Memphis Les Paul Copy

I bought my Memphis Les Paul copy in 1981 for $180.00 used including a cheap case and a 15w practice amp. I really didn't know much about electric guitars but I knew I wanted that style (Jimmy Page!). I played the hell out of it, never doing anything to it but changing strings and keeping it clean. Its the classic tobacco sunburst on a maple top with mahogany body/neck and it is solid (read "heavy"). It features a rosewood fretboard (22 fret) with the "open book" headstock and Koman tuners. This is a set-in neck model. It has all the same features regarding hardware as a standard Les Paul. Three way switch, two tone and two volume knobs, Tune-O-Matic etc. All in all if it didn't say Memphis on the head you'd swear it was the real deal! I recently replaced the factory pickups with S.D. '59 classics (bridge and neck)leveled and dressed the frets and had the intonation and action adjusted by Guitarville (in Seattle). They did an awesome job...thanks!

Although my taste in music is all over the board I can't seem to play anything but crunchy power chord 70's rock. This guitar has always met my needs even when it was factory but the recent work however has really transformed it. It has great tone, full down low and smooth/rich through the mids to highs. I had an Epiphone Les Paul a year ago (it got stolen...save the tears) and my old but reborn Memphis blows it away. I've played real Les Pauls, Strats(owned a decent copy), Jacksons, Ibanez etc. and I'm still jacked about this rig! I'm using a Yamaha 50w 212 amp and running through a DigiTech RP7 valve effects stompbox and the mandatory "crybaby". It can sound beautiful and bright through a clean patch or raunchy and rockin' with overdrive/distortion...its got balls! Oh, for all you Zakk Wylde nuts it'll squeal with the best of 'em.

The factory set up was what you would expect from a budget guitar (I don't really know the original cost), most everything had to be adjusted. To be fair since I bought it used it could have been all screwed up by the previous owner. The finish was actually really nice; thick clearcoat, chrome hardware/tuning pegs, classic Les Paul volume/tone knobs. Once the action and pickup heights were set it played and sounded just fine.

I don't play live gigs but I didn't always treat this guitar with the respect it now deserves. It has been dropped, knocked off its stand, spilled on etc. over the past 23 years and it can take it! Along with the recent upgrades I polished and cleaned it and it looks great! The top has a small crack near the lower tone knob and there are the requesite scratches on the backside and some small dings here and there...nothing more than normal wear and tear on a well used guitar. I replaced the strap buttons with Schaller strap-locks. As I mentioned previously this Memphis is solid!

Good luck...but with a skilled luthier who cares.

I'm honestly a hobbyist when it comes to playing, but I do 4-tracking and songwriting at home as well as jamming with friends once in awhile. I've played some 25+ years but it wouldn't show. I would recommend this guitar to anyone looking for an exceptional Les Paul copy. Make sure it has the set-in neck...Memphis did produce some really crappy plywood laminated models with bolt-ons. Beware! I'm really impressed with mine with the new pickups and setup. If I could find another I would buy it. My only other guitar right now is an Ovation electric-acoustic. I must share that the luthier and several guitar techs at Guitarville were very impressed with my Memphis and thought it was one of the best playing and authentic looking Les Paul copies they'd ever seen!

This Memphis Les Paul copy is either 70's or 80's. Reportedly made in the Tokai factory in Japan. Cherry sunburst, heavy maple top, solid and heavy! Traditional Gibson Les Paul features, but the pickups have been changed to DiMarzio Evolution's. Awesome! Got this with a heavy gigbag but, since it's my new number one, it rests in a Gibson lp case. This guitar was set up perfectly by my luthier, new strings, etc..No breaks, neck straight, dinged up a little from lots of gigs, but simply a beautiful guitar with awesome tone. All the Gibson lp standard features!

I play mostly rock and country. I use an 80's Fender Bandmaster amp head, with Mesa 2X12's. Also a new Vox AD30. This Memphis sounds as good as my Gibson lp Standard with burstbuckers! Not the same exact sound, but tone, tone, tone. I love this guitar because it is so good and so cheap, ($325.00) A good friend of mine, a Gibson man to the max, told me that if I ever found a heavy Memphis lp copy to get it! I did, and he was right! Memphis has some plywood models, so beware of those, it it's solid, go for it.

This guitar was not set up good when I purchased it, but my luthier, Ed, made it perfect! He had the basics to work with, the neck was straight, just one tuner needed a little cleaning, new strings, intonation, that's it. I cannot believe how well this guitar was built!

This Memphis played in over 100 gigs before I got it, has been down the road and around the bend and back. The finish looks great except for a few dings. I put strap locks on it when I got it. This is a dependable solid guitar. I take it on trips, gig with it, never a problem. I have more faith in it than in my other guitars.

Never dealt with them, probably now around. Had it set up by my luthier once. I'm sure there's no factory warranty.

Seriously for a year, before that sporadically. I have a GIbson lp standard new, fender strat, tele. If my Memphis was stolen, I'd try to find another one just like it. I would then install DiMarzio evolutions in it. I don't disike anything about it. I love it because it sounds as good as my Gibson.

This "paul" is an '80's model I got on ebay for $160.00. I am a fender man all the way, but wanted some Humbucker sounds for recording. Do not confuse the crappy bolt-on neck, plywood, entry level Memphis with this set neck model. Best guitar I have ever played for under $500. (Tuners were replaced with Gotoh by previous owner.)

Great for any electric style except hard rock. I play alt. country/blues/rockabilly. Bridge pickup a bit thin sounding. Neck pickup very phat a Zepplin sounding.
I use a fender blues deluxe, a JMF Spectra 112, and a Gibson "Maestro" Accordion amp.

Action very smooth and playable. I needed to adjust pickup height, and had my luthier buddy file a couple frets above 12th. Neck strap button is an accident waiting to happen...Buy stap-lok, or as I did Screw the strap right into the body for safety. (I often play harp solos and need this guitar to "hang" safely.)

Yes, reliable as lead paint. (That means good!)

Bought used.

Been 20 years as a professional. I would greatly grieve the loss of this instrument, and would seek out another. Again, do not confuse this better model with the cheapo bolt -on neck model. BETTER THAN ANY EPIPHONE LP EVER PLAYED.

Year of manufacture unknown, but this guitar was purchased, well-used, in 1987. It is an almost exact copy of a cherry sunburst Gibson Les Paul, including set neck and moustache-style headstock. Two humbucking pickups, stop tailpiece and tune-o-matic. Usual Gibson control layout. Body and neck are of an unknown, mahogany-like wood. Much heavier than mahogany.

The original pickups were weak and thin-sounding, so I replaced them with a DiMarzio PAF (neck) and A Carvin M22SD (bridge). I also shielded and rewired the guitar like a Gibson Flying V, with a three-way switch, two volume controls, and a master tone control. In this configuration this guitar sounds killer. The neck pickup is ok, but I can't say enough about the Carvin bridge pickup. It's fat, and it cuts through anything. Sustain is incredible. This guitar has a very even tone from top to bottom.

This guitar needed a lot of work when I bought it. The original pickups and tuners were crap, and the tune-o-matic had white plastic saddles, which I felt robbed the guitar of tone and sustain. Original stop tailpiece was rusting out. The pots and three-way switch were of poor quality. I replaced all of the electronics and hardware. Truss rod needed to be tightened a LOT to straighten the neck. It took me a few months to put this guitar into proper playing condition, and I invested around $125 in new parts. But it was worth it. This guitar is heavier than any Les Paul I've ever played, and it sustains for days. The action is smooth, and the neck is nicely rounded (not at all v-shaped) and just a bit thinner than a Gibson. Extremely comfortable. Original frets still in good shape. This has been my main guitar for more than fifteen years, and, though I've dressed the frets several times, I've still never had to do a refret job. Action is very low (1/16th inch at the nineteenth fret), and still there is no buzzing or fretting out of bent notes.

I have had to replace all of the original, poor-quality hardware on this guitar. The stuff I have on there now (Carvin and DiMarzio humbuckers, CTS pots, Schaller M-6 tuners) is all top notch stuff. This guitar was already beaten to hell when I got it more than fifteen years ago, but it has held up well throughout the years. Neck-body joint is very solid. This has got to be the heaviest wooden guitar on the planet. It's a back-breaker, but the sound is worth it. I don't think anything on this guitar will ever break down under normal usage.

I've never dealt with the company. If I did I would tell them that they make beautiful guitars, but they spoil them by putting on crappy hardware.

I don't know how many guitars like this were manufactured. This is the only Memphis I've ever seen with a set-in neck. If I ever saw another one in decent condition, I would definitely buy it.

Made in Japan in the 80's it is a Les paul copy that you don't want. Very cheaply made,layers of plywood for the body neck unknown wood it won't hold a strap lock. the tuners are absolutely horrible unknown maker. the pickups are humbuckers and very poor ones at that. about the equivalent of a toys r us childs guitar. I took this heap of junk to a professional guitarist i know who makes a living touring with a well know Rock Band and after he played it for a couple of minutes he laughed and said is this a joke or am i on Candid Camera. I said i just needed a professional opinion and he said this is a poor example even for a beginners guitar.

HORRIBLE, HORRIBLE, HORRIBLE sounding Humbuckers made in ? by ?. If you are deaf this is the instrument for you. If you are suspectable to Humbuckeritis, please don't play this piece of crap. It will make you deathly ill and they will have to call in a Music Doctor to save you! I am not sure what type of music you could use this for. Maybe to torture Saddam Hussein into revealing his secrets!

Binding almost all off this priceless jewel. Neck warped and Trussrod of no benefit. This is layers of plywood , what more can you say.

strap buttons fell off.numerous laquer cracks. YOU CAN THINK ABOUT PLAYING THIS AT A GIG BUT DON'T DO IT. "FANS ARE TO HARD TO COME BY" to punish them with this.

DUMP THIS IN THE NEAREST TRASH CONTAINER OR SEND IT TO YOUR WORST ENEMY. THIS COMPANY DOES NOT EXIST NOW OR MAYBE "NEVER".

I HAVE BEEN PLAYING FOR 27 YEARS AND PLAY ROCK AND BLUES. IF THIS GUITAR IS STOLEN, SAY A PRAYER FOR THE POOR SOUL WHO SWIPED IT AND RUN OUT TO THE NEAREST MUSIC STORE AND FOR ABOUT $175.00 BUY A CHEAP ONE THAT WILL SOUND LIKE A PRS COMPARED TO THIS HUNK OF JUNK.

Memphis Les Paul Copy. I'm not sure what wood it's made of. This is the Set Neck copy. The head stock is the open book with out the crease in the middle. I think it was made in Japan. Guitar is about 8 lbs

I replaced the pickups it came with. With Duncans. SH-5 in the Bridge and a 59 in the neck. Sounds really good. All so installed a reverse phase and single coil options with 2 push pull pots... Sounds dang good. Jimmy Page tone no problem.... Before I changed everything it still sounded pretty good the stock pickups were really not that bad. But the duncans did add a bit more Clarity.

The action is Good. The radias has a bit more to it than a real Les Paul. But still plays good. I would say it plays much better than an Epiphone. Those are crap...

Customer Support is AWSOME... Just joking...

It will work for me untill i can get a Real Gibson...

Les Paul Custom "Black Beauty" style, except has a bolt on neck. MOP block inlays, all the binding and accents you'd see on a custom, though the hardware is all chrome, and the finish isn't the greatest. "fretless wonder" type frets, small and effortless to play originally came with DiMarzio humbuckers. Also pretty heavy, just like the real thing.

This was my first electric guitar. I bought it new in 1984, because I liked the way it looked, and it was affordable. Little did I realize how good a guitar it actually was.

This guitar sounds really really great. I have heard and played several high-end Les Pauls over the years. I always thought they sounded almost exactly like mine. Though mine perhaps doesn't sustain quite as well (but not by much). I can get all kinds of sounds out of this guitar. Though admittedly, I have made several modifications. In the late 80's I bought a set of Carvin humbuckers, along with a kit to wire it in "stereo". I installed a second output jack (which I never use), and 3 mini toggle switches for coil splitting each pick up, and setting them out of phase. With these pickups, and this set up, I get all the dark sounds typical of paul's, but also by using the coil splitters can get exceptional bright tones. I find I use the rhythm pick up in single coil mode almost exclusively for clean sounds, and it sounds great. Not at all muddy, or bass heavy, yet full and "satisfying". All the other classic paul tones are pretty much there for the taking.

OK, kind of low marks here. After I took it home, I realized the neck was obviously bowed somewhat and I took it back. The guy told me it just needed a setup and adjustment. At the time I had no idea that it was standard practice for most new guitars. I left it with him and after a week got it back, the neck and playablity seemed fine, though I wasn't really a good enough player to know the difference. The paint job is pretty nice, though you can see the plywood layers in the profile. But really, I don't much care about that.

About 3 years ago I replaced the bridge and tuners (gotoh) and took it in for another set up. The luthier commented on how "really good" the guitar sounded with the carvin pickups. It played fine for a while, but now I've got some fret buzzing on the low E. I think it just needs another adjustment, the actions a bit low. Admittedly in this department it's probably not as true as a "real" Les Paul would be.

It's held up very well, never an issue. "Koinged" the headstock on a few basement metal support posts, and it didn't "snap off" as pauls are known to do. Barely a mark really.

Memphis ? Who knows... Schmicheal did the set up cheap when I took it back though, so high marks for him.

For a long time I used this guitar without a proper amp, and blamed it for my inability to get "that sound". Plugged into a proper amp, this thing rocks, and everyone says so. A few years ago, while I was getting it set up, I purchased a new Epiphone Les Paul Custom, that looks almost exactly the same. I gave it the same "treatment", Carvin humbuckers, coil splitting. Maybe it's just me, but after playing them both for a while, I like the memphis better. The Epi sounds OK, but has the really big frets, and I'm not really liking them. Maybe the woods just gotten old, or I can tell the difference now, but the Memphis really sounds great to my ears. I've been looking to get a "real" Les Paul, after "sticker shock", I think I'm going to find another one of these, though I'd like one with a set neck.

I bought a used Memphis LP online for $160 including shipping after reading a lot of the glowing reviews on here. Boy, was I ever disappointed. Typical Les Paul features, but that's where the similarity to Gibsons ends. One of the few positive things I can say about this guitar is that it is a hell of a lot lighter than every Gibson I've ever played, which is actually refreshing. On the downside, the finish is a joke. You'll never mistake the stained plywood on this piece of crap for flamed maple, because it's probably made of the same wood as your dinner table and your bookshelf.
I don't know why Gibson bothered filing a lawsuit against this company because they had nothing to worry about, no one would ever
mistake this guitar for being even half the quality of a real Gibson Les Paul, or even one of the cheaper Epiphone copies.
The tuners are a joke, so is the bridge and forget about having
decent intonation on this thing, it goes out of tune easily and on mine notes fretted out before I even got to the twelfth fret.
I was able to correct both these problems after some minor adjustments
to the bridge and a quick setup but I was disappointed that the guitar needed so much attention straight out of the box. What a joke.

OK, here's where things improved. I was shocked to plug this guitar into my Marshall and hear deep, rich tones flying out of my amp
that made me turn around to see if Jimmy Page was standing behind me.
This thing may not look like a Gibson, but it sure as hell sounds like
one. I almost never use stock pickups, even on Gibsons, but on this guitar I was surprised to find that the neck pickup was warm and full bodied enough for jazz or blues and the bridge pickup was ballsy enough for rousing mosh pits with bone crushing metal riffs.
As a player who appreciates and plays a wide range of styles, I like
pickups that let me cover a lot of ground tonally, and these pickups
are definitely versatile enough for any style of music that you'll want to play. Of course, they're still not as good as a hot pair of Seymour Duncans or EMGs, so I'm either going to go with one of those or install the hot modern pickups (500T and 496R) that Gibson came out with not long ago.
But I'm a tone freak, and for players who aren't perfectionists these
pickups will be more than enough to handle any style from metal to
jazz with ease. I was able to get the right sound for tunes by Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, and George Lynch quite easily. The sound of these
pickups is warm and full, loud but not overpowering with perfectly
balanced highs, lows and mids. Quite good for stock pickups, I must say. But you can get the sound of this guitar from a nice Japanese
LP copy, such as a Tokai, or you could always get an Epiphone if you don't want to shell out the big bucks for a Gibson...and Tokais and
Epiphones stay in tune, without a lot of maintenance and setup work
after you buy them. My advice...spend the extra money to get something nicer, you get what you pay for.

This guitar was horribly setup when I received it, the intonation was poor, tuning stability was nonexistent, the bridge was a piece of crap
that should never have been installed in the first place instead of a quality bridge by another company that actually knows what the hell they're doing. Some notes on the neck would not sound at higher frets just before and after the twelfth, and there was so much string buzz
I almost had to cover my ears.
If you buy one of these, which you probably won't because you'll be smarter than me and pay the extra bucks to get another Gibson (or your first if you don't already have one), take it to a guitar tech
for a complete setup or do one yourself. Of course for the low prices you usually find these guitars at, you get what you pay for.

This guitar is already showing signs of wear, but it's mostly just cosmetic stuff so I'm not worried. It feels sturdy and looks like it could stand rattling around in the backseat or trunk of a car if you were stupid enough to forget to buy a hard case. Of course, I wouldn't want to try to find out...

What customer support? I hear the company went out of business, and I'm not surprised because their guitars are a joke.

I've been playing for five years, solo and in bands, mostly heavy metal and blues although I also dabble in other styles. I own a heavily modded vintage reissue Fender Strat (1968), which is my main guitar, and I have a number of backup guitars but I won't bore you by listing them all. I've owned and played everything from Gibsons, Fenders and Epiphones to instruments by Ibanez (my first guitar was an Ibanez Joe Satriani model) and Jackson, and my current collection also includes many others. I play through a 120 watt Peavey Deuce tube combo and a 50 watt Marshall DFX series solid state combo. I know gear pretty well, and I feel confident in saying the best thing you could do with one of these if you ever find one is pretend you're Hendrix or Pete Townshend and break it into a million pieces. Unless you have a decent amp and a Line 6 Pod to play it through, in which case no one will notice that your guitar sucks even though it actually does. if someone stole this guitar, I would put them in my will to thank them and invite them over for dinner to celebrate...and I'd try real hard not to laugh because they would have to be the stupidest person on the planet to steal a worthless guitar like this.
Of course, I was pretty stupid to buy it :)....so I guess that makes me the number two stupidest person on the planet.

I bought this guitar from a friend for 100 bucks and it was the best hundred bucks i've ever spent. It's a vintage copy true to the last detail, set neck, tension adjustable tuners,(can be locked)all mahogany construction , finish and binding have held up well even through 20 some years of bumps and dings, neck is straight as an arrow and has a low action thats unbelievable, very heavy, as with any gibson . If it weren't for the name I wouldn't know it wasnt. It was built somewhere in the seventies , and has the lawsuit headstock (mustache or open book) which ever you prefer. I replaced only the knobs (one was missing).Gibsons were an exact replacement. (couldnt tell the old ones from the new ones. I did a little setup on it and fell in love.

I play it through a crate gfx212t 120 watts (a little more amp than I need actually) sounds great, but a little rich or full for some of my playing.( actually with a few adjustments to tone controls it sounds just fine)

Like I said, I did a setup on it and it played great.

I would definately use this for live gigging if I did that. I have no doubt it would hold up well. It stays tuned too.

Cant find the company , I've tried .

ive been playing on and off for thirty years, and this is no doubt my most favorite of all ive owned or played. If it were stolen or lost I would cry. Nothing short of a gibson custom shop would feel as good.

I bought this Memphis used about a year ago at a local consignment shop. I was shocked when I pulled it off the rack! It had a solid two piece maple top and was finished in a stunning honeyburst finish. It has the "lawsuit headstock"and a mahogony set neck as well.The body is mahogony as well and has a maple veneer running through the body like the old Gibson Deluxe Les Pauls.The tuners had been changed to Grovers and the pickups were changed to Gibson Zebra models. All the hardware was true to the gibson specs,the tune-0-matic bridge is even anchored into the body with the tiny threaded screws,not the bulky studs like the Epiphone Les Pauls.This was no ordinary Les Paul copy! I believe it was probably made by Ibanez as a high end copy. The weight and neck shape are perfect on this guitar and it has the standard Les Paul scale and inlays. Neat fretwork and binding as well. The headstock pitch is even the correct pitch for a Les Paul.The only logo is the "Memphis" in pearl on the black headstock face.

This thing sounds amazing! I have played many Pauls in my time and very few can match the tone and feel of this guitar. The neck is truly amazing,not thick and chunky like most pauls.I play mine through a Yamaha DG 100 combo and both cleans and distortions sound great. This is what a Les Paul is supposed to sound like. I know this is a pretty rare find because I have never seen another like it.I play a lot of different music and this guitar can produce all the tones I need. The electronics are showing their age though, because the pots are getting scratchy and the toggle switch is cutting out. No big deal as I am planning on replacing the electronics anyway.

As far as the setup it seems to be good,although the nut is going to need replacing soon as the D string is starting to buzz when it is played open.In fact the guitar needs a complete setup because it probably has never had one since it was new.Still plays incredibly well considering the setup problems I just mentioned. The two piece carved solid top looks great and even has some figure in it.Finish looks pretty thick and durable and has held up well for as old as this guitar is,there is minimal wear on the guitar with no damage or cracks.

This guitar is a workhorse and will probably outlast me! Truly an amazing copy right down to the last detail. I would not think twice about not having a backup if I didn't break so many strings. Always stays in tune and is rock solid for live playing. It has been my main guitar since I discovered it and I cant bring myself to play anything else.

No clue,wouldn't even no where to start looking.

I have been playing for over 20 years and play mainly through Rockman gear as well as my Yamaha DG 100 combo amp.If this guitar was lost or stolen I would cry like a baby! I could never replace it, lets face it, how many Memphis copys like this have you ever seen? I love everything about this guitar and would have spent twice what I paid for it without hesitation.It can hang with any Gibson I have played and in fact played and sounded better than most.