The Other Les Pauls

In the past we've been known to bash Gibson. We have owned their guitars over the years, and still own some Gibson guitars. Aaron uses his SG Supreme relgiously; sapphire blue sunburst, with stock '57 Classics, ebony fretboard with 24 frets, Grover tuners that were swapped with Schaller locking tuners, and flame maple top. I've been using a first generation SG Special Faded; heritage cherry matte finish with open-coil 490's, crescent moon inlays, and it came with Kluson style tuners that were replaced with the Grovers from Aaron's SG Supreme when one of the stock tuners broke. I also owned a 90's Les Paul Studio that had Sperzel locking tuners when I bought it used, and the original 490/498 pickups. The main reason for the ill speak towards Gibson revolves around the price of their guitars. 

We've dealt with our political issues with the company in other articles, but what it all boils down to is the cash money. The quality of the $2400+ Gibson guitars is not really any better than the knock-offs. Here we'll list some of the knock-offs we've looked into and kinda go into the pluses and minuses.

What seems to put Gibson ahead of the knock-off models is the pickups and electronics. The Gibson Les Paul is going to have either 490/498 pickups (Studios and Customs usually have these), 496/500 (used in the Classic models; these are open coiled) or variations of BurstBuckers (slightly hotter than the 490/498; BurstBuckers 2 and 3 are seemingly the better combo than the Burstbucker Pro). With any of the knock-offs, there's going to be different pickups, and we'll get into this a bit. The knock-offs can be modded with Gibson pickups, as well as some great pickups from Seymour Duncan, or GFS if you're on a tighter budget. The Les Paul sound is definitely achievable without the $2400+ price tag. A $300-$500 knock-off is still gonna be cheaper than a Gibson Les Paul even if you drop $1000 of mods into it.

So basically in most scenarios with a Gibson Les Paul Standard, you're paying an extra ~$2000 for a name, pickups, and a case. Oh yeah, the 2015 models are gonna tune themselves now too.

Epiphone: In a recent article, I focused on the Epiphone Les Paul Standard PlusTop Pro. This guitar runs 1/4 the price of a Gibson Les Paul Standard. This is gonna get you the absolute closest in looks to the Gibsons with the real noticeable difference being at the headstock, because Gibson owns Epiphone, and therefore doesn't have to make changes to the looks to avoid copyright issues. Also, the finishes are the same names and types as classic Gibson finishes. Over the last few years, we haven't noticed any more flaws in the Epiphones than in the Gibsons. The Epi standards feel and play every bit as good as the Gibsons, the primary argument falls into the catagory of sound. The Plus Top Pro Standard and the Gibsons have the same wood compliments, so from the foundation, they have a similar sound. Epiphone Plane Top Standards and Customs have a maple veneer, which is debatable for the sound quality. The pickups are going to be subjective; an Epiphone may not sound as good to you as a Gibson, but 2 Gibson guitars of the same model can sound quite different as well.

It use to be that an Epiphone was a great guitar once you replace the pickups; their stock pickups were dull, lifeless, and way too dark. The beginner lines tend to have differing woods, bolt-on necks, and though sounding nice, don't always get you into Gibson sound. If looking at price, keep this in mind when considering the Special II, or any $100 doorbusters at Guitar Barn. Seymour Duncan SH-4 and SH-2 (JB/Jazz) was our favorite candidate for a pickup mod, as well as Gibson '57 Classics, though GFS Phat Pats are a much cheaper alternative, and Duncan's 59's and Seth Lover pickups will save you a few bucks as well.

In recent years, the $400+ models have had some upgraded pickups like the ProBuckers (an overseas made variation of the BurstBuckers), and Alnico Classics. These pickups in an Epiphone give you a great Les Paul sound out of the box; and have more clarity than the 490/498 sets on some Gibsons. Also, we like the hardware on the Epiphone Les Paul Standard models better than the stock hardware on the Gibsons. The Epiphone locking bridge and tailpiece is a far cry better than the stock Gibson hardware, and Epiphone Standard and Custom models have Grover tuners stock, which we replace with Grover locking tuners.

One thing that should be noted is the Custom models. The Gibson Les Paul Custom has an Ebony fretboard, where as the Epiphone version has Rosewood, but the Epiphone Les Paul Custom has ProBuckers and the Gibson Les Paul Custom has 490/498's. That said, the newer Epiphone Les Paul Customs have a maple veneer, as opposed to a carved maple top like the Standards and Gibson Les Paul Customs. This is actually a step up from older Epiphone Les Paul Customs, as the were all mahogany. If you're looking for all mahogany bodies, you may want to look to SG models.

There are Epiphone labeled cases that are sold separately, but are quite pricey. We recommend the budget cases from the online places. We use Musician's Gear cases that can be bought on Amazon or the bigger online retailers.

Xaviere XV-500: This is a Les Paul copy offered by www.guitarfetish.com, which is known for their GFS  Pickups that we've been quite impressed with. Their Xaviere XV-500 is their closest offering they have to a Les Paul. The neck specs are right on par with the Gibson Les Paul Standards, and they have the classic Les Paul wood formula; mahogany body and neck, with a maple top which is a maple cap; not a veneer, and a rosewood fretboard. They offer some finishes that are close to Gibson, and some that are more eclectic. The stock pickups are GFS Crunchy Phat Pats, which are a slightly hotter open-coil, ceramic magnet pickup with a bit of a classic vintage PAF sound. The XV-500 is going to be a bit more noticeably different than an Epiphone in that they can't look just-like a Les Paul. You get the LP feel, but a slightly sharper lower horn, different inlays (more like something you'd see on a banjo), and no pickguard. 

The tuners are more like what use to be stock on the old Epiphones, but GFS offers locking tuners that are a direct fit on their guitars that are 1/2 the price of the leading locking tuners out there. The rest of the hardware is pretty standard, not too far off from Gibson hardware. Another nice feature with GFS is they have cases available for their guitars. The cases seem to be made by the same company as Musician's Gear's budget LP cases, and for close to the same price. There are also other models of Xaviere guitars that are LP variations, and they also do a great ES335 copy, along with some other Fender types and some super-strats.

Agile: These are some Les Paul copies that are sold on www.rondomusic.com. They tried to make a Les Paul clone that was a bit closer to the look of the Les Paul than Xaviere, yet looks slightly distorted. The wood compliment is on par with a true Les Paul except the fretboards are Ebony; what you'd expect to find on a Gibson Les Paul Custom, and the maple tops are a veneer; not carved maple. Solid finish models have no maple, and are all mahogany. They have finishes that are similar to Gibson finishes, and some that are WAY different. The pickups are decent out of the box; basic humbucker sound, but this is definitely a guitar for modding. The hardware is pretty standard, but the saddles seem to be Gaphtech, the nut is graphite, and they come with Grover tuners as stock equipment.

What's a bit confusing at Rondo Music, is that there are LP copies made with the Agile name, and some made with the names Douglas, Omega, and SX as well. Some of these seem to have maple necks and/or alder bodies, or have no maple top. These tone woods will get you away from a Les Paul sound, so in sifting through their website, be mindful of what exactly you're looking at. Seemingly all the Agile models are correct.

Rondo has some cases available with the Douglas name on them that are seemingly an over-seas made version of the cases Gibson uses for their Customs; the leather style ones with the velvet cloth cover. These cases are in the same wheelhouse price-wise as the Musician's Gear and Xaviere.

LTD by ESP: Now in LTD land, the EC, or Eclipse models are their answer to the Les Paul. These are pointier, more tongue-in-cheek Les Paul knock-offs. The headstocks are a pointy take on a Gibson headstock, and the inlays are a wavy version of Gibson's trapezoid. They generally come with volume, volume, tone (or master tone) control setups. Their bodies tend to be lighter, and more carved than a traditional Les Paul, and the necks are much thinner; closer to an Ibanez or Jackson. The goal seems to be an easier-to-play version of a Les Paul.

The lower end models have basswood bodies, maple necks, and rosewood fretboards, and some have maple tops, that we assume are veneer. Though these are great tone woods for a super-strat, they aren't gonna sound like an LP. The necks on the lower-end models are also bolt-on and maple in some cases, which is much brighter than a traditional LP set-neck. Acoustically (unplugged) a guitar with a mahogany neck actually has a throatier sound than one with a maple neck. The lower priced models use LTD pickups that aren't impressive; about the same muddiness as old Epi stock pickups, and the hardware is nothing spectacular. On the plus side, the ECs that come with the ESP tuners are a great candidate for the GFS "Sperzel Style" locking tuners.

The higher priced models start getting the proper wood materials, and also get upgraded pickups by EMG and Seymour Duncan. EMGs are more synonymous with metal; not so much classic rock. The Duncans we've seen on some are the JB/Jazz setup, which is a) more Les Paul-like, and b) more versatile. The higher priced models also have Grover tuners, and some hardware upgrades.

The ECs will fit in some of the LP style cases. The ESP cases will run you about $130 street.

The Eclipse series is definitely a take on the Les Paul, but a slightly different flavor. These might suite your taste, but for those looking for the Les Paul vibe, the Epiphones in the same price range (or cheaper in some cases) will be a more satisfying option. We didn't get too deep into specific models, because there are so many different Eclipses in LTD's lineup. LTD doesn't give too many descriptions on their maple tops, but we would assume they're veneer.

In A Nushell... The Les Paul copies listed here are some of the more popular ones. Agile and Xaviere are mentioned on numerous forums, whereas Epiphone is the most easily found in most music stores, and LTD by ESP is fairly common as well. The online exclusive guitars are great, but can't be impulse-bought at the local Guitar Barn like that honeyburst Epi that was hanging on the wall.