The Gibson Les Paul has an iconic reputation as one of the worlds best rock and blues guitars due to the inspired playing of many legendary guitarists including the mighty Les Paul himself, Jimmy Page, Slash, Gary Moore and too many rock guitarists to mention. Unfortunately the price tag that comes with an original Les Paul is beyond the reach of all but the most wealthy aspiring guitarists so what alternatives are there for guitarists seeking the tone and vintage looks of this classic guitar?
Well these days there are quite a few alternatives to those guitarists willing to look past the name on the headstock. Here’s our top 5 kick ass alternatives to the Gibson Les Paul.
Schecter Solo-6 Classic Guitar
The Schector Solo-6 Standard electric guitar features a single-cutaway mahogany body, 24-3/4″ scale 3-piece mahogany neck, and a 22-fret rosewood fingerboard. A Schector Ultra Access neck joint lets you reach the entire fretboard with ease and comfort. The TonePros bridge system includes a Tune-O-Matic-style bridge with a stopbar tailpiece for stability and sustain. The Schecter Solo-6 Standard guitar is loaded with a Duncan designed HB humbucking bridge pickup with coil tapping and a P-100 single coil pickup for a combination of modern and vintage tones. Appointments include dot fretboard position markers, Schecter tuners, and chrome hardware.
Price: £649 (approx $900)
Tokai Love Rock LS90Q Electric Guitar
Tokai guitars caused a big fuss when they first came in to the UK in the early ’80′s. In fact they were so impressive, that one of the major American manufacturers took them to court to stop them producing such a good (and much cheaper) instrument. This took Tokai out of the market for a number of years and they have only recently started to manufacture this guitar again and its great to see them back.
The Tokai LS90Q Electric Guitar is Korean made and sports a stunning quilted maple top. The main body of the guitar is solid Mahogany with a one piece set Mahogany neck. The instrument has lots of natural sustain as you’d expect from a Les Paul style instrument and features Tokai’s famous build quality and attention to detail. We are sure it’s going have plenty of new fans at this price!
Price: £699
Washburn Idol WI 18
The Washburn WI 18 is part of the award winning Washburn Idol Series guitar range and is one of the cheapest guitars on offer here. The WI 18 is a modern take on the single cutaway and is quite innovative in its own way. A wider base allows a thinner body to be used without balance issues. The set neck allows a slim neck joint and offers comfortable access to the upper register. The WI 18 features a gorgeous quilted maple top, mahogany set neck, rosewood fingerboard with diamond inlays, Washburn humbuckers and a stop tail with Tune-O-Matic bridge. Whilst not in the same league as the Tokai or Schector its still worth checking as a secondary workhorse.
Price: From £280
Yamaha AES620
The Yamaha AES620 is probably the most distinctive looking guitar out of those reviewed here. It has won the coveted Guitar Player magazine “Editor’s Pick” Award, and the acclaimed Guitar One magazine “One” Award. The AES620 delivers the fat, punchy chord tones and the articulate, singing solo sounds only a Les Paul style set-neck guitar can deliver. The unique “body-through” bridge provides an interesting take on the stop bar taol piece yet is sturdy and reliable, something you would expect from Yamaha even at this price.
Price: From £295
Epiphone Limited Edition 1959 Les Paul Standard
Epiphone’s Les Paul Standard has been a true favourite with guitarists over the years with many favouring modified versions of the Epiphone to authentic Les Pauls. Epiphone’s Limited Edition “1959″ reissue however is a true authentic tribute to the original 1959 Les Paul and features a classic looks and a 1950′s rounded neck profile. As with traditional Les Paul Standards, the back of the body is solid Mahogany while the top is a carved Hard Maple cap. To make it more affordable however, a premium AAA grade flame Maple veneer is attached capturing the true “beauty of the burst.” To round things off the guitar is also fitted with a pair of Gibson U.S.A. BurstBucker pickups that help replicate the sound of Gibson’s original “Patent Applied For” pickups – the pickups that gave the ’59 Les Paul Standard its legendary sound. At a very reasonable price this is a guitar definitely worth checking out.
Price: £619
The Tokai looks just like the Gibson Les Paul. Theyre almost identical!
The Tokai is a beautiful instrument in it’s own right and in my opinion better than the Epiphone.
Another awesome brand of guitars are Atlas guitars, they’re a bit more pricey than these ones, but they’re all individually hand made and are probably better than real Gibson and they’re a few hundred quid cheaper. I’m thinking of getting one
Hi David, those Atlas guitars look amazing and they have quality components. I’ve emailed for price information and will post more info on here as soon as I know more. Thanks for the feedback
Some of the epiphone can be better than a lot of gibsons. For example the epiphone limited edition 1959 les paul http://www.officialguitarbuyersguide.com/?p=63
Schecter makes some really great guitars, as does Epiphone. I would recommend those two Les Paul clones.