Les Paul Copies

Ash.J.Williams

Do you own a decent lespaul copy or what is your favourite alternative brand les paul?

Grolschevik

I've got a late '70s or early '80s Pearl branded LP copy with Di Marzios. It's a great guitar.

martinedwards

No connection (sadly) but Edwards LPs are very pleasant indeed!

wild turkey

Grolschevik wrote: »

I've got a late '70s or early '80s Pearl branded LP copy with Di Marzios. It's a great guitar.

First electric i ever had back in the eighties great quality guitar
Neck got separated at the bodyjoint so i completely stripped it reset it & resprayed it a silver top. My first project also!

For me the best non Gibson has to be an Orville junior I had , I sold 2
P-90 Gibsons when i got it as it way outshone them.

slavetothegrind

have a late 80's burny, burstbucker 3 in bridge , suhr doug aldrich in neck and love the thing to bits!

travis1976

I've a beaut of a Jack & Danny Copy. I've no idea of the model and manys a long night has been spent trying to work out what it is. Plays and sounds fantastic. Heavy beast though

darrenw5094

Got a '81 and '89 Greco Les Paul Custom, a Bacchus MIJ Goldtop and the Tokai LP Standard.

Tokai make some amazing Les Pauls these days.

Blackhorse Slim

I have an old Vintage-brand LP, pre-Wilkinson. Hardware and electronics are fine, pickups are good, seems very well-made. Set neck, nice wood.

Ash.J.Williams

Been looking hard at quality les pauls. Was interested in looking jap tokai's. Anyone tried a chinese model? Also in the lower end "Vintage" seem to be a quality guitar for the price (on paper).

However today i stumbled upon these guys!
http://www.gordonsmithguitars.com/products/category.php?id=5

Hand made in the uk. The lower priced models are lespaul jnr ish.
tried and tested:
http://uksubstimeandmatter.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=16951:next-3&catid=621:nicky-garratts-guitar-notes&Itemid=147

Ash.J.Williams

travis1976 wrote: »

I've a beaut of a Jack & Danny Copy. I've no idea of the model and manys a long night has been spent trying to work out what it is. Plays and sounds fantastic. Heavy beast though

saw one for a steal on donedeal, unwanted gift, he had no info. I hear they are top quality.

darrenw5094

Ash.J.Williams wrote: »

Been looking hard at quality les pauls. Was interested in looking jap tokai's. Anyone tried a chinese model? Also in the lower end "Vintage" seem to be a quality guitar for the price (on paper).

However today i stumbled upon these guys!
http://www.gordonsmithguitars.com/products/category.php?id=5

Hand made in the uk. The lower priced models are lespaul jnr ish.
tried and tested:
http://uksubstimeandmatter.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=16951:next-3&catid=621:nicky-garratts-guitar-notes&Itemid=147

Bandmate used to have one for years until it got stolen. Great LP, very thin neck, sounded great. The Standard model should be around the €1000 mark though.

Still think the Tokai LP Standard used is the way to go.

Ravelleman

The Vintage 'Lemon Drop' LP copy is meant to be an excellent guitar by all accounts.

I've always though Gordon Smith guitars (and Eggles for that matter) were pretty ugly.

Ravelleman

Ash.J.Williams wrote: »

However today i stumbled upon these guys!
http://www.gordonsmithguitars.com/products/category.php?id=5

Just looking at the site there and they don't even seem like they're great value, certainly not new anyhow. £888 for the Graduate 60, which is roughly LP-like is very pricey considering its spartan features and unusual wood selection.

steveone

I've a stagg les paul copy, black with white trim and gold hardware, sounds excellent, setup out of the box...I bought it in drogheda a few years ago..gigged it three times so far no issues..

steveone

http://soundshop.ie/product/stagg/l320lh-left-hand,

similar, not the same tho. I'd reccommend one, unless you got at a tokai or something..the epiphone versions i find arent as good... I have one of them n'all..

travis1976

Ash.J.Williams wrote: »

saw one for a steal on donedeal, unwanted gift, he had no info. I hear they are top quality.

Some of them are great, but the lower end ones are just that, lower end. I think mine in an Ls500, but the specs just don't match up, nothing does.
I bought a Rockwood lx250g by hohner, the other evening. Lovely guitar too, but almost no specs available anywhere... I can't help a bargain.. must stop looking at adverts every 10 mins in work...:D

Celly Smunt

travis1976 wrote: »

I've a beaut of a Jack & Danny Copy. I've no idea of the model and manys a long night has been spent trying to work out what it is. Plays and sounds fantastic. Heavy beast though

Jack and danny are damn good for the money,they'd kick the crap out of any epiphone anyway.

travis1976

pmcmahon wrote: »

Jack and danny are damn good for the money,they'd kick the crap out of any epiphone anyway.

Yeah, it just feels right, if you know what I mean. Weight and feel. I don't know how to explain it.

steveone

there's a nice les paul studio epiphone (donedeal) vintage sunburst with dot fretboard, its a lovely guitar to play - holds its tone well. my cousin has it on donedeal (its actually mine- she's fundraising lol) anyways it looks the part, even has gibson on it. 150 would buy you worse...http://www.donedeal.ie/for-sale/soundequipment/3942956

Ash.J.Williams

I was tellin the band about the alternative les pauls and the response was unanimous!! It's not the wood quality, it's not the tone or the finish it's the bloody GIBSON on the headstock!!! I guess that's the way the general public see it!

darrenw5094

I prefer Tokai on the headstock with 'Made in Japan' on the back.

steveone

Ash.J.Williams wrote: »

I was tellin the band about the alternative les pauls and the response was unanimous!! It's not the wood quality, it's not the tone or the finish it's the bloody GIBSON on the headstock!!! I guess that's the way the general public see it!

so were they saying if it wasn't a gibson it's no use?
I remember seeing tokais in music maker when they weren't that....desirable.
normally only the anoraks will look, if a guitarist is doing his stuff people are rockin away or sitting slackjawed...who wants to impress an anorak...if a copy's all a body can afford then it will have to do.. mod it with whats available to make it their own and play it till it falls apart,(ask brian may) thats my 2c anyway..it annoys me sometimes (not that it matters ha)to hear people on this endless quest for "tone" and perfection... and the guitar never leaves the bedroom, or they're on ranting about pickups...and its their first guitar..

Ravelleman

If you want a Gibson, get a Gibson. If you want a cheaper or, indeed, more expensive copy, get one too. But the Gibson/copy argument will never end no matter what anyone says.

steveone

maybe i'm just in the dark but there never seems to be as much of a hoo haa about strat copies....and god knows there's a sliding scale, some are as good as(or better than?) the real thing and others....well...

Grolschevik

steveone wrote: »

maybe i'm just in the dark but there never seems to be as much of a hoo haa about strat copies....and god knows there's a sliding scale, some are as good as(or better than?) the real thing and others....well...

That might be because there seems to be an authorised Fender/Squier Strat at every ten euro price point between a couple of hundred and a couple of thousand...

Ravelleman

G&L are the true Fenders :P

seachto7

I have heard from reliable sources that the early 90s ESP teles and strats are as good as any fender.

ESP making some nice tele/strat copies currently. But I have not played any of them.

Ravelleman

I could believe that.

punchdrunk

I've a Satellite Les Paul rotting away in the attic somewhere,can't recall if it's worth trying to save tbh!

darrenw5094

Here is a nice PRS one. SC58 RRP. Squillions

BostonB

PRS quitars tend to sound like PRS not like a Les paul though.

On a separate subject, I had a PRS SE for a while and I preferred the build of the PRS SE over the Epiphone LP, I preferred the sound of the Epiphone.

BostonB

steveone wrote: »

maybe i'm just in the dark but there never seems to be as much of a hoo haa about strat copies....and god knows there's a sliding scale, some are as good as(or better than?) the real thing and others....well...

I think there is. There's as much fuss about certain squires and certain jap, esp strats.

fret_wimp2

I decided that I wanted a Les Paul last year and started a loooong search. I started obviously with Gibson. I played 5 or so Standards, and they were all horrible. Set up was terrible and general fit and finish was appaling for the price on the guitar. Im not saying Gibson are bad and I am not trolling, but I am saying that any new ones i played were not worth a third of thier price.

I then started looking at copies, Edwards, Tokai, Burny etc. After getting a go on an Edwards and loving it I was about to get one, but then I found a Japanese Tokai LS160 (135 depending on what catalog you look at) for an absolute steal and its absolutely blows any Gibson I have played away. Manufacture, fit, finish and feel are just awesome.

I had it set up and rewired with better pots by Derek Nelson (even with the cost of this I was still saving on a Gibson), and now its a guitar I know i will never get rid of.

Ravelleman

fret_wimp2 wrote: »

I decided that I wanted a Les Paul last year and started a loooong search. I started obviously with Gibson. I played 5 or so Standards, and they were all horrible. Set up was terrible and general fit and finish was appaling for the price on the guitar. Im not saying Gibson are bad and I am not trolling, but I am saying that any new ones i played were not worth a third of thier price.

In my experience, the majority of guitars you find in shops need a proper set-up to really be able evaluate them.

In terms of Gibson's quality, I have yet to see anything that I could really call a fit and finish issue in person, having played many in the past. I can say that I've seen a lot of fit and finish issues on cheaper, often South-East Asian guitars though.

The prices are high but then again, paying full price for guitars is for suckers. If a person can't find a good deal then perhaps they deserve to pay more.

BAKER95

westwood les pauls are worth a look .

dazberry

Ravelleman wrote: »

I've always though Gordon Smith guitars (and Eggles for that matter) were pretty ugly.

Sacrilege!!!

Ravelleman wrote: »

Just looking at the site there and they don't even seem like they're great value, certainly not new anyhow. £888 for the Graduate 60, which is roughly LP-like is very pricey considering its spartan features and unusual wood selection.

Way back when I bought my first GS back in 94, which was the "low end" GS1.60. Price wise it fitted in nicely between the cheap-not-so-good and the quality-but-too-expensive, yet felt as good as those brand instruments. Times have changed and I do agree that GS seem that bit more expensive now, especially the more you go up the range.

I've only saw a Graduate 60 in-the-flesh once, a couple of months ago in Some Neck Guitars. It was in for repair and not for sale, but once I picked it up it was just such a quality instrument I would have made an offer on the spot.

D.

Ash.J.Williams

dazberry wrote: »

Sacrilege!!!



Way back when I bought my first GS back in 94, which was the "low end" GS1.60. Price wise it fitted in nicely between the cheap-not-so-good and the quality-but-too-expensive, yet felt as good as those brand instruments. Times have changed and I do agree that GS seem that bit more expensive now, especially the more you go up the range.

I've only saw a Graduate 60 in-the-flesh once, a couple of months ago in Some Neck Guitars. It was in for repair and not for sale, but once I picked it up it was just such a quality instrument I would have made an offer on the spot.

D.

Never played a Gordon Smith but the price for something hand made isn't that bad. Is it?

Ash.J.Williams

There is a Burny silver sparkle in the liffey st shop for 550 ish. Anyone any knowledge or experience of such a thing?

wild turkey

Ash.J.Williams wrote: »

There is a Burny silver sparkle in the liffey st shop for 550 ish. Anyone any knowledge or experience of such a thing?

I was the previous owner of this one http://www.adverts.ie/1636632

Very nice guitars with a great build quality for a chinese guitar but never took to the floyd

Out of the 14 /15 les pauls ive owned the best non Gibson ive owned was an Orville lp junior followed by Edwards 98 lts & Gordon Smith & then the burny
As for Gibsons, Ive an exceptional 92 standard that will stay with me forever apart from that the other 5 lps ive owned have been ok to meh, the Orville would be a better guitar anyday

flyswatter

Grolschevik wrote: »

I've got a late '70s or early '80s Pearl branded LP copy with Di Marzios. It's a great guitar.

Pearl as in the company better known for making drums?

punchdrunk

flyswatter wrote: »

Pearl as in the company better known for making drums?

yep,I used to have a pearl 8 track based space echo copy!

Ravelleman

flyswatter wrote: »

Pearl as in the company better known for making drums?

A friend of mine has a Pearl Les Paul copy. It's incredible heavy.

Grolschevik

flyswatter wrote: »

Pearl as in the company better known for making drums?

Yep. I mailed them about it years ago. They licensed the name out; it wasn't made in their own factories. It's a great guitar. They sent me a brochure from the '70s, too...

flyswatter

Grolschevik wrote: »

Yep. I mailed them about it years ago. They licensed the name out; it wasn't made in their own factories. It's a great guitar. They sent me a brochure from the '70s, too...

That was decent of them.

wild turkey

Grolschevik wrote: »

Yep. I mailed them about it years ago. They licensed the name out; it wasn't made in their own factories. It's a great guitar. They sent me a brochure from the '70s, too...

Pearls were made in the Matsumoku factory alongside aria's, epiphones etc
My first electric guitar was a Pearl & a good one at that !

Ash.J.Williams

I think these are made here..
http://www.vintageandrare.com/product/C.agnew-LP-1-BluesBelle-2011-8555

Ash.J.Williams

I've encountered a tokai lespaul custom (jap) ...is that guarenteed quality??

I'm trying to get the model number at present.

wild turkey

The one in X music ?

Ash.J.Williams

wild turkey wrote: »

The one in X music ?

shhhhh!!



(yeah...you know of it?)

slavetothegrind

how much they looking for?

Ash.J.Williams

slavetothegrind wrote: »

how much they looking for?

€599