which Korean Les Paul copy do you think is best?

Walmart does not mark things up 100%. They operate on a very small profit margin, like 3-4 %. But 1% of 100 billion is 1 billion, so I would say that
3-4 billion is a large profit. You can easily see what they mark up products. Get to know someone who works there and and marks the prices on products. That little machine they have can tell you their profit/loss on the product. I know for a fact on almost everything in the electronics department they take a loss. This is because they know while you are there you will get a couple of other things that will more than make up for the difference.
But back to the subject at hand. I don't understand why people say that it only cost x amount of $ to make something only taking into account the cost of materials. Have you ever priced a CNC machine. They ain't cheap I could imagine. Also you have more over head like employees, rent for your place of buisness and you need to eat too. So just taking into account the cost of materials they might only cost $10 - $15 to make, but add in everything else , insurance, maintance, rent, payroll, things add up and you don't make the kind of profit that people think you really do.

See thing is, there isn't a straight answer for this becuase there are many variables changing string guages effects on the guitar. The neck tension is changed, the nut has to be recut or possibly replaced, and the tension on the tremelo springs is different. Once you adjust all of those, and get the action you want, then you intonate. Otherwise your guitar will be way out of wack. You seem to be assuming that all other variables stay the same when you change strings guages, but it just isn't so. Lots of variables come into play when you do this so you can't make one cure all product to help with this. Not putting a trem system on the gutiar will help take away one varaible, but other variables will still be there.

I meant one of each operation being performed per saddle. 500,000 saddles, 1,000,000 die operations.

A very good sized profit, but this would appear to be an immense King
Kong sized profit. I'm only saying that they could very easily be undercut price wise by a new and motivated manufacturing operation.

No one wants to be a small time chimpanzee, but most are satisfied with being an 800 pound gorilla. Anything bigger than that is just asking to be defeated by the first fast and smart 800 pound gorilla to come along and kick King Kongs ass, all the while saying "the bigger they are the harder they fall". Kong might be able to kick the gorilla's ass, but not if he can't catch him. He has to catch him first. So both the chimp or the gorilla has a sure advantage over
Kong just by staying more than an arm's reach of him.

No doubt. Someone told me once that Wal-Mart doesn't sell anything unles they make at least a 100 percent markup on it. It wouldn't surpise me.

Yes. I used to do carbon die EDM, surface grinder, and checking the
CNC setup, so I should have said that properly. I don't have the CAD / CAM programming experience to get a job, but I could wing it well enough on my own if I had my own CNC machines. Most of my machine experience is broaching machine, surface grinders, lathe. Never tried a milling machine for some reason.

Now don't let's not be putting words in my mouth now. I was just trying to say a new startup venture could easily kick the current manufacturer's asses with a better product at a lower price.
Evolution good, dinosaurs bad.

If someone can figure out how to make a buck, especially legally, more power to 'em I say. But I wouldn't want to have to still be driving around in a Ford Model T in 2003 either or have to fly coast to coast in a DC-3. Esecially if I had to pay what a Lexus costs to buy the
Model T, or what a 767 costs to buy a DC-3

now you are really screwed http://www.infernalpress.com/Columns/election.html
http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0307/S00065.htm

Just remember there is no laws or prisons to stop or confine those tuning mandolins like guitars. I was once accused of this so called dastardly deed but I escaped with most of my hide and to this I say- "ONCE A GUITAR PLAYER ! ALWAYS A GUITAR PLAYER EVEN ON A MANDOLIN!"

Now off to my GIG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !

Anybody got any background info on the 50 watt Invader Vintage drivers found in Laney 4X12 cabs?

Hello twangers. I've been practicing my recording skills.
http://www.thatllteachyou.com/movs/georgia.m3u

Paste the url above into your browser to stream my version of Georgia on my Mind, done on my Gibson J-50 and my resonator. If you're interested, of course. Gibson in dropped D, resonator in standard tuning.

The classic Rock/modern rock band I'm in is the type where we've all played the standby's so much that we cringe at the thought of doing them again (Gimme Three Steps, Mony Mony, Tush, Old Time Rock and Roll, Etc., etc.).

These are all great songs for sure but we tried to come up with a set list a little different, yet include songs where people can still dance.

But now we're at the point of adding some more songs and we're kind of stuck with suggestions.

Danceable, yet not overplayed. I know we may be shooting ourselves in the foot by trying to do this, but we're gonna give it a shot.

For our present set list check out sundogrocks.com to give you a better idea of the songs we do and the road we wanna try and stay on.

White Wedding is the latest tune were gonna learn and I think it will do well, I hope!

Thanks for any suggestions!

2002 model Hand Crafted JIM REED Les Paul.Solid Mahogany Body and neck.Beautiful perfectly Book Matched Flamed Maple Top,Flamed Mahogany Set
Neck,Rosewood Fingerboard,Handlaid Abalone inlay fret markers and headstock inlay.Kent Armstrong PAF Humbuckers.7 ply cream binding front,back and head stock!!Vintage looking Custom Hardshell Case with Lock and Keys.Quality all the way.Read the reviews on H.C about these guitars..Lots of pics and spec's on request.Thanks

How much does an MIM Strat cost in the states?

In the UK they are £350.

I am thinking of ordering one from America as I imagine it will be a lot cheaper.

Any advice / tips?

any one have any opiniosn on these? I'm not exactly sure how they're supposed to be used.

Also I saw some funny pick - was it a JellyPick - in GuitarONE ..
looked like a bunch of thick wires jammed into some clear plastic rubber or something .. the ad said it could produce the sounds of 6 instruments?

What is *that* !??

thanks
-scott

Yeah, well as soon as Heritage make something that actually looks like a LP (their design is funky (that's funky-bad)) I may check em out.

I wonder what would happen if you emailed some very detailed pics of it to Gibson, explaining the neck trouble & about how you are an ardent life-long admirer of their guitars but puzzled as to how this one got by them? Would they make some kind of offer?

The sales receipt is long lost but I am the original owner.

Maybe there is a warranty issue with it.

Well, part of the reason may be that your Gibson LPs are from the early 70s. The LP I have is from 1977. I think that may have been their darkest hour.

The body is a sandwich as I have described with an obnoxious piece of thin plywood separating the upper and lower slabs of mahogany. The maple top didn't even bother trying to be bookmatched. It's composed of three pieces of maple rather than two. The frets are also another disaster. At that point in the decade they decided to go with really low frets. It makes for a very light touch but there is absloutely no room for a leveling job. It costs a fortune to maintain and you have to ask yourself: why bother?

One thing I would have to concede is that an Epiphone has a chance of being a better guitar than this Gibson is.

I think I am looking to find a buyer for this LP who just wants to look cool at a distance while playing rhythm guitar so I can invest in another LP.

I'm eyeing a Tokai or maybe one of the Elite LP Plus LPs.

Ever checked out any Tokais? They seem to be back in business with dead on clones floating around again.

Then learn to spell it then!

The bottom of the picture's neckwood is Mahogany. Follow it up and you'll see the distinct difference in the pieces. Nice little flame on the neck actually. That's a better picture than the one I recieved.
Oh, and I've built over 20 guitars with Maple necks and that one is flamed like many Maple necks are (on high end guitars I mean). I mean,
I doubt a Mexican Tele frinstance would have a flamed neck. So while I respect your opinion I gotta say - it's most probably maple. In fact
I'd almost bet money that there's maple in that there neck.

Never mind. I found one for auction on eBay, and it has a Korea sticker, but a different headstock shape? I won't comment on the neck markers and unusual finish (I actually talked the store down on the price of my Slash model because of the logo). If cosmetics don't kill it for you, these could be a good bargain.

Ok But I think many people are influenced by the sleazy commercials and excessive number of frivolous lawsuits.

You mentioned a twist in the neck that now seems better. Discuss that with the luthier. Unless it is severe, it can be dealt with. My concern would be if it isn't stable.

The pickups are always an issue.

Even if I were to buy an historical reissue, I might be questioning the choice of burstbuckers 1&2 vs. 2&3.

But it's not like you can't sell the stock pickups on ebay if you don't like them.

And yes, this I agree with also, and Jim seems like a pretty decent guy, but my point remains about the lowbrows of his profession.

Sorry, didn't mean to send you off to your dictionary
It isn't ignorance, its perception. Perhaps if more attornies got involved in policing the ethics of their peers through professional organizations, the public perception wouldn't be what it is. All that money spent on billboards and embarrassingly bad television spots could be used to reeducate the public, don't you think? Ask any man on the street, and I'll bet 9 out of 10 will give you the same answer about
Attorneys.

Well I've owned both Epis and Gibsons (Not the Epi Elites though).
Both are great for their respective prices but there are a few misconceptions here.

Epi Les Pauls (not Elites) have Mahogany bodies (not Honduran) and
Alder Tops with a Maple veneer on top of that. Some even have Alder bodies. Anyone at Epiphone would gladly fill you in on that fact (as they once did for me). I don't care if you pulled your Epi apart and scientificly tested each piece, it is not made of the same materials as a Gibson Les Paul.

Gibson Les Pauls do not have Maple necks. Theirs are usually Honduran
Mahogany. Whatever Les Paul book you are reading from - it's wrong. Go to the Gibson site and check for yourself. A few Les Paul Customs in the past have featured Maple necks (70s models) and of course the Zakk
Wylde Signature Bullseye Les Paul has an unfinished Maple neck.

The number one thing to remember about an LP is the wood it's made out of. It's where the guitar gets it's distinctive tone from. Gibsons feature Honduran Mahogany bodies and necks (as opposed to the African
Mahogany Bodies of the Elites - just a point of trivia there not that it means much) and a 3/4 Maple top. There are many decent copies but you'd be lucky to find a good one for under $600. And that's used.
Mind you the Dean EVO is quite good. I suggest checking one of those out. Any questions send me an email.

Actually, the way the factory drawings from the Fender site showed the
Guild and DeArmonds to be wired up was a variation of the LP wiring that is recommended as an upgrade to standard LP wiring by some people. (I think that www.guitarnuts.com has a drawing that shows how to do it).

You connect the output of the pickup to the centertap rather than to other exteme end of the POT. The signal is then taken from the other extreme end of the POT (extreme end from ground that is) rather than from the center tap as in standard LP wiring.

The most obvious feature of this wiring is that when you have the switch in the center position, rolling down the volume on either POT all the way to zero doesn't completely cut off the output from the other pickup.

That's the obviously good thing about that wiring. The other thing it does is present the pickup with a gradually decreasing load to ground as you roll off the volume. That effects the tone. So it may or may not be what you want to do with a pickup with an already full bottom like a duncan '59.

I can't figure out from the Guild website whether those are Duncan 59s or special OEM Guild pickups not available to the general public. They have 3 screw mountings like Guild pickups, so maybe they are designed to sound like Guild pickups rather than PAFs.

But then again, all of the DeArmonds I owned were *really* wired like
LPs.

I never had a Guild in my hands so I don't know if the factory drawings for the Guilds were right or not.

Actually, when I said I don't know why people get emotional, I didn't mean you in particular. I was referring to the gazillion other emotional Epi/Gibson threads in the past. Did you participate in any of them?

Quite frankly I am on the same page with you. I am looking for a decent value guitar to fill the LP slot in my collection/closet arsenal.

But why do people have to go overboard and act like an Epiphone LP only differs from a Gibson LP with regard to the quality of the pickups and tuners? It's not just the precise geometry of the wood design that differs, but also the "quality" of the wood. The resonance of the wood.

An Epi LP differs from a Gibson LP in enough ways that all the other
LP copies are at least worthy of consideration. Some of the other copies even cost more than an Epi. The ESP Ec-1000 is an example.

Darnit Jim, you are a lawyer! Go out and buy a Gibson. You deserve one!

LOL! Maybe it should be "Nimwit" ?

Ok. First offas Jim says it will feel harder and heavier than a normal
Mahog neck. Another feature is the back 'should' be finished natural.
I only say this because one of the Maple necked LP Customs I have seen (yours is a custom right?) the wood finish is very light and natural.
IE it's not the same colour as the body. Mind you, this is just on the creme Custom I saw.

If you close your eyes, is it a PLAYER?
That's the only issue, as far as I know.

One of the best LPs I've ever played was one of the ones that makes collectors sneer:
Sandwich body, maple neck, big-ass volute...EVERYTHING that makes certain
70's LPs undesirable.
Too make it worse, it was a Deluxe, but someone somewhere along the line carved out the pickup routes ( I think with a spoon...it wasn't pretty!) and installed aftermarket Duncans. Also the original tuners had been replaced with Grovers ( to me, that's a plus).

The guitar was a great PLAYER though. Beat to hell. Guitars don't get like that unless people love to play it.

Anyway, it's your guitar, but the three piece top, poorly bookmatched, and maple neck don't really matter. If you dig playing it, might as well hold on to it. If you come across a great LP with the feature set you want, buy it,
THEN think about selling this one...bird in the hand! Keep it in your hand, until AFTER you've got another.

I must have gotten lucky thrice - I've had a 72 LP Deluxe and a 72
Custom that were both great guitars.

My current LP is 1 71 Deluxe routed for Humbuckers. It's absolutely killer.

¤ Alias www.dannyschorr.com

Well, your terminology is fairly precise here and hard to refute.

I don't have a gazillion dollars to throw at each guitar but at this point a couple of my entry level guitars are lining up at eBays door waiting to be recycled into something new.

(Anybody interested in a well cared for DeArmond M-72 or M-70?)

What's frustrating about this "brand name" entry level guitar stuff is how crafty the companies are in hiding the inferiority of their second tier offerings.

I think the internet has improved the situation somewhat. With places like Harmony-Central, these NGs, and even the Gibson and Fender websites you can really know exactly what you are buying when you go shopping.

This year Fender started offering MIM Tele's and Strats which feature
Alder bodies. And for those who think the polyester finish on the
Alder body is still a sore point (ruining the tone), they offer Satin finishes on the Alder bodies (this is all at the same entry level price).

I wish Epiphone would throw us a couple of entry level bones like that!

Hmmm, I have also heard that they are no longer made in
Kalamazoo. If they are, in fact, made in Asia somewhere then you have now proven, that I was even more on target than
I originally thought. Thanks.