What is your favorite single cut?

spagthorpe

Power User
No single cuts at the moment. I've had a couple of Gibson LPs in the past, and for one reason or another, never got along. One was a traditional, and the baseball bat neck and 10lbs just make it uncomfortable after an hour. The BFG was fun for what it was, and the HP...I don't know. The right person wanted it more than I did at the time. So, I'm kind of thinking of something new. If I don't find anything, maybe I'll go for an SG or some variant.

I know this board is kind of PRS heavy, so I'd imagine that might dominate, but I was sort of thinking about an ESP. Not LTD.
 
I switched from Gibson to PRS and never looked back after having had a bunch of Les Paul Customs, some ES-335 and 345 guitars, and an early SG.

My first PRS was a DGT, which is one of their best selling models. It's a double cut-away, but has that old PAF humbucker sound. Check out David Grissom's videos on YouTube if you want an idea how it sounds. Grissom spent years working with PRS designing that guitar and pickups, and that resulted in a real workhorse. See Tim Pierce's video about Grissom and the DGT.

After that I wanted a more traditional Les Paul sound, didn't want anything Gibson was making, so I found a PRS SC-245 which I think is a Les Paul killer. It's comfortable and sounds great with the stock pickups.

Also, here's a video of Davey Knowles, David Grissom and Lance Lopez. Knowles is playing a McCarty, Grissom is on a DGT and Lopez is on a SC-245 so you can get an idea of the difference in tone from each.

I'd recommend looking at PRS' S2 line if you find the core models too expensive. The S2 are really good guitars; I went with core models because I like the feel but everyone's tastes are different.
 
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I played a CMG guitar locally, and I really liked it. I did not plug it in, so I can't say how the tone is. Upper fret access is the reason I gave up on traditional Les Pauls; it hurt my wrist too much at the highest frets. CMG has fixed the upper fret access problem with a deeper cutaway, and they're made in the US. Best of luck in your search!
 
Also ESP LTD Eclipse. Easily my favorite single-cut (since it's my only one ;) ).

I like it's more modern shape and thinner body and hence lighter weight. Wasn't happy with the bridge JB pup though and literally just today swapped the pups out with a SD Slash Alnico II set. Like it so far!

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Dgt is great guitar. Easiest guitar I own and I own a lot to get a great classic bluesy rock singing tone from. lots of other tones, too.
Agreed. Mine is a beat-up '08 Goldtop (the "aging" was from its previous owner who was touring with it) with the moon inlays, and it sings. If I'm at a jam my friends like grabbing it and doing a set and threaten to steal it. It's my go-to and would be my desert-island guitar. I also had another '08 DGT in a pristine gorgeous 10-top cherryburst, but suffered anxiety because I could never decide which to take to play, so I finally gave it to my son-in-law who'd given it looks and touches that were... disturbing. He loves it, I have my goldtop, and everyone is happy.
 
If I could have any LP style guitar out there I'd want a Suhr Aura. Unfortunately, they cost $$$. Others worth considering would be the Nick Huber Orca, Knaggs Kenai, Grosh Set Neck, or Collings CL.
 
I love my DGT. Could never get along with Les Paul’s but love the sound. My DGT feels more like a strat, and has a great vibrato system. The only thing I don’t like is the placement of the pickup selector, but I will live with that.
 

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Don't discount the LTD ec-1000. I am a Gibson guy, I own 5 Les Pauls, Standard's, Traditional's, and classics. I discounted the LTD for a very long time because I was being a guitar snob and thought how good could it be? It's made in korea, it must be a cheap beginner POS. Boy was I wrong. It's one of my favorite guitar now.
 
My prs s2 satin sc is a dream. I loved my previous lp studio for comfortable neck but the s2 fits me better. Satin finish helps it be highly resonant. I bought it to back up my custom 22 for touring, but it handled better.
 
Had a 120th Les Paul for a few years. Great sounding guitar. Bought an LTD EC-1000. Sold the Les Paul. Not the biggest fan of single cuts, but I still have that EC-1000, and it slays. I'd probably only buy an ESP single cut from here on out.
 
I have a few Gibson reissues, and an LP Standard. The Standard is a nice guitar, but definitely doesn't match the reissues IMHO. It's going on the block.

I also have various PRSi - including a DGT and a McCarty 594. I don't think they sound or feel exactly the same as a good reissue. This is not a statement about the PRS sounding "bad" or not having "mojo" - they sound great, just not exactly the same.

But if I were heading back into a band/gigging situation, one of the PRS (DGT, 594, or a Cu24 with the 58/15 pickups) would be making the trip, not a reissue. They sound more than close enough, stay in tune better, are lighter, more durable, etc.

Funny thing is that I have a PRS SC but almost never play it. Have contemplated whether to sell it. Guess I should pull it out again.
 
I picked up a late 90's Japanese Burny Super Grade dirt cheap last Christmas and it does everything Les Paul I could ask and didn't cost me very much
 
Dude, until I got my Majesty last year, a PRS Singlecut was hands down the finest guitar I'd ever played. I'd say it was around 2004, and it was brand new, right off the factory floor (friend of mine knew the guy heading up artist relations at the time.) It was a Redish/Burgundy, Tiger Eye 10 top..., I think it was stop-tail, but I remember it had the 4-knob setup (cuz I remember they were arranged different than my Les Paul Custom.) When I got my 87 PRS Custom, used, back in the early 90's, I remember saying that if they'd design a guitar that had the beef/resonance of a Les Paul, combined with the playability of my PRS, that would be my dream guitar. Well, this Singlecut was IT! It literally SANG! The sustain was unbelievable, and it was SO easy to play, that I found myself moving around the neck without having to look at the fretboard nearly as much as I was used to. And getting a wide variety of different tones was so much easier than on my 87, which has the 5-way rotary knob and "sweet switch", which can give you a nice range of tones, but forget about quickly switching from one to another during a song! I got to use it for about a month, after which I remember checking out the street price, which at the time, was around $3200. I just couldn't take that leap. I'm pretty sure it was their top-shelf guitar at the time (aside from Private Stock), with the bird inlays, cream binding, locking tuners, etc.
 
I picked up a late 90's Japanese Burny Super Grade dirt cheap last Christmas and it does everything Les Paul I could ask and didn't cost me very much

That, or a Tokai Love Rock.

There's a lengthy thread on one of the LP forums about a burst fake - if I remember correctly one of the giveaways was the truss rod access; I think it showed evidence of being a Burny.

Edit: here is the thread mentioned - https://www.lespaulforum.com/index....g-the-authenticity-of-a-vintage-burst.214410/
 
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I’ma big fan of full body thickness LTDs, especially the Solnick sig.

That said, I picked up a LP standard 60s, and it’s addictive. While the LTDs are good, this 8 lb LP has that sound, if you know what I mean... decent workmanship too, for Gibson.
 
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