Your next guitar?
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- Boss Lovin' DR
- 12620 posts since 15 Mar, 2002 from the grimness of yorkshire
As far as I can see the 130 has only one single coil pickup - for those who like minimalism, or can afford to have a guitar for one specific type of sound. In general single coil pickups have a thinner and brighter sound than humbuckers, although amps/effects of course have a huge bearing. The 130 has two humbuckers (the bridge is brighter, and the neck is more full-bodied) and like a Les Paul you'll be able to mix the volumes of these with the controls. For a general use guitar you'd be looking at the 100 I'd say.sfxsound3 wrote:So what's the difference between Vintage 100 and 130?
These do look nice actually...must not..buy...anything..else..
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- KVRAF
- 6800 posts since 20 Jan, 2008
Yes and no.
The V130 is modeled after a Les Paul Junior with a flat top (not arched) The single coil pup is a p90 with is wider and thicker in tone than a stratocaster / telecaster single coil. It is slighty brighter but not overtly and it's just as noisy if not more so then it's thin breathern in the single pickup configuration.
Yes it is also very limiting having only one pickup. LP juniors were meant to be budget LP's when gibson released them back in the late 50's But to be honest no one really liked them. Juniors got a makeover and became Les Paul Specials which Les Paul hated and ordered them to take his name off of them. The Specials then became Special Guitars also known as what we know them today.. SG's. Most Les Paul afficianado's dislike juniors (including yours truly) However can appreciate SG's with two pickups be they single coil or humbucker as a different instrument.
The V130 is modeled after a Les Paul Junior with a flat top (not arched) The single coil pup is a p90 with is wider and thicker in tone than a stratocaster / telecaster single coil. It is slighty brighter but not overtly and it's just as noisy if not more so then it's thin breathern in the single pickup configuration.
Yes it is also very limiting having only one pickup. LP juniors were meant to be budget LP's when gibson released them back in the late 50's But to be honest no one really liked them. Juniors got a makeover and became Les Paul Specials which Les Paul hated and ordered them to take his name off of them. The Specials then became Special Guitars also known as what we know them today.. SG's. Most Les Paul afficianado's dislike juniors (including yours truly) However can appreciate SG's with two pickups be they single coil or humbucker as a different instrument.
Dell Vostro i9 64GB Ram Windows 11 Pro, Cubase, Bitwig, Mixcraft Guitar Pod Go, Linntrument Nektar P1, Novation Launchpad
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PurpleCatfishBettie PurpleCatfishBettie https://www.kvraudio.com/forum/memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=211816
- KVRAF
- 3278 posts since 22 Jul, 2009
P90s can definitely be noisy.
It might be 'cheating' a bit, but as mentioned earlier on this thread, there are 'P90s' with a second coil (either side-by-side, or stacked), so as to mitigate the buzz of the single coil. The sound (to me at least) is 'in the neighborhood' of a single-coil, but without (so much of the) hum...
Oddly enough (or not), it seems like some of the 'PAF' humbuckers can sound 'P90-ish' (but without the noise)... ymmv
There is one thing... with the various iterations of P90 that i've tried... sometimes, and especially with the side-by-side 'dual coil P90 in a soapbar footprint'... there's this distinctive... sort of... i can't even describe it... except to say that it's sort of this 'veneer' over the sound itself... almost like a 'sea shell'... not quite a 'spank', but a sort of 'thwack that decays over the sound'... it's not clear how other people might hear that effect...
Speaking of 'soapbar footprint' in relation to 'Les Paul Jr.' guitars, the Les Paul Jr. actually has a dog-ear, correct? One might imagine that there are 'hum-busting, dual-coil dog-ears'... but i've not actually checked into this...
Anyway, maybe the thing of 'brightness' is also a function of the pickup position on the guitar. For a simple 'jazz' setup, it might be worth exploring the placement of the single pickup, near the neck rather than the bridge... be all of that as it may, in my experience some of the 'brightest' single coils may be the bridge position on a strat... ymmv of course...
It might be 'cheating' a bit, but as mentioned earlier on this thread, there are 'P90s' with a second coil (either side-by-side, or stacked), so as to mitigate the buzz of the single coil. The sound (to me at least) is 'in the neighborhood' of a single-coil, but without (so much of the) hum...
Oddly enough (or not), it seems like some of the 'PAF' humbuckers can sound 'P90-ish' (but without the noise)... ymmv
There is one thing... with the various iterations of P90 that i've tried... sometimes, and especially with the side-by-side 'dual coil P90 in a soapbar footprint'... there's this distinctive... sort of... i can't even describe it... except to say that it's sort of this 'veneer' over the sound itself... almost like a 'sea shell'... not quite a 'spank', but a sort of 'thwack that decays over the sound'... it's not clear how other people might hear that effect...
Speaking of 'soapbar footprint' in relation to 'Les Paul Jr.' guitars, the Les Paul Jr. actually has a dog-ear, correct? One might imagine that there are 'hum-busting, dual-coil dog-ears'... but i've not actually checked into this...
Anyway, maybe the thing of 'brightness' is also a function of the pickup position on the guitar. For a simple 'jazz' setup, it might be worth exploring the placement of the single pickup, near the neck rather than the bridge... be all of that as it may, in my experience some of the 'brightest' single coils may be the bridge position on a strat... ymmv of course...
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- KVRAF
- 6800 posts since 20 Jan, 2008
Dog Ears are the same type of pup in a different bracing Usually on hollow body guitars the dog ear variety has less output than the p-90 with a pup ring to support it. Why I have no idea but that's been my findings after playing quite a number of them.
With jazz guitars everything is different. The first jazz guitars sounded horrible.
Before the guitar the banjo was the rhythm instrument of choice in Jass bands
Primarily because it was loud enough to be heard along with the other instruments. Orville Gibson is the most recognized name in archtop guitars. They were made primarily for acoustic volume. Sure many other fine luthiers came afterwards. These things looked pretty and sounded terrible.
Pickups were an odd lot with jazz guitars. It was mostly hobbyists at first. Many manufacturers were opposed to cutting the top to mount a pup. They were usually attached to the pickguard or directly(floating) to the neck. When not directly mounted to the body the pup sounds much brighter and captures a lot of noise and feedback. The first "jazz" electric guitarists would regularly turn down or off the volume when playing chords and if they did have a solo they would finally bring the volume knob up. The volume knob was all in one. It would brighten the tone and increase the volume. Up until last year I had a nice 17" jazz box with a floating mini humbucker. It sounds a lot sweeter acoustically then many of the first jazz guitars. It also takes some serious volume from my small amp and playing around with the eq to make it sound like an electric jazz guitar. If mounted into the body it would sound much darker and richer.
Pickups changed everything for jazz guitar. Guitarists no longer had to stomp on all four beats to be heard. Guitarists could buy guitars with lowered acoustic output and faster action. Jazz Guitarists could play leads for once.
To me as a jazz guitarist the sweetest pups ever made were the Charlie Christian's which predate the P90
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Gv5V1Fe6jM
It's warm and full. P90's are simply more aggressive with lots of mids. To each their own but I'd happily swap out my humbuckers for Charlie Christians on the one jazz guitar I have left. And it is one sweet 16" box.
Back in the 50's Gibson was pricing itself into extinction. Everyone loved the jazz boxes but only the few and famous could afford them. Mostly due to incentives and promotion. If you were famous enough Gibson would give you one. They decided to release a "student" model electric spanish. It was considerably less expensive than other Gibson models yet still fairly high priced. Many teachers picked up on these guitars and sold them to students. Then as it would happen they decided to gig with the less expensive guitars because you really don't want to go to a club carrying a guitar that cost more than a house. It took off. The ES-175 started showing up everywhere. A single pickup mounted closer to the neck on a smaller body with a laminated top. The laminated top was less prone to feedback. This became "The Jazz Guitar" of the 50's 60's and onward. Laminated tops resonate less and sound slightly harsher than carved tops. But humbuckers sweeten that tone considerably. Eventually the es 175 got a bridge pup but the neck pup remained where it was so it's not as warm and doesn't pull off the same harmonics. It wasn't about the sound. Though it became the sound. As many jazz guitarists felt the "neck" pup was enough more es-175's were released as 165's having a single pup like the Herb Ellis model.
Adding pups to the top of an archtop changes the character of the tone of the top. You can't cut into wood on a hollow body guitar and not expect the wood to resonate in the same manner.
With jazz guitars everything is different. The first jazz guitars sounded horrible.
Before the guitar the banjo was the rhythm instrument of choice in Jass bands
Primarily because it was loud enough to be heard along with the other instruments. Orville Gibson is the most recognized name in archtop guitars. They were made primarily for acoustic volume. Sure many other fine luthiers came afterwards. These things looked pretty and sounded terrible.
Pickups were an odd lot with jazz guitars. It was mostly hobbyists at first. Many manufacturers were opposed to cutting the top to mount a pup. They were usually attached to the pickguard or directly(floating) to the neck. When not directly mounted to the body the pup sounds much brighter and captures a lot of noise and feedback. The first "jazz" electric guitarists would regularly turn down or off the volume when playing chords and if they did have a solo they would finally bring the volume knob up. The volume knob was all in one. It would brighten the tone and increase the volume. Up until last year I had a nice 17" jazz box with a floating mini humbucker. It sounds a lot sweeter acoustically then many of the first jazz guitars. It also takes some serious volume from my small amp and playing around with the eq to make it sound like an electric jazz guitar. If mounted into the body it would sound much darker and richer.
Pickups changed everything for jazz guitar. Guitarists no longer had to stomp on all four beats to be heard. Guitarists could buy guitars with lowered acoustic output and faster action. Jazz Guitarists could play leads for once.
To me as a jazz guitarist the sweetest pups ever made were the Charlie Christian's which predate the P90
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Gv5V1Fe6jM
It's warm and full. P90's are simply more aggressive with lots of mids. To each their own but I'd happily swap out my humbuckers for Charlie Christians on the one jazz guitar I have left. And it is one sweet 16" box.
Back in the 50's Gibson was pricing itself into extinction. Everyone loved the jazz boxes but only the few and famous could afford them. Mostly due to incentives and promotion. If you were famous enough Gibson would give you one. They decided to release a "student" model electric spanish. It was considerably less expensive than other Gibson models yet still fairly high priced. Many teachers picked up on these guitars and sold them to students. Then as it would happen they decided to gig with the less expensive guitars because you really don't want to go to a club carrying a guitar that cost more than a house. It took off. The ES-175 started showing up everywhere. A single pickup mounted closer to the neck on a smaller body with a laminated top. The laminated top was less prone to feedback. This became "The Jazz Guitar" of the 50's 60's and onward. Laminated tops resonate less and sound slightly harsher than carved tops. But humbuckers sweeten that tone considerably. Eventually the es 175 got a bridge pup but the neck pup remained where it was so it's not as warm and doesn't pull off the same harmonics. It wasn't about the sound. Though it became the sound. As many jazz guitarists felt the "neck" pup was enough more es-175's were released as 165's having a single pup like the Herb Ellis model.
Adding pups to the top of an archtop changes the character of the tone of the top. You can't cut into wood on a hollow body guitar and not expect the wood to resonate in the same manner.
Dell Vostro i9 64GB Ram Windows 11 Pro, Cubase, Bitwig, Mixcraft Guitar Pod Go, Linntrument Nektar P1, Novation Launchpad
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- Boss Lovin' DR
- 12620 posts since 15 Mar, 2002 from the grimness of yorkshire
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- KVRAF
- 6800 posts since 20 Jan, 2008
Les Paul guitars now that's a good one.
Nothing about the Les Paul can be directly attributed to the man himself. While he did design the first solid body it was really nothing more than a railroad tie attached to a guitar neck. Many of his other inventions / discoveries however changed the way we record music and voice such as sound on sound, multi-track recording, mic placement, reverb and much much more.
While Gibson and LP the man were arguing about design specs and Gibson was designing the original model Les Paul was actually hanging out with Leo Fender helping him design what we now know as the telecaster. Les Paul hated the tele design but that didn't stop him from playing it day after day and consulting Leo for free.
The greatest flaws to the first Les Pauls were the trapeze style bridge. LP wanted a Vibrolux tremolo and had one installed on his LP, Gibson chose a Bigsby as an additional cost. All of them were impossible to stay in tune. And all of them raised the action considerably making for not very playable guitars. It wasn't until years later when Gibson went with a tune-o-matic bridge and stop tailpiece did it make for a tune-able and fast action playable guitar. I actually had a '53 that still sold with a bigsby trem. Bought it at a yard sale in the early 80's. Crappy sustain due to the trem. I replaced it with a trapeze style bridge first and still no go. Finally I brought it into a store and ask that the owner tap out holes for a stop tailpiece. He refused and offered me a 78' custom in exchange. I took the deal (like an idiot) and later also purchased a 72 Les Paul Standard. Money was good back then for me.
LP's came with P90's originally and then were phased out when Seth Lover working at gibson invented the humbucker in 55 and it was released for the 57 model year.
While some speak lovingly about those 50's P90's and Humbuckers I don't. Just like at fender the windings were irregular. If you have an underwound pup the output is lower but brighter. If it's overwound then it's louder and darker. P90's in LP's have a growl to them. whereas humbuckers of that era have a sweetness to the tone. But p90's in the neck position during have a lowered output due to the fact that they are directly screwed into the body rather than the ring. One thing that never caught on about plated humbucker pickups is the screws. The screws are there to level the balance between the strings. When you get one you are supposed to... raise the screw on the high e string as much as you can to make it louder. Then go to the next string and raise the screw level so the sound level matches and so on. It makes a big difference in tone.
Another thing is.... Potting pups. Many Japanese companies still don't pot pups. Because they feel it lowers output and high end. It also considerably reduces microphonic noise
But I digress.
With a floppy type feel even using heavy gauge strings it wasn't exactly the easiest guitar to play in the world when it debuted. It never caught on in the jazz world due to the low output neck pickup and heavy feel. About the only one playing a LP back in the 50's was Les Paul. Who for all of his shredding was considered Milk Toast.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7iGXP_UBog4
Jazz guy's much preferred playing jazz guitars and no one looks like a jazz player playing a Les Paul. Rockers, blues men and country players went with Fender. And the price was just too damn high.
Gibson didn't want to lower the price of a Les Paul. So they made cheaper Juniors and Specials Hoping to find a cash cow in that market as they did when they released 175's. Juniors and specials were less ornate and didn't have arched tops. Gibson had to discontinue LP's because they simply weren't selling. Juniors and specials also didn't sell but an upgraded special with two p90's did. It was the Les Paul Special. Les Paul hated it and demanded his name be removed. Afterwards they were simply known as SG's. SG's did catch on thanks to the likes of Eric Clapton who was going through guitars like water at the time.
Juniors were preferred by proto punk / trash metal bands of the 60's that never really took off. Still if you wanted that rough and tumble basement band/ Garage Band (not the software) sound it could be easily had with much cheaper guitars already on the market.
SG's on the other hand migrated to pop sounds. It's an ear I think long forgotten.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ta1i2KKvOh4
With P90's what it lacks in clarity it makes up for in crunch. It wasn't till the 70's that SG's got humbuckers
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C53QAuOoSgc
I found it funny that as soon as SG players could afford it they'd upgrade to Les Paul's.
Still some crunch inherent in the tone. But SG's were near impossible to keep in tune not only due to the trem system but how the nut/headstock were configured. Another huge issue around SG's was the thin width of the neck. the high e string was way to close to the edge of the fretboard. Back when no month went by without me buying a guitar I seriously would have one in my hands at a shop start playing say to myself Yeah I want this and then pass because it would stay in tune for me to demo it and when I'd break into something like Spirit of Radio by Rush it simply couldn't handle the high e string pull off's. It really wasn't until AC/DC that SG's really took hold of the market.
Nothing shaped the direction of 1970's rock as Jimmy Page and his 1960 Les Paul Custom. Though stolen in 1970 and replaced with a 57 then used on Led Zeppelin II. which he is mostly associated with. Gibson resurrected Les Paul's as demand increased however this new era of rockers still preferred the older ones. Oddly the vintage market in general didn't expand until the late 80's You could still buy a used highly playable LP from the 50's for less than one from the 70's. Page bought his number one for $500 from Joe Walsh. Page credits Eric Clapton for showing the way using a Les Paul through a Marshall amp. Though Clapton thought of it as just a phase he was going through rather than a defining moment to latch onto.
At that time many were moving away from Stratocasters mostly due to falling production value and secondarily due to tone. It wasn't long afterwards in the 70's that copy les pauls showed up everywhere. Some were downright terrible and others outstanding. Buyers were drawn by their eyes rather than their ears. Honestly there were some damn fine LP copies but you'd have to dig pretty hard to find one and right next to it would be a piece of junk same make and model. These were marketed to first time buyers.
I remember this one kid who went to my school. He bought a Magnum (Les Paul Custom copy) of which the only things that could be said favorably where that the neck was straight and the finish was okay. He would take it to school and work on it in shop. He replaced the tuners and the bridge, Then he leveled and crowned the frets and cleaned up the edges. He replaced the pups all the wiring and the pots. He even replaced the bridge and tailpiece. When it was done that thing was amazing to play. It sounded much like a Les Paul Lite of today. After High School I moved away from that area. Never saw him again but every time I'd go into a guitar store I'd try out magnums to see if it could match his work. I'm sure he sold it for much more than he bought it but not nearly as much for the labor required to bring it up to the quality it was. The era of by a cheap guitar and make it a better one is long behind us now aside from some hobbyists. Although I've seen the work that some hobbyists do which is really piss poor.
There are many guitars (almost too many) which are just as good as a Les Paul without being exact recreations. But if you love Les Pauls and hold one in your hands and play it You are reminded of all the legends who played one before you. At that point it's not about being "as good" it's about owning a part of a legacy. You may infact believe that it's better. (I sure did) by virtue of the fame attributed to it and that may cause you play at a different level being inspired by it's tone but it's actually more of embracing the legacy . legend that is a real Les Paul.
It's funny. I've owned LP's that wishing won't bring back to me. I've owned a few good LP copies and one or two that were crap.
I currently own a Yamaha Variax Standard. The fretwork and flat radius is outstanding. It holds on to notes and slips through sliding chords and still have them ringing out, same with hammer ons. I should love the neck. It's no Les Paul, it's no stratocaster. It has a fine neck but it's not inspiring. The magnetic single coil pups remind me of P90's with less noise but all the punch. Much like a cheap squire strat best suited for punk. There is something going on with the tone that doesn't match up to previous variax guitars and I can't downgrade the firmware. Still it plays better in my hands than James Tyler varieties. I'm not as inspired using the virtual guitars as I was using the real deal. It takes a lot of me imagining I'm playing a Les Paul for me to carve out Les Paul tones. I feel like I'm merely going through the motions. I haven't given up on the variax as it's my last best only chance at realism and I'm not going to be buying a Les Paul anytime soon unless I win the lottery.
But mostly I play my jazz box these days. It's much more rewarding simply to play standards chord melody style without accompaniment than open a daw and play to backing tracks.
Nothing about the Les Paul can be directly attributed to the man himself. While he did design the first solid body it was really nothing more than a railroad tie attached to a guitar neck. Many of his other inventions / discoveries however changed the way we record music and voice such as sound on sound, multi-track recording, mic placement, reverb and much much more.
While Gibson and LP the man were arguing about design specs and Gibson was designing the original model Les Paul was actually hanging out with Leo Fender helping him design what we now know as the telecaster. Les Paul hated the tele design but that didn't stop him from playing it day after day and consulting Leo for free.
The greatest flaws to the first Les Pauls were the trapeze style bridge. LP wanted a Vibrolux tremolo and had one installed on his LP, Gibson chose a Bigsby as an additional cost. All of them were impossible to stay in tune. And all of them raised the action considerably making for not very playable guitars. It wasn't until years later when Gibson went with a tune-o-matic bridge and stop tailpiece did it make for a tune-able and fast action playable guitar. I actually had a '53 that still sold with a bigsby trem. Bought it at a yard sale in the early 80's. Crappy sustain due to the trem. I replaced it with a trapeze style bridge first and still no go. Finally I brought it into a store and ask that the owner tap out holes for a stop tailpiece. He refused and offered me a 78' custom in exchange. I took the deal (like an idiot) and later also purchased a 72 Les Paul Standard. Money was good back then for me.
LP's came with P90's originally and then were phased out when Seth Lover working at gibson invented the humbucker in 55 and it was released for the 57 model year.
While some speak lovingly about those 50's P90's and Humbuckers I don't. Just like at fender the windings were irregular. If you have an underwound pup the output is lower but brighter. If it's overwound then it's louder and darker. P90's in LP's have a growl to them. whereas humbuckers of that era have a sweetness to the tone. But p90's in the neck position during have a lowered output due to the fact that they are directly screwed into the body rather than the ring. One thing that never caught on about plated humbucker pickups is the screws. The screws are there to level the balance between the strings. When you get one you are supposed to... raise the screw on the high e string as much as you can to make it louder. Then go to the next string and raise the screw level so the sound level matches and so on. It makes a big difference in tone.
Another thing is.... Potting pups. Many Japanese companies still don't pot pups. Because they feel it lowers output and high end. It also considerably reduces microphonic noise
But I digress.
With a floppy type feel even using heavy gauge strings it wasn't exactly the easiest guitar to play in the world when it debuted. It never caught on in the jazz world due to the low output neck pickup and heavy feel. About the only one playing a LP back in the 50's was Les Paul. Who for all of his shredding was considered Milk Toast.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7iGXP_UBog4
Jazz guy's much preferred playing jazz guitars and no one looks like a jazz player playing a Les Paul. Rockers, blues men and country players went with Fender. And the price was just too damn high.
Gibson didn't want to lower the price of a Les Paul. So they made cheaper Juniors and Specials Hoping to find a cash cow in that market as they did when they released 175's. Juniors and specials were less ornate and didn't have arched tops. Gibson had to discontinue LP's because they simply weren't selling. Juniors and specials also didn't sell but an upgraded special with two p90's did. It was the Les Paul Special. Les Paul hated it and demanded his name be removed. Afterwards they were simply known as SG's. SG's did catch on thanks to the likes of Eric Clapton who was going through guitars like water at the time.
Juniors were preferred by proto punk / trash metal bands of the 60's that never really took off. Still if you wanted that rough and tumble basement band/ Garage Band (not the software) sound it could be easily had with much cheaper guitars already on the market.
SG's on the other hand migrated to pop sounds. It's an ear I think long forgotten.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ta1i2KKvOh4
With P90's what it lacks in clarity it makes up for in crunch. It wasn't till the 70's that SG's got humbuckers
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C53QAuOoSgc
I found it funny that as soon as SG players could afford it they'd upgrade to Les Paul's.
Still some crunch inherent in the tone. But SG's were near impossible to keep in tune not only due to the trem system but how the nut/headstock were configured. Another huge issue around SG's was the thin width of the neck. the high e string was way to close to the edge of the fretboard. Back when no month went by without me buying a guitar I seriously would have one in my hands at a shop start playing say to myself Yeah I want this and then pass because it would stay in tune for me to demo it and when I'd break into something like Spirit of Radio by Rush it simply couldn't handle the high e string pull off's. It really wasn't until AC/DC that SG's really took hold of the market.
Nothing shaped the direction of 1970's rock as Jimmy Page and his 1960 Les Paul Custom. Though stolen in 1970 and replaced with a 57 then used on Led Zeppelin II. which he is mostly associated with. Gibson resurrected Les Paul's as demand increased however this new era of rockers still preferred the older ones. Oddly the vintage market in general didn't expand until the late 80's You could still buy a used highly playable LP from the 50's for less than one from the 70's. Page bought his number one for $500 from Joe Walsh. Page credits Eric Clapton for showing the way using a Les Paul through a Marshall amp. Though Clapton thought of it as just a phase he was going through rather than a defining moment to latch onto.
At that time many were moving away from Stratocasters mostly due to falling production value and secondarily due to tone. It wasn't long afterwards in the 70's that copy les pauls showed up everywhere. Some were downright terrible and others outstanding. Buyers were drawn by their eyes rather than their ears. Honestly there were some damn fine LP copies but you'd have to dig pretty hard to find one and right next to it would be a piece of junk same make and model. These were marketed to first time buyers.
I remember this one kid who went to my school. He bought a Magnum (Les Paul Custom copy) of which the only things that could be said favorably where that the neck was straight and the finish was okay. He would take it to school and work on it in shop. He replaced the tuners and the bridge, Then he leveled and crowned the frets and cleaned up the edges. He replaced the pups all the wiring and the pots. He even replaced the bridge and tailpiece. When it was done that thing was amazing to play. It sounded much like a Les Paul Lite of today. After High School I moved away from that area. Never saw him again but every time I'd go into a guitar store I'd try out magnums to see if it could match his work. I'm sure he sold it for much more than he bought it but not nearly as much for the labor required to bring it up to the quality it was. The era of by a cheap guitar and make it a better one is long behind us now aside from some hobbyists. Although I've seen the work that some hobbyists do which is really piss poor.
There are many guitars (almost too many) which are just as good as a Les Paul without being exact recreations. But if you love Les Pauls and hold one in your hands and play it You are reminded of all the legends who played one before you. At that point it's not about being "as good" it's about owning a part of a legacy. You may infact believe that it's better. (I sure did) by virtue of the fame attributed to it and that may cause you play at a different level being inspired by it's tone but it's actually more of embracing the legacy . legend that is a real Les Paul.
It's funny. I've owned LP's that wishing won't bring back to me. I've owned a few good LP copies and one or two that were crap.
I currently own a Yamaha Variax Standard. The fretwork and flat radius is outstanding. It holds on to notes and slips through sliding chords and still have them ringing out, same with hammer ons. I should love the neck. It's no Les Paul, it's no stratocaster. It has a fine neck but it's not inspiring. The magnetic single coil pups remind me of P90's with less noise but all the punch. Much like a cheap squire strat best suited for punk. There is something going on with the tone that doesn't match up to previous variax guitars and I can't downgrade the firmware. Still it plays better in my hands than James Tyler varieties. I'm not as inspired using the virtual guitars as I was using the real deal. It takes a lot of me imagining I'm playing a Les Paul for me to carve out Les Paul tones. I feel like I'm merely going through the motions. I haven't given up on the variax as it's my last best only chance at realism and I'm not going to be buying a Les Paul anytime soon unless I win the lottery.
But mostly I play my jazz box these days. It's much more rewarding simply to play standards chord melody style without accompaniment than open a daw and play to backing tracks.
Dell Vostro i9 64GB Ram Windows 11 Pro, Cubase, Bitwig, Mixcraft Guitar Pod Go, Linntrument Nektar P1, Novation Launchpad
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- Banned
- 453 posts since 30 Mar, 2016
I did find that guy:tapper mike wrote:The era of by a cheap guitar and make it a better one is long behind us now aside from some hobbyists. Although I've seen the work that some hobbyists do which is really piss poor.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OdLAHXv9o6I
Watched through the video, and what he's saying is that Vintage guitars are OK hardware wise, the problem is that it would be very costly for the factory to really fine-tune every detail that has effect on the sound. Bridge, frets, etc. - it all takes time to set up properly, and if they did, they'd be operating at a loss, or have to sell at higher prices.
As I said above, I'm no guitarist myself, but listening to youtube videos, I actually much prefer the sound of Les Pauls to Strats - a lot more varied sound, going in different directions, lots of nuances, has the blues, while the Strats sound cranked and more straightforward - plug it in and shred away. Maybe it's my wrong impression? IDK...
I can see though why the straightforward ones got more popular.
I found Vintage 100 guitars at a seller from my country, currently discounted and going for 350-400 USD, thinking of taking the plunge!
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- KVRAF
- 6800 posts since 20 Jan, 2008
That guy is a professional and he charges a reasonable rate.
I was referring to the hobbyist who might try their hand at tech work once in a month or longer and isn't in the business... A hobbyist guitar tech.
I was referring to the hobbyist who might try their hand at tech work once in a month or longer and isn't in the business... A hobbyist guitar tech.
Dell Vostro i9 64GB Ram Windows 11 Pro, Cubase, Bitwig, Mixcraft Guitar Pod Go, Linntrument Nektar P1, Novation Launchpad
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- KVRAF
- 2022 posts since 15 Aug, 2012 from Australia
Bought this last week. Not arrived yet, should be today or tomorrow.
2006 PRS Hollowbody II in mint condition. note one piece flamed maple top and back.
2006 PRS Hollowbody II in mint condition. note one piece flamed maple top and back.
I'm tired of being insane. I'm going outsane for some fresh air.
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- KVRAF
- 6095 posts since 5 Jul, 2001 from Just about .... there
Ah, that is one of my desired models. Congrats.werp wrote:Bought this last week. Not arrived yet, should be today or tomorrow.
If you have to ask, you can't afford the answer
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- KVRAF
- 2022 posts since 15 Aug, 2012 from Australia
SJ_Digriz wrote:Ah, that is one of my desired models. Congrats.werp wrote:Bought this last week. Not arrived yet, should be today or tomorrow.
I'm tired of being insane. I'm going outsane for some fresh air.
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- KVRAF
- 6800 posts since 20 Jan, 2008
Man that is one fine finish.werp wrote:Bought this last week. Not arrived yet, should be today or tomorrow.
2006 PRS Hollowbody II in mint condition. note one piece flamed maple top and back.
Dell Vostro i9 64GB Ram Windows 11 Pro, Cubase, Bitwig, Mixcraft Guitar Pod Go, Linntrument Nektar P1, Novation Launchpad
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PurpleCatfishBettie PurpleCatfishBettie https://www.kvraudio.com/forum/memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=211816
- KVRAF
- 3278 posts since 22 Jul, 2009
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- KVRian
- 701 posts since 9 May, 2005
