Samick AV7 Les Paul

It has everything you'd like to see in a Les Paul clone. I'll mark it down a little for not having better stock pick-ups and hardware.

I bought this about four years ago mainly because I did not want to pay thousands of dollars in order to get the Les Paul sound. After looking around a little, I stumbled across this guitar in a mall store (of all places!) I had zero expectations, but decided to give it a whirl. It sounds great for the price, and in my opinion is much more of a value than many of the other Les Paul clones. I play anything from fuzzed out rock (Dead Meadow, QOTSA) to clean post rock (Mogwai, Red Sparowes) to doom laded heaviness (Neurosis, Melvins) and it performs quite nicely. The pick-ups that come with the guitar are a little too bright, in my opinion, but sound decent enough.

I love how the fretboard feels and especially the weight of the guitar. This thing is pretty light but still gives you thick tone! It doesn't feel clunky at all like some other clones I've played and feels comfortable while playing it.

When I first bought it, it was set up for lighter strings. I have since set it up to be tuned at around two steps down in various tunings. It takes thick strings very well after you prepare the guitar. There were no major flaws that I could detect other than cheap pots. It feels much more expensive than it actually is.

Overall, I'd say this guitar would be fairly reliable if it were to be subjected to the daily rigors of touring, although some of the hardware is of cheaper quality and design than you would like. The strap button next to the pickup selector has gotten pretty loose but isn't much of a bother. The neck pickup tone pot seems to have worn out and the cord jack will need some maintenance as it tends to get unscrewed pretty easily. The finish has held up surprisingly well, especially considering how hard I play. It looks as good as it did when I bought it, not counting my own clumsiness (chips and scratches.) Overall though, this is probably the weak side of the guitar - since it has been built with cheaper quality materials, it won't be as much of a work horse as an actual Les Paul.

I'd give it an 8.5 if I could. It sounds great and feels much lighter than a Les Paul yet still gives you that coveted sound. I can't stress how nice it is to get that sound from such a light guitar! This would make an ideal "Frankenstein" guitar. Getting new pickups and hardware would bolster the sound and make it a little more durable, but it is still pretty impressive considering the price. Definitely go check it out!

Solid mahogany body, 2 duncan-designed humbuckers, ebony fingerboard, gold hardware. Their top-of-the-ling Les Paul Custom clone.

It sounded good when I got it, then I upgraded to REAL Duncan pickups (as opposed to "Duncan-designed") and now it sounds fantastic. I tested it against a friends 1994 Gibson LP Standard and even my friend couldn't tell the difference. (We had one guy close his eyes for a blind comparison.)

This played perfectly right out of the gate. I'm a guitar snob and every note up and down the neck sings--no -spots, not fretting out even with nice, low action and .09 strings.

Have had it a year and no problems whatsoever.

Never needed it.

A lot of people swear by Agiles, but this guitar is FAR superior to all of the Agiles and Epi's I've played. Only advantage of a Les Paul is that, over time, it might hold it's value a little better, but you pay three times as much to begin with.