Guitar recommendations needed

LTD/ESP guitars are really good bang for the buck.

Second vote for PRS SE............ I have a cheap PRS SE soapbar 2 That I like more than my strat, flying V, and Ibanez guitars. I bought it new for $250 when CC's went out of business in BR. It plays better than any Gibson I have ever played.

I would recommend a PRS, specifically the Tremonti signature model, or an Agile, especially the 3100 series.

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Did the guy ever finish with your Dad's Guitar?

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Yeah he finished about a month ago. I’ve just been too busy to run pick it up. Trying to get there next weekend

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Is she/you not interested in an SG?

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Honestly save a little more and keep watching eBay/reverb. A used sg special or even standard be had for a pretty good bargain if you keep watching. Then you can save up for the actual les Paul that you want and not settle.

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Take the money you were going to spend and don’t. Save for an extra year and get a new Les Paul Jr. or used LP for $1500 or so. You’ll wish you did in the first place and won’t always be looking for something better.

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With all due respect, I don't dig this advice. New Gibson products (even Jr.) are terrible investments and the company has been poorly run for some time now.

If he continues to save his money, he can get an even better PRS. PRS has been, almost from inception, what Gibson wants to be and thinks they are. They haven't been, frankly, since the late 1950s.

Again, with all due respect.

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or an Agile, especially the 3100 series.

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Bob, you beat me to it.

The $500 price point for a single cutaway style guitar is going to be difficult.

In the used market, this is a decent starting point.

The Supro revival brand produces some slick looking instruments. Here's one that is above your budget, but in the secondary market you could find it at your price point, and you wouldn't need that many upgrades, as the gold foil pickups are cool as hell.

Here's another Supro that also comes at a good price point for a used instrument.

If you want a project, this looks like a good starting point, but it is a lawsuit era Les Paul copy.

If you want to go to a hollow body, this is a good starting point I believe the famous TV Jones Broad'tron pickups come standard on this Gretsch, and those pickups are highly regarded.

Peavey used to make some super heavy instruments, made in the USA, but I don't think they do any longer. Regardless, if a project guitar is what you want, a Peavey like this isn't a terrible choice.

For your price point, I'd definitely go for a Supro though. They are fun instruments to play, have fairly cool retro designs, and the gold foil pickups sound great. Supro amps are also superb, as they are designed by Bruce Zinky, who did a lot of Fender's amp work. I'm definitely looking at getting a Supro Sahara as a cheap guitar to play around the house. I nearly pulled the trigger on a Supro Westbury Baritone a couple of years ago, and only stopped myself because I was moving with 11 other guitars. I'll get it eventually.

I really appreciate all of the feedback from everyone so far. The more I've thought about it, the more I'm beginning to realize my base budget is kind of useless if I'm planning to add some upgrades. Basically, I could spend 500 on a guitar and add 300 dollars worth of upgrades or I could just look for a guitar in the 800 dollar price range. Either way, I'm still spending the same amount. I'm sure there are some construction differences too, so it's either a lesser quality build to some extent, with some nice aftermarket upgrades, or a better quality guitar in general.