Help me pick a LP substitute

[OmegaWoods]

I am looking for a guitar that's as close to a 50s Les Paul (big neck) Standard as possible for less than a thousand bucks.

I'm considering an Epi 59 standard outfit, a Harley Benton SC-450 and others. I want to find something that I can determine if I really like the Les Paul feel before plunking down 3k.

Thanks for your input!

 

[northernguitar]

Yamaha Revstar.

 

[Cali Dude]

You could find a used USA Hamer Studio or Sunburst for close to that. My '96 has a decent sized neck.

 

[BFcaster]

Epiphone. Many say they are better than their Gibsons. Search for "Epi 50s necks" and probably get results from the My Les Paul forum...lots of talk about theses guitars over there.

 

[Paul G.]

PRS SE245. Feels right, sounds good. Nice, hefty neck. When strapped on, it feels pretty much like my R8. I swapped the pickups in mine for Seth Lovers, but the stock pickups were excellent. My entire investment (with pickups) still under a grand. Gibson R8 on the right, PRS SE245 on the left. Love 'em both, but take the PRS out more because there's a lot of stress taking out a $4000 guitar.

 

[Engine Swap]

+1 on Hamer Sunburst. I picked up a late 90s MiK Sunburst and it does the LP thing very well. Nice chunky neck too! I also like where Hamer puts the selector switch. On traditional LPs I tend to accidentally hit the switch while playing.

 

[lowatter]

Ibanez Artist or Studio. If you can find one from the 80's for a grand otherwise new ones are $600 or so.

Ibanez Artist AR-200 2005 Cherry Red | Reverb

Ibanez Artist AR-200 2003 Cherry Red AR 200. Made in Korea.The guitar has very little wear, only hairlike scratches, spactacular for a 20-year old instrument. Looks all original as far as I can tell. The frets & electronics are great, comfy and fast neck, this one weighs ~ 7 lbs, ...

reverb.com

 

[Swirling Snow]

My answer was a PRS SE Santana Abraxis. (to be fair though, I was a fan of the cover artist years before the album came out)

The important words in the name aren't really there. It's a limited edition Cort. 24 1/2" scale wide fat neck, 3-piece mahogany neck, and a mahogany and maple body, very similar to an Epiphone LP. It's lighter and I like the double cut-away. Also. I think Paul cracks the whip harder than Gibson does. Whether being a "limited edition" means as much as it does in the Martin factory... well, I really doubt it, but I can dream, no?


The Hamer is also a good choice, but I'd jump on that Ibanez. Look at that wood! Yeah, everyone likes pretty, but straight grain has clarity. I've been through so many guitars in my life.... the only factory pickups I've kept have been Ibanez.

In the end, make sure you're buying a better guitar and not just a name if you move up. Any of these suggestions could do you for life if you get lucky.

 

[RobRiggs]

Godin Summit Classic CT Convertible. Fantastic, versatile guitar with the Les Paul flavor.

 

[OmegaWoods]

My answer was a PRS SE Santana Abraxis. (to be fair though, I was a fan of the cover artist years before the album came out)

The important words in the name aren't really there. It's a limited edition Cort. 24 1/2" scale wide fat neck, 3-piece mahogany neck, and a mahogany and maple body, very similar to an Epiphone LP. It's lighter and I like the double cut-away. Also. I think Paul cracks the whip harder than Gibson does. Whether being a "limited edition" means as much as it does in the Martin factory... well, I really doubt it, but I can dream, no?


The Hamer is also a good choice, but I'd jump on that Ibanez. Look at that wood! Yeah, everyone likes pretty, but straight grain has clarity. I've been through so many guitars in my life.... the only factory pickups I've kept have been Ibanez.

In the end, make sure you're buying a better guitar and not just a name if you move up. Any of these suggestions could do you for life if you get lucky.

Thanks very much. I have an SE Paul's guitar and it's excellent. Is it close enough, I wonder...

 

[Freeman Keller]

I measured the neck on an old gold top and built my own. Came in just about a grand.

 

[TeleTex82]

Here you go. Not affiliated but owned one and it was superb.

PRS SE Bernie Marsden 2011 - 2015 | Reverb

The SE Bernie Marsden a the signature guitar for the Whitesnake artist Features a mahogany body and neck, a maple top with flame maple veneer, rosewood fretboard, 24.5” scale length, stoptail bridge, and SE 245 pickups Discontinued in 2015, but re-released in 2017 with additional finishes

reverb.com

 

[TeleTex82]

I measured the neck on an old gold top and built my own. Came in just about a grand.

View attachment 980561

I'll take one!

 

[BB]

I'll take one!

Me too!!!! One is all I need and all I want. Someday, I hope to have guitar made by Freeman.

 

[lariat 99]

I measured the neck on an old gold top and built my own. Came in just about a grand.

View attachment 980561

That Sir is beautiful.

 

[Maguchi]

I am looking for a guitar that's as close to a 50s Les Paul (big neck) Standard as possible for less than a thousand bucks.

I'm considering an Epi 59 standard outfit, a Harley Benton SC-450 and others. I want to find something that I can determine if I really like the Les Paul feel before plunking down 3k.

Thanks for your input!

Slab bodied Gibson Les Paul Special Tribute Humbucker, $999 list price. With the standard 15% dsicount available at one of the bigger online retailers you can get it for $850 new. Comfortable, versatile, lightweight, great sounding. Has 490T and 490R pickups which I really like. Liked the 1st one so much I got another one. Neck feels about the same as a '59 or what they put on an R9.

 

[RobRiggs]

Slab bodied Gibson Les Paul Special Tribute Humbucker, $999 list price. With the standard 15% dsicount available at one of the bigger online retailers you can get it for $850 new. Comfortable, versatile, lightweight, great sounding. Has 490T and 490R pickups which I really like. Liked the 1st one so much I got another one. Neck feels about the same as a '59 or what they put on an R9.

View attachment 980588 View attachment 980589

Those are fantastic bang-for-the-buck guitars and you can’t get more Les Paul than a Les Paul.

 

[dogmeat]

USA Hamers are KILLER. when new, they were more money than current production Gibsons (or Fender). the reason is the Hamers were "boutique" production, modeled after the vintage guitars, built in fairly small numbers to supply working musicians with great guitars so you didn't have to take your 50,000 dollar vintage LP on the road. over the last 30 years I've owned 6, now down to 3. I've played them next to many high dollar guitars. Gibson, PERS custom shop and other boutique names... did not take a back seat to any

on the other hand.... Godin. I have 3. great guitars. best bang for the buck ever

EDIT: oooops... less than 1k bucks... sorry no soup for you. Hamer USAs will all be more than that. too bad, people don't know what they are missing on these fabulous guitars. if you find one, get it

Godin on the other hand can easily fill that bill. made in Canada/USA, all top notch parts, they play good, sound good

 

[hopdybob]

would be handy if you could read german

Sechs Mal Singlecut: Der große Vergleichstest

Oh wie langweilig. Da häuft man einfach genügend Geld auf den Tresen und bekommt genau das, was man erwartet – den Sound, den Look, den Wiederverkaufswert. Doch wo bleibt da die Überraschung? Meistens finden solche Überraschungen dann tatsächlich eher ein bis zwei Preisetagen tiefer statt –...

www.gitarrebass.de

but maybe google translate could do the trick

 

[Fluddman]

Also check out the Eastman range. I recently bought an SB56 Goldtop and can't stop playing it!. Also check out the SB57 and SB59.

The quality is top notch and they are reasonably priced.

Worth a look!