Opinions on the Smart Wood series?

[Jazzy Jay]

Hi guys,

Are any of you familiar with the Smart Wood Les Pauls that were available a couple of years ago?
Sound, feel, weight,...?
I'm asking because I'm tempted by the one in the link below...

Cheers,

J.J.

http://cgi.ebay.de/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=2384&item=2526324171&rd=1

[hippietim]

They are excellent guitars. That one is a beauty! The price seems high though - 950 euros is about $1050. They were only around $800 or 900 to begin with. They generally sell for $550-750. So even if you had to arrange shipping for $100 or so and pay some duty fees you would still probably come out ahead. Check this one out:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2527236451&category=38086

[Da Dougster]

They also had a Smartwood Standard like this:

http://www.gbase.com/guitar_pics/131/417013.jpg

Sorta like a fancier Raw Power I guess. I had a Deluxe back in the 70's that I stripped the finish off of, still partial to the look I guess, though not enough to strip my current LP :lol:

[Big Cookie]

I've seen some pretty ones and some pretty uglee ones, it is all in the eye of the beholder. They all sounded pretty good though.

[faktat]

...is that you can't get that thick, 50s neck. For me that's essential to get a good grip and tone (and more balanced weight). If you don't need that they're fine in my opinion.

Like others already mentioned, they don't have such a high aftermarket value as standards...

Good luck!

[harlycarly]

Played one at a Guitar Center a while back & was surprised how much I liked it. Lightweight, sweet tone, easy to play. Agree with the statement made above about the neck, but I realy like the one I played anyway. Didn't think it was worth the $1100 used that GC wanted. I also am partial to the looks of the lighter, "natural" wood as pictured above. I've missed a few in the $550 - $600 range, though I've seen them new on sale for $899 - $999, gigbag included.

Check one out sometime. Not the pinnacle of LP production, but IMHO a nice rig.

[Huc]

I had one of the ones with no binding and a tummy cut in the back. I don't know what kind of wood the top was but it was a very light sand color with gold hardware and looked sharp. The neck on mine was the round fat neck profile so perhaps a different neck profile on your standard. By the way the tone was great and not as heavy as the standard model LP's.