Guitar players: Tell me about your Les Paul's >.<

[D.o.S.]

[cheesecats]

That said, all Musicman basses suck donkey dick, there has never been a good solid state amplifier, and all "indie rock" records made after 2000 are awful.

[OblivionJones]

Up until recently I was a solid Fender man. I have two Strats, one SSH, the other all single coils, and I used to have a telecaster. I traded my Telecaster for a Les Paul Studio in white as soon as I played the thing. The sound was just huge. It felt like if I fell backwards it was tangible and kind enough that it'd catch me. I've yet to try this theory, though.

I still really love my Strats. They've served me well and proudly over the years. The Les Paul is catching up to them really fast in terms of my affections, though.

[dubkitty]

i'd completely forgotten that i had pictures of the Tokais...they aren't glamour shots, but they're here.

[themanwhowasthursday]

the shop i worked in had loads of those tokai loverocks, for the money they do kick ass and take names. We couldn't stock the deluxe style ones like Dubkittys fast enough.

Man i wish i had one as been Les Paul GASsing for a while but trying desperately to hold off as a really want a gretsch les paul with a bigsby

[dubkitty]

the Standard i believe is an LSP 95, and is a wonderful all-around Paul...i haven't done a thing to it other than clean it and change the strings since i got it from Rich Tone in August 2010. it's a traditional LP with a two-piece mahogany body, one-piece mahogany neck, and full maple cap with a sycamore flame veneer. it has a wonderful bright Peter Green-ish tone that can be damped down to a Duane Allman howl with EQ adjustments, and settles down to a lovely warm jazz tone with the amp controlled. i picked it from about 35 or 40 they had on eBay for the most consistent body grain and most attractive sunburst and top pattern. the Special is an LSS 88, and may well be my favorite electric guitar. it sounds SO GREAT, and works with any style of music from country to indie to jambands to punk. it has a two-piece bookmatched mahogany body, one piece neck, and is as simple as a bag of chips. that's why i love it. it's totally unambiguous and in your face. "THIS is what i do. DIG IT." when i play it i have more of that direct Neil Young feeling of being wired straight into the electrical outlet than with any other guitar i've ever played, even my ES-335 with the Bigsby.

[dubkitty]

the Standard would up being a bit over $900 with shipping from Britain just before the dollar collapsed; the Special was approximately $825 including shipping from Japan. in each case shipping added a substantial amount, over $60 but less than $100, to the total cost. caveat emptor on the lower-priced Tokai models numbered LS 35 and such, which are Chinese-made and often of non-standard woods (e.g. basswood Pauls with maple necks).

BTW i was just in Guitar Center on Wednesday and they were selling Gibson Melody Makers with one 'bucker in the bridge for $399. it might even have been $299. anyway, it was a daft price.

[kosta]

So much LP Special GAS right now....

[dubkitty]

oh, i was DYING before i got mine. i watched it on eBay for months while saving up, biting my nails and worrying that it'd get sold. they're so great. i think it's the additional depth of the body compared to an SG that gives them that authoritative BARK and SNAP i love. SGs are also great, but they're thinner in every way, more like a Firebird than a Les Paul to me, really. an SG is an epee; a Special is a cavalry saber.

i could have gotten a Gibson LP Special Faded for not much more than i paid for the Tokai, but i wanted a guitar with the 50s-style wraparound bridge rather than the tunomatic/stoptail combo on the Gibsons and the only Gibby with the right bridge was going for $2400 then.

[madmax1012]

that tv yellow tokai is fucking beautiful

[aussy]

70s yamaha 'studio lord'
old les paul necks feel great, vintage humbuckers sound great, I like the scale too
whodathunk suck a heavy guitar would be so resonant (like 11 or 12 lbs)

[kosta]

[DaysOFDaze]

Deeeeeyum, aussy. That is a sweet LP. I've been looking for a Lord Player myself for the last few months... they're hard to come by. What model number is that btw? I noticed it has extra bling on the headstock.

[WeHuntKings]

70s yamaha 'studio lord'
old les paul necks feel great, vintage humbuckers sound great, I like the scale too
whodathunk suck a heavy guitar would be so resonant (like 11 or 12 lbs)

that would be my perfect les paul right there.

[dubkitty]

beautiful. those 70s Yamahas were BADASS. does it have a brass block under the bridge like the Carlos Santana guitars?