TROGDOR Posted May 12, 2023 Share Posted May 12, 2023 (edited) I was pleased to recently come into a Les Paul Studio 2021 after only owning Epiphone and always wanting the real deal in the Sweetwater exclusive of Cherry burst. However, I noticed after getting it home that the neck is maple which should not be. I have contacted the store who is a Gibson authorized dealer (but not sweetwater) and they advised me that they sold the guitar new in 2021 to a customer and that same customer traded it in in 2023 and then I bought it. They say it was new from Gibson and they say it’s a TRIBUTE. I called the Gibson support number and spoke to a charming gentlemen there who confirmed the serial number is for a tribute. Here’s my confusion and where I’ll ask for help: The guitar has Grover tuners like a Studio and no holes for the vintage tuners which would have been on a tribute nor any signs of filling. It’s got the PCB and pull pots from the Studio and does in fact do coil tapping. It’s got the bridge pickup from the studio rather than the tribute and is also dated 2021. It’s got black pick guard, pickup rings, speed knobs, switch, and a studio truss rod cover. The cavity plates on the back are gloss as on the studio rather than matte and textured as on the Tribute. The jack plate is Chrome rather than cream. I believe the neck is slim taper, although it is clearly maple. All hardware appears to be chrome rather than nickel plated which is what you would expect on a Studio. The finish is definitely not matte. It’s as glossy as can be. I feel like if anyone tried to polish the nitro on a tribute to this degree, it would have burned through. Even the neck is high gloss. So what’s happened here? Is this is a fake guitar? Did the previous owner make dozens of changes to turn a tribute into a studio and somehow make it so the vintage tuners of the tribute magically never made any holes? Is it possible that Gibson made a Studio in error with a maple neck and sent it on as a Tribute? Any insight would be greatly appreciated! https://ibb.co/LNNn1L7https://ibb.co/NybK9rMhttps://ibb.co/cXHnHDphttps://ibb.co/vxmgTZvhttps://ibb.co/cCTXb0thttps://ibb.co/vdFxJN7https://ibb.co/q9JM8Gzhttps://ibb.co/gmBn1WDhttps://ibb.co/FY4HmW5 Edited May 12, 2023 by TROGDOR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eracer_Team Posted May 12, 2023 Share Posted May 12, 2023 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Bill Posted May 12, 2023 Share Posted May 12, 2023 (edited) That certainly is a beautiful Les Paul, I love the color! I may be wrong, but I am certain that this is a Studio. It may be a Sweetwater Exclusive or some other large music store, that's why you're not seeing it as part of the Gibson line-up. Congratulations on the purchase, I think you got a winner! Edit: There should be some writing under the neck pickup, this may tell you if it truly is a Studio or a Tribute. This guitar is much nicer that a Tribute, that's for sure. Edited May 12, 2023 by Big Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merciful-evans Posted May 12, 2023 Share Posted May 12, 2023 Its is a beauty. Gibson do make guitars with maple necks, and frequently on Studios. To me that's a good thing and one of the reasons I went for a 339 Studio. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TROGDOR Posted May 12, 2023 Author Share Posted May 12, 2023 (edited) The issue is that both the retailer who sold it new to a different customer and then to me once traded back in by that same customer say it's a tribute and Gibson themselves say it's a tribute when I called and gave them the serial number. The Gibson rep didn't seem to want to entertain the idea it might be a fake by saying no one fakes Studios. He also wouldn't entertain the idea that the factory made an error and said someone probably replaced every single piece of hardware on it and somehow buffed up the tribute's satin thin finish into this high gloss. While I admire his confidence in his factory, I just don't share it. I'm sure that you'd burn through the thin nitro on a tribute before achieving this result. As for a number under the neck pickup: It's been painted with the top part of the burst. Whatever may have been written in that cavity at some point is now painted over. I'm not really sure what that video from L&M is meant to convey, although it does highlight their continued cluelessness. He says that the Studio has coil splitting and turns into a single coil. That's completely false. It has coil tapping and stays a humbucker. Very typical for L&M. Why - they're the type of retailer to sell as a Studio as a tribute (twice) and to give the case for a different tribute with a different serial # and not even bat an eye! 😉 Edited May 12, 2023 by TROGDOR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Bill Posted May 12, 2023 Share Posted May 12, 2023 You're obviously not happy with the purchase and you don't like the answers anyone is giving you. Return the guitar and get your money back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TROGDOR Posted May 12, 2023 Author Share Posted May 12, 2023 (edited) Actually I DO like the guitar but I'm concerned that something is amiss. The retailer swears it's a Tribute. Gibson swears it's a tribute. I just want to be sure that it's not either Fake or a Tribute that has been modified into a studio. Obviously that would be cause for concern. It does have a maple neck just like a tribute would so that's also a red flag. If it is indeed a real Gibson studio which somehow got a maple neck put on and entered into their system as a tribute then I think Gibson still has to work on their quality control. In any event, I'd be happy with that and keep it! I just want to be sure it left the factory this way and isn't modified or fake. Edited May 12, 2023 by TROGDOR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ceptorman Posted May 12, 2023 Share Posted May 12, 2023 (edited) 13 hours ago, TROGDOR said: Actually I DO like the guitar but I'm concerned that something is amiss. The retailer swears it's a Tribute. Gibson swears it's a tribute. I just want to be sure that it's not either Fake or a Tribute that has been modified into a studio. Obviously that would be cause for concern. It does have a maple neck just like a tribute would so that's also a red flag. If it is indeed a real Gibson studio which somehow got a maple neck put on and entered into their system as a tribute then I think Gibson still has to work on their quality control. In any event, I'd be happy with that and keep it! I just want to be sure it left the factory this way and isn't modified or fake. I think your second paragraph nailed it. Edited May 13, 2023 by Ceptorman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rct Posted May 12, 2023 Share Posted May 12, 2023 "Specifications subject to change without notice" pretty much covers whatever left the factory that day. rct Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eracer_Team Posted May 12, 2023 Share Posted May 12, 2023 @TROGDOR if you actually watched the L&M video you will see that the Tribute (aka model below a studio) has a maple neck such as you’re currently complaining about that yours has one and claiming fake, that was my point there are enough arguments about coil tapping vs coil splitting that it’s basically “splitting hairs “ on the function L&M is the retail outlet to Yorkville Sound the importer of all Gibson’s into Canada they’re not “sweet water”, GC , Music123, and will rent you a $4800 Gibson Les Paul or J45 for a mere $140 for a month you can’t get that from any USA based retailer I think your best bet is to return the guitar you currently have in your hand Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TROGDOR Posted May 12, 2023 Author Share Posted May 12, 2023 (edited) I'm aware that the tribute has a maple neck and stated so. That is my concern: that it might be a heavily modified Tribute rather than a Studio. However, the neck is slim taper where the tribute has a fat D. I heard back from the retailer today. It seems they gave me the wrong bag with this guitar and have found the correct one. I'll swing by this weekend and do the exchange. They say the correct documentation is in that bag including the baby photo of how it left the factory. I'll be very interested to see that! Honestly, the guitar is great - there's just a concern over whether it's been modified extensively and is actually a studio or a modified Tribute. Gibson says it's a tribute and so does the retailer. The COA and baby photo will tell the story. I'll report back when I receive those sometime this weekend. [quote] there are enough arguments about coil tapping vs coil splitting that it’s basically “splitting hairs “ on the function [/quote] He says in the video that it splits it into a single coil which is false. (true of an epiphone I believe). It remains a humbucker, just tapped off with fewer winds for a more vintage sound. Both coils are still active and are not split. Tapping vs splitting is not "splitting hairs.". They are two completely different things; unless you think humbucker vs single coils is splitting hairs 😉 Edited May 12, 2023 by TROGDOR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merciful-evans Posted May 12, 2023 Share Posted May 12, 2023 Seems likely that the previous owner may have changed the TRC. I've changed a couple of mine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparquelito Posted May 12, 2023 Share Posted May 12, 2023 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TROGDOR Posted May 13, 2023 Author Share Posted May 13, 2023 (edited) Update: I've got the original bag and documents. So...if I'm to understand this correctly, Gibson built a Cherry burst Studio in 2021 before they made that color for Sweetwater and they built it with a maple neck... And then the quality control guy wrote down the model # for a Les Paul Tribute and said "Yep - that's definitely what this is!" and shipped it? That's fun! Well, I'm glad to have an extremely unique guitar. I love it! Welcome to the new Gibson, same as the old Gibson. Edited May 13, 2023 by TROGDOR 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparquelito Posted May 13, 2023 Share Posted May 13, 2023 All's well that ends well!😃 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pinch Posted May 13, 2023 Share Posted May 13, 2023 Not all Tributes have maple necks, right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TROGDOR Posted May 13, 2023 Author Share Posted May 13, 2023 On 5/12/2023 at 11:42 AM, TROGDOR said: he correct one. I'll swing by this weekend and do the exchange. They say the correct documentation is in that bag including the baby photo of how it left the factory. I'll be ve All of the current production ones, do. I don't believe any of the current production studios do but could be wrong. This studio does, oddly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdgm Posted May 13, 2023 Share Posted May 13, 2023 Good result. Play long and prosper! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twang Gang Posted May 14, 2023 Share Posted May 14, 2023 You may have a priceless one of kind LP, glad you solved the mystery and that you like the guitar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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