Vintage V100BB

Les Paul Black Beauty by Vintage. It features all things you'd expect in a Les Paul. The hardware is by Wilkinson, a lot better than expected guitar in this price class. In fact, I'd dare to say, in the same class or better than a Gibson.

I picked this particular guitar as best sounding from about 30 or so Les Pauls. Those 30 Les Pauls included Gibsons, Epiphones, Tokais and Vintage. I didn't look at price, all I cared about was tone. This guitar SINGS.

The pickups are really nice, what I would associate with a late 70's tone, but they are not high-output (on a pickup output scale like DiMArzio uses I'd say they are 8-8-7 with treble being the 7), so if you are looking for that 'superdistortion' tone, get different mics or get a booster.

My basic rig is a Boss GT-10 to a JC-120 and I have seven guitars. This one need a little boost in presence and treble, not much, but a notch. I like the tone very much.

The guitar was almost perfect out-of-the-box. I had to raise the action to my liking a little and then fix the intonation after I restrung the guitar with a thicker gauge. I would have got the guitar set up for free at the shop, but I prefer to do it myself, I've been a guitarist for 25 years, so I know how I like mine set up.

Everything was perfect on this guitar including finis, neck, hardware, frets.

I think this guitar will become one of my main guitars. During the 3 weeks I've had her, she's been the one I played the most, but then again my stratocaster has it's gut open for some soldering so.. :)

The hardware is by Wilkinson, so I think it will last, but it is goldplated, we'll have to see how long the plating will stay on. But because the parts are my Wilkinson, I believe replacement parts will be available if anything fails in the next 20-30 years.

Strap buttons are problematic like on all Les Pauls, I will fit her with straplocks asap.

In all, I think this is a really reliable guitar. I haven't taken a look inside the electronics, but all that is replaceble if not ok.

My local shop offered a setup and told if there's a problem, like a neck warp etc to bring it back and they'll fix it free of charge.

I don't see there could be any problems with this guitar.

I've been playing for over 25 years and I bought this Les Paul at the same time with a Epiphone Goldtop '56 and a Vintage Telecaster. I have seven guitars at the moment and this one is becoming my favourite.

I play trough a Boss GT-10 to an Roland Jazz Chorus JC-120 and I am getting really close to a 'perfect tone' with this setup.

The Black Beauty definitely has that real Les Paul vibe to it and with the right amp settings it is simply marvelous. I'm getting tons of really expressive tones out of this guitar.

If it would be stolen, the robbers would probably nick more than one of my guitars, and with the insurance money, I would probably replace more of my guitars with Vintage brand guitars, because they seem really great. And I mean *really* great. And affordable too.

I would say that this guitar (and other Vintage brand guitars) is designed and made with love for guitars, not just because you can make profit.

Chinese build for UK company - 2008. Les Paul type. Gloss black finish with creamy edges. Solid Mahogany body. Set Solid Mahogany Neck, Rosewood Fretboard, Crown Inlays. Gold Hardware, 2 Gold Wilkinson Humbuckers & 22 Frets. 2 tone & 2 volume controls. 3 way les paul style selector. Gold tune-o-matic bridge. Wilkinson Deluxe Tuners. Cream scratch plate and pick-up mounts. Not really missing any features to be expected on a Les Paul copy.

Mostly I play blues, and particularly fond of the minor slower blues and it has full and soulful tone and very good sustain that suits very well. Played through Vox AD15VT. Good attempt at the Gibson sound - remarkably good for the price. Tempted to give a 10 but obviously the sound could be improved - eg a set of Bareknuckle, or Iron Gear pickups but they would cost more than the whole guitar. Best sound I???ve encountered on a Les Paul copy and gives my Gibson SG Standard a run for its money. Have tried it on a range of styles and it seems to cope well - there are some heavier, meaty tones in there too if you need them. Sound rings out nice and true when not plugged in.

Purchased from Guitarbitz (on-line) who have a procedure they carry out where the set up of every guitar sent out is checked by them. It arrived with the best set up of any electric guitar I???ve received by carrier from an on-line purchase. So don???t know how much of wonderfully low action, almost spot on intonation, and well adjusted truss rod were down to Vintage or Guitarbitz, but it does show the quality of the build that allows the guitar to be adjusted to a really good set up. The action is the closest I???ve got on any guitar to my Gibson SG standard. Neck looks straight and true. The finish of the body is high quality and the general appearance is very attractive - Vintage???s own website pictures don???t do it justice - Guitarbitz have their own high quality pictures of guitars they sell and I???m glad I saw these as they did do it justice and helped my decision to get this model. Feels really solid. The strings, D???addario 10s put on immediately to replace factory strings, staying in tune very well. There is some evidence of minor excess glue on the crown inlays, but this is a budget guitar I need to remind myself.

Feels very solid, but not had it long enough to be sure. Trev Wilkinson products have a good reputation for good quality at a budget cost and have had good experience of another guitar by them, so am optimistic about this. The hardware isn???t solid gold, so I expect this will wear off over time, but can???t really expect solid gold at this price. It'll maybe give a relic look that I'd have had to pay extra for!

Not needed.

I have been playing electric guitar for over 30 years. The Vintage V100B must be good as it???s the first time I???ve been enthused to give a review on Harmony Central. This will be about my 10th guitar over the years, including a couple of self builds, and for me it is only bettered by my second hand Gibson SG Standard, which cost over three times the price. The V100 is very playable and I love listening to its tone. I would not rule out the possibility of upgrades to the hardware as I think the basic set up of such a solid and quality body and neck could give a guitar worthy of 10 ratings all round. This guitar is incredibly good value. If it were stolen I would definitely get another one.

The Les Paul type V100BB has a black finish with creamy edges. Has a solid Mahogany body and Flame Maple top. It has got Tune-O-Matic bridge, the tuning pegs are Wilkinson and so are the passive pickups (H/H) (Wilkinson? Double Coil (N) MWVC (B)MWVC), has a Rosewood fingerboard, the neck is medium, so are the 22 frets. I don't know where it was made. Has CE mark on it. Has tone and volume potis for both humbuckers and a Les Paul type switch.

I've mostly playing Metal with it, but i've tried a few blues tracks and Led Zeppelin too and i've got pretty good results with all of them. This guitar has a great range of sounds it can make. I currently don't have an amp at home, but i've played it with a Marshall MG100DFX and various PA's, and for me it sounded brilliant. I also bought a Rocktron Rampage distortion pedal, which has a high range of tones and suits the guitar well. I haven't played a lot of guitars, but when compared to these I have played, it's one of the best.
But then again i'm not very qualified to rate sound. This is just my opinion and my experience.

The guitar was playable in the factory setup, but I had it set up by a professional and it got much better. The original strings weren't any good and with a new set of strings by D'Addario it was much better.
The finish of the body is brilliant and very beautiful. I couldn't wish for more from a Les Paul.
About the hardware. I had to tighten the sound and volume potis on the first day. And you can't take the pickguard off, because the middle screw has made an ugly mark on the varnish.
And yesterday I gave the guitar to a professional to level and polish the fretwires, because they made the strings jangle and ruined the sounds. Some notes were impossible to play, because the next fret was so high. Hadn't got it back yet, but I bet it' be awesome.
And yes, the golden color wears off. I've had the guitar for 4 months and it has come off some screws already. I hope it will last on bigger parts.

I've take it to a live gig without a doubt. The hardware, when checked and tightened, seems reliable. The input jack's main screw came loose in a rehearsal, but that was my fault, because I hadn't tightened it for months. The finish seems very reliable. It's scrathed a bit above the strings where I pick, but thats very probably my fault, cause I pick too "deep". The scratches are only visible from a certain angle anyway.
The strap buttons are solid and have never let me down.
I can depend on it, definetly.
I'd use it without backup too.. The only thing I'd be worried about would be a broken string.

Haven't communicated with the company. The guitar has a 1 year warranty, I guess.

I have been playing guitar for about 5 to 6 years, there was a one-year gap too. I also have a Stagg acoustic guitar bought on these days when I knew nothing about guitars. It sounds very good though. Had the Vintage for 4 months and more now. It it were stolen or lost I would have no reason not to buy a new Vintage, cause I like it very much.
I love the finish, the sound and it's comfy neck. I hate it because Vintage doesn't have a very good reputation here and only some people realize it's an amazing guitar :D
I had a selection of Squiers, ESP LTD's, Corts, Jacksons to choose from, but my guitar teacher just took the Vintage with himself one day and I liked it much better then any other of the previous.

Gold Tuners, Solid Mahogany Body, Black Paint, Set Solid Mahogany Neck, Rosewood Fretboard, Crown Inlays, Gold Hardware, Gold Humbuckers & 22 Steel Frets.

Solid Les Paul style Simple Classic Basic And All You Need!

It does everything from Brian Seltzer Rockability to SRV Blues to Jimmy Page Rock to James Burton Rytham to Chuck Berry Rock N Roll To Joe Pass Jazz to Scott Ian Metal it does it all!!! Nice sound, Nicer Tone, Awesome Sustain. I use my Digitech GNX3000 through my old Bass Amp (Ashdown EB180) and this baby is heavenly. with or without FX it does it all with balls! Rich crunching bite on bridge with wide mellow bell like glowing tones at the neck and also THAT SOUND!!! THE OUT OF PHASE!!! between the Neck n Bridge HB this baby has that long searched for (often cannot find) out of phase sound!!! pure Peter Green etc quiet nasal!!! (cud be a production error??? but i hope note its soo lush) does all the sounds

Kinda Crap nut, sharp frets (but 1 off factory error i found so sanded down and plays fine no worries), Neck is similar to Gibson neck but not unlike Fender necks (i love Fender and Ibanez for comfort). Well made very solid, great finish (ONE OF THE BEST IVE SEEN!!!), hardware is good quality, lightweight body so wont break your spine unlike a Gibson Les Paul over all good neck neck poor inlays tho not so well done but fab colur finish. Only one problem - Tuners are crap replace them immediatly with some Gotoh etc one tuner on mine actually was backwards!!! it was B-stock tho so cant complain! If it did not have a good finish id give it less but the finish is awesome so a bit more.

It will last gigs its well made and plays well I still would use my 3 s/coil Strat over it as its my main axe but if i didnt have the strat I would of course use it as number 1 with a back up of course as i would do with any thing from a 10k axe to a 99p one always have a back up!

I have a 12 month warranty so thats good and company is very accesible plus they have dealers all over the country so very happy with that although havent dealt with customer service yet.

Very good guitar if it were not for the tuners one of the best but still this is an amazing guitar at incredible value!!!

Guitar is a solid top/body Les Paul Copy, standard 22 fret with a H/H set up. Controls are a tone and volume for each pup. Body and neck are solid hardwood (mahogany) and the guitar is a set-neck. Body is a tidy black with a high-gloss finish ( Far too much gloss lacquer, final coat guy was either hung over or has never heard of thinners).
Bridge is a gold tune -O- matic (gold hardware all round) and works just fine. Tuners are Wilkinson Deluxe Wj44, they are gold and are great, probably the thing i like most about the guitar (they work well). The neck inlays look a little cheap, but they are fitted well. The inlays in the top are much better though. White scratch plate, which is fitted well. Overall, the guitar looks damn fine aside from the thick gloss and scrimped neck inlays? but what do you expect for a set-neck Les paul in this price range?

I have a vast range of pedals mostly Boss, and the guitar is just fine for blues. The Blues Driver makes it sound nice. With no Distortion this guitar is great through my Marshall 250DFX, and rings on nicely. The set-neck helps. Also sounds fine with the Boss Chorus Ensemble, in fact all of the clean effects sound lovely with this guitar. However, give it some dirt and its lacking a little something. I've tried, but i just cant seem to get the high end working right. It lacks something for solo work at the higher frets and im considering a pup change as the guitar is fine. I think the guitar is fine excpet that (soundwise).

Action was fine and all i did was stretch the strings a little and tune it and it holds fine. Hardly any choking, no complaints in tis department. Guitar is fine.

I think this guitar is solid and will be with me for as long as my Hohner arbor series is. Pups are bigged up by Vintage cos of this Trev Wilkinson guy, but they seem to be slightly lacking all-round. Depends what you want from an axe. I would gig the nads off it with a set of Dimarzios. With the Wilkinsons i would take along my Ibanez.

N/A (yet).

Been playing on and off for 19 years now and i have had many many different guitars. Fender strats and teles. Various les paul copies, Squier HM's and Ibanez' yadayada. For the price, this axe is fine and is very solid and stoic. I would buy another just for the tuners which are damn fine. A set-neck at this price? With these tuners and this bridge? If you dont like the Pups? replace them.

Les Paul copy, set neck, all black, front and back, which may cover up goodness knows what wood underneath. Heavy varnish over the 'ivory' trim, which means its a different colour to the cream scratch plate and pick-up mounts. All metal work is gold plated including the tuners, which makes a nice change to those tacky plastic things that some Epiphone's have. Pick ups have individual screws underneath each string for height adjustment, as well as the whole pickup being mounted on screws for further adjustment - this makes them a bit wobbly.

No comment as I've not been playing long enough to comment

For me this was the important bit, as a beginner. At this price (160GBP) was it going to have a twisted neck, uneven frets... In fact it's fine. THe neck looks straight and true, all of the frets are parallel and the thing is in tune on each string open, at the 4/5 fret or at the 12th. It feels easy enough to play too, although anything's easy compared to a steel strung acoustic (also a Vintage, so I guess that says something too). Only disappointment on the finish was the overly heavy varnish over the trim, and some small markings on the top of the neck near the body - pretty minor though. One of the tone knobs is a little tight to the body. All of the electrics worked fine, inc pick up switch and volume pots.

Seems pretty solid (groan). It's heavy! Only had it a few days, but nothing's come loose yet!

No need yet.

Had the acoustic >2 years, and bought this to share with my son. Ummed and ahhed between this and paying a bit more for an Epiphone. I think this is cruder in finish and detailing, but then I'm saving 100GBP over any set neck Epiphone Les Paul, and as a beginner didn't want to feel stupid buying a better guitar than my abilities... maybe I'll get an Epiphone down the line some day. Looks a lot nicer than the cheapy Epiphone Les Paul Special II, and my son wanted something in black.

Basically its a Les Paul Copy In Gloss Black with neck and body binding good quality abalone inlays and headstock motif ,twin humbuckers with tulip tuners all gold plated and very nicely finished indeed.Its also got a fixed neck for extra sustain.

I play Bedroom rock coming from the NWOBHM and Punk of the 70's and 80's with classic rock Like Aerosmith and Zeppelin.
I use a zoom 707 mkII and this goes through a watson 30W amp and I have to say it rocks!
The bridge pick up is nice and bright with the neck pick up pushing out those lovely creamy blues sounds.
With all Les Pauls you get what you get and if thats what you like then great if you want to sound like a strat forget it!

For a guitar that cost #219 I think the finish set up etc is absolutely fantastic quality I've played it for ages since I bought it and it's a diamond! well built well set up and built like a tank.
The only flaw I can see is that the jack socket does like to wiggle free but I just keep an eye on it and it's OK so far.

I'm sure this guitar would easily stand up to the rigours of live performances as it seems to be built like a tank,sure the hardware is only plated and it may tarnish in time but were talking #219 For this guitar and i;ve seen #1000 guitars with tarnished metalwork before!
I would use this guitar live with no back up except that i'm a bass player so it would not quite sound right!This guitar is a workhorse and would go forever.

I bought this guitar from regent in the uk and have no hesitation that their after sales would be excellent as they took plenty of time and trouble to make sure I was happy in the shop.

In short this guitar represents fabulous value for money and I would and have recommend it to anybody i've owned epiphone Les Pauls in the past and this is as good and much cheaper to buy new, obviously I'd love a real one but who wouldn't?
The sound gives you everything you would expect from a Les Paul type guitar at a fraction of the price and If you dont like the black you can have sunburst or wine red too all for the same price.

This guitar was a new addition to the range this year at Vintage, and when i asked my local dealer to get it for me, he didn't even know it existed. im not sure where it was made, but i think all vintage guitars are made in the same place. it has 22 frets, which are all easily accessible. it is a solid top body. i have a volume and tone control for each pickup, and a 3 way les paul style selector. i have two humbuckers, one at the bridge, and one at the neck. im not sure what make, but they give out a very full tone, which has some serious beef behind it. a maple set neck with a rosewood fingerboard and solid mahogany body. it is finished in gloss black with factory fitted gold finish hardware (bridge, pickups, tuning machines, strap bolts). it is a standard les paul shape body, with a tune-o-matic bridge. it has medium depth frets, and vintage cream plastic parts.

as the band i am in cover a range of music from heavy rock (AC/DC) to indie (Oasis) via Pink Floyd, i needed a guitar with a wide sound, and from the two humbuckers i got it. it has a very rich, full sound, but can be easily changed with my korg multieffects pedal. i can get an extremely dull bassy sound, or a very ringy treble, so the sound cant be faulted. the pickups can occasionally cause a bit of humming and feedback, but this is rare.

although i knew this guitar was mostly machined, it is unfortuantely easy to tell in some places. some parts are fitted in very tightly, too tight in fact, and holes for the pick guard arent in exactly the right place. the acion was perfect when i got it, although the strings weren't top quality, which i changed. with the hardware not obviously being solid gold, just coloured, the gold does wear off if rubbed a lot. it is most noticable on the tuning pegs. apart from that, there isn't much wrong. also the jack lead hole is very prone to coming loose, after a lot of use.

i have gigged 3 or 4 times a week with this guitar, for three quarters of our set, and it has never let me down. it always sounds great, plays great, and looks great. it will last, but maybe the gold colouring will not. the gloss black is solidly done. i haver changed the strap buttons and replaced them with some strap lock ones, but they were very sturdy, but again had the problem of the gold colour. i wouldn't hesitate to use it for a whole gig without backup for its quality, but becasue i sometimes need a tinnier sound, i always take my '62 custom Telecaster.

i have never had to use the help.

ive been playing for two years now, and i dont think ill need anymore guitars other then my vintage and my Telecaster. if this guitar were stolen, i would be straight on the phone and ordering a new one because it is amazing value for money. i initially wanted the guitar becasue of its looks i had heard they were a reputable make, but it was the gloss black and gold finish that drew me towards it. i am a bit annoyed about the gold coouring on the metal, as it fades away, but it is a small price to pay for something so cheap and so good. the best thing is the sound from the humbuckers and the comfort. it is a very heavy guitar, but this makes it feel more solid, more reliable, and more expensive, which makes me feel good. the only thing i wish it had was real gold hardware, but for 230 quid, that would be pushing it. the price on the web site of JHS is 240 pounds, but through my local dealer i got a tenner off it.