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MGR/VFace « Epiphone Les Paul Standard »
Published on 12/02/02 at 15:00Well, I was searching for a good incentive to help me stop smoking (it actually worked, 5 months and still counting!) and since I was missing my old Ibanez Artist tremendously (sold for a ridiculous price 6 years ago), I decided to buy a new electric guitar. When I entered the store, the Epi Les Paul were obviously the big sellers. I was quite happy since I've always been a Les Paul lover but never had enough money to get one. I finally bought a Les Paul Standard Heritage Cherry Sunbust for $529 (canadian dollars).
I've always loved the Les Paul neck. Aside from the look (the flametop is beautiful!), this is the number one reason for buying this guitar. I've tried new Ibanez guitars and hate the Wizard ultra-slim necks. It a bit stange, since access to higher frets is harder on a Les Paul, yet I feel right at home with this neck. And the sound is also as close as you can get to a real Les Paul. Rich and warm, and as much crunch as you want.
Well, I changed a lot of stuff but to be honnest, I will separate real problems from personal dislikes.
- The Tune-O-Matic bridge has a big problem. The A and D string keep breaking (I have to change strings every week) unless you raise the tailpiece to a ridiculously high level. I'll change the saddles to take care of that, or the whole brige if the price difference is not to big.
- The 3-way toggle switch was making so much noise I also had to change it.
- Aside from that, I changed machine heads for Groovers and pickups for DiMarzio Super Distortion (bridge) and Paf Pro (Neck). These were personal dislikes, stock compenent are OK (not great, but OK).
The body and neck quality is excellent, it's sturdy and well finished.
As previously stated, the electronic components are very low quality and may cause problems.
The machine heads are very ugly but work well. The pickups are moderately good, the bridge is better than the neck, which is very muddy. They are still 10 times better than the crap you find on Ibanez gutars.
I'm overall very satisfied with the construction and finish of this guitar.
Well, the guitar got me pissed on several occasions, and I have a love-hate relationship with it. Since I've played for several years on a very good guitar (Ibanez Artist with stock Dimarzio Pups), I may be a bit demanding. With everything I've changed now, it's an excellent guitar, yet I've spent more than 900$ to make it so. Nevertheless, for this price tag, you won't find better in my opinion. And for this price tag, you can't possibly give it more than a 3. Othewise, how would you rate a real Gibson Les Paul?
This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com
I've always loved the Les Paul neck. Aside from the look (the flametop is beautiful!), this is the number one reason for buying this guitar. I've tried new Ibanez guitars and hate the Wizard ultra-slim necks. It a bit stange, since access to higher frets is harder on a Les Paul, yet I feel right at home with this neck. And the sound is also as close as you can get to a real Les Paul. Rich and warm, and as much crunch as you want.
Well, I changed a lot of stuff but to be honnest, I will separate real problems from personal dislikes.
- The Tune-O-Matic bridge has a big problem. The A and D string keep breaking (I have to change strings every week) unless you raise the tailpiece to a ridiculously high level. I'll change the saddles to take care of that, or the whole brige if the price difference is not to big.
- The 3-way toggle switch was making so much noise I also had to change it.
- Aside from that, I changed machine heads for Groovers and pickups for DiMarzio Super Distortion (bridge) and Paf Pro (Neck). These were personal dislikes, stock compenent are OK (not great, but OK).
The body and neck quality is excellent, it's sturdy and well finished.
As previously stated, the electronic components are very low quality and may cause problems.
The machine heads are very ugly but work well. The pickups are moderately good, the bridge is better than the neck, which is very muddy. They are still 10 times better than the crap you find on Ibanez gutars.
I'm overall very satisfied with the construction and finish of this guitar.
Well, the guitar got me pissed on several occasions, and I have a love-hate relationship with it. Since I've played for several years on a very good guitar (Ibanez Artist with stock Dimarzio Pups), I may be a bit demanding. With everything I've changed now, it's an excellent guitar, yet I've spent more than 900$ to make it so. Nevertheless, for this price tag, you won't find better in my opinion. And for this price tag, you can't possibly give it more than a 3. Othewise, how would you rate a real Gibson Les Paul?
This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com