Silvertone SSL3 Session Master

This is a LP copy and is just like every other LP copy for the most part. Headstock is a little different shape from the standard. Everything else LOOKS standard.

Sounds like a good Asian LP copy. The silver humbuckers are a bit thinner in the mid and low range but surprisingly a good "Paul" replica sound. I have compared this head to head with three of my other guitars; Dean Soltero, Reverend Flatroc, and an SG Jr. all of which have humbuckers and it comes closest to the Dean Solteo which is actually a Dean version of the LP albeit highly customized. The SSL3 does not have a "hot" sound but cuts through cleanly for the most part using my Fender M80. The mid to low frequencies are lacking a little bit in definition but this tends to clean up by backing off the volume a little. I don't play clean so all of this is based on using a mild setting of overdrive on my Danelectro Daddy-O. This guitar actually has a very unique voicing (another surprise) if you turn down the low end and boost the mid's to about 6 and set the high's to 7 or so. You can get that blue's lead sound off of the bridge. Using both buckers you get a very cool polished sound that is both groovy and punchy. I like the sound of this guitar but this is not actually the high point of the SSL3. I know the sound should be the most important but read on...

This is where the rubber meets the road on this axe. I bought this guitar for $50 as a favor to a guy who needed the money. I didn't want a cheap LP since the LP isn't really my style. (I'm an SG and Reverend guy) I went and picked it up, threw it in my back seat without a case or bag and brought it home to my closet where it stayed for 3 months. I pulled it out finally and took a good hard look at it. I was very surprised... The first thing I noticed was that it had been played a LOT! It is in excelent condition but the high side of the first 4 frets were worn down about a third of the way through. This told me two things. 1. the owner loved to play this guitar and played a lot! 2. for as much as it has been played it is solid. No cracks, no loose pots, no ejecting jack hole, no split headstock, no serious wear on the fingerboard, no frets pulling up, and so on... Every single thing about this guitar said quality build. The two lows are: The tuners are a 2 on a scale to 10, the headstock looks like you would find this guitar on the shelf in a combo kit at Waxxmart -and you do. This is the same brand I pointed out to my son at Crapmart and said "Don't ever bother buying one of thoes Silvertone pieces of garbage." while browsing for toothpaste, cat litter and wiper blades.
But the bottom line is that THIS particular model is a perfectly great musical instrument. The neck is 2 piece but perfectly built, the trussrod is tight and functional. The "sunburst" finish on the top is well done, the finish on the wood is excelent. No thick poly, no drips, no peeling. The neck is a satin finish not a varnish and feels great. Even with all the hours of playing it shows no wear, no discoloration, etc. The neck is straight, the joint is perfect, the angle is spot on, the action is good ane there is no string buzz even with the worn frets. I cleaned the grime off the fingerboard and it is real rosewood, a medium dark(a little cheaper) instead of that very dark oil soaked look of the more expensive rosewood. But tight grain and perfect. The neck is bound with a single cream binding. There are no imperfections and the binding has not lifted anywhere.

The bottom line is that you could buy this LP copy used for $100, put a couple GFS Crunchy "PAF" pickups($35 each) in it, upgrade to Grover tuners $45 and have a LP copy for under $250 that would sound as good or better than any $900 "entry level" Les Paul from Gibson. And in my personal opinion the GFS humbuckers blow away a set of Gibson 490's for a quarter of the price. But that's just a matter of taste.

Anyway, a very good quality LP copy with so-so pickups and tuners. Put a sticker over the Silvertone logo (or don't) and play your *** off!

Be mean to it, grind it, pull it, yank it, go nuts with it. That's the fun thing about well built cheap guitars and this is a fantastic example. This guitar has seen a lot of playing hours in a house with kids and a dog and is as solid as the day it came home from the box-store. Other than the binding has aged to more of a dark yellow than a cream color there is nothing mechanically wrong with this axe. I have a feeling the fret wire may be a little soft but I could be wrong. The first 4 frets are obviously worn but that could honestly be just a lot of chord time on them. Maybe cheap strings wore them down a little faster than normal. I took a knife point to the side of one of them and the wire is as hard as most I have used. It doesn't really matter, there is still a couple thousand hours on these I imagine.

I have no idea. I repair my own.

I've been playing music my entire life and so has my teenage son. This is the only guitar I currently own that was less than $500 new or used. I have 5 other electrics and two acoustics. Maybe it's a fluke but this is a damn fine instrument. Well built, good looking, nice feel and weight. The sound again is better than I had expected. Do a few electronics upgrades and you have the perfect guitar for gigs, clubs, stages, the rec room and the ball room. I just play the hell out of this thing now and I love it. I lean it in the corner when I am done. There is something cool about that. My son picks it up 3 or 4 times a day and does the same thing. It's become our slut guitar and a damn fine one if I do say so.

this is a les paul copy and a very good one.mine says made in korea on the back of the headstock so i think it's an older one.mine has a 2 piece mahagony back.the flame maple top is done very well.the mahagony neck is made of 2 pieces with a spliced headstock.you can barely see the seem you have to look real close to see it.i paid 185.00 n.o.s. for mine worth every penny.

this guitar sounds very good.i can't believe how cheap this guitar is.i play rockabilly and old rock n roll.this guitar gets a very good chuck berry sound.my favorite guitarist is buddy holly and i also have a fender strat for his sound.i wanted a humbucker les paul style guitar to play some of my other influinces from the 50's this guitar is great.i don't know what kind of pickups this guitar has but they sound very good.

the fit and finish on mine is very good.the factory set up was very good.the only thing i had to adjust was the trussrod.this guitar was made in korea.they where also made in indonisia this one was made much better than those.i have'nt found any flaws on mine.the binding is flawless.mine has the typical spliced headstock but you can barly see it.my mahagony body is only two pieces.the flame maple top is ver well done.you can tell this guitar is made from real mahagony.so can see the the wood grain very well very nice wood.

i think this guitar could with stand almost anything.the hardware sems very good.mine has factory installed grover tuners just like on the samick guitars.samick makes these guitars so that is probably why mine has the grover tuners. the other versions of this guitar i'ves seen had cheap tuners.i have installed straplocks to mine.you do not want to drop this guitar.this guitar is as good if not better than an epiphone guitar.

this is one of the best guitars i have ever owned in any price range.i can't believe how cheap these guitars are going for.even the indonisian made ones are a good buy.you can't beat these guitars for value.samick who makes these guitars make very good value priced guitars.of course this is not as good as a gibson les paul but it is very close at a ridiclouly low price nuff said.