(Originally written by Shark-Food/translated from Audiofanzine FR)
Guitar made in Korea.

22 frets

Passive EMG HZ H4 pickups

Tune-o-matic bridge

Mahogany body with maple top

Mahogany set neck with maple fingerboard

4 controls: 2 x volume and 2 x tone

Grover machine heads

Gold-plated hardware

Nice body binding!

Very good first impression, superb look

A very nice looking guitar!

UTILIZATION

Quite thick neck compared to a 60's model, but still very pleasant!

Same upper frets access as with every Les Paul, no surprises in this respect.

The weight is ok.

I find the guitar is well-balanced.

The sound is a bit surprising, but still the passive pickups sound good (even if I recommend an active pickup set)

SOUNDS

Nobody buys a Zakk Wylde model to play chanson!

I think anyone who buys it wants to play some sort of hard rock (or eventually blues).

I use it with a Marshall 150H (hybrid) and this combination gives you very good results (I can't wait to buy active pickups to enhance the sound).

I use a Wah Wylde (excellent) and a MXR ZW44 as well as a Marshall BB II.

You'll have to tune your settings first to avoid a shrilling sound, but you'll find the right settings within minutes.

OVERALL OPINION

I've had it for only 2 days so I'll update this review later.

When I saw it at the store I immediately thought it looked nice... but I hesitated to buy it because of its price.

Afterwards I saw a better price on the web, including a case!

I bought it...

I also own a Gibson LP Studio and a Mexico Fender Strat.

The Epiphone has a killer look and a superb finish (unlike other Epiphone products).

Update from 07.18.08:

With a bit more experience I can now confirm that this guitar rocks!

It's price is decreasing so go for it.

PS: I find the antique ivory finish looks awful!

Edit from 12.13.2008

I replaced the passive pickups with a ZW kit two months ago. The sound is killer (the EMG85 is AWESOME).