Arbor Les Paul Copy

This is a beauty, a flawless flamed top sunburst finish (Ace Frehly)
H/H stock pickups, which are good for me, they can be easily changed if need be. Four controls, 2 tone ,2 volume knobs in a gold finish, rhythm/treble selector switch (creme finish), bridge, tuners, all hardware seem to be decent quality and will stand up for a lot of years, 23 medium frets on a rosewood fretboard, inlays are not perfect and are slightly out of alignment (crooked) but if made in korea or china this is probably why... no big deal anyway...setneck looks like mahogany as like the body. Overall,they did a fine job for this Les Paul copy.

The sound is what to be expected from a Les Paul, real good! Almost surprising, Switch and pickups work great from Lead to ryhthm, a nice distortion sound with my Danelectro Fab pedal. No unwanted electronic feedback at all through my Crate 60watt amp. A variety of sound is possible, clean to dirty to loud and mellow...

Pretty easily played with nice low and fast action. This was purchased second hand with only a few hours on it, so it was almost new when I got it. It needed tuning but no other adjustments have been made, and seems to be good for now. I tune it more often than not as it does go out after a few heavy riffs. Really its pretty decent for the Money paid, can't expect to much... Everyone has there own feel to equipment and tools...

The finish seems to be heavy, so I'm sure it would last, like anything I have owned, TLC is the key to longevity...I think live wouldn't be an issue, but would always have a backup.

Don't know to much about the company, but if I needed repairs, local repair shop would be the place...Anyone somewhat handy could easily change pickups, tuning pegs or bridge, and have the repair shop set it up from there, done that lots of times with no problems later.

I've been playing guitar for approx. 20 years off and on and owned 3 other electric guitars in the past 2 Lp copies and a Strat. All where a joy to play except 1 of them, the LP copy, it didn't have a name of manufacture or it was removed, it was tampered with and abused. This time for $150 I have no complaints, extremely good value. I would have paid $200 if I knew its feel and sound properties. In the past, some of the Les Paul copies that I have tried out and owned were not balanced and didn't really saddle nicely, this one does... and set necks do make a difference. Would like to try a Ibanez next time around....

ARBOR MANUFACTURER FOUND!!!!!

Here is a write-up I found. After it I will add what I found out.

"Arbor guitars were founded in 1984 in Osaka, Japan by an ex-Ibanez president and an ex-Yamaha manager. A factory was purchased in Hamamatsu, Japan where guitars were produced from 1984-1986. They were forced to sell the company in the 3rd year of production due to lawsuits that were immediately filed by both Fender and Gibson, jointly. Production was moved to Korea by the new owners."

Music Corporation or www.musiccorp.com is the Main/Sole importer of the guitars from China and per my phone conversation with a sales rep. is the company that owns the right to distribute the guitars. This means that any company selling ?Arbor? line of guitars purchase them from Musiccorp. The company that owns the design rights, per the sales rep. at Music Corp., is in Korea which adds validity to the statement above. Music Corp. has been the sole seller of the Arbor collection since 2003 to date and every guitar they have sold since 2003 comes from China.

BIG FYI: The AP230 and AP230CS (LES PAUL) whole sale price is $165 per the sales rep so if you get the guitar from where I did you are basically paying $15 over cost. GREAT DEAL!!!

Hope this helps everyone :-)

Year: Born in December of 2004 in Korea, she's coming up on her first birthday.
Frets: 22
Top: Solid flametop
Controls: 2 volume, 2 tone, 3-way pickup selector
Pickup config: H/H
Woods: unknown body, rosewood fretboard
Finish: Cherry sunburst over a flametop body
Body style: Les Paul, but with a pointed cutaway and different knob locations to a Les Paul.
Bridge style: Tune-o-Matic
Tuners: unknown
Neck: I'd say the neck is fairly thin, but then again, I have very large hands. Jumbo frets on a rosewood fretboard.
Accessories: I was given a cable and a gig bag by my guitar retailer, but he's a really good friend of mine so I'm pretty sure that it wasn't originally with the guitar. The guitar itself came with a hex tool truss rod adjustor.

I'm using a Danelectro Honeytone miniamp and a Johnson Reptone 15w solid-state amp. She can sound as bright and twangy as a Strat, but as dark and sweet as the Les Paul she was made to be. With the Johnson amp, she gave me a very honey-like sound if I wanted it, thick and sweet, but I could also make her scream for mercy like Jimmy Page's #1. I couldn't ask for a better sound from even a Gibson. In fact, this guitar, which I've christened Gertrude, has a sweeter voice than almost every Gibson I've played (save the 1975 Les Paul I played in the store one time).

The guitar was fairly well set up at the factory. The pickups weren't very well adjusted at the factory, but I set them to my own liking using a screwdriver. The bridge was amazingly set up, I didn't have to change a thing with the intonation. I only had to raise the bridge action with 2 turns of a screwdriver on each side.

The biggest problems I've had with Gertrude, however, were the frets. First, they would always buzz, no matter how high the action was. I finally fixed that problem by tapping the frets down just a wee bit, and that problem was no more. But then after I'd done that, the frets started to literally cut into my fingers whenever I'd slide my hands up or down the neck while doing barre chords. It got to be a major pain in the arse after a while, not to mention in the finger. I couldn't play her at all for fear of her frets cutting me. The problem was fixed by filing the frets down just a wee bit, though.

Other than that though, she was set up brilliantly. The finish is absolutely fantastic, although sadly no photograph has been able to do her any justice. She came with a pretty nasty chip down under the bridge pickup volume knob, but the bare wood was sealed with a laquer pen and you'd hardly even notice it nowadays.

I've played Gertrude live without any problems whatsoever. The hardware still feels great after a year, I can't complain. I've had some pretty scary bumps happen to her, but she's held up very well throughout them, without chipping any paint. I changed the strap buttons to Jim Dunlop Straploks, so I'll never worry about them as long as I live.

I am definitely willing to use this guitar without a backup, assuming I've got new strings on her!

I haven't ever had to deal with the company. It's actually not even under warranty, because you have to send in the form within 10 days of the purchase date. If it is under warranty, though, it's a limited lifetime warranty.

All I'd add to this guitar is a Parson's B-string Bender so I can bend notes at the headstock without the tuning going to hell. If she were stolen, I'd buy another without a moment's hesitation, but I'd probably go armed to get my Gertrude back!

I've only been playing 2 years, almost exclusively self-taught, but I've got a natural talent. Even the best guitarists I know say that I'm the best they've ever heard. My teacher, a great guy named Roman, even tells customers about me when they ask about people to jam with.

Fairly new. I think it was made in China. 22 Frets. H/H (AMAZING!!) It is all plywood, but it holds up well. I love the body style. Any guitar that looks like this is ok for me!

OMG. Playing this guitar is like wiping your ass with silk. It sounds better than my REAL LES PAULS, they costed $3,200, this one costed $204! It can play anything from blues to heavy rock. Now i know why Slash was such a big fan of the Les Paul style guitar.

I haven't changed a thing, and it sounds fine! It sounds amazing. No flaws.

It will withstand anything i throw at it.The finish will be fine. I would play it without a backup any day.

I got the low down on Arbor. Arbor was a division of Ibanez. I.e. Fender has Squire, and Gibson has /Epiphone. Arbor was famous for making copies of gorgeous guitars that sounded just as good as the originals. The thing is, these guitars only costed up to $500. In the face of being sued by Fender, Gibson, and Dean, Ibanez shut down Arbor. But, there was still an abundance of Arbor guitars in warehouses. That is what is being sold today.

Ive been playing for six months, but I have natural talent. I am as good as most three year players, and my band has already won a battle of the bands. I also have a Yamaha EGC112C, and this kicks that guitar's a**. I love the body style. Can't go astray with a single cutaway!

This is my second guitar, and i love it. I got a gig bag free with it, humbucker pickups, 3 way switch, just like a gibson les paul, with only a few noticable objects. The pearl inlays, are kinda crappy, and look like they are cracking. But thats ok.

Sounds awsome, i bought a little effects amp with it for 100 bucks, its a roland cube, makes it sound like a beast! Fits rock, country, heavy metal music styles, i am more of a rock guy though.

There is a few problems with this category. I dont like how the wood on the guitar is, there is a dark spot in the wood just below the bridge, and it is an eyesore. I had to tighten up the little nuts on the 3 way switch and the plug in thingy, but thats about it.

It is probably just a beginner/intermeadeat guitar for playing, i would have a backup just in case, the finish is fine, the strap buttons could be changed, cause they dont hold crap, the strap has fallen off many times and i fortunatly caucht it.

Never had big problems with it

In sound, i couldnt ask for more, i have a dunlop baby wah wah petal, sound like jimi hendrix, it is a nice guitar

Got this baby off Ebay for 166, and I probaly wouldnt trade it for a Gibson. 22 frets, cherry sunburst, looks like new, although color has faded on plastic parts, which gives it a vintage look. 4 knobs, 3 way, very sturdy guitar. It has everything you would want out of a regular Les Paul.

Gos with any style. Can has all the Page sounds on it, and everything else you want. I use a Line 6, and I would have to say if theres a sound out there I wanna play, I can play it with this baby. Pure Genius.

Everything works great, there was some slight buzz on the 9th fret, but it was fixed with raising the bridge a little.

This baby can with stand a hurricane. I've bumped it up a few times, but hasnt left a scratch. The only problem I had was shorting out, but that was easily fixed with a few bucks to the Sam Ash repair man.

No info on Arbor, it just adds to the mystique of it.

Ive been playing for a while, I will call myself experienced. Compared to other Les Pauls, this is just as good as any of their sounds and has a more cozy feel to it for some reason. Its a beauty. Pick one up. Highly Reccomended.

This guitar was recently purchased (actually I traded a drumset for it, damn those neighbors!!!) and it doesn't look like it has been sitting in the store for a long time, so I'm guessing it was recently made. No serial # or country of manufacture sticker, so there's no way to actually tell when or where it was made though. It's an above average Les Paul copy (especially compared to some of the garbage out there, in the same price range), nice and heavy, almost feels like a solid peice of wood instead of the laminated job that i think it is. The finish and binding are attractive, but the inlays are this hokey looking Mother of Pearl wannabe plastic that isn't fooling anyone, plus a couple of the inlays are crooked. The hardware seems to be above average also, especially the tuning knobs. It also has a nice sized neck with minimal fret buzz that could be remedied with a competent person setting it up, i.e. someone other than me, 14 years and I still can't get it exactly right. The saints at the music store also threw in a gig bag.

Perfect for punk rock, because the guitar's gonna get beat up, it's unavoidable, and it hurts a lot less when you didn't spend your life savings on it. I have a Marshall VST150 head and 4x12 cabinet that make the guitar sound phenomenal. Another plus is that the pickup selector doesn't make any noise when switching at high volumes.

As mentioned above, the only mechanical flaw was the fret buzz and the only cosmetic flaw was the fake Mother of Pearl inlays.

I haven't had the guitar for very long but it feels incredibly sturdy, and the hardware seems very well made. I don't trust any strap buttons, duct tape, preferably large quantities, is the only way to go (just kidding, but straplocks are always recommended). The guitar seems dependable but due to string breakage and other instances of bad luck (remember Murphy's Law), I would always play with a backup.

I've never dealt with Arbor, but the people at Westgate Music were very helpful. The guitar comes with a lifetime warranty that I hope Arbor and/or the music store lives up to should a problem arise.

I've been playing for 14 years. I've played a lot of guitars and, despite the bargain price, this is one of the nicer ones. It could give the real Les Paul I had a run for it's money. I would probably buy another one if something happened to this one but I'd rather not think those negative thoughts.

Made in China, yet strikingly beautiful!!!! I'm talking about the sound .... This copy has those of les paul features!!! It's made out of agathis wood (other name: plywood (malay name: damar). It's not those of great wood such as mahogany, etc. Nevertheless from the sound of my guitar ... It's awsome and I wonder what might cause the sustain (FYI it has a very good sustain for a $100 guitar I got from ebay. N e ways for the features in such price category I have to give a 9

I wrote a review b4 for my fender splatter, and as I said I play every possible musical style. This guitar, however, suits old rock style, jazz, or blues this is of course to my ears. It's amazingly not noisy and delivers a beautiful sound!

the finish has a little bit unexpected marks but I care less (every little dings, marks or whatsoever, to me, tells its own story and gives a unique identifying mark). The action is fantastic ... I did the tone-change inspection to determine whether this guitar is a good one or bad one, as you can tell it gave the good result. so, I'll give it a balance rating

it's fairly new so I wont comment on this!

not available

Bought this new at KATS Music in St. Micheal MN. Made in Korea or China Les Paul Style with some differences, the cutaway comes to a point and the speed knobs are set with the bridge controls set forward. Otherwise your basic Custom LP clone.

If you're into vintage rock sounds this guitar can do it for you, Zeppelin, Santana, Skynerd, you name it.

It was set up well enough that I could tell at the music store that this was a decent guitar after playing it for a few minutes. The action from the factory was set a little high. After a little adjustment it was fine. Finish is pretty decent, not tops in the small detail areas likr where the binding meets the neck some paint runs (Very small fine tooth comb type flaws) It's a Custom style so hard to tell about the wood, seems solid enough.

I did have a little trouble on the 16th fret where the strings hung up but a trip back to the store for a truss rod adjustment made it all better.

I give a 7 as bought, a 9 after tweaking, so I''ll list it as an 8

So far it has been holding up quite well. I did replace the neck strap button with a locking one. You'll never find any Paul that hangs on with regular strap buttons. Initialy I brought a backup, but haven't for the last couple of gigs as I never needed it.

Can't find anything about the company, I E-mailed the parent company but apparently they don't have time for end-users. However the folks at Kats Music were great when I explained my issue with the 16th fret and they made the adjustments without charge. A big fat 0 for Arbor and a 10 for Kats

Been playing for 25+ years, I have a collection of many guitars and this one, thus far, ranks as good as any epi or standard Gib LP.

I get a lot of compliments from other Gibson owners who were impressed by this guitar after playing it for themselves and asked where they could get one.

It's too bad Arbor won't work with the end user because these are nice guitars. they would do well to provide better information and support because word of mouth could sell alot of guitars if one can say as much about the company as their guitars.

Late 70's early 80's. 22 frets. Solid top. This guitar has 1 3-way selector switch, 2 volume and 2 tone controls. 2 humbuckers, not sure yet what make. Passive. It is a Les Paul style guitar, I am not sure of the wood but it is very nice and extremely heavy. Clear finish brings out the wood grain beautifully. Tune-o-matic bridge, unknown brand of tuners. The nut is metal, kind of unusual to me.

At this point it suits my music style fine. I play mostly hard rock but dabble in new age type of stuff as well. Sustain on this guitar is fantastic. The pots need to be replaced as there is quite a bit of noise in them and one volume pot will not shut off all the way. I have found just about every sound in this guitar I look for, depending upon my mood. Hitting harmonics is a problem at this time but I plan on fixing that in the future.

Action needs to come down a bit but it still plays nice. The only flaw I see is the typical cracking where the neck joins the body, not too bad though. The finish is gorgeous, it screamed to me from all the way across the pawn shop floor...lol

This guitar can easily stand with the best of them. This one is so nice though that I would prefer using it more for as a studio guitar than a live one. But it could do the job on stage in needed.

I cannot find out much about Arbor, hardly anything.

Either the pawn guy had no idea of the value of this guitar or he did but bought it super cheap and did not care, I don't know. But within hours after buying it I had a friend offering me 250.00 for it...I am thinking of upgrading it to all gold hardware and active pickups, but then I may just leave it as I found it, other than the pots. Not sure yet, but this one is definately a keeper. An original case came with it. For 60 bucks there is nothing I could hate about it.