The roots of tone

My new guitar is a Grassroots G-LP-50S, not an original Les Paul but a copy instead.

I'm not a fan of the LP-type incarnation due to some playability issues which are largely personal. However, I am not one to ignore a good guitar regardless of its make & nature. The G-LP-50S is a Korean production.

The build & finish of this guitar is simply impressive. There were several finishes in store but I walked away with the one which impressed me in terms of tone & playability. Despite being in the same range, the weight of these units differ slightly, the one I acquired is believably the lightest of them all hence giving off more top end which is rather crucial for this guitar type.

Having plugged the G-LP-50S into my amps (Marshall/ Sound Drive/ Peavey/ Black Heart), I actually like the default humbuckers so there are currently no plans to replace them except for the strings; I can do better with a set of .0095s in there. While playing it in store, several shoppers commented on the gorgeous flame top which annoyed me because people in general are still intrigued by looks instead of the instrument's intrinsic performance per se. I guess to many of us, external attributes are important especially for guitars because we are seen with them first & foremost, the lay people out there appreciate cosmetic attractions more than anything else because they don't know nuts about tone & playability importance. It's all understood.

PS: Thanks to the lads @ TYMC; I had a great shopping experience which led to this purchase. They were very tolerable to my try-outs & inspection quirks over several occasions. A worthy first buy for 2010 indeed.