SeriesEpiphone Artist

Daddy's Junky Music Emporium, Albany NY, $380 with OEM hardcase, used but like new. I had heard of these because "semi-hollow" and "bass" are my favorite web search key words, but no one around here stocked it for a hands-on. So when Daddy's showed a used one online, I had it transfered to the local branch. It's semi-hollow and it's short scale, a combination I've found to be interesting. I have two fully hollow 30" basses but I tend to think of them as having these big warnings: "Fragile! Handle with Care" in neon blinking on their foreheads. I like that it has two humbuckers and one of them is right against the end of the neck for bad-ass deep-end bass. Also the other PU is rather close to it, closer to the neck than a typical P-bass PU, but it still adds some of the "bridge PU tone" to the thunder of the neck PU. The tone on this ax is deep and majestic, but the E-string is not overpowering, string-to- string balance is decent. There's no battery to worry about. I like the 2x2 headstock, so that this bass fits in a guit*r gigbag, and I like that the whole package is fairly light. I'm not fond of the typical Epiphone bridge/stoptail but I've learned to get along with it . The LP body shape produces a touch of neck dive, but very slight . It has a set neck. I prefer bolt-on. Controls are 2 gain and 1 tone. I prefer a master gain plus a balancer/fader . Made of mystery wood under a nice red wine finish with "ivoroid"-bound body & neck. Typical compact tuners, "tune-o-matic" one-piece bridge/stoptail. Two small humbuckers, both very much closer to the neck than any other double humbucker arrangement I've ever seen. Controls are on that little rectangle of plastic like a beetlebass. All hardware is gold finish. All in all it looks sort of "pimped-out". Can't see the neck construction due to the finish on it, but short scale necks tend to be trouble-free anyway. About 20 frets on a rosewood board. There's not a lot of taper from nut-to-bridge, in the "Hofner" style, as opposed to the "Fender style". Access to the very few upper frets is OK, not great. Although you can get some spank tone from it, this ax seems designed as an oasis in a wilderness of way-too-bright basses. It's specialty is very deep bass, but NOT dull thuds. Being short, it plays very fast, and it's compact to tote and light on the shoulder. Neck-dive is really a very slight issue: A grippy strap fixes it without pulling at your shirt collar. If your focus is on traditional tone from a light compact ax, compare this to the Fender Mustang. They offer 2 variations of a common theme, and I think the Epi is the more versatile of the two while the Fender is more comfortable and familiar. This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

This Epiphone EJ 160E is a China manufactured acoustic electric guitar. It has a spruce top, and mahogany back and sides. It has a single-coil pickup at the neck, not a piezo, and volume and tone controls. It comes only in vintage cherry sunburst finish. It has an ebony bridge and plastic pickguard, and Epiphone brand tuners. UTILIZATION This guitar is really interesting! It plays very well, and the build quality on it is pretty good. The one I played had some little marks on the end of the fretboard that look like tooling marks. But it was very slight. The finish looks very nice and well applied, and the guitar has a good balance. SOUNDS The tones I got out of this were incredible! I never heard a regular single coil pickup in the neck position of an acoustic guitar, but it is a very interesting sound, and I wish more manufacturers would do something like this. The tone was akin to a pure hollowbody, only bigger. It was especially interesting to hear a big acoustic guitar tone coming from the instrument in my hands, but play around with a lot of effects on the amped signal. Acoustically, the tone is very dreadnought-like - it fits finger picking, but is better on strumming and flat-picking. Clarity is great, and the guitar has a balanced tone across the frequency spectrum. OVERALL OPINION This is a really neat idea from Epiphone. I like that John Lennon played something very similar to this - that helps on the cool factor. I'd like to play the Gibson equivalent and compare the timbre. But this Epiphone is a good instrument capable of producing fresh, interesting tones. Recommended to anyone that plays acoustic and wants to experiment with different electronics, or any big Beatles fan!

Everyone knows the story on Epiphone. Epiphone is the budget line of Gibson guitars. The guitars are made overseas but are made with a lot of the same materials as the more expensive Gibson counterparts. A lot of signature artists are now playing and having their signature models made by Epiphone so more of their fans can afford to purchase them. This is one of the newer signature models from Epiphone. This is the Jeff Waters Annihilation V. Jeff Waters being one of the most influential metal guitarists of all time. This guitar is a typical V with a few extras and mods that make it more handy for metal music. The V has a mahogany body and neck. The guitar has set neck construction with the neck being the thin 60s profile. The fretboard is synthetic ebony that gives you all the benefits of ebony but without the cost. Up top you get 6 Grover tuners and the bridge is one of Epiphones new locking tune-o-matics. The pickups are specially voiced Epiphone pickups made for heavy music. The controls are super simple with just a volume knobs and a 3 way switch. There is also a kill button for funky buckethead type sounds. UTILIZATION Epiphone was smart when coming up with this guitar. They used the 50s style Flying V shape which provides better upper fret access. This is good since this guitar has 24 frets. The synthetic ebony fretboard feels nice and smooth like you want from a fretboard. I love how Epiphone is putting locking tune-o-matics on all their guitars now. They say they increase sustain but what I do know is that they do not fall off when you are changing strings so thats always a plus. Having anything on a guitar nowadays held on by string tension is just silly. SOUNDS The Jeff Waters pickups have great attack and bite. They are much clearer than typical Epiphoen pickups. They sound really nice and keep their definition when playing fast or with a lot of gain. The bridge pickup is great for string skipping riffs that require a lot of clarity and definition. The neck pickup is clear but also smooth so your leads do not sound harsh. Having the ability to split each pickup is not something you usually find on these types of guitars but it adds a lot of versatility to the sound of the guitar. Having the ability to go from a humbucker sound to a single coil sound which each of the pickups. OVERALL OPINION This is a good overall guitar and it is the proper way to do a signature guitar. If you just get the black one no one will really know you are playing someone elses guitar. There are no big gaudy logos on it or huge signatures. It is unique on its own. If you are looking for an Epiphone to play metal with this is a good option. It has a lot of features that are not found on many other Epiphones or other guitars in this price range. These extra features make it great for heavy music but it is also versatile for all the different types of music you may want to play.

If you dont know who Joe Bonamassa just think about this. Everyone knows who John Mayer is, just think of Bonamassa as the John Mayer of 15 years ago and you will get it. Bonamassa was a child prodigy blues player back in the day and he is still going strong today. He literally grew up in a guitar shop. He was jamming with the best when he was like 15. Gibson recently made him a signature guitar with all his specs and it is a great guitar and the right way to do a signature guitar. Now Epiphone is making a more affordable one seeing how the Gibson one is like 5000 dollars. The Epiphone one is what most Bonamassa fans will be able to get. The guitar has great features and you can really tell that it was designed by someone who knows what you need live and on tour. It isnt just a normal guitar with a silly paintjob on it, it has real useful attributes that you will not get on a normal Epiphone Les Paul. The guitar at its base is a 50s style Les Paul Gold top. It has a mahogany body and neck with a maple top and rosewood fretboard. The back of the guitar is painted black whereas the old Gold Tops would have a natural finish on the back. The pickguard and pickup rings are black also. It has upgraded 14-1 Grover tuners. The knobs are a mixed style with 50s top hat knobs and 60s reflector knobs. The great Bonamassa features are; Gibson Burstbucker pickups the same pickups the 5000 dollar Gibson model has. There are also straplock which are pretty rare on factory Les Pauls. There is an Epiphone branded locking bridge so the bridge does not fall off when you take the strings off. UTILIZATION Even being made in China the quality on this guitar is very good. The fretwork on my example was great and the nut was properly cut. The action was nice and low out of the box. The binding was all correct also. The guitar has the long neck tenon and the 50s style neck so be careful if you have small hands. The 50s neck profile Gibson necks are called the baseball bat necks for good reason. They are very big around and some people have problems playing them. The advantage of having such a large neck is that helps the tone of the guitar. The bridge that locks in place is something that every Gibson and Epiphone should have there is no real excuse not to have it. The upgraded tuners are nice and are a good alternative to locking tuners another thing I think all hardtail guitars should have. Strap locks also are another thing every guitar should come with. Everyone uses them live why bother putting bad strap pegs on the guitar to begin with. SOUNDS This guitar is nice and meaty and has a nice meaty tone to it. The guitar is like 10 pounds so you can really feel it. The guitar comes with Burstbucker 2 and 3 pickups. A 2 in the neck and a 3 in the bridge. With Burstbucker pickups the higher the number is the hotter they are. The 2 pickup is a little hot and bright for the neck position. I had to roll off some tone knob to get a neck pickup tone I liked. Once you did that you can get nice smooth leads with the neck position. The 3 is good in the bridge. The 3 has great bite and clarity. It might even be too bright for some people depending on what kind of amp they are using. I think they used a 2 in the neck to compliment the 3 in the bridge. I would have preferred a 1 in the neck and a 3 in the bridge. With a 1 in the neck it would have no problem getting smooth neck tones. OVERALL OPINION The worst part of this guitar is that they are only making 1000 of them. That shows you how Gibson feels about making Epiphones with features that block away 75% of Gibson Les Pauls. They dont want too many people to get them. With the Gibson pickups, locking bridge and Strap locks on it this guitar is pretty much perfect out of the box. If you want a good sturdy gig ready Les Paul and can find one of these guitars you should grap it.

Many people do not remember that Zakk had more guitars than the Bullseye Les Paul that everyone remembers. He played a few other designs in the 80s but the Bullseye was the only one that stuck around. Now Gibson has Zakk using other designs so they can sell more guitars. One of the new designs has an orange and black buzzsaw bullseye motif on it. This guitar is the Epiphone version of the Buzzsaw Zakk Wylde Gibson. The main difference with this guitar is the electronics and some of the wood selection. The guitar still has a mahogany body and a maple neck but the fretboard is made of rosewood instead of ebony. The electronics are still EMG pickups but they are not active EMG's. They are EMG's budget line of passive pickups which are pretty poor but better than what this guitar would have come with. The guitar has Zakks Buzzsaw motif and after all these mods it is your typical Epiphone Les Paul. Each pickup has its own tone and volume control and there is a 3 way switch for your pickup selecting. UTILIZATION This guitar has all the same playability enhancements as the other Epiphone Zakk Wylde guitars. The raw neck helps make the neck a bit faster because with a finished neck you can get a sticky feel. If you are use to modern guitars with thin necks the Les Paul neck will be very big for you. Because of the set neck design there is a large neck tenon and joint. This can make the upper frets hard for some people to reach because the body essentially joins the neck at the 17th fret. After the 17th fret you are reaching around the body to get to the frets. The tuning stability is good because there is no tremolo. The quality of hardware Epiphone uses is not that great. I have had problems with the input jack unscrewing itself and things like that. SOUNDS Being a budget copy the electronics are lower end versions of what the Gibson version has. The passive pickups are built to emulate the tone of the 81 and the 85 but it just doesnt quite get there. The bridge pickup is tight like an 81 but it doesnt quite have the same top end sizzle as a real 81. The neck pickup is closer to the active version than the bridge. The 85 naturally has a warmer more passive sound so the passive version does not differ much in the sound department. Since these pickups are EMG's they have the quick connect wiring system so you can easily swap these pickups out with a set of active EMG's when you get the chance and this guitar will really rip then and you will have the true Zakk Wylde sound. OVERALL OPINION This guitar is very reasonably priced with only a few differences. The Gibson version is thousands and thousands of dollars. With an expensive guitar like that you would almost be afraid to play it. With this guitar it is cheap enough that you can play it out anywhere you want and not be afraid something will happen to it. With a 200 dollar pickup swap you will have pretty much the same guitar as the Gibson for thousands less. If you are a Zakk Wylde fan and cant justify playing thousands of dollars for a Les Paul Custom this Epiphone is a good option.

Ace Frehley of Kiss has been one of the most famous guitarists to ever play a Les Paul guitar. It was only natural that he would get a signature model considering his popularity. For those who could not afford his Gibson counterpart, Epiphone stepped up to make their own version. In a way, it's very similar. It has the same mahogany body with a flame mape top, mahogany neck, rosewood fretboard, 22 frets with lightning bolt inlays, 3 DiMarzio Super Distortion humbuckers, a three way switch, two volumes and two tone knobs. UTILIZATION Epiphone did a pretty good job with this. Their fretwork can be hit or miss at times, but this model wasn't too bad. The nut wasn't cut quite as nicely as I would like, but even Gibson seems to have issues with that now-a-days. Access to the upper frets is still a pain, just like in all Les Paul style guitars. Aside from the three humbuckers and unique inlays, there's really nothing unique going on about this model. One thing worth mentioning is that the middle pickup can get in the way of picking, so keep that in mind if you decide to buy one of these. SOUNDS The DiMarzio Super Distortions really help set this guitar apart from the rest of the Epiphone line out there. It sounds absolutely massive. Epiphone's quality of wood usually isn't the best, but it's pretty damn good considering the price you get. The Super Distortion in the bridge is extremely hot and fat. It gives that vintage overdriven tone in spades. The middle pickup is totally useless, so I have no clue why he has that in there. The neck pickup sounds a bit overwhelming considering how hot it is, but it can lead to some really unique tones. OVERALL OPINION The biggest selling point for this guitar is the pickup configuration and the fact that it comes with real DiMarzio pickups. Aside from that, you might be better off getting a different Epiphone, especially since the middle pickup can seriously get in the way of picking.

(Originally written by laulalau/translated from Audiofanzine FR) - I believe the Epiphone Les Paul Goldtop Slash Signature was made in China (more precisely in Qingdao ^^) - Mahogany body - Mahogany neck Neck profile: "Slash-Profile", glossy varnish finish - Rosewood fingerboard Fingerboard radius: 12" 22 medium jumbo frets Scale length: 24 3/4" Width: 1 11/16" Neck pickup: Seymour Duncanâ„¢ Alnico Pro-II-N Bridge pickup: Seymour Duncanâ„¢ Alnico Pro-II-B Bridge: Locktone tune-o-matic Tailpiece: Locktone stopbar Controls: 2 x volume, 2 x tone, 3-way toggle switch Machine heads: Vintage tulip buttons Metal parts: Nickel Antique color body and neck binding Finish: High gloss lacquer To be honest, I find this guitar looks much nicer than the last signature model (Dark Tobacco Burst). The finish is superb (Goldtop) unlike the other (but that's a matter of taste). Behind the head, you'll find the "Epiphone Limited Edition Custom Shop" logo. (wow^^) The Epiphone Goldtop Slash Signature is sold with a superb black leather hardcase with Slash's signature, a high-quality, thick and comfortable black leather guitar strap with nails, 24 Epiphone Slash Limited Edition picks, and a certificate of authenticity signed by Slash himself (it's not a printed logo but his real autograph!). The quality (and quantity) of the package is surprising. Only deluxe accessories^^. (much better than my Fender I got in a cheap gig bag... But you can't really compare them). UTILIZATION - I already own a Fender Strat Mex Classic Player 60 and I find the neck of this Les Paul very pleasant compared to the Strat. - The upper frets access is not the easiest (but it will be good enough with a bit of practice). The Strat is much better in this regard... Why do they make a 22 fret guitar if you can't play the last frets? - I heard a lot of things about how heavy Les Pauls are... but I won't complain about my Slash Signature! I was surprised to notice that it's even lighter than my Strat. A nice Les Paul without weight problems Add-on 12/11/08 - Weak points (I found several!!): - The guitar doesn't stay in tune from one day to the other - The hard case locking system is not reliable (this problem is not related to the guitar but I had to mention it) SOUNDS The SOUND!!!! I was totally blown away! - This guitar is perfect for me: it couldn't be better since I'm a Guns N'Roses fan. You can play Slash parts (of course^^) but also everything ranging from rock to hard rock... The distortion sound is excellent. I think it's also a good blues guitar but I can't swear it since I don't play blues. - I use my Goldtop Slash Signature with a Vox VT15 and I get very different sounds. The amp provides me several excellent clean sounds and the distortion mode even more... It's AWESOME! I use mainly an amp model (UK25th) that fits my taste in every way... Typical Slash sound. - To be honest, I think all sound variations you can get with this guitar have a Slash feel. And that's the reason why I bought this guitar, so it's a delight. You can easily get a nice smooth distortion sound, similar to the "Knockin' on heavens Door" or "November Rain" solo sound (neck pickup, tone control fully turned down)... You can also get a more aggressive "Nightrain" or "Paradise City" tone (bridge pickup, tone control fully turned up)... You'll easily find all sorts of "Slash" sounds. The clean tone is very good. I can also get the tone of "Knockin' on heavens door" and "Paradise city" intro parts... simply mind-blowing - You get huge sound possibilities (that you already know from Slash and other Les Paul models). If you're looking for another tone, simply choose another guitar. Being the Epiphone Les Paul Slash Signature, this guitar does exactly what you expect from it (and it does it very well). I love all sounds... Powerful and fat in distortion mode, crystal-clear in clean mode. - You can see pictures at my profile page. And if you want to hear how it sounds, simply visit my youtube page! (I will soon upload additional Guns N' Roses covers...) http://fr.youtube.com/user/lowa91 OVERALL OPINION - It's a bit early to post a review because I've only had this guitar since yesterday! But I wanted to share my joy with you and other guitarists because I'm very happy to have bought this guitar. I played it several hours and everything is satisfying. (except for the access to the 3 last frets which is a bit difficult and painful^^...) - I found the guitar and the sound I wanted... It's warm and powerful tone is magic. When I played the first chord a spontaneous "WOW" came out of my mouth! Fender is history!! I like Fender but this guitar is in another level. - I could have bought every possible guitar and I chose this one. I like its look and it gives me the sound of my favorite guitarist (or one of my favorite guitarists). I also heard the Gibson model and I didn't hear any differences... It all depends on what you have in your fingers. I'm not an expert and I think it would have been a mistake to buy the Gibson model (and I find it doesn't look as beautiful as the Epiphone...). It gives you THE SOUND for much less money. So if you don't feel sure, don't hesitate and buy it (this model is very rare and I heard everywhere that it's almost impossible to find it anymore). It's discontinued and a true limited edition. You won't find a better guitar for the price. Its value for money is excellent. Of course I would buy it again. I heard a new Slash Signature will be launched in 2009. In my opinion, it can't look better than this Goldtop so I'm happy and eased to have found one of the last available. The accessories provided are really nice (very good quality and useful) and you immediately see it's not a cheap product. The accessories provided add a lot of value to the package... It's a good deal! This guitar is a collector's item and I'm happy to own one

This guitar has a beautiful finish; it’s covered in a Dark Tobacco Burst. It’s built with a mahogany back and a maple finish on the front. This guitar has two Seymour Duncan Alnico Pro II humbucker pickups and an exclusive feature not found on typical Les Paul’s a Fishman Powerbridge pickup. The guitar has a small toggle switch by the Volume and Tone Knobs that give the guitar an acoustic tone to it, if you want it. I have been playing this guitar for 2 years now and the sound is just killer. It's great for those classic rock leads and just gets the job done. It just needs to come with a Top Hat and then your set. I picked this guitar up for my birthday with the help of family of course. I went to a local Music shop that special orders Gibson Customs and I paid about $3,750 for this one. I mostly fell in love with this guitar because the neck is a 59 les Paul neck and it just feels good to me. I love the color on this guitar it just stands out to me. This guitar has a great raw sound to it, the tone is just excellent and the Fishman Powerbridge pickup just makes the guitar stand out. It's easy for when you’re doing a live gig and you need an acoustic sound, there is no need to switch guitars, just flip the switch and this guitar turns into a acoustic. The color of this guitar is just great; I always get great remarks about its color. If I was to find fault in this guitar it would be some minor details, which could have been just in my case. The intonation was way off for the Low E string to the point where i had to take it to somewhere to get it adjusted. Also I noticed that the 'pointer' next to the Volume knobs and Tone knobs where kind of bent and very sharp, so if you by chance over shoot trying to adjust your volume you get this sharp pain in your finger that is not very pleasant during a gig. As far as the guitar in a whole it is built like a typical Gibson! Very sturdy and well built. Besides the Intonation and Volume/Tone 'pointers' this guitar is practically perfect. Everything feels smooth and is just great. But if you’re paying a large amount of money then it should be. If you’re a big Slash fan then this guitar will not disappoint you. As for practically any Gibson Custom signature series you are probably paying a lot for the name but regardless this guitar is great and has yet failed to impress me. Great Sound, Great Look, Great Feel. This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

Saw it in a shop window, just had to have one. AUS$349 - discounted 30%. Novelty and overall build quality/presentation. Still reading/learning how to tune it for the best results - includes perhaps putting on much heavier gauge strings... Construction and build quality are excellent. Comes with a stap, chord, 'gig case', and even a 9-volt battery. Yes - "batteries are included". Ready to go out of the box (nice touch). I saw this thing in a shop and I just had to buy one. I think the concept and build quality are excellent. As for playability - well let's just say it's a steep learning curve. I guess the hardest thing so far is to get the lil b*stard of a thing to stay in tune. I just assumed you tune it like a normal guitar, but from what I'm reading around the traps it sounds like you need to tune it up several semi-tones/tones. Kinda makes sense when you think about it really - the whole thing is about half-scale, so to use 'normal' guitar strings it seems quite logical that the overall string tension is going to be relatively low. And considering the overall small build style of guitar, any stress you put on the fretboard/strings/neck is going to be amplified a lot more than on a standard full-sized electric axe. Pitch bends are achieved by quite minimal bending of the strings - I'd say down to about a third as much as what you'd use on a Strat for example. It takes a whole new feel to get this lil baby to sound right. The secret is to appreciate it for what it is and use a really light touch. Don't expect to be able to play full or fancy chords. In general, two-string power chords work ok, and light-touch lead riffs come up ok too. Just remember that it's a small instrument - probably more suited to a child's touch and hand-span than that of a chord-hammering adult. I've just come off belting the daylights out of a full-sized bass guitar, so I can immediately hear/feel that this thing requires a much more delicate style. I'm interested to see what effect of tuning it up from E-A-D-G-B-E sounds like. That of course means frying my brain trying to work out the various chord inversions to use in place of 'normal' chords. If you've ever used a capo to play harmonies against a 'standard' chord structure you'll get my drift. From what I've read so far, I guess I've been lucky enough to score one that has a fully adjustable bridge - string height and harmonics are totally adjustable. Neck action is also adjustable. But I'm not going to play with any of that just yet. I reckon that trying different tuning combinations and experimenting with playing style might just pay off. It's not rocket-science when you think about it. Mandolins and Ukele's are small instruments that can produce phenomenal sounds in the right hands. I'm sure the Pee Wee has got something to offer there as well. It's too early for me to really give constructive criticism yet - and I don't want to unnecessarily bag it until I've exhausted a few possibilities. I think the Pee Wee is one of those kinds of instruments that you have to learn to play from scratch all over again. And I'm sure there's going to be someone turn up on, say, YouTube, that sets this thing on fire. I'm positive that there's some great sounds to come out of it - only we have to find the key to unlock it's potential. It's a pretty bold and brave move to try and produce a workable guitar on this 'bonsai' scale. I don't think a 300-buck mini-guitar can be expected to do what it's 10-grand cousins can. It might flop, but then again it might just take off if someone like Clapton or Sambora et al play something definitive on it. Along the same lines as the child's piano in Neil Diamond's 'Shilo'. Wouldn't it be great to see a 'Hendrix' figure grab hold of one of these things and ring it's neck until it screamed pure colour...? This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

I bought this guitar new off ebay for $325 from a dealer who wasn't doing Gibson/Epiphone anymore. The quality of the construction is excellent with the solid mahogony body and set neck. The finish is flawless. The neck is fast and with the new Gibson designed humbuckers it sounds almost as good as my 1983 Gibson SG Special. The price sure can't be beat for an instrument of this caliber. There isn't anything I don't like about it! Again, construction quality is excellent as far as choice of woods and the care taken putting it together. The Grover tuners were a selling point for me also since that was always a problem before with Epi's. Mine is a Goth with the ebony fretboard and I love this fretboard, better than rosewood. I believe this guitar is almost as good as a Gibson and considering the price difference a much better buy. You won't get the resale value back out of it like you would for a Gibson but if you are looking for a guitar that plays well, sounds good and that you plan to keep for awhile go with the Epi! This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

I bought this in Hong Kong for less than $3000hkd which I thought was a very good price. I wasn't really planning to buy a semi-hollow bodied guitar but it sounded really good and the price was good. The paintjob (Union Jack) is awesome and it looks like it'll last for a long time. The pickups are alright and it sounds good clean or dirty. I can get a very nice classic rock sound with some overdrive. Feedback isn't a big issue, which is good. It doesn't stay in tune very well and the body is a bit big. ES 335 style, 2 tones, 2 volumes, toggle switch. It is Oasis' siganture model and it has he guitarist's name on the pickguard but I took it off. It looks better without the pickguard. There's imperfections of paintjob but they are pretty minor. The inlays on the fretboard aren't 100% perfect but as long as it doesn't stick out/ fall off it's not much of an issue to me. The input jack is a bit loose, like most lower end guitars. Overall, it's acceptable. The guitar's good valued and it sounds good for most of the styles I play- jazz, blues, rock and some metal <-which doesn't sound very good with this. This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

I paid about £400 & got it off the net. Had to wait 3 months for one to be imported. I couldn't find one in a shop at all. The sound is great! it sustains forever, does excellent sounding rock power chords & has a lovely warm clean sound too. I gig it regularly in a rock covers band & it is well up for live performances as well bedroom guitarist use. The glued rather than bolted on neck gives you loads of sustain. It sounds much better than some other guitars in it's price range, I have a Jackson as well & the Epiphone sounds so much richer. It's something a bit unusual as well, I've often had people come up to me & ask me about it when they see the slash logo on the body. They only do one colour, red. This is a bit strange as Slash is known for playing a sunburst Les Paul! The construction and quality of the guitar are where it falls down. Upon arrival to me brand new, the intonation counld not be set correctly & it needed to have sky-scraper high action to avoid fret buz. The frets needed re-rendering & the truss rod adjusting to correct this. Although the importer paid for this work, it's hard to imagine how the guitar passed Epiphone's supposedly strict quality control. The knobs, switches & machine heads are of very low quality. Within a few months the pick up switch had failed leaving me with no bridge pick up in the middle of a gig. The volume pot also failed & needed replacing & the things you secure the strap to fell off! This is a great sounding guitar let down buy a few cheap components. If only they'd fitted quality knobs & switches, I'd have been happy to pay a little more for the guitar. Once you've replaced the pick-up switch, knobs, machine heads & fitted strap locks you'll have a truely excellent instrument. If only Epiphone had thought along these lines I would have nothing negative to say about it This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com