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  #1  
Old 05-24-2017, 08:23 AM
Dru Edwards Dru Edwards is offline
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Default 2016 / 2017 Gibson electrics

Anyone have any opinions on the 2016 and 2017 Gibson Les Pauls or any other Gibson electric? After the 2015 flop where Gibson modified most of their electrics (i.e. robo tuners) and raised the prices significantly things calmed down in 2016/2017.

The 2017 Les Paul Tribute and Classic look like nice guitars although no stores stock them around here.
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Old 05-24-2017, 09:37 AM
ChrisN ChrisN is offline
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My response isn't helpful to you, but I just took the Gibson roller coaster ride trying to find a reasonably priced model with a 1 3/4 neck which they offer on some models, albeit with the same string spacing as the 1 11/16 neck (why?). I started with the 2015 models because that's when I understood the wider neck became available. I was very surprised to find the "which models have what features" process so complicated - I had to look at every one of them. They have a lot of models and I couldn't crack the code. The robo tuners were/mandatory on all (2015) or most (later) models. Richlite fretboards and other cost-cutters aren't of interest to me.

I've got a '93 LP Studio that I love, and wanted to try another Gibson for the wider neck even if I had to re-do the [bronze?] nut to get full spacing but I can't commit to their new line or process. My solution? Because I mostly want the wider neck to see if I like it on an electric, I just bought (but haven't yet received - due today) a lightly used 2014 Agile 3100 (South Korean, dist through Rondo Music) with a ton of nice features (3/4" maple cap over 1 1/2" mahogany, triple-bound body and headstock, radiused 12-16 single-bound ebony board w/MOP inlays, hand-filed jumbo frets and normal string spacing(!), push/pull pots to split the coils, nice Graph Tech bridge, 2-way truss rod, and alnico V-based [not ceramic] pickups). I'll probably replace the bridge V with a 2 and call it good on the tweaking for my current needs. Oh, and manual Grover 18:1 tuners. Nice Cherryburst w/white pickguard, all for $400 delivered when it was new, probably less than a set of replacement robo-tuners. Incidentally, I ran into stories about the original bronze nut on the Gibson being softer than the strings so it was getting chewed up and buzzing strings pretty quick - Gibson was sending out new chrome-looking nuts to replace on request - yummy. Is the Agile a cheap asian POS? Probably. Will I hate it? Possibly. But they get pretty good reviews, so I'd rather take this path than Gibson's, for now.

If I like the Agile neck enough but not the rest of it, maybe I'll give Gibson another try, but it's more likely I'll first check for a nice boutique knock-off. If the Agile's working for me, I'll just keep it. In any event, while not particularly helpful to you, that's where Gibson's marketing department sent this guy.

EDIT: The Agile arrived and looks/plays/sounds great. Amazing.

Last edited by ChrisN; 05-24-2017 at 01:08 PM.
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  #3  
Old 05-24-2017, 10:10 AM
michaeljohnr michaeljohnr is offline
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I own a recent ('17) Les Paul Tribute and cannot find a single flaw with it and the guitar sounds great. It even has a one piece back. I am extremely happy.
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Last edited by michaeljohnr; 05-26-2017 at 10:06 AM.
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  #4  
Old 05-24-2017, 10:54 AM
TheChicagoTodd TheChicagoTodd is offline
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I have a 2016 Les Paul Traditional in Heritage Cherry burst and it's fantastic. As a matter of fact at the shop I got it from even though the standard cost more money I was told that the traditional is probably a better at least a better value.

Todd in Chicago

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  #5  
Old 05-24-2017, 02:55 PM
Dru Edwards Dru Edwards is offline
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Hi Chris, thanks for you feedback. Those 2015 models were not well received. There are so many models that it is very difficult to know what model has what specs, especially when they change every year or two.

Gibson now has a great website and they list all the guitars sorted by year. So, you can view all the models and their specs for 2015, or '16 or '17. Not sure how far back it goes.

I've read great things about the Agile. You might get a great guitar. Post a NGD thread when you get it with a review. I'll be looking forward to it.

Quote:
Originally Posted by ChrisN View Post
My response isn't helpful to you, but I just took the Gibson roller coaster ride trying to find a reasonably priced model with a 1 3/4 neck which they offer on some models, albeit with the same string spacing as the 1 11/16 neck (why?). I started with the 2015 models because that's when I understood the wider neck became available. I was very surprised to find the "which models have what features" process so complicated - I had to look at every one of them. They have a lot of models and I couldn't crack the code. The robo tuners were/mandatory on all (2015) or most (later) models. Richlite fretboards and other cost-cutters aren't of interest to me.

I've got a '93 LP Studio that I love, and wanted to try another Gibson for the wider neck even if I had to re-do the [bronze?] nut to get full spacing but I can't commit to their new line or process. My solution? Because I mostly want the wider neck to see if I like it on an electric, I just bought (but haven't yet received - due today) a lightly used 2014 Agile 3100 (South Korean, dist through Rondo Music) with a ton of nice features (3/4" maple cap over 1 1/2" mahogany, triple-bound body and headstock, radiused 12-16 single-bound ebony board w/MOP inlays, hand-filed jumbo frets and normal string spacing(!), push/pull pots to split the coils, nice Graph Tech bridge, 2-way truss rod, and alnico V-based [not ceramic] pickups). I'll probably replace the bridge V with a 2 and call it good on the tweaking for my current needs. Oh, and manual Grover 18:1 tuners. Nice Cherryburst w/white pickguard, all for $400 delivered when it was new, probably less than a set of replacement robo-tuners. Incidentally, I ran into stories about the original bronze nut on the Gibson being softer than the strings so it was getting chewed up and buzzing strings pretty quick - Gibson was sending out new chrome-looking nuts to replace on request - yummy. Is the Agile a cheap asian POS? Probably. Will I hate it? Possibly. But they get pretty good reviews, so I'd rather take this path than Gibson's, for now.

If I like the Agile neck enough but not the rest of it, maybe I'll give Gibson another try, but it's more likely I'll first check for a nice boutique knock-off. If the Agile's working for me, I'll just keep it. In any event, while not particularly helpful to you, that's where Gibson's marketing department sent this guy.

EDIT: The Agile arrived and looks/plays/sounds great. Amazing.
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  #6  
Old 05-24-2017, 03:22 PM
ChrisN ChrisN is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dru Edwards View Post
Hi Chris, thanks for you feedback. Those 2015 models were not well received. There are so many models that it is very difficult to know what model has what specs, especially when they change every year or two.

Gibson now has a great website and they list all the guitars sorted by year. So, you can view all the models and their specs for 2015, or '16 or '17. Not sure how far back it goes.

I've read great things about the Agile. You might get a great guitar. Post a NGD thread when you get it with a review. I'll be looking forward to it.
Thanks Dru - I'll do a cheater NGD using the ad and its pics, since they're way better than I could have done, along with my minor input.
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Old 05-24-2017, 05:36 PM
Scotso Scotso is offline
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As with all recent Gibsons, there are some folks that bemoan the quality control and some that think that everything is fine. I have played some 2015s. But for the autotune and high price I thought they were fine. 2016s are considered to be one of the best of recent years. The 2016s I have had my hands on were good. YMMV
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  #8  
Old 05-24-2017, 08:02 PM
clintj clintj is offline
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My 2016 Firebird T is well put together, sounds great, and is just a nice guitar all around.

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  #9  
Old 05-25-2017, 04:49 AM
Dru Edwards Dru Edwards is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by michaeljohnr View Post
I own a recent ('16) Les Paul Tribute and cannot find a single flaw with it and the guitar sounds great. It even has a one piece back. I am extremely happy.
Those Tributes are great guitars at a nice price point. I have a 2013 '60s Tribute gold top with P90s. Played it last night. Turned on the tube screamer and got some great gain tones out of it into my Traynor.

Quote:
Originally Posted by TheChicagoTodd View Post
I have a 2016 Les Paul Traditional in Heritage Cherry burst and it's fantastic. As a matter of fact at the shop I got it from even though the standard cost more money I was told that the traditional is probably a better at least a better value.

Todd in Chicago

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Hey Todd, sounds like you got a great Traditional. Even though (here in Canada) they cost $1k less than a Standard they're on par with them for sure. Different neck profiles are a key difference.
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  #10  
Old 05-25-2017, 04:53 AM
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Bob Womack Bob Womack is offline
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I'm looking at a 2016 right now, in fact.

Bob
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  #11  
Old 05-25-2017, 09:38 AM
Dru Edwards Dru Edwards is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by clintj View Post
My 2016 Firebird T is well put together, sounds great, and is just a nice guitar all around.

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I've never played a Firebird before. That has mini humbuckers, correct? How are they?
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Old 05-25-2017, 09:58 AM
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Bob Womack Bob Womack is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dru Edwards View Post
I've never played a Firebird before. That has mini humbuckers, correct? How are they?
They are their own beast! The originals are smaller than the Epi Mini-hums that were used in the '70s Les Paul Deluxe. From memory, they are a tad brighter.

Bob
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  #13  
Old 05-25-2017, 11:39 AM
clintj clintj is offline
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Bright, powerful, and don't really imitate anything else, is how I would describe Firebird pickups. They have a really forward growl when played with a chrome steel slide, and when rolled off through a tweed Deluxe they have a nice clean sound. The rhythm sound from Skynyrd's Simple Man is in there if you can find it with that combo. Maybe somewhere between a Gibson PAF and a Telecaster?

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  #14  
Old 05-25-2017, 12:47 PM
madmusicltd madmusicltd is offline
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Default 2016 Lea Paul Traditional

I have a 2016 Les Paul Traditional, it is awesome, total thumbs up!



Pic from the factory

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  #15  
Old 05-26-2017, 02:18 AM
perttime perttime is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by clintj View Post
Bright, powerful, and don't really imitate anything else, is how I would describe Firebird pickups. (...) Maybe somewhere between a Gibson PAF and a Telecaster?
Many seem to be very happy with sounds that they get from Epiphone's single pickup Joe Bonamassa Firebird. I've understood that the pickup they use is better - or more vintage-correct - than what Gibson has recently used.
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