Samick LC650 Les Paul
One day I was musing how I’d never had a Les Paul, I mean not even a copy (which let’s face it, is much more likely, being a lefty, and a thrifty lefty at that). Then I saw this Samick in a second hand store.
I remembered reading favourable reviews of these guitars on forums, particularly their “Artist Series Edition” models, as this one was. And what’s more, the price tag showed it had been reduced in price *four* times.
I asked to plug it in, and had a go - everything seemed to work as it should.
I paid and took it home.
The other reason for wanting something Les Paul ish, was that I’d previously got my hands on a couple of excellent pickups - but it turned out that they were made for the string spacing of Les Pauls, not my usual Fender-width spacing. More on that later.
I got home and started further researching, what I found was a minor disappointment. My Samick “Artist Series Edition” (ASE) was apparently from later years of production, and some of it’s features weren’t the same as the models being raved about online…
My Samick ASE: bolt-on neck. Headstock logo = decal. Fretboard inlays = dots.
Earlier Samick ASEs: thru-neck. Headstock: pearloid inlay. Fretboard inlays the nicer block version, tuners proper tulip shape…
…see the below three pics of a (righty) older model to show what I mean.
Well I wasn’t too disheartened, it just meant that maybe I didn’t get the amazing bargain that I had initially thought, and had actually paid about right… I still had a solid base for modding, which is what I had wanted.
First off - bye bye scratchplate, and the other cream coloured parts. Apart from the binding, this is going BLACK.
Right, those pickups… after a proper trial at home, the stock pickups were found to be very microphonic. Also curiously were stamped “SAM SUNG” on the back. Well Sam, whoever you are - I don’t think much of those, sorry. One of the covers fell off and revealed… zero wax. Not surprised.
Stripped down, a quick clean & polish, and a hole drilled for a 3-way mini switch.
The pickups are a Seymour Duncan P-Rails at the bridge (hence the 3-way switch, this pickup can be a humbucker/P90/single rail !) and in the neck, A GFS Dream 180.
so here we are… new pickups in, and black PU rings/switch tip/ knobs. I’m pleased with how it turned out, how it looks and sounds. It’s not what purists call a Les Paul, by any stretch - but it suits me just fine.
