Can a $200 guitar sound great? Part I

I've spent a great deal of time and money building up my guitar rig. I have an amp that will never need to be replaced (maybe just augmented with others) and a near complete pedal board that gives me everything tonally I need currently and for the forseeable future. You can see this rig in one of my earliest posts. Guitar-wise, I'm very pleased with my current arsenal, but I'm still lacking a couple of fundamental instruments; the gap I'm currently working on filling is that which is left by the absence of a Les Paul type guitar. Having played the real deal in the past, I am well aware of what a Les Paul should be, so I started out on an endeavor to choose which Gibson I'd be saving for. I quickly realized however, that these guitars have become grossly and in my opinion unjustifiably over-priced, so I started contemplating the alternative approach; find a good LP type platform, and replace all of the electronics and hardware. As you'll read below, this approach worked wonders on my Dave Murray-inspired Highway One project, so why not do this with an LP? Now all I need to do is find a suitable platform.



I had hoped to go with a lower end USA Gibson until I realized that the faded series is chambered, has the 50s neck (I prefer something more 60s like) and lacked a maple top. After all, the thick maple cap is in my opinion what a real LP type guitar is all about, so on went my search. Virtually all of the other mainstream manufacturers, including Epiphone, lacked a thick maple cap. It turns out Agile guitars offers one on their $650 instrument, which looked like it would fill the bill until I stumbled upon this brand called Xaviere and their $209 XV-500. I did a lot of research, and I kept coming up with a solid guitar that lacked decent hardware and electronics. Bingo! And some how, this company manages to sell this guitar for $209 yet provides a long neck tenon, a 3/4" maple cap and mahogany back and neck with a rosewood fret board. The base ingredients of that legendary Les Paul tone.



This is only Part I of at least another posting or two to come. At this point I've ordered the guitar and have yet to receive it. I also ordered a set of Manlius Hot Rod 59 pickups, which are hand wound in Syracuse, NY and somehow sell for less than half some of the other boutique makers. I own pickups from the top shelf makers such as WCR and Harmonic Design, so I'm very curious to see how Manlius stacks up. I expect to replace hardware as well but have not made any decisions other than the bridge will have to be of the piezo variety as I intend for this guitar to be nearly as versatile as my main axe, which is currently the Highway One described below. Even if total investment approaches $1,000, if this guitar can compete with a USA Standard or Traditional in playability and tone, then I've really stumbled on to something. Even if I had sprang for the $2,300 plus real thing, I'd still be replacing the pickups and installing a piezo bridge adding hundreds more.



So stay tuned for receipt of the new guitar and a report on my progress. I've had success in making middle of the road guitars in the $600 range sound and play great, but I've never tried to do so with a guitar as inexpensive as the Xaviere. Does it really have it where it counts? Check back and see!

Play often, play well, and may God bless!