Epiphone 1960 Tribute Les Paul READ AD

There’s a hairline crack around the neck / headstock that has no effect on playability or tuning stability but would ideally need a fix hence very low price. The pickups - Gibson Classic 57 / 57+, on this are worth close to my asking price alone.

Case is not included

The Epiphone Les Paul Standard Tribute 1960 is one of the top-of-the-range models of the second Gibson brand. As a highlight, it has first class hardware and pickups “made in the USA” - pickups set is Gibson Classic 57 / 57+

Additionally it comes with a solid maple top instead of a veneer as in the common models.

Epiphone Les Paul 1960 Tribute Specs

Guitar Neck and Body

Three-piece “mahogany” body, apparently without weight relief, and with a solid maple top. Although in reality, Epi does not use mahogany, but rather a substitute. Apparently it is Luan, called the “Mahogany of the Philippines or Indonesia”, because of its aesthetic resemblance. Both its timbral qualities and appearance are quite similar to the honduran mahogany.

The common Epiphone Les Paul Standard does not have a solid maple top, just a veneer for cosmetic purposes. This model has a solid maple shell like “real” Les Pauls have, and it does influence the tone, giving the instrument more bright and clear tone. They use plain maple with a flamed veneer on top. This is done to keep prices in line with a mid-range guitar.

Two-piece an asian mahogany neck with long tenon and 1960’s Slim Taper profile with very nice Rosewood. Long tenon is a deeper tenon than the regular one. The neck reaches below the pickup. This system was the one originally used by Gibson. In theory, this allows for better transmission of vibrations and more sustain. In the case of the guitar used for this review, I can confirm that the sustain is very good.

Pickups, Electronics and Hardware

A highlight of the viola is that it brings top-notch hardware and electronics, made in the USA, at the level of a Gibson. The Epiphone Les Paul Tribute 1960 comes with Switchcraft pickup selector switch and push-pull pots with vintage aesthetics as it brings “pointers”.

The pickups set is Gibson Classic 57 / 57+, very vintage pickups with an extra punch in the bridge, which makes them very versatile. Besides sounding barbaric, they are also spliteable, meaning they can be used in “singlecoil” mode. The tone is more than convincing, they splite very well.

Another nice aspect of this guitar is the Gotoh Locking Rotomatic 106 Series 18: 1 machine heads. They are the best or maybe the best I’ve ever had. Tremendous precision.

Guitar finish

It’s a nice looking guitar, nice color, it has details like the Epiphone on the headstock made with a simile mother of pearl inlay, very good.

Conclusions and comparison with Gibsons

In general, I have to say that the guitar is excellent. It’s very solid, has perfect action, holds the pitch, and is comfortable like a Gibson.

It is certainly well above the Epiphones I had previously, two Les Paul Standard Korea and China, and a SG G400 China. I even have to admit that it is probably better than the Gibson LPJ I had, which I really liked.