Epiphone Les Paul Custom [1989-2012]

My wife gave me money, so I bought this guitar on my birthday at Guitar Center on December 21st, 2007.
She jokingly said, just as long as you get a guitar without a Floyd Rose... LOL !!!!
I tried out 8 different Epiphone Les Paul Custom guitars, until I got one that felt comfortable and had great tone. I chose the Alpine LPC.
This GC employee was quitting and decided to give me a great deal, $ 510.00 with the then top of the line SKB case and told me to leave immediately...LOL !!!!

The pickups sounded great, but I wanted something more aggressive, so I dropped in a Dragonfire Screamer Alnico 5 pickup (16.94k ohms), mounted a Wilkinson Roller bridge and a Schaller tailpiece with fine tuners. The original wax potted bridge and neck pickups were rated at 14.20k ohms and the neck pickup was 8.43k ohms.
The guitar totally out classed my 1974 Gibson Les Paul Custom, in terms of tone, sustain and playability.
The Epiphone LPC action was lowered low and doesn't fret out at all, even when I do two and a half step bends and the Grover tuners still kept things in perfect tune.
The fret work was very good and needed minimal work, a tiny bit of file work on the 9th fret.
I own many of the top brand guitars ; Gibson, Fender, Jackson, Kramer and Ovation. This Epiphone can stand tall like a Gibson or any of the big brands.
Today, Epiphone has added better pickups, better internal wiring and is much closer to Gibson specs, but pre 2019 Epiphone guitars were great modification platforms and are a great value for your hard earned money.

Features — 8
2007 model, made in China. Bought used from a musician. Body is Mahogany with 5-way binding. Neck is Mahogany too with an Ebony fretboard, SlimTaper profile so thinner than a Gibson. There are pearl block fretboard inlays which look very nice. Standard scale length of 22 Frets with two ProBucker pickups. In terms of controls, you get 2 x Volume and 2 x tone with a 3-way switch. The machine heads on mine weren't Grovers but more recent models have them. Overall fantastic features and build quality. Again this is an older model so no coil-tapping.

Sound — 7
Suited my blues and classic rock style fine, the sound was fat and full, but could be played clean too. Played it through a Marshall combo. I didn't use any effects with it and just cranked up the gain a little when playing AC/DC, Hendrix, etc. It's not a noisy guitar. You can get a wide variety of sounds, although I wouldn't play Metal or anything too heavy, go for a Jackson or ESP in that case. The pickups sounded good but on this older model I found them to be a little muddy. I recently purchased the newer Probucker pickups and found them to be much better, so it could just be an age issue here.

Action, Fit & Finish — 8
The guitar was well set up by the previous owner. I did need to adjust the truss rod several times over the years, but nothing dramatic. Wiring and finish were all fine, good quality there and no complaints. Same with the frets, nothing to flag. All in all a solid instrument that looks and feels more expensive that it is. There were no flaws upon purchase. The tuners are the main issue, on this older model they didn't hold tune very well so I changed them for Grovers. I was impressed by the finish of the instrument, it feels very expensive.

Reliability & Durability — 7
I would use this as a second live guitar, or rehearsals and home practice. Reason being the tuners could be better but overall the reliability is pretty good at this price point. Durability is fine. It's dependable and looks quite cool. I had fun using it. The electronics did fail eventually and I had to get them replaced, but this was due to the previous owner's wiring and not the instrument itself. It's a great feeling and sounding guitar, I would easily recommend it to anyone looking for an alternative to Gibson.

Overall Impression — 7
More expensive, the Epiphone Les Paul Custom is a definite step up from the Epiphone Les Paul Standard. The pickups (Epiphone Probuckers) are cleaner and of course it’s a gorgeous instrument. This is where Epiphones start to rival Gibsons in terms of quality and finish. As with the Standard, it’s versatile and can handle most types of music. If you manage to find one used for a good price, it’s a keeper. For gigging purposes, the only major change you could make is replacing the strap buttons with locking versions such as those made by Schaller.

From UK, In my Early 20's, played guitar for 3 years, beginner - intermediate level. Listen to Hard Rock/Metal so that's what I tend to play.

I needed a good guitar to step up from my beginner Ibanez GSA60 which was starting to feel quite cheap. I Wanted a Les Paul for both looks and sound, but couldn't afford a Gibson.

I discoveed many pro's use Epiphones so I looked up the Epiphone Les Paul custom (Ebony). It looked as good as a Gibson, so I decided to get one.

I purchased this guitar from gak.co.uk for £347, delivery took 3 days.

Firstly it Looks awesome, i wasn't sure after seeing pics, but in real life it looks great its shiny ebony surface and gold hardware give it a classic look but it still looks modern and kick ass at the same time.

The sound was the next and probably most important thing. It sounds much better than my Ibanez, it has a much richer warmer tone and the strings sustain much longer. Chords sound very close to an acoustic which is a real plus and theres no fret buzz!

The feel of the guitar is great, it really feels professional compared to some guitars i've used.

Some people complain about the weight of Les Pauls but this only feels slightly heavier than your average strat and that serves to give it a more good feel and better sound. If you're a fully grown adult or in your late teens the weight shouldn't be an issue.

There's nothing i don't like about this guitar.

Superb, arrived with no flaws. Nothing about the guitar looks or feels cheap, the ebony finish and gold hardware look really smart. The Guitar seems very solidly built, that said i'm in no hurry to bash or drop it There's no creeks or loose joints as with other guitars i've played.

Best thing i've spent this much money on in years, proud to own one and would definitely recommend it to anybody.

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

I've been playing guitar for about three years, and been in a a couple of small, local bands. I like to litsen to alot of oldies rock and I'm getting into jazz, blues and country a little bit.

I bought this at the local music store, which my friends parents own. I bought it, because my friend kept telling me how nice Les Pauls were, and I went down and played a couple different Les Paul's, loving all of them. I picked out my black Les Paul Custom, because it just felt natural in my hands. I payed $699.99 for it.

What I like about the Les Paul. Everything. It's got a beautiful sound to it, the pickups are amazing. The treble has a true ring to it, and the rhythm has a deep quality to it, that makes it distinct. The fretboard is amazing, my fingers feel comfortable playing on it.

The only thing I don't like about it, is that my leg is too fat, and with the solid body, it likes to try and lift up while I'm playing it sitting down. Nothing really big, I just find it a little annoying, wanting to sit down and learn a song, and it wants to lift up on me.

The gutiar is beautifuly made, Lester William [les Paul], himself, should be proud to have such an amazing guitar crafted with his name on it. And even though it's an Epiphone, it still has that feeling that comes from a Gibson.

All in all, this guitar is well worth any price, and I will never trade it for anything. I don't play to ever need, or want another guitar.

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com