Guitars

[Supervox]

Having (finally) come to the conclusion that short of a major lottery win I shall never realise my ambition to own a 'proper' Gibson Les Paul (no comments on the Epiphoneys please), I have decided that a decent copy is required.

A local guitar shop is stocking a Tanglewood Les Paul copy at a very reasonable price (iro £300); I've done some checking online & come across some good reviews but I'm wondering if any fellow Org-an has actually owned a Tanglewood electric, and if so what they thought of it ?

I know that Tanglewood have a good reputation for acoustics but know nothing other than what I've recently read about their electrics.

I would also be interested in any other Les Paul copies that people might have / have had - other than Tokai (used to be great but are now pretty rubbish so I'm told) & the aformentioned Epiphoneys.

Cheers !

[Wideboy]

i once briefly owned a les paul by vintage years ago, for the money i thought it was fantastic but my amp at the time let it down, having said that it still sounded great tho that crappy amp

I've owned many guitars and you can't buy on brand name really, it's not like a particular bike where one is like another. I've played top brand guitars that were awful and budget ones that were amazing. Fix your gaze on guitars that feel rewarding to play rather than brand x or y. I've got a Les Paul, it's alright like, but is objectively no better than far cheaper stuff I've got.

Tanglewood used to be a really cheap brand that went higher up the market a few years ago. I've played a few and they were good instruments as I remember. Why are you against Epiphones Les Pauls? They share construction methods with the Gibson ones and do have the Les Paul name on after all. Although do refer to above haha.

If you've got £300 to play with, would it not be worthwhile saving till you've got just over double that and get a Gibson Les Paul Studio? Can pick them up for the £650 mark (or look for a second-hand one cheaper).

[Supervox]

Originally Posted by arenalife

I've owned many guitars and you can't buy on brand name really, it's not like a particular bike where one is like another. I've played top brand guitars that were awful and budget ones that were amazing. Fix your gaze on guitars that feel rewarding to play rather than brand x or y. I've got a Les Paul, it's alright like, but is objectively no better than far cheaper stuff I've got.

Tanglewood used to be a really cheap brand that went higher up the market a few years ago. I've played a few and they were good instruments as I remember. Why are you against Epiphones Les Pauls? They share construction methods with the Gibson ones and do have the Les Paul name on after all. Although do refer to above haha.

What I have against Epiphones is that I've played several & I found them horrible - difficult to put into words but they just didn't feel (or sound) 'right' if you know what I mean. I also think that they are definitely over priced - trading on the fact that they have the Les Paul name on them !

I understand what you mean about not buying by brand, but, I've loved Les Paul's since I first played one belonging to a school friend of mine (yep - his daddy bought him one for his 12th birthday !!!)- it's the natural sound, the feel & yes, the look that just does it for me !

I currently have a Strat (Japanese Rock Strat - Humbucker at bridge & Floyd Rose trem) & I want something that's different to what I already have.

Originally Posted by Neeja

If you've got £300 to play with, would it not be worthwhile saving till you've got just over double that and get a Gibson Les Paul Studio? Can pick them up for the £650 mark (or look for a second-hand one cheaper).

You would have to pick the one Les Paul that I actually don't like very much - I have played one and as above, it just wasn't 'right' !! But also, I have to be (reasonably) sensible & set a limit on what I can (a) afford & (b) justify spending - seeing as it's only going to get used at home for my own enjoyment.

I'm the same re a Gibson Les Paul- even a decent second hand one will be £1k up.

The good Tokai guitars are apparently as good, if not better than a Gibson for less- but more than the £300 that you're looking at (probably about £600 up).

Again- what's up with Epiphones? They're Gibson authorised replicas. And often very good ones.

As long as you go for a better than basic model (ie the £130-150 Standards), you should get a better guitar- budget in for decent pots and capacitors (around £30 +plus a bit of swearing, soldering and widening the sockets) and you've got a damn good guitar.

I've got a Black Beauty 3- pickup. It's one of the higher end Korean Epiphones (About £450-550 new), but it's a bloody good guitar- it still surprises me how good it sounds if I've not played it for a while.

The Japanese Epi's are some of the best- but they're pricier...

As Neeja says, the LP Studio is a great sounding guitar.


But I soo want a Les Paul Traditional......waaaaaah!

Originally Posted by Supervox

What I have against Epiphones is that I've played several & I found them horrible - difficult to put into words but they just didn't feel (or sound) 'right' if you know what I mean. I also think that they are definitely over priced - trading on the fact that they have the Les Paul name on them !

I understand what you mean about not buying by brand, but, I've loved Les Paul's since I first played one belonging to a school friend of mine (yep - his daddy bought him one for his 12th birthday !!!)- it's the natural sound, the feel & yes, the look that just does it for me !

I currently have a Strat (Japanese Rock Strat - Humbucker at bridge & Floyd Rose trem) & I want something that's different to what I already have.



You would have to pick the one Les Paul that I actually don't like very much - I have played one and as above, it just wasn't 'right' !! But also, I have to be (reasonably) sensible & set a limit on what I can (a) afford & (b) justify spending - seeing as it's only going to get used at home for my own enjoyment.

You'll probably find the same thing re them not being 'right' if made by Tanglewood, Yamaha or whoever. I personally think that the Epiphones in that price range will be better and closer to the Gibson original (ie more 'authentic').

Hell- you could try 20 different Gibson LP Standards and only one of them will be the 'right' one. I've a friend who bought a Gibson 335 recently- tried loads before he got the right one.

Cheaper, decent, production models will be more consistent to a degree, but no two guitars are alike.

What you're probably looking for is the sound/feel you'd get from a Gibson- if so, you're gonna have to save up and do some searching...!

GF says tangelwood are good, and whats wrong with epiphone ? she has a sg and the quality is good, you could just put some nice pick up's in it and it would be good

[dizzyblonde]

The Vintage Les Paul that I have is pretty good for the money. I don't think they do this one anymore, could be wrong. Its the blingy black with gold pick ups and machine heads version
When I first bought it I took it to my mate who'd had a Les Paul for years, and he said in all fairness it played better than his!

As for a Tanglewood, I haven't had any experience with them, but if they are as good as the Acoustic I have, which is racking up an age of around 30 yrs old, then they could be worth the money. Its been mistreat by a previous owner, and I've had it for some 10 yrs, it still plays pretty sweet

BTW Voxy, Peg says just to go for the PRS standard edition, you have a main PRS dealer round the corner. You should know if its good, you've played it!

You are right ref the Epiphones, they don't have the same feel, cheap cast bridge and eastern hardwoods of low density make them feel a bit 'ploinky' on the ones I've tried.

The best guitars I have and the ones I've never sold on are the ones I didin't have to decide about buying, I just picked them up and knew I had to have them.