Rockula
New Member
Guys,
I'm looking for a poor man's '59 Les Paul burst sort of guitar. I have a couple of (non-traditional) Gibson LP's already, and I've been using an Epiphone LP to fill my el cheapo burst niche for the last couple of years. But I've kind of fallen out of love with the Epi lately, mostly due to neck shape, and somewhat due to my perception of its fundamental wood tone as being kind of dull and lifeless.
I bought a Santana SE a while back, and I'm incredibly impressed by it, especially for the price. I love the neck shape, the resonance, and it's general all-one-package goodness. I also played a Bernie a few months back in a guitar store and loved the way that one felt and sounded too.
So now that the Bernie appears to be out of production, I think maybe I ought to snap one up before they're gone, or perhaps get a 245 SE instead. I like that the 245 has the traditional LP control layout. Other than that, what would be the main feel and tonal differences between the 245 SE and the Bernie? Which would you buy to get closest to the burst vibe?
I've played some super high end Les Pauls before (like the nearly religious experience of a Wildwood Featherweight R9, for example), so I know neither of these will even be in the same universe as a true burst. But I'm no gear snob either, and since I reach for that Santana before my Gibsons most of the time already, I'm game to try another SE.
Thanks for your opinions!
I'm looking for a poor man's '59 Les Paul burst sort of guitar. I have a couple of (non-traditional) Gibson LP's already, and I've been using an Epiphone LP to fill my el cheapo burst niche for the last couple of years. But I've kind of fallen out of love with the Epi lately, mostly due to neck shape, and somewhat due to my perception of its fundamental wood tone as being kind of dull and lifeless.
I bought a Santana SE a while back, and I'm incredibly impressed by it, especially for the price. I love the neck shape, the resonance, and it's general all-one-package goodness. I also played a Bernie a few months back in a guitar store and loved the way that one felt and sounded too.
So now that the Bernie appears to be out of production, I think maybe I ought to snap one up before they're gone, or perhaps get a 245 SE instead. I like that the 245 has the traditional LP control layout. Other than that, what would be the main feel and tonal differences between the 245 SE and the Bernie? Which would you buy to get closest to the burst vibe?
I've played some super high end Les Pauls before (like the nearly religious experience of a Wildwood Featherweight R9, for example), so I know neither of these will even be in the same universe as a true burst. But I'm no gear snob either, and since I reach for that Santana before my Gibsons most of the time already, I'm game to try another SE.
Thanks for your opinions!