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So there is a hole in my line up to be filled.
Might be worth taking a few measurements from the vintage so you can have it set up how you like it. Neck angles can vary etc.
I've got a lemon Drop and have looked at Gibbo too, but I've stuck with the Lemon Drop. It gives a very respectable, generic, 'Lester -like' sound. It looks okay. In terms of dimensions and weight, it's got a heft which I like, and which was something the cheaper Gibbos didn't have to my eye: they were a bit too demure looking for me after the Lemon Drop.
The crowning glory on that relic Lemon Drop is the neck. It's got a very light 'aged' type finish that makes it feels more or less unfinished or at most lightly oiled. It's a slim-medium '60s' style Gibbo neck I suppose, but with that thin finish it's comfy and slick. That was another massive factor in helping me decide to stay with it.
The Squier Classic Vibe Tele in the local shop has a slightly nicer neck with rolled edges, but other than that the Vintage feels and sounds just as good, if not better.
https://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/190581/spent-time-going-through-some-stuff-yesterday/p2
I’ve owned (and still own) a ridiculous amount of guitars, from super-budget to £4K+.
The bottom line is this - I’m not a brand snob. If a guitar feels ‘right’, plays well (or can be made to do so), sounds good (again, or can be made to do so), then I’m in. The End.
Let me give you an example...yesterday, I walked into my local guitar shop, TR Music in Walsall. I’ve known them forever and they always have a good selection of used stock. They’d just had in a S/H Indonesian Kramer Barrera Special in a rather funky shade of pink. Andertons now have these up @ £139. Admittedly, the guitar had been set up *really* well by Rob, their guitar tech, but, for a very much budget guitar, it played and felt great. I spent about 45 minutes with it and I’d have happily walked out of there with it and straight into a rehearsal or gig. I’ve had a lot of ‘80’s/‘90’s Shredders over the years (including loads of old Kramers) and the neck profile felt pretty much spot on.
The price? Under the £100 mark. Upgrade the pickup and hardware and you’d have a damn fine instrument.
Would it lead you down the slippery slope to vintage USA/MIJ Kramers? Maybe. Would you need to go there? Not necessarily.
The world of lower-range instruments is astronomically different to 40+ years ago when ‘budget’ usually meant ‘shite’ - Kays, Satellites, Columbus, Antoria, Eros, etc - plywood horrors with flimsy hardware, single coils in humbucker housings, indifferent fretwork, action so high it could also be played as a harp, etc. Not a great starting point.
I’ll stop rambling now, but basically, if you have a well-sorted lower/medium-range guitar, don’t rush towards a horizon littered with preconceptions about how much ‘better’ a Gibson LP (or whatever) might be. There *will* be aspects that are undoubtedly so, but it may not be the quantum leap you imagine...
HarrySeven - Intangible Asset Appraiser & Wrecker of Civilisation. Searching for weird guitars - so you don't have to.
Forum feedback thread. | G&B interview #1 & #2 | https://www.instagram.com/_harry_seven_/
I have more Gibson's than I have Vintage's, but the (pretty badly) 'reliced' Vintage PG Lemon Drop is a really great feeling & sounding guitar, full stop.
It has had a setup but is otherwise unmolested because it simply did not need anything done.
I guess I just like what I can find in any given guitar, rather than try to change them into an imaginary perfect ideal.
HarrySeven - Intangible Asset Appraiser & Wrecker of Civilisation. Searching for weird guitars - so you don't have to.
Forum feedback thread. | G&B interview #1 & #2 | https://www.instagram.com/_harry_seven_/
I actually don't feel the need to 'upgrade' to either the more expensive Squier or a fender either.
A similar finishing quirk is why I love my Squier Classic Vibe Tele. The neck and board are smothered in a gloss polyurethane finish. That'll put off a lot of players and purists, but for me it's great, it's like nothing else I've got and it's incredibly slick. For that reason (as we'll as the sound, natch) I've never met its personal match for feel among more expensive Fenders.
Edit: for me this is an age thing. When I was younger I may have been more concerned with wanting a specific name on the headstock. but with the experiences I've had I don't care: for me, feel trumps a lot of other factors.
when asked casually what guitar you have , a Gibson Les Paul will suffice as an answer without extended pre ambles into why your particular single cut is not just as good but better than the G word one . My epiphone is better than my Gibson tribute series was , a standard is something to aim for , in a color you like etc.
I’ll compare to my R8 and report back... Could be folly as I definitely bought this based on spec sheet, looks and this thread.
I just want one.