Les pauls with bolt on necks - good, bad or just different?

[Catalyst77]

Have seen a lot of good reviews for some of the old jap les paul copies with bolt on necks.  I've always run a mile when ive seen a les paul bolt on, but am i justified?

I was wondering, would a bolt on les paul; if made well and from good materials have a bit of extra twang and cut and the expense of a bit of sustain and bottom end? giving it is own unique sound, or is this just a cardinal sin!

[Lew]

Fano and Trussart do it tastefully

[Twinfan]

Done well, as in the examples above, I'd say it's just different.

On a £100 Epiphone, I'd say it's bad.

[Philly Q]

I was wondering, would a bolt on les paul; if made well and from good materials have a bit of extra twang and cut and the expense of a bit of sustain and bottom end? giving it is own unique sound

Yeah, I think you'd get exactly that.  Back when I got my first LP copy in 1980, bolt-on LPs were very much at the budget end of the market, but I think it's a perfectly viable thing to do. 

I've got a Warmoth LP neck and body (which I may actually put together one day....), but they're very much traditional "Fender" woods, so it'll sound like a hardtail Strat.

But a bolt-on LP is good enough for Tom Anderson  :D :

[impossible]

Er, I think that Anderson is either not a bolt-on or has a very large neck pocket concealing the heel.

We made a bolt-on maple-neck LP at Feline last year and it rocked. It had an ebony fingerboard and Fender scale, for an 80s shred/high octane type player so it did stray a little from being a "traditional" LP.

So long as the joinery (or pocketry?) is executed well it can be a great join, though you can't necessarily expect it to behave just like a set-neck.

[dheim]

bolt-on necks can be as good as set-in ones, but i can't see the point of doing it on a les paul unless it's a very cheap copy, to cut production costs... i'm a bit traditional on this one.

[hooglebug]

Er, I think that Anderson is either not a bolt-on or has a very large neck pocket concealing the heel.

i think anderson do a sloping sided joint - like a wedge shape - hence you not being able to see the neck in the pocket from the side

[Philly Q]

Er, I think that Anderson is either not a bolt-on or has a very large neck pocket concealing the heel.

i think anderson do a sloping sided joint - like a wedge shape - hence you not being able to see the neck in the pocket from the side

Indeed they do.

http://www.andersonguitars.com/support/wedgie.cfm

[impossible]

I was reading that and thinking "bollocks, it may well work fine but it's not gonna be as strong as a Fender" until I saw that picture at the bottom. Jesus.

Saying that, I imagine a Fender would be just as strong if I had the balls to bolt one to the wall and hang off it. Actually it might not have enough side support but steel-string tension is in the region of 150-200kg so it can certainly handle 250+ in the direction of string pull.

Just how big is Tom then?

[Philly Q]

To be honest, I think he's just holding the guitar under his chin and kneeling on a stool or something which they've photoshopped out. 

[Catalyst77]

This is the guitar i was looking at


http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=290417693991&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

looks nice :)

[Philly Q]

I believe Antoria was a UK brand - the guitars were Japanese, but had the Antoria brand name slapped on them specifically for export to the UK.  In the late '70s/early '80s they were distributed in the UK by the same people who distributed Ibanez, and I've seen Antorias which looked very similar to Ibanez guitars from the same period.  

Having said that, this could just be a bog-standard LP copy like the "Arbiter" one my parents bought me in 1980.  It's very hard to know!  It certainly looks pretty.

[BBZGuitars]

I believe Antoria was a UK brand - the guitars were Japanese, but had the Antoria brand name slapped on them specifically for export to the UK.  In the late '70s/early '80s they were distributed in the UK by the same people who distributed Ibanez, and I've seen Antorias which looked very similar to Ibanez guitars from the same period.  

Having said that, this could just be a bog-standard LP copy like the "Arbiter" one my parents bought me in 1980.  It's very hard to know!  It certainly looks pretty.

Antoria guitars were made in the Ibanez Japan factory for Coppocks of Leeds (UK). Just the same as CSL were made in the same factory for Charles Summerfield Ltd of Gateshead (UK).
They were both very accurate copies with great pickups (not BKPs of course... Maxon usually), build materials etc. Only difference was that the neck was set/ bolt-on, as opposed to Gibson who set/ glued in. I have quite a few of these Les Pauls in my collection. They all have the 'open book/ moustache' type headstock, which prompted the so called 'Lawsuit'.
Sound-wise there is a slightly more 'spanky' sound, but to be fair I think it's hard to hear a huge difference really.
Nowadays both brands have been re-issued and you can get a set/ glued-in Antoria LP copy and a Set/ glued-in LP Jr DC copy. Our shop is a stockist of both, they're quality items, made in Korea.

[Zaned]

Have seen a lot of good reviews for some of the old jap les paul copies with bolt on necks.  I've always run a mile when ive seen a les paul bolt on, but am i justified?

I was wondering, would a bolt on les paul; if made well and from good materials have a bit of extra twang and cut and the expense of a bit of sustain and bottom end? giving it is own unique sound, or is this just a cardinal sin!

In my experience, a bolt-on neck doesn't lack sustain when compared to set neck. Has to be high quality of course. With set necks, you can fill a loose fit with glue. With a loose fit bolt-on, what can you do? It's very presice work making a bolt-on neck right.

Being equal quality, they're just different, not better or worse..

-Zaned

[Frank]

Back when I got my first LP copy in 1980, bolt-on LPs were very much at the budget end of the market

*Hondo Les Paul high five*