LP clones - Tokai, vs. Epi Elitist vs. Edwards vs. Greco?

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Never played an EPI Elitist.

Love Greco Les Pauls but they are too heavy for me.

Have 4 Tokai Les Pauls (Reborn, LS150 and two P90 Goldtops). Superb. All of them. The LS150 is easily at par or above with Gibson's VOS R8 or R9 models - for about half the price.

Have an Edwards Jimmy Page Les Paul. Without a doubt, one of the best Les Pauls I've ever owned - from both a construction and tone standpoint. The icing on the cake is that it weighs in at an amazing 7.25 lbs - NON weight relieved.
 
the 2 edwards LPs I've had didn't have the fatness/sustain of a "real" LP whereas the epi elitist and tokai did...
 
Elios said:
And what about Orville?
They're said to be very good. Especially considering the fact that it is just japanese Gibson branch)

I couldn't fit orville onto the subject line! ;)
 
Jz, are you meaning vintage Grecos? That could have a bearing on the comparisons as the other 3 are pretty easy to get new or newish.

Also, does it have to be an exact clone? If not, the Bacchus Duke may be another option. Admittedly I have one of these which is a 1956 type Gold Top with P90s, and I think it's a brilliant guitar. There's also the Bacchus Vintage Series which are clones, but they are not all that common any more, and the prices will approach the cost of a second hand R8 in the US at the moment. :(

I would put the Bacchus Duke/Vintage Series and Tokai LS-150 on the same level as a Gibson Historic. The one spec they lack compared to Historics is a pure lacquer finish - only the top coat is lacquer, although Gibson are now mixing a lot of plasticisers into their nitro so this isn't so important. Vintage Grecos are said to be great, but you got to pay big money for one that doesn't have a veneered top. For me, it's got to be the original recipe, and that also means at least 8.5 lbs in weight, unless it is chambered and I'm buying it as a chambered guitar. Of course a veneered top, or nitro has virtually no effect on the tone of the guitar!

BTW - everybody should check out this guy's (Jz) Youtube pedal demos. He has done some great ones, and given a lot back to the guitar playing community through his efforts. Cheers! :)
 
I like a LP to have some weight to it.

If i pick one up and i think Christ thats heavy then that the start of a great LP. Light LP's (to me) is just wrong and shows a sign of cheapness.

if you want a light guitar buy a strat lol ( i dont like some Gibson LP's as there too light)

So any copy if its got some weight to it its the start of a good copy. But then it has to deliver on tone, build quality, and price.

But when it comes to price, it has to be at a price thats worth buying.
As in no point paying ?1500 + for a Gibson LP copy. as you may as well buy a Gibson.
 
mark1982 said:
I like a LP to have some weight to it.

If i pick one up and i think Christ thats heavy then that the start of a great LP. Light LP's (to me) is just wrong and shows a sign of cheapness.

if you want a light guitar buy a strat lol ( i dont like some Gibson LP's as there too light)

So any copy if its got some weight to it its the start of a good copy. But then it has to deliver on tone, build quality, and price.

But when it comes to price, it has to be at a price thats worth buying.
As in no point paying ?1500 + for a Gibson LP copy. as you may as well buy a Gibson.

To each his own.... a Les Paul doesn't have to be a boat anchor to be a superb guitar. :roll:

To me, a 4 hour gig with an 11lb piece of furniture strapped on me is torture. If you're a sit down or recreational player, no biggie.... but I've learned to appreciate a lighter Les Paul if I'm gigging with it.
 
marcusnieman said:
mark1982 said:
I like a LP to have some weight to it.

If i pick one up and i think Christ thats heavy then that the start of a great LP. Light LP's (to me) is just wrong and shows a sign of cheapness.

if you want a light guitar buy a strat lol ( i dont like some Gibson LP's as there too light)

So any copy if its got some weight to it its the start of a good copy. But then it has to deliver on tone, build quality, and price.

But when it comes to price, it has to be at a price thats worth buying.
As in no point paying ?1500 + for a Gibson LP copy. as you may as well buy a Gibson.

To each his own.... a Les Paul doesn't have to be a boat anchor to be a superb guitar. :roll:

To me, a 4 hour gig with an 11lb piece of furniture strapped on me is torture. If you're a sit down or recreational player, no biggie.... but I've learned to appreciate a lighter Les Paul if I'm gigging with it.

granted as with everything in life each to there own.

Maybe when i am older i may want to start thinking about a lighter guitar.
But for now its not affecting me but then again i am only doing 2 1/2 hour gigs twice a week. I dont think i could do 4 hours on stage we may have the songs for it but i dont think my fittness would be up to it. Far to much jumping and rocking out. LOL
 
villager said:
mark1982 said:
I like a LP to have some weight to it.

But when it comes to price, it has to be at a price thats worth buying.
As in no point paying ?1500 + for a Gibson LP copy. as you may as well buy a Gibson.

why?

+1,000,000
 
RyanC said:
villager said:
mark1982 said:
I like a LP to have some weight to it.

But when it comes to price, it has to be at a price thats worth buying.
As in no point paying ?1500 + for a Gibson LP copy. as you may as well buy a Gibson.

why?

+1,000,000

Why? Resale value. As much as I dislike Gibson, the market is 1,000,000x bigger than for tokai.
 
mark1982 said:
But when it comes to price, it has to be at a price thats worth buying.
As in no point paying ?1500 + for a Gibson LP copy. as you may as well buy a Gibson.

For ?1500 you get a Gibson Les Paul Standard, the equivalent of a Tokai LS85/90/95/100.
For ?1500 you get a LS150, the equivalent of a Gibson R8/9 Historic....miles beyond a Les Paul Standard.

In 1977 Tokais were copies, today they're replicas, they have a reputation that's taken 40 years to establish...I'd hardly call that a copy.
 
Guitarists are weird creatures.
They don't think about resale value when they buy a $15,000 car, but they think about resale value when they buy a $1000 guitar.

Meanwhile the car loses $1000 in value the minute you drive it out the showroom, and drops in value daily after you've bought it.
Eventually it lands up on a scrapheap or for sale in a "Used" car lot for 10% of it's original value, meanwhile you're still playing the $1000 guitar.
 
jzucker said:
Why? Resale value.

My bad. I was basing my comment off of build quality and playability of the instrument.

FWIW, I haven't lost money selling vintage MIJ's. :wink:
 
Diamond said:
In 1977 Tokais were copies, today they're replicas, they have a reputation that's taken 40 years to establish...I'd hardly call that a copy.

They have a mahogany neck and body, 18 degree headstock angle, maple top, tune-o-matic bridge with stop tail piece, 2 humbuckers with 3 way switching plus volume and tone for each pickup. I wonder where they got the idea for that? :lol: Oh yeah, they also look identical to a Gibson LP!

Replicas, clones copies - it's all the same thing.

However, they have a top reputation as a quality guitar builder that is all their own, but they do primarily produce the designs of others.
 
Diamond said:
Guitarists are weird creatures.
They don't think about resale value when they buy a $15,000 car, but they think about resale value when they buy a $1000 guitar.

Meanwhile the car loses $1000 in value the minute you drive it out the showroom, and drops in value daily after you've bought it.
Eventually it lands up on a scrapheap or for sale in a "Used" car lot for 10% of it's original value, meanwhile you're still playing the $1000 guitar.

That is so true! Thank you for reminding me that my car has lost value while I've been drinking my coffee - that's a great start to the day... :cry:

Not that there is a great choice with cars - buying a vintage Datsun Sunny wouldn't really solve the problem. :-?

Mike
 
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