Austin AU766

This is a super nice Les Paul copy. I've owned "real" Les Pauls and I honestly don't see the difference. It's extremely well balanced and easy to hold, doesn't pull or tilt in either direction.

I usually just plug it straight into my amp and put the tone controls to a medium setting. I've been playing for 45 years and to me the sound is fantastic. Full and rich, with brilliant highs and nice warm midrange and bass tones. No noise whatsoever.

Everything works perfectly as far as I can tell and the appearance is flawless. A beautiful guitar.

Well, I use it at home so I can't comment on what it would be like on the road. However, for my purposes it has been perfect. It stays in tune extremely well. All the hardware is totally solid, and there has never been anything loose or otherwise defective.

I haven't had any need for customer support.

I've been playing for over 40 years and have a number of vintage and new instruments. This one is definitely a keeper and it would seriously pain me to lose it. It's one of the most comfortable, best sounding and best playing guitars I've owned. I'd recommend it with no hesitation.

These are Les Paul Standard copies, very nice copies, in fact save aside the fact that the horn of my Austin ends sharper than a Gibby, I'm quite impressed with the similarities, this is no different from any Standard as far as feel, playing and tone are concerned than one genuine is from another.

22 beautiful medium jumbo frets nicely set and finished in a fully bound choice Rosewood board w/ dot inlays, sweet. Neck is a very fine choice of flamed mahogany set like a rock in one nice tight, appears to be of an older Mahogany tree body with arched curly maple top and bound as well in white with white pick guard.

Have read the only other AU 766 review and seriously need to clarify a few items here. My very best to the author of AU 766 BLK, I highly advise you not relinquish that axe before you have had some more experience with it. As I am unsure of the year, his 766 BLK may well have been imported from Korea, my trans wine red clearly states it was manufactured in China and painstakingly so. Whoever had their hand in building this particular guitar had a good eye for choosing the woods, again, sweet. All other aspects are Paul as well.

Binding it tight, there was (is lol, I forget it's there) a minute cracking in the finish at the binding behind the headstock and was same with an Austin Strat I bought to check out, also sweet guitar but tis is much nicer. The finish is very durable but I guess shrank a tiny bit at the edge while curing it appears, this is the ONLY tiny issue it has. I bought over a year ago on the bay in a serious bout of G.A.S. determined to get back into playing and writing after long period of unseriousness. I have owned of had the use of them all, of course not all but you know what I am sayin, like the others here, many.

Was up to 13 electric guitars 2008 and the thinning included, Ibanez JS 1000 Satriani,(overrated) Ibanez AXS 32 (an SG style regretted selling more than the satriani),Ibanez SZ 720 FM w/ lawrence 500 xl set (suweet, needed bucks), Jackson /Charvel strat w SD hotrails, baby 59 ( if the man that bought that reads this, there is a money back guarantee + 10% lol),ESP LTD MH-300 EMG 81/85(Rock baby, sitting right here),ya gets the idea not 5,000 dollar guitars , by no means junk. In the past I have owned a Yamaha SBG 1300 TS (grab it if you see one), and among others a '78 Gibson Les Paul Standard , '73 Fender Pre CBS Stratocaster, '70 , I believe Gretch ES copy, some nice stuff to compare against this Austin that has ended my search for the tone and playability, sonic properties, growl and bite my '78 Standard spoiled me on.

The original pickups, I cant really comment on as I only had a cheapy Behringer 2/12 combo that really sounded bad no matter what I tried for settings and I pulled them to make room for the Seymour Duncan original SD1 bridge and a Pearly Gates in the neck to complement. In a word, Yes. I had a Duncan Invader in the bridge for a little while but the SD1 has a much tighter and controllable distortion. So now the SD1 and PG through a Crate Blue VooDoo head with 4 Sovtek 5881 Russian radio tubes for mains, 12 AT 7 V1 for the creamy cleans , (2) 12 AX 7 Gains, and a JJ something or other, built to a reviewers specs here and I'll tell ya what lol, again, Yes. Fender Rock Pro 4/12 turns all that into some bad news for yuppies, top pro.

I can do Joe Walsh, Jimi Page, David Bowie, a mind boggling Slash that is what I was looking for, Cover all Alex Lifeson impressively, etc. very versatile instrument, clean is musical, nice. Next is to try reversing the PG and will be rewiring, new pots etc to phase invert, split for single coil humbucking but is so freaking sweet now am sorta afraid to touch.

Am inspired to finally submit this review as last night was an Agile PE Anniversary ready to be snatched on the Bay when I realized I had that already in this Austin. 9 for ya can still tweak it.

Rock, what can I say ?? Igneous, Metamorphic and Sedimentary, what ever you can eek out of a Paul Standard, well it basically is a Paul Standard. I paid 60 bucks for it lol, $150 or so for the used pups. All work and setup by myself. Freaking axe is hard to pry from the hands of my buddies with the Gibbs, all say the same thing, "where did you get this ??" sounds and plays better than mine "

Nice musical instrument, sounds great. Can get as close as I care to to any style or artist, very much pleased, is my baby.

Sustain to excess, resonates from top to bottom and back, many guitars have passed through my hands and I have come to classify them in one of two ways as each is unique in it's own and special.

Here's where I may lose some and others know exactly. A guitar built with love and care regardless if it's one or one of a million makes music, real music that moves. If that ingredient is missing, you have a piece of wood with strings attached.

MY Austin is of the former without question, can only assume for the rest, would be better review if I had more to try, I will say the Austin Strat I had had no where near the quality of woods of this LP

Straight as an arrow, plays like warmed butter with zero buzz, very very impressive for an inexpensive axe. pickup rings are top quality but the pick guard is lesser showing plastic excesses at edge at pups. that and the shrunk split in the great finish is all I can knock. Bridge and stop tailpiece are high quality. wiring pots and caps are pretty fair as well, look what I'll call fine, all turn smooth and sound great. If I replace, wont be to attempt to get better sound, she's there. Intonation is on the nut, stays in tune well.

Best action of any guitar I have ever played except the '73 Strat and the Yamaha SBG 1300 TS, plays without effort. PS anyone with a SBG interested in selling, kialoa4 at juno.com

Again, a rock man, gets higher points here than ANY Gibby.

Not at all paranoid anything might happen to it, solid with highly durable finish.

Should withstand anything I have ever seen except an authentic proper Teenage Wasteland. Would probably be just fine after a Hendrix fire.

Will be changing to straplocks for sure before any serious stage work, had to catch her a couple of times.

Will be around and playing as I described for a good many years to be sure, is a keeper and very comforting to know is worthless on eBay lol, will never sell, no incentive. Turned down 300. Giving a 9 here only because that SBG gets a 10, I give the same in a Gibby an 8.

A 9 ++, it's a tank.

No idea.

I have been playing since 1968, I have everything necessary to cut an album.

If it were lost or stolen (I love these answers lol), sooner or later someone would be playing it and I would recognize it as a mother knows her own child screaming, I am a pretty big boy and it would be returned to it's rightful owner immediately without question or they would be watching me calmly walking off with her before realizing the stunning sensation meant a certain trip to a very good dentist.

If 10 = Fantastic Value ...