Bernie vs Les Paul

[Barquentine]

I just auditioned for a band. The singer/guitarist had a VERY expensive looking Les Paul. It had a gorgeous top and overall looked to be of very high quality. I took my Bernie with BK Abraxas pickups. The main differences were that my Bernie sounded better and held it's tuning perfectly (and this is with the original nut and tuners) whereas the LP went HORRIBLY out of tune not just on one string but several. The guy was a good player so I'm assuming it wasn't just unstretched strings. I've been wondering how the Bernie would compare to an LP - in this instance it annihilated it.

 

[bodia]

Nice!

 

[django49]

I have a Bernie modded with a pair of Duncan P-Rails and 2 mini switches to give the flexibility of going for humbucking, P-90 or regular single coil tones on the fly. Very versatile and a great player. It will not replace my PS Singlecut for obvious reasons, but it is great value for what I have into it.....And can be taken anywhere without feat of rampaging drummers or bass players.

 

[AP515]

Always nice when the competition plays the JV team and looses. Don't misunderstand, I like my Bernie too!

 

[Michael_DK]

I just auditioned for a band. The singer/guitarist had a VERY expensive looking Les Paul. It had a gorgeous top and overall looked to be of very high quality. I took my Bernie with BK Abraxas pickups. The main differences were that my Bernie sounded better and held it's tuning perfectly (and this is with the original nut and tuners) whereas the LP went HORRIBLY out of tune not just on one string but several. The guy was a good player so I'm assuming it wasn't just unstretched strings. I've been wondering how the Bernie would compare to an LP - in this instance it annihilated it.

Way to lose the gig! ;-)

 

[gush]

Way to lose the gig! ;-)

True that!!! The whole time your Bernie wasn't going out of tune he was thinking of reasons to blackball you.

Bring an SE to an audition, the nerve!!!!!

 

[Barquentine]

I don't have any problem with Gibson. I have two - a '63 SG Junior that's been heavily modified but plays and sounds great and a Firebird Studio fitted with BK Rebel Yells. The SG is semi-retired as it is somewhat battle weary having been gigged and battered by me for over 20 years. The Firebird Studio is the other guitar I take to gigs in case of a broken string although I sometimes just feel liking playing it anyway. It's one of the most 'in-tune' guitars I've played, balances perfectly on a strap and sounds amazing. I do have an issue with the contemptuous attitude of some Gibson fans - 'PRS will never make a single-cut that's as good as an LP'. Ridiculous statement and I think Paul took a swipe at them with the Bernie showing that he can make a guitar that's as good or better than LP's that are on sale for three or four times the price.

 

[grausch]

My Bernies with upgraded nuts and locking tuners stay in shape remarkably well.

I also have two SGs and I found they stay in tune reasonably well. The SG with the Bigsby can go out of tune if I use the Bigsby, but once I figured out how to get it back in tune using the Bigsby I have had no issues. I did use Big Bends Nut Sauce on every point the string makes contact though. The other SG has the Tune-o-Matic type bridge and I can report no tuning problems there as well.

I really think that if the nut is properly cut, the nut slots are lubricated, strings are properly wrapped round the tuners (use of locking tuners is a plus) and properly stretched most guitars will have very few issues. Problems could of course arise is something is loose that causes a change in string tension, i.e. I have had loose tuners on a Bernie, but generally if I get the basics right then my guitars tend to stay in tune.

Except for a cheap Maestro by Gibson guitar - tuning stability on that guitar is about as far-fetched as me playing Flight of the Bumblee.

 

[dmatthews]

Craftsmanship and quality control. Deadly combo!

 

[Ethelread]

I have a Bernie which I love, and I'm lucky enough to be able to compare it easily to Epiphones (I have two Epiphone Bonamassas, gold and Pelham Blue, and a Slash Rosso Corsa), and two Gibson Les Paul Customs. I'd place the Bernie beneath my Customs (no brainer) but on a par with my Epiphones. Guitars in this price range suffer from cost savings in the electrics department as most effort is devoted to making them look nice. I haven't felt the need to swap out the pickups in my Bonamassas and the Rosso Corsa as they were higher spec than 'normal' (Gibson and Seymour Duncan). But I am going to swap those in my Bernie now that I've lived with it a while - a SD Pearly Gates in the neck and SD SH11 Custom Custom in the bridge.

 

[grausch]

Before I bought my first Bernie I had already spent quite a lot of time planning pickup upgrades. Perhaps I have just gotten used to the sound, but right now I use it for Priest/Maiden style metal and the bridge pickup works exceptionally well for that. No real desire to upgrade pups anymore.

Pots are decent as well and compared to the core pots, the volume pot has a nicer feel as it is less scratchy.

 

[PLuan]

Just picked up a used SE Akesson, not a Bernie but I feel it's even better. Can't believe how good it sounds, with everything stock. The SE single cuts are something serious.

 

[Mikegarveyblues]

Bernie's rule!

 

[ReptilianNosewood]

He probably needs a setup is all.

 

[Big Eric Bee]

Color me slightly surprised. The last SG I owned stayed in tune very well. Agree with others it was probably the nut and/or needs a setup.

Had been playing a few LP models before getting my Bernie. The general feeling I was getting was "meh" more than anything. Not bad, not great. These were different versions of the Studio so that says something. The only one I liked was an Epiphone 1956 Goldtop. And it still doesn't have the build quality of the PRS.

 

[CatStrangler]

My Bernies with upgraded nuts and locking tuners stay in shape remarkably well.

I also have two SGs and I found they stay in tune reasonably well. The SG with the Bigsby can go out of tune if I use the Bigsby, but once I figured out how to get it back in tune using the Bigsby I have had no issues. I did use Big Bends Nut Sauce on every point the string makes contact though. The other SG has the Tune-o-Matic type bridge and I can report no tuning problems there as well.

I really think that if the nut is properly cut, the nut slots are lubricated, strings are properly wrapped round the tuners (use of locking tuners is a plus) and properly stretched most guitars will have very few issues. Problems could of course arise is something is loose that causes a change in string tension, i.e. I have had loose tuners on a Bernie, but generally if I get the basics right then my guitars tend to stay in tune.

Except for a cheap Maestro by Gibson guitar - tuning stability on that guitar is about as far-fetched as me playing Flight of the Bumblee.

Yep, a well cut nut, optimized for the string gauge being used, is most of the equation in my experience.

 

[11top]

Custom shop historic Les Pauls are great guitars. So are PRS guitars. I like them both......end of story.

 

[dogrocketp]

Just picked up a used SE Akesson, not a Bernie but I feel it's even better. Can't believe how good it sounds, with everything stock. The SE single cuts are something serious.

I`ve never played a bad SE Singlecut of any kind. I still have 4 of them, all different models. They are the most underrated of all the PRS SE`s, and they`re great fun to mod.

 

[Bill SAS 513]

I think a lot of time (at least sometimes???) its the user's re-stringing the guitar that's the problem...
# of wraps around the tuner, over/under the excess string going through the tuner, etc...
But this is definitely one of those topics where everyone does it a little different.