les paul

[stratman]

I've been thinking of buying a Les Paul for a while. The only thing that's stoping me is the over-inflated price. I know they're great guitars but for a strugling musician like me, shelling out 2 grand is a bit too much. I've been looking at my other options which are imports. I saw a bunch of old and new Jap copies of Les Paul and I must say they look really close to the original. I've heard a lot about the good workmanship of the Jap copies. I also saw this Korean copy brand name AGILE. Nice tops! Got a lot of good reviews. Any comments about these Les Paul imports? Any suggestions where I can buy a good Les Paul copy that won't cost my first born? Thanks.

 

[esun127]

The $600 Epiphone Les Paul Custom copy is very good for the price. It's almost as good as the real thing and costs way less. You can get the epiphones for even less on ebay.

What kind of music do you play? I was almost about to buy the epiphone les paul copy when I tried out a high end ibanez and they were SWEET. I liked the playability on the Ibanezes so much more than Strats and Gibsons that I got myself an RG3120 for a very good price.

 

[64Firebird]

I've got 2 LPs, one Gibson and one Epiphone. I think that one is about as good as the other.

If you're really concerned about paying too much, take a look at Jay Turser Guitars. For the money, they are hard to beat.

Here's a LINK.

 

[Tom Hicks]

I've got an Epi Les Paul Custom that I bought used for $450. Much closer to the Gibsons than the Epi Les Paul Standards. But you need to play a bunch of them to find one that "speaks" to you.

 

[DaveM]

Buy the Heritage H-150. http://www.heritageguitar.com/models/H150CMClassic.htm

Heritage is the old Gibson factory with the guys that worked at Gibson. Their guitars are just as good, if not better, quality than the gibsons for a fraction of the price. They play fantastic!

 

[Aaron Cheney]

There are a million better choices than Gibson, IMO, with Heritage being the best one.
There are also: Hamer, Samick, Jay Turser, Epiphone, etc.... If you want a high-end/ high-dollar axe, get a PRS. They are over-priced just like Gibson, but unlike Gibson they are well made with good QC.

Aaron
http://www.voodoovibe.com

 

[mocharock]

I peronally think that the Les Paul style of guitar has that great look and a great sound. To me it is a heavy guitar though. I owned a copy (some no name brand of one) that was pretty good for a beginner. I do not think that it takes very long to get used to the heavy body. You should get the Jackson Rany Rhodes flying V. That is a rockin' rig right there!

 

[stratman]

The Herritage sounds like the next best thing. The only problem that it's still a bit high off my budget (my budget around $500 or less. I know a little bit tight budget but that's all I have right now). I want to get as close as possible to the Gibson Les Paul look hence I was looking at Ebay for any Jap lawsuit versions with the open book headstock mainly marketed in Japan only. I've seen a couple of Greco and Burny that looks really sweet but they still go over my tight budget. I checked out the Dillion, Turser, Raven, Samick and Agile guitars (All Korean made). Out of all these I like the Agile a lot. First time I've seen this guitar but from all the reviews it's getting about 95% are + from the look of the instrument, the sound, and customer support. These guys have very nice flame and quilted maple top (maybe not as thick maple top like Gibson or Herritage but definitely not a picture or drawing top but a real maple wood). Now I know that this is Korean made which made me a bit hesitant but I'm at the point now that I don't even look at the name or where the guitar was made. Solid mahogany body, solid flame or quilt maple top (none of those photo-flame top), and good solid sound is my criteria of a good Les Paul. Epiphone are good guitars. Not knocking them out but most of the nice ones that I saw have photo-flame finish. Any comments are greatly appreciated.
By the way, I play Rock, blues, heavy metal and jaz type music. I'm currently using a Rivera M-100 head through an old Ampeg 4x12 cab loaded with Celestion V-30's. I'm not sure if this will give you guys an idea of what sound I'm looking for. Thanks again.

 

[TheGuitarMan]

My minions are growing...

Yessssss.....

For the love of God, scrounge up some extra cash and get a Heritage 150. It'll be worth it.

 

[DaveM]

You should be able to get the Heritage used for around the price you are looking at. Save up a little longer and get something that you will be happy with. If you rush your decision then you will not be happy in the long run.

 

[TheGuitarMan]

Yeah, those Heritage guitars are really cheap used.

 

[mkeene]

I was hell bent on getting a real Gibson Les Paul when I was in the market for a new guitar a couple years back. I saved up about 1100 and got a very nice '88 used Les Paul Standard in cherry burst. If you REALLY want a Gibson, then save up for it, don't compromise on an epiphone. I dont know about Heritage, but I have never ever heard anyone say anything bad about them, so they seem to be a pretty solid choice. I know Gibson is just a name, but some people, like me at the time, would just not be happy with anything else. I guess all I was really trying to say is that you can get one used for around 1000...
-Mike

 

[Natural Gass]

I'm glad I waited and got the real deal - a Les Paul Standard vintage tobacco burst. I was jammin on it last night through my Marshall amp and thinking man this thing sounds great!

I guess I got lucky and I wasn't in a hurry. I saved up about 2 grand but instead of buying the LP, I bought some stock in the market, waited about a year and a half, tripled my money, pulled out 2 grand of my profit and just went and bought the brand spankin' new Les Paul with cash in hand. Plus I still got the remainder of the dough invested - of course its lost some value over the last couple years with the shitty market. When things pick up again I think I'll upgrade my acuostic to a Taylor, Martin, or Gibson.

I've never played an Epiphone or Heritage so I can't compare them to the LP. If I got one of these, I think I would always wonder what it would be like to have the LP though. I have a hard time picturing Jimmy Page, Ace Frehley or Slash playing anything but a Gibson. Good luck