Howzy 'bout Les Paul Studios?

[Pissy]

I've been considering these as a more viable route to having an affordable USA made guitar. Been watching one on eBay and while I doubt I'll bid on it, it's at 550 right now with 3 hrs to go.

Personally I 'm of the belief that the 82 to 92 gibsons are the best affordable vintage going, and this is a '91, so it's right in there.

Pros and cons from folks who have played them?  On the surface the differences are obvious (no binding, no maple cap), but are there big time differences that a good setup won't fix?

Thanks.

[bass sic]

I have a 93 that is pretty fuckin good. Not that I could tell since I'm a hack player, but I've had other people play it and had no complaints. The bling and binding I could give a shit about, but I'm not crazy about it being all black. But it's something I can live with. Also it's got an ebony board.

[Jake]

Some of those are very serious sleepers, from what i hear. But personally, I would hesitate buy one straight off the internet without playing it first. Unless its a killer deal, of course. That way the risk factor is squashed if you don't end up bonding with it.

[jibberish]

i truly dig my mid 90's..wait i think the sales receipt is in the case...i need to check exact date..will edit. if it isnt there now, ill have to search the serial # online.


whatever year it is, i like it , have played the hell out of it ever since i got it and other than fret wear and switch noise, it has been a comfy hoss for me.

i also played quite a few to choose mine. i really wanted this cool brown sunburst the most, but i didnt like how it played.  it actually came down to a black one and a wine red one, which i ultimately went with and actually liked the color the least.  ok now i like the color, since it's been around for a long time now.

edit: well not mid 90's, howabout 2000 model which i bought in Jan '01. not sure why i was thinking 97-98, but oh well. i'm glad i looked.. hey here is the directions for if i mess up the combo lock..those are safe INSIDE the case if i screw up...lol

[Pissy]

Some of those are very serious sleepers, from what i hear. But personally, I would hesitate buy one straight off the internet without playing it first. Unless its a killer deal, of course. That way the risk factor is squashed if you don't end up bonding with it.

yeah if I think about it, I've never bought a guitar off Ebay.  One from Rondo and a couple others off forums, having spoken on the phone with the people I was dealing with.

That guitar I was wathcing went for $550 +45 shipping last night btw.

[Baltar]

My '92 was my first.  I really loved it, but after 18 years my sk8boarder back stopped liking it.  The 490's to me are muddy. And all my friends told me to change 'em out.  I finally did at year 15 to Dimarzio Super 2's.  Most people say the early 90's are a pretty safe bet.  I'd say go for it.

[Pissy]

This one on my local CL caught my eye. So often the wine ones have gold hardware. Not my thing. This one's nickel. Not the vintage I'm after , but...

http://charlotte.craigslist.org/msg/3148037190.html

[I,Galactus]

^ That there looks to be a faded cherry studio paul, not wine red.

Also, if it's from the aughts it's probably chambered (which deeply offends some people).

I've got one of that vintage in worn brown and I quite like it.  P/U switch is a little hinky, though.

[Pissy]

Ahh good to know.

[Baltar]

I almost bought one of those Wine/Gold HW ones.  I'm sure I woulda changed out that gaudy crap if I did buy it.

[swordofdoom]

I'm thinking about getting back into guitar (been playing bass for quite a while now), and the LP Studio 50's caught my eye, but I don't want some low end, chambered piece of shit.

Any non-Gibson LP's out there that are readily available? Some of the sub $1k ESP LTD's look pretty sweet, how 'bout those?

[bitter]

Agile.

[I,Galactus]

Vintage lawsuits from Tokyo:

http://www.ebay.com/sch/chingo123/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_from=&_ipg=50&_trksid=p3686

[swordofdoom]

Are those Agiles actually good? I've been looking at them for the last 6 or 7 years, but never took the leap on one.


Those Burny's look really cool, and they come in at around the same price as a Studio.


Or maybe I'll just keep an eye out for Matt Pike's lol

[Pissy]

Are those Agiles actually good? I've been looking at them for the last 6 or 7 years, but never took the leap on one.


Those Burny's look really cool, and they come in at around the same price as a Studio.


Or maybe I'll just keep an eye out for Matt Pike's lol

I've got one that's pretty sweet.  It isn't a Les Paul down at the detail level, but it's a great guitar.  a 3100M meaning it's got the 3/4" maple cap Ebony with mother of pearl inlay, 60's style neck, grovers and a bone nut.

pretty much all of the things you'd change out on an Epiphone have been done to it stock.  the sunburst fade is better than a Gibson as far as I'm concerned.  And the case is identical to a Gibson case.  Great sound too.   They say they're set up from Rondo, but I think I'd prefer my dude here to do it, just to get it good and dialed.

[VOLVO)))]

I want that Agile. Bad.

[swordofdoom]

Are those Agiles actually good? I've been looking at them for the last 6 or 7 years, but never took the leap on one.


Those Burny's look really cool, and they come in at around the same price as a Studio.


Or maybe I'll just keep an eye out for Matt Pike's lol

I've got one that's pretty sweet.  It isn't a Les Paul down at the detail level, but it's a great guitar.  a 3100M meaning it's got the 3/4" maple cap Ebony with mother of pearl inlay, 60's style neck, grovers and a bone nut.

pretty much all of the things you'd change out on an Epiphone have been done to it stock.  the sunburst fade is better than a Gibson as far as I'm concerned.  And the case is identical to a Gibson case.  Great sound too.   They say they're set up from Rondo, but I think I'd prefer my dude here to do it, just to get it good and dialed.

That is a sharp lookin' axe, Pissy. I may just pick up a 3100 and toss a Super Distortion in the bridge and see how that works out. And even if I don't like it, I'm still not too deep into it.

Thanks for the advice!

[bitter]

I've got a 3000m, which has all the features Pissy mentioned, but with a graph tech nut and abalone inlays. Great player out of box.

Here's a quick pic of my rig I have laying around:

[The Shocker]

Only thing I will say about Gibsons vs Agiles or other brands is that Gibsons hold their value well.  Shit, Norlin era Gibsons used to be considered shit and now they are "classics" (and command classic prices too).

[Pissy]

I should mention that in my 20 odd years of playing the agile was the first guitar I ever bought that was absolutely brand new. Not a model off the rack new, but never been picked up (aside from factory inspections) and plucked or choogled brand new. A completely different thing for me as every guitar prior had frets that were textured already from demo playing or more often used.

The frets on this were mirror clean, and that was a new thing for me. Definitely made a good first impression.

[swordofdoom]

I've got a 3000m, which has all the features Pissy mentioned, but with a graph tech nut and abalone inlays. Great player out of box.

Here's a quick pic of my rig I have laying around:

That's a killer looking rig. You guys are making the Agiles hard for me to ignore. 

Only thing I will say about Gibsons vs Agiles or other brands is that Gibsons hold their value well.  Shit, Norlin era Gibsons used to be considered shit and now they are "classics" (and command classic prices too).

Not really concerned too much with resale value, I usually buy to keep.

I really want to take the plunge on a Gibson, but I just don't know. Even the Studios command a pretty good chunk of money, and I'm just not sure I'm willing to drop that kind of cash on a brand that I have not heard good things about the past few years.

Maybe I'll find me a nice, early 90's one that speaks to me in the meantime, but until then, I'm gonna err on the side of caution.

I should mention that in my 20 odd years of playing the agile was the first guitar I ever bought that was absolutely brand new. Not a model off the rack new, but never been picked up (aside from factory inspections) and plucked or choogled brand new. A completely different thing for me as every guitar prior had frets that were textured already from demo playing or more often used.

The frets on this were mirror clean, and that was a new thing for me. Definitely made a good first impression.

This will be my first brand new guitar, too, if I get one.

[bitter]

I've got a 3000m, which has all the features Pissy mentioned, but with a graph tech nut and abalone inlays. Great player out of box.

Here's a quick pic of my rig I have laying around:

That's a killer looking rig. You guys are making the Agiles hard for me to ignore. 

Thank you. I felt kind of guilty posting it as it seemed gratuitous, but that's the only photo of the guitar I had in my photobucket account. There's a lot to like about the agiles. I wish I could say the same thing about my Hagstrom 

[Pissy]

I have a Hagstrom as well and I have to say that I enjoy it as well. Not nearly as clean with fit/finish, and the tuners and nut are not good, but I like the neck and body relief and those two things go a real long way. It just feels good.

A nut and good setup with a fret polish would make it real nice. Tuners still would need an upgrade, but I could live with them.

Mine is the Swede not a Super. I prefer that model so I can move the pickup switch from the typical spot (where I always hit it while strumming) down to the lower horn, and remove that tone toggle trickery, cuz it sounds best when that switch bypasses that tone modifying crap anyway.

I also liked playing the D2H model. The way it felt reminded me of my SG in so many ways. For sure the same hardware stuff would apply to it as well.

[everdrone]

I dont know many that prefer an agile or LP studio to an LP standard or LP custom!

keep that in mind when seeking the ultimate LP, you may just never be happy until you hit jackpot 

[bitter]

I dont know many that prefer an agile or LP studio to an LP standard or LP custom!

I do and have stated it several times on this board  . At least in terms of some newer ones I've tried.