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tjon901 « Stripped down Epiphone Les Paul »
Published on 08/11/11 at 12:32The Les Paul Studio is a stripped down version of the Les Paul standard. It has no binding and simple inlays to lower the cost and make it more of a workhorse guitar. Now you can get it in the form of an Epiphone for even less. This guitar is pretty barebones. It has a mahogany body and a mahogany set neck. It has a rosewood fretboard with simple dot inlays. It has uncovered Epiphone humbuckers with the standard Les Paul control layout. The tuners are Grover tuners and the bridge is a standard tune-o-matic.
UTILIZATION
This guitar feels its price which is not that good. With these lower end Epiphones you really should try out the guitar before you buy it. When lower quality guitars like these come from the other side of the globe the temperature changes en route can really mess up the factory setups. The wood and metal expanding and contracting can cause unlevel frets and sharp fret ends. This isnt help by the fact that since this is a studio model there is nothing to protect you from the end of the frets.
SOUNDS
These guitars are pretty low end. For a beginner the tone may be alright but if you are an experianced player it is lacking. The pickups are muddy and harsh and do not provide a good sound. The pickups have a bit of an open sound. If you are playing loose classic rock or something like that they may give you usable tone. The neck pickup has a lot of low end to the tone and it can get a bit muddy at times. The bridge pickup also has a lot of low end. It has a loose sound and even the bridge position can get muddy at times. The pickups lack output and clarity and even budget aftermarket pickups will be a large improvement in this guitar.
OVERALL OPINION
There are a lot better guitars to be had for the price of this guitar. You can get a used Agile or even a new lower end Agile for the price of this and the quality fit and finish will be a ton better. And if this is your first guitar I would not recommend a Les Paul as a first guitar. For a first guitar you want something that is a bit easier to play. With a guitar like this you are going to have a hard time getting a good action on it and the fret access is not very good. Ideally I would recommend someone start on a hard tail super strat style guitar.
UTILIZATION
This guitar feels its price which is not that good. With these lower end Epiphones you really should try out the guitar before you buy it. When lower quality guitars like these come from the other side of the globe the temperature changes en route can really mess up the factory setups. The wood and metal expanding and contracting can cause unlevel frets and sharp fret ends. This isnt help by the fact that since this is a studio model there is nothing to protect you from the end of the frets.
SOUNDS
These guitars are pretty low end. For a beginner the tone may be alright but if you are an experianced player it is lacking. The pickups are muddy and harsh and do not provide a good sound. The pickups have a bit of an open sound. If you are playing loose classic rock or something like that they may give you usable tone. The neck pickup has a lot of low end to the tone and it can get a bit muddy at times. The bridge pickup also has a lot of low end. It has a loose sound and even the bridge position can get muddy at times. The pickups lack output and clarity and even budget aftermarket pickups will be a large improvement in this guitar.
OVERALL OPINION
There are a lot better guitars to be had for the price of this guitar. You can get a used Agile or even a new lower end Agile for the price of this and the quality fit and finish will be a ton better. And if this is your first guitar I would not recommend a Les Paul as a first guitar. For a first guitar you want something that is a bit easier to play. With a guitar like this you are going to have a hard time getting a good action on it and the fret access is not very good. Ideally I would recommend someone start on a hard tail super strat style guitar.