Modern takes on the Les Paul

nathan_393

nathan_393

Inspired
In my last thread, I made a comment

I love Les Pauls, but wish they were more modern in build.
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It was very politely suggested to me in a message that I should make a whole thread on this topic. I was thinking, in lines of this, that it would be worth my time getting my hands on a McCarty 594, but I could maybe do better.

What companies are making great Les Paul instruments with modern features? I have heard a little about Knaggs, and I'm very familiar with the McCarties, but that's about it.
 
I would love to have a guitar inspired by a Les Paul, but with a carved neck heel and a deeper cutaway for comfortable upper fret access, plus stainless steel frets. Schecter and ESP fit the bill for me, but here's what I've found in my searches:

CMG Guitars have a deep cutaway for better upper frets access, and they're affordable and well made. I played several at a dealer in Denver, but I never plugged one in. I spoke to Chris Mitchell, and they will make customs with stainless steel frets, plus just about anything you want to do except for a Floyd. Very cool company.

I like the ESP thin and full thickness single cuts, but I can't find anyone talking about one sounding like a Les Paul. I wonder about how close you can get. I imagine you could get one to sound like a Paul, but I'd like to find a forum post somewhere where an owner confirms that they've done that!

PrecisionGuitarKits.com has a Les Paul kit based on the tun-o-matic Gibson Les Paul Axcess with the carved neck heel, and that's really tempting to me: https://precisionguitarkits.com/product/ax-carved-top-mto

But I've read some posts by owners of the tun-o-matic Axcess that it still doesn't have the thick tone a tradtional Les Paul is known for.

The Schecter Solo-II is available with a tun-o-matic or a Floyd (I think in their Apocalypse series), and that looks great because you've got a deeper cutaway plus a carved neck heel, so upper fret access looks like it would be good. Plus, it seems like all Schecters that are made in Korea have stainless steel frets, and these Solo-II guitar do have stainless steel frets.
 
Here's my custom made hybrid guitar that has the shape and thinness of a Gibson L5-S but made with the mahogany body and neck with a maple cap of a Les Paul. The L5-S's were all maple. I've never gave it a name, so I'm open to suggestions. BtF8A164AD-FE23-4F93-9D4B-276C738CADA9_1_201_a.jpegw it's 1" at the edge and 1 5/8" in the center and very light. The p/u's are Seth Lovers.
 
Interesting that folks are chiming in with ESP and Schecter. My impression of those companies is that they make singlecut guitars for heavy music, and they don't really do the vintage LP with modern bodies thing.

Any love for Knaggs?
 
nathan_393 said:
In my last thread, I made a comment



It was very politely suggested to me in a message that I should make a whole thread on this topic. I was thinking, in lines of this, that it would be worth my time getting my hands on a McCarty 594, but I could maybe do better.

What companies are making great Les Paul instruments with modern features? I have heard a little about Knaggs, and I'm very familiar with the McCarties, but that's about it.
Click to expand...
For a modern LP, would the Les Paul Modern be in the right direction for you? https://www.gibson.com/en-US/Electric-Guitar/USAQ17249/

Collings comes to mind, but not really modern. The McCarty 594 might scratch the LP itch.
 
nathan_393 said:
Interesting that folks are chiming in with ESP and Schecter. My impression of those companies is that they make singlecut guitars for heavy music, and they don't really do the vintage LP with modern bodies thing.

Any love for Knaggs?
Click to expand...
I had a Knaggs Kenai that was a great guitar.
 

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I have one Schecter (an Ultra III) and that has created an itch for exploring more of their models. Specifically the Solo II Custom looks interesting. It's got a compound radius neck (12-16"), coil splits, and the p/u's are described as hotter PAFs. Not sure how far you are wanting to stray from a traditional LP.
 
nathan_393 said:
In my last thread, I made a comment



It was very politely suggested to me in a message that I should make a whole thread on this topic. I was thinking, in lines of this, that it would be worth my time getting my hands on a McCarty 594, but I could maybe do better.

What companies are making great Les Paul instruments with modern features? I have heard a little about Knaggs, and I'm very familiar with the McCarties, but that's about it.
Click to expand...
In the PRS line that's 'modern' in pickups anyway, the PRS Tremonti I have with it's pups lowered isn't as metal/ aggressive sounding as the name on it may imply. I love this guitar. Here's a little clip of it having that good LP bite/ snarl and the right amount of ass for the key of A for me. Eastman has gotten some good press.

https://filedn.com/lBWz9Sa82UTJ11C5mKLOtdh/Sound Clips/PRS PT Test.mp3
 

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nathan_393 said:
Interesting that folks are chiming in with ESP and Schecter. My impression of those companies is that they make singlecut guitars for heavy music, and they don't really do the vintage LP with modern bodies thing.

Any love for Knaggs?
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Let’s take a step back. What are you looking for? An LP with a different shape? You want a mixture of vintage and modern, but.. vintage and modern what? What do you want to keep about the Les Paul, and what do you want to change? My take so far is that you want an actual LP with a different shape, but I don’t really know.
 
Rex said:
Let’s take a step back. What are you looking for? An LP with a different shape? You want a mixture of vintage and modern, but.. vintage and modern what? What do you want to keep about the Les Paul, and what do you want to change? My take so far is that you want an actual LP with a different shape, but I don’t really know.
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I like the McCarty 594 approach: classic tone, and make the shape more approachable. But I’m not looking for anything in particular so much as I’m just trying to stoke conversation on the topic, which I guess I should have been clearer on.

But I’m also only really aware of PRS in that space, so I’m hoping I’ll learn of approaches and builders I hadn’t considered.
 
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