Gear_Junky
New member
So, I got this "shameless wonder" at a pawnshop (cheap). It's a Samick Les Paul Custom copy. I was somewhat disappointed after I opened up the controls cavity - the whole thing is made of plywood, the arch-top is laminated and the body is lam. There is actually a hollow cavity between the arched top and the flat thick "back" - I don't know that original Les Pauls have that, I didn't think so. The neck is bolt-on, I saw that even at the store. This is kind of a "Kia/Hyundai Les Paul", it's even made in Korea
I'm still ok, for the money I paid I couldn't even get a nice entry-level guitar and this Samick has a pretty good fast neck and was even set up ok. I couldn't even afford to have an electric and this one gives me something to practice my scales on. The sound is ok, I like it better than my friend's son's Squier Strat-in-a-box and another friend's MIM Fender Strat (I like Les Pauls, used to have Epi LP Custom with Gibson Classic '57's and loved it).
And none of the people I actually know have to know that it's all plywood, either
It actually looks pretty good - the top and back are actually single-piece (not book-matched) and I like the tobacco sunburst, kinda looks like a violin.Anyway, I'll likely have to replace the wiring, because the jack is scratchy, although it's gotten better after generous electronics contact cleaner in all the moving parts (POT's, switch and jack), but I figure I'll get a little wiring harness and renew everything.
So, I'm wondering how much of improvement in tone I can expect by upgrading pickups. Now, I won't go with Gibson Classic '57's, they would each cost more than this guitar. But something "budget" - would that improve the tone over the stock pickups? After all, this is an electric, not acoustic...
Thanks!
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