All user reviews for the Epiphone Les Paul Special II

i bought this guitar through musiciansfreind.com. for 250$ (it came in a starter pack thingy)

This guitar is great and very reliable. The paint is beautiful i got the vintage sun burst. The neck (which is all black) is fairly thin so it's easy to play. Which is perfect because i learned how to play on this gutar.

The strings some times clang and well the nut around the cord jack or what ever you call it comes off way too much. the strap some times undone too.

Very tough and great looking but with some minor flaws.

all in all it's great for biggeners but some pro's may not like it and i can understand why.

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

I bought this in a local music store in Norway. I was really looking for the LP 100, but I settled for this one as the LP 100 wasn't available for delivery.

It's very easy to play, and the sound is ok.

The guitar is very poorly built. You can really feel that this is a cheap guitar. It's difficult to tune, and comes completely out of tune again after just a couple of minutes. I can't really use this guitar at all, it's completely useless. Even though it's cheap, most people buy a guitar to play it, and this one is just impossible to generate music with. I've never heard anything like it, it's becomes way out of tune.

The body seems quite solid, but the neck seems really cheap. It's really, really bad workmanship! The microphones are quite alright, but when I turn the tone button, it makes a lot of white noise.

I regret buying this guitar so much that I returned it, and ordered a LP 100 instead. I know Epiphone makes good guitars, but this model should never have been released. I've never played anything so bad. I'm not afraid to buy the Epiphone LP 100 though, and will post a review on that one to compare when I get it in about a months time.

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

I got it at a local music center for about $260 american cause I needed a good cheaper electric and love les pauls. (les paul look)

i has a good look it has a pretty good tone and it looked like a les paul except for the price tag. it is durable (once it fell off the strap and the neck smashed into the ground and it looked good as new. when I got it the soft case came undone and the neck smashed into the ground and it was ok)so i was scared very much twice

it only has one tone nob, open coil pickups i prefer humbuckers,the strap nob thing is on a bad angle so you kinda need a lock strap

very durable see story above ingood things great construction except for strap nobs finger smudges are terrible but oh well get a polish cloth

its a great beginner Great gift guitar and they might think it cost you a lot more

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

This guitar was a Christmas gift from my parents, they didn't tell me how much they paid for it, but i soon found out. it was purchased at Musicstop, when they bought it for me, it came wit a Peavey Rage 158 Amp and a Rockbag. it was a great buy for about $300. I started to learn on a little Encore acoustic and i thought i'd try to make an upgrade, and i scored big time

This is the best Guitar i ever played, it has remarkable sound and quality, i'll probly never own another guitar. I heard from alot of people that this guitar will last through the toughest conditions. Right now i have a tiny mark on it(my fault) i accidently bumped into my dresser wit it, i wasn't impressed.

probly the only bad thing i can say about this guitar is the tune-o-matic bridge i have no idea how to use it.

The dark red finish is always shining with style, this guitar is in excellent condition, i put one tiny mark on it myself but other than that its in excellent shape.

this is BY FAR, THE BEST guitar i have ever played it has everything, perfect sound, stylish look, and a great player.

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

I had bought this guitar from Musicians Friend for $600 July 2003.It is now selling for $750 so it has appreciated in value already in the brief amount of time that I've had it.I have always dreamt of owning a Gibson Les Paul because Jimmy Page played them(my idol).

This is one awesome guitar,the sound is everything that I've always wanted in a guitar.The neck is a 60's slim-taper neck that makes playing this guitar a joy.Bar chords are easy to fret.The 24.75" scale makes for less stretching when playing leads.The wide neck allows you to bend the strings without assaulting the nearby strings too much.Stays in tune all day long thanks to the awesome machine heads.Beyond some minor cosmetic flaws this is one well made guitar.

The guitar arrived with some minor scratches at the first fret and on the body(sand paper would of helped).The finish is somewhat plain looking(mine is worn cherry).There is no carved top(it is a flat surface).But this guitar was not bought for looks(it's all about the sound).There are times though that I kind of wish that it had a double-looking tremolo system,but that would be sacrilege to the nth degree.

This is one tight unit!The seam where the neck joins the body is nearly invisable.There is no play what so ever in the classic green tuning keys(this guitar stays in tune).The same can be said of the volume and tone controls.Too bad that they didn't spend a little more time with the sand paper before they applied the stain.

This guitar may be a bit of a plain Jane,but this guitar really rocks.The sound that this guitar produces almost made me cry the first I plugged it into my Peavey amp.I have had absolutely no problems what so ever with this guitar.It's an awesome tone machine,if you've always wanted a Gibson Les Paul but can't afford the more expensive Gibson Les Paul's this is the guitar for you,it is worth every penny as far as I'm concerned.

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

I had bought this guitar from Musicians Friend for $600 July 2003.It is now selling for $750 so it has appreciated in value already in the brief amount of time that I've had it.
I have always dreamt of owning a Gibson Les Paul because Jimmy Page played one(my idol).

This is one awesome guitar,the sound is everything that I had wanted in a guitar.The neck is a 60's slim-taper neck that makes playing a joy.Bar chords are easy to fret.The 24.75" scale makes for less stretching when playing leads.The wide neck allows you to bend the strings without assaulting the nearby strings too much.Stays in tune all day long thanks to the awesome machine heads.Beyond minor cosmetic flaws this is one well made guitar.

The guitar arrived with some minor scratches at the first fret and on the body(sand paper would of helped).The finish is somewhat plain looking(mine is worn cherry).There is no carved top(it is a flat surface).But this guitar was not bought for looks(it's all about the sound).There are times though that I kind of wish that it had a double-locking tremolo system,but that would just be sacrilege to the nth degree.

This is one tight unit!The seem where the neck joins the body is almost invisable.There is no play what so ever in the classic green tuning keys(this guitar stays in tune).The same can be said of the volume and tone controls.Too bad they didn't spend a little more time with the sand paper before they applied the stain.

This may be a bit of plain Jane but this guitar really rocks.The sound that this guitar produces almost made me cry the first time I plugged it in to my Peavey amp.
I have had absolutely no problems what so ever with this guitar.
It's an awesome tone machine,if you've always wanted a Gibson Les Paul but can't afford the more expensive Gibson Les Paul's this is the guitar for you it is worth every penny as far as I'm concerned.

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

I bought this guitar at a sam goodys about 5 months ago for $200. Big mistake.

Its about the weight range i like and it has pretty good tone. The stock control knobs are pretty cool and the tuners are original.

Almost everything. About a week after i bought it the input jack screwed up which cost a lot of money to repair. Then a month later the trust rod in the neck got bend.

The body is ok quality but mostly its plastic here. The neck is comfortable but it can slow you down sometimes.

If you've got some money to waste on a lp ripoff our your a guitar repairmen this guitar is for you. Otherwise I'd buy something else

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

I recently purchased this fine piece in Rock Hill, SC. at the Rock Hill Pawn Shop. I stop in there occationally to take a look at what treasures may be hiding in their stores and I found this Diamond! It Shines like the SUN-Burst that it is! The BEST part was the lay out of only $100 for the whole setup! Gibson/Epiphone put these out as a KIT and to find one for this was unreal!

The Guitar plays with the ease of my Fender Am-Standard Telecaster and has the sound of the dual humbuckers of a true Les Paul! It has absolutely NO marks on the body or neck..including the Fretboard, which leads me to believe it has never been played. the strings seem to be factory installed and the little amp it comes with kicks for a practice thingee. Gibson/Epiphone did a great job with this unit. Even at the store lists of $400 + for the kit, It's a wonderful beginners/novice guitar and a fantastic backup for on the road. If you find just the guitar out there for under $300, BUY IT ! It's alot better Quality than most others I have looked at!

The placement of the Pickup switch between the Volume and the Tone knob. That's the only complaint or defect I can find

the constructiuon is great! It has an Alder/Maple body and a smooth playing Mahoghany Neck with a Rosewood Fretboard that one only has to think of the note to play and it seems to play itself..I love this neck..at least on this unit! The pickups are sweet sounding and can pull out all sorts of sound from the guitar. It is nice to play something not as heavy on the neck and shoulders as a Les Paul and yet get almost all the true Les Paul sound.
The Finish, a Tobacco Sunburst on this one, is flawless. It shines like a diamond in the sun..the finish is deep and clear. I usually go for a natural finish, but this one blew me away! The Neck is as true as Robin Hood's arrow and so ease to play...I am so impressed with the over-all feel and sound of this guitar that I am not going to look for another one to add to the collection for quite a while!

I have owned several guitars, including Fender, Peavey and my Les Paul Special. I would rate this puppy right up there at the top. Although it is sold as a lower end guitar don't let that fool you. It can stand up with the best of them and take a whippin' like a Big Dog! Take one out and try it, then try a few more in the same price range...I will put money on you going back and purchasing a Special 2.
Dollar for dollar you won't find anything else offered with the quality of this guitar.

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

This was my first electric guitar i got it from musiciansfriend for 180 bucks after having played guitar for about a year.

The black finish is very nice. its pretty good and doesnt chip except for on the headstock. The guitar sounds good both clean and dirty and in all three pickup combinations. its simple, 2 humbuckers, 1 volume, 1 tone and a 3 way switch. nothing scary. the neck is fairly nice, the action is good, strings are bendable and the guitar is overall decent. in my opinion, it isnt as good looking as higher end les pauls, it is still kind of cool looking in its own way.

the tone knob, when turned all the way up makes a HORRIBLE crackling sound and then the guitar goes silent. there is also crackling when switching pickups. ive had this guitar for about a year, and the tone that it is giving it is still pretty good, but i have had to turn up my marshall slowly but surely over time. guess the humbuckers are losing their edge. the tuning gears! ugh. they were once alright but now only 1 or to still work well. most of them are not holding a tune great. the guitar will last a couple of songs before needing complete retuning, not just a touch up. another thing, gibson replacement parts DONT FIT THIS GUITAR! i found this out when i tried to put the modern nickel machine heads on it. very stupid of me eh?

made in china. good? uh not really. its not horrible. its not good. its in that beautiful place inbetween. ive taken it apart and tried to make any improvments on it that i could. looooots of saw dust was found in...pretty much everything. the input jack comes loose all the time. and one time the wires that connect the pickups to the input jack broke and i had to melt them back together. the pickup switch is sort of loose and wobbly. i actually found all of these to just be minor things except the wires breaking. its not that bad. pretty okay.

well, the thing is pretty dang cheap, and sounds pretty good. over all its decent. you dont got that much dough to blow, or you need a backup guitar or wahtever you real musicians do, then go for it. its obviously meant to start out on and i will probably be stepping up soon as soon as i get....money.

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

First, I'm sorry if my english isn't pretty good, 'cause I'm from Chile...
I always wanted a Les Paul guitar, but I don't have the money. So, one day, I saw this guitar on a store here in Chile (named "Ripley") and it was at $125.000 in chilean pesos, something like $180 US dollars... So, I saw it on other store, called "Falabella" and it was on $140 US dollars, so, I bought it...

I like its body, it's beautiful. Something like Les Paul, but cheaper
It has a great sound, and if some effects are used, uff...
It has a very good sustain.
It's from Epiphone.

It's a little heavy, more than a typical Stratocaster.

It's a good guitar, if you know how to care a guitar.
It's a firm guitar, but take care of the paint, 'cause it scratches so fast.

I think that it's a great guitar for people that has not too much money, but that wants a heavy and clear sound. I recommend it, of course!

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

I got this Epiphone online from WWBW.com (woodwind and brasswind), the delivery was on time. I paid 200$, got a brand new Epiphone Special II, with a vintage sunburst finish, a good quality, versatile amplifier, 3 hard picks, a cable, an instructional video tape and an accurate quartz tuner.

I'm close to a professional guitar player, even though I have been playing for about a year, I mainly play Blues rock and metal influenced stuff, I play similar to Zakk Wylde of Black Label society and I love to play fast solos. I have to say I read some reviews on this guitar saying that it was bad, but I think its amazing. They did tell me that when you first buy the guitar, theres a buzz sounds and that the neck has some dead spots. This is entirely true. But once you do some adjustments using the truss bar to the tension bar at the head of the guitar (under the Gibson word). I actually made these adjustments on my own since the nearest guitar shop is miles away. It took me 2 hours to completely fixup the guitar. The pickup and sound quality is truly amazing and the tone is thick and fat almost as good as the Gibson Les Pauls. The playability is really good as well. The pickup switch works perfectly well. I actually replaced the strings with Zakk Wylde Boomers, because I like to play heavy stuff. The sound quality is perfect. I suggest you get a decent distortion pedal to get a good distorted tone (one you can actually hear the cords through). I use an Ibanez Smashbox and its amazing. A boss MT2 works fine as well, but I prefer the smashbox. The body of the guitar is considerably light and the finish looks beautiful but that depends on your personal taste. This Guitar is an excellent buy and very worth every single dollar you pay for it. It just needs to be optimized and adjusted, especially the neck to remove the buzz sounds. I suggest you take it to a guitar technician at a guitar shop to get the neck fixed up and neck tension adjusted.

It takes a while to adjust the neck as I said. But once thats done you're going to be fine. Also, at the beginning, it untunes very quickly, but after a couple of tunings, the strings should stretch out a bit and you should be fine.

Neck adjustment should have been done at the factory, other than that, well done Epiphone!

Many people dislike this guitar because they think its just a cheaper and crappier version of a Gibson. The guitar is perfectly fine, but you need to have some patience to adjust the neck thats all!

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

Recently purchased off eBay at £91 as a starter guitar for my son.Normally retails at £128 - £180 depending on the finish.

It is a good looking guitar and apart from the bangs the original high gloss sunburst finish looks at first glance to be agreeable to the eye. Bostered up by that gibson badge on the headstock. After that, the pleasure stops.

This is truely the worst guitar I have picked up. True it looks at a cursory glance to be a nice peice of eye candy.But handle that baby and your in for a disappointment its construction leaves a lot to be desired and the tuning mechanism is truely abhorant.

This model features cheap tacky tuners that do not hold their tuning very well varying from hard to turn to exceedingly sloppy. the guitar features a bridge that is impossible to get both the bottom and top scales simultaniously in tune so, useless if you want to play tunes by the darkness or any good lead riffs. The bolt on neck and its flimsy construction make it difficult to tune as any pressure on the neck in any direction alters the tuning. To add insult to injury when you have got it plugged in watch that plastic plate that the jack plug is attatched to split down the middle its the biggest wow you will get from this sucker.

Give this baby a miss, spend a few more of those hard earned dollars and pounds on a guitar not built like a present from a lucky dip bag. If you are thinking of a beginners guitar or any other guitar for that matter give this a miss.

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

I bought it at from a friend for £25 and a Skate Board

Everything. The guitar sounds fantastic. I now am the proud owner of a Les Paul Custom and there is only a slight difference in the guitars playing although the pick ups have a little more gain being open coil. The guitar is also very light for a Les Paul.

Look after it and it'll definately look after you. Take it to a good shop though.

The construction and quality is immaculate. I read a review on the same site which slated the guitars construction which I feel was unjustified. Maybe in America the demand for good quality examples is lower I don't know. All the example I've played here in sunny britain have been superb.

Find a good one look after it and you'll keep it forever. Great for punk or rock with it's nice gain. If you can set up an amp it'll do you well. I use it as a back up for recording and on stage and it never let me down.

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

Having previously bought a brilliant Squier Strat from a company called Express in Solihull, on my first payday I decided to get my brother into the guitar world. I found the guitar, paid full retail being £180. I know this can be bought for only £120 but when you take into account convienience, shipping and possibly repairs, it seemed sensible to buy local, and considering the staff there are very good.

Sound- this is a good Les Paul sounding instrument at just £180. The feel of this guitar is great with a thick finished neck in a 24.75" scale length. Despite being a slab body this guitar is fairly pleasent and lighter than any real Les Paul. This guitar at the end of the day still says GIBSON on the truss rod cover. The guitar is far easier than any Fender style guitar to maintain in terms of strings and bridges although not electronics.

This isnt as attractive as the les paul 100 also by epiphone or copies at the £180. It isnt a replica, it features no scratchplate and has all the controls as would and SG. Also there is only a single Volume and Tone. Despite these it still sounds and feels Les Paul and is far better than any equally priced copy. The pickups could be slightly better but are still very fair for its low price.

No quality issues. Solid and well built, has still got all its inspection adhesives. Nothing spectacular, the Squier Strats are more attractive but dont share this level of quality and 'chunkiness'. This is a solid and well constructed unit.

For the money you get total indviduality- its not a copy, its a gibson (in a way). Its even different to a Les Paul. Theres no frills. You dont need them. This is Solid, durable, enjoyable, playable and well concieved guitar. Hook this into a Fender frontman, flick overdrive on and enjoy Communication Breakdown. Enjoy being a learner.

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