Whats your Favorite Cheap les Paul Copy?

[MetalManiac]

and why?

I have a Zakk Wylde Epiphone. Cheap heavy wood, but with actives the sound is montrous. Thats a 'Sound', not a 'tone', per se, but thats a difefrent thread.
The Zakk is a One trick Pony..Not great for anything expcept kickin ass, and that it does real well.
I had to do some minor fretwork, but overall the frets were just so much better than my Agile, and I was able to get it to play right.
The Agile does fair to poor neck classic cleans, is also made of cheap heavy woods. It has gaudy appointments ( like the Zakk) and... and , a monstrous plastered on Poly finish . The frets need extensive professional dressing..even with the 12" radius it frets out badly on anything approaching a deep bend. I will say this-the thing totally roars with a good amount of overdrive with the right bridge pickup and has passable neck cleans - I guess if you really need it and its your only Lester type guitar- with a good fat style -paf neck humbucker. Best bet would probably be to ditch the cleans for the most part with this and just run with a Distortion neck
Ive been considering dumping the Agile( also the Zakk wylde really if I can find the right Alder jackson with Blackouts) for something like a PRS SE.
Thats why I am asking this.
Any good experiences with the mid level Les Paul copies?

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: Whats your Favorite Cheap les Paul Copy?

Based on your post you want a cheap LP copy that doesn't have a thick poly finish, isn't heavy, doesn't need fret work and is made with quality woods...

I don't know of much that fills that to be dead honest.

Your best bet is to just save up and buy a Les Paul.

 

[MetalManiac]

Re: Whats your Favorite Cheap les Paul Copy?

^ Oh..right..Man, I totally forgot about the cheap Gibson LP Studios at ZZounds!

 

[9unslin9er]

Re: Whats your Favorite Cheap les Paul Copy?

We ARE talking exclusively Les Paul-shaped correct? Not just singlecut solid body guitars?

I'd say an Epiphone Elitist, Orville by Gibson, or Tokai Love Rock will all get you there. Some of those cost as much as a Gibson Studio though.

Medium priced, Burny (Fernandes) and Edwards (ESP) make great copies.

Cheap? Univox Gimme by a long shot.

In today's economy though, when you can buy American for so cheap, there's no point hunting down those lawsuit models, unless you're going for a second kind of cool.

Now a singlecut style guitar, that's a whole other can of worms. The imports today are so freaking amazing, you can trounce a lot of Les Pauls with a pickup swap. Case in point, PRS SE245 and Ibanez ART100.

 

[Chris of Arabia]

Re: Whats your Favorite Cheap les Paul Copy?

Tokai every time for me - 9unslin9er is right though, you can spend as much on one of those as you can on a Gibson depending on what you pick. The Japanese ones are generally flawless though.

 

[Diego]

Re: Whats your Favorite Cheap les Paul Copy?

From what I've tried, an LTD EC401 VF.

I still regret not buying one of those.

 

[ItsaBass]

Re: Whats your Favorite Cheap les Paul Copy?

A used Gibson Les Paul Studio from the '90's is one of the best bangs for the buck in a Les Paul. Get a white one, and you get an Ebony board too.

That said, many of the late '70's Japanese copies were very good. Epi JDM stuff, Orville, Elitist, etc. is all very good too...but not necessarily that cheap.

 

[Funkfingers]

Re: Whats your Favorite Cheap les Paul Copy?

If you are not limiting yourself to guitars of the precise Lester outline, the PRS SE Singlecut, Soapbar and One models are all tidy instruments. In my opinion, the all-mahogany variants sound better than the ones with a maple cap. (I am a self-confessed mahogany slab 'n' P90 maniac!) The Korina SE examples probably make the best compromise.

 

[ItsaBass]

Re: Whats your Favorite Cheap les Paul Copy?

Next on my GAS list: https://www.glguitars.com/instruments/TributeSeries/guitars/Ascari/index.asp

Gibson scale, mahogany and flame maple, comes stock with Tone Pros hardware. Bound body and fretboard, with trans red or trans black color choices. $550 new.

It's certainly not a Les Paul copy, but it's a similar guitar. Tributes are very good guitars...and very good guitars for the money.

Or do you prefer P90's and no maple top?

 

[Megagwar]

Re: Whats your Favorite Cheap les Paul Copy?

I have an Arbor AP230. AND I LOVE IT! Feels and plays better than the Epiphone Les Paul's or Gibson Les Paul Studios. Frets are great, low action, smooooooooooooooth. It's a great guitar, my main one. The stock pups are ehhhh, so I upgraded them to Dimarzio Tone Zone and Air Norton. Now she really sings! Thin comfortable neck too. I got this Arbor at a guitar shop down the street from me for $220! Brand new too! Solid guitar. I highly reccommend one.

 

[Funkfingers]

Re: Whats your Favorite Cheap les Paul Copy?

Forgot to mention Hamer. Their Made in Indonesia models are fundamentally sound. As ever, pickup upgrades might be the order of the day.

 

[alteredbeast]

Re: Whats your Favorite Cheap les Paul Copy?

Next on my GAS list: https://www.glguitars.com/instruments/TributeSeries/guitars/Ascari/index.asp

Gibson scale, mahogany and flame maple, comes stock with Tone Pros hardware. Bound body and fretboard, with trans red or trans black color choices. $550 new.

It's certainly not a Les Paul copy, but it's a similar guitar. Tributes are very good guitars...and very good guitars for the money.

Or do you prefer P90's and no maple top?

kinda got a semi. they look nice.

 

[Dr. Vegetable]

Re: Whats your Favorite Cheap les Paul Copy?

I'll second that vote for the Ibanez ART series. These are some great instruments.

 

[Myaccount876]

Re: Whats your Favorite Cheap les Paul Copy?

Next on my GAS list: https://www.glguitars.com/instruments/TributeSeries/guitars/Ascari/index.asp

Gibson scale, mahogany and flame maple, comes stock with Tone Pros hardware. Bound body and fretboard, with trans red or trans black color choices. $550 new.

GAS

 

[metalmachine]

Re: Whats your Favorite Cheap les Paul Copy?

Ltd....... as long as I can still afford to replace the emgs

 

[muttznmongrelz]

Re: Whats your Favorite Cheap les Paul Copy?

It was my First Act Lola with Rio Grand Genuine Texas Neck/BBQ Bridge...a VERY UNDERVALUED GUITAR for the fit/finish and quality of the assembly. Swap out the electronics and it's a KILLER PLAYER.

 

[ErikH]

Re: Whats your Favorite Cheap les Paul Copy?

I'll second that vote for the Ibanez ART series. These are some great instruments.

That is sharp.

I had a PRS Singlecut Korina that was great. Loved that guitar. Had to move it to save up for bills while the wife was on maternity leave (self-employed). I've had an Epi LP too and the PRS ran circles around it.

 

[edvinas]

Re: Whats your Favorite Cheap les Paul Copy?

How about this: A very nice Les Paul copy by a company called LDG Guitars.

I was looking around for a Les Paul style guitar. I have a Gibson Les Paul Goldtop which I love, but wanted a backup guitar that wouldn't break my bank. Didn't want to get an Epiphone because I really don't like the look of the headstock. ESP's are great but don't like the "pointy cutaway". So, I Googled and found a brand called LDG Guitars. They sell from a website called Shopyst.com, and from the looks of some of the website graphics, it may be Chinese or Korean, I'm not sure. That said, I received the guitar within 3 days of purchase, so it couldn't have shipped from overseas. Looks-wise, this is one of the most beautiful guitars I have ever seen.

That said, it could use a little upgrading. The pickups are OK, but then I know people who have spent much more money on a real Les Paul, and swapped out the pickups anyway. However, the tone controls I'm probably going to have to upgrade; they don't have much of a sweep, but as I said, this guitar is modestly priced and I have have enough spare change to do this.

 

[80's_Metal]

Re: Whats your Favorite Cheap les Paul Copy?

This (on right) Epi Limited was one of the best sounding guitars I've ever played!
Thing was a true monster.... the DDJ SH-6 made it even sweeter!
Too bad for me I just can't get long with the LP shape and design....
The epi LP on the left.... was plain as ****

 

[Mr. B]

Re: Whats your Favorite Cheap les Paul Copy?

Pick a GOOD Epiphone Les Paul Standard and they are fine. Most of them don't have bad fret problems. The PRS SE245's are even better. Both of them benefit from a pickup upgrade.