A Gibson Les Paul 56 Reissue is what I'd get if I had the cash. However, recently I've been jonesing for a PRS SE Soapbar II, and I've never even played one. How pathetic is that? lol
They are all great choices! I think the 56RI Les Paul is the ultimate to me, but I also have a Godin SP90 and it's a great guitar. Kinda a TeleGib with P90's if you will.
Very wide spread in quality and price there, kinda hard to compare. I like my SE a lot, but it didn't have the classic P90 tone I came to expect from my P90 Gibsons.
IMO the best bang-for-buck quality guitar that delivers true P90 grind is the Gibson SG Classic.
I'm biased since I just ordered a 56RI, but I did have a PRS Soapbar SE (Singlecut) with SD Vintage P90's and it sounded and played great! Great quality guitars, especially for the money! I woundn't hesitate on the SE (I think the only difference with the Soapbar SE II is the body design).
IMO all mahogany guitars and P-90's sound best but I certainly wouldn't dismiss any of your choices. Like TC said you've got a big range there, if money is no issue a Historic or an original Special or Jr. any day of the week.
A nice alternative to the norm is the Fender Tele Jr. with a chambered mahogany body and 2 p-90's
There's something magical about a big slab of mahogany and P90s that just can't be explained. There are a wide variety of great p90 guitars out on the market. Hamer makes a good guitar, so one of the USA models might be a good alternative. I stopped beating around the bush and got my #1, a Gibson '60 RI Les Paul Special Doublecut and it's still inspiring me more than any other guitar. I have no doubt in my mind a '56 Goldtop would be a great guitar to have (the only reason I stayed away was because I preferred a slightly darker tone from the all mahogany setup).
There seems to be a big amount of interest in p90s lately, so in short, you're all welcome
I agree anything in Mahogany or Korina. Look into a Hamer Korina Junior or Special. :wink: :cool3: OMNSHO. If you like pointy guitars, there are a few P90 Vs out there. Epi has one called the Popa Chubby model and I recently helped motivate Dean to do 14 or 15 Zs(Explorers) with cream covered P90s on a Natural finished Flametop Maple venner with a Mahogany body. Cant wait to see the way those turn out. I have seen a few Gibson Vs and Explorers out there but they are mostly mid '80s stuff. I have seen a Camo 3 P90 Gibber Explorer more than once on Evilbay.