Jedson Les Paul Black Beauty Copy

You can plug it in.
It's got the same features as any other Les Paul.
Two tones dials, two volume dials, Two Humbucker pickups, one jack.
Bolt neck, tune-o bridge, all the usual jazz.

The one I have used to be owned by a Rasta, I got it in a guitar shop in Wolverhampton for about ??120, nearly seven years ago.
When I got it, it sounded smooth, bluesy and very very sexy, considering it's a Chinese/Japanese knock off from the seventies.
Nowadays, a Japanese knock off is pretty well made.
in the 70's, it was a rare thing, as far as I know.

At the mo, it's got mostly original bits left in it. Although, when I bought it, I immediately had the machineheads changed , and have recently had to send it in for a complete re-wiring, and new input jack.

But even so, it's worth it for the sound.

I play metal, blues, punk and rock n roll. At the same time with my band, and as soon as I strummed this guitar I knew it was my kinda sound.
Not so refined as the Gibson, or even as refined as my baby, Epiphone Korina Explorer.
It's got a metallic twang when clean, with some aggression creeping in.
Wonderful sustain.
I've since closed the gap between bridge pickup and strings to give it an even rawer voice and it suits me down to the ground.
Thru my Line6 Spider3 (custom settings, something akin to the MOP setting or BluePowder setting) it roars and crunches where it needs to and tingles and sparkles where I want.

When I bought it, the action was super low, and super fast, and I haven't changed it.
I heightened the bridge pickup to really make it scream, but that's about it.
It doesn't stay in tune very long the way I play, but easily long enough for me to hammer out some very heavy downstroked metal, and onstage, I have a pedal tuner for in between songs.
I have the impression it could easily be fixed with some different strings, a little luthier work on the neck and a bit of a straightening.
Overall tho, this guitar, remember it's older than me and I'm 26, has been built very very well indeed.
My bands lead guitarist has nothing but trouble from both his Jackson and his Ibanez, which both cost considerably more than this guitar.

After hammering away on it for a while now, I'll be taking it into rehearsals, and I have no qualms gigging it at all.
once it's electrics are sorted out, which for ANY guitar this old would be done without hesitation, irregardless of make or model.

I wouldn't however use it as my main guitar, but then again, not really as a back up either.
There are certain songs my band has that it suits, and there are some it doesn't. Simple as that.
The only thing that winds me up about the guitar, and this goes for my Explorer too. Is that the strap buttons are shit. I seem to be forever securing straps in with something halfway thru a song on stage just as I'm about to unleash a riff.
Which results in one unhappy frontman.
If i was younger and more brash, I'd do what I used to do, and gaffa that thing in place.

As if

I love this guitar, and it's going on the next CD my band cuts in equal parts with my Explorer. As the two sound brilliant together.
Where I see my Explorer as a masculine sounding guitar, the Jedson is I suppose a bit feminine sounding, if you follow me.
I don't mean it sounds shit, I mean it has qualities within it, that make it perfectly suited to complementing a rougher, more bass laden sound.
the only thing I'm planning on replacing is the pick-ups. And that won't be for some time, and even then, I may only replace the neck pickup, which I use rarely.
If it got nicked, I'd be heartbroken. I love it that much. But if it did go missing. I would look for another and I would put my hand in my pocket to get THAT sound and THAT action together in THAT package.
I would never ever sell it.

Mid-70's Japanese copy of the classic Les Paul Custom, almost identical to look at except that control assignments are slightly different (T/V/T/V instead of T/T/V/V).
Bought S/H off e-Bay following Ray's rave review (thanks Ray) so a few minor issues with my particular guitar but nothing that couldn't be sorted in a couple of hours.
Identical features to the original so, if that gets a 10, I suppose this must too.

Given my age (no, I'm not saying) I play blues and 70's rock. I was looking for the classic 70's overdrive-with-valves-at-meltdown sound. This delivers.
Took it into the top vintage guitar dealers in Denmark Street and they played it back-to-back with a genuine Les Paul from 1972 ... they were struggling to spot any difference at all!
For what was once thought of as a "Woolworths guitar" the quality of this thing is astonishing.

Action is near-perfect, wouldn't consider trying to improve it.
Pick-ups & switches needed attention, as did the nut. Interesting variety of dinks & scratches, nothing which affects playability.
Hey, it's a 30-year-old guitar.

I don't gig, but if I did I would have no qualms using a guitar this old which has survived this well. I'm not saying it's bulletproof, but it's easily as rugged as the Gibson it copies.

Long gone, support not an option.

Been playing off & on for 35 years - but not to any high standard, and mainly bass anyway. Currently running a Hofner Violin bass, a Tanglewood TW15A electro-acoustic travel bass, a Johnson Fretless bass, and a 1968 Hofner Verithin 4600 semi-acoustic guitar.
If this guitar was lost or stolen, I'd certainly look for another. The experts can barely distinguish it from the real thing, yet it cost a tenth of what I'd have to pay for a real Les Paul in similar condition.
I'm with Ray on this one ... if you see one, grab it while you can.

Just bought this guitar on ebay,a mate of mine had one over thirty years ago ,I used to play it a lot and realy liked it,apart from the weak pickups it realy plays well,direct les paul copy same layout,the guitar is over thirty years old but is in amazing condition,black finish with white edging to body and neck,gold fittings and pickup covers well faded now looks real vintage,I play a mexican strat and have owned a gibson les paul standard in the past,this black beauty will be staying with me.

The pickups are the only weak point for me,but this can easily be sorted,they work as they should but are underpowered.

I cant fault this guitar in this particular catagory,fret wear is minimal,action can go realy low if you want it like that,neck is beautifuly shaped and slim superfast action,no noises that shouln't be there,everything works as it should.

Guitar is over thirty years old and everything works,finish is still good,its going to be well used and gigged with my band when the pickups have been changed.

The company dissappeared many years ago as far as I can tell,.

I have been playing thirty five years,mainly strats and several les paul copies and a gibson les paul standard,been gigging regular for thirty years,old school rock I guess you would call it ,early fleetwood mac peter green era,cream hendrix,bluesbreakers,etc,use vox ac30 and marshall jmp amps,I am amazed by this guitar it will be in my small collection forever and regularly gigged,if you see one for sale grab it quick you will not have to pay much at the moment but who knows when the word gets around what may happen.

My first bass guitar, bought in 1979. Beautiful solid black Les Paul classic shape with gold coloured metal trimmings. White trim, bass/treble pick up selector. Came with a black hard case and yellow flock interior. Fantastic!

Played it through a Watkins 'Joker' 30watt valve amp that was already 10 years old. The amp lasted another 4 years before I graduated to an HH 100W combo. That catapulted me into the stratosphere on stage!! The twin humbuckers were underpowered and somewhat muffled.

The action is low - great for thumping along to simple rock numbers, but the demands of 80's disco/funk sound were way beyond the Jedson's capabilities!

Pretty reliable old girl and looked cool too. Played many an early gig, but started to lose the battle with the drums and lead guitars asd the music got louder.

Where are Jedson now!!??

Great old relic which I have had stowed away for years. Started playing bass again and brought it out a couple of months ago. It's taken a knock and one of the machineheads has sheared off. Yikes! Where can I get spares for that? appreciate it if someone out there has any ideas or wants to sell one for parts.

Well... ...at least what was required in 1972 for a guitar.

When I had a Vox AC 30 amp with treble boost it was the sound of my dreams.

It is OK - low action good finish for the price

You can't get good equipment... ...the bastard only lasted 27 years! I must admit I haven't played it for about 6 years and tried recently. Unfortunately my valves had gone in the amp and so I got a new amp yesterday. Unfortunately (again) the input jack cavity seems to have oxidised and I am trying to figure out how to get a decent earthing/grounding. Any advice would be appreciated.

Never needed support until it was too late.

I bought my Jedson LP Custom copy new in 1973 for #49.95, complete with hard shell case.
(I believe it used to be called Arbiter?)
It has served me extremely well and is still in good condition.
The twin humbucker pickups are not as powerful as the real thing but still have great tone.
The body lacquer is nicked in places but still rock solid.
sealed tuners may be a bit weak.
gold plating is almost completely faded.
pleays beautifully well.
Has fantastic fast action and great tone.

sounds good, but could use stronger P/U

I have tinkered with it over the years, but it is pretty much indestructable.
beautiful finish when new and still standing up well even after 15 years unsused

regularly gigged, studio and generally toted about by me and drunken band members for several years.
can't fault tyhe finfish, though the original strap button was rubbish.
would use anywhere anytime, but have just bought a genuine ES335.

never needed to repair except one duff electrical connection.

its heavy. very heavy.
I'll never sell it cause its worth more to me than anyone would ever want to pay for it.
After 15 years unused, I am planning to replace all the gold with black and new P90's and hang it on the wall.

dont know the actual year but have been told by experts that they ceased production in 1971 its black with white binding thats put together really well it had gold hardware when new that has faded with time i have changed the tuners to shaller types to stop the fucker going out of tune the necks a really good shape nice and thin and very playable upon stripping it down i found it was solid red wood apart from the top that has a thin caverty i dont know if this is like a real LP or what the overhaul body is solidly put together only a shame its a bolt on neck

now i have swapped the pretty gold pickups for decent yank ones it sound very les paul this in effect in 1971 would have been classed as a cheap japanese copy but its really quite good

the action is shit hot skinny neck fast hard wood fretboard and all
as i said before the quality is very good and all by the gold has stood the test of time

i have giged this jedson a few times usualy useing it as a backup for my strat ultra its not as good as the strat soundwise but it will give it a run for the money on cost and looks

the dont make the fuckers any more so supports a big zero

fucking good buy for 80 uk pounds would recomend it to a friend but its not for sale pss their is a jedson site on the web if you look hard enough