A comparsion between paulish guitars.

[badpenguin]

Hey all. Read a recent post, and someone was curious of how another's Paul copies compared to his real thing, so it got me thinking. Soooo, poor reader, you get to listen to my thoughts.

 

Ok, this is NOT scientific. No calipers, metering equipment, oscilloscopes, or other scientific devices were used. it's all subjective to my ear. It's guitar, not science.

 

The amp used was my Roland BC60, clean, with all EQ set at 12 o'clock.

 

First up is the 1973 Ibanez 2398.

Floating laminate top over a Mahogany core. Bolt on maple neck, with a maple fretboard.

Not surprisingly, it's the least Paul sounding guitar here. Sound is closer to a 335ish guitar due to the semi hollow construction. Pickups are wonderfully balanced, and it would be perfect for ensemble playing, where you don't want to stand out.

 

Late 70's/early 80's Lotus 505W

6 Piece mahogany body, mahogany bolt on neck, rosewood board. neck pickup is a Epiphone for the 90's.

More like "The Paul" then a Paul, it's surprisingly closer to the tone of an SG, then a Paul. Deep rich lows from the neck pickup makes it perfect for a jazz player. balanced with the bridger, and the bridge is.... good. Not great, but good. The flatter radius of the fretboard, is so NON Paul, it loses the feel aspect.

 

1979 Manoman

Gushen Gen Gakki made in Japan. One piece mahogany body, 3 piece maple neck, finished rosewood fretboard.

This was a hard one to be objective about. It's been my go to guitar for years, and was electrically built to be as rude and possible. Both pickups measure in the upper 15K range so.... it's loud and brash. It tends to overpower a clean amp into the edges of distortion. The neck pickup has wonderful drive and tone, same with the bridge. Sustain is around the 27 second mark, after striking and holding a Emaj9 chord. ( this was done 10 times, and averaged out.) Fretboard radius is the same as the Paul Custom, and feels just as nice. BUT, it was geared to be more of a rockers guitar. AND it's 10 1/2 pounds!

 

1981 Ibanez Artist 100

Japanese made, 2 piece mahogany body,2 piece maple cap, mahogany neck with rosewood board.

Designed to be the Giant Slayer, it has the same profile neck, same radius as a Paul Custom. The V2 pickups are slightly hotter then the Paul's, and a bit brighter in tone. Nicely articulate, but lacks the bottom end that Paul's do. Sustain wise, it starts to fade out around the 25 second mark. And also, tips the scales at nearly 10 1/2 pounds. It would be perfect in any situation, just like the Paul, and most people wouldn't notice the subtle differences in tone.

 

1981 Gibson Paul Custom.

American made, 2 piece mahogany body, maple cap, 3 piece maple neck with ebony board.

In my opinion, the Paul was perfected in 56 with the Custom. The addition of humbuckers added another layer of perfection to an already perfect guitar. Tonally, it's what you expect. the neck pickup is rich, full and has that deep tone Paul players want. Balanced in between, and that cutting tone that only a Paul has in the bridge. Personally, I like the bridge a bit hotter then the stock T tops on this. The neck just makes you want to play. it makes you want to push your limits, and dive into tones that you dream about. Sustain pushes around the 32 second mark, and the weight is, as expected, near the 11 pound mark. Again, in any situation, the Paul Custom is perfect. From jazz and country, to hard rock and beyond. BUT, it may not be right for everyone. It does have a tone that wants to be heard, and is pretty unforgiving for making mistakes.

 

So, there's my thoughts, after a few cups of coffee I might add. What about you strat heads? care to compare your babies?

 

[wankdeplank]

Damn good reading Penguin, thx for that. What a cool stable of LPs - very attractive and they all have their own distinct thing going on. Course I'd love to hear a sound demonstration but I know that the pickups are all different clouding the comparison, so I won't push you. Good stuff.

[Virgman]

Cool, BP.

 

And some nice looking axes.

[Freeman Keller]

Nice and thorough discussion. Nice collection too....

[DonK]

I've owned a half-dozen Gibson LP's - my first was a cherry sunburst '73 w/ mini-humbuckers I bought new in '73 - and a few LP clones, including two Epi's and and Edwards. I currently have a late model LP Traditional in desert sunburst. While I rarely play it - I'm pretty much a Fender guy - the build quality is certainly exquisite, right down to the Plek job. That said the Edwards LP Custom I ordered from Japan was every bit it's equal in construction quality and playability, and while they had different tones, both were superb. The Edwards was a bit less than half what I paid for the Gibson. The EPI's had very good build quality, but the hardware was slightly short of the Gibson and Edwards hardware, and I found the pup's (on both) to be a little less balanced from string to string, and just a tad muddy. Still, for the price ratio to a Gibson I'd never sneeze and an Epi, but Edwards is the way I'd go if I wanted a true LP equivalent at a relative bargain price. They're made by ESP.

[badpenguin]

I haven't the chance to play an Edwards, but if it's made by ESP, that's a minus in my eyes. I pretty much despised every ESP/LTD I have ever played due to the stupid rail road tracks they call frets. If the Edwards Pauls don't have that, I will have to take a look at them.