El-Degas Les Paul Custom Copy

Old 70's produced guitar. Made in Japan. It's got all the typical Les paul controls and hardware configuration. Passive Jap pickups that really need replacing. I slapped in a Duncan Custom with coiltap and phase switch and it shreads.
Finish is a killer tabbaco burst that really looks nice. The lamanate is a maple veneer over plywood with cream binding. What can I say.. it LOOKS like a $2000 guitar. I know it's cheaply made, but for $150???? Can't go wrong.
The hardware should be replaced, I've owned this guitar for 7 years now and most of the origional hardware lost it's gold coloring and needed to desperatly be replaced.
My first very first guitar was an El Degas strat, when I saw this one in a pawnshop I grabbed it on site.

With the new neck pickup it ripps. I've got 5 other guitars, this one definatly holds it's own in the group. Nice fat crunch. The neck sings and is the origional stock pickup.

Action is decent, I have a Epiphone Zakk Wylde Les Paul and it plays better... but also cost $600 more. Not the fastest neck on the planet, but I've also tried scores of $2000+ guitars that this thing kills. So, it's all relative.
It requires a bit of tinkering to get the intonation set properly but aside from that, very straightforward to set up.

It's built like a tank. The nice thing about cheap guitars is they are usually more durable than expensive ones. The finish is definatly a catylised covering (epoxy based probly. Which makes it very damage resistant unlike the laquers used on most guitars. The Plywood base is also damage resistant as well. I had this guitar fall off the wall when one of my guitar hangers let go... hardly a sratch from a 4ft fall.
I've played live with it for 5 years now... it's still goin strong.

Like I said, built like a tank. And if it does get a bit mashed up (that would take a serious accident or some intentional involvement) who cares... it's dirt cheap.

Forget it... think they've gone out of buisness a long time ago.

For the money, probly the best "bang for the buck" guitar I own. It's not a classic or an 'investment' guitar. It's a cheap Japaneese knock off. If used for what guitars are made to do... play, you can't get a better deal.
It's a indestructable road guitar, which is exactly what I use it for. And it's never let me down.
Some guitars I own I don't take on the road.. too valuable or I just don't want them getting torn up. This thing has seen the worst of handleing and hardly shows any signs of the massive abuse it's seen.
I'm getting another if I can find one.

Year early 70's
22 frets
laminated top
standard Les Paul controls and pickups
The body is made of plywood with a decent black finish.
sealed tuners..make??
very thin neck for a Les Paul copy.Bolt on.Rosewood fingerboard and what appears to be some nice mother of pearl inlay.
gave it a 6 beacause of plywood and bolt on neck.

The guitar sounds great.Really. I play just about everything,but tend to lean toward a funky-jazzy style.Been playing 24 years.
No microphonics from these unknown pickups.I can get a snappy tone from them almost Tele like and they break up nice when you drive the amp.The neck pickup has that fat Les Paul tone,but it shines with both pickups on.

The action on this is excellent.It plays itself.Good binding work done on it,with no separation.I love the look of yellowed binding with age which this one has.The guitar looks vintage which adds to the vibe of it.
The neck joint is tight,and everything does what it should.

Solid guitar.good harware
Strap buttons....EEhhh
I would gig with this no problem

Forget it.

I bought this because i remember El Degas's when I was a kid.I never see them anymore.I was also surprized by it's playability.When I removed a rear plate and found out it was plywood,it was a letdown,but it doesn't seem to hinder this axe.Hey it sounds good!!
From a distance you'd swear it was a black beauty.
This guitar has a great vibe to it,and sometimes I'll buy a guitar just for that reason.
I think I'll keep it for nostalgic reasons.It's not the real thing,but when she's singing through one of my nice tube amps,who cares.Either you can play or you can't ..right?
If you see one buy it.Great bang for the buck.

El Degas LP Custom, 1990 probably Japan or Korea. l bought this new for about $400 Cdn. lt was black with gold hardware, cream binding up the neck and around the headstock. With out a doubt, exactly like a LP custom. 2 humbuckers as well. l dont know what it was made of, l am guessing solid mohogany, it weighed a ton.

At the time l was playing through a Fender Performer 1000 and using a FX 69 Grunge pedal. The bridge stock pickup blew goat ass, so l threw a Semour Duncan JB in the bridge and kept the neck stock. Once the pickup was changed, my god, pure sugar. l play from GnR to Pantera and the harmonics wailed, sustain for days, a nice fat meaty chunk. Clean didnt sound that great, but passible. The neck pick up easily produced that "sweetchild o mine intro" sound and sang on the solos. Before pick up change, l give the sound a 4. After, a 10

You get what you pay for, and for $400, it was a beautiful guitar.lf l wasnt a retard and gone and sold it, l would have replaced the tuners with Klusons and put in a Gibson bridge. The stock tuners and bridge looked like rough die cast that would easily corrode up the road

l took this baby everywhere, slopped beer on it, accidently dropped it a few times. l think this could be a work horse guitar. As for finish and hardware,you would probably end up replacing it up the road

Havent had to deal with them. l tried to do some reasearch on the company and l think they have packed it in

l sold this to a buddy for $75 because l had just bought a Jackson Dinky, which l sold a few months later because it sounded like shit. l have owned a Les Paul. l put JB in it, a Custom Custom, l could not get to sound as good as the El Degas. l have my Strat and Tele that are keepers, but l am on the hunt again for a El Degas LP
IF ANYONE HAS A WINE COLOURED EL DEGAS LP CUSTOM FOR SALE , PLEASE CONTACT ME

1970's Japanese 3-Humbucker Les Paul Custom copy by El Degas. I believe these were sold mostly in Canada before Gibson sued all the Japanese guitar companies that were making exact replicas. Headstock is Gibson exactly. The most major differences are the bolt-on neck and the name on the headstock.

This is a solid, heavy guitar. It has the "Les Paul sound". Pickups are decent (not high-gain), but I plan to put in Seymour Duncans. Wiring is wrong, but should be easy to fix. Very full-bodied and clear through an old tube amp.

The action on this guitar is great. The neck is wide and fat and straight as an arrow. The finish is really the only way that it compares poorly to a Gibson. From about 6-inches away you can see some cracks and gaps, but then again it is over 20 years old. Also, the inlays look like they might be plastic rather than mother-of-pearl.

This is a very solid guitar. The bolt-on neck joint is tighter than on fenders I've owned. It lasted over 2 decades already and doesn't seem to have suffered a bit in terms of sound or playability. There is some wear and tear, but just enough to give it a cool "relic" look.

Bought it used. The company no longer exists.

I've been playing for 14 years and have owned a Fender Strat, Squier Tele, a Gibson SG, and an Epiphone Les Paul. This guitar sounds and plays better than any of them. It's an amazing guitar for the price. These "lawsuit" era Japanese guitars really do compare to the real thing and aren't even a quarter of the price.