tanta07's Full Review: Epiphone Les Paul Standard Plus
I had always wanted a Gibson Les Paul. The sheer beauty of the instrument has always entranced me. The workman-like simplicity of the Les Paul, and it's monsterous tone drew me in. However, being a working class schmuck, I could not afford it's $3,000 price tag. It always remained out of my reach.
I was thumbing through one of my music catalogs one day, and my eyes came to rest on the Epiphone Les Paul. The catalog assured me that it was essentially the same instrument, only at about 20% of the price. I thought, "What the hell...a knockoff of a Les Paul is better than no Paul at all," in a Dr. Seuss-esque moment. I quickly gave over my credit card number and anxiously awaited the package.
I had chosen the Honeyburst finish for my Les Paul; it had always struck me as the most breath-taking of the finishes. The Cherry Sunburst is a little too red for my taste, and the solid color finishes like red and black just didn't suit me at all. It had to be Honeyburst.
The guitar finally arrived one magical day; in a gigantic box that took me what seemed like days to open. I eventually got down to the guitar case and cracked it open. I gasped at the beautiful instrument that lay inside. This was no cheap knockoff...this was a beauty all its own. I quickly got it tuned and ready to go. The first time I plugged it into an amplifier, I was amazed at the broad pallette of sounds I could get out of it.
The guitar has a three-way pickup selector switch, which allows you to play with the bridge pickup, the neck pickup, or both. The bridge pickup gives you a bright, tinny sound. When amplified or distorted, it gives you a nice, biting tone. Imagine Jimmy Page's solo on Whole Lotta Love; high pitched, squealing and voracious. The neck pickup gives you a very mellow, smooth tone. This is ideal for playing clean because it gives each note some space to breathe and everything comes out sounding very lush. Of course, putting the pickup selector in the middle position gives you a middle-of-the-road tone; you can get some squealing leads with some distortion, or you can cut it back a little a get a nice fat, smooth tone.
There's also the 4 main knobs on the body, one volume and one tone for each pickup. These take some getting used to, because I tend to forget which is tone and which is volume, but I usually just turn them all the way up, and then do all my tone tweaking on my amp. The pickups and tuning hardware and bridge are all nicely done. There's nothing fancy here; this is a working class instrument that is supremely efficient at just turning out great tone. It might not be as pretty as a Paul Reed Smith or a Parker, but you're hard pressed to find a more versatile instrument.
The craftsmanship on the instrument is fantastic; down to the smooth-as-glass finish and very playable neck. Some guitars come off the rack with the action a little too low for my taste; it comes off as buzzy and flat. The Les Paul came with the action right where I like it; low enough that speedy runs are a breeze, but not so low as to affect the tuning and intonation. The only gripe I have with the work on the guitar is the strap buttons. Both of them have come off at one time or another. When you're heaving around a very heavy (and very pretty) guitar like a Les Paul, it's extremely unnerving to know that the strap might snap off at any given time. I would suggest purchasing a strap-locking system to alleviate some of the slippage, and also to always check the buttons to make sure they're nice and tight.
The Epiphone Les Paul is simply a steal at 1/5 of the cost of the original Gibson Les Paul. The tone is outstanding, the craftsmanship is top-notch, and the finish is simply gorgeous. I have had my hands on a precious few Gibson Les Pauls, but I do know that for the price, Epiphone does a startlingly good imitation that is worth a look for beginners and veterans alike.
This plain top Epiphone Les Paul Standard is an electric guitar that delivers all the signature sound of a Gibson Les Paul at a fraction of the cost. ...More at Musician's Friend
This plain top Epiphone Les Paul Standard is an electric guitar that delivers all the signature sound of a Gibson Les Paul at a fraction of the cost. ...More at Woodwind and Brasswind
Fantastic prices with ease & c...(Stock status: N/A)
This plain top Epiphone Les Paul Standard is an electric guitar that delivers all the signature sound of a Gibson Les Paul at a fraction of the cost. ...More at Amazon Marketplace
Fantastic prices with ease & c...(Stock status: N/A)
This plain top Epiphone Les Paul Standard is an electric guitar that delivers all the signature sound of a Gibson Les Paul at a fraction of the cost. ...More at Amazon Marketplace
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