Hervé Prudent Lutherie Gypse

Made in 1990 in Besançon (25)
Carved mahogany body / table and carved flamed maple back.
Seymour Duncan SH-AH (Channel) + SH9-Silverbird (Bridge) (both are no longer in the catalog)
2 volume / 2 tone
Vibrato Kalher / mechanical locking Spertzel.
Driver Channel 22 frets maple, ebony fingerboard, 43 mm at nut, 59 mm cargo 22, thickness about 20 mm from the 1st to the 15th cargo.

UTILIZATION

The handle is very nice, very close to my Les Paul Artisan 1979, which for me is a reference in the field, but with a twist: slightly larger mid-bass strings and half are less acute near the edges, allowing the effects of lateral tremolo.
Access to the last fret is a semi-hollow, it must do some finger gymnastics, heel located at the 20th cargo.
The cabinet is made from solid pieces of mahogany and maple, weight (3.8 kg) is slightly more so than a traditional model, but no relation with my Les Paul (5.4 kg).
The ergonomics are good: the buttons position, balance of the instrument ...
... and sound: see below.

SOUNDS

Seeking a versatile instrument, I chose a half box that provides more than a solid body attack.
The neck-to which are fixed microphones and the tailpiece enhances sustain, but also eliminates the feedback inhering in this type of instrument.
I use a tube preamp Lag Spitfire, a Quadraverb More Alesis (not a GT), an Alesis RA-500 amp attacking two speakers, each equipped with an HP EVM12L.
With it (almost) all the sounds are allowed, clear sounds as "strata" (SH-9!) sounds heavy (and feedback!) Through no jazz or blues sounds (SH-AH), rock, hard -fm ...

OVERALL OPINION

It is now almost 17 years I have acquired, after having had several Stratocaster, an Ibanez George Benson, a Les Paul is the only one I use regularly, even if sometimes I plug in the Les Paul, it s' so accustomed to have a vibrato ...
The price of € 3,000 (at the time, 20,000 francs) is closer to that of a Gibson ES-335 (with no vibrato and feedback easily) ... you conclude.
If it again? In 1990 I was hesitating between buying a Gibson and to make my guitar by a luthier.
Today I would ask myself the same question and I would not directly to Mr Prudent!

PS: I just change the pickups for EMG-HZ (passive - because I do not know where to put a battery) and replace the preamp with a Peavey RockMaster Lag "all lamps".
The range of sounds was further enriched: the hottest jazz sounds with the neck pickup, and sounds totally saturated with the metal bridge pickup.