wrjp Posted December 4, 2009 Share Posted December 4, 2009 I just received my 1959 Les Paul standard in faded tabacco (or faded iced tea???). The guitar itself is beautiful. There are a number of issues with the piece. 1) The finish color name is basically unknown. Some places call it faded tabacco. Other call it faded iced tea. Not sure what I should call it but I think someone from Epihone or Gibson should make a determination as to what they are selling and advertising through their many affiliates. 2) The setup is terribile. If it was supposed to be inspected by Epiphone USA, maybe we need better inspectors in this country 3) The pick-ups barely were held in place by their fastening screws. They needed to be tghtened up so as not to rock and hit.. yse I said hit, the strings as they are rocked with movement 4) All of the specifications on the internet stores and reviews touted a blank truss rod cover as a feture bringing the piece close to the original. However, the truss rod cover on my guitar has "Les Paul 1959 Standard" embossed into it. So much for this feature...what else has changed and not made known to players, collectors, etc. Obviously until I get a professional setup the guitar is only marginally playable so I cannot really comment on the most important aspect of the guitar. More later ...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rpach10115 Posted December 4, 2009 Share Posted December 4, 2009 Same problem with mine. The setup was horrible. BUT>>>>>> After I set it up, it plays beautifully. This guitar was worth every penny aftre a good setup. My TRC is printed also. I have the "Iced Tea" version and the fit and finish is flawless. I have tried to get an answer to this: Everywhere I've read that this guitar was supposed to have been made in QD China. I'm sure it was. BUT, the STAMPED serial number on this headstock is for the Fujigen plant in japan, not QD China! The serial number is STAMPED, not inked on. Is this special Serial number run from QD, or was this guitar actually made @ Fujigen? I have a few other epi LP and this guitar is MUCH better in manufacture and fit that the China and Korea manufacture one's I have. Is it possible that this WAS made in Fujigen? I know that this is supposedly a "limited" run of 1,959 guitars (Yeah right), but is this possible it was made @ Fuji? Does anyone have a legitimate answer to this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest icantbuyafender Posted December 4, 2009 Share Posted December 4, 2009 Same problem with mine. The setup was horrible. BUT>>>>>> After I set it up' date=' it plays beautifully. This guitar was worth every penny aftre a good setup. My TRC is printed also. I have the "Iced Tea" version and the fit and finish is flawless. I have tried to get an answer to this: Everywhere I've read that this guitar was supposed to have been made in QD China. I'm sure it was. [b']BUT[/b], the STAMPED serial number on this headstock is for the Fujigen plant in japan, not QD China! The serial number is STAMPED, not inked on. Is this special Serial number run from QD, or was this guitar actually made @ Fujigen? I have a few other epi LP and this guitar is MUCH better in manufacture and fit that the China and Korea manufacture one's I have. Is it possible that this WAS made in Fujigen? I know that this is supposedly a "limited" run of 1,959 guitars (Yeah right), but is this possible it was made @ Fuji? Does anyone have a legitimate answer to this? ooooh! Elitist, much? perhaps... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Zeplin Posted December 4, 2009 Share Posted December 4, 2009 It isn't that unusual for a setup to be not what you expected since it varies from player to player. What may suck for you may be fine for someone else. There isn't one magic set of specs for everyone so set it up to your liking and see how it goes then. As for the colour the Epi sight calls it faded iced tea but Musician's friend calls it faded tobacco, which is also very close to vintage sunburst. To me the pics look more like iced tea. Here's my Gibson iced tea: and a photo from MF: Looks pretty close to me. As for the serial number it should be stamped on according to the specs, does the prefix indicate Fujigen? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rpach10115 Posted December 4, 2009 Share Posted December 4, 2009 I understand about subjective setups, but this was one was off the charts bad. The neck pickup was loose and not mounted to the PU rings! It was just floating in the cavity. I had to remove the PU ring, screw the pickup and spring back to the ring, and remount it back into the guitar. This is from a guitar that is supposed to be setup, and shipped from nashville, in a beautiful case, in an inner box, with a 2nd outer box package. I'm sure this did not "fall off" in shipping. This was pure oversight. My color,finish, and bookmatching looks almost exactly like your gibson.The finish is NOT faded whatsoever and appears to be a very thin overcoat on the guitar. It is NOTHING like the MF picture. The best part of this setup was the neck, it was perfect. The serial number starts "F50***" It is a 6 position serial number. Strange? Everything I've read states "F" is fujigen. Is this possible? If so, I'm doing the happy dance. This guitar is "elitist's" quality. The manufacture quality is better than my other epi's. Maybe that is where these are made? Again, is this possible? I would LOVE if anyone out there has info on this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Zeplin Posted December 4, 2009 Share Posted December 4, 2009 I think in this case the faded refers more to the colour than the finish, ie, worn/faded, if that was what you were expecting to see. The original Gibson sunburst LPs were all (or at least the vast majority) cherry sunburst. The iced tea, honeyburst, lemonburst, etc. is just Gibson's attempt at trying to recreate the different hues of fading of the original cherry bursts thus offering buyers a choice of colours. The red dye in the originals faded faster than the blue and green dyes within the composition of the original paint leaving varying shades of fading for each instrument. In 1960 they changed the dye to a formula that didn't fade as much and caused some to refer to the colour as tomato soup burst. You are right, the P/U shouldn't be floating in the cavity but if that's all it took to have a great playing guitar that isn't too bad. Can you post pics? I've not seen any other than the ones on internet sales sights. Oh and don't be alarmed when the nickel hardware starts to tarnish, it will. Chrome won't tarnish but nickel will but that just adds to the character of the instrument in my opinion. Enjoy and congratulations. Z. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaxHart85231281734137 Posted December 4, 2009 Share Posted December 4, 2009 hmmmm sounds to me that epi discontinued its ELists line, probably still has several 1,000 bodies left over and shipped them to china to china or somthing of that nature......maybe.......people might be getting a better deal on these than they think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest icantbuyafender Posted December 4, 2009 Share Posted December 4, 2009 Id like to see an image of the inside of the neck pickup cavity... It sooooooo better not have the dreaded long 3/4's neck tennon that ive seen on recent LP's like my goldtop. Just my preference for it to be full width. My '02 korean has a full width tennon but it doesnt extend into the neck pickup cavity. Its flush with it instead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manimal Posted December 4, 2009 Share Posted December 4, 2009 hmmmm sounds to me that epi discontinued its ELists line' date=' probably still has several 1,000 bodies left over and shipped them to china to china or somthing of that nature......maybe.......people might be getting a better deal on these than they think?[/quote'] Unfortunately, this is not the case. I've played the new Tribute Les Paul model, and like any other standard line MIC Epiphone, still is a 3 piece neck with mahogany veneers for decoration, and the mahogany body has the mahogany veneer covering several pieces of wood underneath. The MIJ Elitist Les Paul line is an entirely different animal, I assure you. I admit to not playing or seeing a new "59 in person, but from the pics I've seen in the Sweetwater stock page, and Wildwood Guitars, its the same construction as a regular Epiphone Les Paul Standard, with the addition of a solid maple cap under the veneer (certainly a step in the right direction, but how many pieces of maple???), long neck-tenon, and loaded with other good features. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rpach10115 Posted December 5, 2009 Share Posted December 5, 2009 For some reason, it's not letting me upload the pictures. I have one in my avatar. I will be happy to e-mail them to anyone. PM me your e-mail address and I will send. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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