Epiphone Les Paul Junior Pitch Black

Features — 7
Bought new from a shop, 2010 model. This showcases a classic no-nonsense approach to instrument building, with bolt-on neck, stock Epiphone tuners and one humbucker. This guitar has a single cutaway, 21 frets, a wrap-around bridge, and one volume and tone knob. No other fancy features, it's pretty much designed to get you playing as quickly as possible. The neck is a little fatter than I expected and has a gloss finish. It's a little raw and unrefined, but works well for the vibe of the instrument.

Sound — 8
Suited my blues and classic rock style well, the sound could go from fat and full, to clean and smooth. Classic PAF vibes. Although the pickups did not handle crisp tones well, and sounded muddy at times. 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. It's perfect for that classic rock or blues sound.

Action, Fit & Finish — 8
The guitar was well set up by the shop. 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. I was very impressed by the out of the box nature of its playability. Well done Epiphone! This is how it should be. It felt better finished than a Squier Bullet.

Reliability & Durability — 8
I would use this as a second live guitar, or rehearsals and home practice. Reason being the pickup quality could be better but it's good at this price point. Durability is fine. It's dependable and looks quite cool. I had fun using it and it never let me down. It's a great feeling and sounding guitar, I would easily recommend it to anyone looking for an alternative to a Squier or Gibson. I would swap out the pickup for an Epiphone Probucker or Gibson with clearer tones. I like the overall reliable feeling you get when playing this guitar.

Overall Impression — 8
Costs have been cut in terms of the pickups and tuning keys, although upgrading these would cost the same price as the guitar itself, if not more. The humbucker version sounds like a typical mid-range Epiphone pickup, i.e. hot enough for classic rock but quite muddy when going clean. It’s a cool mod or project instrument, and you wouldn’t really gig it as is. It’s fine for playing at home and recording basic tracks. You can’t argue with the iconic look made famous by so many artists from Keith Richards to Billie Joe Armstrong.

I've played guitar for over 40 years, taking my first guitar lesson as a 10 year-old. I've played in several bands, performing folk, bluegrass, all-ocassion, country, and rock music in six different bands. Currently I'm in a folk/bluegrass trio, and a four-piece rock band. My musical tastes range from rock, blues, folk, bluegrass, jazz, classical and everything in-between!

I purchased my one-year old Gibson Les Paul Junior used through Elderly Instruments in Michigan. I payed $600, which included a deluxe TKL Gibson embossed hardshell case worth $150. You can get one new through Musiciansfriend.com or GuitarCenter.com for
$749. That includes a gigbag.

Gibson's Les Paul Junior is one lean, mean, rockin' machine! The solid mahogany body gives the Junior it's great tone. The single-cutaway body style and light weight make it very comgortable to play, especially on those long gigs. The Gibson P-90 pickup gives it it's growl. With one tone and volume control, it's easy to dial in the sound you want. A very comfortable, 24-3/4" neck with rosewood fretboard also makes it a joy to play. No 'faded' finish here; this guitar comes with a great nitro finish, and the burst is super. It has chrome hardware, and a compensated wraparound bridge. The tuners are decent, but I'd like to see an adjustable bridge. I also replaced the gig bag with a hardshelled case for better protection. I play this beauty through a tube amp, and it sounds fantastic! It's got that great gibson tone, and the mahogany body really resonates. A good value for the money.

I'm not crazy about the tuners. They're decent, but I'd like to see better quality tuners. I'd also like to see a fully adjustable bridge. That way height and intonation can be dialed in precisely. It should also be sold with a hardshell case.

This is a quality Gibson instrument. Although it's low on the Gibson line, fit and finish are great! The neck is vintage Gibson, nice fretwork, smooth edges. I couldn't find any finish flaws either.

I love this guitar! Good looking, comfortable to play, great sounding! It's a stripped down, no frills rocker that'll put out great sounds for many years!

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

Simply put, I got because of the price. I bought it online from Musician's Friend for 99$

I like the classic Les Paul shape. It actually sounds pretty good through my Fender amp.

The cheap tuning heads. I bend the g-string once or twice and its time to re-tune it.

Seems to be pretty durable. I don't use a tremolo, so I like to be able to bend the neck a bit to get that sound.... and well, I haven't broken it yet.

Decent guitar for the price. It's no Gibson obviously, but it basically serves its purpose. Makes me dream of a real Les Paul worse than ever.

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

I bought this piece of art online in Germany for Euro 950.-- incl. a hard shell
case. My dance band gigs a lot and I have been playing a Fender Stratocaster the last years, because of the light wait advantage. The band members had been getting on my case though because of the typical Fender "high end" that I personaly love, but just doesn´t fit in for every style of music we play. The Les Paul Junior Special was one great deal and the perfect oppritunity to step in "low budget" in to the world of Gibson. Be aware that Gibson has stopped building this model as of 2002. The one I aquired was the last "new guitar" on stock in Germany (so the dealer).

This guitar does everything a versitile guitarist needs and wants. It has those modern P-100 pick-ups that can be tone controled with 2 Volume & 2 Tone control knobs. No unwanted humming on stage or in the studio, wich is important. It´s awesome sound that goes from Blue Grass over Classic Rock, clean sounding Pop or Jazz and wont take a back seat on Heavy Metal, either. The sustain is a dream. The action down low makes this the fastest guitar I have ever worked with. The neck is a slim tapperd, well formed mahogony that is predestinated for rythum as well as lead. The attractive natural wood finish makes it look sharp & sleak. Quality produkt for a down to earth low price. One great bargain I´m very happy with and would not ever want to miss again.

The strap knobs are a bit too small and with a "used" strap, the guitar will fall.
I have all my guitars/basses with a strap-
lock sytem. The Les Paul Junior Special will take you dancing, if you play it right, so do concider the strap-lock.
I guess I´m just spoiled from the Fender Strat, because the LP Jr gives me a small back ache after 2 to 3 hours of playing.
The dot inlays are also too small for that dark in dark (Rosewood/Mahagony)neck, that takes just a bit of getting used to.

This is a true Gibson USA quality produkt.
The workmanship is a piece of art. The guitar is alined and finished by hand wich makes the neck to bridge construction just perfect. It´s nicely balanced and the Tail-piece and Bridge go over "hand in hand". I haven´t broke a string yet (!) The wood finish is a real eye catcher and will not starn or scratch easily. The hardware is easily acessable and you can change the alignments with no problem at all. I even beleave, that the soft green" tuners actually glow in the dark.

This guitar will take any guitarist farther than thought possible. It allmost talks to you while playing and forces more effort and quality. It allmost plays on its own. What I personally love about this LP Jr. is that it´s basically a smaller, lighter and easier to play model of the big brothers (Standard & Classic). This light Les Paul Junior Special is a gift to any smaller guitarist that wants all the options of a heavy duty Gibson to a low cost, affordable price. This guitar offers all of the Gibson quality advantages I was looking for.

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