CajunBlues Posted August 6, 2008 Report Share Posted August 6, 2008 I once bought a 2000 (MIK) epiphone les paul custom off ebay that weighed 6.5 pounds.... I opened up the back control cavity panel and looked inside... I even sanded down a small section to get the true wood color.... The wood was a blonde/pale yellow color... I also saw the same color in the wire tunnel that goes between the pots and pickups... I could only guess that we had a solid alder les paul... Boy, was I pissed off... Anyway, I flipped that guitar and now I am planning on buying a 2007 Epi les paul custom .... I have heard from guitar shops and Gibson themselves that all 2007 Epi les paul customs have a mahogany body... NO ALDER... But I have read from time to time that epiphone does what they damn well please concerning the les paul woods.... and that your les paul will be like a box of chocolates... What do you all think ? Can I trust Gibson that the les paul will be nice and heavy and have a mahogany body ?? Another thing of interest... I once owned a 1999 Epi dot that had outstanding tone... When I changed out the pickups I noticed the center block was made of a splintery reddish brown wood that looked to me like mahogany... According to Gibson, they always used maple for the center blocks... But with what I saw and the fact that dot was pretty darn heavy, I concluded that they had used mahogany for the center block... Go figure... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevie Nazarenie Posted August 6, 2008 Report Share Posted August 6, 2008 i had a fake made of mdf. it was maple colour. i got it off ebay. mahogany is a red brown wood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted August 6, 2008 Report Share Posted August 6, 2008 Alder, Ash, and Mahogany are all good tone woods, among others. I've never heard of a Les Paul that was not made of mahogany. I guess either there are some or you got a counterfeit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CajunBlues Posted August 6, 2008 Author Report Share Posted August 6, 2008 What is mdf ? Wow... faking an epiphone would be like making fake 1 dollar bills wouldn't it ?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RotcanX Posted August 6, 2008 Report Share Posted August 6, 2008 Alder' date=' Ash, and Mahogany are all good tone woods, among others. I've never heard of a Les Paul that was not made of mahogany. I guess either there are some or you got a counterfeit. [/quote'] No; back in the day a lot of the Epi plants used alder or 'mahogany' pretty much interchangeably. The Samick Les Pauls from the early nineties had basswood bodies with an alder cap. Anyway it's all inconsequential since the stuff they use these days isn't really mahogany anyway; it's an Indonesian variety of wood that is referred to as 'industrial mahogany' simply because the grain is reminiscent of genuine mahogany. The only 'real' mahogany on an Epi is the veneer of African mahogany that they apply to the back of the body. If you want a real mahogany guitar you need to get at least an Elitist which is solid African mahogany with a solid maple cap. And yes, a 335 should have a maple center block but the Epis use the same Indonesian mahogany as in their solid bodies. And that's (to quote Lily Tomlin) the truth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iansmitchell Posted August 6, 2008 Report Share Posted August 6, 2008 What is mdf ? Wow... faking an epiphone would be like making fake 1 dollar bills wouldn't it ?? More like fake 600 dollar bills... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nic Posted August 6, 2008 Report Share Posted August 6, 2008 mdf is medium density fiberboard. It's sold in sheets like plywood and is made from sawdust and glue. Great for kitchen cabinets, holds veneer real well. Not great for guitars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RotcanX Posted August 6, 2008 Report Share Posted August 6, 2008 No, fake one-dollar bills is right. As opposed to twenties where you get some return on your investment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CajunBlues Posted August 6, 2008 Author Report Share Posted August 6, 2008 Rotcanx... Great responses .... Thanks... One question... I own an Gibson ES-137 with a mahogany center block.. Would you happen to know if that one uses African or Indonesian ?? I think the Indonesian mahogany will do just fine... I just don't want an alder Les Paul... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RotcanX Posted August 6, 2008 Report Share Posted August 6, 2008 Gibson uses Honduras mahogany pretty much exclusively. They wouldn't be caught dead using the Indonesian stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CajunBlues Posted August 6, 2008 Author Report Share Posted August 6, 2008 If in fact that Dot I owned had an indonesian mahogany center block, I really can't complain since I felt that wood had a lot to do with the great tone and sustain of that guitar.... I also own a Gibson Les Paul Classic Antique Zebrawood that has not only great sustain and tone but a beatiful natural wood finish... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snookelputz Posted August 6, 2008 Report Share Posted August 6, 2008 A picture is worth a thousand words, count 'em yourself: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevie Nazarenie Posted August 6, 2008 Report Share Posted August 6, 2008 walking on the moon :- or dancing on the ceiling :- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iansmitchell Posted August 6, 2008 Report Share Posted August 6, 2008 Gibson uses Honduras mahogany pretty much exclusively. They wouldn't be caught dead using the Indonesian stuff. Gibson only states on certain models(i.e. custom shop) that they use hunduran there. If you ask me, I think they've largely switched to african mahogany at this point in time, if not actually resorting to asian suppliers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CajunBlues Posted August 6, 2008 Author Report Share Posted August 6, 2008 Snooke ... what is that ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nic Posted August 6, 2008 Report Share Posted August 6, 2008 No' date=' fake one-dollar bills is right. As opposed to twenties where you get some return on your investment.[/quote'] The reason you'd counterfeit $1 bills is because no one will care enough to notice. You can pass them without being caught. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snookelputz Posted August 6, 2008 Report Share Posted August 6, 2008 Snooke ... what is that ? That is what I found beneath this: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fenrirlupus Posted August 6, 2008 Report Share Posted August 6, 2008 I once bought a 2000 (MIK) epiphone les paul custom off ebay that weighed 6.5 pounds.... I opened up the back control cavity panel and looked inside... I even sanded down a small section to get the true wood color.... The wood was a blonde/pale yellow color... I also saw the same color in the wire tunnel that goes between the pots and pickups... I could only guess that we had a solid alder les paul... Boy' date=' was I pissed off... Anyway, I flipped that guitar and now I am planning on buying a 2007 Epi les paul custom .... I have heard from guitar shops and Gibson themselves that all 2007 Epi les paul customs have a mahogany body... NO ALDER... But I have read from time to time that epiphone does what they damn well please concerning the les paul woods.... and that your les paul will be like a box of chocolates... What do you all think ? Can I trust Gibson that the les paul will be nice and heavy and have a mahogany body ?? Another thing of interest... I once owned a 1999 Epi dot that had outstanding tone... When I changed out the pickups I noticed the center block was made of a splintery reddish brown wood that looked to me like mahogany... According to Gibson, they always used maple for the center blocks... But with what I saw and the fact that dot was pretty darn heavy, I concluded that they had used mahogany for the center block... Go figure...[/quote']you sure you weren't buying knockoffs from red china? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevie Nazarenie Posted August 6, 2008 Report Share Posted August 6, 2008 that pic is missing a naked girl.:- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antwhi2001 Posted August 6, 2008 Report Share Posted August 6, 2008 So what the f*** is wrong with a solid alder body? I paid good money for a solid alder strat body and got a great result with it. I wouldn't turn my nose up at a solid alder LP body. If you're going to buy an Asian guitar (of any brand) you're entering a lottery as far as wood quality goes. Quality is variable but value for money is generally good. Also, you can great a great guitar with a 3 piece body (if the wood is good) and a crap guitar with a 1 piece...if that 1 piece is crap. None of this is an exact science. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CajunBlues Posted August 6, 2008 Author Report Share Posted August 6, 2008 That is what I found beneath this: So is that Alder ?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CajunBlues Posted August 6, 2008 Author Report Share Posted August 6, 2008 So what the f*** is wrong with a solid alder body? If I wanted a thinner sound, I would have bought and Alder-Strat... There is a good reason why the les paul has always been made of mahogany... More sustain and warmer tones... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevie Nazarenie Posted August 6, 2008 Report Share Posted August 6, 2008 alder has a different tonality. i wouldn't expect it on a gib or epi even if it has been used in the past... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snookelputz Posted August 6, 2008 Report Share Posted August 6, 2008 So is that Alder ?? No, it is softer than alder. Grained on the surface like mahogany, but soft enough to shave with a knife, rather than splinter. It looks like any old white punk wood, but it is not brittle like the firs or spruces can be, i.e., it doesn't chunk under a blade like a lot of stuff. I think it is scrap wood of the same asian "mahogany" stuff the top and back were made out of. The outside 2 pieces and the center piece are definitely red mahogany, and even though glued together from 6 pieces of wood (not all of which are the same wood) any lawyer could say "solid mahogany body" with a straight face because there is no plywood (or MDF), and it is definitely solid and it definitely has mahogany in it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CajunBlues Posted August 6, 2008 Author Report Share Posted August 6, 2008 you sure you weren't buying knockoffs from red china? No, Both the dot and the Alder Les Paul were made in the Korean Unsung Factory... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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