A few questions about having a custom Les Paul made.

[Nephilim]

I wondered if anyone knew of any people that make good Les Paul guitars for metal music? I'm looking for a Les Paul made with much better better upper fret access more than anything :) I also wanted to ask, what would be a better choice: Neck-Thru or Set-Neck? And should it be Mahogany or Maple? I'll most likely have Miracle Mans in them. Cheers

[FELINEGUITARS]

Do a search on this forum for Feline Lion and you will find quite a few inspiring threads on LP type guitars that I have made

Upper fret access as good as anything you've ever seen on an LP shaped guitar

Like this







They usually come standard with BKPs and as many cool features as we can cram in
We can do 24 fret versions and longer scale lengths too
Don't be fooled by previous examples that are all pretty maple tops etc - we can do solid colours too

Feel free to ask any questions you might have

[FernandoDuarte]

I wondered if anyone knew of any people that make good Les Paul guitars for metal music? I'm looking for a Les Paul made with much better better upper fret access more than anything :) I also wanted to ask, what would be a better choice: Neck-Thru or Set-Neck? And should it be Mahogany or Maple? I'll most likely have Miracle Mans in them. Cheers

Go for the above! Feline kills it!!!! :)

I'd just add that go with neck-thru body... And if you're wanting a LP tone, go for mahogany!

[Nephilim]

I was actually looking at your guitars, Feline. There's one I saw on your site, which is called lightweight mahogany, and I just wondered if the body's thinner on that Les Paul? It just looks really sexy and thin :)

[FELINEGUITARS]

I was actually looking at your guitars, Feline. There's one I saw on your site, which is called lightweight mahogany, and I just wondered if the body's thinner on that Les Paul? It just looks really sexy and thin :)

Oh this beast that I built for myself ? :









Yes she is pretty fab
I'm planning on making more like her - maybe some a little less ornate as well (although I like the bling factor on my own one)

Thickness is similar to a PRS - same thickness as a strat at the centre of the arched top - thinner at the edge
Light weight - like a medium weight strat
My one has BKP Cold Sweats but any combination can be chosen.

Would be good for metal playing too !

We made a "None More Black" one a few years ago and it was reviewed by a magazine

[Philly Q]

You definitely came to the right place to ask about custom LPs!  :D

[juansolo]

Jon's da man

Hmmmmm, poiple

[Nephilim]

It was actually the guitar below I was on about being thin :) I just wondered, is that a neck-thru? And if so, how does it compared to glue neck and hows the upper fret access?

http://www.felineguitars.com/Guitars/Lion/Lion-special%20mahogany%20JL/lion-special-1-(1).jpg

[FELINEGUITARS]

It was actually the guitar below I was on about being thin :) I just wondered, is that a neck-thru? And if so, how does it compared to glue neck and hows the upper fret access?

That is the sunburst guitar shown above - just photographed without paint

The neck is a glued in with a deep set tenon to allow the heel carve
Access is fab to the top end - and with the body being thinner it does feel a bit easier than a full depth version of the same.
Neck thru seriously wouldn't give you any advantage with how we build these
We maximise sustain and resonance as much as possible.

I always have this guitar at the shop so people can try it out, even though it is my own axe.

[Philly Q]

^   Jon's slimmed-down Lion really is lovely, and the thinner body (plus the neck joint) does make it feel much more "manageable" than a normal Les Paul.

If I ever succumb to GAS for a custom guitar, that one'll be my starting point.  :)

[Nephilim]

I think that's the exact shape I'd go for, honestly. It is sexy as hell :P Since the neck is glued on, would a maple neck be good with the mahogany body for metal music, since the pickups will be loaded into the mahogany, rather than the bright maple of a neck-thru? It's just I like fast necks, or do you recommend a mahogany neck (if you can make them feel fast too)?

[Philly Q]

"Feeling fast" shouldn't have anything to do with the neck wood, it's more about the shape and the finish, surely?  :?

[Nephilim]

I mean as in, maple necks can have a Satin/Tung Oil finish, which gives it that 'Naked Wood' finish. Zakk Wylde's Gibson Les Paul for e.g. - But mahogany guitars are usually finished with a glossy finish, which is meant to seal the wood, but IMHO doesn't feel as fast. If you can make a mahogany neck feel as fast as a Tung Oil/Satin finished neck...then that's fantastic. Means I can narrow it down by tonal qualities (which is of course, the whole point, lol).

[FELINEGUITARS]

We have done a couple of stripped neck Lions with oil finishes  in the past but they only awkward issue that we have is that because of the almost seamless nature of the heel it is really tricky to get a neat transition between oiled and painted sections.

Here is one we did for Catalyst77 from this forum




Front view


Analternatiuve idea is to have a totally oiled finish on the rear , whilst having gloss on the front and the headstock
Here is one we did for someone that had a maple neck on a mahogany body - so you can see what is possible

[Nephilim]

How about stopping the gloss abruptly where the neck joins the body (as seen on the bottom example)? I've seen ESP and Gibson do this on most of their Maple necks. Come to think of it, I like the look if the Black Gloss (colour I'm wanting) stop abruptly around the neck join, where the maple hits the mohogany, then have naked maple :)