What I meant was that the tones achieved by the guitar approached tones of a strat or a les paul, but didn't quite get there. Because the tones "approached" those two, it struck me that it wasn't trying to be itself. If you know what I mean.

I've never held much stock in hearing a guitar's tone through a video, but I watched at least 3 and got the same impression each time. 3 different players and amp setups too.

I haven't ruled them out yet because I would like to hold on in my hands an play it and see what I think. I may think quite differently then.

I watched videos for the S2 custom 24 and the S2 Mira.

Mulling all of this over, I just came to the conclusion that if it is LP tone I'm after, then I need to buy an LP. That's assuming I can find a model that feels good in my hands and won't land me in divorce court :-).