The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
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  1. #1

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    Hey all - looking to fill a whole in my arsenal. Need a LP. Brand not super important, but I’d like to keep it around $1500 new or used.

    Gotta have a fast playing neck/fretboard, great pickups, and I really prefer binding on the fretboard too. Anything out there that’s good in that price range? I’m only familiar with the stuff Gibson’s making which are all $2000 or more. Thanks!

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    The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
     
  3. #2

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    In that price range, your best bet is probably an Epiphone. Especially anything labeled "Pro"... many times these pickups have the very same pickups the more expensive Gibson models do. I recommend looking at the Epiphone Les Pauls, and include the ES (semi-hollow) Les Pauls while you're at it.

  4. #3

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    Check out Heritage H-150's on the used market.

  5. #4

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    Used Eastman!

  6. #5

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    +1 on the Eastman SB59.

    I have the SB59 in gold burst varnish. I bought it second hand and the previous owner switched the already excellent pickups for Amber Spirit of '59 pickups. It sounds really, really amazing.

    I once took it to a guitar shop to test drive an amp and the sales guy was blown away by the sound. The SB's with P90's are also amazing.

  7. #6

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    Epiphone Black Beauty

  8. #7

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    Used, player’s grade Gibson Les Paul Classics can often be found in the $1500 range.

  9. #8

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    1979-1982 tokai ls-80

  10. #9

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    I see used Les Paul Classics and Traditionals going for about that on Craigslist locally, maybe up to $1800.

    I have always liked the sound of the Les Paul, but I've yet to find one that was comfortable to play. Something about how the neck interfaces with the body that I haven't generally cared for, as well as the weight/density of the thing. But they sure sound good!

  11. #10

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    You need to play the exact guitar you plan to buy.

    Let me say that again, because it goes double for LPs: you need to play the exact guitar you plan to buy. Not one of the same model and year in another city or one just like it that is hanging next to it in your local music shop.

    Gibson Les Pauls (at least the original versions of the Standard, Deluxe and Custom) are HIGHLY variable in terms of playability. I played at least a hundred or more of them over the course of a few years while shopping for my current LP, an early 70s Deluxe that has a very friendly neck.

    In contrast, almost every PRS LP-style guitar I've test-driven had a pretty good neck. I did NOT play hundreds of these, just a few, out of curiosity, after a friend of mine picked up a PRS that was really nice.

    Each of the basic LP styles also has its own sound and its own neck profile, so, again, PLAY these guitars to understand what they feel like and sound like.

    The Standard has the widest neck, with the Custom and the Deluxe being a bit narrower. Again, this is just my experience with the older LPs - I stopped shopping them seriously decades ago, cuz you can't have my Deluxe till you pry it from my cold, dead hands :-)

    I had a late 70s or early 80s Custom before I swapped that out for my current Deluxe for two reasons: the ebony fingerboard on the Custom had a thinner tone than the warmer rosewood neck on the Deluxe, and the Custom weighed a million pounds, give or take... if you get a Custom, get thyself a WIDE strap. And maybe a massage therapist for your shoulder after the gig.

    Gig? What's that? Some pre-COVID ritual?

    'Course, now Gibby makes chambered Pauls that are supposed to be a bit lighter... I think that the weight and sound of the chambered models has been discussed elsewhere on JGF.

    The Standard also has a rosewood neck stock, but there may be other combos available now.

    Deluxes are often pooh-poohed for the smaller PUPs that they came with originally; when I got mine the stock minis had already been replaced with standard sized Gibson humbuckers. Later on I swapped in a neck pickup I had saved from my Custom and it still has a Dimarzio SD in the tail from my rockin' days...

    I think you can now get the Deluxe with standard-sized humbuckers. The small ones may not even be available anymore.

    Anyhoo, hope this helps. Oh, and thanks for prompting me to head to Reverb and find that my Deluxe is now worth something like 8x what I paid for it in the early 80s :-)
    Last edited by starjasmine; 10-24-2020 at 06:32 PM.

  12. #11

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    I just bought a Guild Aristocrat for $700 that is due to be delivered Monday. It is an RI but pretty faithful to the originals, which go for 4-5K. LP sized but fully hollow with a spruce top, no F holes, and Franz pickups.

  13. #12
    Thanks for the suggestions all. I should note that I plan to use this axe for everything BUT jazz. While I’m a jazz player, I’m itching for the right tool to play some rock and blues. I’m also checking out PRS guitars, used to have one as a kid but sold it soon after. From all the comparisons I’ve seen, I’m liking the Gibson’s more. They’re just THE sound..,

  14. #13

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    Yamaha Lord Player or Studio Lord, or Yamaha SG.

  15. #14

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    Les Paul Traditional were sold for $1500 a few years ago and I see them by selling in the $1500-1700 range now. I got mine for $1500 and would not sell it. Not sure why they sold so cheap, but I think it is because everyone was weighing their Les Pauls back then and these were the last ones with solid construction, with no extra weight-reducing holes no circuit boards or fancy switching.
    This one has good balance between the neck and bridge pickup.

    Les Paul Recommendations please?-les-paul-traditional-jpg
    Last edited by icr; 10-25-2020 at 11:20 AM.

  16. #15

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    Quote Originally Posted by MHoranzy
    Thanks for the suggestions all. I should note that I plan to use this axe for everything BUT jazz. While I’m a jazz player, I’m itching for the right tool to play some rock and blues. I’m also checking out PRS guitars, used to have one as a kid but sold it soon after. From all the comparisons I’ve seen, I’m liking the Gibson’s more. They’re just THE sound..,
    A Les Paul bridge pickup through a raging Marshall is indeed THAT sound.

    My problem with Les Pauls has always been getting the 2 pickups to balance tonally... get a nice thick tone on the bridge, the neck is muddy. Get a fat-but-clear tone on the neck pickup, the bridge is shrill. There are ways around that, but that's another thread....

  17. #16

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    Quote Originally Posted by ruger9
    A Les Paul bridge pickup through a raging Marshall is indeed THAT sound.

    My problem with Les Pauls has always been getting the 2 pickups to balance tonally... get a nice thick tone on the bridge, the neck is muddy. Get a fat-but-clear tone on the neck pickup, the bridge is shrill. There are ways around that, but that's another thread....
    Now you mention this, I never had that trouble with a superstrat. I do with my current guitar which has two HB's.

  18. #17

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    As others have stated, try to play the guitar first. The fret wire on different models and years can be very different. Seems like Gibson for quite a while went with very large, tall, square frets that (to me) are very uncomfortable to play. For me, it's all about the neck and fret comfort/playability.

  19. #18

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    Quote Originally Posted by Marcel_A
    Now you mention this, I never had that trouble with a superstrat. I do with my current guitar which has two HB's.
    It's pretty common. It's actually why the superstrat was invented: Les Paul in the bridge, Strat in the neck. It's a wonderful thing! (I have one).

    There are tricks to "de-mud" a neck pickup in this situation, it's cheap, easy, and it works. You simply put a capacitor inline with the neck pickup's hot lead. So neck pickup>capacitor>volume control or switch, however your guitar is wired. There's an article online by Seymour Duncan, where they recommend a .047uf cap for this job, but many of us on the various forums think this is a typo, based on our own experiences/experiments... and we recommend a .0047uf cap. I've done it on level guitars, It works well.

    The last PAF I did it on, I ended up with a .0033uf. The larger the cap value, the more low end is cut. Look up "humbucker de-mud mod" if you want to go down this rabbit hole. The good news is, once you find the right cap value for your pickup, it's a set-it-and-forget-it thing.

  20. #19

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    Quote Originally Posted by ruger9
    's actually why the superstrat was invented
    Really? Didn't know that.

  21. #20

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    Quote Originally Posted by Marcel_A
    Really? Didn't know that.
    BTW, I added some more info to me previous post...

  22. #21

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    Godin is a very underrated company imo (made in Canada). I'd give this one a test drive:

    Different pup's in each of these demos.






  23. #22

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    There is also the less expensive Goding Classic SG, without the extra features, more like a Gibson les paul. A great bargain.


  24. #23

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    I can’t believe how much this plank of wood costs.

    When I was in high school they were, IIRC, in the $300 range or so. In fact, despite being the axe of choice for Jimmy Page and others, they were falling out of favor. Used ones even from the 50’s were easily available.

    I would like to get one though. I am thinking of buying a kit from Stew Mac or GFS to make my own.

  25. #24

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    I haven't played my Les Paul since I bought a 1971 Guild M-75. It's a solid mahogany body with two HB-1 pick ups and a nice fat neck. These are fairly inexpensive and great players. Check one out before you buy a Les Paul.

    Thanks John

  26. #25

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    I am digging my 2017 Les Paul Studio. It does have an unbound neck though. The 2018 Les Paul Studio has a bound neck and can be had for under $1500.

    Gibson Les Paul Studio Vintage Sunburst | Blue Mountain | Reverb