Members DARKMETL/ Posted September 21, 2012 Members Share Posted September 21, 2012 A family pic of single cuts including Gibson, Edwards, PRS, Epi, Michael Kelly, LTD, Agile. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members billybilly Posted September 21, 2012 Members Share Posted September 21, 2012 If you listen to Mark Knopfler, Joe Bonamassa, Warren Haynes, etc., what you are often hearing are Custom Shop Les Pauls. What they are able to do with those guitars is phenomenal. But a typical hack player who knows a few riffs and can't play a song all the way through is never going to be able to hear much of a difference. Nor is a high gain metal player going to hear much difference between a $250 and a $3000 guitar. Nope. I'm a bit of a hack but know tone when I hear it. From me or from someone else. Please stop speaking for everyone, it's a habit of yours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Thunnar Posted September 22, 2012 Members Share Posted September 22, 2012 Can you find a used Gibson for under $500? Studio? Why bother? Or is an Epi a better deal in that price range? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members grunge782 Posted September 22, 2012 Members Share Posted September 22, 2012 If you listen to Mark Knopfler, Joe Bonamassa, Warren Haynes, etc., what you are often hearing are Custom Shop Les Pauls. What they are able to do with those guitars is phenomenal. But a typical hack player who knows a few riffs and can't play a song all the way through is never going to be able to hear much of a difference. Nor is a high gain metal player going to hear much difference between a $250 and a $3000 guitar. But if you have a good set of ears, some playing skills, and a good tube amp, under some conditions, the differences will be quite noticeable. For those of us who like to use the volume knobs on our guitars to control the gain, the first thing that you will notice is that some guitars work beautifully while others just get muddy when you back off the volume. The hallmark of many (not all) budget guitars is their lack of punch and complexity with the volume and tone knobs rolled off. You simply cannot control your sound from the guitar. If you just play high gain 'everything on 10' metal, or just switch between a clean and drive channel on an amp, most budget guitars will work great, given their excellent build quality and playability. But if you want to sound like Buddy Miller, Mike Campbell, Billy Gibbons, Mark Knopfler or any number of players who use a lot of finesse and nuance in their playing, a really good guitar, no matter what the cost, is going to give back what you put into it. There are some amazing alternatives to Gibsons that are cheaper. Reverend comes to mind; so do PRS SE, Gretsch (especially the brand new Electromatic lineup), ESP/LTD, Edwards, Greco, Orville, etc. I have no experience with Agile, but if they are made in Korea and have decent pickups, pots, etc., I'm predisposed to believe that they are very good guitars. One thing that I do have a lot of experience with is Gibson--both Custom Shop and regular production models. I own 7 Les Pauls (4 Custom Shop), an ES335, an ES339, an SG Classic and an SG Standard. One particular Les Paul stands out among the crowd; it's a recent R0 VOS with BB 1 & 2. The others are all very good guitars, but that one R0 has the X factor that makes it hard to put down. The tone is warm and woody and it will do all of the nuanced pinched harmonics, multiple bends, hammer ons, etc. with natural sustain and compression that make it a really smooth ride. That's about as specific as I can get, but I'll keep working on it. Hey now, don't be one of "those guys" if you know what I mean . A lot of high-gain players work damn hard at getting a good tone and the guitar is a big part of that equation. Nuance and detail matters across many genres, don't get all old-man TGP snobby about genre. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members paulojcduarte Posted September 22, 2012 Members Share Posted September 22, 2012 I have GAS for one of these for a couple years now, but it's not really unexpensive. http://www.fujigen.co.jp/lineup/ncls20r.asp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Arr0wHead Posted September 22, 2012 Members Share Posted September 22, 2012 I don't get the anger. People are allowed to have their own opinion. Jeff's a personable, intelligent, well educated guy. It just makes me angry to see a guy like that can still have a bad case of snorkledickery, and talk nonsense about guitars he's never even played. I hope he doesn't teach science. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Burgess Posted September 22, 2012 Members Share Posted September 22, 2012 Was always intrigued by these Raven Wests for $389: I've got one of those. It's actually a rather nice guitar. Mine's been modded a bit but on the surface it looks pretty stock. I've had it for several year now and it's held up just fine. It really is a very pretty guitar and has some nice detail work that you wouldn't necessarily expect in this price range. I'm not saying the build quality is that of the premium brands but it is surprising in some of the touches nonetheless.Having said all that it doesn't really play or sound like a genuine LP though. Live on a bandstand it's a decent substitution. To be honest, in a live setting you can usually substitute anything with mahogany and 2 HBs. In a studio situation where your sound is really going to be critical it won't be the same. Not saying it won't be good but it won't be a LP either.As for how it plays, it plays sweet and mine is set up very nice, but the neck radius is noticeably flatter than a LP. Neck/pocket angle is a bit different to but then again that can vary from LP to LP so... Not saying it is any better or worse but will certainly have a noticeably different feel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DARKMETL/ Posted September 22, 2012 Members Share Posted September 22, 2012 I've got one of those. It's actually a rather nice guitar. Mine's been modded a bit but on the surface it looks pretty stock. I've had it for several year now and it's held up just fine. It really is a very pretty guitar and has some nice detail work that you wouldn't necessarily expect in this price range. I'm not saying the build quality is that of the premium brands but it is surprising in some of the touches nonetheless.Having said all that it doesn't really play or sound like a genuine LP though. Live on a bandstand it's a decent substitution. To be honest, in a live setting you can usually substitute anything with mahogany and 2 HBs. In a studio situation where your sound is really going to be critical it won't be the same. Not saying it won't be good but it won't be a LP either.As for how it plays, it plays sweet and mine is set up very nice, but the neck radius is noticeably flatter than a LP. Neck/pocket angle is a bit different to but then again that can vary from LP to LP so... Not saying it is any better or worse but will certainly have a noticeably different feel. Cool, thanks for the info, was always curious about them. Can you share some pics of yours? Would love to see some...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Burgess Posted September 22, 2012 Members Share Posted September 22, 2012 Cool, thanks for the info, was always curious about them. Can you share some pics of yours? Would love to see some...... I was just thinking I need to update some of my pics. I'll try to get some UL'd this weekend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Yer Blues Posted September 22, 2012 Members Share Posted September 22, 2012 I've had three Agiles Les Pauls and traded one for a bass amp, one I dropped and chipped the fretboard, and I am looking to sell the other one. I was fascinated by cheap Les Paul copies and decided to make the dive. Ironically, the one I dropped was really the only one I really liked. I've had one Gibson Les Paul and it was a Studio I got for $600. It was my first "real" guitar and I have played it more than any of my other guitars. It plays and sounds better than any of the Agiles. I recently picked up a used LTD Viper. It came with a pair of Duncan's (jazz and custom) and a hard case. I like it a lot. It's a great guitar at that price point and you don't have to worry about babying it. Agiles are decent guitars... but there's not many serious musicians who are going to get an Agile and never want a Gibson. On the flip side, once you get a Gibson you're not going to be too concerned about ever getting an Agile. Agiles are good guitars for the money, but so are Gibsons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members fuzztone Posted September 22, 2012 Members Share Posted September 22, 2012 Sky Les Paul $139 with free shipping on Ebay. They have the shape and are pretty well made with decent electronics.They only issue with them is the frets need attention. If you can do that yourself they are worth checking out(they offer a money back guarantee) but it you have to take it to a guitar tech a level and polish could cost a $100 or so. Pictures for comparison below Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Rand-O-Monium Posted September 22, 2012 Members Share Posted September 22, 2012 Hey,fuzztone,any odds on "creaming out" the new Gibby?And trust me,I'm dying to get one of the Sky Blk LP "Standards",just don't know why & no monie$...:sad: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Floyd Rosenbomb Posted September 22, 2012 Members Share Posted September 22, 2012 Another Agile vs Gibson thread...slow day huh boys? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members deanmass Posted September 24, 2012 Members Share Posted September 24, 2012 Used Reverend Roundhouse. Used Reverend Sensei. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mockchoi Posted September 24, 2012 Members Share Posted September 24, 2012 It's a boring answer, but unless you can get a great deal on a used Gibson Studio I'd just get an Epiphone. If you can get along with P90's, I think that $499 1956 goldtop repro is a smoking guitar, arguably better than the Gibson goldtop Tribute. The Plus Top Pro is the same price if you need humbuckers. Got to say, I'm intrigued by that Gretsch upthread, but I've never seen one before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mesa/Kramer Posted September 24, 2012 Members Share Posted September 24, 2012 boomer, check this out... forum member seven58(great dude BTW) has a pretty badass, old school Ibanez for $475 http://acapella.harmony-central.com/showthread.php?2944819-September-Spam-Thread!&p=46721134&viewfull=1#post46721134 Over priced Bolt on neckFor about $50 more he could prolly find one of these used. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members deanmass Posted September 24, 2012 Members Share Posted September 24, 2012 I played one of those Gretsch's and could not stand it. My vote is still Rev or the Epi Tribute with the P90's. The Rev is harder to find, but a better guitar in msny ways imho. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Willyguitar Posted September 24, 2012 Members Share Posted September 24, 2012 Vintage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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