Agreed—if I could find one with a 24-fret neck, I’d have one. My forever rhythm guitar is a Westone, essentially a Les Paul with asymmetrical double cutaway.
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Guitar buying help
- Thread starter RitterSport
- Start date
IMHO today's bang-for-buck 'whammy' guitars are Jackson X-series or even the JS32-series. I have one of each and they both give my Pro-series Jackson a real value-check! Check out the selection over at Sweetwater...
I’m all for and revere some of my cheapest guitars, but a Les Paul style is not an area to cheap out on.
The cheapest I would go is an Epiphone LP traditional pro. They were recently on sale for $399 new.
add the tremolo later. Unless you want to spend the bucks on an Epiphone Alex Lifeson Les Paul (comes with a Floyd installed)
tremolo for really divey stuff would be the Floyd Rose FXR
best looking tremolo is a bigsby
the Gretsch and bigsby suggestions are quite sound as well.
Is he going for the Les Paul sound or just a similar look?
Once you buy the bigsby AND the hardware to install it properly the Floyd FXR and the bigsby cost about the same.
Here is my Gretsch 5222 with a bigsby, an electromatic jet would be more Les Paul looking, but possibly more expensive than the Epiphone LP. The bigsby is a B7 with vibramate installation hardware.
(I did attempt to install a Floyd FXR on this guitar but the tailpiece posts were out of spec/or in spec and didn’t allow it to fit)
This is my Gibson BFG LP with a B3 bigsby and a towner bar installation hardware. B7 and vibramate would work also.
This is a Floyd FXR on my former SG, but installation is the same on a Les Paul
A B5 bigsby is the simpler horseshoe type, but I don’t think it looks as good on a Les Paul and there is a vibramate for that too..
some people may chime in suggesting a Les trem or a duesenberg tremolo, but they are the most god awful ugly pieces you can bolt on a geetar…
The cheapest I would go is an Epiphone LP traditional pro. They were recently on sale for $399 new.
add the tremolo later. Unless you want to spend the bucks on an Epiphone Alex Lifeson Les Paul (comes with a Floyd installed)
tremolo for really divey stuff would be the Floyd Rose FXR
best looking tremolo is a bigsby
the Gretsch and bigsby suggestions are quite sound as well.
Is he going for the Les Paul sound or just a similar look?
Once you buy the bigsby AND the hardware to install it properly the Floyd FXR and the bigsby cost about the same.
Here is my Gretsch 5222 with a bigsby, an electromatic jet would be more Les Paul looking, but possibly more expensive than the Epiphone LP. The bigsby is a B7 with vibramate installation hardware.
(I did attempt to install a Floyd FXR on this guitar but the tailpiece posts were out of spec/or in spec and didn’t allow it to fit)
This is my Gibson BFG LP with a B3 bigsby and a towner bar installation hardware. B7 and vibramate would work also.
This is a Floyd FXR on my former SG, but installation is the same on a Les Paul
A B5 bigsby is the simpler horseshoe type, but I don’t think it looks as good on a Les Paul and there is a vibramate for that too..
some people may chime in suggesting a Les trem or a duesenberg tremolo, but they are the most god awful ugly pieces you can bolt on a geetar…
@RitterSport —like the chocolate?
Yes! Yum. Years ago, when I signed up for some early message board, I was munching on a marzipan dark chocolate one and the name was available, so here we are.
Everyone -- thanks for all the suggestions!
I’m all for and revere some of my cheapest guitars, but a Les Paul style is not an area to cheap out on.
The cheapest I would go is an Epiphone LP traditional pro. They were recently on sale for $399 new.
add the tremolo later. Unless you want to spend the bucks on an Epiphone Alex Lifeson Les Paul (comes with a Floyd installed)
tremolo for really divey stuff would be the Floyd Rose FXR
best looking tremolo is a bigsby
the Gretsch and bigsby suggestions are quite sound as well.
Is he going for the Les Paul sound or just a similar look?
Once you buy the bigsby AND the hardware to install it properly the Floyd FXR and the bigsby cost about the same.
Here is my Gretsch 5222 with a bigsby, an electromatic jet would be more Les Paul looking, but possibly more expensive than the Epiphone LP. The bigsby is a B7 with vibramate installation hardware.
(I did attempt to install a Floyd FXR on this guitar but the tailpiece posts were out of spec/or in spec and didn’t allow it to fit)
This is my Gibson BFG LP with a B3 bigsby and a towner bar installation hardware. B7 and vibramate would work also.
This is a Floyd FXR on my former SG, but installation is the same on a Les Paul
A B5 bigsby is the simpler horseshoe type, but I don’t think it looks as good on a Les Paul and there is a vibramate for that too..
some people may chime in suggesting a Les trem or a duesenberg tremolo, but they are the most god awful ugly pieces you can bolt on a geetar…
I forgot Floyd Rose was making those again. Yeah, if you’ve got an LP or an SG that’s a keeper and you want a “whammy” one of the Floyd’s made for a Gibson/Epiphone would be the way to go. Not cheap but an actual Floyd Rose should be made of better materials that are hardened properly at the pivots and just generally better made.
JeezyMcNuggles
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I'd say look at LTD if he's look for a Les Paul Style with a whammy. Their Eclipse body style is very close. You may be able to find an Epiphone special model equipped with one, but I'm no longer a fan of Gibson/Epi Les Pauls. My $500 ESP stayed in tune far better than my $2000 Gibson. The Gibson played and sounded great but I spent so much of my time retuning. I finally sold it to get a roomba.
*edited to replace ESP with LTD which is their affordable line.
If you can find one, the Hohner L59T meets your spec. They're about as close as you'll get to a real LP in construction (set neck, mahogany body, maple top) and weigh accordingly. Build quality is excellent for a copy (better than Epiphone). The term is a Kahler, which if set up properly is decent, though the one one mine never worked so great (but I never really used it).
L59 Professional - The Official Site of Rory Gallagher
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+1. I just picked up a Gretsch 5420T and it is stellar! The Bigsby stays in tune if you don't dive bomb. I've had the thing for about a month and have barely had to tune it.
As has been said a few times. If he really wants to dive bomb he will need a guitar with a double locking tremolo, like a Floyd rose.
If that's the case, I'd be looking for an older MIJ Ibanez with an Edge tremolo. Those are personally my favorite double locking tremolos. They take a beating and don't go out of tune. Finding a Les Paul style body though will be difficult.
Also, keep in mind that any guitar with a double locking tremolo makes any kind of alternate tunings a real pain.
If that's the case, I'd be looking for an older MIJ Ibanez with an Edge tremolo. Those are personally my favorite double locking tremolos. They take a beating and don't go out of tune. Finding a Les Paul style body though will be difficult.
Also, keep in mind that any guitar with a double locking tremolo makes any kind of alternate tunings a real pain.
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I'm not ashamed to say that I'm a bassist who has veered into guitars and it's certainly grabbed me a bit.
If you're looking for a guitar that is drastically underrated and selling for cheaper than it should, look into a WESTONE SPECTRUM or ELECTRA PHOENIX from the early to mid 80s.
Now granted, they're not really Les Pauls for looks and the scale is Fender length, I get that. BUT... the trem systems are decent on either, mine is the one on the left and it stays in tune VERY well, even with dive bombs.
These were made in Japan in the Matsumoku factory and that is always a huge plus, as the construction was top notch.
There were various models of these with different configurations, so you can get an HH or HSS or SSS, but the HSH that I have here employs probably one of the best layouts I've ever seen.
- The HH pickups are controlled by the 3 way switch near the upper horn (ala Les Paul).
- Pull the volume pot and it splits those to single coils (kinda Tele)
- Pull the middle pot and it turns on the middle pickup (adding strat-like sounds)
- Pull the other tone pot and it reverses phase on the bridge (adding even more stratty sounds to a degree)
This guitar is high output like an LP, with controls that can function like one as well. It has various options which make it more versatile, it's built incredibly well, and beyond that... they aren't selling for a ton. These can be had as low as $200 or so if you look around. They never seem to go above $400 (which will likely change when people discover how nice they are). Great build quality, very functional trem setups, incredibly advanced electronics setups for their day.
This guitar honestly keeps me from actually wanting a Les Paul style.
(And if this isn't your bag, pretty much any Matsumoku-made instrument is going to be high quality and priced fairly reasonably, so there are plenty of options out there)
If you're looking for a guitar that is drastically underrated and selling for cheaper than it should, look into a WESTONE SPECTRUM or ELECTRA PHOENIX from the early to mid 80s.
Now granted, they're not really Les Pauls for looks and the scale is Fender length, I get that. BUT... the trem systems are decent on either, mine is the one on the left and it stays in tune VERY well, even with dive bombs.
These were made in Japan in the Matsumoku factory and that is always a huge plus, as the construction was top notch.
There were various models of these with different configurations, so you can get an HH or HSS or SSS, but the HSH that I have here employs probably one of the best layouts I've ever seen.
- The HH pickups are controlled by the 3 way switch near the upper horn (ala Les Paul).
- Pull the volume pot and it splits those to single coils (kinda Tele)
- Pull the middle pot and it turns on the middle pickup (adding strat-like sounds)
- Pull the other tone pot and it reverses phase on the bridge (adding even more stratty sounds to a degree)
This guitar is high output like an LP, with controls that can function like one as well. It has various options which make it more versatile, it's built incredibly well, and beyond that... they aren't selling for a ton. These can be had as low as $200 or so if you look around. They never seem to go above $400 (which will likely change when people discover how nice they are). Great build quality, very functional trem setups, incredibly advanced electronics setups for their day.
This guitar honestly keeps me from actually wanting a Les Paul style.
(And if this isn't your bag, pretty much any Matsumoku-made instrument is going to be high quality and priced fairly reasonably, so there are plenty of options out there)
Maybe someone with more experience than I can chime in but from what I've heard the locking/Floyd Rose style trem can make changing strings more difficult. A Bigsby or Fender style may be more user friendly for a newer player.
Matsumoku: the guitars of choice for bassists everywhere!
I traded my first good bass for this guitar 20 years ago, and I can’t say I regret it. Westone Prestige 150, shown here alongside a few of my Matsumoku basses.
EDITED TO ADD: my first guitar was an uber pointy Westone Dynasty with a Kahler-ish tremolo, with locks and a nut at the headstock. I can’t recall how well the tremolo performed because I barely used it, but string changes were easy.
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Lots of good advice here. I've had them all - Gibsons, Epiphones, LP and SG, Strats, and Gretsches. I currently have a Gretsch 6120 with a Bigsby and two stock Strats. I don't hit the bar hard and I don't find it puts the guitar out of tune. The worst offender for that is the Gretsch floating bridge.
What kind of sound is he after? I think the best example of the difference between a Gretsch and an LP sound is "Midnight Man" by James Gang: Gretsch in the verse/chorus, LP in the solo.
What kind of sound is he after? I think the best example of the difference between a Gretsch and an LP sound is "Midnight Man" by James Gang: Gretsch in the verse/chorus, LP in the solo.
I have a guitar from this same Matsumoku family - mine is a Phoenix by Electra. It's very heavy, but I only play it sitting down when I want to noodle around at home. The rumors are true; these are some of the very best guitars around, especially given their price tags. The Japanese craftsmanship of this vintage is tough to match even with instruments costing two or three times as much.
I don't see many of those older Matsumoku guitars with locking tremolos like a Floyd Rose, but many of those instruments from Electra/Vantage/Westone are also borderline too heavy (along with more than a few Les Pauls out there
).
If I wanted to look for something more practical, I'd definitely check out PRS imports, ESP/LTD, and definitely Schecter. This company has been packing at least as much into their guitars and basses as anybody in recent history (in terms of bang for our buck). Schecter's Les Paul copy is their Solo II, but I don't know if it includes a locking tremolo as an option.
If your son doesn't have to have a Les Paul copy, he might get what he wants with something like a Schecter Sun Valley Super Shredder. Used models are within your budget and Floyd Rose builds a higher quality tremolo (more quality steel parts) specifically for those guitars.
I don't see many of those older Matsumoku guitars with locking tremolos like a Floyd Rose, but many of those instruments from Electra/Vantage/Westone are also borderline too heavy (along with more than a few Les Pauls out there
).If I wanted to look for something more practical, I'd definitely check out PRS imports, ESP/LTD, and definitely Schecter. This company has been packing at least as much into their guitars and basses as anybody in recent history (in terms of bang for our buck). Schecter's Les Paul copy is their Solo II, but I don't know if it includes a locking tremolo as an option.
If your son doesn't have to have a Les Paul copy, he might get what he wants with something like a Schecter Sun Valley Super Shredder. Used models are within your budget and Floyd Rose builds a higher quality tremolo (more quality steel parts) specifically for those guitars.
