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My rule of thumb with cheaper instruments is, if you can get your hands on it and try it (even unplugged) you will soon know if it's worth a punt.
A nicely made guitar with good playability can always sound good, worst case scenario you will need to swap pickups but on the other hands, good sound alone might still be coming out of a badly finished, unenjoyable instrument.
Add to that that on the whole cheaper=less QC and therefore less consistency, so you might get a great copy and a not so great one. Having said that, the guy in the video seems to be an absolute Gibson nut but also very honest in his assessment - if he's impressed it should be for good reason.
To add to the options, I have recently picked up a lovely Epiphone SG Classic (two P90s and full batwing pickguard) and I've been super impressed with how well it's made, how it plays and how it sounds. I believe Les Pauls STDs go for similar prices to my SG, so a second hand one should be around that 250, maybe 300 mark (I paid 280 for mine), so if you're on the lookout for a nice, cheap LP those might be worth a look too! Especially the recent ones with the much nicer headstock get great reviews and people seem to find them every bit as good as I've found my SG and might be easier to find one to try in person?
alex_s-
Thanks mate. I agree with all you've said. Might get a peach, might get a total lemon! The Epiphone SG's are really nice, I've had to stop myself several times. I've got an SG but apart from borrowing a cheap LP copy for a few weeks when I was about 17 (which was an absolute plank) I've never spent any time with an LP. Hence I fancy one of those Heritage Ascent. I might take a punt on one.
On a seperate cheapy note
My Squier Classic Vibe 50's Telecaster (bought direct from Fender for £258 last November, they're now up to £370 ish) has what I think is a bit of a dead sounding top E string. Open as well as fretted. So far I've done the following:New strings
A replacement Wilkinson Compensated (Brass saddles) ashtray bridge
I've adjusted the pickup heights they are both pretty much level and same height
I've adjusted saddles to intonate. The three saddle setup is a bit of a compromise but overall intonation is pretty much there
I've raised saddles for action. It's probably slightly on the higher side but it's OK (I've played around with the treble side of the E/B string saddle, raised and lowered to see if there's a huge difference)
I took strings off and rubbed graphite pencil into each strings slot in the nut (I don't have any fancy purpose made nut lube or anything)
Finally I adjusted neck relief and took three 1/8th of a quarter turns counter clockwise (checking after each turn)It's playing much better, almost spot on, but the top E still sounds a bit dead to me.
Any thoughts, could it just be as simple as a duff top E string? The cheap vintage style tuners aren't the best. Planning to swap them out for some Gotoh at some point.
EB
Anyone tried one of the Heritage Ascent range? The H-137 or the H-150 LP. Have to say for the money I'm tempted to get one just to see, it sounds really good!
https://youtu.be/E_H8PjvvAbs?si=gYPtj0fLEVIAfK7L