Samick AV3 Greg Bennett Avion

As stated in the others, this is a Samick Avion AV3 Les Paul copy, 22 frets, arched top, two tone control, two volume control, three-way selector switch, two covered chrome humbuckers, Grover tuners, and a very beautiful finish over a flamed tiger stripe top, though it may be plywood. It would be nice if this had some sort of tremelo option, but it's certainly not necessary by any means. The bridge is a standard setup with adjustable saddles to get the perfect intonation. There is a standard stop style endpiece. The adjustable truss rod is very easy to adjust, simply loosen the 3rd and fourth strings and you have access to it.

I play this through a Digitech RP200 effects pedal into a Peavey 100 watt KB100 Keyboard amp, which has a built in compressor to avoid clipping and a 4 band EQ and reverb. Pretty much the only effect I use is a wah sometimes over a tube simulator into the amp with slight reverb. The pickups sound very excellent to me, especially since they're little copies. I only get feedback when I have the volume and tone wide open with the wah depressed in the treble position, either on my 100 watt Peavey or on my little Rickenbacker 20 watt that feedbacks to just about everything. The tone knobs and selector switch allow me to get just about any sound possible, from Jimmy Page to the Beatles to trebley and bright to warm and jazzy. VERY versatile, I love the range of sounds that can come from it! VERY rich overdrive sound attainable with the rhythym pickup, though it doesn't have a lot of treble, but the treble pickup used with the rhythym REALLY perfects the sound. Just play with it, every knob and switch, you'll find it can do so much. ESPECIALLY for a mere $180.

The finish is beautiful, I bought it new and it still had the factory protective plastic on the pickguard and pickups, as well as the inspection labels. I was not surprised that a little tweaking of the truss rod, a little adjustment on the height of the bridge and an adjustment with the intonation was all it needed to make it perfect. The nut is cut a little high, and when I REALLY go at it, the lower string buzzes, but only on around the 5th fret and above when I am fiercely attacking it with a heavy pick. I do not see any flaws, it seems to be put together with the utmost care, and she IS my baby. I cannot understand what happened with that other buyer at the bottom of the page, I don't know why his was such crap. Maybe they updated that plant or something. The only not-so-nice sound is a very quiet, almost un-noticeable TINY scratching sound when I put the volume or tone knobs all the way off, though this isn't used much anyway, but that's the only time and it's a VERY small sound.

Built very well, the strap buttons hold up excellently. The finish has a few scratches from everyday use, and it does scratch fairly easily, but it is a VERY high-gloss finish. Appears to be fairly durable, but the pickguard moves around with some ease. I do not ever see this guitar failing me in a gig, I definitely would depend on it for a night.

I tried to get a replacement cream cap for the pickup selector switch (merely cosmetic, I can still switch the pickups) by emailing Samick, but they never answered me ... so Samick is not included in this rating. GuitarWeb was very helpful in delivering it, as F??K#N FEDEX LOST IT FOR A MONTH, so GuitarWeb is very recommended. They even called me to confirm delivery, and shipped it overnight. Very fair service from a kind man in Tennessee.

I am thinking of buying an Essex Telecaster copy in addition to this guitar, though this is one of the most versatile guitars I've ever owned. IT BETTER NOT EVER BE STOLEN, because I'd run right out and get another! I LOVE the versatility of all the sounds that can come out of it. I don't have any problems with it, except for the high action from the nut, but it's still very easy to play, and OUTRAGEOUS FOR THE PRICE! Mark my words: the best $180 I've ever spent!
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2003 Avion-3 (Les Paul style body) Cherry Sunburst, Made in Indonesia
Mahogany body with maple cap and Grover tuners. An arch top hardshell case was included.

I am using a Fender Blues Deluxe with a Vintage 30 12" Celestion Speaker. Also running beaucoup effects.

This instrument feels and sounds sweet. Typical Les Paul......I usually play through a clean amp sometimes with a little grind. The pickups have a full range on tonality. I thought the combination of the bridge and neck position lacked interest but played seperately the pickups sound rich. The neck pickup has a nice snarl when you lean into it.

Mine was set up pretty well but I noticed two others at the store that needed neck adjustments. Overall the finish was great! The fingerboard inlays looked cheesey however......Really cheesy....Very funky grain....looked like cheap plastic.....So bad in fact, I almost didn't buy the guitar. Some buzzing on the low E at the 3rd fret will need to be corrected......Perhaps a good fret dressing. The binding around the body had some depressions and the nut extended beyond the fretboard a bit too much, but overall, I thought the fit and finish were very good

This guitar appears to be as solid as any of the many Les Paul (Gibsons) I have owned in the past. All of the fastners were secured and the neck was well fitted to the body.

None needed yet

I usually play telecasters.......our band does a rootsy rock twang thang.........I needed a backup guitar that I could also use for some slide work.

This guitar is a very class act. The neck is nice and beefy. The paint and finish are very good. The Grover tuners work like butter. Tonality is great. the rosewood has a very tight grain and almost looks like ebony. I have paid 10 times more for some Gibsons that I didn't like half as much. I am a gigging and recording Musician and am proud to add this quality instrument to my arsenal. Thanks Samick....you rock on this one! P.S. Please upgrade the neck inlays a little!

I've been in the music biz for 30 years and love the sound and
look of Les Pauls.
I'm really happy with the AV-3 Samick.
I can't afford, or justify getting a Gibson.
I picked up a Left Handed Cherry Sunburst Samick Les Paul "style" ,
Model AV-3 (Avion) Greg Bennett Series off E-Bay
back in September. I got it for 200.00 It sold as "used"
but it was looked like it came new out of a box.

Since I've had the guitar, I've done head to head comparisons
with an Epiphone Les Paul Standard ($565 new from Guitar Center)a Dean LP copy and a Jay Turser Les Paul copy.
The Dean sold for around $600 and the Turser was in the
350 price range.
IMHO, the Epi and Dean were nice - I'd have trouble deciding which one to buy IF they were the SAME price. The Dean, however, had only one volume and tone
control, (some people like that better)
The Turser, in comparison, didn't impress me much. This one store had
several Turser LP's and none of them played as well
as the Samick, IMHO.

I like the 70's Santana, Neal Schon, Jimmy Page
Rock, Blues type of sound. The Samick works well for these
styles. For Rock, Jazz Fusion, Jazz, and blues, the Samick
is a good choice.

I'm using mine for home use through an old tube
Beltone amp with a Johnson J-Station. Sounds good to
me for home use. I havn't decided if I'm going to upgrade the pu's.
If I was back to playing live, I might upgrade to
some Super Humbucking types with higher gain and sustain.
I needed to adjust the pickups for more gain from the high E
string. Even with new strings, the high E was lower volume
than the rest.
This guitar plays very noise free and has the classic Les Paul
tone.

The guitar came with heavier strings, so when I changed them
to 009's, the truss rod needed adjusting to keep the
1st fret from buzzing (common when changing string guages from heavy to light). The intonation was fine.

In comparison to the Epiphone LP Standard
using the same amp and settings.
The neck played the same, hardware, feel and look of the knobs,
binding quality, Grover tuning pegs,
all the same (maybe 'cause Samick manufactures the Epiphones?)
Both have mahogany set-necks, flamed maple tops on mahogany (Nato) bodies.
The Samick is a little darker looking, but that's ok with me.
Weight seemed identical.
NOTE: The nut on my AV-3 is cut a little
high, effecting the action on the first fret just a hair. Otherwise, the action is great. The nut on the Epi was cut better and felt
smoother and rounded off better along the edges.
I could replace the nut for under ten dollars, so I don't consider
this too discouraging.
The collar on the toggle switch has trouble staying tight.
This hasn't been a major problem.
Tone:
The only difference I could hear was that the Epi pup's were slightly
hotter than the Samick "Duncans", although I liked the tone of the
Samick better (cleaner, using
the same settings)
The material used for the neck inlays look better on the Epi from close up. Quality wise, I dont see a difference in how they're
set in the neck.
The Samick has Grover tuning pegs and all the strings stay in tune very well.
If Guitar Center sold these side by side, I don't see how they'd
sell any Epi's....not for that huge price difference.

I'd say this guitar would hold up as well as
others under a thousand bucks. Hardware seems solid
compared to others in it's class. After three months of
daily playing, the finish looks new, with no signs of wear.

N/A - No warranty since it sold as used.
I doubt if I'll need to contact them anyway.

I'm new to playing guitar, but have
been a career musician, live and studio (bass - keyboards)
since the mid 70's.
I've worked with a few excellent guitar players that
have used Les Pauls. I've always liked the look and tone.
The guitar meets my needs.
If something happened to this guitar, and I had under $500 to spend, I'd get another Samick.

This is AV3 Avion Les Paul Vintage Cherry Sunburst, 2-Humbucker chrome hardware, Flame maple top(veneer)-Nato body,mahogany neck-med jumbo frets,grover tuners.

Never had a copy guitar before!-Overall I am very critical with guitars and am a gibson player-Old school vintage guy.THIS GUITAR WEIGHS AND FEELS GREAT! I use fender amps(Twin,princeton)My guitar was used and came with real Duncan 59`s replacement pickups-so don`t know what stock are like but damn this little guitar sings just fine and has real nice action-way better than Epi-Kelly,Wasburn or any other copy i`ve tried- Can get any bucker tone you need-very versatile.

I replaced nut-adjusted action, and pickups, and home again-no hassel easy guitar to set up-yes fret inlays aren`t-Perfect-but finish, frets and neck are great!!-guitar weighs about 6.5-Ibs-

Have used this live in small and large rooms-Nice sound ,reliable,all hard ware tight-Does the les paul thing very well-Time will tell-I always use a backup guitar.

E-mailed Once and got a quick reply-helpful.

Have some great old Gibson-Vintage pieces and am glad I got this one for a song..BUY One and save a Bundle-It`s a Winner

My guitar is a av-3 AVION Flame top, made in 2002 in Indonisia, 2 humbuckers.. regular les paul style hardware... grover tuners. give it an 8 because of the cheap pickups

It sounds very nice except for the fact that the pickups NEED to be wax potted because they squeel like a microphone when volume is loud on the amp.

The guitar was set up at the store just fine. I adjusted the pickup height to my liking. The top is nice. The pickguard was cut a little sloppy but i took that off anyway. The nut is the thing that will need to be worked on, the slots for the strings were very shallow and needed to be carved deeper by a tech. but it plays great.

The hardware seems very good, as always replace the strap buttons with strap locks. i would use it for gigs, but would have to have new pickups or wax potted. its a solid instrument

never delt with them

Overall its a nice playing axe, they could put more time into the inspection and fine tuning of the guitar before they send it out the door.