But in the spirit of the thread I do love my Caparison MJR Dellinger
Checks all the boxes and plays like a dream
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Ergonomics, tuning stability, and pickup noise (and architecture) are real. I believe that “tone wood,” “pickup voicing,” the “sonic impact of polyurethane vs. nitrocellulose,”and more is likely psychological where that can be managed with EQ. But other ears might be much more sophisticated than my own, so I can never question another person’s choice of axe!
Are you referring to sound or playability? Any guitar that can be set up with decent action is fine for learning technique, even a cheap one. Especially if it has a good setup.
But sound is another story. I used to be a “gear doesn’t matter” kind of guy. Because I was mostly concerned with learning how to play. But then I tried a Les Paul for the first time and I stopped thinking that way. The difference compared to the guitars I owned was that large. I immediately went out and got one.
This video from Ben Eller is pretty much my exact experience, especially the comment about the guitar having all the low end you want and none of the top end you’d probably try to get rid of anyway:
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It was more of an anecdote about great players using sub par gear and sounding fantastic regardless moreso than an endorsement of Japanese strat copies and nameless stock pickups. 
I had seen that Ben Eller video previously and he is quite compelling. The Les Pauls I tried years ago
fell into the “not the guitar for me” category but I am definitely always open to trying new things or revisiting old.
How do you like the playability?
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So if I wanted a Les Paul sound and neck feel but with:
- A Floyd Rose
- 24 frets.
What’s the best option ?
I believe that Gibson makes a Les Paul with a Floyd, but you have to be really careful about a 24 fret neck because it pushes the neck pickup towards the bridge and changes the tone (because the pickup looks at a different portion of the vibrating string).
If you are willing to have a bolt-on neck you can order all of the parts from http://warmoth.com/ and use the canonical Gibson wood (mahogany) if you are so inclined.
You’ll never get the same tone with the Axcess, the fixed bridge plays a big part in the sound.
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I’m not even aware of how much variation there is between two Les Pauls of the same model! This is the fun of the guitar world, there is no exacting measurement, double-blind tests, etc., so everybody can get the guitar that works for them!
But when measurement comes to musicians, the results are often not what they expect 
,
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A curveball suggestion would be a Strandberg. Maybe not as high end as some of the guitars mentioned here ($2k is still more than I’d want to pay), but they put a lot of thought into ergonomics, as well as sound. Personally I’d get one if it wasn’t for the cost (I’d also switch out pickups since I like a specific sound, so I’d feel bad paying full price then doing that). I’m hoping since Ibanez delved into headless basses, they’ll jump into the headless guitar game as well.
Very interesting guitars.
Measurements are overrated 
Very true, the fixed bridge is it’s own animal, especially if you have the long posts done well, but it depends on the sum of the components.
In my opinion what makes an LP is the construction method and scale length. If you play lighter strings, 21/22 frets is plenty. If you want a super strat then this setneck LP type super strat is killer, I had one for a very short while, its like a grand piano, big sounds.
https://www.suhr.com/instruments/modern-plus/
I hear you, the tone is just beyond anything I’ve played before. I mean a strat/tele is classic and I love it to death, LPs just bring the meat. Playability is a question of getting used to it and knowing your way around that guitar, the 4 knob controls is genius.
For you my friend, look no further than a Vigier Excalibure variant of your choice. They are the quintessential “shred” guitar is there ever was such a thing. I had one for a few years, it meets all your requirements from what I’ve read in this post. The quality of workmanship is stunning and high tech but with a classic feel.
There are many variants, and they are a custom shop as well so you can get it spot on.
There are tons of great guitar luthiers out there, here’s another one that could be a lifelong buddy.
edit:
So there are both scale length variants!
https://www.andersonguitarworks.com/angel
wow!
https://www.andersonguitarworks.com/angel-1
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That’s good to hear I have one supposed to come Tuesday that I have been waiting awhiiiile for.
I’ve never tried one, but every person I know who did, was astonished !
And it’s french 
Let us know what you think of it !
Ok thanks for the recommendations everyone but I’m not in a position to spend more than £1000.
As a Vai fan I always wanted a JEM but the ones that I’ve played seem very… I don’t know, not enough character, very sterile and uniform, compared to what I normally use which is a Les Paul or Flying V or strat.
I’ve been dreaming about a JEM for a decade and when I started playing in October I ordered a PIA.
It’s very sterile and the sound feels like super compressed, but as the amp is also a huge part of the overall sound, you can compensate with that. The neck and the feel of the instrument is amazing, still.
Oh cool I envy you.
I love the look of the PIA, I always thought the JEM handle cutout looked really stupid.
The name tells everything: monkey grip 
I always got that vibe from these guitars, I think it’s the thin neck that has that characteristic. I used to think thin necks are great for ergonomics and “speed”. But over the years I’ve learned it couldn’t be further from the truth, bigger necks are more comfortable and also almost always sound better, and I’ve got small but thick stubby hands!
I’m not particularly stanning for Les Paul as the ultimate guitar. It was just the most obvious example I could think of where the difference in sound from a lot of Strat-style guitars is super obvious and easy to appreciate even without golden-eared hearing. I honestly was not thinking about guitar “tone” at all in the 2000s and didn’t even own an amp. It was only after I bought the Cornford and rented the Les Paul as a test, and plugged it in, that I was like, ok, I had no idea.
Playability is fine. Yes, very high frets you will hit the neck joint. But in the parts of the fretboard where you spend 90% of your time, it’s fine. My immediate reaction when first picking it up was how the scale length made everything seem small. I wasn’t expecting that. I remember thinking I couldn’t believe that manly man Zakk Wylde played the little “baby frets” guitar.
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Lmao @Troy actually said “stanning”.
One of the earliest videos I remember on YouTube (and maybe my first introduction to @Troy) was of him shopping for a tube amp. I think the premise was that he only had a Tech 21 and wanted a good tube amp. Pretty sure I stumbled on it because I was interested in Cornford because I saw Guthrie Govan use one (another one of the earliest videos I saw on YT). @Troy was ripping through all these high end boutique amps and I was like “damn this dude is good”.
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It is less than 3% shorter, but apparently that makes a big difference.
I’m not an audiophile so I can’t really understand what that means. Is there a simpler way to describe it that a layman like me might understand? (I might build a parts guitar with HSH pickups from DiMarzio, and there are several choices, where one is the pickups on a Pia.)