LEFTY Les Paul ES Style with single for cutaway?

[Uke4Jerry]

Update:

I've been stuck in bed all week with a back injury... so I've been reading a lot in the forums and watching YouTube Reviews, NAMM reports, etc.

Without actually touching any of these... my initial research says I would probably prefer above all other designs a: hollow body, single Venetian cutaway, single neck pickup and traditional tailpiece (w/o tremolo). My preferred brands would be an Eastman, Duesenberg or D'Angelico.

However, my own experience, coupled with good advice from other forum members says to start conservative.

So I've found the following left hand models available. Some of these are only semi-hollow, but I've listened to some nice clean Jazz sounds coming from them in reviews, covers, etc.

I would love first hand input on these models if available, but all input is greatly appreciated.

I will be using a Boss Katana 50 amp that I just received as a gift.

Still looking for a audio interface to record into my Mac. (Possibly an Apogee One)

So here are the left handed guitars I've found, in no particular order:

Godin 5th Avenue
Godin Guitars - 5th Avenue

D'Angelico Premier SS
Premier SS | D'Angelico Guitars

D'Angelico Excel SS
Excel SS | Excel Series | D'Angelico Guitars

Ibanez AG95L
Hollow Bodies Artcore Expressionist - AG95L Artcore Expressionist | Ibanez guitars

Gretch 5420LH
Hollow Body :: G5420LH Electromatic(R) Hollow Body Single-Cut Left-Handed, Orange Stain

Hagstrom Swede F Left Cherry
http://www.hagstromguitars.com/elect...s/swede-f.html

Caio, Jerry


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[Steely Glen]

Originally Posted by Uke4Jerry

My preferred brands would be an Eastman, Duesenberg or D'Angelico.

However, my own experience, coupled with good advice from other forum members says to start conservative.

In your experience, what's non-conservative about the three brands mentioned above?

I own a Duesenberg Starplayer TV and acquired one after a long search. I own a sweet 335 and on most days, I grab the Duesenberg first. It may be the most complete, versatile guitar I own. The size is always comfortable, the neck and scale length are perfect, it always stays in tune (even with a trem system), and the tonal options with a P-90 in the neck and HB in the bridge are broader than any other guitar in my arsenal. If you can possible demo one before you make the plunge, I'd highly recommend playing one.

Here's what one of my favorite singer/songwriters (and a pretty superb guitar player) has to say about his Duesenbergs (at 5:10 of the clip, if it doesn't take you there automatically):

[Uke4Jerry]

Originally Posted by Steely Glen

In your experience, what's non-conservative about the three brands mentioned above?

Essentially the price compared to my current skill level. In a sucker for the artistry in the guitar itself, but my current playing skill has me at newbie.



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[Steely Glen]

Originally Posted by Uke4Jerry

Essentially the price compared to my current skill level. In a sucker for the artistry in the guitar itself, but my current playing skill has me at newbie.

I'm not sure what your budget is, but the Eastman line is pretty accessible financially, more so than Duesenberg, for sure. But here's my take: forget your current skill level. Buy the best possible guitar you can afford...maybe even more guitar than you can afford. Nothing will inspire you to play more than a work of art that will help you make art.

[Uke4Jerry]

Originally Posted by Steely Glen

I'm not sure what your budget is, but the Eastman line is pretty accessible financially, more so than Duesenberg, for sure. But here's my take: forget your current skill level. Buy the best possible guitar you can afford...maybe even more guitar than you can afford. Nothing will inspire you to play more than a work of art that will help you make art.

We think alike, but convincing my wife is another story! The electric realm is very intimidating in general coming from the acoustic world. So I'm hesitant about spending a lot initially.

Those Duesenberg's are very temping, especially if they offer their whole line in a left handed model, even if I had to wait for them to make it.


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[Steely Glen]

Originally Posted by Uke4Jerry

We think alike, but convincing my wife is another story! The electric realm is very intimidating in general coming from the acoustic world. So I'm hesitant about spending a lot initially.

Those Duesenberg's are very temping, especially if they offer their whole line in a left handed model, even if I had to wait for them to make it.


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I hear you about the initial investment. I'd advise, if at all possible, buy used. That way, if the whole electric thing doesn't work out, you can re-sell it at nearly what you paid for it. I know that's not easy in the lefty world because of the lack of supply versus demand, but take your time.

Personally, I would advise against doing what I did: buying one cheap electric, getting the bug, and then watching my herd of cheap electrics grow. One day, I looked at my rack of 5 or 6 electrics all in the $200-400 range and thought, "What am I doing?" In reality, I would've far preferred one really good guitar to the 5 or 6 mediocre guitars I owned (and tried to convince myself [and others] that they all were "really good"). So I sold them all and got a bona fide great one and haven't looked back. Bottom line, I would've saved myself a lot of time and energy by going for what I really wanted from the start. A Suhr Classic and a Squire Classic Vibe are not the same thing.

[Uke4Jerry]

Originally Posted by Steely Glen

I hear you about the initial investment. I'd advise, if at all possible, buy used. That way, if the whole electric thing doesn't work out, you can re-sell it at nearly what you paid for it. I know that's not easy in the lefty world because of the lack of supply versus demand, but take your time.



Personally, I would advise against doing what I did: buying one cheap electric, getting the bug, and then watching my herd of cheap electrics grow. One day, I looked at my rack of 5 or 6 electrics all in the $200-400 range and thought, "What am I doing?" In reality, I would've far preferred one really good to the 5 or 6 mediocre guitars I owned (and tried to convince myself [and others] that they all were "really good"). So I sold them all and got a bona fide great one and haven't looked back. Bottom line, I would've saved myself a lot of time and energy by going for what I really wanted from the start. A Suhr Classic and a Squire Classic Vibe are not the same thing.

Yes! So if we "going for broke" this guitar is one have heard numerous times, played by one of my favorite Smooth jazz guitarists. This is "way out" of my price range.... but would love to find something in the $1000-$1500 range that's not a Gibson. (Need to leave some funds in the bank for accessories).

http://www.iguitar.com/customshop/Cu...uitar=DC/1P.13


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[s2y]

Originally Posted by Uke4Jerry

Yes! So if we "going for broke" this guitar is one have heard numerous times, played by one of my favorite Smooth jazz guitarists. This is "way out" of my price range.... but would love to find something in the $1000-$1500 range that's not a Gibson. (Need to leave some funds in the bank for accessories).

http://www.iguitar.com/customshop/Cu...uitar=DC/1P.13


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I'm not sure if Brian Moore is still making guitars. I thought I heard he closed up shop a year or two ago.

[Uke4Jerry]

Originally Posted by s2y

I'm not sure if Brian Moore is still making guitars. I thought I heard he closed up shop a year or two ago.

I have no idea. Just like the design and sound.


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[Uke4Jerry]

Originally Posted by Steely Glen

Bottom line, I would've saved myself a lot of time and energy by going for what I really wanted from the start. A Suhr Classic and a Squire Classic Vibe are not the same thing.

Are you familiar with the ESP LTD ES-1000? I'm finally up walking again, so I made a brief visit to a local shop today. I asked for a recommendation on a small body guitar, single cutaway, that would sound great played clean, with little to no effects, no gain, little to no reverb, no pedals, etc.

I specifically didn't mention Jazz or any style of playing. They directed me to a young lady, who as it turns out plays some Jazz. She showed me one of the ESP LTD ES-1000's. I was impressed with the overall quality. The joints, binding, fretboard, frets, headstock all had pretty refined details. The build quality reminded me of my mid-level Taylor. I'm not a big fan of bling, so the abalone was a bit flashy for me, but tasteful.

I asked to compare it to an Epiphone Les Paul Plustop Pro. To my "electric newbie" eyes, there was no comparison in quality. The EC-1000 seemed like a vastly better guitar in pretty much every aspect. I had never heard of the brand and asked for some background. The lady told me that LTD and Takamine are part of the same company, so that gave me some point of reference as Takamine have a great reputation, at least here in San Diego, California.

Once back at home, I did some digging online and the LTD's, and this model in particular, seem to be very well respected guitars for quality, sound, reliability, etc. I'm not sure I like the "heavy shredding" reputation, but I'm not going to be playing that style... so it doesn't really matter. I read a lot of positive comments about the Seymour Duncan pickups as well, which is a brand that many Jazz guitarists like and recommend, although I don't know if they use the same models.

All in all, this seems like a good quality guitar that would take me a long time to master, would push me to improve and would play clean jazz to light blues very well, or even some Eagles or CCR once in a while. The price point would keep me from dropping a ton of money on a true Jazz box, which I can't really afford anyway.

So I'm looking forward to any feedback, plus I'm going to just stop researching and sit on this for a month or two while I work on my jazz technique. I'll revisit it again towards the end of summer and see if I still feel the same way. Maybe by then my GAS will have calmed down somewhat. :-)

Any and all input greatly appreciated.

[Steely Glen]

ESP is definitely most well-known among the shredding community. I think Metallica helped put them on the map. That doesn't mean it isn't a stellar guitar.

If it were me and my preferred genres were jazz and blues, I'd be looking at a 335-style guitar. Gibsons will be out of your price range but an Epiphone Dot Pro or an Eastman T-386 would definitely get the job done. From Clapton to Larry Carlton, there's a reason why the 335 platform is so popular in jazz and blues.

[Uke4Jerry]

Originally Posted by Steely Glen

Here's what one of my favorite singer/songwriters (and a pretty superb guitar player) has to say about his Duesenbergs (at 5:10 of the clip, if it doesn't take you there automatically):

That's a pretty compelling testimonial. I wish they had the single cutaway without the floating bridge. I'll keep watching for one of these. The only options they have right now is a black color... yuck. But these look and sound insanely nice.

[Steely Glen]

Originally Posted by Uke4Jerry

That's a pretty compelling testimonial. I wish they had the single cutaway without the floating bridge. I'll keep watching for one of these. The only options they have right now is a black color... yuck. But these look and sound insanely nice.

The Starplayer Special is a non-trem singlecut. Not sure if they're available in lefty though.

Here's an Isbell tune with his Starplayer TV:

[Scotso]

Here ya go- some of the best guitars I have ever played are es 137s. Take this deal and run...

https://reverb.com/item/5511829-gibs...riburst-w-ohsc

EDIT- forgot you were a lefty...never mind

[Uke4Jerry]

Originally Posted by Scotso

Here ya go- some of the best guitars I have ever played are es 137s. Take this deal and run...

https://reverb.com/item/5511829-gibs...riburst-w-ohsc

EDIT- forgot you were a lefty...never mind

If I hadn't spent 5 years sucking as a right handed player.... I would be all over this... it's almost exactly what I would have custom made if I had the funds.


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