Is it normal for the pickups to be quite loose on the Epiphone 1960's Les Paul Tribute Plus?

[aquat26]

Had a look at an Epiphone 1960s Les Paul Tribute Plus in a store today and the pickups seemed to be quite loose, particularly the bridge pickup which seemed to be unlevel and sunken in below the plastic edging. Is this normal? I would also love to hear opinions on buying display model guitars vs those that come out of the box. Thanks everybody!

[Blueman335]

The PU's should be 1/8" to 1/16" from the strings when you press the strings down on the highest fret. A bridge PU should never be below the plastic ringwith a Gibson-design guitar. That's why it's loose, there's no tension in the height spings. Adjust the height with the two height screws, one at the top and one at the bottom of the PU. That way you get the best tone and output.

[stumblinman]

Sounds like someone messed with the guitar that didn't know what they were doing. Should never be like that. Tell the store it's broken and ask for a discount! ;)

[damian]

Wax potted pickups float, non waxpotted pickups sink.......................

[Hyote]

I picked up a tribute Plus over the weekend. Nothing unusual about the pickups on mine, or their height.

 

I also played a Gibson Traditional Pro at the same store, and believe it or not, the bridge pikcup in that one was way, way low and loose. Obviously an easy thing to remedy by just turning the screws, but I wonder how it got that way in the first place.

[Blueman335]

I also played a Gibson Traditional Pro at the same store, and believe it or not, the bridge pikcup in that one was way, way low and loose. Obviously an easy thing to remedy by just turning the screws, but I wonder how it got that way in the first place.

 

Quality control/inspection is not as consistent as consumers would like.

[Hyote]

Quality control/inspection is not as consistent as consumers would like.

 

Maybe. Back in October when I tested a Gibson LP that I eventually bought, it took me quite a while to tune it to my liking. I carry a tuner if I'm going guitar shopping (or use the Polytune app in my iPhone if it's a spur of the moment thing), so it was just a matter of taking a minute to do it.

 

Anyway, I mentioned this to the salesman, and he said that he and the other guys in the store tend to tune them to their own preferences to play them when there are no customers around. I guess he preferes some weird tuning that ends up pitched lower overall. He had even loosened the truss rod accordingly. Seems kind of like a goofy thing to do, if you're actually trying to sell the guitar.