Epiphone '56 Les Paul Goldtop Reissue

2008 made in China, all standard options, bought it new. P-90s, etc.
9 for features because it's a re-issue and contains almost every feature of the original, except accurate tuners. Why would they make that beautiful accurate gold top, cream binding, red mahogany back, and put modern chrome Grover tuners on it? I'm not a fan of the Epiphone headstock shape either, but it is what it is.
The neck shape, if you're familiar with the fat Gibson 1958 style ("baseball bat") and the thinner, faster 1960 style, this is right in the middle. Faster and thinner than the baseball bat, but more substantial than a 1960 thin neck. Very comfortable.

I bought this to use as a blues guitar, looking for that fat growly woody P-90 tone on a solid platform.
Acoustically (unplugged) it is a very bright guitar. The body is one-piece mahogany (not maple capped as the Gibsons are), and that mahogany must be a very hard piece of wood, harder than a maple cap would be.
It's a punchy tone, it hits hard then fades fast, not much of a sustaining guitar. Easily corrected with a bridge/ stopbar upgrade if you want to.
Plugged in, the neck pickup is fantastic. Rich, fat, balanced with a nice edge when pushed, cleans up well and allows the tone of the string and body come through. Sounds like an amplified version of the acoustic tone. That neck pup driven very hard into a tube amp can get muddy, it's better to stay in that magic zone where the amp is just compressing and will grind if you push it. The richness of this pup largely makes up for/ smooths out the punchy lack of sustain that the guitar naturally has. Singing edgy blues solos are it's forte.
The bridge pup is a disappointment, most obvious when you've played the neck pup for a while then switch to it. You'll be wondering what happened to your tone. The up side of this is that pushed hard into a well overdriven tube amp (master volume amp, etc), the bridge sounds great. It's thin-ness at a relatively clean setting translates to a lack of mud and a fantastic heavy metal distorted tone. Power chords rock, single note is punchy. Problem is that at that amp setting, if you switch back to the neck, it's mud city. In other words, the two pups are not a match made in heaven and it's hard to make them work well together.
A pickup upgrade (at least one of them) is needed for a pro player. I used a set of Duncan SP90-2 and SP90-3. Hotter than stock, but very well balanced and perfect for this guitar.

I bought this guitar new, as a factory second/ blem item and saved some cash. For the life of me, I can not see the flaw. They are capable of doing very, very good work in the Asian guitar factories, as good/ better than any of the big USA/ Mexican factories. The binding is perfectly applied and well finished, the gold top paint is perfect and VERY authentic looking, the red stained back and neck are all very well done, no issues that I can see. The mahogany back is a dark red, but translucent enough that you can see the grain showing through. Neck is straight, action good, truss rod properly set at the factory.
I did feel the need to polish the frets at the first string change to make them perfectly smooth and add some lem-oil to the fingerboard, but I do this on all new guitars that I buy as a matter of basic set-up.
However, as well applied and beautiful as the finish is, I grew to hate it. It LOOKS fantastic, but it feels cheap and plastic. I own a Gibson Custom shop Historic 1960 reissue Les Paul with a thin nitrocellulose finish that is absolute heaven. When I switch from the gibby to the Epi, it feels like a piece of plastic. What I've done is remove all of the hardware, etc, and wet-sanded the whole guitar with 800 grit to remove most of the clear poly, and rough it up. Then, I brought the finish back to a soft matte texture with automotive polishing compound, by hand. MUCH better, looks and feels more like a vintage "instrument" less like a shiny piece of plastic, but I'll probably eventually completely strip it and re-finish it vintage correct with nitrocellulose. THAT will be a fantastic guitar.
You can probably tell that I'm very picky, most users will be very happy with the finish on this guitar. I'm just crazy.
10 for the quality and appearance of the finish and construction, minus 4 for the cheap feel of the thick poly finish for a 6 rating.

It's built like a tank. Neck/ body joint is rock solid, the thick hard poly finish will last forever and stand up to dings and hits very well.
The first thing that I did with this guitar is remove all of the electronics and replace them with pro-grade stuff. Switchcraft pickup switch and jack, CTS pots and MojoTone PIO tone caps all with the Gibson 1950's wiring configuration. Vintage style Gibson steel braided wiring throughout. The pots and switch felt cheap, bottom line, and I would expect them to cr*p out and fail or start to make noise rather quickly with regular use. CTS pots have larger shafts than the Chinese pots that came stock, so I had to slightly enlarge the holes and get Gibson knobs as well.
I also swapped the tuners out for a set of Tone Pros Kluson vintage keystones. Seems odd on a 1956 vintage recreation guitar that is so accurate elsewhere, that they'd use modern chrome Grovers. The tuners seemed solid, but a heavy user would probably want to replace them with USA made quality tuners at any rate.
With these upgrades, I have complete confidence in the guitar's ability to last and perform consistently. No problem gigging with it.
7 because of the cheap feeling electronics. With the Switchcraft/ CTS upgrades, it is a 10.

Have not experienced Epiphone customer service. They're a huge company owned by Gibson, I'm sure they'll take care of business if I need it.
My guitar is so modded now though, I'm sure the warranty is void anyway.

For a lot of players, younger/ newer players, this is a fantastic guitar right out of the box. You need something built well that will last, stay in tune, perform reliably and allow you to practice and learn. It has a cool vintage vibe but will work well as an all-around guitar.
For a more experienced, pro player, some parts will need to be upgraded.
Electronics, tuners and pickups. This will allow the owner to build a niche guitar, suited for a certain tone or style he's looking for to add to his collection. This is a specific type of guitar- not a heavy metal/ thrash/ hard rock guitar. It shines with a clean fat tone, or my favorite- tube amp just on the edge of crunch/ break-up. Modern jazz, heavy blues, PERFECT. It offers a lot of nuance and is a very playable guitar.
As well, since it's very well built (good wood, good construction) and relatively inexpensive for it's quality, it's a great platform for modding and customizing to build YOUR perfect P-90 axe.
8 because it's not perfect out of the box, but can easily be made much, much better.

2006 Epiphone 56 Reissue Les Paul Gold Top (P-90's)

I have been anti Epi for the last 10 years or so, I've always got the impression that they were over priced and not worth the price tag even as a beginners guitar. That was until today when this 2006 56 reissue I picked up used renewed my faith. It has a great feeling neck and decent sound out of the box. To all of you coming down on the guitar for it's factory setup equaling a large volume/Tone difference between the neck and bridge pickups - please read my portion of this review under "Sound".

Out of the box it plays great for a beginner/intermediate player or someone who hasn't owned USA Gibsons in the past. You will love it if you are looking for a blues guitar or for something with just enough jangle to not be a Fender.

As stated it plays and sounds good out of the box but, I like others found some weak points/dislikes in the factory setup as well...

......... Dislikes ......

1. The stock plastic nut is garbage, it binds and the plastic is not dense enough to offer any tonal advantage.

2. The Bridge pickup couldn't keep up with the Neck pickup in terms of volume, tone and feel.

3. The intonation was sharp on every string and the factory strings would not stay in tune, it's like they were constantly stretching with each bend and/or re-tune.

4. All the hardware on the Grover tuners were loose.

5. The neck had to much releif which caused buzzing around the tenth fret.

........ Solutions... Don't give up this is a great little guitar if you can find one!

1. I had a new Black Tusq XL Nut made by Graphtech laying in my parts bin for a Les Paul. As soon as I installed it I could hear the difference acoustically, night and day, literally! (I replace standard Gibson Bone Nuts with these on my USA Gibson guitars - It's an awesome product, the nuts are pre slotted and sound better than even natural bone material because Tusq is a more consistant material)

2. I turned my amp on a low volume level and adjusted/raised each pole piece on the pickups individually for the right amount of attack, sustain and warmth for my liking. Do this one pole piece on one pickup at a time - be sure to take your time. Start with your bridge pickup since it is the one that sounds weak compared to the neck pickup. Adjust the pole pieces under each string until you can play each string with even volume, warmth and sustain. Use a scale, the notes will help you hear any volume, attack or sustain differences between each string. After you setup your bridge pickup this way move onto the neck pickup and do the same - play with this until you get even volume out of both pickups and until open chords sound full and pleasing when strummed.

3. After taking care of dislike number 5 by adjusting your truss rod until the neck has only slight relief, intonation is the next step. If you do not know how to intonate your guitar there are lots of instrustions on the net just look up "tune-o-matic intonation adjustment" Intonation is easy and my guitar seemed to intonate quickly with little effort.

4. Check your tuners and make sure all the hardware is tight but, do not over tighten the screws for the buttons. Nothing feels worse than sloppy tuners.


After I did these few things this guitar is a blues machine, literally a tone monster. It has more feel than any NON Standard USA Gibson. It plays and sounds way beyond my expectations and it's price point.

Hopefully my experience helps some of you! Play On!

Read Above

We'll see..

No Thanks, I purchased the guitar used even though it has rarely been played I am pretty sure the warranty has ran out!

One of the most under rated guitars available.

Made in Korea by Unsung in 2002. Epiphone reissue of a 1956 Gold Top Les Paul. Cream P90 soapbar pickups- neck measures 8.3k and bridge measures 8.6k as far as output. Beautiful gold sparkle finish with cream binding, set neck, rosewood fretboard with white pearl inlays. Grover tuners. Neck feels nice- REAL nice. Medium sized feel to it. Mine was bought used and came with an Epiphone hard case. I upgraded the toggle switch and output jack to a Switchcraft brand switch and jack, and upgraded all 4 pots to 500k CTS pots (they were 500k stock). Also upgraded the tone caps to .022uf Mallory's (they were .022uf cheapy film caps stock). It gets a 9 because it has all the features of the original '56 Gold Top, and that's about all you can expect from a reissue.

It sounds amazing! I sold my Mexican Fender Telecaster and bought this Gold Top. My Tele had a P90 neck pickup and a humbucker bridge pickup, and this Gold Top has even better tone than that did. This Gold Top gets great P90 growl! Bitey and raw, but nice and thick too (not thin like a my Tele sometimes was). I play this through my 1965 Ampeg Gemini 1 with original Jensen C12Q speaker and I get GREAT vintage rock tones. The neck pickup sounds especially good. I wasn't digging the bridge pickup (sounded dull/lifeless compared to the sweet neck pup) so I raised it closer to the strings and that helped- but I think I can do better so I ordered a Lindy Fralin 10% overwound bridge P90 pickup for it. That should push this guitar into the "dream-boat" category as far as tone goes. I can't say enough good things about the sound of this guitar. The electronics upgrades I did were merely for longevity sake. The stock toggle worked fine, but upon inspection/replacement it was obviously cheapy quality compared to the Switchcraft. The stock pots were also very cheap and were slightly scratchy- who knows what value they were actually (forgot to measure before I threw them out) but they said 500k on the back. Now the tone caps seem to have added a LITTLE extra "mojo" in my opinion but that is supposedly not possible (in such a low-voltage application, there is scientifically no perceivable difference in sound when changing from low quality caps to high qulaity caps, especially since there is no optimal value in the first place) BUT, nevertheless, in my opinion it sounds a bit more lively/clear as if the signal is being filter more properly. Before the upgrades it was a 9 but I'm thinking this Fralin P90 could push it up to a perfect 10. I mean it- this is the best sounding guitar I've ever owned. And I know there are far too many Epiphone reviews that say this but I'll say it anyway- I don't see what Gibson could offer that would justify spending $3999 on a Gibson Gold Top reissue instead of this Epiphone for far less. Has great sustain and harmonics and sounds loud and tone-full even when you play it unplugged.

I got mine used so I can't say how it came from the factory, but mine is setup PERFECTLY. Plays like a dream. Has action just a tad lower than I like personally (since I play slide too) but I have been playing just fine with it so far. The tuners took some getting used to. They hold tune well but they are very touchy- that is, just a slight nudge on the tuner changes the pitch of the string quite a bit. Tuning is a delicate procedure here. Might end up replacing those tuners someday but no real reason to other than preference. Frets are all nice, no issues. Nut is great. Plenty of sustain and harmonics. Feels very solid and well put-together.

I upgraded the switch, pots, output jack, tone caps, and changed the strap buttons out for some chrome Schaller strap-locks. I think with these upgrades, this guitar is VERY dependable. Without those upgrades, I would only give it a 8 since the quality of the stock pots/jack/switch was not spectacular. But with the upgrades it gets a 10.

Not sure. Haven't had to use them.

Been playing for about 10 years. I've owned at least a handful of other guitars and this is easily my favorite. Sexy, tone-full, and fun to play. Great vintage vibe to it. Can't wait for the Fralin bridge pickup to arrive so I can slap that in there. If you are looking for ballsy, raw, vintage P90 rock and roll goodness in LP form, go ahead and get yourself on of these little beauties. I can't believe how good the stock pickups sound. I'm only replacing the bridge pickup because I'm picky. Most folks would be more than happy with it. I wish Epiphone wouldn't have cheaped out on the switch/jack/pots but that is typical of asian-made mass-produced guitars I guess. It might be cool if it had a Bigsby...

got it used. mine has the "limited edition" logo on the back of the headstock. classic features, already described by past reviewers. to me it has all i need.

i play a mix of punk & r'n'r. i'm not looking for that modern sound - i was still a bit sceptic about the P-90's but found out how great they are! i'm running it into a marshall 900 or jmp super lead, through both it sounds great. i'm also using a boss overdrive stompbox, but i use it only as a booster. the P-90's can be a bit noisy... but you know, shut up and play & you won't hear any noise :)

i think it's all stock (except strap-locks). might change the pickups in the future, but i don't know. i don't think there's any real need for that - even stock it sounds great!!!

i checked the serial when i got it, i think the guitar is from '96 or something. it still looks great, except a couple of scratches gained in time it's flawless!!!

i have 2 other guitars, an epiphone LP standard (with new pickups - you have to change them there) and a gretsch 6120-1959 (reissue). each one has its own sound, all three are great. i always take 2 to gigs, just in case a string problem, even if i never had to pick up a "backup" guitar during a gig till now. i'm pretty much sure this beauty won't let me down during a gig.

never used it... so i don't know.

a great guitar. got it used in great conditions. sounds great stock, not like the LP standard where you have to change the pick-ups. i just put on strap-locks, but if you move when you're playing you have to do that with any guitar, i definitely don't want her to drop on the floor.

Made at Epiphone's factory in China, 2007. Two P 90 style pickups, 2 volume, 2 tone controls, stop tailpiece, tune-a-matic style bridge, Grover tuners, dark, rear stained, alder body, with maple veneer gold top finish, typical carved styled single cutaway Les Paul body. Cream colored top body and fretboard bindings, trapaziodal inlays on rosewood fingerboard. Gibson scale and fret count.

This guitar, especially with neck pup or with both pups on, are wonderful for fat, creamy, clean or raunchier,overdriven blues.I also play some jazzier tunes, and some southern country rock too.I use this guitar with Fender Princeton/Deluxe/Super Reverbs,loaded with a mix of Jensen, Oxford or Utah spkrs,a Marshall Bluesbreaker, a Vox AC 15, both w Celestion Greenbacks and a 50 watt Marshall plexi into a Marshall 4x12 w Vintage 30 Celestions.
With the bridge pickup on,one can get some Telecaster-ish sounds, that are bright, crisp and trebly.Good for country style pickin'.
I use either the neck pickup alone or both pickups 95% of time.

I was simply amazed at the quality of the fret work and the excellent setup from the start.I have raised the action slightly to fit my prefrence and for slide playing in open tunings.
The pickup's outputs are poorly matched with the neck pickup way hotter than the bridge.This is not a big deal for me, since I always adjust volume & tone controls as I play anyway.
The finish work was also surprisingly very good to excellent considering,this price point,and,for a Chinese built instrument.
I prefer the Gibson styled amber volume/tone knobs which are easier to see the settings, than the dark amber ones supplied.Again,no biggie, since I adjust by ear as I play.
It is much lighter than my other "real" Gibson Les Pauls, and this is a BIG plus, and the guitar resonates differently from the Gibson's historic mahogany/maple wood body setup..I like both sounds.
The nut needs a minor adjustment to enhance tuning and intonation stability.

I do not know how this guitar would hold up under constant live performance work. My impression is that it is solid, yet like most guitars one should be careful.

I have not contacted Epiphone regarding this instrument

I have been playing since 1965, and own a mix of Fender, Gibson, Guild,Martin, Dobro, & Taylor electrics and acoustics. In addition, I own a mix of Fenders, the two Marshalls and Vox previously mentioned, plus an Epiphone 5 watt amp head.I generate overdrive and distortion from driving the amps hot, and use reverb. The only outboard gear is a Fender reverb unit, and some different flavored analog delays.I played a Gibson version of this which retailed for $2,800, and it was a superb guitar. At under $400, this is a very nice instrument, and an excellent value, and I would gig out with this. However, it is clear to my ears that the pickups could be upgraded, and I may eventually do that.This guitar feels great, sounds great, is light for a Les Paul,and it looks very close to the Gibson version. To summarize, this guitar at this price, is an outstanding value.

07 Made in China Epiphone Les Paul 56 Gold Top, Features two P90 PUPS, 2vol and 2 tone Controls, plus selector switch. Mahogany body and mahogany set neck.

Played clean, through a 68 Non MV Marshall 100 Super lead, the guitar sounds overall very good. With the selector switch in the middle position, theres a nice hollow sounding honk, great for leads or rythm work. seperation between strings is really pretty good, i never found the sound mushy or congested.

With the bridge pickup selected it sounds a bit thin, more so than my 2001 Gibson Les Paul std, or USA Strat for that matter, dont think i would ever wanna play it clean on the bridge pickup. The neck pickup on the other hand sounds fat and round, not as deep or as rich sounding as my Gibson, but with a little bit more lower mid honk which i liked a lot.

Through an overdrive pedal the bridge pickup starts to come to life, and sounds pretty good, a touch harsh but easily tamed with a tweak of the tone knob. When you get this guitar cranked up and rockin its easy to get some great sounds from all pickup combinations.

I used to own an Epiphone Les Paul Standard some 8 years ago, but sold it as i found it lacking in clarity and tone, it was dead and mushy sounding. Not so this 56 Gold Top which i found very lively expressive and sweet sounding. In fact, i liked it so much i am contemplating swapping out the Humbuckers on my Gibson for some P90s

The Pickups are noisy, about on a par with my usa strat, also there is NO hum canceling in the middle position like there is on a strat, but having been a strat player for many years, you learn to deal with it.

Purchased second hand, so not sure about the factory set up. Intonation is spot on, its well fretted with no sharp edges, frets are reasonably well polished, neck correctly adjusted with just a bit off relief.

Action was set medium low, maybe not low enough for shreders, but i like to get under the string a bit for bending, perfect for that, i think it would go lower without buzzing with a tweak of the bridge.

The nut is well cut, i dont get any string binding in the nut unlike my Gibson which cost 8 times more!, the Chrome grover tuners work smoothly, and the guitar stays in tune very well.

The guitar is quite heavy, hard to say how many pieces of wood its made from as the back finish is fairly dark, but no obvious joins that you can see. Trapezoid inlays are nicely figured and well executed, i cant see any filler around them, unlike some epiphones i looked at a couple of years ago. Strap buttons and most of the attached hardware seem secure and of good quality.

The Knobs are cheap looking and wobble a bit when turned though the pots operate smoothly and quietly, i will probably replace these just from a looks point of view, and maybe the pots too as the rest off the guitar seems very well made and of very good quality. And it sounds good! and feels good.
Top Body and neck bindings are well fitted, though the gold finish has run slightly onto the neck binding where the fingerboard sits on the body, a minor thing which dosent detract from the sound or feel of the guitar, this is the only finish fault i can find.
All in all i would say excellent for the price and beyond.

I would say this guitar could withstand just about anything you could through at it.

No Idea!

I have been playing guitar for 30 plus years, Mainly Strats, currently i have 2 Fender Japan Strat 68 reissues, 2 Fender Japan Strat 62 reissues, A 2003 USA Strat and a 2001 Gibson Les Paul Standard.
Ive had a few Les Paul style guitars during this time , a couple of Japanese Aria Pros, and a Korean Epiphone Les Paul Std, but never got along with them, mainly for sound reasons rather than playability issues, though i could never get the intonation right on the korean Les Paul.

I bought this Chinese Epiphone after reading good things about the p90 PUPs, and i have to say i am very happy with it, for a cheap guitar it really delivers, feels very solid, and apart from the minor finish fault where the neck binding meets the body, it really is excellent. Swap out the pots and the knobs and its one killer guitar.

A lot of people say the chinese epis are junk, i did look at some a couple off years back, i didnt try one but i did notice quite a bit of filler around the neck inlays. This one was made Feb 07 and it really is good, way better than the previous korean model i had.

I reviewed one of these before I think--anyway, we all know what it is and what it does.

This one was made by Saein, in Inchon, Korea, in 1999. I Previously had an Unsung model-- the gold finish on that was nicer. Otherwise very similar guitars.

Now, for those who have played guitar more than a couple of years, and have maybe had a couple of GOOD guitars, no disrespect to the others, but let's be frank--anyone telling you these things stand comparison to Gibsons is just full of it. This is one of Epi's cheapest set-neck solids, and it shows.

It has the usual Korean scarf-joint in the neck-- how could you advertise cheap construction better?

The OE pickups make a kind of a stab at sounding like P90's, but they are muddy, wimpy and unbelievably noisy. Swap them. I put in Kent Armstrongs. Instant huge improvement. As ever with Epi, the other electrics match the bucket-shop pups. Expect toggle switches and jack sockets to die at an early age.

Neck is one of the strong points, action is good, frets are well finished. Outside the guitar, it looks okay; inside the guitar is just a mess. (It tells you something about the Korean mindset--take a look inside any Japanese-made Aria Pro2 from the 80's and wonder at the difference. The Japanese know quality comes from within; the Koreans just care about what you can see.)

The neck joint as seen from the pickup rout isn't even a fit, never mind a tight fit, and it has been bodged together with a big slap of what looks like epoxy. Yahoo. forget craftsmanship with these things, they are cheap, mass-produced factory planks. Solid enough, though, and anyway you're never going to want to take it apart to repair it-- these are essentially disposable guitars.

The guitar will definitely stand live playing. Agricultural they may be, but they're tough. The hardware is decent quality chrome plated, and the tuners are replica Klusons that sem to work as well as the real ones. Fitting Grovers would be a smart move. The electrics will die, but they're so poor you won't miss 'em. Get new stuff when you kick out the old pups.

Never tried that.

Yet again, the truth about Korean guitars is that most of them are pretty damn poor. Apart from the very top-line Epi's like the Lucille, the Sheraton or the big jazzers, Korean Epi's bear no comparison whatsoever to either US or Japanese products. They're cheap and there's a good reason why. It is worth rememberimg that all of these guits are cut out on CNC cutters using the same software, so the difference between a US Gibson and a Korean Epi is in things like the woods, the fit, the finish, the electrics-- all the places where Koreans really seem to struggle to get quality.

If you get one really cheap, and are prepared to stick in some new pups and sort out the electrics, you'll have a good gigging guitar for very little cash--and you genuinely won't care if it gets damaged.

It is to be fervently hoped that the new Chinese Epi's show an improvement in quality over the Korean stuff.

These are okay for what they are-- at the low end of a low-price guitar range. Just don't be kidded into thinking they are what they ain't.

China made Gibson clone,mahony body and maple top white cream bindings.
2 P90 pups volume and tone controle.
Mahony neck whit rosewood board.
Nice gold finish whit chrome hardware and grover tuners

Bridge pick up is little to sharp and to soft,
bridge pick up is a real mean dog!
Hey man this ting really got the blues!
I intend to replace the bridge pick up for a mean one like a Seymor Duncan or a dimarzio

Great action right out of the store and need no set up or adjustments.
Has a very comfortible neck and a low action.

Only play it as a back up guitar at home,but it stay in tune when its tuned.
The quality of the finish is nice,to my opionion it wil last as good as a expensive one

never dealt whit them

Play for over 25 years had a lot of different guitars

This guitar has a great value for the money and really: forgot the name on the headstock and try this one,you be amazed!
Owned a lot of Strats, Gibson Standards en recently brought a Les Paul studio but this one is someting else.
You might not compaire it whit the Gibson,it`s 6 time cheaper but

Gold Les Paul with P-90's. I think everyone knows what it is.

I have to agree with others and say the neck pickup is quite wonderful and the bridge pickup is a joke. I replaced the bridge PU with Seymore Duncan's hottest P-90 and it is much more balanced. I usually dont care for "hot" pickups but for this LP with P-90's it just seems to give the guitar a nasty attitude that I really like. The electronics are not bad at all. The body resonates fairly well. I can only give it a 7 because of the bridge PU, but the guitar can be made to sound much better. A matched set of Lollars would be quite nice too, but the stock neck PU is just really cool.

This is my 2nd new Epi in the last few years and I am very impressed with their build quality. The other is a 335 with a flamed top. I have seen some that were not up to par but you should never buy a guitar without comparing it with others. Both of these guitars play as well as anything in my collection. Of course some work is required if you are able to do so.(The 335 has a set of gibson 57's and it is just a blast to play). Both guitars needed very little in the way of neck, bridge, nut, or fret work. Less than an hour or two. For the price I rate this guitar quite high. Not as heavy as my Gibson LP but I look at that as a blessing.

Seems to be very sturdy.

I did have a problem with the 335 when it was new. The bridge post was locked up and the ferrule had spun it the body. I e-mailed Epiphone and told them what was wrong and that I was quite able to fix the guitar without having to take it to a shop and they sent me the replacement parts and an apology. I was very impressed.

I bought this LP at Guitar Center in Orlando during the Fathers Day sale last year (2007). They had 2 on hand for $399. There was an obvious difference in the shade of the gold paint and the fit and finish. The one I took was missing a couple of screws but had the better paint and the neck was much better in my opinion. I had them install new screws and went on my merry way with a brand new Les Paul for $399 plus tax. If their quality control was more consistant their price would go up. Just shop around and you will find an Epiphone thats a good deal. I have been through way too many guitars in my life and stiil have a decent collection. Gibson LP, 2 Epi's, matching Strat and Tele, 2 Reverends, Dean, 2 Dano's, Gretch, Fender Jazz, and Taylor. The Epiphones fit in my collection very well and I see no reason to replace them. A lot of bang for the buck.

My Les Paul is in the gold top finish, which looks quite nice. It is older, a '97 I beleive, and the gold seems to be a tad darker than some of the newer models of this guitar which I have seen in stores. 2 P90 pickups, usual 2 tone and 2 volume pots, comfortable neck with nice binding, and body binding too. I imagine its all Mahogany, but I don't totally know, because I don't know the specs on the older models. It's got the usual Les Paul bridge, and the old style tuners, the ugly kind with the greenish heads. The usual for a Les Paul, and seems to be a good representation of a '56 model, though I have never personally played one from that time.

As far as music style goes, I'm all over the place. I guess most of the time I'm doing jazz, blues and classic rock, though I also like some indie rock, punk, hard rock, ect. Just not metal, or real hard progressive. When I'm playing, I'm either playing through a Fender Princeton Pro 112, Fender Hot Rod Deluxe 112(wonderful amp) or an Epiphone 5 watt valve junior through an old Ampeg 212 cab (great head for the money) It fits pretty much everything, I mean, the neck pickup sounds great, warm and punchy, cuts through, and with some gain and the tone turned down a bit, I can really get a Warren Haynes sound. The bridge pickup is a bit pathetic though. It sounds good, but it is MUCH quieter than the neck, and sometimes just can't cut through. I know as far as playing goes, humbuckers have a tendency that when you play softer, you can get a different sound than when you pick harder, and it will cut through more (just my findings) and although P90s are single coils, the neck pickup seems to be able to do just that, while the bride just stays the same. To me, the bridge pickup seems tonally refining, because I just can't get it to sound the way I want, and its much quieter. I even shimmed it, and brought it up a little bit, and though it made a difference in volume, not in sound.
The pickups are a bit noisy, I mean, they are really just kind of beefed up single coils, so a little noise can be expected, though its not as bad as my strats. I love the neck pickup on this guitar, because its warm, and cuts through, and has many possibilities, and the bridge, like I said, is a bit lame, but I don't use the bridge pickup much, so I guess its okay for me. I give it a 7, because, although the neck pickup is just incredible, the bridge is lame.

I got this guitar used, well, my father got this guitar for me. Since we are into fixing guitars as well as playing them, he went to town on it before I even saw it. According to him it was kind of lame in general when he got it, I think there was something wrong with the switch, as well as the output jack, and I think it was buzzing a bit, and needed a neck adjustment. Now some of this could be the fault of the previous owner, due to "guitar neglect" and I am a very picky player, and tend to keep my guitars in very good playing condition. The neck feels real nice, its got a heavy finish on it, and is comfortable in the hands. Like I said before, the bridge pickup was quiet, and I raised it, but it still wasn't quite right, I think it is just the pickup. I think there is some evidence of glue around the binding on the neck though, and with the original tuners it doesn't stay in tune well at all. Though I haven't gotten new tuners for it yet (it is inevitable, it really needs them) I have tried ruling out other flaws, as when I change the strings, I've put them on different ways and with different techniques, and adjusted everything to as near perfect as possible on the entire guitar. The tuners are just horrible, as in, I will turn them nearly one entire turn, and nothing will happen, and all of a sudden, in about 1/8 a turn, they will go up atleast a half step. I don't know why it does that, but the only cure I can think of is new tuners. Another thing is, the finish is kind of weak. Now, my main rig is a MIM sunburst strat standard, as well as a strat I custom assembled myself, and both of them have very sturdy finishes, and I'm not to careful about banging my guitars around, because personally, I don't care if they are all dented up, as long as they sound well. Well, one night at a gig I went to pick the case up, and it wasn't latched (stupid me) and it opened, and one of the latches caught the guitar right near the back top curve (where the arm curve is on a strat) and left a pretty nice gash. The thing was, it didn't hit it too hard, and it scratches easy, so just beware if you care about the finish on your guitar with this. To sum it up, it doesnt stay in tune well with it's original tuners, there is some evidence of glue on the binding, and it scratches easily. Oh, and there is also a problem with the input jack that when I plug in with a certain cord, (its kind of a bendy, twirly kind, so it kind of goes at odd angles) and it will cut out, and though I've investigated, I can't explain it, and I know its not the cord, its something with the jack itself.

Like I said before, it dents and scratches easy, so if your not a crazy player, you should be fine. If you move around alot playing, or just carry a guitar around like another limb like I do, you have to be carefull. When I went to tighten one of the nuts on the volume pot, it exploded, it just blew into peices even though I had very little pressure on it. The neck tends to be quite suceptible (I have no idea how to spell that) to the environment, and since I'm a New Englander, my summers are hot and muggy, winters cold and dry, I have to adjust my guitars seasonally, and this one tends to be more affected than others. I wouldn't use it as my only guitar at a gig, but then again, I wouldn't use my MIM strat as my only guitar, it's just not my way, I always have a backup. But, considering it's tuning issues, as well as the thin finish, output jack and tendency to be easily affected by humidity, I wouldn't use this as an only guitar. Not to mention you always have to be carefull of banging the head stock, because a Les Paul tendency is to crack where the headstock and neck meet, as well as where the neck and body meet. So it really couldn't take a hit like a strat or tele.

I got it used, and do my own minor repairs, anything major goes to a pro.

Though I've only been playing about 4 1/2 years, I study guitars. I play and work, and research them constantly, I'm kind of a nut I guess. I've also got two strats, a Peavey Wolfgang special EXP, and an old Kramer/Striker 200st. This guitar plays better than the peavey and Kramer, and sounds better in my opinion too, but it has it's flaws. I love it's neck pickup, am dissapointed by the bride, as well as it's tuning problems and thin finish.