“…The tone is convincingly thick and sweet but also unexpectedly detailed and lush for a guitar in this price range”
Tanglewood have a growing reputation for building high-quality, entry-to-pro level acoustic guitars and are also gaining favour in the mid-priced electric guitar market, producing copies of classic models. It must be said though, they have some stiff competition from other mid-priced manufacturers who are also producing affordable high-quality instruments.
On review is the Tanglewood TSB 58 HB, a Les Paul copy, which, for the price, will inevitably draw comparison to Gibson’s affordable Epiphone line.
Anatomy
At first glance the most striking thing about this guitar is that it has the most gorgeous book-matched honeyburst maple top I’ve ever seen on any Les Paul of any make. The dark mahogany back is also stunning. In fact, as far as copies go, it looks almost to spec, apart from the less than attractive Tanglewood headstock with its awkward taper and kitsch green mother-of-pearl logo inlay.
Apart from minor cosmetic imperfections, where the finish bleeds onto the binding, as well as a skew volume knob, the overall build quality looks very good. Particular attention was paid to the ABS nut and frets, which are immaculate.
Playability
The guitar was shipped already set up, so the action and intonation was spot on. The snot-green Kluson-style tuners (which I rather fancy) are a lot stiffer and more accurate than even those found on real Gibsons, and stay in tune after hours of wild bends and vibrato.
While Les Pauls are famous for their thick tone and equally thick, tree-trunk sized necks that limit their desirability for some styles of playing, the TBS’s shallow neck and big frets make it incredibly easy to play. This gives everyone from beginners to shredders (who don’t want their instrument slowing them down) access to the Les Paul tone and vibe without the strain, putting the TBS ahead of much of its competition.
On the down side, the tone and volume pots are rather shoddy as only about 25 percent of the taper has any effect on the tone or volume.
Sounds
Unplugged, I listened Nigel Tufnel-like for the characteristic Les Paul sustain. Not hearing anything, I played a chord. ‘There it is!’ E major – 32 seconds. A whole 10 seconds longer than my Epiphone Les Paul Standard, if that means anything!
The TBS is fitted with custom Entwistle HV 58 pickups that are built to original ’50s specs with Alnico magnets, enamel-coated wire and scatter-wound coils. Hearing them through both solid-state and tube amps was a pleasant surprise. They are very touch sensitive, have a snappy attack and a bright yet full tone, free of the muddiness often found on other Les Paul copies. The neck pickup in particular was well balanced even with overdrive.
As the HV 58s are vintage replicas, modern players may find them slightly lacking in midrange and output, but I like their bright but balanced response that nicely complement a mid boost from an amp.
Playing some clean chords, the tone is convincingly thick and sweet but also unexpectedly detailed and lush for a guitar in this price range, due in part to the brightness of the HV 58s.
The HV 58s aren’t high output pickups but give a surprising level of harmonic detail that sounds very sweet and musical when overdriven. Single note envelopes decay with bell-like smoothness. While the tone is typically thick for a Les Paul, note definition is retained very well at high gain on chords and fast single-note runs – again, unlike many comparable Les Paul copies.
Conclusion
Tanglewood have done a great job with the TBS. Its playability and a vintage tone beyond its class add up to a versatile Les Paul copy that goes a long way towards giving other brands a run for their money. If you can live with the headstock and the shoddy (though easily and cheaply replaced) volume and tone pots, the otherwise beautiful TBS HB would make a capable mid-priced musical companion for most rock styles.
Supplied by: Rockit Distribution
Tel: 021-511 1800
Suggested Retail Price: R3,995.00
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