« Epiphone Les Paul Custom »

Ah, a boy's first electric guitar, lol. Yep, it wasn't an easy choice. I spent about a year salivating over various brands and types of guitars, during which I bought my first home, thus dreams of a £2K+ Gibson behemoth soon faded. However I soon found that I had enough money for a medium priced leccie, so there you go.... it's often just down to what you can afford. Basically for me it was down to either an Epiphone Les Paul or a Fender Standard Strat for heavy humbucking and versatile single-coil purposes respectively. The reason I went for the Les Paul was because I'd had a couple of pints and was watching Led Zeppelin on their live dvd and was simply enchanted watching Jimmy Page, erm, go nuts, lol. I ordered the Ebony Epi LP Custom online from Guitar, Amp and Keyboard (online store) in The Rather Twee Land Of English People TM for a modest £349 (I've seen it in high street shops for over £400, eek)

Well, as they say, if you're going to do something wrong, do it right :o) Thus if you're going to buy a Les Paul copy then go for Epiphone and buy their most expensive LP. My road tested guitarist aquantance who's been in bands tells me the difference between Epiphone and Gibson Les Pauls is negligable, and to be honest that's why I bought one. The rhythm pickup is good for lighter and more fluid musical moments, whilst the trebble is there for what you bought a Les Paul for.... down and dirty rock and roll. It's stylish and pristine and it's a guitar you can honestly look at with pride.

Having now given in and bought a single-coil Fender Strat to join the team I can honestly say that I prefer my Strat simply because a) it has more choice musically and b) it's lighter in weight and more appealing to pick up when practicing. Hoever don't be put off by that because as far as I'm concerned if ever I get good enough to be on stage I will always turn to my Les Paul for sturdy rock moments, as that's what they're built for. I'm also looking into buying a mixed-coil Telecaster for that balance between both sound textures, so my advice is explore as many guitars as you can afford.... it's just wrong to just have the one, lol

Well you certainly feel the money you pay for a Les Paul as mine's built like a brick sh*t house, so when I first picked it up out of it's box I simply felt it's power before I'd ever touched a string. Having researched endless guitars for a year as I've mentioned, I read a lot of reviews complaining about a loose this and a cheap looking that, but with my Epiphone Les Paul there is honestly nothing i can complain about.... it all works, end of story. If something looks cheap on it then, well, all I can say is that the electric guitar and rock & roll in general is an average man's vice and your everyman won't be forking about for the aforementioned Gibson £2K+ Godzilla, lol All you need is an Epiphone when it comes to your first Les Paul.... when you become Jimmy Page then cough up for something a little flashier by all means :o)

Trust in Epiphone... if you're gonna buy a Les Paul then buy the Epi LP Custom. It's the best you can get at a sensible price. But don't let my talk of budgets and economic guitars put you off, this guitar sounds and feels like it's worth £5,000.... I don't regret buying it in the slightest and will keep it in me collection until (fingers crossed) I burn out in a blaze of glory, hahaha, oh dear :oP

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