![Epiphone Les Paul Custom [1989-2012]](https://img.audiofanzine.com/img/product/normal/6/4/64108.jpg?fm=pjpg&w=300&h=218&fit=max&s=9266bf187e51e9306b99a012f1c5c837)
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tjon901 « Better than a low end Gibson »
Published on 06/23/11 at 11:53The Epiphone Les Paul custom is the budget version of the Gibson Les Paul custom. It pretty much has all the same features as a real Les Paul Custom apart from the ebony fretboard. The Custom is bascially a dressed up Les Paul standard. It has more binding on the body neck and headstock and has larger block inlays. I think the large block inlays give the guitar a classy look. The guitar has s 22 fret rosewood fretboard with the large block inlays. The headstock is fully bound. The body is solid mahogany. Customs do not have the maple top on the body. The color is solid black with gold hardware to give it class. It has dual humbucking Epiphone pickups in the standard Les Paul configuration. There is a volume knob and tone knob for each pickup and a 3 way switch to switch among them. The bridge is your standard tune o matic and stop tail like you would find on most every Les Paul.
UTILIZATION
This guitar plays like most every other Les Paul. The neck is a bit bigger than on most modern guitars but it is not super big. In the 50s the necks on Gibson guitars were huge. They were commonly referred to as baseball bat necks. In the 60s Gibson switched to a slimmer profile. This slimmer 60s profile is the most popular neck profile on Gibsons and it is found on most Gibsons and Epiphones today. The upper fret access on this guitar is typical for every Les Paul. Since the body joins the neck at the 17th fret you will have to reach around the body of the guitar to get to frets higher than this. This strong joint helps with tone and sustain but limits upper fret playability greatly. The neck binding on this guitar and generally helps to limit the amount of sharp fret ends you feel when playing.
SOUNDS
This is what a Les Paul should sound like. The base tone of the guitar is great the the pickups let it down. The pickups could be better. They are pretty muddy and dead. You do not get much attack with these pickups. Since these pickups do not have much definition the neck position can get really muddy. With a high gain amp the sound might get muddy due to the lack of definition. With some types of music these pickups are great. If you want a bluesy sound these pickups will do really good and you will be able to get a smooth tone out of them. With a pickup swap this guitar can sound great so I would recommend to anyone who has one of these Epiphones to try it out with some after market pickups. A set of Seymour Duncans would liven this guitar up greatly.
OVERALL OPINION
The quality on this guitar is pretty good and it is an official copy. I find the quality on high end Epiphones to be better than the quality on some lower end Gibsons. But be aware of the other Les Paul copies out there. There are a few smaller companies making much better quality guitars for the price of these Epiphones. A company like Agile will give you an ebony fretboard and Seymour Duncan pickups for the price of this Epiphone. If you are looking for an official copy that is of decent quality check out Epiphone.
UTILIZATION
This guitar plays like most every other Les Paul. The neck is a bit bigger than on most modern guitars but it is not super big. In the 50s the necks on Gibson guitars were huge. They were commonly referred to as baseball bat necks. In the 60s Gibson switched to a slimmer profile. This slimmer 60s profile is the most popular neck profile on Gibsons and it is found on most Gibsons and Epiphones today. The upper fret access on this guitar is typical for every Les Paul. Since the body joins the neck at the 17th fret you will have to reach around the body of the guitar to get to frets higher than this. This strong joint helps with tone and sustain but limits upper fret playability greatly. The neck binding on this guitar and generally helps to limit the amount of sharp fret ends you feel when playing.
SOUNDS
This is what a Les Paul should sound like. The base tone of the guitar is great the the pickups let it down. The pickups could be better. They are pretty muddy and dead. You do not get much attack with these pickups. Since these pickups do not have much definition the neck position can get really muddy. With a high gain amp the sound might get muddy due to the lack of definition. With some types of music these pickups are great. If you want a bluesy sound these pickups will do really good and you will be able to get a smooth tone out of them. With a pickup swap this guitar can sound great so I would recommend to anyone who has one of these Epiphones to try it out with some after market pickups. A set of Seymour Duncans would liven this guitar up greatly.
OVERALL OPINION
The quality on this guitar is pretty good and it is an official copy. I find the quality on high end Epiphones to be better than the quality on some lower end Gibsons. But be aware of the other Les Paul copies out there. There are a few smaller companies making much better quality guitars for the price of these Epiphones. A company like Agile will give you an ebony fretboard and Seymour Duncan pickups for the price of this Epiphone. If you are looking for an official copy that is of decent quality check out Epiphone.