothly and accurately. The action was able to be dialed down to an insanely low level with zero fret buzz, choke-outs, tinny notes... I gota hand it to Gibson on all this. I bought a new LP Standard in 2008 and the QC on this new one is miles ahead of that one from 08 in terms of it being a nice clean build with no crazy tool marks or hardware install issues. I must say I returned the Tribute because of one thing. The frets were just too low and I knew within minutes it would never work for me. Not sure if all the Tributes are this way or just this one. Maybe this one had to be PLEKed a bit more and it didn't leave much fret material left. If so then that's bad luck on one instrument. But if this is Gibson's choice of fretwire, and they are all like this then that's not cool. It needs more fret-meat to last anyone who's going to play it for very long. I couldn't play the guitar because of this... bending was impossible at any string-action height. Also, I felt the 490R/490T a bit muddy/shrill in this particular instrument. Needless to say, Sweetwater was awesome in handling a return. These kinds of things happen with guitars. Sometimes things aren't what you expect. They are cool with it. I just had to contact my sales rep and I was issued a return label with RMA already printed on it. I will keep looking for a dual humbucker guitar.

My first electric, and I chose wrong. The guitar is beautiful and has wonderful tone and sustain. But I can't keep it in tune. That's just a constant battle. Changing strings didn't help. I think intonation is poor. Playing rhythm, it actually sounds better on 3rd-8th frets than 1st or 2nd frets, no matter how I tune it. When soloing, I can't play below the 3rd fret, or the notes just sound "sour." Guess I'll have to look at a Strat or a PRS and dump this one.

I have been playing for 20 years and finally pulled the trigger on a real Gibson les paul. I have always owned lower grade options and have had pretty good results. THE BAD with this guitar- fret ends are very sharp, mine has a bad case of static electricity noises feeding through the electronics, the back of the guitar came with markings all around the back edges, the neck has a small indentation you can feel while playing, and who ever sanded around the fret ends basically scalloped the wood away leaving the metal.
So I would recommend trying before buying with this model.

Returning it didn't occur to me til the 2nd day of playing it. Either the nut was cut low or something was up with neck angle or straightness. Low e buzzed a bit too much open and on every fret. Raised bridge and tailpiece to get perfect intonation, and action was a nice big 8/64, which I didn't even notice play-wise, and doesn't bother me that much. Some of the details seemed rushed; like the entire side of the neck is sanded along with the frets, and the length of the frets was a little off on a couple spots. Looking down the neck, though, it didn't seem as straight as my 20 year old peavey. Truss was already all the way loose. I'm super picky about nut and neck, so I figured I didn't want to mess with a new guitar more than that. Super tough decision, and had I lived local to SW, I'd find a way to keep it like take it to get it measured and make sure it's not just me being paranoid.

Other than that, I loved everything about it, from the strings to the strap buttons. Burst colors are corny as fanny packs to me, but with the honeyburst you can hardly tell; it just looks like natural grain.


Ideally, it's best to play a few in person, and pick one based on the stuff that matters to me. I'm glad I got to spend some time with it.

definitely not the les Paul tone I have gotten from the past 3 les Pauls I have owned... not sure what all the rave reviews on this guitar are about.. I have bought a slash les Paul and 3 other les Paul special tributes from Sweetwater over the past couple years and they were all excellent guitars with creamy lead solo tone for days.. not this guitar. it stays overly bright and overdriven with no settings that sound low key and sweet. the playability for soloing is also lacking compared to my Silver Sky which with a longer scale still manages to bend easier and retain a warmer sweeter sound at 400 bucks less. will be returning and buying another Strat.

I hate to say it, but this guitar is vastly overpriced and mine in particular had a lot of issues.

It had tons of static electricity coming from the back of the guitar which came through the amp constantly. I have read that this can be cured using dryer sheets. No thanks..

The fretwork is embarrassing. Sharp, pointy frets all the way down the neck. Satin finish looked nice but that was about it.

I'm afraid to see what the even more expensive Gibson Les Paul Standard's are like.

My humble Ibanez RG3EX1 Made in Indonesia guitar is miles ahead of this guitar..

No idea what's going on with Gibson but you can do much much better for the money.

I've wanted a Gibson Les Paul since I was a teenager. I had high expectations for this. It was a let down to say the least. The neck had zero relief and the truss rod nut was all but loose. Action was very high. I had to put heavy strings on it and tune it and leave it for a couple weeks with the truss rod loose. I now have some relief in the neck. Bridge pickup was almost touching the strings. Theres a gouge in the edge of the fretboard where it meets the body. And the fretboard on the edge looks almost scalloped between the frets like it was over dressed. Intonation was a pain, the bridge saddle on the low E is almost maxed out and the E still plays sharp. Its not really enjoyable to play. I have a korean copy that has better fit and finish than this. For a guitar I've waited my whole life for this is a huge letdown.