Reviewed by:
Gitarrenspieler, on october 25, 2006
3 of 4 people found this review helpful
Purchased from: Unchainedguitars.com
Features: It's basically a Les Paul with a basswood body, flamed maple top, mahogany back and cream/black binding. The maple looked like it had been hit with a belt sander, so I painted it. The neck is supposedly maple, but I'm not so sure, but the fret board is obviously rosewood. It's got a Tune-O-Matic bridge and two generic humbuckers (not open coil though). I'd like to switch 'em out with 2 Seymour Duncans. 2 volume, 2 tone, 22 frets. The tuners are actually pretty good, but I'd replace them with some Grovers. It came with a cable, but that's it. Oh yeah and a Saga decal too, but I put my name on it cause Saga is kinda lame. // 8
Sound: I play a lot of punk, so the Les Paul is ideal for me, and it's got a little feedback that actually sounds pretty good thru my Crate GFX 1200H, with which I use chorus and a DOD Extreme Distortion pedal. The only setting I like is treble (as opposed to rhythm), and I turn all the knobs all the way up. It sounds pretty good clean too, and more like a regular paul than you might expect with a basswood body instead of mahogany. It sounds best if you're running flat out, with either lots of distortion and gain, or none at all. // 9
Action, Fit & Finish: Since I set it up, I guess it's on me, but they could have made it easier. The neck socket was really f--ked up, so I had to put in some shims, and the screws stripped out so I had to replace them, as well as drilling out the holes and gluing in some 1/2 inch oak dowel. The nut was horrible, so I had to file it down, and the output jack kinda sucks too. The holes weren't perfect, but they worked. All of this stuff was easily fixable since I work in a woodshop, and I applied a cool finish. The top of the body I sprayed a medium blue, and the back and sides were done in black. I did the neck in black as well, and the top of the headstock was done the sem blue as the body. Some sand and sealer and lacquer later, and it looked pretty good. I deserve a 9. // 9
Reliability & Durability: This guitar, now that I've modified it, will take quite a thrashing, and the hardware's pretty tough too. I replace the strap buttons with some bigger ones I got from my brother, and the finish might come off with time but that'll look cool too. As for playing it w/o a backup, well, you should always have a backup. // 9
Impression: I've been playing for about 2 years now, and this guitar totally suits the punk power chord stuff I play. It's good for the solos I throw in, but it wouldn't make a good lead instrument cause it weighs a ton. If it got stolen I'd probably get an Epiphone, but hopefully I'd kick some guy's ass if he stole it cause it means quite a bit to me. I love it most cause my dad and I made it together, so that's cool, but I hate the pickups. I wants some open-coils, so I'll Switch those out. I've compared it too some epis and gibsons, and while it's not like the more expensive models it's definitely a good buy if you're willing to sepnd the time on it. // 9
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