Don't Kill Me! - And I've Had Enough Rotten Vegetables Too!

[Two hands31]

:biggrin:

Ok, the point of this topic is:

I'm in desperate need of a decent guitar, and am considering a Les Paul. *The thought of a JEM has only barely entered my mind. *My problem is, I use many different tunings, that's why a JEM is nowhere near the picture yet. *When I can have more than one guitar at my side, a JEM will be one of the next in line. *My question is: *are Epiphones good enough, or do I have to go Gibson to get half-decent quality?

[darren wilson]

Epiphones are actually pretty decent quality from what i've seen. And i've seen lots of bad Gibsons, too, so you really have to watch what you buy, regardless.

I recently played a Dean EVO 7-string and was really impressed by the quality and sound of it. The EVO lineup has some good variety to it. One thing i wish they had is a more traditional two-volume, two-tone control layout. The EVO does, however, have much better upper-register access than a Les Paul because it's got a really well-designed neck joint that's somewhere between a set neck and a neck-thru design.

The EVO Phantom is especially cool... it's all black. No inlays, no binding, not a speck of chrome on it anywhere. The only things that aren't black on it are the logo, the frets and the numbers on the speed knobs.

If you're into the Les Paul vibe and you're on a budget, you should really check them out.

[JESTER700]

But since QA isn't great, play a few in the store. *A few of the same model. *And pick the best one. *Tip the sales guy if you have to; it'll be worth it to choose the best of 3....

[bduersch]

I would recommend the Gibson Les Paul Double Cutaway...

The Pros:
It's much less expensive than most LP's
It's lighter
It's got 24 frets
You can actually reach most of the frets
Pretty cool finishes available

The Cons:
Less mass (due to chambered body)=somewhat less sustain

I have a transparent black one with Dimarzio Super Distortions and a coil-tap switch installed. It's killer!

--B

[Tigerstripe]

Get a Charvel with a fixed bridge. *Jake E. Lee used one to cover a ton of Randy Rhoads stuff which was originally a "Les Paul" tone. *Lee in my opinion had the ballsiest, flat out most bad a$$ cutting tone of anyone in the 80's. *

[jay ratkowski]

Why not just do a custom job? *A lot of times you can build a RAD custom guitar for cheap.

Using a few leftover parts from around the house... I priced a future custom strat through warmoth with a figured top and neck with a brazillian rosewood fretboard for around $800... pretty cheap for having semi-exotic woods.

Also, I just tonight discovered the glory that is universaljems.com *they have a lot of stuff there that might be up your alley.

As for les pauls... I'd find one used and play it extensively before you buy it. *The new ones are too hit or miss... and I can not even come close to justifying the price.

Happy hunting.

[Two hands31]

See, I'm looking for pure Les Paul tone. *Anything that will give me Les Paul tone will be cool.

I.E. 2 hums, 2 vol., 2 tone, 3-way selector.

[jay ratkowski]

I say spend the $1k and get a Warmoth guitar. *It'll be exactly to your specs, give you les paul tone, and be tons better quality than any $4k Gibson.

[LucasKotzen]

jay ratkowski on 1:56 pm on Mar. 6, 2002
I say spend the $1k and get a Warmoth guitar. *It'll be exactly to your specs, give you les paul tone, and be tons better quality than any $4k Gibson.

I totally agree with you, man. The only problem is that Warmoth only sells/builds bolt-on necks/bodies . It gives the guitar less sustain. I also think that a real Gibson tone canīt be copied that easy. Itīs never going to be a perfect Les Paul tone. In this case Iīd rather buy a Gibson Les Paul DC. If you want the fat tone, sustain-full Gibson Les Paul sound, just buy a fat tone, sustain-full Gibson Les Paul .