All user reviews for the Epiphone Les Paul Standard (1989-2013)

from guitar center for 500$


i like the fact that it has a nice look to it

i don't like this guitar because the jack systym breaks within months. the guitar is extremely unporportional and back-heavy. it has an extremely large ammount of feedback when it is pluged into an amp. the pickups don't pick up the sound as well as other guitars of the same price of cheaper. overall: i wouldn't reccomend this guitar to anyone.

unporportional design.
bad quality: it breaks early.

horrible overpriced guitar. epiphone made a big mistake.

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

Got it used with a Crate amp and pedal for $200 plus a hard case from an individual. Excellent condition. Couldn't pass that deal up. Didn't want to spend $1200 for the Gibson. Saw this model new in a store for $539 so it's not really a "cheapie." It was made in Korea.

Good sustain, fast neck. Not as heavy as the Gibson Les Paul. The previous owner had changed the pickups so can't judge the originals. Think they were solid silvers. Looks like he put DiMarzios. They fit a little loose but that's Ok, I guess. Good intonation adjustment at the high frets.

The rythym/lead switch has already failed. Not expensive or hard to replace, however, with a little soldering. It is NOT like the Gibson switch. Get a little buzzing on the 6th string but can adjust it out. Wish they had a better setup for plugging in the cord. The connector tends to get loose and and the cord gets pinched easily. There's a removeable plate that gives access to the plug.

Nice finish, seems solid. Have the red "sunburst" type. The strut rod cover says Gibson instead of Epiphone. Definitely lighter than the Gibson, but that is better for your back.

Very good guitar, especially for what I paid for it. Very happy with it but still want a good Strat, too! Should be lots of these Epiphones available used.

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

Got this with hard case for $550. (on sale,
of course) That's a good thing to tell the wife
as well after you walk in with it - "But honey,
it was on sale." That has helped me, at least.
Now if I can just make this next one fly:
"Honey, I accidentally clicked 'order' on a
Morley Bad Horsie Wah. Honest."

This is a lovable guitar. I have already "melded"
with mine and will never let it go. I got the
solid black color. It is beautiful; very well
finished. Has great warm tone and sustain.
Looks and plays great. The neck and fretboard
have a good feel.

It's a bit heavy. Also, you can expect your
pickup selector switch to zonk out on you
before long. (I replaced mine myself). The
tuning machines are ugly but work ok. The
pickups are ok, but not the greatest. I will
replace mine eventually, but not yet. The
stock pickups aren't bad.

Very well constructed. Could use a better
pickup selector switch, and better looking
tuning machines. Otherwise, it's cool.

If you think you want to buy this guitar, you
are right. Buy it. I love the damn thing. No
way in hell I'm gonna pay 2grand or so for
a Gibson Les Paul as long as this is around.
This is, after all a REAL Les Paul (with his
name on it) - it is not a copy.


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

This may be the most satisfying purchase I have ever made. Put of the blue, in the middle of entertaining friends for dinner at our home, I announced that I wanted to buy a guitar after having put it down for over 20 years. My wife protested, but the next day I set out on my quest to acquire the best guitar for the least amount of money, within reason. I wanted a good guitar that I could grow with and still find usable as I became more proficient, but I also didn't want to spend a ton of money on something that might very well wind up gathering dust in the basement. This guitar is the perfect solution, and frankly, I'm not sure that I will ever buy the "real thing", even if my skills develop to the point of justifiying such a purchase, because in my experience the "real things" are NOT significantly better than the Epiphone. Mine is a beautiful flametop that I bought ("stole" might be more accurate)for $549.00. The price included a lilfetime warranty and free set-ups for life! I am convinced that the excellent quality of this guitar has kept me playing--at least an hour a day for over a year now!



Its playability. Its sustain. Its resonance. The obvious high quality of the construction and its beautiful finish (I always get lots of compliments on it.)

Very minor complaint--every six months jsut about, the Rythm/Treble switch needs to be tightened.

Single-piece construction of Mahogany, rosewood fretboard, maple top. Headstock is solid, tuners are magnificnet and hyper-accurate. Humbucker pickups are great, and the colume controls are perfect. The finish truly is astonishing--I literally have had people who are much more knowledgable than I tell me that it looks, feels, plays and sounds exactly like its namesake, which sells for about $1500-$2000 more.

As I become a better guitar player, and at the same time more knowledgable about guitars in general, I am more and more pleased with my choice. Obviously there are better guitars out there, but for roughly $500.00, I don't believe there's one that is better than the Epiphone Les Paul Standard.


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

I got this guitar from guitar center after hearing great things about it. It was amazing and i got them to knock off 100 bucks...so i got it. I got it for $445 and list it was $539.

Amazing fretboard, tone is excellent, and its got two gibson humbuckers...and it looks amazing.

Great finish, excellent headstock, and its right next to a gibson in my book.

Great for the money(you can always haggle), and it is one of the best guitars i have ever played. If you cant afford the gibson version, and even if you can, get this...you will be extremely satisfied.

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

When I first started playing guitar I started out with a cheap acoustic. I learned the fundamentals and then I was ready to get an electric guitar. Before purchasing an electric guitar I researched what it was I thought I needed. I started off by looking at my guitar idols. From there I looked at how well electric guitars hold their value and which ones hold their value the best. After I narrowed it down to two types of guitars, I went and played only those two types of guitars. In the end I decided to buy the Gibson Les Paul Standard Electric Guitar. I bought it from Sam Ash and paid $1,786.20 for a beautiful cherry sunburst Les Paul.

The Gibson Les Paul Standard has an incredible sound. Whether you play the blues, rock, or even metal, you can get the sound you want from this guitar. I personally like playing blues and rock, and the sound I get from my Les Paul beats out any other guitar I've played. The humbuckers allow for that thick, rich sound that is often heard when playing blues. I must admit, the Les Paul looks very cool, too!

I can't say that there is really anything that I dislike about my Les Paul. If you don't like a heavy guitar while playing on stage then this guitar might not be for you cause it is a little heavy.

The construction and quality of the Gibson Les Paul is wonderful. You have a solid body which brings out a unique sound. There are two alnico humbuckers which are the power house of the great sound that comes out of this guitar. The tone and volume knobs are gold and the tuning pegs are chrome. My Les Paul is cherry sunburst which looks great.

All in all the Gibson Les Paul Standard electric guitar is the definition of greatness. You can achieve many great sounds from this guitar. If you are looking for quality and great sound, then I would definitly suggest picking up a Les Paul.

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

Bought 1/2 year used gear from friend that liked more play bass. Payed about 340$ (but in currency of Poland) including guarantee and guitar case.

Yo! What I like is price. It's really low for some classy guitar like that. Two humbucks really make that climate as known from Jimmy Page or Faith No More's Album of the Year (Jon Hudson) or Kind for a Day (Trey Spruance) - all played on Les Pauls. String keys are great too. But you just must love the low bluessy sound of L.P.
And most of all - the shape and look, it's really great - like a pretty woman.


Humucks and that plastic finger-pod really like to tremble & vibrate on low sounds (string E especially). String height regulation some time lacks of freedom (known from Fenders like, but I hate Fender ;P). There's no serious disadventages of this gear... maybe "Handcrafted in Corea" could scary somebody.

Gear is middle heave but solid. The quiality of wood impress me much. Fingerboard woor (dark one) is for me solid bould and will last long time.
Freets catched some brown dots... could be made from rustless (stainless) metal.
String keys are really great (silver ones). I hate the plastic ones selled now with Les Pauls. Humbucs give quite satysfying low sound (as I wish) but all electrics could be more noise-free (but it's only 340$)

It's great gear for beggining playing blues, jazz or low overdrived grunge, metal.
You love Faith No More or some jazz mild guitar sound - try this guitar, you'll find a music soul in this gear, I'll love the feeling you touch it...
(Sorry for my English - I am Polish ;P)


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

Purchased at Mars Music for $399.00
I needed a guitar that could play rock, jazz and blues with some good sustain.

This guitar is a beautiful red quilt top unit. It's got bindings allaround and has the inlaid fret makers. Simply great to look at.
It's easy to play and sounds great with a more warm sound than a strat or tele.

It's a little on the heavy side which takes some getting used to.

The guitar quality at first glance and buy was outstanding. When I had it home, I noticed that the treble/rhythm switch was not functioning correctly and had to bring it back to be fixed.
Also, the frets were unevenly made. The shop evened them for me. In the time they did that, the string bridge from the tuners was loose. Fixed also!

Bottom line: The Korean made electronics are crappy. Assembly line made guitars, even though expensive, are sometimes not at all cut out for what they are made out to be.
The guitar now sounds fantastic thanks to a very good repair person at Mars. He realigned the bridges and pickups and did the repairs talked about above.

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

I love my Epiphone Les Paul Standard Quilted Top, its looks will shred you before the sound will!I got the Epi because it would fit in my small budget and still give me that phat, deep sound i wanted. Bought it at Mars Music for $400.

I absolutely love my epi. No guitar is perfect, but this one isn't that far behind. The finish I chose was a dark red quilt, almost blood red in colour. The body is solidas a brick (a good 10+pounder) and the sound is very good for "Gibson-Designed" humbuckers. The fact that it is a Limited Edition also urged me to get this guitar.

Above I did mention the pickups were good, but i think that i can do better with some custom pickups I'll get in the near future. Im considering a set of open coil PRS specials or maybe some Emg's. Aside from tune ups, every small probelm I have had has been under warrantee. When I first purchase the guitar I had a bad pot for the 3 way switch, so i had it replaced with a Gibson one from Mars; no charge. Along with the new pot the guy at Mars also fixed the setup, lowered the action by a hair, and waxed the guitar. More recently, (i have had it for about 6 months) I had a spur on the bridge fixed; it was also free at Mars. From my experience there, I'd recommend Mars to any musician for their excellent service and quality.

I think the above statement said alot about this, but anyway the overall quality was good. You get what you pay for, so I am not surprised by a few glitches. As far as construction goes, the quilted top looks very deep and not at all like a spary on paint. The body and neck have a cream binding that looks great againt the dark red finish. All the hardware is black from tuners to stopbar and the pickups are open coiled. The neck it strait as you could ask for and the trapezoid inlays are perfect. A True Rock Guitar!!!

The rating for this quitar is not really fair the way i see it. For what you pay, you get the an extreme quality axe. But when problems come, don't be surprised. I know if i didn't have a place like Mars to get it fixed, the review would not be as good. All in all, if i had the money, i would be reviewing a Gibson right now, but Epiphone is far from sub standard. If this guitar is in you're price range check it out!

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

I bought it at Opus 1 Music in Evansville Indiana. Bought to upgrade from my pathetic Mexican Tele. I traded in the Tele and I think I gave about 450.00 for it. I bought it because I've always liked Les Pauls, even if it isn't really a Gibson.

I like the look and feel of the guitar, plays very fast. I think that it was worth my money, immediatly I understood the difference between it and my other guitars, the NECK!! The neck is great, I can't imagine having a guitar with a better neck. I also like the color, ebony, it gives it a very professional and i think sophisticated look.

The Pickups! they suck a whole lot, I can actually talk into them and they pick up my voice. for as good as the neck is, the pickups are much worse, it's almost unbearable. Also the high e dinks from the 18th fret and up. The good thing is that all of this can be fixed pretty easily, once that's done then it's a very, very good guitar.

good quality except for the dinks on the e string, the finish is excellent, the tuning pegs are great, the nut is good, although it wouldn't hurt to change it either.

All in all it's a good guitar, I'm glad I bought it, once I get the new pickups I would be obliged to challenge a gibson standard. I think it's worth the money I paid. It works very well on my cybertwin, which is not a big deal, but i have an extremely crappy leem amp and the guitar makes it a little less crappy i think.

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

I am left-handed and live in Cape Town, South Africa, and it has always been a struggle to purchase left-handed guitars as mos of the music shops have limited quantities (often cheapies) available. I bought my guitar in Ireland (Musician Inc) 18 months ago for 350 Irish pounds. Why : i saw a fellow guitarist with one and i was impressed with the sound quality & look of it.

It's the most awesome guitar that i have ever owned. it has great sustain and i get the best out of the guitar when i use my overdrive settings on my effects rack (Boss me30). It's power is amazing and as i mentioned above, you can hold notes almost forever.
This guitar has given me great confidence when playing solo's and i can mimick most guitarists - I model my playing on Carlos Santana and my Epiphone makes me sound almost like him!
It has a beautiful body - cherry sunburst and is very easy to play - A DREAM COME TRUE!!

Nothing!

It has 2 Humbuclers and Rosewood fingerboard + Mahogany top.
The cherry sunburst finish is probably the best finish. Everything about the guitar says quality!

Easy to play
Awesome rock / lead / solo guitar!!!!!
I look great when i play the guitar!
This is a guitar that you keep for a lifetime and i would definitely recommend this guitar.


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

I had a 60s Les Paul that ended up stolen and hadn't replaced it for many years...I saw an ad at Musican's Friend, ordered the catalog, and with some trepidation, ordered the unit....buying an axe unseen and untested....GULP!!!!Set me back $899...

I expected that the hardware would not match the original, and I was wrong. This is the Paul I remembered. The fretboard was awesome, flawless...after some personal customization. The pickups perform without a hitch, and the finish lives up to the older, classic Pauls.

Not much to NOT like...i wish there had been an option for a hardshell case versus the gig bag that came "free" with the unit.

The natural finish is flawless...the volume controls and pickup switch are tight and Gibsons usual uality. The pickups give that unmistakeable Paul sound . The original tuning pegs will soon be history heheheh!

I have no problems buying online from MF...super service, credit and prompt delivery. The catalogs just rock!

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

This guitar was purchased for $499.00 at The String Shoppe in Columbus, OH. This was the second guitar I've purchased from them and they don't just take the thing off the wall and say "See ya!" They polished and dusted the body, put fretboard conditioner on, and tuned it. Great customer service.

This is my 4th Epiphone in the past year that I've purchased. I've started with a verrrry basic Gig Rig, went to a LP Special II, then a Les Paul 100, and now to the Les Paul Standard. Each one has been a huge leap up from the previous model (I now feel "worthy" to play this one!). It's about as close to a real honest to goodness Les Paul without spending an additional $1500.00. This model is Ebony with a set neck, creme binding, and chrome humbuckers. I've always been a sucker for Les Pauls, could be my interest in Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith, ZZ Top, Kiss, etc. The guitarists in these bands all favor Les Pauls. The humbuckers really crank and from the weight of the guitar you can just tell it's well put together. It just feels solid slung around your neck!

Being Ebony the body shows fingerprints; but who cares! Sound and playability wise, this is a suh-weeet axe!

The construction on this guitar is flawless. The binding is perfect and the thing just flat out looks sharp. If only I could play as well as it looks! If you don't have an additional $1000.00, get this over the full fledged Gibson Les Paul. I've said this is the "last guitar" I'll need for awhile. We'll see how long that thinking lasts.

Lots of bang for the buck. A well made guitar that sounds excellent and plays well.

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

I bought this monster from the academy of sound in Manchester for £370 about two months ago. And since i have baught it i have never put it down.

The main thing that i like about my LP is the tone and the feel of the guitar. It is quite heavy and when its strpped to you, you can tell the difference from fenders straight away!!! It feels like you have got alot more for your money and at 370 i feel like ive ripped epiphone off!!!! It is also great with effects it has heavy distortion and also adds a nice tone to any chorus and reverb effects. and the sunburst finnish is to die for!!

I dont like the fact that its an epiphone and not a gibson but if the gibson is better than this (which it must be)!! im gonna start savin now.

It is built perfectly, there are no inperfections in my LP, and the design of these guitars screem out class, where as the fenders always look cheap and flimsy.


I would recommend to everyone to buy this guitar, i had a les paul studio and i loved that until i had it signed by noel gallagher from oasis so i had to buy a new one so i didnt reck it!!! but instead i bought the standard and the difference is fuckin astoundin!!! but i would give the studio 5 out of 5 also. in my ratings the LP standard should be at least a 15

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

I was looking for a new guitar. I wanted something that would play well and sound professional. At first I was looking for an Epiphone Les Paul Black Beauty but it was modeled after the earlier Les Pauls which had a thick neck which did not allow easy playability. I was kind of disappointed. Then I found a Epiphone Les Paul Standard with an Ebony finish. I purchased it at Peeler Music in Toledo, Ohio for $595 with a hardshell case. List price for the guitar is $820.


This guitar is amazing. It sounds great with or without distortion and is very easy to play with it's slim tapered neck. I have four guitars, and the Les Paul is definitely the best. It has the no tremolo system which makes string changing very easy. I got mine with the Black Ebony finish which in my opinion is nicer looking than the available honeyburst or cherry sunbusrt, which are a bit more expensive, but not much. If you are trying to decide between getting an Epiphone Les Paul or a Gibson I would suggest you get the Epiphone. I have played both and I think they are equally good. The only major difference is that the Epiphone costs a lot less. I know this because when I went to get a new guitar I tried out some Gibsons and I didn't like them any better than the Epiphones. Epiphone guitars are all made by Gibson. My Epiphone even says Gibson on it. It was very well constructed. I like how easy it is to play fast leads on it.


There is absolutely nothing that I do not like about this guitar. Some people don't care for the no tremelo system but I don't see why. The only reason for it is if you use a whammy bar all of the time which most people don't. Second of all, like I said earlier it is easier to string and it doesn't take you long at all to get use to the different bridge when your palm muting which also wouldn't really matter much because most people don't do that much palm muting.


It is very well constructed. It mahogany body, and neck and a 22-fret rosewood fingerboard. Also as I have said earlier the slim taper neck allows easy playability.


The bottom line is the Epiphone Les Paul standard is a great sounding guitar for a good price.


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