Yaron vs Bartlett vs Morgan vs The Stig vs Gibson R9 vs etc...

fretfinder

There’s always plenty of discussion on here whenever anyone lists a 59 replica - this one is way better than that one, they’re all way better than Gibsons, it’s the closest thing you’ll get to a real one etc. So what's the opinion of anyone who’s played several different ones from these almost mythical builders?

Personally I’ve owned about a dozen R9s and R8s over the years, including two Murphys and one Florian Jaeger True Historic refinish. I would say they’ve all been good guitars, a couple have been very good indeed and the best, which I still have, is without doubt a ‘bog standard’ 2005 R9. I’ve also owned two Terry Morgan bursts and they were very good replicas, but not outstanding imho. I’ve also handled a couple of Guitar Avenue’s replicas and again they seemed to be nice replicas, but they felt overly heavy and they didn’t ‘wow’ me.

Maybe part of the issue is with the wood and however good you are as a maker you can’t always get the best wood (f’nar f’nar). And however good the wood is, it almost certainly won’t be over 60 years old. A lot is also down to the lacquer/finishing skills, and the ageing, and the parts used, and the pickups etc. So it’s a combination of many factors I guess, and can any one builder really get it right more of the time that any other builder, or than Gibson? I know that the Chapter 11 folks get a lot of stick on here but personally I’ve found their Historic guitars that I’ve owned or played to be of consistently good quality and much nicer than the several LP Standards I’ve owned over the years.

Anyway, discuss...

Bridgehouse

(Apologies for repeat posting of this from t’other thread)

GoldenEraGuitars

I have nothing to contribute. But I’m pulling up a seat nice and early to watch the proceedings

hotpickups

Personally I don't get the exact replica thang anyway. Why copy something that was designed over 50 years ago. Surely we've improved guitar building since then? If you got money in your pocket then why not though but I don't believe one is better than the other in sound and build quality etc . Just my opinion but I've only tried one R9 though and weren't that impressed. Prefer my standard les Paul

fretfinder

lonestar said:

I have nothing to contribute. But I’m pulling up a seat nice and early to watch the proceedings

As an aged guitar finisher I think your opinions would be interesting and relevant. (I mean you produce aged guitars, not that you yourself are aged!)

hotpickups said: Just my opinion but I've only tried one R9 though and weren't that impressed. Prefer my standard les Paul

Confirmation bias!

p90fool

It sounds like you're more qualified to judge than most of us tbh. 

I've only ever played Standards, Historics and real 50s Standards and they've all overlapped each other in quality terms once you have some good PAF replicas in there. 

Surely the list of replicas you've already owned far outweighs the value of a 50s Goldtop already?  

GoldenEraGuitars

fretfinder said:

lonestar said:

I have nothing to contribute. But I’m pulling up a seat nice and early to watch the proceedings

As an aged guitar finisher I think your opinions would be interesting and relevant. (I mean you produce aged guitars, not that you yourself are aged!)

I think the Gibson replica thing and especially the 59 stuff is in a little world of its own. These are set in a price point that very few of us can access. I can’t comment further because I haven’t owned a Gibson les Paul let alone played one in years.

Strangefan

The reason is because, the originals were played by the heroes, so they had the wow factor, all the others are just what they are.... Replicas they won't have the wow as its not of the period,  its like buying a mazda which has been expertly turned into a fararri using an expertly crafted body kit and engine, it's will never be what people actually want and will always be 2nd best.

They really are just well made guitars, skill yes  magic and mojo.... No such thing. 

jimmyguitar

I have a Stig from guitar avenue and love it. Every time I go to a guitar shop I make a point of trying out some high end custom shop lp’s just to see how they compare and they honestly feel really cheaply made and play badly in comparison to my replica. I haven’t tried any other replica but I’m not really into ‘vintage accuracy’ per se, just bought it because it was the best les paul i’ve played or heard. I fitted some Wizz PAF’s and haven’t looked back.

jimmyguitar

Another shot... just because!

Bucket

I've never played a straight-up (as in illegal) replica before, but I have played a '58 sunburst and a '53 sunburst conversion and I would say the conversion really stood up, for about 5% of the price  

Adam_MD

I’ve only ever played one legit burst a 1960 and it was decidedly average tbh.  I’ve also never played any replicas just some Gibson historics and all of them were nicer than the ‘60 original I played.  

It’d be interesting to know how many of the originals were great guitars vs the number of average or dogs among them.  

NelsonP

Wait. Terry Morgan is real?

Boromedic

Beautiful Stig-Burst @jimmyguitar !! Looks amazing, how long ago did you pick that up? Really cheeky question but any idea what the going rate for these is now?

Bridgehouse

NelsonP said:

Wait. Terry Morgan is real?

Well there's a question. Apparently so!

JayGee

NelsonP said:

Wait. Terry Morgan is real?

He is, but that’s not him. It’s a perfectly executed replica with all period correct features and painstakingly contrived distressing.

jimmyguitar

Boromedic said:

Beautiful Stig-Burst @jimmyguitar !! Looks amazing, how long ago did you pick that up? Really cheeky question but any idea what the going rate for these is now?

Thanks! Had it around 1 year which for me is some kind of record! Think they vary quite a bit depending on if they have real PAF’s etc. Mine has all repro parts and pickups so came in under £5k.

designerseye88

It will be interested to see what Gibson do over the next few years. From what I've seen it'll be the end of Henry J and the new ownership I hope will focus on keeping things simple and doing them well. With the demand for ever closer and more accurate burst replicas maybe we could see a new approach?  

designerseye88

jimmyguitar said:

Boromedic said:

Beautiful Stig-Burst @jimmyguitar !! Looks amazing, how long ago did you pick that up? Really cheeky question but any idea what the going rate for these is now?

Thanks! Had it around 1 year which for me is some kind of record! Think they vary quite a bit depending on if they have real PAF’s etc. Mine has all repro parts and pickups so came in under £5k.

If you ever sell her, Please message me, Probably the best looking guitar I have ever seen. 

Boromedic

jimmyguitar said:

Boromedic said:

Beautiful Stig-Burst @jimmyguitar !! Looks amazing, how long ago did you pick that up? Really cheeky question but any idea what the going rate for these is now?

Thanks! Had it around 1 year which for me is some kind of record! Think they vary quite a bit depending on if they have real PAF’s etc. Mine has all repro parts and pickups so came in under £5k.

Cool, that's better than I was expecting for such a gorgeous LP. Keep enjoying it, and second dibs after @designerseye88 !!

earwighoney

I've played a few replicas made by a maker who frequents this forum and I wasn't massively bothered by the guitars being vintage correct/spec/weight etc but I just really enjoyed playing them as they were superbly built instruments that were a delight to play and sounded fantastic.