Memphis Les Paul Copy

mine is a 1960's model and one of the first Japanese guitars built.
22 frets,2 volume,2 tone,tune-O-matic bridge,

great for all types of rock(punk,grunge,metal,classic rock,rock & roll) and blues music,sounds great through any amp(though i prefer orange,vox, or fender),great attack,bright sound,has amazing twang,great for all guitarists(if your on tour or just collecting rare classics),this guitar can shred fast or slow.

good action,pick-ups were perfectly ajusted,the only flaw i found was that the knobs were out of whack(of course i bought it used though).

this guitar has been around 40+ years and has had little visible ware but if anything,over the years the sound has gotten better.

i bought it used at a used guitar shop so i didn't get a warranty, but i didn't need one.

i have a 1960's tobbaco sunburst,bolt-on neck,les paul copy
i have been playing in multiple bands since the 70's and have been playing guitar since i was 8 years old,if it were stolen i would try and find another,i love everything about it,i think it sounds better than most gibson les pauls.

I recently got gifted an all black Memphis vitage studio copy. At 1st I wasnt sure what to think... late 70s early 80s... done some research and found the gifter did his as well. It seems the all black non bound dot inlay is the only Memphis that is the top of the heap and it shows... and sounds. I have a Charvell a paul a hagstrom super swede and a Hummingbird... This Memphis holds its own with them ALL. Great action mellow to edgey tones and not to hard to look at

Ive been a local +++ pro for 30+ years mostly deep blues light jazz classic rock done fair amount of session work and would readily use the Memphis in the studio where it would fit

I had to make a few adjustments after arrival it was pre owned by either a fool or seious amature bridge allignment etc pickups were and are outstanding I see why it was painted black as the grains dont completly match close tho

I do like to bring all my gear to a show but if forced to Id rely on the Memphis without a backup hardware is solid pots are silent straps hold tight good loking guitar for an off brand and Im sorry to say Id prefer it said Gibson on the headstock BUT it really is as good and is made by Gibson

Ive heard its a ghost company

If your not selfconscious about the name on the head stock this is a GREAT buy all the bells and whistles of a Les Paul without the headstock screaming it tho those in the know know its made BY gibson

Assuming late 70's early 80's Memphis bolt neck carved top LP custom copy. 22 fret. large block inlays (custom style IE including first fret) binding front and back, neck, headstock. No headstock inlay, just gold logo painted on. Tuners aren't great, odd sized... but stay in tune well. standard wiring for 2 hum lp. creme pickup in neck pos. black at bridge. appear to be original. very thin pickups, not hi quality. decent abr & stopbar knockoff. chambered body, more or less semi-hollow. more likely semi-hollow as a cost and build issue than anything. typical memphis plywood. black, looks very simular to gibsons new "classic custom" headstock to neck joint is visible in a pattern like this > _|-|_|-|_ "in steps" I rate it at an 8 purely because it has everything it needs to be what it should be. even if the materials are cheap.

Even though this guitar has humbuckers that are not even half as thick as they should be, they do quite well. Lately it seems alot of people go by the thought process of "the hotter the better" but you really can make weaker pickups like these work well for you. I was surprised the range in tone from crisp and bright to warm so fluidly. and I have no problem getting a good crunchy sound out of it. the main issue is with any high amount of distortion combined with volume, it's semihollow body causes some wicked feedback. like you'd get from an acoustic electric. the uncontrollable stuff. Better pickups and distance from your amp can fix this though.
but unplugged it puts out alot of sound, great guitar to have around when you are just picking one up to mess around for a few minutes and don't want to bother plugging it in.

It has great vintage small style frets, they are very low, I had to adjust the nut, but the action is great! I hate to say it, but the action is alot lighter than my Gibson 90' standard or any of my strats. the bridge is easy to intonate. the pickups are rediculous though. Impossible to get the bridge pickup low as it should really be. lower rings could fix this. The finish is showing its wear but it really does have charm. it looks like a black lp custom that someone made to look low profile. binding is great. paint... well. good enough. headstock is a gibson knockoff but lacks the v notch in the top center. Cheap cheap wood used for this puppy. typical memphis.

really sturdy. drop it and have few worries. I would still be inclined to use other guitars over this one gigging, but I could definetly take it along, provided i swapped out the pickups.
But the problem arises when this company has so many variations. alot of lemons with these. try each one. I am not sure if they ever made more than 10 of any of their guitars in the same fashion.

Cust. Supp. is laughable. just try to find any info on these and you'll be looking for a while. I have been told these were pawned out by yamaha to liquidate their stock during the copyright lawsuit era. but I haven't seen yamaha use the wood they use for these. they are usually only found in pawnshops or dirt merchant guitar shops. most music shops don't even bother with these, and if they do they often try to sell them as quick as they can to keep them off the floor. some of them sound good, look pretty cool, but lack a real quality build at the core.

of my 9 guitars I play this one a fair amount behind my gibson and 2 of my strats. It is light, sounds pretty decent, and It's just different. I really wish It was built with better materials, and it would be nice if it had a set neck. I built a guitar for the girl who had this as a trade. I would buy another if I found one for the price it's really worth. But I would be very hesitant to buy another for over 65$ because honestly thats what these are worth. many of the finishes look tacky. but they do very well with the binding, and inlays. Memphis's are always hit or miss. but they can be worth looking over if you come across them. Get a set neck version if you can. But don't shell out alot of cash for these. If your looking for a guitar to gig with, you can do better unless you want something you have to put alot of work into making it a so-so guitar. could be a beginer's nightmare if it's not set up right.
but if your comfy with anything that has strings, it might be a fun toy.

19983--84 Tabacco sunburst finish, white trim, block in lays, standard LP controls.

I was young when my father bought me this guitar, so I didn't know at the time if it sounded good or bad, I just knew that's what I had to play. One thing I learned about the pick ups back then, if you turn the guitar and amp up really loud you could yell into the pick ups and hear you voice through the amp. I plan on changing those pick up some day....yep I still have the guitar.

The neck feels great today, back then it was a heavy guitar with a fat neck....I guess I've grown some over the past 23 years or so.

Today the guitar has crackling in the volume controls, the three way switch works some times, the plug for the chord is loose, the tuning keys slip, yet, I plugged it up this evening, tuned it for the fist time in over 10 years and jammed like I just bought it.....

My father bought me this guitar from Briggs music in Landover Mall (Landover, Md.) back when I was 14 or 15 years old. I'm now 40 yo. and the guitar still plays after all those years of being knocked around. I've gotten back into playing and have a real Gibson, but think I'll recondition this guitar and start playing it again.

I am writing this to clear up some confusion. There are two types of Memphis Les Paul Copies.

1. There is a SET NECK model that is most likely from the late 70???s. This is probably the one that everyone is giving good reviews about and is probably a fairly decent guitar as far as copies go. Enough said.
2. There is a BOLT ON NECK model from the early 80???s that is a total piece of junk. As a few reviewers have said, it???s plywood, won???t stay in tune for nothing, and has a neck action comparable to a cheap Walmart Bow and Arrow set. Also, the pickups look like humbuckers but believe it or not, under the cover is a single coil pickup (I took one apart years ago). They originally cost 100 dollars in the early 80???s and are the equivalent of ???Fool???s Gold???

I hope enough people will see this review and will stop bidding outrageous prices on Ebay for the bolt on versions. And what I mean by outrageous, I mean anything over 50 bucks including shipping. Pawn shops are also looking at Ebay and are pricing there???s over what they are worth. I would actually like to buy one as a wall decoration to pay homage to my younger years but I wouldn???t consider torturing my hands and ears by playing it. Anyone wanting to play would be better of with a First Act guitar. FYI the best beginner guitar is a Squire Strat

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I was able to purchase my memphis from a pawn shop in southern CA, after alot of haggling over the price. They were asking $350.00, but I was able to get it for $200.00. It has that vintage Les Paul appearence,beautiful mahogany body with maple veneers running through top to bottom, and the controls in the lower body, three-way swich in the upper. I really had no idea of what i was getting in this guitar, and was later blown-away with the quality of what I got. It's a little heavier than the strats or LP, but action is easy and fretboard and neck is true.

I have played it through Marshall, Crate and Gibson amps, and it always delivers a solid, rich, and full sound. Usual effects seem enhanced, and will sustain forever.

I did a little set-up on it when I first got it, adjusting the pick-ups, new strings etc. It was o.k. for a back-up, but recently I had new DiMarzio evolutions installed and new tuning heads. I now play it as my primary on gigs and home recording.

This Memphis has played live 100's of times. It's solid, reliable, dependable. Never any major problems.

I did a little research on the Memphis guitar Company, got several interesting stories about it's inception, and demise. There isn't anything about this guitar a good repair shop couldn't take care of.

I've been playing on and off for thirty plus years, I've owned Yamaha, Hondo, Strats, Martin, Taylor, Takamine and many others. They all have their own uniqueness, as well as my Memphis. This one is a true, solid, dependable instrument that I really wouldn't want to part with, and don't think I could easily replace. It's not a one of a kind, but in a way, it really is.

This is a strange guitar because a great dal of energy has obviously gone into certain areas of the finish whilst others seem neglected.The tuners are pretty poor but not unusable and the nut seems pretty lousy displacing one otwo of the strings which contributes to one or two dull notes. The actual paint finish I think in Tabacco is pretty immpresive and the mother of pearl style inlays make this a good looking guitar. The finish seems durable a s this guitar was gigged regualarly but has survived well. Someone tells me these Les pauls where clearnce stock from Yamaha after they had to sell up their Les paul copies due to pending writ trouble. This i can believe they are in the main very well made. However I have been advised to stay away from the bolt on neck versions.

Well ibought a marshall 50 to plug this guitar into and i can only say I was astonished , Even before a set up new strings or any thing it gives a great Les Paul sound.The sound of Leslie West from Mountain immediatly sprins to mind with a bit of regulation it can be more toppy a bit like Angus .. AC.DC The harmonics really come thgrough on overdrive giving a punchy yet not too distorted lead . Other combinations can be had with a great Santana sound easily obtainable on rythm and bass . Whilst the treble gives a great sound virtually all through its range too much bottom makes the guitar sound wooly and muzzy a sound which would be hard to feature exept now and again due to lack of distinction . I think basically youd just fold in with the band and get lost.Im looking forward to gigging live to see what sort of blues sound i can get. i think with maybe some Duncans this would be the foundation of a great guitar.

Well the action is just passable at present though a $50 set up and stone job will i have no doubts the lickings of this and should trans form the guitar. The necks great wonderful feeling so its just a question of renewing some more stock cheap parts.Reminds me of the old two stoke Yamahas years ago Heatr of gold but replace all shocks plugs tyres etc with better gear. Result one fantastic race winning machine. Its a Japanese 70s thing they didnt have the suppliers for some things. However the wood is great the build is great and it sounds fab A bit ZZ top like

This guitar will last

Is this where they prop you up at the bar? NON existant so really poor make it up as you go along....dee dee dee dee dah dah dah hun hum

Year - about 1978
Frets - 25 (with slide)
SOLID - Ivory Bone Finish - beautiful man
Standard Gibson 4 knobs
I think Demarzio...humbuckers...not sure what model
Passive
SOLID MAPLE BODY - possible rosewood neck
Les Paul
Tune-O-Matic
non- locking but very good
Rosewaood/medium

I'd put it up against any guitar anywhere...style 70's...Alice Cooper
Marshall 1/2 stack
very quiet..until.................
rich/bright and full...
Only a Gibson Gold Top could tear me away....maybe...
Best guitar I ever played!

Action needed some adjustment, but now its GREAT.
Perfectly.
Awesome.
None.

always have always will....
indeed
prettiest guitar I ever saw - possibly with exception on Goldtop
yes
yes
yes

no longer available - but don't need them
n/a
n/a

over 20 years
no
YES
everything about this guitar kicks ass
Les Paul
no
if you can get a Memphis Pharoah, do IT

I bought my Memphis Les Paul at my local rock-musical instrument shop (Venemans in Springfield, Virginia. Now defunct) back in 1981. I figure she was actually made in the late '70s 'cause I kind of recall the sales guy saying the original owner had her for a couple of years. I was in 11th grade, had a summer job and wanted to spend my dough on a guitar that wasn't crap like the two I already had. Actually, my Dad had bought me a crap, no-model electric for my birthday a couple of years earlier and it had a Memphis decal on the headstock, so I was already familiar with the brand. (I abused the piece-o-crap like all my other toys - took it apart and re-assembled it dozens of times to learn how it worked and how it was made).

Venemans sold really nice guitars that I couldn't afford, brand new. They had a few used items for sale on consignment when I spotted the Memphis LP knock-off for $200. It felt like a Gibson, looked almost as nice (save for a cracked tone-knob) and played real easy. They threw in a case with a "Vantage" logo on it for free, so I went home happy.

As I recall, the first Memphis I had (crap from Dad) had a sticker on the back of the headstock declaring "Made in Korea". The LP had one claimed it was "Made in Taiwan", as if that meant higher quality, or something. Anyway, I really liked the set neck, easy action, tune-o-matic bridge, arched top, and near-exact Gibson looks, including the heavy, polished tobacco-sunburst, MOP inlays and muti-layered binding. I never liked the pickups, tuners or the wiring. The body and neck are obviously mahogony, while the arched top is probably laminate, though I'm not sure whether the veneer is maple or something else.

Today, She's got a lot of dings and scratches, but she still looks and sounds great. Somewhere along the way, I bought a Dimarzio pickup to replace the bridge position and years later I bought a Seymour-Duncan to replace the the neck-position (both look exactly the same, so I can't tell which is which, any more). She's recently been re-wired and had the pots and pot back-plate replaced by professionals. One day, I'll finally replace the tuners and get a new case 'cause the old, Vantage one is falling apart.

Un-pluggged, this LP copy sounds as good as it did when I bougt her - fat and rich, exept for some buzzing on the low-E string when played hard and open. When I bought her, I was trying my best to learn lots of YES, RUSH and Floyd songs, plus a myriad of other classic-rock singles (Beatles, Stones, whatever I could pick up off the radio). When I took her to college, I learned a bunch of Dead tunes. While never reproducing any of these sounds faithfully, this axe (which by now I've named "Memphis Belle"), always made everything ever I played sound great. I used to play her through a tiny, 15w Yamaha practice amp with acoustic-spring reverb that gave a range from crispy cleans all the way to crunchy fuzz. Together with flange and phazer pedals, she did all the psychedelic tricks I ever wanted. Today I have a Line-6 30watt that gives me lots more sound possibilities, which Belle takes full advantage of.

As mentioned before, I didn't get her from the factory and have made many adjustments to her over the years. The intonation is still good since I re-set it back in college, while action remains the best feature on Belle - I've had many compliments over the years about this. But I really ought to replace those tuners. They look like 1960's covered Gibsons, but they've absorbed so much punishment that one of them is hard to turn, now. The frets don't show any wear worth mentioning and the finish still glows - wherever I haven't dented it, that is.

Any guitar that still plays well after 25-30 years is definitely reliable and SUPER durable. I've already talked about the hardware, except for the strap buttons, which are still solid and faithful. Still, I may replace them with a locking system ,now that I know I can do that. I haven't gigged in 17 years, but I'd take Belle with me anywhere, any day.

Memphis Belle gets OWNER support whenever she needs it. Memphis - the company - is a ghost and won't support the dirt it's burried under.

There's a small, vintage guitar shop in the Falls Church district of my area called Action Music (actionmusic.com) owned by a very good luthier, who I trust with all 6 of my guitars, no matter how old they are or where they came from. They don't charge much for repair-work (they make butt-loads off their impressive stock of vintage stuff), so that's my support system.

Before I acquired Belle, I'd been taking lessons and playing for 6 or 7 years. Today I figure I've talleyed 30 or 31, though now I play mostly acoustic-rock. If I knew to ask more questions when I bought her, I'd probably have given up guitar by now. It's more poiniant to think about what I've LEARNED since then.

If she were stolen or lost, I'd be so pissed I'd need to be tied down and locked away. To me, Belle isn't just a guitar - she's my Lucille! I've made all the changes on her she's ever needed, save for the tuners. I'm not going to rush into that, though, 'cause the vintage style is hard to find and I don't want to lose that.

I only love three of my 6 guitars; Memphis Belle, a nylon classical I bought in Sevilla, Spain who I cal "Carmen", and a brand new 12-string jumbo from Takamine who I've named "Pearl". All three play many times better than whatever I payed for them. Only the 12-string could really be replaced, but I don't like to think about such things.

Set neck LP style guitar with beautiful mother of pearl Memphis logo on the head stock, open book with out the crease. Mother of toilet seat fret inlay work for the fretboard, tobaco finish, maple top, mahogany neck, rosewood fretboard, tune o matic bridge w/brass saddles, bone nut, lousey tuners (soon to be changed!) I guess this guitar was made in late 60s to mid 70s. Tried to date the guitar but the pots do not have date codes? all they have stamped in them is "noble 15A500K ohm" Guitar is much lighter that an LP.

Sound great, it's all there and I love it (blues to rock)

This guitar has one of the nicest fretboards I have played. The rosewood is increadible, It is the most comfortible guitar to play in my collection (like butter) with 10s. The feel of the neck is the high point of this guitar and why I will not part with it. I own or have had at one time or another G&Ls, many Fenders, Taylor, Ibanez, Gibsons, etc. Been playing for 29 years.

Just puchased it recently and I do not play in a band presently

I would love to know where these early Memphis guitars originated.