Finally, a Les Paul I can live with

Hey all:

For decades now I've wanted a Les Paul, and pretty much hated every maple-topped one I tried. (Too heavy, too awkward, too something ...) The only LP that ever really got me was a friend's '50s Special. A heavy, battering ram of an instrument. Solid, basic, with p/us that frightened small children.

So this one came along. An Orville, made in Japan, mid '90s:





First impressions: It's a solid, balanced instrument, handsome too. Excellent wood, well put together, neck carve and fretboard feel is just right. Medium size, well rounded frets. About 8 pounds. The P-90s are Japanese made, and turn out to be not the throwaways I half expected. This thing has the right vibe. Tuning was dead stable, until I started changing tunings. At that point it became clear an upgrade is in order there. I'll probably put in better caps, and lower the action a touch. Big, meaty tones. It was not expensive, feels better made than Gibson stuff costing twice this or more.
MD

MD

Hi Michael; pretty cool LP! Greco, Burny, and Orville were the greatest falsifiers of Gibsons. It's said that Ibanez was the target of the lawsuit but it was obviously intended to put the fear of Confuscius (Buddha?) in all of them. John

That's pretty nice MD. I love the clean simplicity of it. I'm a fan of the unadorned utilitarian aesthetic--boring to some, but beautiful to me. I do like the neck binding on it, but that's also a functional thing for me. The edges of the neck on my LP are ragged. Kinda funny how so many collectors are after that figured maple top, because I think the all-hog LPs sound killer.

It took me a while to find an LP that I liked too (that cost less than $2K :x ). My secret fave is the 90s Les Paul Studio Lite. Weighs in at about 7.5lbs., slim-60s neck, ebony fretboard with trapezoid inlays. It kind has a 90s hard rock thing going that needs to be tweaked. Pickups are open 496R and 500T, a little too hot for my tastes. Hoping to score some used Burstbucker Pros to swap in, and I'm going to change the black hardware to chrome. An added plus that it cost only $650.

JP:

I never did get to try that studio lite LP. Sounds like it would be a good one. Thought the Studio Gem would be the one that would do it, but didn't happen. The ergonomics and feel of the carved top models just defeat me. The Special is different. As you say, basic. That ultimately was why I finally decided to try one, that and the P-90s.
MD

sorry, this is ltg:



the better les paul. :twisted:

krysh said:

sorry, this is ltg:



the better les paul. :twisted:

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Actually krysh, I'd dump my LP any day for one of these.



If I could only find one cheap

I feel your pain jp.

krysh said:

sorry, this is ltg:



the better les paul. :twisted:

Click to expand...

Yummm !!

Any more pictures please Michael ?

I can just see my "S-100" project looking something like that !

click on the picture...
holly sh..!

tomek said:

click on the picture...
holly sh..!

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Ah yes Tomek !

Thank you.

Nice score MD. Did you every try one of the no frills all hog Gibby Studios in the worn cherry or worn brown? I picked one up a few years back when Musicians Friend was blowing them out. With some discount at the the time I think I paid around 600 bucks. It has the carved hog top over hog body, '59 style slightly chunky neck, and the burstbucker pros. Fret edges were rough and it needed a set-up but it is a great guitar for the money. Very under rated in my opinion.

Bluesdan:

Think I did try one of those awhile back. Not sure why, but the carve-topped ones feel so strange to me. Usually too heavy, awkward ergonomics. It's the feel thing that always stops me cold with Les Pauls. The moderate weight on this Orville makes it much more welcoming somehow.
MD

Nice guitar! I'm still kicking myself for not getting the "real" LP Special a friend of mine was selling for a great price more than 10 years ago.

I don't mind carved tops if the guitar's not too heavy - it's the humbuckers in all those LP's I don't get along with!

Never played a Les Paul that could compete with one of these.



My twins.

I like all those, but I really like my Custom Les Paul I bought about 35 years ago . . .



Aint nothin like the real thing baby!

mad dog said:

JP:

I never did get to try that studio lite LP. Sounds like it would be a good one. Thought the Studio Gem would be the one that would do it, but didn't happen. The ergonomics and feel of the carved top models just defeat me. The Special is different. As you say, basic. That ultimately was why I finally decided to try one, that and the P-90s.
MD

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If you ever get the chance, try one out. I forgot to mention that it's called a Lite because there's a chromyte (read "balsa") block in the center to reduce weight. However, I don't think it lacks in sustain or tone. What I like about the Special is the flat top, like an SG. It just feels good. However, to harken back to my Guild roots, Guilds seem far more consistent than Gibby's. Any Guild I pick up is usually spot on. I have to play at least 15 LPs before I find one I like. This also means S100 over an SG any day of the week. Have fun with your Special!

Update on that Orville:

Just got it back from a tech tuneup. Installed new tuners (Tonepros/Klusons), new pots & caps, most important, swapped out the not-at-all-bad stock P-90s for Harmonic Design VP-90s.

These HD pickups are sweet as hell. Very much on the vintage side tonally, but they have their own flavor too. Kind of like how the Lollar P-90s are similar to oldies, but not quite. This was already a solid, fine guitar. Now it's even better. If you get a chance to try Harmonic Design pickups, take it. Between these VP-90s and the Z-90 HB sized P-90s on my Dearmond M-72, I'm quite impressed with their stuff.

MD