Memphis Les Paul Junior Copy

2 P-90 style pickups, bolt neck, double cut body, 3 way selector switch, 2 volume and two tone controls. Made in Japan in the late seventies or early eighties with most likely a ply body but a great feeling neck with a nice rosewood board. The tuners are cheap but stay in tune. Compensated wraparound bridge/tailpiece. Really more of a late 50's Les Paul Special copy than a Jr but everyone else listed it under the Jr. so I am as well. Cherry red finish that has held up very well.

Strong pickup's. Bright and clear you can crank up the amp and get a classic 70's overdrive or back off and get a crisp clean sound. The pickups are quite and really have a great tone. The tone knob makes a HUGE impact on the treble unlike many guitars that it kills your sound. The neck pickup is especially sweet. I have owned one for twenty years and was just able to buy another one. The two are very close in quality and sound although my original is road worn. I play through a Fender Hot Rod Deville in clubs and use a Peavey Classic 50 for practice. I retired the Marshall's a few years ago but through the Marshall you could get the Mississippi Queen sound to a T.

Both were bought used but they have held up over time with original pot's, jack's and switches. A little contact cleaner to the pot's fixed my new purchase right up. As I said earlier the tone pot is a great tool on these guitars so clean pot's are a must for me. The fit and finish on this guitar is as good as any other 70's or 80's made in Japan guitar. You can buy these Guitars way cheaper than a Ibanez or Yamaha from the same era and the quality is there. Did I say the P-90 clones ROCK.

20 years on the road 4 nights a week and I use this Guitar on about a third of our song's so it is for sure reliable and durable. I had to buy a back up just in case. Alway's use Straplocks, no strap button is 100% reliable.

Who knows which comapany in Japan even built Memphis. It has outlasted any warranty.

I have been playing 30 years and own many guitars. I play a Strat and Les Paul along with the Memphis in our shows. I worried about it being stolen or lost that is why I bought a second one. If someone were going to steal my Guitars they would grab the Strat or the Paul first. I also own a Telecaster, Melody Maker and a Music Man Sting Ray II. I learned a long time ago that a name on a Guitar means nothing. The tone is everything and these guitars have it. Paid $150 for the first one twenty years ago used and $250 for the one I found about 6 months ago. The pickups' alone are woth the money. If you find one and like the P-90 sound, buy it.

set neck, dual cutaway. Red, dual p90's with 3 way selector. Rosewood fingerboard, 2 piece mahogany body. tune-o-matic bridge

Sounds completely bad ass, vintage vibe. Nice sustain, with a full sound. The p90's are not shrill, and the hum was on par with that of a Les Paul Jr.(maybe even a little less) This Memphis allowed nasty palm mutes, quick gallops, and raunchy solos. Yes, it outplayed the new Gibson Les Paul Special Faded series, AND the Les Paul Custom shop Jr. Sorry, just cuz it says Memphis on the headstock doesn't mean it can't rock! We plugged it into a cheap Fender 15 watt amp, and the guitar certainly made the grade. Ran it through my Mesa Boogie and Joan Jett crunch rang through....

*I strongly recommend 13-52 strings for tougher sound and longer sustain

The action was fine after we had it setup. Take note, it was a vintage 70's model. The only thing to take not was the tuners were replaced; upgraded to more sturdy ones. The previous owner filled in the old holes only so-so, but we didn't mind. The controls/pickups were cleaned. I STRONGLY recommend 13-52 sets of strings, tougher sound with more sustain. Instrument stays in tune nicely and didn't feel cheap.

This guitar could take a beating, after all, it's from the 70's and is still here. I'd use it as a live backup guitar. I'm very active onstage and would preserve it by treading a little lighter than normal.

We picked it up at Hollywood Sam Ash. Store was most helpful in setting it up and chatting away.

Overall, we got an above average guitar that offers p90 growl/bite with a professional finish; NOT an economy finish. It's set neck, 2 piece mahogany body sustained nicely. Customers were very surprised when they learned what guitar we were playing.
We would'nt have purchased it if it was a bolt on neck. The Gibson Les Paul Special Faded was the same price, but it didn't sustain as well due to the Memphis having stronger pickups. Also, the faded Gibson finish was economy, felt like a desk.
The Les Paul Jr. custom shop(single cutaway) didn't sustain as well and was too heavy, very clunky feeling. Also, the p90 was just weak.
The 7 rating because my girlfriend loves it, found it very easy to play. I think it was one of those cool, rare finds.

Well, both P-90 pickups are great so I guess I'd give it a 9. I prefer my guitars NOT to have "features" like built-in effects etc. just give me two strong pickups with volume and tone controls for each. that'll do just fine. Actually, I will comment that this guitar has a tune-o-matic style bridge for easy, accurate intonation. This is a nice feature over its Univox brothers, which use a wrap-around tailpiece or, more likely, a badass bridge, which aren't terrible in theory but always annoy me a little.

don't let these ply-style bodies fool you. some really awesome guitars have such body designs and sound great. Take the SG-shaped Ampeg Stud for example. I'll probably own another one of those soon too. My Memphis is medium-light in weight, nice and resonant and perfectly suited for P90's. The pickups in the Memphis are hot and sound great. the set neck in the Memphis is the only way to go. Japanese guitars can be great but I won't buy one with a bolt on neck.

Feels great. slightly chunky neck, which I like. I think these were made at the Matsumoku factory in Japan. I'm very impressed with the action and craftsmanship.

it seems to have withstood the last 30 years of playing just fine. this neck isn't likely to warp. electronics were a bit dusty when I got it but a little electronics cleaner solved that.

yeah right.

I've been playing for a long time and have owned some nice guitars. I don't buy into the hype or headstock factor. my Memphis is my number one axe. it sounds awesome and nobody I've ever known uses one, so I feel like I found a hidden gem. I'll give it a 9 just because HC doesn't like people giving out 10's for anything less than a '59 Les Paul.

Looks like it was made in Korea out of the finest plywood available. Double cutaway, a finish that is really thick polyurethane and is supposed to be ivory but looks like colgate toothpaste green. 2 p-90 wannabe pickups. The neck is an unidentifiable wood with a rosewood board. tune-o-matic looking bridge. Fat neck that feels quite nice actally.

Ok, this is an old Asian LP copy, but it aint a Tokai Love Rock. The pickups are weak but give off a cool raggedy sound that i dig a lot for certain things. pretty good for your white stripes type of garage rock, but not cool enough to be like Johnny Thunders. Hardly any sustain but defnitely a rude sounding little beast. it still sounds pretty bad though.

Well its old and i bought it at a flea market for cheap, so i was expecting a flea market guitar to begin with. some of the wires became unsoldered in the back, but easil fixed in the garage. The neck could probably use some work, but its not worth getting fixed up, especially since its a set-neck.

Yeah, it would withstand a beating, and looks like it has. the polyirethane finish is thick and is probably so to hide the ply in the wood. Not very dependable, but a good prop guitar or the thing you leave in your car or to take a trip to the mojave desert with your mini marshall or pignose. I would probably gig with this if the place were full of weirdos and drunks, as it wouldnt be a big loss if this guitar broke.

thankfully they are out of business

Playing since '93 and have gone through about 15 guitars total since then. I have about 13 right now, including my '89 Les Paul Black Beauty(main), '52 ES-175(songwriting) and a Hamer Artist Custom(#2). I also have an assortment of strange guitars that no one else will love. I'm the Mother Theresa of cheap guitars and give everything a home. This thing isnt as cool as my '70 Epiphone ET-270, but its just a cool guitar to toy around with and test pickups and hardware out on. SO even though it is a piece of crap, i find i can get some use out of it, and thats what guitars are anyway. Tools. So anyway, on a totally unrelated note, even though i love cheapies, I'm on the lookout for the holy grail of all guitars, an Auerswald. Yes its a sin to mention Auerswald and Memphis in the same paragraph, but help me on my quest please. Any email is appreciated for help on my hunt for the perfect beast.