Les Paul imitators. Which is best?

LesStrat

LesStrat

Reining PunLowered
I know we have had threads about LP copies--I'm interested in guitars that carry the LP tone. It does NOT have to look like a LP. Any guitar will be considered, but I am most interested in the tonal characteristics. Obviously, since I am not interested in the original LP, I am not considering spending over $600-700.

Come on, brothers. Share your knowledge of the guitar realm. From Agile, to Tokai, to Hamer, to ESP, to Epiphone, to (fill in the blank).
 
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Re: Les Paul imitators. Which is best?

Check out the Hamer Studio. You can pick them up on the used market for less than $700 in many cases. They are a much higher quality guitar than a typical Les Paul. rather than crank these out assembly line style, Hamer builds these 100% by hand. Only three guitars are produced each day. There are a ton of little things Hamer does that the other manufacturers don't bother with. Check out their website, www.hamerguitars.com. The site has an explanation of all the features of the guitar, as well as a virtual tour of their factory and the steps involved in building a Hamer. I absolutely love mine, and wouldn't even consider trading it for a Les Paul worth twice what my Studio is. Hamer also makes a model called the Monaco, which is a little more similar to the LP in terms of looks, but I've never tried one, so I'm not sure how they sound, and you're probably looking at $900 or so for a used Monaco.

What really sealed it for me was the sloppy way in which Gibson attaches the necks to their bodies. They allow a much greater tolerance for error, because doing so makes it easy for them to slap the necks on and get them out the door. This explains the problem with the neck angle on some Les Pauls. They actually posted a pic of the Les Paul neck joint on the Gibson custom shop web site, and it caused such a stir that they took it down. Rather than hope for a good fit, Hamer builds their neck to be slightly larger than the neck pocket. A skilled builder then sands it down by hand until it's a perfect fit. Not only do they make sure the fit is exact, but the neck joint is 40% bigger than the one Gibson uses for better sustain, resonance, and stability.

I have nothing against Gibson, some of my favorite albums of all time were recorded with Les Pauls. I just think their customers deserve a better quality guitar considering the price they pay for them.

Ryan
 
Re: Les Paul imitators. Which is best?

Hammers are excellent choices. I'd say the top contender would be Heritage. New they are $1200-1500, but I've seen them on the bay for $750 range. Nice, nice stuff.

Some of the Epi's aren't too bad, you just have to sort through a bunch of them to find a good one. Thames just picked up a copy that he loves...just can't remember the name of it right now.

Check out Heritage.
 
Re: Les Paul imitators. Which is best?

If it's 50-50 if your Epiphone's neck is mahogany or maple.... and it's 50-50 whether your Epiphone's body is mahogany or alder.... then that's one in four? If it's a flame top, and it's 50-50 whether there's a maple cap under that maple veneer... then it's one in eight..... yeah, this is silly.
 
Re: Les Paul imitators. Which is best?

What Ryan has posted about Hamers are spot on. If you come across a bad one it is a rarity and all my US Hamers (4) are superior in every aspect and is far better than enything that Gibson could attain. If you can get a US Hamer Studio (Custom) for $6-700 get it you are onto a winner.

I also have the Monaco Elite which is a LP in shape and is the chambered type and quite frankly will knock anything that the Gibson Custom shop can put out. It is a truly amazing guitar. Some people have commented on the heel of the guitar perhaps getting in the way for accessing higher frets but frankly I have worked around it and most people who use Les Pauls also have to work around the access problems. If you can get a Monaco Elite for around $1000 you are really getting something special and again grab it. Here's a picture of my Monaco Elite.

Elite_15.jpg


Okay you wanted to know about Tokai - I have a LS-75Q Love Rock model (MIJ) model and it is sweet to play and typically these can be had for around $600 mark. It will put many Gibbys to shame and will absolutely kill any Epiphone LPs dead. The pups are their take on the PAFs and whilst it can do well at fairly low/medium volumes when you start to use it at gigging levels you may just need to put in some better pups. Flawless workmanship and it is worthwhile getting hold of the Japanase ones rather than the Korean ones. A picture of my Tokai:

Tok_1.jpg
 
Re: Les Paul imitators. Which is best?

theboatcandream said:
If it's 50-50 if your Epiphone's neck is mahogany or maple.... and it's 50-50 whether your Epiphone's body is mahogany or alder.... then that's one in four? If it's a flame top, and it's 50-50 whether there's a maple cap under that maple veneer... then it's one in eight..... yeah, this is silly.
Click to expand...
Then I better go to Vegas while I'm hot because my Epi LP is solid mahogany body & neck with a solid maple cap. You can even see the neck tenon in the neck PUP cavity. Actually, even I was shocked when I first swapped out the neck PUP and saw the tenon. And to think, this LP was marked a factory second for a 1mm blemish on the finish between the PUPs. It sold for $200 less than the factory 1sts. :dance:
 
Re: Les Paul imitators. Which is best?

LesStrat said:
I know we have had threads about LP copies--I'm interested in guitars that carry the LP tone. It does NOT have to look like a LP. Any guitar will be considered, but I am most interested in the tonal characteristics. Obviously, since I am not interested in the original LP, I am not considering spending over $600-700.

Come on, brothers. Share your knowledge of the guitar realm. From Agile, to Tokai, to Hamer, to ESP, to Epiphone, to (fill in the blank).
Click to expand...

Totally love my Tokai Love Rock 59 Sunburst "Replica"...
 
Re: Les Paul imitators. Which is best?

prs and epiphone are good copies as far as im concerned. Epi's re prety much exact copies with lower material and quality. PRS is up there alonmg wqith gibson as far as tone and quality goes.
 
Re: Les Paul imitators. Which is best?

I'd probably go for the Hamer Monaco Elite or Heritage. Great deals used.

here's an example of a heritage for $700:
heritage
 
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Re: Les Paul imitators. Which is best?

I forgot to mention the PRS Tremonti SE, great guitar for the money. Probably one of the highest quality import guitars I've ever tried. One of my buddies has one, and I played it for about an hour through my Classic 50. The pickups aren't the greatest, but you'd be well within your price range even if you wanted to swap those out for new ones.

Ryan
 
Re: Les Paul imitators. Which is best?

Man I've got to go with a Jap Epi, Greco, Burny etc. If you look around you can still find some good deals on real Japanese pieces and I haven't come across too many Koreans that are the equal though the factory crankin' out the Dillion/Tokai pieces in Korea is getting very good.

Good American LP style guitars are generally in the $1K area so unless you find a really great deal the picking will be slim IMO.
 
Re: Les Paul imitators. Which is best?

Hamer. I really don't think you can talk about Epis, Tokais (some of which are very nice) or even Heritage guitars and put them in the same ballpark as Hamer. Their build, fit and finish is as good or better than anyone making guitars. The fact that you can can find nice used Studios in the $600-$700 range makes them the best value available in a electric guitar, IMHO. They'd be a good buy at twice that price.
 
Re: Les Paul imitators. Which is best?

The "lawsuit" Ibanez Pauls were amazing. Better almost than the real thing.
 
Re: Les Paul imitators. Which is best?

Lets just clear one thing up about the Hamer Studios - they are not a single cut guitar and cannot really be compared to an LP (in the looks). Yes they will do rock, blues and country and they have SD '59s in them - the bridge pup is lovely. However being a double cut there is not going to be less sustain than from a single cut and of course they will be lighter. Having said that you will not be disappointed with getting a Studio. Mine is the Studio Custom:

St_Cu_15.jpg
 
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