[Splattle101]

I had a similar experience with a Squire strat: it's not a Les Paul, but the principle is the same. The thing was cruddy, had five strings including some bronze ones, the intonation was from Mars, and the truss rod adjustment made the neck look like a long bow. I gave them a pittance for it, bought a pack of new strings, and sat down to clean it up.

Two hours later I had the neck flat, the intonation and action right, new strings on, springs adjusted to keep the bridge flat, pick ups adjusted and the fret board oiled and the crud cleaned away. It played beautifully. I left it overnight to see if the neck would settle down. No problem.

It hasn't moved since, and that was six years ago. It plays very nicely for such a cheap guitar, and it was worse than a dog when I picked it up. It was un-playable.

That said, not all Les Pauls sound good to my ear. The ones that don't sound good probably need some love.

Splat