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salastyle007 « Rivals Gibson in terms of quality and finish »
Published on 02/23/21 at 09:13
Value For Money :
Excellent
Audience:
Anyone
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.
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.