El-Degas Les Paul

korean les paul copy, closed back tuners and all gold hardware
glued in neck

lucked into one of their higher end models thru private sale, (as high end as anything korean gets) .very versatile - sounds, plays and weighs like the real thing, though pickups have been doctored.

finish crack at neck glue joint, more cosmetic blemish than anything though. built to last - 20 somethin years old and never needed any serious repair

keeps her tune, plays well - very reliable. the neck looks like it wouldn't take much of a beating, though

check out b&j music, a canadian distributer - very hard to find any other info on

in the 13 years i've been at this - this is the best guitar i've owned for the money. funny thing is - i've seen many other degas lp copys that were, at best, expensive pieces of firewood. the necks were lousy, pickups were junk - great for the beginner.
they did make a higher end model though...those are the ones to go after.

lotzs of toys
custome model, came with brass nut, all gold hardware, and p/u phase shift... mah. body with maple top

sounds as heavy as it weighs......
lots of tone and sustain.....

awesome action...

GET ONE

I bought this guitar a year ago from the other guitarist in our band, he told me he had picked it up in a pawn shop some years ago for about $300. I liked the feel of the neck, but it looked like crap because he had painted it with black latex paint and a 2in. brush, you could see the brush strokes, it was bad. So I bought ut from him for what turned out to be about $90. I took a piant removing gun (heat gun) to it, cleaned it up, redid the entire guitar from top to bottom. When I got to the electronics, I was not impressed at all, it had some Maxch (which I never heard of) pick-ups, a crappy switch, a crappy jack, really old capacitors, and bad solder joints. So I replaced the Maxch pick-ups with a DiMarzio PAF Pro (Neck), and a DiMarzio Tone Zone (Bridge), replaced the pots with brand new ones, new switch, new jack, new wires, and new capacitors. I also bought black Gibson replacement knobs. I tried Gibson replacement pick-up rings, but they did not fit, so with a little sand paper and a polishing cloth, the old ones look good as new (yes you can use sand paper on plastic). The guitar is a little heavier than the average Les Paul, but the wood is very strong and sturdy. The neck has an awesome feel to it. The frets are going to need to be replaced soon, they are worn pretty bad. The tuners look just like the old vintage Les Paul tuners, but unfortunatley, they do not hold a tune very well, so they will be replaced also. I found a manufacture date of 1974 when i was working on the guts, I believe it was probably made in Japan. I give it a 7 for features, it is a good "fix-er-upper" for someone like me who enjoys to customize.

Before I replaced everything I played it just to see what it sounded like, I already knew I was going to be customizing it, but what the hell? It actually did not sound bad, dipite what I found when I opened it up (read above), it had a decent sound to it. However, I am very picky when it comes to even my cheapest guitar, so I had to use Dimarzios, now ir sounds like a champ. For rating stock purposes, I would give it a 5, it has a good sound, but the electronics suck. Get a soldering iron and get busy!

I like a low action, i adjust it until I get fret buzz, then adjust out until the exact spot the buzz is gone, as low as i can get. This guitar has very old and worn frets so I was able to adjust very low, and I love it. The solos you can kick out with this thing are amazing. The neck is not quite as silky as my Yamaha Pacifica 112 (best neck I ever played), but it is very clean and smooth, very comparible to the real deal Les Paul. I took it down to original finish, which is very nice and in great shape. The top needed some work so I had to go all the way to the wood on the top, then repaint, but the original finish is very well done. It gets an 8 here, I love playing this guitar.

This thing would survive anything. Very solid, very sturdy. I would play an outdoor festival and stage dive with this thing and not have to worry. No back-up required. However, I usually play out with about 3 guitars, but that is because of sound, not dependability. This is a definate 10!

I never even heard of El Degas until I got that nasty latex paint off.

I have been playing for 13 years. I have several other guitars to include my prized Martin acoustic (talk about love). I really do like this guitar, it is like buying a Pinto and making it a Mustang. You can find these things cheap, rebuild it for almost nothing, and have a very dependable guitar that you do not have to protect with your life because you paid 2 or 3 grand for it. I love to customize, and this was perfect. Go get one!

1970's I beleive, korean made, bolt-on neck,Laminated top i was told, but who knows.Basic les paul setup. Looks exactly like a les paul custom- diamond inlay on headstock, gold hardware, elegant binding. Plywood body, cream finish. "clover" tuners. Nice, round, very comfortable neck.Pearl block inlays on rosewood fretboard.Came with a case, but that wont matter to you since i bought it used. Extremely heavy! plywood is heavier than mahogany but find a cheap guitar sometime and try it- its got a good, punchy sound and its damn durable!

Sounds good to me!I play punk rock, ska, and blues through a fender super 60 head(all tube) on a crate 212 celestion cab.Pickups are hot enough to drive my amp. The sound on the lead pickup doesnt have a whole lot of focus- if you strum a power chord on the top 3 strings and try to pick some high notes over it, you cant hear the high notes. Thats ok because you've got to replace the pickups on guitars like these(obscure used korean made guitars found dirt cheap on a rack) to get a good sound.The sound on all three positions is good however, i love the sound in the middle-very well rounded. i beleive when i put new pickups in this, it will prove to be a smart buy.

Plays fine in my opinion. My other guitar was a squire strat. the strat has a wider string scale i think, the les paul neck is round, not too fat. Its killin me that io cant seem to figure out which one has a fatter neck, but this neck is rounder. The action fit and finish are all perfect, but thats thanks to crackerbox. Perfect fretwork, great sturdy neck joint, can be described as bolt on but in the position of a set neck(deep cavity cut into the body where the neck is set in). The top is subtly figured but not as much as a real les paul.

This gutiar doesnt seem like it will be a problem. It has good, sturdy hardware,Nice durable finish,plus its laminate construction, making it extra durable. Has plastic saddles, so i expect the strings to live long.

this company is very out of business. companies like this come and go though.

A great guitar for the price. with new pickups it could go up against a les paul during a jam session(or maybe even with the current pickups). If it were stolen i'd never be able to find another, but i would be very pissed off.If you ever see one of these, buy it. What the hell?

its made in japan/22 frets/2 volumes/2 tone nobs/rythm duo treble switch/ H/H flamed top/ les paul look/tune o matic bridge features just like any les paul...cept theres no nut locking and the parts arnt great quality

is got an ok sound too it...i found that there was too much hum from the original pickups so i replaced the bridge pickup with a dimarzio super distortion...sounds fine now..i cant really say since i replaced a pickup

aweful action...a bit of a warp on the neck...cant be fixed threw truss rod adjustment...but with higher action it can be rid of...the finish is starting to chip but i bought it at a pawn shop so i dont know how old it is...doesnt keep in tune great either

its reliable...its the axe i use most often...besides a loose output slot and loose tuning nobs i dunno how else it would fail on me

never delt with them since i bought it at a pawn shop

i like it...its a pretty good guitar if u replace the pickups with good ones...and mayb tinker it a bit on the neck or replace the tuning nobs and chord jack...my friend said if i replace the pickups it would be valued at 500 bucks so i think thats a bargain from what i paid