Epiphone Solid Body Electric Guitars

In the late 50s Gibson started putting out futuristic looking guitars to show that they were a hip modern guitar company. This guitar is a copy of the Flying V they put out in the 50s except with a black finish. It was introduced in the late 50s and was way too radical and ahead of its time. It was re-introduced in the mid 60s and people loved it. Gibson has been making them ever since. This Epiphone has the design of the original version. The dimensions are slightly different and it uses Korina wood like the original models did. It has a 22 fret rosewood freboard attached to a Korina neck. It has the pointy flying V headstock from the 50s. It has dual gold finished humbuckers. Each pickup has a volume control and there is a master tone knob. The bridge is a big V shaped piece of metal that helps with sustain. The guitar has a black finish and it looks very classy with the gold hardware. UTILIZATION The Flying V design overall has better playability than the traditional Les Paul design. Because of the V design the upper frets are easier to reach than on a Les Paul. The set neck design means there is a bit of a heel at the neck joint but on this model it is not bad. Since this is a 58 model the upper fret access is even better than on a 67 flying V. The neck attaches to the body higher on the neck than on the 67 models so the neck joint heel is less intrusive. The V shape might be hard for some people to play sitting down. You may have to play in a classical position with the guitar in your lap if you are playing while sitting down. Some models have a strip of rubber to add more traction to the bottom of the guitar, making it easier to play while sitting down. Standing up the shape gives the guitar perfect balance. The input jack is kind of in a bad place if you are use to wrapping it through your guitar strap. SOUNDS Because of the 50s design of the guitar they have put in pickups voiced for medium gain or classic rock type music. The guitar comes with two Epiphone Alnico Classic humbuckers. These pickups are medium output and are voiced for a classic rock tone. This voicing suits the guitar perfectly. When you plug it in it sounds like a classic Gibson. These pickups are also great for blues. With the right amp you can get a really smooth bluesy sound. If you are playing metal or heavier music you may want to upgrade the pickups. These pickups with their medium output may not have the clarity needed for lower tunings or high gain sounds. The bridge with its large metal piece and string through design provides more sustain and an little extra brightness than the normal versions. If you want to play heavier music you may want to swap the pickups out for some Seymour Duncans or EMG pickups for heavier tones. OVERALL OPINION Overall I think the 58 Flying V design is better than the 67 design playability wise. The better fret access on the earlier version may mean the neck join is weaker but I have never had any problems with the neck joints on Flying V's. I have had problems with SG neck joints however. The original shape provides better access to the upper frets and overall I think it looks more classy. . The bridge setup provides more clarity and sustain than a regular Tune-o-matic setup. Gibson versions of this classic design cost thousands and thousands of dollars and are very hard to find. You can get this Epiphone version for less than 600 dollars. At the end of the day a guitar is just a peice of wood with some wires in it. If you want a classy Flying V and dont want to break the bank this guitar could be fore you.

In the late 50s Gibson decided to start a line of more radical looking guitars. Gibson first started selling Explorers in 1958 and their design was way too radical for the time so they were discontinued a year later. In 1976 Gibson started the first reissue of the original 1958 design and now today Gibson is selling reissues of the reissues. Gibson has been producing the '76 reissue Explorer since 1990. Many people say the '76 reissues are better than the original Explorers put out in 1976. The first 50s models were made from Korina wood these are the classic yellow looking Gibsons you have seen. This Epiphone model is made from the Korina wood so it has the yellowish look. They have 22 frets on a mahogany neck with a rosewood fretboard. Two humbucking pickups which are a Epiphones own alnico humbuckers. Two volume and one master tone control with a 3 way toggle switch pickup selector. UTILIZATION Early 50s Gibsons had huge necks. Today people refer to them as the "baseball" bat necks. In the 60s Gibson switched to slimmer neck design. This Epiphone Explorer today has that 60s design. The 60s Gibson neck profile is one of their most popular and it is what they use on most of the Epiphone guitars. They use this profile on the Epiphones because kids might be playing them and kids will like the smaller profile better. The upper frets are easy to reach because of the Explorers design. The radical shape actually gives the guitar a perfect balance for playing while standing up. The neck will come to rest at a perfect angle due to the large body acting as a counter weight. SOUNDS Gibsons are known for their warm humbucking tones and the Epiphone Explorer is no different. No matter how cold it is outside the Explorer always sounds warm. The Explorer is made from a huge piece of solid Korina and you can really hear it. The Korina has a tone similar to mahogany. The pickups on the Epiphone Explorer have gold covers and this matches well with the korina wood. The Epiphone Explorer sounds like what every Gibson should sound like. OVERALL OPINION This Epiphone Explorer sounds huge, feels huge and is the big man on campus. The design was ahead of its time in the 50s but in the 70s it was just right for the music and players of the time. People may look for the Gibson tone in just Les Pauls but the Explorer can deliver it too. This Epiphone sounds better than some Gibsons with Gibson starting to chamber its Les Pauls the Explorer shape may be the way to go if you are looking for a really solid piece of wood to get tone from.

The Epiphone Les Paul Standard was made to act as a lower budget version of the classic Gibson Les Paul Standard. It features all of the classic appointments of the LP, such as a mahogany body and neck, flamed maple top, dual humbuckers, and a tuneomatic bridge and stop tailpiece. The full list of specs is as follows: Epiphone Les Paul Standard Plain Top Electric Guitar Features: Mahogany body Maple veneer over carved top Alnico Classic humbuckers Chrome hardware Grover tuners 24-3/4" scale 1-11/16" nut width Set mahogany neck Slim-tapered neck profile Rosewood fretboard with trapezoid inlays Body/neck binding LockTone Tune-O-Matic bridge/stopbar tailpiece Basically, it's designed to be a classic Les Paul, but at about 1/4 the price... does it live up to the hype? We'll see... UTILIZATION Design wise, the Les Paul was never the most ergonomic guitar on the planet, and this Epiphone model is no exception. The Epiphone model, like the 2008 model Gibson LP Standard, features chambered construction so it's lighter than your average LP, but as I stated in my LP Standard review, the cost of a lighter wait is a thinner/un LP like tone in my opinion. The upper fret access on Les Pauls is decent enough, though the neck heel can get in the way on occasion. Getting a decent tone out of this guitar is not difficult. Like nearly every Epiphone guitar I've tried, it's plagued with muddy, cheap sounding pickups that lack note definition, so the tones as stock are not even close to my Gibson LP that is loaded with '57 Classics. However, I have tried models that have had replaced pickups, and it does greatly improve the tone of the guitar plugged in. SOUNDS I've tried these guitars through various Marshall and Mesa Boogie amplifiers, both in stock and modified form. I would say the tones are reasonable enough when you consider the price they sell for new. O The clean tones are fair enough when set up correctly. The pickups lack a lot of the punch of some higher quality models from Gibson, DiMarzio or Seymour Duncan, but even considering that, the cleans have a decent low end and midrange tone that's excellent for jazzy and bluesy tones. The overdrive tones are nice for the guitar for sure. It seems to excel at seventies/eighties arena type hard rock. The guitar isn't quite as dynamic as my Gibson LP, so using the volume and tone controls really don't do quite as much as I might like. All in all, the stock tones really are average at best. It improves greatly if you upgrade the pickups, but that's an additional expense to consider when buying... OVERALL OPINION All in all I figure the Epiphone Les Paul Standard is a decent lower budget guitar for someone who really wants to be the next Jimmy Page or Slash, but is on a budget. The construction of the guitar is fine and it plays fairly well... but the electronics are simply just not up to par. Personally, if I was spending $600 on a flamed top Epiphone LP Standard and then an additional $150 or $200 on pickups/electronics... I would simply put my money into a second hand Gibson Les Paul Studio or Studio Faded, which to me is a far superior instrument and will hold its value far better than an Epiphone.

(Originally written by Hirako/translated from Audiofanzine FR) Where was it made? (USA, Japan, Mexico, France...) I guess it was made in Korea, China or Indonesia. I don't know... - How many frets, what kind of pickups and what pickups configuration? Very fast and pleasant maple neck with 24-fret rosewood fingerboard. Two Epiphone humbuckers that provide a fat sound. They sound good for blues and are not very versatile. - What kind of bridge (Floyd Rose, Wilkinson....)? Chrome tune-o-matic bridge, all hardware has a chrome finish. Plastic nut (I will change it later), very reliable sealed lubricated machine heads. - What about controls (volume, tone, pickup selector...)? Volume and tone knobs, 3-way toggle switch. The typical Les Paul knobs look good. - What kind of neck? Bolt-on neck. UTILIZATION - Does the neck feel pleasant? This neck is not so good as an Ibanez neck but it's still quite good and very fast. - Is the access to upper frets easy? The original shape of the body doesn't look nice but it allows a good access to the upper frets. - Is the instrument ergonomic (body shaping, weight...)? It weights 13 lb. - Is it easy to get the right sound?... Yes. It sounds good for AC/DC, blues stuff, heavy metal and other music styles. You'll also get a good sound for vintage rock with the adequate amp settings. SOUNDS - Do they fit your music style? Yes. I play heavy metal, AC/DC, blues, punk, rock and the guitar sounds alright, but I'd say it's best for heavy metal, hard rock (AC/DC) and punk. - Which amp(s) or effect(s) do you use with it? I play with a VOX DA5. - What kind of sounds do you get and which settings do you use ("crystal-clear", "fat", ...)? - Which sounds do you prefer / hate? I try every possible sound. OVERALL OPINION - How long have you been using it? Two weeks . It's my first electric guitar. I also play acoustic guitar and I'm taking lessons since September 2008. - Which feature do you like the most / the least? I like the neck and the chrome hardware. The guitar doesn't look that nice but it has a strong personality! - Did you try any other models before buying it? Yes, a Squier Bullet Strat, a Kramer Focus, an Ibanez GRG170DX (bad!!) and a GSA-60 (very bad!!). - How would you rate its value for money? Excellent value money. It's a guitar made out of real wood at a very low price. Unlike more expensive agathis Ibanez GSA and plywood Squiers models. - Based on your experience, would you buy this product again? Yes, of course! It's not expensive and it is made out of real wood. I give it a good mark because of the excellent value for money.

This guitar was made in Japan during the 60's and 70's. Many people refer to this as the Kurt Cobain guitar as this was one of his favorite guitars which he played (aside from his Mustang and what not). This guitar is incredibly rare and desired by many grunge rock players for its very punchy tone. The guitar sports 22 frets on a maple neck with a rosewood fingerboard, dot inlays. The body is a combination of being shaped like a Mustang/Jaguar. The body is completely flat and is painted red with a gloss finish. I believe the wood is either maple of cherry even, but the grain is very beautiful though some people thing its rather cheap. The guitar itself is incredibly weird and is a total oddball. The bridge resembles that of a Jaguar with a major flaw. The bridge is some sort of tune-o-matic creation wherein it is stabilized by 4 screws. These 4 screw monitor how low or high the bridge may be moved. Sounds like a normal tune-o-matic correct? But the weird thing is that there is a lip on the apparatus that limits how high you can go. To better describe it, the plate which is screwed into the guitar has two beams on the left and right side, at the end of these beams they turn inward (think like an L shape). On this lip you place the tune-o-matic bridge underneath said lip and you screw down to hold it in position. This allows the guitar to have nice low action, but because the frets are very slim buzzing tends to occur. The only way to remedy this of course is to...raise the action which can't happen. My solution: I placed washers underneath the plate on the the guitar which raised the entire apparatus approx a few centimeters and replaced the nut. The action is still very low but now has no buzzing. Best of both worlds. The setting controls on this guitar are yet again even more funky. One volume and two tone pots comprise the knobs on this guitar with a three-way selector switch. However, there is a bass-boast switch on the guitar as well which gives added depth to the guitar. Very good for punk rock. This thing is absolutely a tone monster. The guitar sports two P-90 looking pickups which also lend themselves nicely to blues and rock. Also, there is a place for a Jaguar like whammy bar on the bridge system. The bridge system resembles that of an older Mustang system, which relies on a hefty spring in the cavity of the guitar. It's very interesting in a way because it pops back up after depressing. UTILIZATION As far as the neck, it is like nothing I've ever played. Almost like a D shaped neck with a semi flat top and bottom, and a soft C in the middle. As you progress up the neck, the entire profile of the neck becomes flatter and thicker which weirdly enough allows for incredibly fast playing. The unique double-cut away shape lends it self very easy to playing at the upper register of the neck. The guitar has a very nice balance between neck and body, maybe just a tad bit more body heavy but on the whole it is very comfortable to wear. As far as easily achieving sound, it is debatable. The guitar has a wide variety of UNIQUE tonal possibilities. Three different pick up selections with two tone knobs and a bass boost. That's quite a bit more then your average Strat. It is a guitar which you need to sit down and fiddle with to fully encompass the variety of tones on the guitar. A lot of them almost seem unconventional but very cool for experimental rock. SOUNDS For me personally this guitar caters to my interest in punk/experimental/progressive rock. Even though that facet of me isn't very deep, I cannot deny the fact that this guitar fits the ticket very well. I use this through a Fender Deville with a Route 66 Pedal and Wah. Through this it also gives a really cool blues tone even (SRV like). When played clean, the tone is really thick and clear but I'd still prefer other guitars for a clean tone over this. This guitar truly does the job overdriven. I'd recommend this guitar for most types of distorted rock. OVERALL OPINION I've had this guitar for about a year, I was fortunate enough to find this model in less then desirable condition. I put some elbow grease into it and fixed it completely. What I like most about it is the range of distorted tones you get. I'm not entirely impressed with the clean tones but that may be because I have other guitars that fit the ticket better, I'm sure plenty of people would be be happy with the clean tone. I also like the bass boost which I consider to be very unique however the bridge set-up makes the guitar very hard to work with sometimes. I bought this guitar on a whim, it caught my eye and the price was right. I don't regret buying this at all, and I would highly recommend this guitar to anybody who liked to play punk rock. I paid roughly 200 dollars for the guitar where sometimes this guitar will sell for several hundred more dollars due to the sheer rarity of this guitar. After fixing the guitar and playing it for a while, I do not regret buying this guitar. I love it for what it does and I will never let it out of my sight. Anybody who runs into this guitar don't pass up the opportunity to get this fine instrument. Just be prepared to make it your own.

(Originally written by laulalau/translated from Audiofanzine FR) - I believe the Epiphone Les Paul Goldtop Slash Signature was made in China (more precisely in Qingdao ^^) - Mahogany body - Mahogany neck Neck profile: "Slash-Profile", glossy varnish finish - Rosewood fingerboard Fingerboard radius: 12" 22 medium jumbo frets Scale length: 24 3/4" Width: 1 11/16" Neck pickup: Seymour Duncanâ„¢ Alnico Pro-II-N Bridge pickup: Seymour Duncanâ„¢ Alnico Pro-II-B Bridge: Locktone tune-o-matic Tailpiece: Locktone stopbar Controls: 2 x volume, 2 x tone, 3-way toggle switch Machine heads: Vintage tulip buttons Metal parts: Nickel Antique color body and neck binding Finish: High gloss lacquer To be honest, I find this guitar looks much nicer than the last signature model (Dark Tobacco Burst). The finish is superb (Goldtop) unlike the other (but that's a matter of taste). Behind the head, you'll find the "Epiphone Limited Edition Custom Shop" logo. (wow^^) The Epiphone Goldtop Slash Signature is sold with a superb black leather hardcase with Slash's signature, a high-quality, thick and comfortable black leather guitar strap with nails, 24 Epiphone Slash Limited Edition picks, and a certificate of authenticity signed by Slash himself (it's not a printed logo but his real autograph!). The quality (and quantity) of the package is surprising. Only deluxe accessories^^. (much better than my Fender I got in a cheap gig bag... But you can't really compare them). UTILIZATION - I already own a Fender Strat Mex Classic Player 60 and I find the neck of this Les Paul very pleasant compared to the Strat. - The upper frets access is not the easiest (but it will be good enough with a bit of practice). The Strat is much better in this regard... Why do they make a 22 fret guitar if you can't play the last frets? - I heard a lot of things about how heavy Les Pauls are... but I won't complain about my Slash Signature! I was surprised to notice that it's even lighter than my Strat. A nice Les Paul without weight problems Add-on 12/11/08 - Weak points (I found several!!): - The guitar doesn't stay in tune from one day to the other - The hard case locking system is not reliable (this problem is not related to the guitar but I had to mention it) SOUNDS The SOUND!!!! I was totally blown away! - This guitar is perfect for me: it couldn't be better since I'm a Guns N'Roses fan. You can play Slash parts (of course^^) but also everything ranging from rock to hard rock... The distortion sound is excellent. I think it's also a good blues guitar but I can't swear it since I don't play blues. - I use my Goldtop Slash Signature with a Vox VT15 and I get very different sounds. The amp provides me several excellent clean sounds and the distortion mode even more... It's AWESOME! I use mainly an amp model (UK25th) that fits my taste in every way... Typical Slash sound. - To be honest, I think all sound variations you can get with this guitar have a Slash feel. And that's the reason why I bought this guitar, so it's a delight. You can easily get a nice smooth distortion sound, similar to the "Knockin' on heavens Door" or "November Rain" solo sound (neck pickup, tone control fully turned down)... You can also get a more aggressive "Nightrain" or "Paradise City" tone (bridge pickup, tone control fully turned up)... You'll easily find all sorts of "Slash" sounds. The clean tone is very good. I can also get the tone of "Knockin' on heavens door" and "Paradise city" intro parts... simply mind-blowing - You get huge sound possibilities (that you already know from Slash and other Les Paul models). If you're looking for another tone, simply choose another guitar. Being the Epiphone Les Paul Slash Signature, this guitar does exactly what you expect from it (and it does it very well). I love all sounds... Powerful and fat in distortion mode, crystal-clear in clean mode. - You can see pictures at my profile page. And if you want to hear how it sounds, simply visit my youtube page! (I will soon upload additional Guns N' Roses covers...) http://fr.youtube.com/user/lowa91 OVERALL OPINION - It's a bit early to post a review because I've only had this guitar since yesterday! But I wanted to share my joy with you and other guitarists because I'm very happy to have bought this guitar. I played it several hours and everything is satisfying. (except for the access to the 3 last frets which is a bit difficult and painful^^...) - I found the guitar and the sound I wanted... It's warm and powerful tone is magic. When I played the first chord a spontaneous "WOW" came out of my mouth! Fender is history!! I like Fender but this guitar is in another level. - I could have bought every possible guitar and I chose this one. I like its look and it gives me the sound of my favorite guitarist (or one of my favorite guitarists). I also heard the Gibson model and I didn't hear any differences... It all depends on what you have in your fingers. I'm not an expert and I think it would have been a mistake to buy the Gibson model (and I find it doesn't look as beautiful as the Epiphone...). It gives you THE SOUND for much less money. So if you don't feel sure, don't hesitate and buy it (this model is very rare and I heard everywhere that it's almost impossible to find it anymore). It's discontinued and a true limited edition. You won't find a better guitar for the price. Its value for money is excellent. Of course I would buy it again. I heard a new Slash Signature will be launched in 2009. In my opinion, it can't look better than this Goldtop so I'm happy and eased to have found one of the last available. The accessories provided are really nice (very good quality and useful) and you immediately see it's not a cheap product. The accessories provided add a lot of value to the package... It's a good deal! This guitar is a collector's item and I'm happy to own one

(Originally written by snole/translated from Audiofanzine FR) The features have been previously described and I give it a 9 because it is very good for this price range. UTILIZATION The neck feels very nice (much better than on the Squier I used to play) but the bolt-on neck is not the best to get to the upper frets. The body is shaped after an SG, so it looks great... SOUNDS The sound is a bit muddy with distortion and the clean sound has not enough punch. But it's not so serious and overall the sound is ok. I recommend you to upgrade to Duncan pickups, the guitar sounds much better. OVERALL OPINION I've owned it since 2006 and I'm satisfied with it... Anyway I'm an SG fan. With a couple of changes the guitar becomes great so it's value for money is good. I would buy it again.

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.

Features — 8 2007 model, made in China. Bought used from a musician. Body is Mahogany with 5-way binding. Neck is Mahogany too with an Ebony fretboard, SlimTaper profile so thinner than a Gibson. There are pearl block fretboard inlays which look very nice. Standard scale length of 22 Frets with two ProBucker pickups. In terms of controls, you get 2 x Volume and 2 x tone with a 3-way switch. The machine heads on mine weren't Grovers but more recent models have them. Overall fantastic features and build quality. Again this is an older model so no coil-tapping. Sound — 7 Suited my blues and classic rock style fine, the sound was fat and full, but could be played clean too. 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. The pickups sounded good but on this older model I found them to be a little muddy. I recently purchased the newer Probucker pickups and found them to be much better, so it could just be an age issue here. Action, Fit & Finish — 8 The guitar was well set up by the previous owner. 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. The tuners are the main issue, on this older model they didn't hold tune very well so I changed them for Grovers. I was impressed by the finish of the instrument, it feels very expensive. Reliability & Durability — 7 I would use this as a second live guitar, or rehearsals and home practice. Reason being the tuners could be better but overall the reliability is pretty good at this price point. Durability is fine. It's dependable and looks quite cool. I had fun using it. The electronics did fail eventually and I had to get them replaced, but this was due to the previous owner's wiring and not the instrument itself. It's a great feeling and sounding guitar, I would easily recommend it to anyone looking for an alternative to Gibson. Overall Impression — 7 More expensive, the Epiphone Les Paul Custom is a definite step up from the Epiphone Les Paul Standard. The pickups (Epiphone Probuckers) are cleaner and of course it’s a gorgeous instrument. This is where Epiphones start to rival Gibsons in terms of quality and finish. As with the Standard, it’s versatile and can handle most types of music. If you manage to find one used for a good price, it’s a keeper. For gigging purposes, the only major change you could make is replacing the strap buttons with locking versions such as those made by Schaller.

This epiphone was the second guitar in my life. I’ve sold my first one to buy this LP from my cousin, mainly because I was 16 years old and wanted to be Jimmy Page. Had it for some good 3 years before moving on to something better and don’t regret it at all. That was quite some time ago, though, at around 2001 there were not as many options of instruments for starters as we have today. It has the shape of a classic les paul, but the top is flat (unfortunately not the nicer looking arched top like the standard epiphones and gibsons), two humbucker pickups, tune-o-matic bridge, one volume and one tone knob that affects both pickups, one pickup selector with three positions, 22 frets, dot inlays and a pretty nice black finish. UTILIZATION Comparing to the other starter guitars (ibanez, jackson and squier), the neck of this epiphone is thicker. I like it, I think it's more ergonomic for my hand and I can play longer without getting tired. One of the biggest problems with these budget guitars (at least here where I live) is that you always get them from the store with a ridiculously high string action (or from the person you've bought it from if he/she didn't know that it could be fixed). So if you're thinking about buying one of these (actually even one of the other brands) take it straight to a luthier and ask him to adjust the tensor and the bridge to bring the strings closer to the neck: this is going to make a HUGE diference in the guitar's playability and tone. Other common issues are knobs a little hard to turn, noisy pickup selectors and the likes... dont't worry, all of this stuff can be fixed and for not much money. Once the adjustments are made you will have a pretty honest axe to play your rock n' roll. The guitar is not heavy, it's weight is well balanced between body and neck and the controls are easy to reach. SOUNDS Back in the day I used to play it A LOT with my Zoom 505 II, plugged into any kind of cheap amp (which also were not as good as the cheap amps today). Maybe it wasn't only the guitars fault, but mine tone knob was pretty much useless, you'd either have to keep all open or the sound would be awful. Anyways, tone all open and string action adjusted: it's a pretty honest guitar to play rock, if you want Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith, Guns n' Roses, Sabbath, AC/DC, Soundgarden, Alice In Chains, even heavier stuff like Metallica or Megadeth can work. Use the bridge pickup for the heavy, sharp, bright tones (think Zeppelin's "Rock n' Roll", "Welcome To The Jungle", "Back In Black", "Master Of Puppets", "3's & 7's", etc.), and the neck for the more mellow stuff (the first two solos from "November Rain" come to mind), some clean tones, or even if you want to sound really dirty with a lot of distortion ("Seven Nation Army" or that great solo from The Black Crowes in "Thorn In My Pride"). With both pickups (tone selector in the middle position) you can get sounds for stuff like (the intro from) "Paradise City", "Mama Kin", "The Jack"... you see, the list goes on and on. Of course, you can play other things with this guitar too, Hendrix, Stones, Stevie Ray Vaughan, it's gonna sound nice, but just not as close to the original tones that these guys had. OVERALL OPINION After all, what I really didn't like about this guitar was the tone knob, as I explained before. About all the rest, I can assure you that for this price this is a really good deal, but if you have some extra 100 bucks it's worth looking at the next series: SG G-400, Les Paul 100, maybe the Gretsch Jet Club. I think that what you really have to keep in mind is: what is you favorite band? And the second? And the third? What kind of guitars do they use? If they're all metal bands, maybe you'll like a jackson or a ibanez more than this epiphone. If they use more guitars with 'single coil' pickups, you might try a squier stratocaster or a tele. But if they're among these bands I've just talked about before, then this Les Paul is what you need.

The color is a cherry sunburst, it is a plus top (100$ worth of paint!) I play all kinds of music, i have been playing for about 3 years I aquired this guitar from guitar center in Naperville,IN, i paid 467$ (with a coupon) I love the action, humbucking pickups, action, look, and just about everything about this guitar, but especially the sound of the alnico pickups, and the action, plus the fact that it has 4 control nobs, and the tune-o-matic bridge I dislike the factory strings that came on it, I would suggest replacing them with Gibson VR10s, or Gibson les paul strings, also the nobs get wobbly sometimes, and the input jack was a little loose after some use (just tighten them up with some pliers, and it will stay) It is a very good instrument for the price, it handles anything from Hard rock, to slow christain chording music, overall a WONDERFUL instrument, and the set neck is wonderful, plus the tuners are grover, so they have no problem with staying in tune Overall this guitar has great everything after some minimal modifications, if you are ever looking for a cheap genuine paul, or just a great overall intermediete-pro guitar this is exactly what you want This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

This is an SG ''faded yellow'' all-mahogany 4-string, short scale. I was considering replacing my SG-Supreme with this regular SG, as I really dig mahogany basses ..... but I did not buy it. I found it at Parkway Music in Clifton Pk NY for $600. <a href="http://www.parkwaymusic.com">http://www.parkwaymusic.com</a> It's just like my SG-Supreme except that it's ALL mahogany, where the SG-Supreme is half maple. The faded yellow finsh looks great, and it has that cool mahogany sound. Nothing to dislike. I just didn't find reason enuf to trade. The Supreme is a bit brighter than my ''ideal'' and this particular yellow SG was close to exactly my tone, but the Supreme's extra brightness is not unmanageable, there was no other special quality of the regular SG that proved to be a ''must have'' .... so I took a pass on it. If I actually needed a pair, I definitely would have bought it. It's a handy shade of difference, in my prefered direction . It's just like the SG Supreme except that it's ALL mahogany. These SG basses are all about the bridge PU. If they didn't have that hot bridge tone, then Gibson's own Epiphone RumbleKat would fill the bill for a short scale mahogany set-neck bass, and at only half the price . If you really want a short scale mahogany bass, it would be ideal to have all three in one shop, the regular and Supreme SG's and also the RumbleKat. Why would you want ANY of these Gibson mahogany shorties ? Maybe cuz you want some variety, but you're mainly a ''California Classic'' player and you don't wanna own TOO many basses. For sure, these are all pretty much the opposite of the ''Leo-type'' California-built ash/alder/maple long scale basses from Fender, GandL, or EBMM ..... so you'd get a really noticeable difference. This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com