dannfeltrin's Metal Music Gear Setup

It's almost impossible to find OLP guitars nowadays. They used to be Ernie Ball's second (or "cheapest") line before they introduced Sterling. I got this one in Amsterdam back in 2013, was on sale for only 200 euros! Made in China, but I need to say that I was impressed by this one. I put it side by side with the Music Man model and they look 99% the same! The difference is the quality of the wood and components. That's why I changed all the pickups and electric parts. I kept the bridge and tuners because they are Made In Korea and they do the job pretty good. My guitar has now 2 Malagoli pickups (Hand made in Brazil!), one Custom 84 (similar to Seymour JB model) humbucker on the bridge and a Dallas single-coil (similar to a Fender Texas) on the neck position. I removed the middle pickup because I don't use it. With that in mind, I also changed the 5 way switch to a 3 way switch. I upgraded the jack to a SwitchCraft and the volume and tone pots to CTS. Now, I have a guitar that I'm very proud of. Sounds amazing, rich, and it is always on tune.

I tried the Gibson's 2014, 2015 and 2016 Tribute models, but despite of being good guitars, I did not feel so good as I felt playing the new Tribute 2017. That's why I bought it as soon as I tried it! The slim neck profile is amazing, and the 490 pickups (R and T) sounds really good. Some other specs, like the fact that it does not have the plastic on the pickup toggle switch and the new Aluminium bridge impressed me. It's a great guitar, sounds like all other Gibson Les Paul for cheap, but that price is also reflected on the finish. A few blemishes on the finish right out of the box, plus the cheap nut, makes you doubt a bit why it costs as much as it does, especially when there are other brands making guitars in Asia (Indonesia, Korea and even some Chinese models) making cheaper guitars with better finishes, like LTD EC-400 series, PRS SE Single Cut series, and even the Epiphones have better finish. I know, "the sound is not on the finish" but if you don't care about it they could simply make a raw-wood-looking guitar with the same electronics and hardware, which won't be great, right? Anyways... if you want the Gibson sound and don't care about its looks, go for the Tribute guitar.

I use this set to play in standard and half-step down tuning, and they are great. I've using ErnieBall for over 12 years, and they never disappointed me. They sound good right after you put them on your guitar, but my favorite taste is a week old set... to me, it's when they will sound the best!

I love Drop-C tuning, and this strings set have been always my choice. From 1 step down to Drop-C, never had problems using it, and it always sound great! Nice feel, good response and never going out of tune.