Samick AV6 Greg Bennett

I bought it in India. The specs has already been mentioned and they are pretty decent.
I have changed the pickups to SD Alnico 2 pro in both positions.
I've also added Jensen RS Guitar capacitors.

Check my youtube channel for it's tone:
http://in.youtube.com/Vaibhav8584

The above modification have contributed phenomenally to the sound. But the original pickups are not bad at all.
I differ with others reviewers when they say it's tone quality is comparable All solid body Gibson Les Paul; it's not to my mind and ears.
It is a good guitar but If you compare it unplugged with the tone of original Les paul - it's very weak and dull, sustain is ok. It's neck is 60's style which makes this guitar easier to play but then the nut is smaller than Gibby's.
Plugged in sound will depend on your setup and pickups. As a matter of fact, It can handle any style of music.

I Love the action on this guitar. I have the cherry sunburst finish as the other available shades were awful.

I can depend on it and its my backup guitar.

No experience

It is good for an amateur or a guitar enthusiast.
In one line - Its like comparing a Laminated wood Acoustic guitar with All Solid body acoustics. If you cannot make the difference in the tone/ sounds then you have a long way to go :)

Moreover, it's how the guitar feels in your arms. Hope you understand and I hope I have helped you.

If you want to buy a budget guitar than don't look around, go and buy it. It's worth $500

I bought this AV-6 LTD after seeing it at a small guitar shop in a little town outside of Austin. It was the most beautiful guitar I have ever seen. I found one on Ebay after I got home and bid on it. It has a solid "Spalted Maple" top with mohogany sides and back. Beautiful cream binding and pearl crown inlays on the rosewood neck. Dual silver Duncan humbuckers and Grover tuners. It played like a dream right out of the box and does not have a flaw on it!!! VERY classy guitar. I would be proud to play this on any stage. If you see it and play it, you'll be sold. You can save a little money and get the base AV6, but this spalted maple top makes the guitar and will just increase in value more over time.

For what I spent on this Samick, I would have to recommend it to anyone. I agree that the pickups could be just a little bit hotter, but it fits me pretty well. I play classic rock, some folk and some country. I'm no kick butt musician, but have played in a few bands performing live. Find one and try it! Very clean and quiet. It has a nice full sound with good sustain. I play a '73 Fender Vibrolux Reverb tube amp I bought new and it makes for a sweet clean or gives a nice growl with a little distortion pedal added.

Fit and finish were pretty much perfect. The only thing I had to do was tighten up the nut on the 1/4 input jack. This seems to happen on most guitars. Intonation was great and pickup placement was ideal.

AS I said, I wouldn't change a thing. Seem very dependable and solid.

No problems, so haven't had to deal with this.

I have been playing for over 30 years and have a '73 Strat I bought new as a 15 year old kid. It is still in very good condition and plays like silk. I would buy this again because I believe as a limited edition with the spalted maple top it will gain value faster than others. Between this and my Strat, I can't think of anything else I could want. Always nice to have more guitars and more amps!

In terms of features, it has it all in my opinion. Duncan Design P/Us, two independant volumes and tones; one for each p/u, adjustable saddles, and great sustain. I give "Features" a 10 because it has all of the important features that would make this model comparable to a Les Paul.

My typical style of music I play is Zeppelin, Aerosmith, CCR, Floyd, Metallica, Skynyrd, Ministry, Pantera, Clapton, Kansas, etc. It is a pretty broad range of music, which is why I think I can safely say that this guitar does a great job of sounding like all of these artists. The Duncan Design P/Us are awesome, and sound perfect through my Line 6 Guitar POD on my computer, or my Fender M80 amp.

Only two real complaints, and they are a blemish on the cutaway point where it looks like the guitar was damaged in the factory, and sprayed with the clearcoat without repairing the damage. The other cosmetic defect I found is a lacquer "bubble" on the front of the guitar. The good news, the only reason I found it was because I immediately changed the strings when I got it home, and was polishing the body and saw it then. It is extremely small and really shouldn't be mentioned, as I'm sure nobody will notice it. I had to adjust the intonation on only 2 of the 6 strings, and the G string was the hardest one to set (I don't really think that's uncommon). The P/Us were adjusted fine, and the action is great. The Grover tuners keep good tune, but the G tuning machine has a lag in it. Also, when I was adjusting the intonation on my G string (which I only had to do for 2 of the strings, 1st E was the other), I had to turn the screw at least three or four turns before the saddle actually moved. I am going to keep an eye on the tuning of G, and if I notice it won't hold a tune, I will go back to get a new grover tuning machine for the G string.

Although I rate this a "10", I would never play a gig without a backup, I don't care if I had a $10,000 Les Paul with a full lifetime warranty from head to tail. I wouldn't hesitate to use this instrument as a primary, and I wouldn't hesitate to use it as a backup to any other more expensive guitar. The finish doesn't seem thin, and I think it would be very durable.

Have not had an opportunity to contact customer support yet. I will try and contact the place I bought it from first to see about getting a new tuning machine first.

I am a 22-year, self-taught, guitar player. I do not know all of the theory, and I do not try to pass myself off as any kind of expert, but I have owned more than a couple of guitars through the years, including a Les Paul Studio, and an SG. The Les Paul story is a sad one, and I will not tell it...

Anyway, playing this guitar reminds me of my Les Paul (God rest its soul). I think it was Shaekespear who said, "If a rose is a rose by any other name, is it still a rose?" Of course it is. While this is not the red rose of a Les Paul, it is still a rose nonetheless. I have also been playing long enough and have the experience of owning a Les Paul to unequivically say that you are paying for the name of "Gibson Les Paul" on the headstock of a Gibson guitar. This guitar will definately rival any Les Paul out there. I'm sorry 69strat got a bad guitar. It really sounds like he got a bad one.

Happy playing!

Beautiful guitar. Great attention to detail. Binding is perfect. Looks and feels as a Les Paul should for a pittance of the cost. 2005 model tobacco sunburst. Nicely matched maple top. Smooth, quiet pots. Pickups well shielded. No noise problems even at stage volumes.

The tone is phenominal. The sustain is a good as anything I've ever had my hands on. I've really enjoyed the versatality of sounds when recording. The Duncan Design pickups are exceptional for the investment. I hate to be critical of such a great bargain, but if I were to compare it to a $2,500. instrument, the pickups are just a bit weak. Lots of warmth, not enough bite. There's a slight volume drop off between the neck and bridge pickups, but I've noticed the same thing in many far more expensive guitars. Bottom line...The only guitars that I've encountered that are superior to the AV 6 are 2 grand more expensive...

Straight out of the box it was 99% perfect. I only adjusted the pickup height because of personal preference. Beautifully built. Great looks, great feel, and SWEET action. Very fast neck. Neck binding and frets are perfect, which was honestly the biggest surprise in a guitar in this price range....

This thing is built like a tank. Kinda weighs that much as well... I've been using it onstage for the past 6 months and have had zero problems. The Grover machine heads are great. I changed out the strap buttons for a strap lock system, but the originals were well made and well seated. The only reason for using a back up is the weight. Like a true Les Paul, this is a big chunk of mahogany that gets a little rough over the course of a set. Ya have to suffer for your art...

No need for repairs. No direct contact with the manufacturer.

I've been playing for thirty two years. I have owned a dozen guitars over that time. I'm picky as hell about tone and feel. This guitar is one of the three best I've had. I compare it very favorably to my '76 Les Paul. (And, for the record, I changed the pickups in it as well.) I would buy it again and highly recommend it to anyone looking for a quality instrument with that sweet Gibson tone for a fraction of the cost. I challenge anyone to find a better bargain, since this guitar is easily worth double it's current cost.

My AV-6 was made in Korea- '05 model, gorgeous maple quilt top, faded cherry sunburst-flawless finish! Typical 2 vol, 2 tone, 3 way switch- like a Les Paul. Nice small neck, Indian rosewood board- med. frets- Grover tuners. Looks like a a nice 58-59 Les Paul, with a slight body dip on upper side- a really nice, hand built guitar! Good sound- though not as full as a Paul- darn close- for the buck- it's nice! Has typical LP bridge set up- Duncan pick ups.

2 Duncan humbucker pick ups- good, full sound, still not quite a Paul, but look at the $$$$ you save! I play blues, southern rock thru any of several amps- sounds great thru a Crate 120 watt w/DFX, a 50 watt Musicman tube amp, or a small Marshall- good 3 level sound- no bad noises- 500k pots work nicely! I love the expensive LP look, very high attention to finish detail- as nice or nicer than the 5-6 58-59 Gibson Hist. LP's I have. This is a well built axe!

Took it straight from music store to a 3 set Friday night gig. Used set up out of box-flawless! Did adjust pick ups just a tad closer to strings- that's all. One of the finest instruments I've ever picked up- heck I wouldn't have bought it and gone straight to a gig if something wasn't cooking here! All parts are some of the best I've ever seen. Fit and finish-perfect. No flaws at all.

Samick has a good name- but most folks associate it with- "oh those are the ones who make Epi" & so on- less expensive stuff. Hey, I don't see how they can make something like this for under $400! My 58-59 Les Paul's cost $3500-5000 and there really isn't all that much difference- this is a sleeper- grab one now. I'll bet this will be $1000+ shortly, and should be. I'd take this anywhere as a main guitar. I bought it to avoid taking out the high dollar puppies to clubs- save them for concert openings. Sorry Henry- I'm really liking the Greg Bennett Samick! Somebody help me!! The finish is as nice as Gibson's Custom Shop- it will hold up to live playing very well.

My local retailer is a good luthier- he'd make anything right that went flooey; but I doubt he'll ever need to touch this one. Didn't get any warranty papers, don't think you'd need it. These guitars are Samick's top of the line- and they are carefully selected for sale in the U.S.- I suppose some of the 2nds may go else where for sale.

I've been playing over 30 years in all sorts of bands- clubs, concerts- etc. I have a bunch of nice, collectable guitars, but this will be my "club" axe from now on. The AV-6 is a good 1st, or 2nd back up axe. At about 7.5 lbs- it looks and sounds very close to a Historic LP. I like the smaller neck- body cut makes playing in high "B" a breeze. My favorite feature is the look- vintage, faded cherry sunburst with an eye catching quilt maple cap top- just like a Paul. Wish the pick ups had a little more horsepower- when I plug in a Paul, after I set the amp up for the Samick, I have to pull the volume down- the Paul pick ups are a good deal hotter. But again- for the buck- this guitar really rocks a lot more than most anything else you'd drop $400-to $1000 or more for. Don't be a brand snob- go try one- you might like it! I'd go snap up another just like it if it were stolen. And if I found out who took it, I got these biker friends, well let's say the bum would have a permanent limp. Hey the Samick's are cool, under valued guitars-for the quiality and features theu offer; try one.

typical les paul look. typical les paul knobs. arched top, stop tailpeice, two humbuckers,anvil shaped fretboard inlays.

Didn't plug it it after examining it closely.

Nut was not glued down to the wood and was kicked up toward the fretboard. Fretboard inlays had (and I'm not exaggerating) almost a fourth of an inch gap between the routed holes and the actual inlays which was filled with laquer/glue?? which had dried and shrunk to form an indention ring around the inlays. The body wood was VERY lightweight making the guitar almost neck heavy. The catalog says they are mahogany body, but I don't see how with that light a weight unless they are not solid. One of the duncan designed humbuckers (which are actually fairly decent pickups, which I have heard in other guitars) would not sit straight in its cavity and tilted forward and back easily when slightly touched. This might be remedied with an adjustment screw ??? I don't know. The finish was atractive and I saw no bad finish flaws. Even with the few flaws I pointed out the guitar's neck was very playable and I heard no fret buzz or dead spots which should have been obvious since I didn't have it plugged in.

didn't buy, but I wouldn't count on any guitar in this price range for a live gig. Might make a nice begginer's guitar.

?

I know what you think, but I'm not going to say it's that bad a guitar, the few things that were wrong with it could be fixed in a few minutes by a set-up guy at the guitar store (possibly for free if you point them out before you buy) and the guitar is playable, and should make a fair beginning instrument. Fairly well designed. Too bad they didn't take the time to put the ingredients together correctly. I would not pay more than a couple hundred for this though...

Korean Made, Quilt maple arch top, set neck, mahogany body, Duncan Designed HH, Grover tuners, crown inlays, 2 vol., 2 tone, 3 way toggle.

I rate it an 8 as it has pretty much everything to make it a great guitar but there isn't anything really amazing. standard LP style features.

The nice part about samick is they pretty much manufacture everyone elses guitars. Samick is the manufacturer for Ephiphone so by buying a samick LP you are really getting the epiphone quality at a discount.

I play it thru a Fender Stage 160 DSP. I mainly use a Zoom GFX5 in the loop for modulations/delays and i use the amp's distortion and a Blues Driver pedal.

Style wise i play pretty much anything from jazz to rock to metal to whatever. i like a lotta music what can i say :)

this guitar honestly has a great amount of versitility. the neck pickup has the punch to cut thru a mix wonderfully. while switching to the middle position on the selector along with a lil overdrive makes for some great blues sounds.

i am probably going to replace the bridge pickup someday as its a little muddier than i would prefer but for an "out of the box" experience, it is a solid guitar i am proud to bang away on.

the bridge pickup is a little sensitive so feedback can be an issue if you are playing with extremely high gain. just upgrade the pickup and you should be good there

i give it a 9 because at this price its hard to beat the sound you are gonna get from this guitar

This is where i was a little sad in the store. i LOVE the LP Customs with the Off white finish and gold hardware. There was also one of those in the store and i wanted to like it but the action just was not set up right and the guitar didn't "feel" right. i am sure i could have gotten it set up but the one i got (sunburst) played like a dream.

i haven't needed a set up and no adjustments have been made. i can't dock this guitar for anything cause it was great. better than some epi and gibson setups.

i give it a 9 for value. want to give it a 10 but that other Avion in the store wasn't the best.

I trust this guitar as my main guitar w/o a back up at the moment. it sounds great and i have no reason to not trust it to last. I do recommend getting locking tuners and i have lost my strap a couple times but aside from that its great.

i have noticed that the G string goes out a little more often than the rest of the strings but i haven't played an LP style guitar that didn't have that prob. so i can't really say much there.

i give it a 10. i would trust this more than some much higher priced guitars

no experience sorry.

I have been playing roughly 9 years. i have pretty much summed up my other gear in the first section.

if this guitar was stolen or lost i wouldn't hesitate a second to buy another one honestly. i love it.

as i said earlier i was trying a couple other samicks when i was gonna get this (the LP custom style and an SG) this one just rocked so i went with it. i am not even a very big Sunburst fan but this guitar was too good to pass up.

I will say its been amazing to see samicks growth as a company. Greg Bennett has turned a company i used to laugh at into one that has a lot of my respect. Only time i ever say samicks were $100 range acoustics that were absolutely horrible, when i started seeing the LP and PRS style guitars i thought it had to be joke. Until i played one.

Save yourself the money and grab one of these. if you don't like the pickups just buy new ones with the guitar as you will still be spending a lot less. everyone who has played my guitar has been amazed at the action and sound so give it a shot!

2004 Korean Les Paul copy. Very nice guitar. Has a slightly modified Les Paul shape; the upper bout is slightly "cut in", not quite as much as a telecaster but just a little bit (probably enough to avoid a Gibson lawsuit). Otherwise it's a Les Paul through and through. Quilt maple top with honeyburst finish over a mahogany body. 60's style "slim taper" Les Paul neck. Duncan Designed humbuckers with chrome covers. Grover tuners.

Actually sounds pretty good. I've had several guitars before with Duncan Designed pickups and haven't generally liked them much, but this one seems to have a fairly warm, round tone. I'd rate it quite similar (maybe 85%) of the tone of previous Gibson LP's I've owned. Unplugged, it has a great bell-like tone and sustains very well. I wouldn't hesitate at all to recommend this for anyone looking for the LP sound without spending too much cash. Definitely sounds better than the Epiphones with their tinny, squealy Samsung pickups.

Construction and setup of this guitar is first-rate. I bought it from a local music shop right after they took it out of the box. Setup was near perfect; action quite low with no buzzing; truss rod properly adjusted, and intonation very close to spot-on. I was actually quite surprised. Fretwork is excellent, paint, finish, and binding very good. The inlays are the typical crown-shape, but look really cheesy (just white plastic). C'mon, Samick, even the $200 Agile LP copies have the fake Mother-of-pearl plastic. Anyway, that's my only gripe; the rest of the guitar is really very nice. This guitar is far more playable than any US-Gibson LP I've owned in the past.

Typical LP "tank" style build. If this guitar breaks, you've been watching too much footage of Pete Townsend. Electronics aren't Stew-Mac quality, but seem smooth and quiet. I'm happy enough for the price I paid and I'm not worried about anything failing on me.

Ha! yeah, right. Samick has essentially nothing in the US. Buy from a reputable dealer and he'll help you out. Try dealing with the manufacturer directly and you're S.O.L.

I've been playing for 20 years and have owned more guitars than I like to think about. Still have 15, including Gibson, ESP, Ibanez Prestige, and Peavey. This guitar looks great, sounds good, and is perfect for me to play out with without worrying about anyone stealing or damaging my really nice stuff. There's nothing about this guitar that will compromise my sound, playing, or (gasp) image while playing out. Now, having stated this, I'd also like to say that I just bought an Agile 2500 LP copy for about half the price, and that's one sweet little guitar. However, the pickups in the Agile need replacing before I'd feel good about my sound. If you want something that's ready to go right out of the box, buy the Samick. If you're willing to do a bit more setup and swap out the pickups, the Agiles are a great alternative.

Korean made...so right off the bat it's better than any American made instrument, custom shop or not. This is a 22 fret LP copy, but slightly different shaped cutaway. Non-locking Grover tuners, "Duncan Designed" crappy pickups, H/H, maple and rosewood on mahogany. Two volume, two tone (yes!).The neck tenon has a very different and sturdy design, much more so than Les Pauls. The finish is a spectacular light cherry burst quilted sappele maple. Neck and body are completely bound. Frets are medium. I passed on freebies. Got enough stuff. That's why I'm always on ebay.

The Koreans do a fabulous job with artisanship. The finishes, fit, fretwork, neck shape, and action of their instruments are second to none. BUT, we won't even get into the music. They fail miserably in the electronics. The rear pickup in my guitar had a shorted coil. Uh, has anybody over there ever heard of an ohmeter? And the front "Duncan Designed" pickup was weak, had no harmonics, no depth to the sound. I didn't care. This is no problem for me; I ordered Duncan Invaders for it beforehand, and new pots, caps. Everything will get changed out. That was automatic. HOWEVER, not everyone has luthiery skills. This is down time for a stage musician who doesn't have time to play around with pickups. So, the only way you can get the sound you want is to customize the guitar. I tried AV-3s, and their sound is weak, too.

The finish is flawless and the action is great. Because it's new, the tuners need lube and tightening. What really is amazing is the complete binding, top, bottom, and neck. Frets are excellent quality, perfectly cut and crowned, made of a composite nickel/ steel, I believe. Nut is the best I've seen on any electric. BUT, once again, the instrument was not carefully checked before shipment. Again, this is not a big deal to me, but the scale measurement was off to low E, so the rest of intonation was way out. Hello? Has anybody heard of a damn ruler? Hello?

No problem once it's setup up the way I want. It's a gorgeous, solid instrument that needs some electrical and setup love. But even with the pickups, wire, pots, caps, and strings, I still spent less than $600. I checked out the Les paul Standard last week. Not worth $2k

The best customer support is putting out a flawless product. Checking and DOUBLE checking components so the customer/ musician has no down time. I've said this over and over in Harmony Central. Unfortunately, the manufacturers' mentality is make, pack it, and ship it. Plus, because the pickups are garbage, bye-bye warranty.

I'm a Korean-guitar guy. An ESP LTD EX351 (actually a guitar synthesizer), a Samick D-2 acoustic, and an Ibanez RGT42. All were customized, all sound magnificent. The Koreans make beautiful, flawless, and rugged instruments- that sound crappy off the rack. In this case, even if they charge only an extra $300, they'd make an instrument that would blow the doors off any Les Paul Standard or better, which would be at least three times more $$. But it's a keeper. My criticism is essentially for the manufacturer.

Also, I can't resist taking as many potshots at Fender and their garbage. Listen to this. NH boy here. Cut acres of firewood. You know
how Fender "Standards" are made of poplar? When we cut poplar, we dumped it right in the burning brush. So soft a wood, we used it to light the piles, too. In a wood stove, a piece burns out in minutes. It's crap. Then again, if you're cold, and there's nothing else to burn, that Fender body will do just FINE!

This is Samick's top of the line Les Paul style guitar, the Greg Bennett AV-6 Avion. Mahogany body, maple top, two Duncan Designed humbuckers, two volume, two tone controls. Set neck. Grover tuners. Solid pots and switch. 24.75" scale.

Okay, here's the deal. Last year I played a Greg Bennett Les Paul, the AV-7, which has a solid mahogany body but not a maple top. I couldn't put it down, but also couldn't afford it. I ended up buying a Greg Bennett Series Torino (basically an SG). At the time, I was looking for an SG. I tried three different Faded SG's, a couple Epiphones (the standard models). The Samick shamed them all.

Fast forward about 10 months. I was visiting American Music in Seattle. I saw Samicks when I walked in and just about had a cow, because I know about the Greg Bennett lineup.

So, I asked to play the Avion AV-6, (in store price $500) the top of the line in this Les paul series. I played it and played it and played it...then I played a Gibson Studio Les Paul ($1,095). No contest. The Avion shamed the Gibson. I played a Gibson double cut Les Paul ($1,399). Closer, but the Samick still rules. Finally, I played a Gibson Les Paul Classic ($1499 sale price). Actually I played two of these. The Samick rules again.

Am I crazy? Or is the Samick just a better feeling, better playing guitar? And those Duncan Designed pickups...if I had bought the guitar, they would stay.

I play classic rock and blues, so don't need high powered pickups or active tone circuits or modeling amps. Just a nice guitar with nice pickups that plays well.

I played this guitar thru a Rivera Chubster, so there's no denying that the tone was there. I was just to tickled that when using the neck pickup or both pickups together, when I switched to the bridge pickup for leads, it had the perfect amount of boost and bite. Sorry to report, my Samick Torino doesn't do that.

If you're in the market for a Les Paul style guitar, you simply must check out a Samick Avion AV-6, the Greg Bennett series. If you absolutely need the word Gibson on your headstock, go ahead. Spend two or three times the money for an inferior guitar.

These are the standard Les Paul features, put together in a great looking, great playing package at a price/quality ratio you simply must experience. This is my next guitar, when I save enough to buy it.

Sounds like a Les Paul should. Rich, warm, powerful, but with the right amount of cut. Does everything you'd want a Les Paul to do. Nothing to dislike about this guitar. I even like the slightly different cutaway better than the Gibson look.

This guitar easily outplayed each of the Gibsons I picked up. I'm not here to slam Gibson. I simply think the Samick is a superior instrument. Everything was top notch. No hanging up on the ends of teh frets like on the Gibson Studio LP. Premium GROVER tuners, not the cheesy, booger-green contraptions on the Gibsons. Beautifully and solidly made, for a whole lot less money. No discernible flaws of any kind.

Cant comment here, except to say that my Samick Torino is also a solid, well built guitar which works, plays and sounds great. I'm sure the Avion is the same.

Not sure about Samick, but a store like American Music will take care of you.

Okay, I also get annoyed when I see someone review a guitar they just took for a test drive. But knowing how most musicians are like me, without tons of money to spend (I've been playing nearly 30 years - I know what I'm doing and what constitutes a good guitar), I feel it is my duty to steer at least a couple guitarists in the direction of one of the classiest Les Paul style guitars on the planet, and at a price that is almost crazy for an instrument of this quality.

Don't believe me? Go check out a Greg Bennett Series AV-6 Avion. You'll be a believer, too. If you REALLY gotta have a Gibson, fine. You'll be better off taking the Samick out to play, and leave the Gibson at home where it won't be stolen or damaged.