Getting very, very confused :D

[twangydave]

Anything from Uita or Wulf will be great and will definitely give you the best value for money.

Buying new in UK and north, I'd suggest Richtone in Sheffield

Electric & Acoustic Guitars, Bass Guitars and Amplification - Rich Tone Music

Your £700 will buy you a new MIJ/MIC honey burst edwards

ESP Edwards E-LP-92SD Electric Guitar - Vintage Honey Burst - Rich Tone Music

or a heritage dark cherry with flame veneer MIJ tokai

Tokai Love Rock LS85F - Heritage Dark Cherry - Rich Tone Music

Both these would make a great first LP if you want the assurance of a new purchase, returns policy, warranty etc - plus you can play them first. They won't have the same sort of mojo as an 80's greco or burny though. Good luck!

 

[rocknrolla]

Anything from Uita or Wulf will be great and will definitely give you the best value for money.

Buying new in UK and north, I'd suggest Richtone in Sheffield

Electric & Acoustic Guitars, Bass Guitars and Amplification - Rich Tone Music

Your £700 will buy you a new MIJ/MIC honey burst edwards

ESP Edwards E-LP-92SD Electric Guitar - Vintage Honey Burst - Rich Tone Music

+1

I was just about to put up that Edwards link.
And definitely wait to see what wulfs got for sale. Don't rush into buying just for the sake of it.

 

[Dave1968]

You've got some good advice so far!!

All I can add is if you were to buy a MIJ Burny, Greco etc and you decide its not for you the odds are you will not lose any money on it!

For £700 do you want brand new or used? The beauty of a 'used' guitar is its usually worn in and if its 20-30yrs old the woods going to have better tone, in theory at least!!

A MIJ Burny would suit your '60s profile too!!

I bought mine 'blind' and i've never heard a bad word against them!!

 

[tonebone]

Don't look now, but UITA has a few on the UK ebay.

Pickup only, no shipping. Fancy a motor trip to Wales? What say ye?


uitacoom | eBay UK

 

[milkjam]

i would say that Denmark street is a good place for LOOKING at guitars. there were no 2nd hand bargains when i was there. just pricey "vintage" stuff. even with new stuff i wondered if, with Oxford street rents and guitar tourists, prices weren't jacked up a little. last time i was in England i picked up a champ 600 in Norwich for 100 quid. around Denmark St. they wanted 120. check out the Wembley guitar centre. they have a website so you can check prices before you go.
in any case for 700 quid a lot of decent guitars should be within your range. there's nowt wrong with a good studio or a Tokai. check out the Richtone site. loads of japanese Tokais around the 700 mark.

 

[hockeyplayr]

I'd personally say look around. It's what i did. I was on a way cheaper budget but i ended up picking up a studio with a case that would be around £300 for you.

 

[Bordersquirrel]

Thanks all (again!) for the advice! I've booked in to see the guys at RichTone tomorrow lunchtime (I'm in Sheffield for a hospital appointment) and since I lived there for 20-odd years, I reckon I can even find it! In fact, I used to play snooker just up the road from there!

Guess I just need to play, play, play until something jumps at me.

 

[Bordersquirrel]

You've got some good advice so far!!

All I can add is if you were to buy a MIJ Burny, Greco etc and you decide its not for you the odds are you will not lose any money on it!

For £700 do you want brand new or used? The beauty of a 'used' guitar is its usually worn in and if its 20-30yrs old the woods going to have better tone, in theory at least!!

A MIJ Burny would suit your '60s profile too!!

I bought mine 'blind' and i've never heard a bad word against them!!

That's summat I thought of as well...unless you pick up a fake or a basket-case, you should be able to relist a decent MIJ LP for at least what you paid for it. I guess I just don't like the idea of buying blind, but it might be something I need to try. If it doesn't work out, sell it (hopefully at a small profit!) and look for something different.

I guess I'm just a big old coward

 

[Thomas/Sweden]

I've still got the Grass Roots G-LP-50s, was meaning to get rid of it when I got the Burny and Greco MIJs but can't bring myself to do so. It's a great playing guitar with some upgrades, a bone nut and Gotoh SD90-SL tuners.

 

[Bordersquirrel]

I've still got the Grass Roots G-LP-50s, was meaning to get rid of it when I got the Burny and Greco MIJs but can't bring myself to do so. It's a great playing guitar with some upgrades, a bone nut and Gotoh SD90-SL tuners.

Pretty guitar too...I'm not so keen on the really bright "ZOMGSUNBURSTLULZ!!!!111" you get on some LPs, especially with the thicker poly finishes, but that's quite a nice deep red that doesn't make me want to gouge my eyes out

 

[Thomas/Sweden]

Yes, it's quite nice! The pups are good too, Gotoh GH-1G.

 

[GuN'R]

That's the plan...I'll have the cash in my hand at the end of the month and I'm heading off on a guitar-shop tour. I've already played a couple of MIC Burnys that were *this* close to grabbing my wallet, so much so that the guy who owns that store is getting a slightly higher-end model in for me to have a look at.

I have to say I am more than a bit envious of you UK folks. At least you have the option for shopping around for the new production Tokai's, Burny's, Edwards etc, and actually playing them in shop! Us yanks are typically stuck with two brands when it comes to Les Paul style guitars in the guitar shops. You are fortunate. Good luck with the hunt!

 

[Dr Strangelove]

I have to say I am more than a bit envious of you UK folks. At least you have the option for shopping around for the new production Tokai's, Burny's, Edwards etc, and actually playing them in shop! Us yanks are typically stuck with two brands when it comes to Les Paul style guitars in the guitar shops. You are fortunate. Good luck with the hunt!

The downside is that an average Gibson Les Paul Standard bought in the UK costs $2773 or more.

Not so great.

 

[GuN'R]

The downside is that an average Gibson Les Paul Standard bought in the UK costs $2773 or more.

Not so great.

They are not exactly cheap here either. Although, maybe slightly less expensive than in the UK.

EDIT: I don't see that being much of a downside!

 

[Dr Strangelove]

They are not exactly cheap here either. Although, maybe slightly less expensive than in the UK.

EDIT: I don't see that being much of a downside!

The trick to buying any high end guitar in a shop is this simple phrase..

".....how much for cash?"

There's nothing quite as alluring to shop staff as a large wad of paper money. Many a deal can be struck...

 

[Thomas/Sweden]

Here's another one, MIC Burny RLC-55JS. It's also a nice playing guitar and even setup was good straight out of the box. Good for those that like John Sykes and Thin Lizzy.

 

[GERRYGTR62]

dude, just try as many LP Replicas as you can--if none grab you, then go for the next best thing: An SG replica!!