Product: Crate Les Paul Copy
Price Paid: US $200 used
Submitted
03/18/1999
at
06:04am
by
ERIC
Email: emhancock<at>hotmail dot com
Features
:
7
Solid body, set neck, bound top and fretboard. I'm sure it's made in one of the 2 or 3 factories in Korea that make Epiphones, Samicks, etc. Tobacco sunburst (really nice looking!) finish, chrome hardware and chrome-covered humbuckers (2). Stop tailpiece. Dot inlays, "Crate Electra" and "Standard" are printed (screened?) on the headstock. 3-way selector, 2 tone, 2 volume. Not sure of wood used. Significantly lighter than a real Les Paul (or an Epiphone), not as thick. Thickness is similar to a Studio. Top is carved, but not nearly as exaggerated as a Gibson or Epi. I consider this to be a real good copy; close to Epiphone "Standard" quality, though not nearly as heavy (or expensive).
Sound
:
8
Not bad. You do get the "fat" humbucker sound. My guess is that with as inexpensive as this guitar is, if would not be ideal in a large venue, as you would likely get feedback (such as how Epiphones are). However, if you're the average joe who likes to jam with Jimmy Page on your stereo, or some of your buds in the neighborhood, this axe is fine for that.
Action, Fit, & Finish
:
7
Again, not bad. Even with the action fairly low, very little buzzing. Fit looks a little sloppy at the neck joint, no biggie. The top is really very pretty. They saved money by not using the large trapezoid or block inlays on the fretboard, and no inlay on the headstock, which is fine with me.
Reliability/Durability
:
7
Hard to know about durability/reliability. Only time will tell. Feels solid, wouldn't anticipate any problems with it. The tuners require more tweeking than normal, but is playable. Buy it cheap; don't you DARE buy a new one! I would imagine new price is $300 +. Hit the classifieds/pawns/eBay/etc. Pick one up for $175 to $225 and you won't get hurt. I'm not sure if I'd use it live (I'm not a professional musician). I might feel a little leary of that. Like I said, for drinking a few brewskies and messin' round w/my buds, it's fine.
Customer Support
:
No Opinion
No idea, bought used.
Overall Rating
:
8
This is an EXCELLENT starter guitar. Pretty easy to play, sounds pretty good, and appears to be pretty durable. It's always tough to rate "copy" guitars. Purists (of which I am not) scream, "there is ONLY Gibson, there is ONLY Fender," etc. Hey be real. Most of us can't plunk down $1000 for an axe simply because it's "handcrafted in America." (As if Americans are supposed to be really good workers anyway) Some of us can't even afford more than $200. If that's your budget, that's your budget. Here's my advice: NEVER NEVER NEVER buy a brand new Crate, Epiphone, Samick, etc. Many of them are fine guitars. But for the $375 (or even $600 for some Epiphone Les Pauls!) that you'd pay, you're getting REAL CLOSE to being able to buy a used Gibson or even a new Mexican Fender. Used BluesHawks by Gibson (which I think are really cool!) routinely sell for $450 cash. Do that instead! If you only have $150-$250 to spend, buy a USED Crate, Epiphone, Lotus, Samick, etc. Shop around and buy the one that feels the best, has the "vibe" you like, and everything appears to work on. If you find that you absolutely hate it, you'll likely get most of your money back. This little Crate feels good and sounds not bad. I've been playing about 15-20 years, but you'd never know it to hear me. If someone stole this from me, I'd be a little bummed, cuz that's like losing $200. Would I buy another? Maybe. But I usually swap out axes every 6 mos to a year just to try something different anyway. I most recently had a "Nashville" Tele (the one w/3 pickups, made in Mexico). It was a nicer guitar than this Crate, but I paid about $375 for it. And I will say, it wasn't SIGNIFICANTLY better. The tuners held better than this one, but the sound quality (they both of course have very different tone) was actually fairly close. Find one for around $200 and have fun. Save your bucks up, sell this Crate down the road for a buck-fifty, add the $300 or $400 you've saved up, and get a Gibson, Fender, etc.
