My favorite non-Gibson 'Les Paul' (Greco 59 Burst content)

[Guitar Magic]

I was silly to sell this guitar 7 years ago and really fortunate that I could buy it back recently. 1988 Greco EG59-70.
Old Japanese LPs don't always have the authentic Gibson tone, but this one is a real gem. I love this guitar. I've had everything: vintage Gibsons, Norlins, Standards. many older and current Historics, Replicas, you name it. This one is easily on pair with the better ones. Perfect top carve, insanely dark and glassy smooth rosewood board (Greco often used BRW in this timeframe), perfectly accurate inlays and hardware, stock PIO caps and high quality 500k pots, long neck tenon, nice 59 neck (more like an R0), good weight.

Honestly it sounds better than my last 3 R9's although I also had better sounding Gibsons. It's a resonant guitar, it's percussive and has that woody hollow quality you find in good Murphy Lab Historics.

 

[charliechitlins]

That's a fine lookin' piece of kit, right there!
I've not played many, but the Greco, Burny and Tokai guitars get a lot of love.
Somebody handed me an Edwards once.
I thought it was one of those cheapo knockoffs that would leave me bleeding from bad fret work and high action, and it KILLED.

 

[bursty]

I was silly to sell this guitar 7 years ago and really fortunate that I could buy it back recently. 1988 Greco EG59-70.
Old Japanese LPs don't always have the authentic Gibson tone, but this one is a real gem. I love this guitar. I've had everything: vintage Gibsons, Norlins, Standards. many older and current Historics, Replicas, you name it. This one is easily on pair with the better ones. Perfect top carve, insanely dark and glassy smooth rosewood board (Greco often used BRW in this timeframe), perfectly accurate inlays and hardware, stock PIO caps and high quality 500k pots, long neck tenon, nice 59 neck (more like an R0), good weight.

Honestly it sounds better than my last 3 R9's although I also had better sounding Gibsons. It's a resonant guitar, it's percussive and has that woody hollow quality you find in good Murphy Lab Historics.

Congrats on getting that one back; sounds like a stroke of luck.
The Mint Collection Grecos can be very good guitars. That one sure is a looker.


I have owned a few of the '80s Greco examples but eventually sold them all.
Here is one I wish I still had but oops ........ 1982 EG with fret edge binding .......

 

[Guitar Magic]

Congrats on getting that one back; sounds like a stroke of luck.
The Mint Collection Grecos can be very good guitars. That one sure is a looker.


I have owned a few of the '80s Greco examples but eventually sold them all.
Here is one I wish I still had but oops ........ 1982 EG with fret edge binding .......

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That's a looker! '82s are generally great. I also had many Grecos from '82 to '90 and just like you I sold them all. This '88 is the one that has the Mojo, I'm glad I could buy it back.

Many of them can be either muddy sounding or the opposite and on the thin side. But this '88 sounds like a good R9 or R0. I would be interested how a handmade Navigator would sound.

 

[bursty]

That's a looker! '82s are generally great. I also had many Grecos from '82 to '90 and just like you I sold them all. This '88 is the one that has the Mojo, I'm glad I could buy it back.

Many of them can be either muddy sounding or the opposite and on the thin side. But this '88 sounds like a good R9 or R0. I would be interested how a handmade Navigator would sound.

never owned nor played a Navigator but I have owned and played plenty of other MIJ brands; Bacchus, Combat, Crews, Greco, Epiphone Japan, Momose, Orville, Tokai, etc., and a small hand full of custom made/one offs from unknown Japanese luthiers.

my favorites seem to trend toward Deviser builds, Deviser being the parent company of Bacchus, Momose, Seventy Seven, etc. and Deviser has produced guitars for shops under other names; in particular Sonix.

My favorite carved top Les Pauls are pretty much a tie between my early run Momose MLS-STD/J and my Combat.
My favorite ES-335 type was a recently sold Momose MES1; amazing guitar and I have owned several MIJ ES types.
My favorite SG was a Bacchus Korina SG Custom with an Ebony 'board.
My favorite Les Paul Special is a Deviser custom build in TV White; no name and no serial number.
I could go on and on but suffice to say Deviser builds incredibly amazing guitars no matter what name is on the head stock, or even if there is no name on it.

 

[DavidGreer]

I was silly to sell this guitar 7 years ago and really fortunate that I could buy it back recently. 1988 Greco EG59-70.
Old Japanese LPs don't always have the authentic Gibson tone, but this one is a real gem. I love this guitar. I've had everything: vintage Gibsons, Norlins, Standards. many older and current Historics, Replicas, you name it. This one is easily on pair with the better ones. Perfect top carve, insanely dark and glassy smooth rosewood board (Greco often used BRW in this timeframe), perfectly accurate inlays and hardware, stock PIO caps and high quality 500k pots, long neck tenon, nice 59 neck (more like an R0), good weight.

Honestly it sounds better than my last 3 R9's although I also had better sounding Gibsons. It's a resonant guitar, it's percussive and has that woody hollow quality you find in good Murphy Lab Historics.

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[eclecticsynergy]

I have a '77 Greco LP Custom that plays well and sounds great. Sadly the original pickups are long gone.
It came to me loaded with the Duncan Mayhem set and I've kept it that way, my only high output guitar.
Kinda hard to tell what its intrinsic voicing is like with pickups that hot, but I like it as is.
Requires different settings than my other LPs, still I pull it out once in a while. Drives a fuzz very nicely.
One weekend last Fall my casual cover/jam project played Red by King Crimson and this one was my go-to for that.

Have a few other MIJs - an 80s LP Custom by Burny, another by Edwards, and a pair of Orville LP Standards from the mid-90s. Plus a 1980 Tokai Strat. I went on sort of a buying spree around 2010 when they still could be had amazingly cheaply, especially considering the build quality.