I own three - in order of acquisition:
- An early-2K's Carlo Robelli ES-500 (Sam Ash house brand, built in Korea by Peerless) '53 ES-5 knockoff, that I modified with a Byrdland-style tailpiece and "Mickey Baker" wiring - pic is of an unmodified version:
- A 2011 Gibson LP 60's Tribute goldtop - FYI the 2011 limited-edition goldtops currently command a premium for their PRS-style revealed-edge "binding" and under-the-bed '56 cosmetics (FWIW I've seen them as high as $2000+ for a primo example) but the solid and burst finishes can be had in the $800-1200 range depending on condition, all having the Slim-Taper neck of the '60 Standard and its SG successors:
- A 2012 Godin CW II in the unfortunately discontinued blonde finish:
Reasons:
- Carlo Robelli: classic punchy postwar big-box electric tone well-suited for jazz, clean blues, and '50s R&R/R&B/rockabilly, it also makes a strong visual statement - and the Robelli J-45 knockoff (which I retrofitted with a $70 Guitar Fetish barn-door dual-source mag/mic system) that came as a BOGO didn't hurt matters either;
- Gibson LP: under-the-bed '56 looks with modern playability, 2-3 pounds lighter than a traditional LP thanks to its routed body, extremely versatile stylistically (it'll do jazz with the flatwounds I presently have installed, and I've never played a better surf guitar), highly responsive to touch through a good tube amp - and when you goose the gain it'll snarl and scream with the best of them;
- Godin CW II: purchased to replace my '64 Gretsch Double Annie in my playing-out rotation, it has a similar airiness and chime thanks to the underwound dogears and ultra-thin woods used in its construction (at just a tick over five pounds it's in the same class as a Seagull mini-jumbo), and it's built to the usual high Godin-family standard of QC/materials/playability - crisper and lighter (sonically and physically) than the Robelli with its old-school "thump," the late Tony Bennett's guitarist used one on the road for a number of years...
BTW if you're looking for something out of the ordinary, the early-80's Japanese-built Yamaha SSC-500 solidbody was equipped with three pickups which fell squarely into hot P-90 territory (this one'll drive the front end of your tube amp deep into the tone zone, without sounding muddy and indistinct like many overwound P-90's) and, thanks to the built-in coil tap, also provide less-blistering single-coil tones straight out of Leo's 1950's playbook. Getting a little pricey (as are just about all '70s/80s MIJ instruments) - top-shelf blonde/sunburst examples can fetch well over $2K in certain markets (mostly in the Southeast US) - but player-grade stuff can still be had for under $1K if you're patient; well worth a checkout - I used a cherry version for nearly 25 years as one of my two main gigging guitars, and it still does yeoman duty as a backup instrument (as TMK it did for Jerry Garcia). Here's a pic if you're not familiar:
