Where to order a Les Paul in the US?

[cluthz]

A friend of mine is buying a Les Paul Standard and he's going to USA in May.
He need the guitar to be shipped to the hotel where he is staying.
He wants a new guitar, not second hand.
In Norway where we live a Les Paul Standard costs about $4000, and i guess you can get it for the half in USA.

I myself have bought several guitars in USA and got them shipped to the hotel where I was staying, but that's almost ten years ago.
(Bought a almost new Nighthawk Standard 3 pickup for $900 back in '96, and a used Strat Plus Deluxe for $800 in '01, those costed over twice as much used here)

Any tips about where to order, it has to be a reputable dealer.

Thanks in advance!

[mkrishnan]

Sweetwater has excellent customer service, but I've never bought an actual guitar from them. If there's something particular your friend is looking for, they can often deal / match prices if you talk to them.

[Peace]

If you're talking online I'd suggest Musicians Friend (http://www.musiciansfriend.com/)

[nelsencaleb]

ebay!!

[mac2x]

Sweetwater has excellent customer service, but I've never bought an actual guitar from them. If there's something particular your friend is looking for, they can often deal / match prices if you talk to them.

Sweetwater is excellent. I bought a Valley Arts instrument from them. Great service and the guitar came well packed and in perfect condition.

I received some unpacked electron tubes from Musicians Friend once; never will I buy anything fragile from them again!

[mkrishnan]

I received some unpacked electron tubes from Musicians Friend once; never will I buy anything fragile from them again!

FWIW I've had passable dealings with MusiciansFriend, but I've never seen a company do customer service quite as well as Sweetwater. Their limitation is primarily that, if you ask them for purchase advice, they tend to steer you towards unnecessarily expensive solutions, but aside from that, very nice.