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bolt-on les paul style guitars?


jrm27

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I've been considering putting together a baritone guitar for some time now. I thougt that a great entry point might be to find a cheap or used Les Paul style with a bolt on neck and fit a Warmoth baritone neck on it. Any thoughts?

 

Any advice on which makers to stay away from? Which are pretty decent? Any other suggestions?

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Whatever you do, be careful about Japanese "lawsuit area" Les Pauls with bolt-on neck. Although there are some good models, most of them were the cheapest models offered at the time and apart from generally being low quality many were even made from plywood.

 

I have never been able to directly say that a bolt-on neck is inherently worse than a set neck, other than the resulting heel.

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The OP wants a cheap experiment with a Baritone guitar consisting of a Les Paul style body and a baritone bolt on neck.

 

He wasn't asking for a Gibson.

 

On the other hand, ...jrm27, you need to do your own research.

 

Stuff like,...where will the bridge "have to be" for correct intonation.

 

Are you good enough to cover up the mess left behind by the old post hole positions or do you plan on starting fresh with a blank body?

 

Why don't you just go and buy a cheap baritone guitar in the first place? Ibanez must have some cheap models.

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Is a set neck superior to a bolt on neck?

 

I like them both or, I don't particularly love/hate one over the other.

 

I like a lot of different guitars. Gibson, Fender, Ric, Ampeg, Jackson,...some have set necks some are bolt on.

 

Gibsons don't sound or feel like Fenders. I like it that way. When I'm getting into a rut, I change to another brand. Same with my smoke, beer and women.

 

So i've got 12 Fenders, 8 Gibsons, 2 Ric's and an Ampeg that I really like a whole lot. Two of those brands are bolt on.

 

I like them all.

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Yep.. for clarification, I'm not looking for a bolt on gibson. Just the body style. Actually I played an old bolt on Hohner LP (mid 80's) a few months afo that was just fantastic. Played well, sounded great, etc... and it was a bolt on. Sure it's not for the purist, but I'd like to give it a try.

 

'smel:

Thanks for bringing up the questions. Form the research that I've done on my own, It's been explained to me that in general a bolt on neck should work with little-to-no adjustment of the bridge position. That may not be correct, but it inspires me to delve into it a little deeper!

 

I've thought about buying a cheap Ibanez baritone, but they are few and far between where I live. I've been thinking that along with trying out a baritone, this might also be a good way for me to get introduced into working on my own guitars (wiring, setting up, maybe a refin sometime down the line etc..) with a guitar that doesn't have that much natural value. But, that's just a basic thought.

 

Thanks fellas. Keep the feedback coming!

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Little to no-adjustment for a neck scale that's going to change is not what I would expect.

This Baritone 's scale is 27". Not much difference from 25 1/2" but more if it's from 24 3/4".http://www.axemusic.com/product.asp?P_ID=4059&strPageHistory=related

 

I would think that the bridge saddles need to be further back towards the ass end.

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I have found that if you are interested in a bolt on Les Paul copy it is best to try it out first. Some of them are very cheap and crappy. But there are definitely exceptions to the rule. From my personal experience Vantage, Electra, and Aria made some pretty decent bolt on Les Paul-like guitars. So did Ibanez.

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The trick with the neck length/scale is that your bridge needs to be exactly the same distance from the 12th fret as the nut. If it is, it will work.

 

Don't be discouraged by the Gibson purests here that poo-poo bolt on necks. I have never seen any solid evidence that a set neck is tonally superior to a bolt-on.

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Disgusting


Somebody on this forum has one of those Epiphone bolt on doublenecks. Disgusting.


Off the top of my head, I can't think of any decent guitar Gibson has ever put out that had a Bolt on.

 

 

just absolutely sickening!

 

I could not agree more

 

 

tj6.jpg

 

dont judge guitars by specs on paper, bolt on is nothing more than a construction method.... works just fine for other high end builders, no reason it couldnt work on a LP type guitar..... PRS seems to have no problems with their bolt ons...

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