Epiphone Les Paul Tribute Plus and SG Tribute Plus: The Perfect Gateway to Gibson?
The real deal for beginners!
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Epiphone Les Paul Tribute Plus and SG Tribute Plus: The Perfect Gateway to Gibson? · Source: Epiphone
With the new Les Paul Tribute Plus and SG Tribute models, Epiphone updates its Tribute series with some exciting new models. Let’s take a look.
Epiphone SG and Les Paul Tribute Plus in detail
It’s getting crowded in the world of entry-level guitars these days. And that’s good news! However, it’s been a moment since we’ve seen true beginner-focused models from Epiphone. That changes today with the introduction of the new Les Paul Tribute Plus and SG Tribute Plus models. These guitars offer a lot for their money, and they’re beautiful, too!
Both models have a mahogany body with a flamed maple top. For the Les Paul Tribute Plus models, it’s a AAA figured maple veneer. These woods look stunning, and they’ll also give you the sound and projection you’re expecting.
The guitar’s mahogany neck is bolt-on for obvious cost reasons, and its profile is in a ’60s slim taper style with a rounded C shape, making it extremely comfortable to play. The fretboard is made of laurel with 22 frets and trapezoid inlays.
Hardware and Electronics
The Epiphone Les Paul Tribute Plus and SG Tribute Plus both feature the Epiphone LockTone Tune-O-Matic bridge and Die-Cast tuners, ensuring the guitar stays in tune even for longer periods. This nickel hardware also gives the guitars a classic look.
Both guitars include two humbuckers: an Epiphone 700T at the bridge and an Epiphone 650R at the neck. These pickups, with their elegant zebra coils and ceramic magnets, deliver a powerful and clear sound that’s perfect for just about any guitar-driven genre from blues to rock to americana.
The new models come in three colors: Ebony Burst, Heritage Cherry Sunburst, and Vintage Sunburst. They all look super stylish and they have that classic Gibson vibe.
How much do the new Epiphone Les Paul Tribute Plus and SG Tribute guitars cost?
Price and availability
The Epiphone Les Paul Tribute Plus and SG Tribute Plus are excellent entry-level guitars. For only $389 / £353 / €399, each guitar offers a lot. The guitars will soon be available here at Thomann*. It’s great to see that the manufacturer has also thought of left-handed players.
More on the new Guitars from Epiphone
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2 responses to “Epiphone Les Paul Tribute Plus and SG Tribute Plus: The Perfect Gateway to Gibson?”
Strange (dumb) to reuse a product name like this, for a different tier of instrument. I had the Epiphone Les Paul 60s Tribute Plus, and it was no “beginners’ guitar.” It had a long neck tenon, USA Classic 57 pickups, US wiring and pots, and locking tuners. It was built “better than a lot of Gibsons,” per my Hollywood guitar tech,
Brand confusion….
There is a distinct difference between pre 2019 Gibson/Epiphone and post 2019 Gibson/Epiphone. Pretty much everything changed when the new management took over in 2019 and they set out to correct a lot of the issues that had occurred in the 2010’s. Model names were a disaster in the 2010s, and it’s one of the first things that new management addressed, basically revamping and simpliflying everything, getting rid of redundant models, adopting specs that stay consistent from year to year, etc. There were so many different models of Les Pauls in the 2010s that it’s nearly impossible not to use a name that has never been used.
The Tribute Plus is a good name for this model, its an accurate representation of the specs. It’s a Tribute, not a full fledged LP because it has a bolt on neck, and the Plus because it still looks the part, it’s not a visually stripped down model.
Almost every model of the same name is a completely different guitar pre 2019 and post 2019. Even something as iconic as the Les Paul Standard is completely different depending on whether you’re referring to current day or the 2010s.