Memphis Les Paul Studio Copy

Reading the review below, and taking into account the numerous variations of guitars the Memphis brand put out, this is the closest style. Mine is a set neck, solid mahogany studio style guitar. It has a stained finish, and a severe bevel at the top of the body, so it looks like a cross between a LP and a SG. 22 fret, 24.75 neck, with no trim, but brass dot inlays. 2 volume/2 tone, and the 3 way toggle placed just above the knobs, which I kind of liked. This has the rail humbuckers, and a standard, but nicely made Gibson style bridge, nice and heavy. Open headstock (no Gibson lady-lips style) and from research, is MIJ around 1981 more than likely from the Ibanez factory.

This was pretty stock, but I have to say those rail humbuckers really surprised me. Very powerful, excellent broad range of tone and sounds (quite amazing really) from the pots, and a rather snotty sound, which makes it a great guitar for that late 70 early 80 hard rock/metal sound. Because of the quality of the bridge and the electronics, the sustain and presence on this was very good, better than a lot of Epiphones being produced today. I still have some work to do on this, but slap on a decent set of strings, add better tuners, would be even better.

To be honest, I've seen worse new out of the box guitars at 500 dollars now days. It's a very solid guitar that does the job, even if it's a little plain. One mark off for the tuners, but then that always is the first thing you replace on MIJ Vintage guitars anyway. I replaced the input jack with a higher quality one, but everything else worked 100% and was good enough that I didn't need to replace them.
This was a very well loved guitar, so it's been through the wars, but overall, still very playable. The frets have survived well, and not to bad, no sharpness on the edges.

This was played a lot, and it has the usual nicks and bruises, and a lot of pick marks and scratches, yet it has held up very well. Judging from the condition and the dirt, I wondered if the previous owner ever cleaned it, and it sure was abused, yet the guitar still is in very good shape considering it's 30 years old now.
Built like a tank would be the best way to describe it, and certainly dependable enough as the main practise guitar at home and a gig worthy guitar.

The company no longer exists, they died 25 plus years ago. ;)

Simple. I paid about 100 total including shipping, and will sink in about another 100 for tuners and set-up, and for 200 total, this is a steal. I would put this in the same range as a 400 dollar new guitar now, and there would be better overall hardware on this one. Better than the Epi's in this price range for sure, and a great guitar for the intermediate player. It's not gonna wow you with it's looks, but it does the job just as much as any other guitar, it plays and sounds great.
A perfect guitar to play at home, and as you go along, adding higher end parts just improve it, so the guitar is good enough to grow with you as you improve.
I just got this as a project guitar, but I'm already attached to it. I had to do very little work to this, less than a brand new guitar, and I suspect I will be playing this one far longer. These show up on ebay, and if you avoid the bolt on models, this is a great little model for a fraction of the price of a new equivalent guitar.

I am starting this review section for the Memphis Les Paul *Studio* model ONLY. The typical Memphis LP that you see IS NOT the studio model - if yours has any binding, inlays, 'rail' type pickups or a bolt-on neck then it IS NOT the studio model.

The studio model is MUCH, MUCH better than any other Memphis I have played and is nothing like any of the other 4 types that Memphis made. Over the years I have tried many Memphis guitars anytime I have seen one in a pawnshop or music store. 1st, here's is the breakdown on the NON-STUDIO types:

1) there is a rootbeer colored plain jane model with 'rail' type pickups (instead of pole peices). These are decent beginner/intermediate guitars.

2) the Les Paul 'standard' type - these have set neck, inlays and binding on the neck and body. These are good intermediate guitars, and could even pass for better than that in some cases.

3) the LP 'standard' with bolt-on necks. Not so hot beginner guitar.

***OK, now for the Memphis LP STUDIO model that this review section is intended for***

I am basing my review on the only two of these I have ever seen (I bought both). Let me say up front that I am not ramping up the review just because I own this model - I also own a few Gibsons, Fender, Ibanez, Washburn etc. If anything it would be in my own best interest to downplay the quality on the Studio model, in hopes that I can find and buy another one cheap! :) As far as I know the Studio models are only available in black. They appear to have been made in the early 80s. There is no binding or inlays. It has a set neck, Gibson-style gold 'tulip' tuners, gold hardware, black pickguard, openface black humbuckers, tune-o-matic style bridge, archtop, rosewood fretboard, mahogany (?) body and top, book style headstock (no dip in the middle). My Gibson Les Paul 1960 Classic (and my Gisbons LP Studio) weighs in at 9.5 lbs, while my Memphis weigh in at 11.5 lbs!

The tuners are high ratio/high quality. The pickups are moderate to high output and are actually pretty good pickups in their own right though I chose to replace them with Seymour Duncan (SH6 super distortion in bridge, SH1 59 Classic in neck) which are better. These guitars are SOLID. The electronics are quality and still work great on both of my Studio models - instead of just pots, it has a printed circuit board with the pots built into it. The capacitors used for tone bleed actually sound better as far as frequency than the ones on my Gibsons.

As far as features it has everything you normally get with a Les Paul Studio model, as compared to Gibson.

The sound before I replaced the pickups was pretty darn good, and I would place it at the intermediate to pro level. The pickups were not noisy and were of sufficient output to distort well when needed, but also played very well clean. It had a well balanced rounded tone clean, with plenty of harmonics when playing with distortion. The tone far surpassed the other models of Memphis LPs I have played. Combined with the excellent feel and playability of the neck, I feel it far surpasses most LP copies I have owned or played.

I did however change the pickups and was pleased with the results. The Seymour Duncan SH6 and SH1 combination were icing on the cake for this guitar. Even though the original pickups are pretty good, a switch of pickups will be worth doing.

FYI- I play anything from Brit-pop styles to energetic indie-rock in the style of bands like U2, Big Country, The Church, Trail Of Dead, Oasis, Bowie, Clash etc. I've been playing for 15 years and have owned approximately 150 guitars in that time (I keep the best sell the rest), and have been through numerous amplifier combinations, and effects. I typically play my Memphis LP Studio through the following:
Ibanez TS9 tubescreamer, TS808 tubescreamer, Digitech Rp100 (for tremelo and vibrato only), Fender digital delay, Line6 Delay modeler. I run that into one (or two) of the following amps: Fender RocPro1000, Marshall JCM900, Peavey Classic 30 (tube amp) or Classic 50.

These guitars are in decent shape after 20 years with normal wear. I cannot see any finish flaws, and the electronics etc still work great. The only negative I can see is that you can tell where the 'seams' were where the wood went together on the body. It is identical on both guitars that I have so I assume it's not a fluke. The 'seams' that I mention do not cause any sort of problem in the finish and are not cracks or anything like that - its just that you can see under the finish where the peices must have met. Hard to describe... Other than that it appears to have been a very nicely crafted instrument and is extremely solid! The frets are great and the setup didnt require anything out of the ordinary.

20 years and going strong on both guitars. Very solid, very durable. I absolutely can depend on these guitars and have used one of them live.

Huh??? Does this company even exist anymore?

I've been playing for 15 years. In addition to the 2 Memphis Les Paul studios, I also have a Gibson 1960 Classic Les Paul, and 2001 Gibson Les Paul Studio, 3 Ibanez AS120 Artstars (ES335 copies that are great), Takamine acoustic 12 string, Washburn acoustic jumbo 6 string, 2 Yamaha SGs.

Do not confuse this guitar with the other variety of Memphis LPs or you will end up disapointed - remember, these have no binding or block inlays, but have the set necks and are very heavy.

IF YOU HAVE ONE AND WANT TO SELL IT, EMAIL ME!!!! I can always use another one...