An Austin AU786 Vintage Rock Custom.
I was in a local pawn shop, shortly after a break-in depleted my stock of electric guitars. I saw this really pretty Les Paul knockoff behind the counter. What's that brand? Austin? Never heard of them. But I'm not one to worry about pedigree. I've learned that there are gems to be found regardless of the name on the headstock. So I asked them to let me check it out.
I couldn't fault the looks, fit or finish. Nearly mint, she had a pretty maple face that morphed from quilted to bird's-eye to plain maple, depending on how you looked at her. Three-piece abalone/mother-of-pearl inlays. Six-layer binding on the front, back and headstock. Felt wonderful to play.
I plugged her into a nearby Crate V30 (if you think all Crates suck, try a V30). The neck pickup sounded great. The bridge pickup was dead.
They were asking $180. I offered half of that, explaining that the required pickup fix could cost anywhere from $50 to $150 at a repair shop. They counter-offered: $100 and it never comes back again. I took the offer. As it turned out, the problem was a bad pot, which I replaced for a few dollars.
So why is a no-name knock-off guitar such a bargain? Because it plays and looks better than most of the real Les Pauls I've held in my hands. The stock pickups are also of that caliber. And it doesn't pretend to be something it's not; even an uninformed player will know it's not a Gibson Les Paul. An equivalent "real deal" would cost thousands.
Wind-up:
As cool as the "morphing-maple" finish is, I always longed for one with a more consistent quilted finish, and I finally found one. I had to pay more for this one: a whopping $130.
Feel, sound, fit and finish are identical.
Oh...did I mention the killer figured sapele backs?