1978 LS80 Reborn V 1980 LS50 Love Rock

[fartoomany]

Ok, today was the first chance I have had to play both these guitars through an amplifier at the same time. Playability wise they are very similar as you would expect. (I have set them up with the same action strings etc,). The lack of fret binding doesn't make much difference to me.

Sound wise, both again have the same basic sound, and I have to say both are very good. I have an early humbucker equipped PRS McCarty which has always been my ultimate tone benchmark. It still is, but the reborn comes very close indeed (which is high praise in my book at least ).

The LS50 has a great tone, and fundamently it is very similar to the reborn. It is perhaps a little thinner sounding than the reborn, and lacks a little clarity and smoothness in comparison. It has a bit more "presence" than the reborn and I think in certain situations would cut through a bit more.

So in terms of upgrading the LS50, I am now considering whether it is worth investing in the lightweight tail pieces and brass ABR which have been talked about so much on here. I am also thinking of possibly replacing the circuitboard\caps etc. On the otherhand, I could just change the pickups?.

So what are your experiences of these mods, which would you go for first . Which in your opinion gives the biggest "bang for your bucks"?

 

[villager]

pots and caps ..easy and cheap...then PU...then tailpiece then bridge...

 

[plexirocker68]

Yep I second Villagers advice, in that order. You don't have to spend big money to make that guitar MUCH better. These are the simple, basic mods I do to my tokai's

Bob

 

[Ducati]

I would first try to set the guitars up properly, adjust pickup heights & polepieces. Adjust your amp, learn each guitar's strengths & weaknesses. If you can do setups yourself, it won't cost any money and it may save you from changing the guitars if you don't really need it.

 

[fartoomany]

I would first try to set the guitars up properly, adjust pickup heights & polepieces. Adjust your amp, learn each guitar's strengths & weaknesses. If you can do setups yourself, it won't cost any money and it may save you from changing the guitars if you don't really need it.

Thanks for the advice. The Reborn's setup was pretty much perfect when I had it. I spent a good few hours on the LS50 polishing the frets, setting the action (neck relief was spot on). I did have to adjust the bridge pickup height a tad as I had lowered the action a bit (it was quite high before hand)