IYV AMAZON LES PAUL COPY!! Is It Really Good Or Are The Youtubers Lying? 

Here is my take on it... I wish there were guitars that looked that nice for that cheap when I was a kid.

love that you are NOT a brand snob. And truly understand a good guitar is a good guitar .

With today's technology and CNC computer machines, a decent guitar can be made quite cheaply. After dressing the frets that guitar sounded nice overall on clean settings. Even without changing the PUPS if you have a good modeling amp or in my case a VOX tube Tone Lab ST, I can make ANY guitar sound like I want it to. I've even made old cheap Teisco guitars sound so good my friends hear the recordings and say "WTF was that?" This is one of the coolest channels I've stumbled across. I love the hosts 'down home' voice and demeanor. I subbed...so should you!

I remember when he had like 1000 subscribers. Wish him nothing but the best

You should do a full video on how you set up guitars (including frets, nut) I feel like you've got this really unpretentious, accessible approach to it that a lot of people would appreciate (myself included)

I started learning to work on my guitars on the day I started playing 4 years ago by watching RU-vid videos about proper guitar setup. I told myself after paying $100 for a crappy setup from a Maine music store that I was going to learn to work on my own guitars. I am so glad that I have learned to do my own setups, I am sure I have saved myself quie a few $$$;s but I also have learned how to setup my guitars the way I like them and that is a BIG PLUS in my opinion! Keep the great video's coming brotha!!

i love the nut slot file idea with the feeler guages. so smart lol. thanks! earned an easy sub as well

When I was first starting out you got plywood and a bolt-on neck for $200

At this point, im convinced that these cheap budget guitars only exist for 2 reasons: 1st, for someone who wants to try to learn to play, but arnt sure if they are gonna like it or not, and don't wanna drop tons of cash on a good quality guitar. And 2nd, for people like me who enjoy just working on guitars, and are learning the ropes on guitar repairs, mods and customization. Me personally, i enjoy taking these cheap chinese budget knockoffs, and making them play and sound just as good as the top quality ones. I call them "Sleeper guitars". Guitars where when you pull it out of the case, people kinda scoff and laugh at your low end guitar, until you plug it in and blow their minds with the amazing sound and playibility.....always fun to see their reactions LOL!

Great video my brother! I once owned about 75 guitars and was puffed up with pride. Then my son became sick and I sold all to help him out. My guitars meant nothing in the face of his illness. He is well now..20 years later! I wish I had a cheap decent guitar but life is very good! Love your channel!

I've missed your videos Shawn, glad I re-found ya..... Happy Forth of July!!!

Here's the thing, it is 186 bucks, and for that price you are lucky that it has a semi-decent neck joint. My brother has an IYV Goldtop LP with HB pickups and not for nothing it plays really nice and after swapping the pickups out and putting better pots and a switch in it, the thing rips. If you are looking to get into modding guitars and trying out different setups in search for that signature tone, buying one of these budget friendly copies of your preferred brand is a perfect way to learn without thrashing an expensive instrument. I have a Harley Benton T-style Deluxe 40 in trans-black with gold hardware that I upgraded the electronics on and it is one of my favorite guitars and I have Fender, Gibson, Guild, Charvel, and Ibanez guitars. Still I grab that Benton and go to town. I currently have it tuned to drop C and it doesn't lose its tuning, no buzz, and plays better than my Fender Squier Tele. I get that these are facsimiles of well esteemed brands and it tends to rub purists the wrong way, but here is the thing not everybody can afford to drop 900 bucks on a lower level Gibson or even the 600 bucks for a mid grade Epiphone; that's where these brands fill in the gap, the woods are decent, the finish isn't appalling, and it provides a good base to build upon as money comes around. Here is another thing to consider, if you are a local gigging musician do you want to risk your 2k PRS or Gibson getting damaged by a patron in a club during intermission or a guitar you built for under 400 bucks? There are places and purposes for everything under the sun if you keep an open mind.

Middle position on the switch puts the pickups in parallel. So you add the resistance of the pickups in parallel. 1 / 14.1 + 1 / 7.6 = 1 / 4.9 = 4.9 ohms

I had damaged a Gibson V (it fell) and I took it to Guitar Center and they fixed the tuning key. Did a great job. Then I bought a Hamer Slammer for $100 on eBay. Neck was bowed. They worked on it even sending me updated photos showing it in clamps. Again, a very pro job.

Instead of a $200 guitar plus new pickups, pots, bridge, and tuners, I just bought a LTD 256 Les Paul in purple. I love it and I have no regrets about choosing it over a cheap Epiphone or something even cheaper like this.

I'm going to have to look for my feeler gauges now for setting the nut slots. Great idea. Not seen that before. Thank you!

Sean, I have to make a confession. I do not own a single "luthier" tool. For instance my leveling bean is an aluminum channel with sandpaper glued to one side. My crowning file is a tri corner file with the corners smoothed. My fret slot saw is a mini dovetail saw, ( the kerf is perfectly sized), from lowes in conjunction with a home made jig! I have a set of very small tapered files for the nut slot. all my other tools I had from years of cabinet making.

speaking of the resistances you encountered: I don't know what everything should be. But when working with two 'resistors' when two are wired in series, the resistances are added. When two 'resistors' are wired in parallel, the total resistance is less than the smallest of your resistors. In this case, the smallest you had was about 8 ohms, so when combining that with the 14, you get about 5. The formula is 1/R1 + 1/R2 = 1/Rt, or 1/14 + 1/8 = 8/112 + 14/112 = 22/112 = 1/Rt = 1/(22/112) = 112/22 = ~5 Now, I will finish the video. I'm seen other videos made by you and am sure this will be just as good. TY brother

About the pickup measurements... when you're measuring resistance on both pickups, you have the resistance of the neck in parallel with the resistance of the bridge pickup. Parallel resistances divide rather than add (resistance would add when they're in series, but not in parallel). Without boring you to death with the math, all those numbers look correct.

I had the emerald green version of this. Wanted to love it. Unfortunately, after only a couple months, it became the only guitar I've ever owned whose fretboard *cracked* on me. In multiple places. Yes, it was a dry board, and I live in the desert - but really? That shouldn't have happened (your board looks like different - better - wood). Anyway, great work - and awesome, tell-it-like-it-is reviews. MUCH needed for this segment of the guitar market. Rock on, brother.

I ended up getting a Glarry ST right before Covid and I still have that damn guitar and I love it lol. I did 1 upgrade and that was putting a heavy duty bridge block in it.

Im glad i found this channel ive learned alot

I have 4 Harley Benton's, a Yamaha Pacifica 012, a Dillion DR-450, a Samick Strat copy and a 2013 Gibson SG. The HB's get the most play. I've spent some time polishing/leveling the frets, filing the nut slots as needed and replaced a bunch of pickups. My favorite HB PU is the Gibson 57 Classic. I Just like it. It's predictable and has great balance between the neck and bridge. I also have SD Pearly Gates paired with a SD 59 on on or two guitars. They both sound great as well. My SG sits on the stand and collects dust. Not that it's a bad guitar but there's no compelling reason for me to play it. It has horrible balance and I don't like the way the neck is offset so for to the left. I always end up playing everything a step sharp due to the ergonomics. The truth about cheap guitars is that they WILL need some work. However, it's work you should know how to do in the first place! There's no need to take your guitar to a tech every time something doesn't sound just right, or to have the neck relief adjusted. Or, the adjust the intonation or action. If you learn these basics, you can make a player out of a cheap guitar! It just may become your #1!

Resistors in parallel always result in an equivalent resistance that is lower than the resistance of each individual resistor. Neck pickup was high, bridge pickup was low therefore when you put them in parallel (switch middle position) the resistance will always be lower than the lowest resistance.

I just hacked a bridge in my Epiphone Casino that was super loose like the one in the video. Just get a roll of Teflon Thread tape, like the stuff used by plumbers, and wrap it around both the threads that screw into the body and around the top of the posts that the bridge slides on to. Now my $17 roller bridge replacement is a snug fit and the guitar stays in tune and intonation.

Fine job sir ! I have found that by building cheap guitars with your own elbow grease is not only fun, but definitely gives you a feeling of accomplishment when you finish and get to play them. Each one has its own personality. Keep on keepin' on Brother.

I just paid $300 to get my Gibson Firebird and Fender JP 90 bass worked on ...its time to start doing this stuff myself ..You just got my Sub thanx Dude !

With the proper aftermarket treatment and setup, any guitar will play like a dream.

The thing I dig about your channel and your videos is I always laugh when RU-vidrs throw a fit over a little thing in the finish and they then act like they got a shirt that had a stain in it. If you actually play the guitar imperfections will happen. Are they for playing or displaying? With you however your like, “oh there is something here but it’s not a big deal”. That is awesome

That lines in the back guitar s body.. Looks like planet Jupiter..

Thanks for the feeler guage trick

that lick at the 19 minute mark was sweet.

I think it’s a good deal for those of us that can work on them. That blue has grown on me. I bought a les Paul copy from Firefly. Man, I really like it. And it weighs like a Les paul too. It needed a bit of tuning but it is a really pretty guitar. It was about 190 bucks shipped. That was a couple of years ago, they could be more now.

at 15.23 what thickness of file ,,,,, I watch your videos everyday ,,, I learn so much at age 63,,,, you are smart to do that ..make it easy you simplify the unknown or complex you are a genius in many ways

The play in that bridge is about the same as the stock setup on my 2020 Epiphone Casino Coupe. A lot easier to swallow at this price point!

I have a half dozen Gibsons over many years and I find it funny that Its still common to run into a Gibsons with some of the same issues as this cheap copy. Rough fret ends, loose bridge, inlays with gaps on the sides. Looks like IYV copied it well LOL

the bridge resistance is 14k witch is hot but the neck is more a paf style with less resistance at about 7.8.. the middle pos splits the resistance in half . that's why it adds up to roughly half of the both combined.

I'm a drummer but play enough guitar to put coherent songs together. I don't know nearly as much as most of you but it's a beautiful instrument especially when I find beautiful chords. You have a smashing channel and great sense of humour Sean!

I bought one a few years ago the green one. I sent the first one back the neck was junk and also broken in one place. The second one was okay and the frets were spot on no rough edges or out of level areas. I did replace the pots and wired it to 50s style along with new cloth wrapped wire and replaced the switch. The thing is these can be a nice guitar it just depends on how far you want to go. The pickups in mine sound fine after the wiring and pots were replaced. I also put a new graph tech nut and setup the action and intonation of course. Replaced the tuners with locking ones too.

This is my first time seeing your channel. An excellent video and you've garnered another subscriber. Amazon has a crappy habit of selling returned guitars as "new". This happened to me personally on 3 occasions. An IYV -300 twice, and the EART 335 clone. The first tell is, excessive tape on the shipping box. I knew you had a return as soon as I saw the Amazon tape. Second tell, plastic missing on pickups, pick guard, truss rod cover and occasionally the poker chip. Another red flag issue is the sudden appearance of a model that has been out of stock with limited availability. After getting played by Amazon repeatedly, I'm very wary of them as of late. Again good job on this review and subject!

Thank you brother for what you do. Honest, encouraging, and inspiring. You are quickly becoming my favorite channel. No bull, no nonsense, no pretense.

14k bridge and 7k neck are not unusual measurements for low cost ceramic magnet pickups. 14.1k in parallel with 7.57k is 4.925k which is what you measured.

I have never played a GIBSON Les Paul. When you say that this guitar does NOT FEEL like one, what EXACTLY are you talking about? The weight, the action, the neck?

I work on a lot of guitars to be an old medically retired guy. I just worked on a left handed guitar that looks beautiful, but that is where it ended. Half of the saddles in the bridge were backwards, fret ends would kill you.But a couple of hours later with a new nut, reverse saddles, fret level, crown, file fret ends, intonate the guitar and it plays well.The owner is a beginner and young and will never advance to pro anyway so this is great for that guy..Made in China

Never could get the desire for the green one. I wondered when they would put out a pleasing color. Hahaha. This is cool really. 200, some tools and upgrades. Bamm.

That machinist that made those bridge studs had one job, a swing and a miss!

I got the same guitar only green and did the same work on it. It is nice and sound great. It's not my best guitar but I like it. I also plan to change out the pickups though.

Sean, you made that I-V-Y A-OK!!! That tone punches above the price point. Thanks for the instruction. That nut filing hack is a good one!!

That is quite the looker, glad that the rocking bridge and tailpiece studs didn't affect the tuning stability. Y'all have a happy 4th of July! #DYTMSG

All right Shaun, you said you can make a guitar out of anything, how about empty beer cans? At least you'll have fun trying.

I have one and it has none of the problems in the video. I changed the strings, set it up and it's awesome. I would have sent this one back and tried another one.

That bridge pickup sounded pretty killer to my ears

yep, ur rite dude, that is an awfully pretty blue finish, after you set 'er up, sounded pretty good, and for $186, damn! I bought 2/3 of my guitars back in the 70's from pawn shops in the city where I grew up, I think I was 12 when I bought my first elec Les Paul guitar, made by Aspen. It was used, black ebony finish, just like I'd wanted back then. The next two were, a Fender 12 string acoustic, then a Gibson 6 string acoustic, both bought back in 77, I think. one might been in early 78, but loved'em all, spent a many hours with each and even fewer hours goin to Jr High, Lol. Hey, my band won the talent show in 9th grade, I used a Peavy Pacer 100 amp, cry baby wah wah and a big muff pi sustain,distortion foot push button box and played it LOUD! I did some minor tweaking on my elec guitar to increase the action, lol, gave it a real, slight, buzz sound, nobody ever commented, reckon they didn't notice, those were the days in my teens.....now, 60 with diseases. I have a 95 Fender Stratocaster and a 50 watt VOX amp, neither hardly played, the Strat was a studio guitar I bought from a bud who needed $$ badly in 2006, that was when I went to Guitar Center, had it cleaned and restrung with 8's, (wished I'd a gone with 11's now) and havn't played that much since was working alot back then, til the attack in Oct 08 changed my entire future, now have 50% feelin in hands, (you know, like when your elbow hits, (the "funny bone") and makes your arm tingle and numb for a couple a few minutes. Well, my arms n hands feel that way 24/7 now, can't play no more. :( Just glad to be able to listen to music, and remember my youth. I'm a Les Paul guy, never was a Fender guy, except for acoustic. LP just feels natural in my hands. Old school I guess, peculiar. Lol Peace y'all and keep Rockin!

Your braggadocio at the start was a bit of a turn off, but I actually learned a bunch of little tips and tricks by the end. This is a really thorough examination - kudos on the good video.

14K in the bridge is 43 gauge magnet wire, 7.5K in neck is 42 gauge wire. 43 gauge wire is thinner and higher resistance wire. Some like that sound but 43 wire is less clear sounding. Even Gibson does this on some of their junky guitars, its a real cheap trick and kids notice notice it.

That feeler gauge trick is genius!

Always cut boxes and tape with the sharp edge aming up at your body😜

I think this guitar was a return, refurbish (sort of) and boxed back up for sale. Look at the tape on the box when it's opened. Bridge post residue, strange filing on the frets, etc.

I love the hand made guitars you’ve got hanging on the wall in the background!

Great video. I’m a sucker for that blue also!

Where are you Americans getting these gravel deep voices from?😮 Excellent channel, I Subbed.👍

New sub here. I like your no bull approach, simple and to the point. More power to you. I play a really cheap parts- caster I modded a bit, and it's the best guitar I ever had, so I appreciate where you are coming from.

You're awesome accent made this 100% better Fucking awesome playing too! Damn

That's a beauty. I wouldn't care if it actually FELT like a Les Paul. I'm not really crazy about Les Pauls anyway...and by the way, Gibson must make 25 different Les Pauls that all feel different. I bet this one DOES feel very close to some of them.

I would have really liked seeing you play it before AND after mods. Interesting to know how it changed. The fretwork and insights were invaluable! Thank you.

Some of the stuff you do would give a luthier a heart attack 😂 I really love your straightforward approach, get the job done with minimal fuss 😎🤣👍🏼

Dang Dude, 😟appreciate all that flip flap. Dig the honest fish gutting attitude🤩

I bought a green IYV a couple years ago and I'm totally happy with it. First thing I did was polish the frets and dress and polish the fret ends. I didn't have the touch the truss rod, I lowered the action a bit, set intonation and it plays and feels just as nice as my favorite 72 Gibson LP. I've had over 60 guitars and at least a dozen Gibsons. The only thing I'd like to do is change out the wiring harness with push-pull pots and a set of Burstbuckers but the originals sound just fine so It's low on my list of priorities.

I need to grab some of those tools for working the nut and frets.

Do you have a link to your fret leveler and your nut files that you can share? I don't see one in your list. Thanks!

Glad I found your channel, like your down to earth I’m just a guitar player style. Opening that box with a Bowie knife had me laughing.😅😅😅

Hey sean i got a stewmac tele kit that I'm close to starting a build real soon. I love what you did to that dumpter gibson...very nice work. I would trust you with any of my guitars.

Best guitar set up video I have seen. Thank you for the links!

Nice job Sean .I like the color too . This is great for someone on a budget , and even if they can't do the work themselves , it's worth it to pay some like yourself to set it up properly .

Man. You're my twin brother from a southern mother. We share the same skills and exact philosophy. I have 14 of those kinds of guitars. Some needed work some didn't. So for me they all play, sound, and look great. I couldn't be happier. Take care

Bought a Chinese Les Paul at Musicgoround for $211.00 with smoking hot pickups, rosewood frets, mahogany body and maple cap and neck. Fantastic guitar.

Man, look at that corner smash on that box, someone dropped that box off the truck, sure wish I could catch one of em doin that. 🎸

If I understand correctly the neck pickup should be less output than the bridge I think it's because the strings have a wider travel at the neck than at the bridge Since they move move in the neck area they cause more output and the pickup doesn't have to be as strong I could be wrong but it makes since to me

What this shows me is it’s the craftsman that makes the guitar not just the components!! Nice review/teardown. Thanks for the education man, I’ve learned a lot through your vids.

Thanks for the video. I like your style and the good simple practical tips you show us. I have a question. You spent so much time and effort on the neck but didn't address the issues with the wobbly tailpiece and bridge. Okay I know you can replace them with other cheap ones but there's no guarantee they'll be any better.I would have wound some silicon tape around the posts. It's not a permanent solution but it will get you by until the next string change and doesn't cost a penny (once you've bought a roll of silicon tape of course). Works for me and as you regularly show us , cheap quitars usually come with issues. Half the fun is finding them, addressing them, finding solutions and of course, learning all the time. Keep 'em comin'.

I'm not sure how much you know about pickup resistances but since you asked: 14.1k and 7.6k are the bridge and neck pickups by themsleves, and 5k is them both in parallel. The equation for parallel resistance is (x*y)/(xy), or in this case (14100 * 7600) / (14100 + 7600) = 4.94k, about 5k. I hope that helps! Fun video.

I have two Squiers that I've modded. They both sound comparable to a Fender after swapping out pickups. People get so emotional about brand names

A mate of mine (yrs ago) could only afford Les Paul copies. Years later he actually got a genuine Les Paul. He found he couldnt play it, as it was so different to his copy. He eventually learnt to play it. He's still very good!

Ah you missed a spot. The output jack plate - is it plastic or metal.

It's a Les Expensive.

I have a nice Gibson firebird copy my buddy built for me from a kit. Great all around except for the pickups. Half the volume of my Gibson's and Fenders. I'm spoiled, i have a 73 blue sparkle Les Paul deluxe. I love blue Les Paul's.

Every expert I know will always tell you they don't know everything and there is always someone better. Everytime my "I'm an expert" kicks in, lessons are about to be learned.

I have bought 14 Harley Benton budget guitars and have not bought a bad one yet, a few of them I have upgraded but not because the parts were bad, its just that I am a guitar tart, the parts I took off went on to some of the other models, their guitars seem to be getting better and better in terms of build quality and parts specs, some of the models are just great for modding and the cheaper ones are just perfect for learning to work on, like doing fret leveling and changing out the nut.

Great Video Man ! Also your accent is the best ! I'm looking forward to watching your entertaining videos from now on, when I was a kid I was always told, "blue cars go faster" maybe that's why you dig it so much & by the way, do you own a blue car ? Cheers mate ! All the best ! 🎸🎸🎸😊

I bought one just to have one to back into playing,mine doesn't sound like a old school les Paul but both my pickups are hot but works good for rock stuff plays real nice set up

I Paid the $200 more and Got The EART LP , The Black one. I swapped out the pickups not because they sound horrible but because how many Humbucker Guitars does one need? I put a P90 in the neck and a gold Foil single Coil in the bridge. I got them from Guitar Fetish. PS My son took the EART Humbuckers and put them in one of his guitars.

I think the only tools available at Amazon delivery centers are hammers, simply based on all their shipping materials.

This kinda stuff makes me really happy to hear. When I first started playing the reason I quit because I hated my guitar. Back then not a lot of money got you not a lot of guitar lol. But now you can get some really damn good guitars for really cheap and it dosnt even matter what kind your looking for. I even saw a telecaster knock off on troglys that was fuckin beautiful for the same price as this Les Paul. Its a really good time to be into music.

So much depends on whether you plan on keeping this guitar a long time or selling it in the near future. This makes for a perfect gift for a beginner without doing damage to one's wallet. Are you the type of guitarist who wants a nice finished product right out of the store, or do you prefer any guitar, regardless of price, that you will totally refurbish, change all of the electronics, nut, bridge, tuning machines, etc. I installed Seymour Duncan pickups and all American pots, locking tuners, Wilkenson bridge, bone nut. Basically having a custom made guitar. I own five stratocasters and my favorite is a Squier that I changed everything on. It sounds better than any American made Strat and fits my sound.

You didn't show us the fix for the bridge. Only bad thing is the switch, seems to have 4 wire pickups.

Nice breakdown of this guitar. I was curious as I like some of the finishes they come in. I have a Firefly LP and it doesn’t have those minor issues for a little bit more for those interested in this.

Hey nice video but for 200.00 I could find a used Epiphone or some other name brand used guitar that would be made better. That's what I would recommend instead of putting all that time and work into a turd.

When I started learning guitar all of us started with real shit, the kids today are really lucky. My first advice to all novice guitar players: take a strat or tele copy (with whatever the pickups you like, and better if is a fixed bridge and a pair of humbuckers) cos the strat is the cheapest guitar to build, so for less money you have a better instrument. The LPs are expensive to make, so a cheap copy will be worst than a strat copy if they cost the same. Talking about amps, the cheap amps today are just amazing... the best we have on the 2000s was the legendary Peavey Rage 158 hahahaa now a piece of shit, but for the money was the dream of all my generation when we were teenagers

Really clever with your tools, and simple and easy to do. I really like your channel! Do you have a link for your fret leveling stone?

I don't know why this video showed up as a "recommended view", but I sure am glad that it did. Sometimes, the RU-vid algorithm just gets it right. I'm now subscribed. Great work!