El Degas Les Paul Custom

[boneyguy]

I'm going to check out this El Degas Les Paul Custom on Friday but I'm kinda curious about it.

Here's the ad:

$325 - 70's El Degas "Les Paul Custom" copy

Rare "Lawsuit era" guitar. Same construction, and by many considered as good or better than Gibson Les Pauls of that era. Set-neck. Great sounding pickups. Re-wired with new pots and caps.

The ad says it's a 70's lawsuit, presumably MIJ, blah blah etc etc El Degas (I guess that's the poor man's equivalent of having 'TG' on the butt end of your Tele neck) but I'm not sure about a couple of things.

Firstly, if it was lawsuit era wouldn't actually look more like a real LP. This to me looks post lawsuit era where they've been forced to make it look not so LP'ish, no?

Secondly, I can't find any photos on the net that match exactly the look of this guitar from that era. As you can see there is no accent over the 'e' in Degas and I can't find any other photos where that's the case.


I also can't seem to find any pics of El Degas LP's with that very sharp Florentine cutaway.

Also the pics make this guitar look like there isn't any wear and tear on it. Could just be the lousy pics.

It seems like a crazy thing to wonder but would a manufacturer actually go to the trouble of making fake El Degas's!! I can't believe that could happen could it? Nah, that's crazy.

Anyway, are there any fans and knowledgeable folks here that know about these ED guits. I remember them from the 70's and early 80's but they always seemed to be cheaply made.


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[goldtopper]

"Lawsuit Era" in this case seems to apply to a period of time as opposed to that guitar itself.
I will henceforth refer to my formative years as my lawsuit era.

 

[rjones652]

To find out more about that guitar, you might try cruising thru this forum:
http://www.eldegas.com/forum

I just found it...the whole site looks pretty new, but you might be able to find out something about who actually made it, etc.

One sad thing about the "re-brander" guitars: they name-owners would often change manufacturers from year to year (Sears did this with Silvertone, so did Electra at one point).

 

[jkingma]

My first guitar was an El Degas LP. It was a great guitar and I really wish I still had it.

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I'm going to have to check out that forum. Thanks for the link rjones652.

 

[losergeek]

My understanding of the 'lawsuit' LPs is that you're mainly looking at the headstock - if it's got the 'open book' Gibson style headstock then it was one of the guitars implicated (which this one does).

From a quality perspective, I think it's more about the guitar being made in Japan during the 70s - that seems to be the sweet spot for these guitars, whether they were blantant rip offs or not.

 

[boneyguy]

"Lawsuit Era" in this case seems to apply to a period of time as opposed to that guitar itself.
I will henceforth refer to my formative years as my lawsuit era.

I think it's become a pretty broad term now. That's why in my OP I referenced the 'TG' initials on all the fake Tele necks. You've just gotta say even if it isn't true because it's what people wanna hear I guess.

To find out more about that guitar, you might try cruising thru this forum:
http://www.eldegas.com/forum

I just found it...the whole site looks pretty new, but you might be able to find out something about who actually made it, etc.

One sad thing about the "re-brander" guitars: they name-owners would often change manufacturers from year to year (Sears did this with Silvertone, so did Electra at one point).

I already did some searching on that forum but didn't turn up anything substantial.

 

[boneyguy]

My understanding of the 'lawsuit' LPs is that you're mainly looking at the headstock - if it's got the 'open book' Gibson style headstock then it was one of the guitars implicated (which this one does).

From a quality perspective, I think it's more about the guitar being made in Japan during the 70s - that seems to be the sweet spot for these guitars, whether they were blantant rip offs or not.

Okay, I see. I assumed it was the whole shape that made it a lawsuit guitar not just the headstock. On most of the El Degas pics I've seen from that era the headstock inlay is also a direct Gibson copy but on the headstock I posted you can see they've changed it which makes me think by the time this particular guitar was made they were already feeling the pressure from Gibson's legal dept.

 

[weemikey]

I think the El Degas brand was pretty good. My buddy had an ES-175 copy that was killer, and I've seen a local (Vancouver) blues guy with an El Degas Es-335 style that was a beauty as well. I'd jump all over that LP. Looks cool!

 

[losergeek]

Okay, I see. I assumed it was the whole shape that made it a lawsuit guitar not just the headstock. On most of the El Degas pics I've seen from that era the headstock inlay is also a direct Gibson copy but on the headstock I posted you can see they've changed it which makes me think by the time this particular guitar was made they were already feeling the pressure from Gibson's legal dept.

Ya, you can't copyright the general shape of a guitar, however you can do so with specific details like the headstock - that was the only real reason Gibson could take legal action.

 

[boneyguy]

Ya, you can't copyright the general shape of a guitar, however you can do so with specific details like the headstock - that was the only real reason Gibson could take legal action.

But it's my understanding that Gibson spent years going after PRS because of their single cutaway guitars. That's why PRS was only making double cutaways for the longest time. Finally it was decided in favour of PRS and satan lost that round.

 

[chuck_zc]

Here's mine from a few years back..Sadly sold it..

 

[boneyguy]

Here's mine from a few years back..Sadly sold it..

Yours had the headstock that I typically see in photos with the Gibson inlay and the accent over the 'e' in Degas.

 

[chuck_zc]

Sold mine to a friend of mine, so I still get visitation rights

 

[sneakyjapan]

..."and by many considered as good or better than Gibson Les Pauls of that era"...


doesn`t every seller say this?

 

[DOGMA Dunn]

Some of the best clone Les Pauls I have ever seen.

 

[losergeek]

..."and by many considered as good or better than Gibson Les Pauls of that era"...

doesn`t every seller say this?

I think you need to emphasize "era" since it wasn't a great period for the major brands and was a relatively good period for the japanese manufacturers.

 

[raisinbrain]

I was surfing for El Degas guitars for sale when I found the following link.
http://www.usedvictoria.com/classified-ad/El-Degas-Les-Paul-Black-Beauty_19720648

I was trying to find a similar guitar when I found this thread. Then I realized it was the exact same guitar! One of a kind?

Hmmmm.