Reviewed by:
DrCOOL, on february 19, 2008
0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Purchased from: Family Friend
Features: From the research I and the previous owner did this model is from 1976 or 1977 Les Paul Copy made in Japan or Korea. Information is very scarce. This was the time Gibson was seeing legal action against foreign companies producing copies. It has the Gibson trademarked "open book" headstock. 22 frets of a wider medium variety. Standard Gibson scale neck rosewood fingerboard and mahogany neck. maple top, mahogany body. It has a black finish, cream biding and rings, and chrome hardware as well as trapezoid inlays. Standard Tune-O-Matic bridge, passive electronics, 2 volume, 2 tone, and a 3-way switch. Dual humbuckers. I believe they're Dimarzios as the info I have found (what little there is) says most of these guitars were loaded with them at that time. Mine has after market locking tuners but I'll be swapping those out soon since if find them to be a pain in the ass. As far as their brand I have no idea what they are but I'll be switching to either genuine Gibsons or Sperzels. Came with a nice SKB case. Had a pickguard which I removed since Les Pauls, IMO, look ugly with them. // 10
Sound: This thing sounds like any Gibson out there. Fat when it needs to be and nice and high on the treble strings. Very well rounded. I have a variety of different amps. But as I normally do when purchasing guitars I ran it thru my stack. An original Marshall 8100 Valvestate pumped thru a Marshall AVT 4X12 angled cab and a Mesa Boogie halfback 4X12 (with Black Widow speakers). No effects just straight. If a guitar doesn't sound good through the basic amp then there's no sense in throwing effects in front to make it sound good. The clean portion and the neck pickup sounded very rich and nice. When I switched to the dirt the lack came in. I fiddled with the amp a bit and that didn't do it. So I then cranked the bridge pickup height up a couple turns and I'll be damned if this baby didn't sing like a Siren. Great sound. I haven't had any problems with feedback or pickup buzz but I may change them out to Duncan Alnico II's only because I love those in Les Pauls. It's rich, full, and bright. Great tone comes from this piece. I play all types of music. This is great for rock, metal, and jazz. Hell even some hot country. // 9
Action, Fit & Finish: The man I bought it from is a set-up freak so when I bought it it already had a phenominal set-up. Nice low fast action. No buzz. I had to adjust the bridge pickup but that was it. The only flaw was a little ding in the finish near the horn but that's nothing a little dab of my girlfriend's black nail polish couldn't fix. Otherwise everything was in pristine condition. No rust or oxidation no loose parts nothing. // 10
Reliability & Durability: It's survived decades and several owners and it's still kicking ass. So there's No Doubt in my mind that it will last a lifetime. A very solid and well constructed instrument and one ding in the finish after all these years? No Doubt it's durable. I've played it Live and there's no chance of it taking a nap on me. Everything is just so well done on it. I am honestly in awe. // 10
Impression: I mentioned above I play anything and everything. My goal in life is to become a master guitarist. I've been play for 13 years and own 14 guitars, this being one of them. This one is great and second only to the custom built Les Paul of my own making. It's a great match for me and plays almost any style well. Obviously you're not gonna go crazy playing classical music on it. But even then you could! I have absolutely no qualms with this instrument. If it were stolen I would be beyond heartbroken. I would definitely try to track down and purchase another one. I love everything about this guitar. It plays and feels so natural and there's no fighting it like some guitars I've played in the past. I've compared it to actual Gibson's and I see no difference. On many Occasions this was superior to the real thing. The only thing I wish it had was split coils but I'm doing that this weekend so soon it will. I recommend these guitars to anyone. It's worth you're money! // 10
/ my profile 
Was this review helpful to you? 