Pearl Export Custom

This review intends to give additional info and make some corrections to my former review posted below on 01/11/2002.
This guitar Pearl ???export standard??? was made in Japan in early 80???s. I bought it new in March 1985 (not ???83 as written by mistake). This is the only guitar I ever bought new, I normally always go for second hands.
Guitar has 22 frets. 2 humbuckers, two volumes and two tone controls, and a 3 ways selector. It also features a coil split which allows to turn the humbucker into single coils. Controls are in standard Les Paul configuration, the pickup selector is placed next to them, close to the bridge. Table is flat, with no pickguard.
The guitar is dark brown, quite the same color as the brown LP junior (I remember seeing it also in black at the store).
Glued neck featuring an odd binding that is following the shape of the frets.
It is a double cutaway, that looks globally like and LP Junior, but the shape of the cutaway is pretty much like Brian May???s guitars. The access to the very high end is extremely easy, much more than on most other guitars.
Standard Tune O matic bridge and stop tailpiece.
The instrument is also very thin (2,4 cm thick) and quite light and handy. Headstock writes ???The Pearl guitar company??? and ???Export Standard??? on plastic protection for the neck screw

The instrument is extremely versatile and can be used for any kind of style
The spectrum of sound is quite large, but maybe not as "typical" as a brand instrument. It is globally close to a Gibson. Anyway using the neck pick up in single coil is quite interesting and gives a nice bluesy sound

The action is very low which make it very easy to play.
Very nice high quality finish, thick and strong varnish.

I've never used the guitar live (I was using a Telecaster and EA250 Epiphone type), but I am pretty sure that it would have been an excellent live instrument, it is very strongly build and extremely reliable. During a rehearsal, it once felt out of the guitar strap, headstock and neck hitting hard the floor after about 1 meter straight fall??? Nothing happened (a part from a light wrinkle in the varnish at the join neck-body), the guitar was not even out of tune!!!
It is hasn't moved since I bought it.

Never needed, but inexisting. It is impossible to find any info relating to those guitars.

I ve been playing the guitar since 1980 (Rock, blues, pub rock,???) and got several guitars, including Gibson Les Paul, 1964 Gibson ES 125, Squier JV ???52 Telecaster, 1963 Framus Black Rose, and EA250 Epiphone, plus some old low quality japanese copies. That PEARL guitar is to me as good as a brand instrument. Its look is close to LP JUNIOR and sounds close to a LP Standard. Even if it is not the most typical guitar, it is probably the most versatile instrument I have got. A fantastic guitar especially if you consider the price paid originally. I only know one other guy who owned one and I still do not understand today why with such a high quality those guitars where never a success.

This is a very nice, very heavy japanese SG copy. Rumours/legend says that Gibson sued Pear for their SG and Les Paul copies. Some say it is mahagony but there are not many informations on the net. Very solid.

It has a very nice sound, very warm. Sounds like a SG should sound. Compared with an Epiphone "cheap" SG the Pearl sounds much better. You can use it for almost any style of music, from Blues to Hardcore.

This guitar is 30 years old but still flawless except some of the paint.

Almost indestructable this cute but heavy lady. Solid, bombproof. For gigs a little bit heavy but SG and LP players are used to this.

not available anymore, this is vintage gear

I bought this guitar from a friend for about 140 Dollars (95 Euros, 200 Deutsche Mark at that time before the Euro). I needed a new guitar cause my old Flying V broke :( and my other cheap korean Strat kind of sucks (good for punk rock but nothing else). So I was lucky, it was a very good deal cause no one knew how good this guitar was. If I'd lost it I would hunt for a new one on EBay, they are very rare but sometimes some Pearl guitars surface on EBay.

Hi I bought one of those 15 years ago for 300 dollars Australian, it has 22 frets, it has a glued neck, with 3 way switch 4 volume knobs , 2 of those hubuk pick ups,sunburst in colour, its a good old classic, i was told it was banned after a law suit between Gibson and Pearl, Best Guitar Ive ever played other than the real thing, i once played a real Gibson SG , very similar in the neck, wondering how much it worth, needs re wire and volume controls.

Exellent - ACDC sound

Very nice to play, unreal action

Very old and still in one piece, apart from needing a re wire

Not

As Close to the real thing you'll ever get

Don't know much about these guitars except that i love the one i've got. A few years ago i was looking for a guitar with twin humbuckers and coil taps and came across this beauty. It has awesome tone though could be improved with higher gain pickups (the standard ones can be prone to feedback when drowning in fx). Other's have mentioned that theirs have a tunomatic bridge whereas mine is a fixed sliding saddle type which works fine. The thing is build like a slab of granite and probably has about 40 coats of paint as it never marks or scratches! Apart from the pickups and tired machine headsmy only complaint is the neck is a tad too thick for my taste but i live with it.

I use a lot of open tunings and vary a lot between Tool, Perfect Circle, Opeth type of stuff to blues and even a bit of stoner rock. I'm playing through a Boss GT5 and a Roost SR25 hooked up to a trace elliot cab.
It has a warm, full tone that lingers for ages. I got a bit frustrated at not being able to get clear shimmering stuff out of it so i bought another guitar for that side of things. That said, flicking the coil tap switch get a huge tonal change. Again, aftermarket pickups could help a lot.

I've lowered the action on this thing to the point where i thought it was surely gonna start buzzing, but no, i got a bit at second fret at the low E and that was it. I can comfortably tune it to an open C flat with no worries and it plays fine. Finish as i've said is nearly bulletproof. I've had a long term shredder dedicated to jacksons play this guitar. He loved it. The tuners are getting a bit old i think as it can be hard to keep in tune. One of the best parts is the brass nut, it looks a bit different.

I played this guitar live for a year with no backup without one problem. I would again walk out the door with this and nothing else. Nuf said.

Do they exist?

I've been playing for 12 years. I've also got a Godin (dunno the model) electric and a Jap-Strat-copy, plus i play the missus Maton BG808 and her Les Paul Standard. Also Playing an Ibanez Soundgear 5 string. If this guitar was stolen i would try and find one but i don't think i would be able to. I love how this guitar puts me right in the mood for grinding riffs, blues and stoner rock and it thrives on that stuff. It has great prescence but is let down by a couple of cheaper bits of hardware. My future upgrades will be some Di marzio pickups and some new machine heads. After that, you could offer me any other guitar and i'd keep this old girl. If you ever see one, grab it. They deserve good homes.

I bought this guitar 2nd hand for 150 euro's.
It;s made out of Mahogany,Walnut,and Maple.
2 di Marzio humbuckers,with a switch to set each humbucker a single coil.
Thick transparant finish.
22 frets

I play it mainly on a marshall 30 watt master lead combo,80's transistor.
It plays very light and easy.
there's a lot of sounds you can make with this guitar,very versatile guitar.

as I said,easy to play...very low action,easy to bend notes...the strings pull like they were made out of rubber..
I like the pearloid blocks.

very reliable,solid guitar.
I would use it on jams and gigs,no doubt.
the guitar is astonishing.

never had any problems with the guitar.

I like the double cutaways.
I like the way it plays,very very easy!
multiple choice of sounds.
I own a Gibson SG korina but this guitar is certainly worth comepetition with the SG..

I just bought one. everyones given the specs already, mines black which seems to differ from most. it has a vantage case which is interesting. just love its verstility and tone. guy in the shop said it was japanese.

I play a lot of dub/reggae/blues stuff. its versatile and can do almost anything. no noise, full sound.

it is a little buzzy as the action is very low. should be easy to fix, otherwise great.

just got it, but its in awesome condition. solid as, i'll be using it live.

na

I know i paid more than most, but I just played it and couln't walk away from it. wasn't planning to get a guitar, wanted to buy a bass, walked out with a guitar. Its solid, smooth and versatile. Never seen one before, I'd buy another if I lost it. It'd be difficult to part with, but if someone really wanted it, I'd consider. But I'm real happy.

i got the browny-black version. Brought it in Germany. told it was a 1975 make by pearl who stopped making guitars after just one year and this line finished.
Not sure the toggle switch cuts from single coil to humbucker because tapping the individual pickups still produces a sound - may be more of a kind of 'boost' or something.
all other details as above!

Yeah. As said before you can play jazz, blues, country, rock, real heavy stuff. This is the most versatile guitar i know!

Think mine needs to be set up proper. no fret buzz or anthing but the neck might be a little warped - come on, it is a bit long in the tooth!

Actually bought a Epiphone SG to gig with as i thought it might let me down. Then i discovered this web site and realised just how highly rated this guitar is. I think i would trust it.

The guy i bought it from let me take it home for a week before i bought it. plugged it in - wow. Freind of mine visited me in germany. he knows more than me about guitars. He was impressed too.

Absolutely love this guitar and as so many others have said - if you ever see one buy it! if you ever lose it - sorry, i don't think you'll find another :-(

I Traded it for Guitar lessons, The neck was broken at the headstock, it was fixed and it looks fine now. The original neck painting was gone as well as the tunners and a headstock binding was added.

I Don't kon when or where it was made, looks quite old. Dark cherry sunburst, 22 frets with cream binding, set neck, 3-piece mohogany solid boby (extremly heavy), 2 vol, 1 tone, 2 mini-switches for coil cut (witch gives many tonal options), 2 passive humbuckers by dimarzio (so I was told). Les Paul type boby (no binding), hard-tail string trough body bridge (brass).

I replaced the original pickups with two mighty mite gibson-style humbuckers (in my opinion the original ones had poor feedback control)

I play mostly heavy music with a fair amount of distortion, This guitar has an amazing sustain and a very fat sound. I Use it trough a Boss DS2 and a Fender Deluxe (I like to keep my setup simple, this works very well for me). Very versatile, perfect for blues with smooth overdrive and a very consistent sound if you use heavy distortion. It suits most music styles very well

Better in sound and finish than a les-paul standart (witch sucks for the price)

Not noisy at all, very good fat and chunky tone.

Got it used and it looks like it took a heavy beating (many scratches everywere, and the neck was broken at the heastock as i've said.

The neck binding and fret work is suberb but the mother of pearl block inlays are poorly installed, this doesn't affect the excellent playabillity.

Never played it live, still not used to it (because of the position of the controls wich I use a lot), I'm very used to my guitar wich was custom made (witch sounds AMAZING) and just can't let go of it.

Still, it looks and feels very reliable.

I've been playing for 8 years and this is a surprisingly good les paul type guitar, I love it's amazing sustain and good tone but it's weight (this is the heaviest guitar i've held, I think it has rocks inside) is a pain in the back.
I hated the original pickups bat that was easily fixed.

Very rare as far as i know (This is the only place where I could find some info on it) and I will certainly keep it.
If it was lost or stollen I would never find another one, so if you find one, buy it. I wish I had bought it new.

I'm very happy with it.

Bought in 1981. Body and neck made in Italy and exported to Japan. 22 frets. Solid body, non detachable neck. 7cm thick.
2 humbuckers (unknown), ind vol tone, 3way, dual single coil. Wood unknown, but extremely heavy with great sustain. Burgundy gloss. Double cutaway. Tun-o-matic brdige. V.old gotoh tuners. Thin fretboard, thickish neck. Brass nut.

Solid body gives a beautiful sustain. Orig Electronics have been replaced, they became scratchy quickly. No trouble since. This single coil switch gives a great bridge or neck strat sound. The standard setting sits well with any Les Pauls.

Dropped the action considerably, with no side effects. Tune-o-matic bridge kept tune and harmonics all the way to 22.

This guitar has been there and done that. Replaced the strap buttons with lockers. The finish has dings now but zero wear for a guitar with no pick guard. Its made by a company that builds things that get hit, what more can I say! I could leave the front door with only this guitar, no problem.

no dealings, they gave up guitars fairly quickly.

Been playing for 22 years. This was my second electric and I've still got it. (many others have come and gone). I mainly play acoustics now 2 Corts (won't be the last either)/ 1 Epiphone 12 / 2 Yamahas (12/6)/ 1 Ibanez Bass / Fender EC strat / Morris Solid body Electro. If lost I Don't think I'd find another, believe me I've been looking. At work we do a lot of Commercial Jingles. Quite often the sound guy borrows this one. It's fun watch and hear the pro muso's praise, and then watch their faces drop when they find out the cost. ;-)

I have just bought this black guitar from "The Pearl Company". I was told, that it was made in USA in the seventeens, and it looks like a Gibson Les Paul.
There are 22 freets, with 2x2db. humb. pass. pickups from Demarzio. 2 volume kontrols and 2 tonecontrols. The finish i quite good and its in a fine shape.

I must say, that its a very surpricing guitar. I have a Valley Arts Pre Samick and an old Strat, but this guitar really sounds like Gary Moore, very, very fat blues sound. No noise. I really loves the guitar, and i can play very fast on the frets.
The dealer just measured the neck, and it is in very good condit..

The guitar is, sorry to say, better in finish than the Les Paul Standard.
Though its an old guitar, everything is working properly..
And I have to admit, that the guitar has been used on a school for several years, but you cant see it. Some marks ofcourse.
The children didnt like to play it, because of its weight. It very heavy, so am I......

The guitar will last forever now..I am going to make it standard equipment on my tour and look like a new.

Help me find out something about this guitar - who made it....Pearl Drums???

The controls must be changed and the pickups adjusted...but still, its a very fine guitar - and I have tried Gibson, Fender, them all...heres an cheap, realiably guitar with a great sound...and very good to play on.
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