Modern-feeling alternatives to a Les Paul?

[Rex_Rocker]

I know I rave and rave about how my low-end Les Paul sounds, but honestly, my couple of best LTD's played better. It's the fat neck and the small frets on it, I think.

I've never had a FT EC model, but I did have an EC-1000 and an EC-401. Both played great, but neither sounded like a Les Paul, really. Killer necks on them, though. Are the FT's better? What I am afraid is that with the type of finish, the type of mahogany that they use, and the bridge/bridge pickup placement/distance, they won't sound like a Les Paul. But maybe they do?

I've had PRS SE Singlecuts. Yuck. Neither felt particularly modern, and both sounded super weak. I hate the wide fat neck that they use, and the 10" radius.

Never tried a Schecter Solo II. Are they good? To my understanding, the Schecter neck profile is pretty much the same as LTD's, right? Are the Solo II's full thickness?

Not really interested in the Jacksons. They all seem to have the thinner body, and they look kinda off.

I am also considering a Studio since those have the 60's necks, but then, we're left with the issue of the small frets. Gibson is a gamble too. Sometimes they're great. Sometimes they're not.

Not particularly fond of Epiphone either. I had a couple of the new ones, and while they're better, they're still not on the level of my Gibson, or LTD's, even.

So what other options do I have in the mid-price range?

 

[JB_From_Hell]

Keep trying out different Studios. I traded my EBMM JP6 for it, don't regret it a bit. Mine has the 60's profile, and the frets aren't LTD huge, but they're not those nasty tiny things either. Mine's weight relieved, well under 8 lbs. I steel wooled the gloss off the neck, put in the Nailbombs, and it's done. You're right, though, they are a gamble. I had another Studio a few years ago, it sounded great (but nowhere near the current one with the BKPs), but had the huge neck and probably weighed 10 lbs.

The most Les Paul sounding guitar I've ever heard that's not a Les Paul is my Carvin DC. Mahogany neck and wings, thick flame maple cap, ebony board. If I had to part with it or the Studio, it would be an extremely difficult decision.

 

[PFDarkside]

It’s too bad they are discontinued but have you tried a PRS Bernie Marsden?

Also, I recently got an EC-1000, it feels quite nice. I’m going EMG with it as opposed to traditional Les Paul.

Too bad no one is building these, the specs seem spot on.
https://precisionguitarkits.com/product/ax-carved-top-mto

 

[Rex_Rocker]

The Bernie Marsden looked nice, but it's got the fat neck and the round fretboard I don't like, I'm afraid. Not very modern.

 

[ThreeChordWonder]

The Bernie Marsden looked nice, but it's got the fat neck and the round fretboard I don't like, I'm afraid. Not very modern.

Nor is Bernie these days

Sorry, Bernie.

 

[Rex_Rocker]

Yeah, LOL. The way he looks right now, I wouldn't have guessed he onced played in a hair metal band.

 

[playas]

I don't imagine the specs are especially modern, but I'll bet Tokai are more consistent than Gibson at a better price point.

 

[ThreeChordWonder]

Yeah, LOL. The way he looks right now, I wouldn't have guessed he onced played in a hair metal band.

Famously played with UFO before Schenker in the early 70s, but best known, of course, for being a founding member of Trousersnake.:biglaugh:

 

[Securb]

Try looking at some of the Gibson Les Paul Custom Lites. Some came with slim taper D necks; I think you will find the thinner necks more often on the Epiphone versions of the guitar. Mine has a C 50's neck I love.

 

[Ascension]

Kiesel CS3. Option one out right in a sold color it comes in under 2K and bang for the $ is a killer. That's with say the A2 Beryllium pickups 14 radius thin neck profile SS frets, Ebony board, Mahogany neck and body with fit / finish and workmanship that will kill most anything at that price point. Kiesel fret work is some of the absolute best in the industry in particular. You can option it out with a 22 or 24 fret neck and these guitars will out play anything at this price point. Also the Beryllium pickups are real killers for a slightly hot fat sweet modern PAF tone. My 2 most played DC's both have the Kiesel Beryllium pickups I love them.

 

[Rex_Rocker]

Thanks for the suggestion, dudes!

I also forgot to mention that I'd rather have a rosewood board than an ebony board. I've had better luck with guitars with rosewood boards tonewise, and I've honestly kinda come to like the woody looks of them better.

The EC-1000 I used to have, believe it or not, didn't sound as nice and didn't pay as well as the 401 I used to have. I guess part of it is the rosewood board thing, but the only thing those 401's need is to upgrade their rattly bridge and heavy tailpiece assembly, and bam. You got a guitar every bit as good as 1000 series. I also don't know what tonepros stuff they use on the 1000 series, but somehow, I doubt it's the aluminum/brass stuff.

Those Carvins/Kiesels do look really nice! What makes me dubious is the 25" scale. I have a feeling those might make them sound a bit more PRS-like than Gibson-like. Also the thinner body and the ebony board. I'm not sure. Plus the Berilium pickups... they look nice, but I'd probably swap them out, LOL. I like the Les Paul kind of character to the sound (fat and throaty with some snap and infinite sustain), but I'm sure I don't like low output pickups. Even less A2's. But I would probably give them a try first before yanking them out. It's just I've had bad experiences with A2's. BB2/3, 490R/T, Slashes. The only ones I've really liked are Phat Cats, but those are a totally different thing. Pretty low output too compared to what I'm using nowadays. But we'll see.

About Epiphones... yeah, I had a newer 2022 LPC that had a cool neck. But the quality of Epiphone is not quite there, IMO. I still keep my 1959 around because it looks so pretty. But quite honestly, it sounds NOTHING like my Gibson. But both my LPC and 1959 had horribly uneven frets that needed leveling before ever making the guitars remotely playable, and nut slots cut slightly too deep. Plus the high-gloss ones are slightly plastic-y feeling (and looking) compared to even LTD's, IMO. Plus the big paddle-like new headstock shape only really looks right on the Custom types, IMO, but those have the Ebony board.

I'm also kinda looking at PRS SE Tremontis. But I don't like the 25" scale or the cheapie trem they put on the SE's. Or the association with Tremonti, but that's more of a nitpick, admitedly. The 10" board I can live with as long as it has bigger frets and a thin neck, and it seems like these do? It's just I haven't had particularly good experience with them. Out of the like 6 I've had, I only ever bonded with two. Out of those two, one had really bad QC issues that I just got my tech to look into because I absolutely adored the look of that guitar and the neck profile (Wide Thin, but with a 14" FB radius.). Man, what a killer guitar that was... EXCEPT it had a huge hump towards the end of the neck at the higher frets that needed the last few frets to be yanked out, the board to be sanded down level, and then refreted. What a nightmare. But it had a fancy top. Honestly, the only PRS SE I'd owned (or seen) at the time that didn't have a very poorly figured top. Sounded nice, but NOTHING like a Les Paul either, LOL.

 

[Hsb]

The newer Tremonti are wide and thin, the older ones were wide and fat. I picked up one of the older ones 1x for about 45 seconds, enough for me. Put it back on the rack and walked away.

 

[orpheo]

It's ironic, but I can make you exactly a guitar to your needs.

Something like that for example. Thinner than a standard LP, thin wide neck (on this version). Trem? Sure. Can do that too:

25.5" scale, 24 frets, thin body, easy access heel, floating trem.

Or why not HSS, 25.5", 22 frets, with a trem as well, but with a carved maple top and a 5 piece neck?

 

[Rex_Rocker]

Oh, I can't see the images. The specs sound interesting! Do you have a website where I can check out pricing and whatnot?

 

[Mincer]

Those images were there earlier, but aren't there now.

 

[Ascension]

Thanks for the suggestion, dudes!

I also forgot to mention that I'd rather have a rosewood board than an ebony board. I've had better luck with guitars with rosewood boards tonewise, and I've honestly kinda come to like the woody looks of them better.

Those Carvins/Kiesels do look really nice! What makes me dubious is the 25" scale. I have a feeling those might make them sound a bit more PRS-like than Gibson-like. Also the thinner body and the ebony board. I'm not sure. Plus the Berilium pickups... they look nice, but I'd probably swap them out, LOL. I like the Les Paul kind of character to the sound (fat and throaty with some snap and infinite sustain), but I'm sure I don't like low output pickups. Even less A2's. But I would probably give them a try first before yanking them out. It's just I've had bad experiences with A2's. BB2/3, 490R/T, Slashes. The only ones I've really liked are Phat Cats, but those are a totally different thing. Pretty low output too compared to what I'm using nowadays. But we'll see.

First off Kiesels have many options a Rosewood Board is one as is a 22 or 24 fret neck. If you look hard at a Kiesel call them ask for Chris Hong and tell him Richard Rutledge told you to call him. There are many many options available that aren't listed if you deal directly with them. That neck profile is going to feel much different from a PRS and you have both radius options to a super flay 20 and several neck profiles. There are rumors that a 24.75 scale neck is also being considered as an option on the set neck CT guitars.
On the A2 Beryllium pickups don't discount them until you work with them as they surprised the heck out of me. On paper they look much weaker than they really are. I normally am not a huge fan of A 2 Humbuckers in particular A 2's with those Ohm readings. Right now both my number 1 and 2 play out guitars ( 2016 Kiesel DC 600 and a 2017 DC 135) have those pickups in them.

 

[Ascension]

Here is my 2017 DC 135 with a Beryllium Bridge through my first gen PRS Archon live running nothing but a Wah up front and a little Verb and Delay in the loop.

 

[GuitarStv]

I can vouch for Orpheo's Les Pauls. The one that I bought from him is great!

 

[NegativeEase]

I was going to say ESP/LTD -but it sounds like that ground has been covered

 

[Rex_Rocker]

Here is my 2017 DC 135 with a Beryllium Bridge through my first gen PRS Archon live running nothing but a Wah up front and a little Verb and Delay in the loop.

Sounds great for what you're doing!