Advice - Need a Non Terrible Les Paul

Fiftyshadesofjay

Looking to get myself a Les Paul type guitar as I love the tone but I’ve had serious issues with the last three Gibson’s I’ve bought. 

Any suggestions for a decent alternative? Open to other brands and slightly different shapes. Needs to have a skinny neck (the main issue which rules out PRS Singlecut’s etc) ideally full thickness (Negotiable) and actually stay in tune.

Any ideas? My budget is anywhere up to £1300, happy to go used or new.

tabano

MIJ  burnys, grecos, Orvilles and Tokai around that budget would be my choice,
if you don’t mind use that money can get you a guitar for life..
the 80,s mij les Pauls mainly gravitate towards thinner necks except tokais,(although some do too)

stimpsonslostson

Vintage V100PG? I'm actually fairly serious- it's a good guitar, regardless of price. It looks, sounds & feels like a good LP and the neck is skinny (too thin for me- which is why I sold mine). You'd have LOTS left over for any mods you fancied doing.

I'd suggest looking for one of the older ones with the traditional carve neck join- I think they look & feel better.
https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0195/1906/products/vintage-v100pgm-4_1024x1024.jpg?v=1571527790

Otherwise I'd go Japanese (Tokai, Edwards, Greco...)- I had an Edwards that was superb, the neck wasn't huge- it was a nice "medium".

crunchman

Try a bunch of Gibsons. You will find a good one eventually.

rlw

Was going to say the LP Special I just bought is a brilliant bit of kit and really well put together, the only issue being the intonation but that's to be expected in a way.

Stevepage

LTD EC1001T? I was going to get one myself but I fell in love with a LP Traditional

Marshall_stax

Stevepage said:

LTD EC1001T? I was going to get one myself but I fell in love with a LP Traditional

^^This^^ It ticks all the boxes you asked for. Wiz awarded to Stevepage.  

impmann

I don't wish to sound like a twunt but have you considered having the Gibsons you've got/owned set up by someone who knows what they are doing?

99.9% of "tuning issues" are either badly cut nuts or badly loaded machine heads. In fact most issues concerning tuning stability on fixed bridge guitars can be solved by teaching people how to attach strings properly... (but then nobody would sell locking machine heads... so where's the profit in that - he said cynically).

Genuinely *GENUINELY* none of the Gibsons I've owned have had problems with tuning - I've gigged hundreds of times without problem. I see you are in Rothwell... 20-30mins away is John at Noiseworks, Coventry. Get him to look your Gibson.

jeztone2

I’d say do what I did.

Go on Ishibashi and buy a grey import used 1980’s Yamaha SG1000 for about £760 legally landed. Then spend £100 on a new case. 

Then have the guitar re-fretted and a more contemporary set of pickups put in. You’ll still have change from £1300. I rarely play my 2017 Classic as my Yam not only does the Gibson thing, it handles cleans better as well. 

drwiddly

I have a PRS SC250 and without doubt it's the best 'Les Paul' type guitar I've had (and I've had many!). The neck is very much on the chunky side too.

skullfunkerry

Another vote for the LTD here, they're cracking guitars

Fiftyshadesofjay

Thanks guys, there’s some good deals on older EC’s at the moment. Has anybody compared them to E-ii’s quality wise? There’s some deals on them but I’m not sure they’re worth double the money. 

Ive had older Eclipses which were nice.

And I know a good setup can help Gibson’s but I’ve found them still pretty shonky tuning wise after getting the works done. Not to mention ones I’ve returned due to truss rod issues, inlays falling out etc.

brooom

If you're familiar with ESP, and you're looking at Les Pauls... I would look into Navigator, which is the ESP brand for high end tradicional guitars, such as Gibson/Fender replicas.

chrishill901

impmann said:

I don't wish to sound like a twunt but have you considered having the Gibsons you've got/owned set up by someone who knows what they are doing?

99.9% of "tuning issues" are either badly cut nuts or badly loaded machine heads. In fact most issues concerning tuning stability on fixed bridge guitars can be solved by teaching people how to attach strings properly... (but then nobody would sell locking machine heads... so where's the profit in that - he said cynically).

Genuinely *GENUINELY* none of the Gibsons I've owned have had problems with tuning - I've gigged hundreds of times without problem. I see you are in Rothwell... 20-30mins away is John at Noiseworks, Coventry. Get him to look your Gibson.

This. My Gibson can go weeks without even dropping a cent, it’s the guitar I go to if I want tuning stability. Never, and I mean never had an issue with it, it is by a country mile my most reliable guitar.

mikeyrob73

Having been through a few Gibson's i finally settled on a Tokai ULS128 and its better than any of the Gibsons i owned. Its a great guitar 

sweepy

Get an older LP Traditional, don’t waste your money on a Tokai, Burny, Greco etc. The s/h market for Gibson’s is relatively buoyant and if you don’t get on  with it you”ll more than likely get your money back 

roberty

chrishill901 said:

impmann said:

I don't wish to sound like a twunt but have you considered having the Gibsons you've got/owned set up by someone who knows what they are doing?

99.9% of "tuning issues" are either badly cut nuts or badly loaded machine heads. In fact most issues concerning tuning stability on fixed bridge guitars can be solved by teaching people how to attach strings properly... (but then nobody would sell locking machine heads... so where's the profit in that - he said cynically).

Genuinely *GENUINELY* none of the Gibsons I've owned have had problems with tuning - I've gigged hundreds of times without problem. I see you are in Rothwell... 20-30mins away is John at Noiseworks, Coventry. Get him to look your Gibson.

This. My Gibson can go weeks without even dropping a cent, it’s the guitar I go to if I want tuning stability. Never, and I mean never had an issue with it, it is by a country mile my most reliable guitar.

I rarely have to tune my Gibson Les Paul either, rock solid

timmypix

Fiftyshadesofjay said:

Thanks guys, there’s some good deals on older EC’s at the moment. Has anybody compared them to E-ii’s quality wise? There’s some deals on them but I’m not sure they’re worth double the money. 

Ive had older Eclipses which were nice.

And I know a good setup can help Gibson’s but I’ve found them still pretty shonky tuning wise after getting the works done. Not to mention ones I’ve returned due to truss rod issues, inlays falling out etc.

Not ECs/Eclipses, but I've had multiple high end LTDs (artist 600 series) and my old flatmate had a full fat ESP (what became E-II) - quality was identical, as far as we could tell. Both faultless, and I can't say where the extra money for the ESP went apart from the badge and labour costs if I'm honest.

liamon

Could try a classic?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/gibson-les-paul-classic-Custom-Relic-ONE-OF-A-KIND/174140266052?hash=item288b919644:g:P2cAAOSwdOxeGQim

+1 on a high quality setup. 

PhilKing

I had a Les Paul 60, which I got rid of because of the skinny neck.  It had no other problems though.

Fiftyshadesofjay

liamon said:

Could try a classic?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/gibson-les-paul-classic-Custom-Relic-ONE-OF-A-KIND/174140266052?hash=item288b919644:g:P2cAAOSwdOxeGQim

+1 on a high quality setup. 

To be fair my friends 2015 Classic is really great quality. I just must have been unlucky with the really bad ones.

That one on eBay looks like it’s had an accident in a screwdriver factory though.