OK, I’ve written about a million reviews of Les Paul guitars (see below if you don’t believe me) and the question all of you sports fans undoubtedly have is this: why another review, buff, huh? And the answer is that this is no ordinary Les Paul, but it’s one that you can actually afford and it’s even sponsored by a hip iconic-type rock and roll guitarist!!!

Yes, that guitarist is Slash (real name: Malcolm Worthington Mountbatten III*) of Guns ‘N Roses and Velvet Revolver fame and the guitar is the Epiphone Les Paul Standard Plus Top and it’s a helluva lot cheaper than the $4400 Gibson model is going to cost you so you should give it a look.

Let's make ourselves clear, here: This is the signature model that was released in late 2007 and runs around $700, not the $500 knock off.

At first glance, the Slash LP looks like your run-of-the-mill Les Paul with the usual stuff. The 24 ¾” scale neck is made of mahogany with rosewood fretboard trapezoid inlays. You get twenty-two medium jumbo frets. This is a long neck tenon that Slash wanted for the additional sustain that Epiphone claims it delivers. It’s glued to the body. The headstock has Vintage Tombstone tuners and a little “Slash” signature on it so the girls can see that you’re playing a real he-man’s guitar.

Note that the thin shave neck is the more slender 60’s type neck that Slash prefers rather than the fat 50’s style that I’m used to. The result is that the guitar is a little faster up the neck and easier to play than other LP’s.

The mahogany solid body has a flamed maple top that will deliver nice, warm tones. It’s a Les Paul so it’s heavy and, by my standards, a little uncomfortable for performance due to weight.

The guitar is equipped with two Seymour Duncan Alnico Pro II uncovered humbuckers with separate volume and tone controls that Slash specifically requested for this guitar. Why? Because he wanted relatively low output pickups that provide some growl but not the heavier duty mid-range crunchy Les Paul that most of us are used to.

There’s also a certificate of authenticity.

What’s the thing sound like? Pretty good, to tell you the truth. It’s a good $700 guitar, and that’s saying a lot. It’s ideal for vintage rock and roll or the “lighter” type of metal that guys like Slash play. By “lighter”, I mean music that doesn’t have the gain turned up to 42 and the Boss MT Metal Zone pedal set at maximum, but still has bite and distortion. Like Guns ‘N Roses, fer instance. The neck pick up provides good rhythm crunch when you need it and warm clean leads when you dial back on the volume. Pumped up to ten the neck pickup distorts nicely but not over-the-top and when you dial back on the volume you’ll get clean leads out of it that are a little brighter than the neck pickup. The neck is nice and fast, though not as fast as a Strat or Ibanez.

For $700, there’s a lot of value here. I didn’t see any construction flaws anywhere. The tobacco finish is really quite attractive and although I still prefer either a flame top or solid black that’s just a matter of personal choice. A guy can have a lot of fun with this guitar

So who should buy this guitar Given it’s a Les Paul, it’s for vintage and heavier rock players. The pickups don’t have quite the output of other Les Pauls so I think metal players should look elsewhere. On the other hand, those guys are jamming up the gain on the amps anyway so maybe they might want to look at this, too. For the price, this is a good guitar for intermediate players who don’t want to spend $2000 on a new Gibson LP Standard. It’s also a good performance guitar for pros because if it gets stolen or knocked around you’ve still got your good vintage guitars at home.

All in all, there’s a lot of value in the Epiphone Slash LP Standard Plus Top. It looks cool, plays well, and won’t break your pocket book. Due to its lower-end price and the fact that it’s an Epiphone, I don’t think there’s a great deal of collectibility here but if you hang on to it for a few years you might get something resembling your purchase price for it.

* That’s BS, I made it up.

You may find some of my guitar reviews interesting:

Epiphone Slash Les Paul Standard Plus Top
Epiphone Zakk Wylde Les Paul Custom
Epiphone Les Paul Standard
Epiphone G-400 SG
Fender Classic 50s Esquire
Fender Cyclone
Fender VG Stratocaster
Fender American HSS Stratocaster
Fender Standard HSS Stratocaster
Fender John Mayer Stratocaster
Fender Eric Johnson Stratocaster
Fender Stevie Ray Vaughan Stratocaster
Fender 57 Stratocaster Reissue
Fender 50s Telecaster
G&L Legacy Strat
Gibson ES-5
Gibson ES-5 Switchmaster
Gibson ES-165 Herb Ellis
Gibson ES-175
Gibson ES-333 Memphis Style Hollow Body
Gibson ES-335
Gibson ES-335 1959 Reissue
Gibson ES-350T
Gibson ES-350T
Gibson Les Paul Classic Custom
Gibson Les Paul GT
Gibson Les Paul 1957 Goldtop
Gibson Les Paul Studio
Gibson Les Paul Robot Guitar
Gibson Les Paul Classic Ebony
Gibson SG 61 Reissue
Gibson Super 400
Gretsch Electromatic G5120 Hollow Body
Gretsch White Falcon II
Ibanez Artcore AS73 Semi-Hollow Body
Joe Satriani JS 1000 Solid Body Guitar
Ibanez Steve Vai Jem7
Martin D-28 Acoustic
Ovation VXT Acoustic Electric
PRS McCarty
PRS Single Cut
PRS Santana SE

Schechter Diamond C 1
Variax 700 Acoustic


Other amp reviews from buffoonery:

Crate Acoustic CA30
Crate Power BlockFender Blues Deluxe Reissue
Fender Cyber Twin
Fender DSP 65
Fender 64 Vibroverb Custom Blackface
Fender Super Sonic 1x12 Combo
Fender MH 500 Metalhead
Hughes and Kettner Switchblade 50 Combo
Line 6 Spider II Head
Line 6 Flextone III Plus
Line 6 Vetta II Combo
Line 6 Spider III 75
Line 6 Spider Valve 2x12 Combo
Marshall Super 100 JH
Mesa 5:25 Express
Mesa Stiletto Ace
Mesa 5:50 Express
Mesa Dual Rectifier Roadster
Mesa Stiletto Deuce
Mesa Triple Rectifier Head
Mesa Lone Star Combo
Peavey JSX Joe Satriani Signature Head
Peavey Classic 30 Combo
Peavey Triple XXX Head
Peavey Penta Head
Roland Micro Cube
Vox Valvetronix AD60VT
Vox AD50VT-XL 50 2x12 combo

My effects and stomp box reviews:

Boss AC-3 Acoustic Guitar Simulator
Boss BD-2 Distortion Pedal
Boss ME-20 Guitar Multiple Effects Processor
Boss GT-8 Multi-Effects Processor
Boss GT-10 Multi-Effects Processor
Boss ME-50 Multi-Effects Processor
Digitech RP50 Guitar Effects Processor
Digitech RP80 Guitar Effects Processor
Digitech Brian May Red Special Overdrive Pedal
Line 6 POD X3 Guitar Multi-Effects Board


And you may also be interested in a few books such as:

Hugo Pinksterboer – Tipbook Amplifiers and Effects
Ritchie Fliegler – Amps: The Other Half of Rock and Roll
Michael Ross – Getting Great Guitar Sounds: A Non-Technical Approach to Shaping Your Personal Sound
Nick Freeth – Classic Guitars: Identification and Price Guide






Recommended: Yes