Early thoughts on a guitar dilemma

[Slartibartfarst42]

Yes, I know, I've taken a great guitar and made it fantastic but I'm a practical guy and if I'm not using it enough, I'd rather it went to a decent home. The BKP switch, pots and cap made so much difference that if I'd tried that first I may not have rushed into buying the pickups! Having said that, the Miracle Man really sits well in the Jackson and is perfect for Metal music and with what I've done with the single coils, it's a bit of a monster guitar now  :twisted: If it sells, it sells and if it doesn't, I'll see how I feel this time next year. A lad I teach told me today that his dad is going to lend me his Gibson Les Paul for a few days to see how I adapt to a thicker neck so that could be an eye opening experience that I'm looking forward to.

[dave_mc]

ah yeah if you can try something else for a few days that'd be the best bet

and as i said, only you'll know how much you're gonna use the jackson, i'm not trying to talk you into keeping it, honest :lol:

[Philly Q]

There's a review of the Chapman ML-2 (and ML-1) in the August issue of Guitarist - pretty favourable, and they describe it as "a real alternative to the mid-range rock dominance of the likes of LTD and Schecter".

On the downside (for you) the necks are described as "pleasantly chubby" and the maple tops are only veneers.

On the downside (for me) both are over 4kg in weight.  And I'd forgotten Rob Chappers was involved, not sure I'd want to give him any of my hard-earned.....

[Slartibartfarst42]

Tried a few and a bit further on.

LTD EC-401: Great neck but thin body and too bright for a Les Paul. Worst upper fret access I tried. Didn't like it.

PRS 245: Neck was ok, as was upper fret access. Not sure if it's massively darker than a Custom 24, in which case why not just get another Custom 24? I'll try this one again.

Gibson Les Paul Junior: Great tone but 50s neck was just too chunky.

Gibson Les Paul Studio: Better neck and great tone.

Gibson Les Paul Future: Great neck, decent tone, horrible tuning pegs.

I liked the LP Studio best but it's more than I really want to spend on a second guitar. Still to try the Ibanez ARZ.

[tekbow]

Gibson Les Paul Junior: Great tone but 50s neck was just too chunky.

Leave your man card at the door on your way out..

[gwEm]

Les Paul Classics have thin and fast necks.. can be found 2nd hand at a fairly reasonable cost.

[tekbow]

Les Paul Classics have thin and fast necks.. can be found 2nd hand at a fairly reasonable cost.

And you as well

[Slartibartfarst42]

I've been giving this a lot of thought and it seems to me that getting an authentic Les Paul tone without actually buying a Les Paul is pretty difficult. I daresay something can be done with the pickups to help things along so if it's a brighter Les Paul copy, perhaps using Crawlers instead of Mules for instanmce might help. I do want to try a few more from the PRS 245 range as they are lovely guitars but if they're not significantly more like a Les Paul tone than my Custom 24, I'd be more inclined to just get another Custom 24.

I'm also determined to try an Ibanez ARZ300 at some point as it's just so cheap compared to everything else I'm considering. It looks like this is mostly due to the lack of decent pickups but as I'd  be changing them for Bare Knuckles anyway, that doesn't really bother me.

I've decided that if I'm going to get a Gibson, I really should look at the secondhand market as there must be plenty Les Pauls around at a fraction of the new cost and as long as it has the slimmer 60s neck profile, I'm not too fussed which model it actually is. Once I started thinking about a used guitar, I started seriously thinking about the possibility of picking up either a Les Paul Double Cut or a Yamaha SG. Both are quite rare but you never know.

Anyway, I can't do anything until the Jackson is sold so one bridge at a time.

[gwEm]

i think thats a good idea for many reasons. after a while (15-20 years), all gibsons seem to go back up in value. its hard to lose money on a 2nd hand gibson.