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Hatsubai « A bit funky but still cool »
Published on 06/30/11 at 20:05The Double Cut Les Pauls were never too popular, and I believe it was because of their more radical design. They're not bad guitars at all, but you have to really dig the way they look. The guitar features a mahogany body with a maple top, a mahogany set neck with a rosewood fretboard, standard trapezoid inlays, 22 frets, a tune-o-matic bridge, two humbuckers, one volume, one tone and a three way switch.
UTILIZATION
This guitar was a bit used, so there was some fret wear going on. You could see the grooves in the frets, and for the guitar to play nicely, they should be leveled and recrowned. The ends were still nice, however. The nut itself was a bit too deep after all the years of the strings running through them, so it needed a new nut. Keep in mind that not all guitars will have these issues, but it's something to keep in the back of your mind in case you ever decide to buy one of these used.
SOUNDS
I wasn't a huge fan of the stock pickups in this thing. Then again, I'm not the biggest fan of Gibson pickups to begin with. The bridge was powerful, but it lacked what I usually look for in a bridge pickup. I like the pickup to be clear and tight, but it seemed to be voiced more towards the vintage side of things. The neck sounded decent, but I'd like it to be more powerful and smoother sounding. I'm a sucker for those ultra smooth guitar tones for leads, but that's probably because I use them as a bit of a crutch for lead playing.
OVERALL OPINION
They're a bit ugly, but they still deliver in terms of tone. They sound fat and play the part. Try to see if you can score a cheaper used one on eBay rather than buying in the store. You should get a much better deal that way. Or you could even search Craigslist and try to get it cheaper that way. Be sure to watch out for fretwork issues.
UTILIZATION
This guitar was a bit used, so there was some fret wear going on. You could see the grooves in the frets, and for the guitar to play nicely, they should be leveled and recrowned. The ends were still nice, however. The nut itself was a bit too deep after all the years of the strings running through them, so it needed a new nut. Keep in mind that not all guitars will have these issues, but it's something to keep in the back of your mind in case you ever decide to buy one of these used.
SOUNDS
I wasn't a huge fan of the stock pickups in this thing. Then again, I'm not the biggest fan of Gibson pickups to begin with. The bridge was powerful, but it lacked what I usually look for in a bridge pickup. I like the pickup to be clear and tight, but it seemed to be voiced more towards the vintage side of things. The neck sounded decent, but I'd like it to be more powerful and smoother sounding. I'm a sucker for those ultra smooth guitar tones for leads, but that's probably because I use them as a bit of a crutch for lead playing.
OVERALL OPINION
They're a bit ugly, but they still deliver in terms of tone. They sound fat and play the part. Try to see if you can score a cheaper used one on eBay rather than buying in the store. You should get a much better deal that way. Or you could even search Craigslist and try to get it cheaper that way. Be sure to watch out for fretwork issues.