Vintage Lemon Drop

Vintage lemon drop bought in 2008.Les Paul copy (gary moore/peter green) guitar.
Mahogany body ,mahogany set neck,flame mapple veneer top, rosewood fingerboard,wilkinson parts, two wilkinson humbuckers, reverse neck pickup ,out of phase middle position wiring,aged.

Well, i was quite surprized.I am an owner of many expensive guitars but this is the first Les Paul style I have.To be honest I ve played many LPs including customs and IMHO they suck....Unbelievable bad tuning stability and for 3000$????Are they nuts????
So, I tried out this one just because of the reviews and the value/money thing.(To do my gary moore outfit...)
Now, this guitar plays well.The bridge bucker is quite hot considering the 7.5koms with a bit of feedback at high volumes but takes easily into gary moore sound with a tube distortion and a good amp.Its clean amd has plenty of mids,responses well and has rich harmonics.Plays 80s shred quite easily. The neck bucker is reversed. Also good sound with rich harmonics. I set it up with 9-46s and has a really good bottom end in both buckers without being muddy or anything.To my ears much better than an epi of the same price and a bit brighter than a les Paul standard.(which i liked to be honest...)
I play with a pretty heavy sound( not contemporary compressed sound though)and it handled the gain pretty well.Great sustain btw.I couldnt care less for the out of phase thing but its there so....ok.Anyway, fro the price its a steal.....

The guitar was in a bad shape but i think its a dealers thing.It was all dusty with rusty strings etc.However played out of the box like that it played good.No busses or anything and good fretwork overall.The action was too low for me and the bridge pickup needed some setup.Truss rod was fine too.Nothing to worry about.As soon as i changed strings it played really well.The most unbelievable thing though is the tuning keys from wilkinson. I play really hard with lots of high bends and this guitar stayed tune dead.To tell the truth i was worried about the cheap nut but it stays in tune so good i really coundnt care less.The guitar has the right weight.The mahogany body gives this expensive feel and although the veneer top is a bit of a joke it looks cool from a distance.Color and finish is fine. The aged thing is cool in the front of the guitar but the belt thing on the back is a joke.Anyway for 400$ you can take a bit of sandpaper and beat the hell out of the thing without worries...Good fretjob. Overall, it sounds very stable and compound.

Well, I dont own the guitar that much but i can say that in the first day I had it i played for about 4-5 hours continuesly and really hard, beating the thing up with no problems at all....If the finish goes bad i guess it will add to the all mojo thing.Hardware seems damn good and I wouldnt change anything in this guitar.It plays great as it is.I would definetelly use it as a backup.To be honest when I bought it (before playing it) I wanted to sandepaper the Vintage logo off, but now Im really proud to own this guitar.
Be honest with yourselfs outhere!!!Logos and price and USA tags arent enough to make a good guitar....
This one is great and is soooo unedrprised it seems a steal!!!!

No opinion

I am 31 years old.I have a diploma on classical guitar and play overall for 20 years.I play mostly heavy ,shred classical and flamenco guitar.I have three custom Papazoglou luthier originals electrics, one Hurricane electric,an YJM Strat,a v220 carvin from 1987, one custom classical and one flamenco guitar.
If the lemon drop was stolen i would buy it again for sure. The price is sureal and comparing it with an epi of the same price and a standard Gibson LP that i had for 1 year(sold it)its a rock heaven.I have the LP sound and feel i want with great playability and in a fraction of the cost of an original. To be honest comparing it with the standard its just a better guitar.So simple.Almost same sound, better tuning keys (klutsons are hell)and dont forget that the AA flame of the standard is a pretty cheap flame that doesnt explain the $$$$ for sure.(Believe me two of my guitars have AAAAA flames).

Mahogany body with flamed maple top. As you know if you are reading this the rest of the dimensions and fitments are similar to a Les Paul. The pickups are by Wilkinson and are wired out of phase as per Peter Green to give that hollow sound. The biggest talking point is the relic finish to the body and neck, which I find fantastic if a bit rough round the edges. The relicing gives this guitar a bit of mojo. A Les Paul would score 8 here because of the 2 tone and volume controls, the Lemon Drop gets one more for the reliced finish and phased pickups.

The sound is big and complex, maybe not as dark as my Gibson Les Paul but is more flexible due to the out of phase option when using the two pickups together. Talking of pickups the neck pickup is really superb, from really smooth and jazzy to chewey and bluesey. Also it never gets to muddy like some higher powered units. The bridge pickup covers all the usual bases but never sounds thin or scrathy like some can. The two pickup out of phased sound took a bit of time to appeal. Originally it was just a bit to thin without any 'quack' type payback that you get with position 2or 4 on a strat. However by fully using both volume and tone controls I've found you can colour the sound greatly to get something than fits exactly what you need. The only downside is that live its to fiddly go from the middle setting to say the bridge pickup for a solo on the fly. Talking of settings my particular guitars volume controls are usable live anywhere between 4 and 10. The tone controls get a bit indistinct if turned down past 5. Overall the guitar seens really alive to play, probably due to its finish or lack of it. Makes sence, popular opinion has it that a nito finish allows the guitar to breathe and vibrate, so I suppose no finish does even better.

Factory set up was fine, had to lower the bridge and raise the pickups to suit my particular taste. Two things stand out, firstly the relic treatment, you ether love it or hate it. Personally I love it and I've not paid thousands to a 'custom shop' to get it done. Secondly and the best bit about this guitar, the neck. Somewhere between a Gibson 50's and 60's but with virtually no finish on it. Its snug, smooth, fast and feels like home. Downside, when I first got it the fret end were ever so slightly high or rough. Forgot about this within a day and now they are smooth due to the amount of use the guitar gets.

Feel off its stand and landed face down on the ground and hardly went out of tune. The neck angle is not as steep as a Gibson so less worried about it breaking off if dropped. Dont have to worry about damaging the finish do I. Taking of finish I took the advice of a previous reviewer and cut it down with brasso. From a flat finish as bought it makes it look as if it was originally shiney about 40 years ago. Try it.
Overall a heavy solid well built guitar. You dont get that cheap insubstantial feel that you get with some (most) far eastern guitars. My Parker P38 cost 3 times as much and feels cheap by comparison.

Have e-mailed JHS to enquire who stocked an AV3p locally and got a reply within 1 day. Otherwisw no comment.

Gigged in the 80's. Didn't play much again until 2001. Recently started to rehearse and gig again after buying the Lemon Drop. Went to a local music shop to buy a peddle, played the lemon drop and went back next day with more cash and bought it. Since starting to gig again I have been able to justify the expence of a new Les Paul Standard and a 2008 American Strat. And you know what if my house was on fire I would run in and save the Lemon Drop and be happy for my insurance to get me another start or LP. I know this sounds strange for a battered ??250 guitar made in the far east but it has a real bit of mojo about it. The neck is superb it sounds fantastic, is well put together and gets lots of attention as its interesting to look at.

Is it better than a Les Paul, no but it gets really really close for a 6th of the price. Do I prefer it to my Les Paul, well for most of the time the LP sits on its stand as back up. You will never ever get an oppotunity to buy a guitar that is as good value for money at any other time in your life. You owe it to yourself to try one. Thank you Mr Wilkinson.

I cant add much from the descriptions below. All Wilkinson Hardware, Wilkinson Pickups in Peter Greens reversed bridge config and a cool distressed look. LP style all the way. Very nice build.

I play through a THD Univalve and a boutique class A amp. This is a great sounding Blues/Rock guitar. The Center Position give you that very cool Green out of phase tone. The Wilkinson pickups are nice for this. it might not be quite as full sounding as a Standard LP, but it is still great tone. A bargain for the price.

The factory set up was ok, but not great. I quick tweak from the shop owner and this thing came to life. It plays and feels like a dream. There were no flaws at all, though if there was a finish flaw you would just think it was part of the relic look.

I think this guitar will work just fine. I always have a back up, but I doubt I will need it. It may be a bit lighter than a standard LP, but it is still more than sturdy.

Haven't had to deal with them.

I try to avoid 10's in my reviews, so if you see a bunch of 9's then I really like the product. If it were lost or stolen I would have another. the neck is awesome on these things and when set up well, they play like a dream. It may not be a Gibson, but it is darned good. It is better than most epiphones. Gibbie elitists will slam anything non Gibson, but at this price point, it ranks up there pretty well.

well it's a les paul to look at. got a lemon drop recently and am impressed for the money. a good solid feeling guitar but light enough to not hurt the shoulder if playing all nite. the pickups rock... good chuncky sound, loads of sustain and of course the out of phase sound is nice. stays in tune pretty well. haven't looked at the setup out of the box cos it played ok, but i will have a look at it sometime. i suspect the rod might need a quarter turn. as far as the relicing goes its a bit rough to be honest. the buckle rash reproduction on the back is a bit naff to be honest but nothing a bit of fine grade sand paper won't fix when i take a notion. it's beat up already to what the hell I say beat it up a bit more and make it your own.

an excellent rock guitar basically. i love belting out a bit of acdc and it great for that. neck pickup sings well. the bridge pickup isnt so good but the out of phase middle position is cool. basically i love the sound. it really sounds like something much more expensive.

factory setup was adequate but the one i have needs the rod adjusted a tweek cos theres a little fret buzz past the 12th fret but its minimal. so little i haven't bothered to do it yet. the action is just right for me so i did nothing there. pickup height is fine too. the relicing could be better overall. the dings look a bit like someone stuck a fork in it here and there and as i say the buckle rash on the back is a bit of a joke. looks more like a map of australia.

not a problem so far all solid and i have gigged with it loads. i have been rotating it with my strat as first guitar, but i always take two guitars anyway. the lemon drop has been drafted in last week as the strat threw a wobbly and it was spot on. wasn't even out of tune and it had been in the gig bag for over a week.

dunno dont care

i have been playing over 25

Its a Les Paul copy - you get the idea - but a Peter Green/Gary Moore copy.

Body: Mahogany
Top: V100CS Flame Maple
Neck: Mahogany ??? Set Neck
Fingerboard: Rosewood
Scale: 24.75"/ 628mm
Frets: 22
Neck Inlays: Pearloid Crown
Tuners: Wilkinson?? Deluxe WJ01 Chrome
Bridge: Tune-O-Matic
Pickups: Wilkinson?? Double Coil x 2 (N) MWVC (B)MWVC
Hardware: Chrome
Controls: 2 x Volume/ 2 x Tone/ 3-Way Toggle

Bored now?

The finish may be down to personal preference but the sound is superb. Rich harmonics on both individual pickups - much better than the burst buckers in my Les Paul (getting Bareknuckle PG Blues fitted!), though it must be said the Lemondrop lacks some bass end/sustain compared to the LP standard. Should really put this into pespective the standard is sooooo much more expensive.

Where this guitar excels is the Peter Green 'Jumping at Shadows' tone. The flipped magnet PG mod does not come close to this.

For the price the sound is great - bit lacking compared to a guitar five times the price - your choice.

Action was OK out of the box although intonation needed a bit tweaking.

The distressed finish was a bit heavy handed and I didn't like the matt finish. So polished it up and redistressed it (good fun). Its not a Peter Green/Gary Moore - its mine now!

The finish on the frets is a bit rough - top E frequently falla off the board and gets caught on the 5th fret.

Can't see any problems with reliabilty - won't care too much if it gets 'dinked' - adds to the character.

Added straplocks as I do to all my guitars.

I always take a backup guitar to any gig whether Gibsons or Encores.

Never tried - don't know.

I've been playing for a looooong time. When I started guitars were instruments of torture - action so high, rubbing your fingers over a cheese grater was more fun.

This Vintage plays well, sounds so good and is a reasonable price. Really wish I had this when I was trying to nail 'Need Your Love So Bad' all those years ago.

In truth sounds good playing Free, ACDC or Zep. I'll leave any comments about suitabilty for Trivium or BFMV to those a bit younger.

2007 Vietnam
22 frets
Flame maple top
2 x Wilkinson PAF pickups nickel covers
Passive
Mahogony body/neck, maple top
Tunomatic bridge
Wilkinson tuners

This guitar sounds very similar to any les paul (being of the same materials/ construction methods) It compares very well to ant real les paul I have played/ owned (lots and lots). I play rock music, this design was originally for jazz music but as you all know it exceeds at rock (ask Slash, Gary Moore, Ozzy Osbourne etc.).
My Vintage V100 Lemon drop is extraordinary when not plugged in, big strident sound and very loud, it's a good peice of wood in other words! The pickups are fantastic replicas of the original Seth Lover design, they even have nickel silver covers like the originals which will, in time age nicely. The neck pickup is placed backwards and therefore gives the out of phase honky sound when in the middle position. The neck pup on its own sounds great and even does the typical muddy sound when overdriven! the bridge pickup is nice and trebally, but not too harsh, I tried some Metallica and it held up! It basically sounds as a good pickup should (I love these pickups!!!!!!)
Nothing to dislike.

I always set up a guitar upon purchase, this one needed a treatment of lem-oil (on the rosewood fingure board)as it was a bit dry, I then added a set of D'addario 10-46 XL's as I always use. I also raised the action a bit as it was too low for my liking, the truss-rod was set perfectly however.
The guitar is aged so it is covered in flaws! This is how it is meant to look! LOvely

This is a well made guitar, the pots work well and have a smooth action, the hardware is all wilkinson branded and of a high quality. You can depend on this guitar to perform as well (or better) than you can. It's that nice and for only rrp of 349 pounds sterling? Amazing!

No opinion, never used, never will

I've played for 26 years (I'm 33), I've owned and still do own many guitars from Tele's to strats, to Explorers, To Vee's. This guitar is brilliant for the outlay, it really is. I've never done a review before, but wanted to tell you all to go and get one of these whilst you can. It looks like Peter Greens / Gary Moores guitar, it looks old and plays like an old friend.

Just bought the Vintage lemon drop,gigged with last night,very nice guitar, fast neck ,lovely finish,pickup,s are brill squeal,s like a pig,sustain for ever, buy one.

The sound off this guitar is great ,the reversed pickup,gives you a great out of phase sound,crank up the amp this thing sing,s

Played straight out of the box,no problem,s

The guitar is nice and light,keep it in a hard case,i don,t think it would take to many knock,s .

Have to say ,i read all the review,s on this guitar and they are all true,lovely finish, great sounding pickup,s well worth the money paid 400 euro including hard case.