Got my first greco, need help.. it's my first Les Paul

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Funkstylez said:
I hope i'm not going off-topic by asking this,

It's your thread, so if you want go off your own topic, feel free. :lol:

Off-topic is what this forum is good at - that's why it's often interesting.

Mike
 
Don't worry about it. If nobody is interested in what you're saying, you won't get any replies, simple as that. :p
 
Funkstylez said:
I hope i'm not going off-topic by asking this, but would Burny not be a better deal for me? I am a player, not a collector and i want fret bindings, best pickups, neck and everything else 100% like gibson etc and the greco's seem to have less features overall for the same price, but are simply more rare..

Try an Orville by Gibson Reissue, everything you want but normally a 2-piece back. Excellent guitars.

You do see fret-edge binding on some less expensive Burny's, but I dont think they are great guitars, others will disagree though. You're best bet if you want a 'player' is to play before you buy. A lot of the guitars you will be looking at are 20+ years old, things like worn frets, scratchy pots, sunken bridges are quite common.

What sort of money are you looking at spending and what features do you rate as important? Surely great sound & playability are higher up the list than fret edge binding?
 
Just to add one point to what John said, I also love older guitars (they tend to have more character), but you do sometimes have to budget for a fret stone or a set-up, unless you have the skills to do all your own set-up work. I'm lucky that a good guitar tech was recommended to me by a friend, and he does good work at a decent price.

Finding someone who can do the work that you can't do is very useful, especially if they are affordable.
 
My first guitar was 250 euro's which i think was around 370 dollars back then.

I think i'm willing to spend ?1000 eur on my next one which would come down to around $1500USD.
Willing to go higher but only if there is good reason to do so. So basically i want price:quality ratio to be 100% and not like what happened on page 1 of this topic..

I want a guitar that will last me a lifetime, and needs no upgrades besides maybe straplocks when i get it. Sound and playability are #1, Looks are #2.

I don't want just a vintage LP, i want a vintage les paul that destroys modern gibson les pauls in quality and sound and can at least compete with the old gibsons in those departments as well. :wink:

The dream color would be white but that is not very important...
 
Funkstylez said:
I've been doing my vintage guitar homework for like 3 days straight now, starting to get obsessed :p

It's like learning to play mate - it never ends! You know that there is always more to learn. I only joined to find out a bit about Goldstars - now I have 6 Tokais :eek:
 
One thing i forgot to add is that i hate on some electric guitars is buzzing frets (who doesn't) I doubt these guitars have it but you could add that to the list of important things.
 
So you want a guitar that will destroy a modern Gibson for less money that a modern Gibson!!

Good luck :D

Seriously

An Orville by Gibson Reissue, a 1980/81 Tokai LS80 or a Greco EGF850 SuperReal would all fit the bill. They won't be heaps better than a modern Gibbo, modern Gibsons, despite their critics are good guitars, but they will be better!

If you really want to destroy a modern Gibson then you are going to hve to shell out a lot more cash that that I'm sorry to say.

As for buzzing frets! As Stratman said on a 20 year old guitar a fret dress & set-up are probably going to be required so factor in 100 euros for this, on a quality guitar with no issues than this will stop any buzzing but if you expect a 20 year old anything that's been well used not to have one or two minor niggles that need adressing you are being unrealistic.
 
Haha you're probably right, i should probably read less of those harmony central guitar reviews :p

Could you tell me a bit more about those 3 guitars you mentioned and perhaps a price range?


cheers,
Adam
 
Remember that most forums are biased - I'm sure the Gibson forum would tell you that Gibsons are better than the Japanese alternatives - on here you will be told the opposite. You have to decide for yourself.
 
Orville by Gibson Reissue

2-piece back, fret edge binding, '57 Classic pickups sound great, play great, good as a modern Gibson

1980/81 Tokai LS80

1-piece back, fret edge binding, Goto pickups sound OK, play great, good as a modern Gibson but really could do with better pickups, the Goto's aren't bad but not as good as the OBG's or the Greco's. Big + is a 1 -piece back though, you can't upgrade a 2-piece as easy as pickups!


Greco EGF850 SuperReal


2-piece back, fret edge binding, PU-2 pickups sound AMAZING, play great, good as a modern Gibson big fat '50's neck brazillian R/W board

I have all three so I know what I'm talking about, and have owned Gibsons in the past.

All of these would be available for about your price range and the one thing they all have that new Gibsons dont is bags of character and they will appreciate in value.

One thing I would say n favour of a modern Gibson is that you can go you a local shop and try 20 and pick the nicest one, it will be set-up perfectly and have a guarantee!
 
About the solid top/back thing.. is it a practical feature or something cosmetic like the fret binding? And if you had to choose between a guitar that had a solid top, or a solid back, what would be a smarter choice?

I've read this topic: http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/forum/showthread.php?t=289144
and they say solid top is better.. the topic applies to acoustic guitars tho, not les pauls
 
Purely cosmetic, all of these are solid backs just some are made from 2 bits of wood rather than 1, looks prettier! A lot of OBG's and all Greco 850's ( as far as I know) have a solid maple cap with a thin laminate of maple over the top, again just a looks thing.
 
important update: Seller from initial auction has removed the negative feedback, perhaps because of this thread or the emails sent to him.
Thanks everyone, the lessen learned from this is to be patient and ask many questions. :wink:

I have also received some advice from a very friendly ebay seller called mustang_axeslinger, perhaps some of you know him since you probably know all the sellers and all the auctions. Basically here's what he had to say:

Hi, I read the thread briefly.
So what you bought is not what you expected when you bidded or you later found out the guitar you got is not what you expected?
The guitar seems good one to me though.
Everyone has his own preference so it is hard to say what is best for you. You need to be specific about what you are looking for even with small details such as fretboard material, weight,pickups, sound, neck shape and so on.
Once again, even if someone says best, it doesn't mean it is best for you. This is the difficult part of buying guitars without trying it.
Just like any Gibson can be poor quality guitars.
if you have 10 Gibson, they will all play differently.
Anyway, if you are looking for a quality Gibson replica, I would highly recommend one from late 70's or any of 80's. I prefer Burny over Greco with most models except some highend Greco such as EG800 and above.
Usually you will get a better deal(price and quality of guitar) with Burny than Greco.
Good Greco will always cost you more than good Burny. That's my opinion.
Each guitar is different from others. So you will need to check as many as you can and decide what's best for you.
As a player, I prefer larger frets and darker(prehaps Ebony) fingerboard. Fret edge binding is not big deal as even my Gibson guitars I own have refretted medium jumbo frets for better playability.
There are some Greco with no serial # from late 80's or early 90's and they come with larger frets from the factory than other Les Pauls and also have very dark fretboard.
I personally like them over most other Les Pauls.
They are cheaper too.
If you care about playability, stuff like that would be more important. At least that's my take.



cheers,
Adam
 
All good advice from Mustang! Fret-edge binding would be way down on the list of things to look for in a guitar. Plyability, sound and a cool finish are priorities to me, but everyone has their own opinions.
 
Hi Funkstylez, i got a reply from your seller regarding the greco,
"quote" Dear leadguitar_323,

Thanks for information but i ve burnt this fu.... japanese **** guitar
yesterday in my oven!!!

hahahahahahaha :p cranky prick... :eek:

Mick
 
Guess i'm not the only thing that got burnt by that auction then :wink:

Anyways, getting back on topic, Mark(Villager) has a lot of nice guitars for sale on his page.. including the 3 John mentioned.

However i kinda noticed and like THIS Burny he has for sale because of the V1's, the fact it's in excellent condition and the color:

Resized%20DSCF3124.jpg

Burny Les Paul Custom
Tobacco Sunburst
Late 80's
VH-1's <- everyone says these are good
Fret Binding
Plaintop <- plain in which way?
?450/?625/$900 EXC

The price is kinda low, so i'm kinda worried in which way it could be possibly inferior to for example the 3 guitars John listed, or the RR65 Mick mentioned before.. everyone says V1's are good pickups.. but i feel i missed something about it.. someone care to explain?
 
Ther is quite a difference between the original VH-1's and the later ones one the late '80's Burny's. That's not to say this is a bad guitar, it could well be pretty good but I wouldn't expect it to be a match for any of the guitars I mentioned, and would very much doubt it would be up to 'real Gibson' standards.

It's also a 'custom' rather than a standard, 'real' customs were all mahogany. but I would expect this one to have a maple cap so sound more like a standard, even so I personally don't care for the look of sunburst customs.

Like everything in life you get what you pay for and that guitar is ?450.00
 

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