Any companies making Norlin style imports?

shred4Him

Member
Norlin style meaning 3 piece maple neck (not fretboard) or at least a maple neck? I know Wylde Audio does with the Odin Grails, but all of those have a Zakk style graphic on them. I love those Norlin LP Customs, but I don't have the wallet for one with kids in college.
 
Yes. I need to try more of them or go to a different store. The ones I have tried at GC were not set up all that well and I didn't think the fret work was as good as LTD 1000s. I should probably try a store where they care for their inventory better.
Yeah GC is trash. The Walmart of guitars. They just don't care about their inventory at all.

I recently sold a '78 LP Standard ( great guitar but weighted almost 11lbs) and I bought a 2021 Les Paul Classic and it's one of the best Gibsons I've owned and I've had a lot of them ( still own 5, ranging from '88 to '21).
I think with Gibsons, they can be hit or miss (since always) but when you get a good one, it's a guitar for a lifetime.
 
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Own a 76 Norlin LPC clown burst as it’s been called with original T tops and I have to say, weight aside, it’s got a bite and attitude my 18 traditional and 19 standard just don’t have. The wood combination really does matter. Are the tributes thinner guitars or weight relieved? Part of it is that my Norlin isn’t a thinner Les Paul body like the classics IMO.
 
Own a 76 Norlin LPC clown burst as it’s been called with original T tops and I have to say, weight aside, it’s got a bite and attitude my 18 traditional and 19 standard just don’t have. The wood combination really does matter. Are the tributes thinner guitars or weight relieved? Part of it is that my Norlin isn’t a thinner Les Paul body like the classics IMO.
yeah definitely, the wood combination matters a lot.

Classics are full thickness though, it's the Studios that have thinner bodies.
But I am not sure about the Tributes, they may be a bit thinner like the Studio...
 
yeah definitely, the wood combination matters a lot.

Classics are full thickness though, it's the Studios that have thinner bodies.
But I am not sure about the Tributes, they may be a bit thinner like the Studio...
When did they start making Studios with thinner bodies?
 
When did they start making Studios with thinner bodies?
As far as I know, it's always been that way

Here's my 1997 Studio (right) next to my Classic (left).

5IWmHLnl.jpg
 
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If your not set set on an exact LP style the Tremonti SE Custom is maple neck, mahogany body and maple top with a flame veneer. That’s what I went with chasing that type of tone.
 
If your not set set on an exact LP style the Tremonti SE Custom is maple neck, mahogany body and maple top with a flame veneer. That’s what I went with chasing that type of tone.
I actually have one. Love it. I am trying to scratch the LP Custom itch. If Wylde Audio didn't have bullseye and buzzsaw graphics on everything, I would probably just go that route.
 
I actually have one. Love it. I am trying to scratch the LP Custom itch. If Wylde Audio didn't have bullseye and buzzsaw graphics on everything, I would probably just go that route.
I know this guy at .357 customs and he has a deal you might want to look into...
 
I actually have one. Love it. I am trying to scratch the LP Custom itch. If Wylde Audio didn't have bullseye and buzzsaw graphics on everything, I would probably just go that route.
You can buy any Wylde guitar in their "Death Claw" finish, which is a tobacco sunburst.

Try before you buy though, it is very different than a Les Paul. Closer to a SG in thickness and tone.

I still think finding a good Tribute Les Paul is the closest you'll get without spending the $ for a Norlin.

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Even if you do spend the money on a Norlin, it’s not like it’s going to come in ready to play condition. I’ve refretted one and another is going to need a new inlay and possibly a bone nut - attention to details just like my first one. Why? Because production quality was at an all time low. The entire reason they even went to 3 ply quartersawn maple necks was to eliminate as much as possible the warranty claims of broken mahogany necks and to save on costs.

You’ll need a killer luthier to go along with it to bring it up to modern player standards. It’s beyond the cost of just getting one, it’s even more to correct a lot of the odd trial and error things they were doing back then to win over strat markets at the time like odd fret sizes and poorly cut nuts or bridges.

But damn, once you’ve gone through one and had it properly setup like a modern Les Paul, the tone is nothing like anything else. It’s got a high mid and top grind that no rosewood fretboard mahogany neck Les Paul can touch. Loaded with heavy gauge strings with the no chambering or weight relief and it’s straight off the ozzy records close in bite and attack. I’ve played equivalent costs R9s and double the cost Murphy lab LPCs that don’t hold a candle to a fully modernized Norlin. They’re every bit of a players guitar especially for metal and southern rock.
 
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I still think finding a good Tribute Les Paul is the closest you'll get without spending the $ for a Norlin.
Yeah agreed, while the Tribute has thinner body than Standard/Custom, it's still thicker than most single cuts currently made by other manufactuers.
 
Yeah agreed, while the Tribute has thinner body than Standard/Custom, it's still thicker than most single cuts currently made by other manufactuers.
yeah my Studio sounds/feels like a Les Paul. The only time I really notice the thinner body is when I hold it against a regular Standard like I did in the picture above.
 
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