I'm a big time fan of these instruments, but the people I get them from KNOW quality pieces, not the run of the mill. I have nothing but solid slab Lesters, no chambering, no weight relieving. Each one plays incredibly well, none of them have any defects, issues, or the like. I had one that required a set up, and now it plays incredibly well. Yes, I've swapped out pups in some of them, but that's primarily because I only need so many Classic 57s or BB1s and 2s. Know what I mean??
For shits and giggles, I've gone into music stores, pulled one of the shelf, played it, and disliked it - horrible set ups, typically. I've never come across one that has many of the issues people here complain about - my sources already know what to look for before calling me, and when they do? I just take 'em. None of my Lesters are cheapos though, they're all customs or reissues, none of the VOS bullshit, and always looked over by my tech. Funnily enough - the notion that "Les Paul" and "in tune" are never in the same equation... My '68 Firemist was always giving me grief, always falling out of tune, drove me nuts. Also had a dead string when bending, and some buzzing. Finally got it to my tech, it needed a set up - a big one, but it's now perfect. As for the tuning?? The nut needed to be opened up a bit - filed in a tad. That was it. My guy said "it happens all the time, older Lesters were used to 9s, some 10s, they never had a consistent cut at the nut". Sure as shit, this particular one holds tune for a good couple hours of shitkicking before I need to tweak it again - and that's only from string fatigue generally, not the guitar's fault.
Just saying.
Mo
