Welcome to the Shoot Out II

I compared 3 different Single Cut style guitars, here they are lined up.

From Left to Right we have:

J Nunis Standard - Amberburst - Reliced

Heritage Class of 59 - Natural to Blueburst

2003 Gibson Les Paul R9 ('59 Reissue)

Following are their specifications:

Looks:

    These are all stunning guitars, but on looks the Heritage wins. It has great looking quilt and just a gorgeous progressive burst. The Nunis a close second with its relic work and very nice top. The R9 last but not least. A very vintage looking top with some very nice subtle figure.

Playability:

    The Nunis maple neck is incredibly smooth as well as chunky in a perfect for me kind of way. The slanted frets however needed some getting used to. The Korina neck on the Heritage is also great. The R9 has the lowest action of the three, although it could still be lowered on the other two guitars. I would rate the Nunis tops here, although all of the guitars were quite easy to play.

Sound - Flexibility:

    Since all these guitars are wired all the same they come in dead even here!

Sound - Tone:

    Volume at 10: All these guitars carry plenty of power. The R9 though is way more powerful then the other two guitars. at around 5 it was overdriving the amp (my Auble) and at 10 it was just plain nasty mean! The Nunis was far behind in power but still more powerful then the Heritage. I think the Korina body definitely has something to do with that. But the Nunis and Heritage were close in power, if the Heritage were at 10, it would be the Nunis at 8 and the R9 at 6!  I wonder if the capcitor has something to do with this, the Gibson has a big fat one, the Nunis and Hertiage a much smaller one.

    Rhythm position: The Nunis shines in this category, I believe the Maple neck adds a little bite and sharpness to the sound that balances well with the bassy and "muddy" sound of the Rhythm. The R9 does its usual "muddy" Rhythm thing, but the Heritage really turns way "muddy" and is a sound I don't care for.

    Lead position: All the guitars have a great Lead sound. I might even prefer the Heritage here, although they all sound very similar. The Korina body here does a nice job of giving a little more tone to the overall sound. Besides that they all really spring up and out and cut through the mix. I'd say the Heritage and Nunis tops, R9 a tat behind.

    Rhythm+Lead position: Here you can mix a lot of sounds, and I feel that the Heritage really redeems itself in this position from the "muddy" Rhythm position. Since you have such a wide range of mixing and matching, the Heritage has the most range due to it's very "muddy" start and very nice toneful finish in Lead. The Nunis I feel mixes the best though and sounds the nicest, probably because I prefer the Rhythm sound of the Nunis. The R9 has great sound but is really the standard these other two guitars want to beat. I rate the Nunis tops here and the R9 and Heritage about the same

   Volume at Clean w/ Pedal: Did not use a Pedal.

    I personally prefer the Nunis, but Sound is a very subjective thing. And for me it is important to not have a Rhythm that is too muddy which is what the Nunis gives me and the GMP Pawnshop Deluxe did incredibly well.

Final Comments

    All three guitars are quite amazing and gorgeous guitars. Top notch looks on all, great vintage vibe from the Nunis and R9. Although the Nunis could be a bit more reliced on the back. The back wasn't reliced well I thought. The Heritage of course has that incredible look with the progressive burst and the great Korina killer body. Playability I find that a bit chunkier stands out to me as perfect but not too chunky like the older Les Pauls. Tone was found in all three but my ear and preference really favored the Nunis.

The Winner is ....