Epiphone '57 Les Paul Jr. Reissue

TV Yellow, Limited edition "Custom Shop" 2006 Epiphone Les Paul Jr 57 Reissue. No longer available. Mine was made in Korea, but I believe that was only the first batch...the rest seem to be from the Epi China factory. Mahogany body (2-piece from what I can tell), set Mahohany neck (3-piece from what I can tell...headstock, main, and then heel). Grover tuners, compensated wrap-around bridge, Dog-ear P100 stacked humbucker Epiphone Pick up.

It's a Les Paul Jr, so it's a bit pointless to rate for features per say, but for a fairly cheap guitar, I'd rate it as having average to slightly above average hardware...pickup excluded.

Acoustically it sounds quite nice. Good resonance, full and balanced.

From the factory, the plugged-in sound leaves a bit to be desired. The stock P100 is really, really weak and flat sounding in my opinion. It works well enough with a distorted / overdriven sound, but there is no richness or warmth to the sound. Clean, it's just plain dead. Some of this is related to the fact the stock pick up is way too far away from the strings, so you can space it closer and it improves, but it doesn't live up to how good it COULD sound...there is a lot of potential here, let down by the stock pickup.

So, I swapped the P100 for a Lindy Fralin P90, 10% overwound, designed for LP jr bridge use. (its a bit taller) After a few minutes with a soldering iron, I can say this is a HIGHLY recommended upgrade. It was my first time using a Lindy Fralin pickup, but I doubt it will be my last. Cleans are completely transformed. Richness, detail, balanced output, everything is there. Turn it up a bit, dig in and it has that perfect P90 crunch. Johnny Thunders, Pete Townshend? it'll do it. Not that I care about copying a sound, but those are some people I admire musically that have played P90's, and with the new pick up it's right there. There is less noise from the Fralin than there is from my Casino, for what that is worth. I absolutely LOVE this guitar now.

So, stock, rated about a 4. With the 10% overwound Lindy Fralin P90, a solid 8 or 9, easy.

Well, as I found out, it was a bit hit or miss. The first example I had ordered online came with what can best be described as spotty paint work. It was very thin in certain spots, very thick in others, lending it quite an uneven look. The other issue was at the headstock, where it had clearly been moving around in the packaging during shipping. There was a good portion of the finish rubbed off. It doesn't surprise me that so many of these seem to have had their headstocks broken in transit...they are / were not very well packed. I shipped it back for a new one, and luckily they were not out, and the second was much better. Not only was the finish much, much better, but the weight and balance was more even as well. The first was a bit light in the body.

The action was high, and the neck needed some slight adjustments, but other than that it's solid. No problems with the connections, controls, or anything. There is more play than I would like in the posts for the bridge, and it doesn't have a ton of adjustment, but intonation is surprisingly spot-on after some slight changes. REALLY! For now I see no reason to change anything else. I'll upgrade the nut eventually, but for me this is more than fine.

In terms of woodworking, it's very well done. The frets are smooth, with minimal buzz even at a fairly low action. Neck is thicker than the neck of the Casino I have, but in that "just right" way, it doesn't NOT feel too big. (like a PRS SE)

The poly paint is mighty thick. It's a bit mustardy compared to a real TV yellow, but it'll pass, and it's the closest I'll ever come to a 57 Jr, so it works for me! You can see the grain, so that's cool.

Well as mentioned a lot of them seem to have a broken headstock from the factory shipment being bounced around a bit much. Mine fell flat om it's face from a guitar stand onto a hardwood floor and it escaped 100% unscathed. The strap buttons were small and not to be trusted. Replaced with Schaller strap locks and she's good to go!

Never dealt with Epiphone, but Musician's friend was awesome about the exchange for the paint problems on the first. So they get a 10.

I'm a fairly new player, just a few years. I have a Casino and an Agile LP copy, some standard array of pedals and a V18 Crate Amp. I was honestly not in love with this guitar when I first got it...hence the 2 years that went by before reviewing it. I have played it less than the Casino, which is a slightly younger guitar, and I even considered selling it at one point. Man, what a mistake that would have been!! With just the pick up change (and the proper set up for action, intonation and neck relief), it is 100% transformed. It was cheap, it plays awesome, and sounds fantastic, just like a proper Les Paul Jr should! If you can find one that feels right, I highly recommend picking it up. It won't impress many headstock snobs or elitist types, but it's an awesome guitar. I would be gutted if it went missing.

bought 2007 made in china. upgraded with lollar p-90 and all usa wiring harness with treible bleed. its simplicity is its character.

the stock p-100 sounded good and was quiet but lacked range of a quality p-90. with the lollar it goes from mellow cleans to growling overdive with the twist of the volume knob. very heavy guitar with tons of sustain. use mostly in home-studio with small 15-watt tube amp and vox valvetronix ad30 sounds great with both.

action was a little high but easy fix. intonation was pretty good with the limited adjustment. neck was striaght and plays well with no buzzing. stock p-100 needs raised closer to strings. no noticible flaws in finish. sunbust seems darker than on gibson models but still looks good . cant comment on tv yellow.

with the usa electronics and straplocks this is a solid guitar

have not dealt with

stock this is a good guitar worth the purchas price. with upgrades i have 380.00 invested and it nails the jr vibe for about halve price. im totally satisfied.

brand new. a U*FIX from ebay. broken headstock. solid mahogany heavy(surprisingly) body. fine finish.22 frets.one p100 one volume one tone. one pickup and the truth. wraparound bridge. grover tuners. slim neck compared to some of my others but comfy. i glued the headstock back on , refinished it and hey it's great. i play through single channel amps and one pickup just adds to keepin' it simple.

absolutely a ton of fun to play. i may put in a p90 but boy can i pile the gain on with the p100. stood right in front of my amp and hard to get it to squeal. i have sovtek mig 100h w/4x12 and a sovtek tube midget combo as well as a new crate 18 tube combo. my fx are as follows, a dano wasabi(absolutely killer), a snarling dogs wah, a boss sd-1, an ehx lpb-1 into a boss tu2 tuner and then to all 3 amps. both sovteks have a boss dm-100 delay on top. great tone.singin' leads. chunky rhthym. not noisy.very nice frets and neck. body very substantial in a good way. as much variety as your imagination. play soft play hard adjust volume and toneetc. basic. tones in the fingers to. absolutely love it.

as said broken guitar but once repaired no issues at all.

i never gig without a backup. ithink this guitar will be used live. even with the repair job. the theory of course is that the glue is stronger than the wood and will never break there again although it's hard not to consider it fragile. but i think it would be tough enough and an unbroken one for sure.

no warranty but they responded right away when i asked what kind of finish was on it.

been playing forever. searchin' for tone. besides the amps and pedals i have 2 gibson studios, a vintage mahogany and a ruby double cut, a hagstrom reissue swede, a 90s epi sorrento, an epi korina sg, a les paul copy that i put together, 2 teles, one a single tele pickup model and the other an all mahogany 2 humbucker tele and an all mahogany set neck 2 p/u guitar that i built. this epi is great. a whole lot cheaper than gibson models like it but a whole lot of guitar. try one you'll like it.

Made in China. 22 frets. Solid mahogany top. 1 volume, 1 tone (all I need basically). Passive Epiphone P-100 pickup. Lacquer finish. SIngle cutaway body. Epiphone wraparound tailpiece. Grover tuners. The next is not chunky like a 50's neck but it's definitely not 60's either. It's something in between.

This tone monster is great for my style (post modern punk rock) although I would play other styles with it. I use it with a Marshall TSL 60. I like to play with the settings often. i can make it sound like a tele or like a les paul. This guitar is so versatile is not even funny. Les Paul Juniors are the best guitars out there in my humble opinion.

I have 2 Epi jrs ( I collect all types of Les Paul Jrs worth buying) the factorey set-up was flawless. I didn't realize the pickup was far from the strings until I raised it (just put some foam under the pickup). It makes a world of a difference. Better definition for sure. I was a little disappointed with the Vintage Sunburst finish. it reminded me for of the Gibson USA Les Paul Jr than the 50's or Custom Shop versions. The TV yellow one looks great though.

I've gigged with the one of the epi's and it was great. It was my backup. The strap on my Les paul custom broke so I went to grab the Epi Jr ,thinking that i would change teh strap after the end of the song but i liked it so much that I ended up using it for the whole set.

Haven't dealt with them. Probably never will.

I've been playing for 9 years. I also have another epi 57 reissue (Vintage Sunburst), Gibson Billie Joe Les Paul junior, Gibson Custom Shop Les Paul Junior, Epiphone Les Paul Custom, LT Viper 301, Eastwood Savannah, Squier Jagmaster, Fender american Telecaster, etc. The only beef I have is the color on the Vintage Sunburst version, other than that it's an amazing guitar. If it got stolen I would definetely buy a new one but they're getting hard to find though (they're limited edition). I love everything about it. The simplicity doesnt affect its versatility. Check out www.myspace.com/explodeandrebuild if you wanna hear some recordings tunes recorded with my Juniors. Peace

Basically what you would expect with a Les Paul junior, 1x P100 PU, 1 volume control and 1 tone control. 22 Frets, solid bodied guitar.

The guitar suits my style of music (punk) relatively well, although I would say as many others before that it is a more blues/rock orientated guitar. The P100 really frustrated me at first, was far too low out of the box and I still haven???t replaced/changed it. Distorted it???s a very nice guitar, great for a jam but clean it seems to turn ... boring and dull.
I will probably put in a Gibson P90 later but for now the P100 does the job.

Finish is not what i imagined it to look like, out of the box from a first glance it looked darker than i expected but still a sunburst finish none the less. I bought it from Thomman in a sale in May thinking it would look like a replica of the Gibson les Paul junior and to an extent it does but I would prefer it if it was a lighter yellow/orange in centre and a darker black around the outside.
The bridge was way too high, had to lower it right down but it a nice guitar none the less.
The input jack is rather scratchy but perfection is boring i guess.
Very strong guitar, takes anything I throw at it although a little on the heavy side, for its price its a great piece.

It would withstand live playing easily, the finish looks like it will crack over time but I???m not one to moan, strap buttons sucked and I replaced them within 2 days of getting it.

Never Used It.

Overall i can get a wide range of sounds out of it, but i still feel there is something missing. Very thick chunky neck on it which i must admit I don???t like very much but it has that "WOW, COOL!" look to it.

beautifully finished ,albeit lacquer, single cut , mahogany body .the finishing job on the frets is top drawer . set neck ;chunky ,but not as bat-like as some I've seen .single p-100 p/up was kind of weak ,changed to a scatterwound Lollar p-90 . TONE-tone-TONE. single volume , single tone contols . a 9 'cause the orig p/up was wimpy .

always wanted a p-90 guitar , now I know why . played through a keeley modded boss bd-2 into a '72/'73 silverface vibrochamp w/orig jensen spkr .glassy sweeeeeet-ness at low guitar volume . starts spittin at you at about half volume , naaasssstiness at higher levels .

don't know about others , but this thing played flawlessly out of the box . like butta ...

seems to be solid . the strap button on the lower bout was stripped out but tht problem was easily remedied . this would probably gig w/o backup but why take the chance .

no real need for customer support from epiphone , it's a $200 guitar !!! what do you expect for $200 ......??

See other reviews. Not many extras on this one. I got the tv yellow one... made in china. I rate it low in this category because it supposed to be a reissue of the 57 jr. It's not even close. They put a 'modern' humbucking (not vintage sounding) pup and thinned the neck. I've played 50s jr's, and they have huge necks. I love that.. this guitar does not have that. I guess it looks like a 57...

Well, the p100 is thin with low output. Maybe if you could get it closer to the strings it'd be ok. I plugged my old mexican tele (with stock pups) in to compare... it has more output! Acoustically it's bright, which is something I suppose. I'd do the mod disconnecting the second coil, but I'm not keeping this one.

Well, I ordered a blem/returned one, so maybe this doesn't apply to all of them?? First the bad: the guitar feels cheap. It's hard to describe, but after playing this for 10 minutes my $300 taco tele felt fantastic. Not to mention the g&l and (real) 80s gibson I own. There's a certain solid feel that this guitar does not have. I kept waiting for it get comfortable in my hands, but it never did (I kept it a week before returning it). Don't get me wrong, it's a hell of a lot better of a guitar than you'd have gotten for $200 10 years ago, but it's not a great guitar. I have a couple of great players and I decided I did not need a cheapy. I should also add that I had to adjust the crap out of the thing when it came... no surprise, but I had to completely loosen the truss rod to get the bow under control (this doesn't seem right to me)... I also had to lower the bridge almost all the way down (it started buzzing a little.. I raised it slightly)... and the action is... great for a $200 guitar... but not great compared to my other guitars. And finally, it comes with grover tuners, but they don't seem to be very good??? are they possibly b-stock grovers or something? I have grovers on my gibson, and those are pretty good...

The good: There are uneven spots in the finish, but it still looks pretty snazzy. My girlfriend thinks it looks good.

I can't see this thing really falling apart, but I wonder what would happen to the neck when the seasons change... I can't loosen the truss rod anymore!

Well, I'm returning it to musicians friend... that's cool. Can't do that on ebay.

Don't know anything about epiphone. So, 9 for musicians friend.

I've been playing for 15 years. I've got an 80s gibson ('the paul'), an 80s g&l (f-100), and a 90s taco tele. All real players guitars... nothing flashy, but they feel great (even the cheap fender). The jr is ok verging on pretty good if you consider the price. But I don't need an ok guitar... I'd never play it. Know what you're getting into... I was hoping for a miracle, I guess.

One P100 volume and tone control. LP style mahogany body, combination wraparound bridge/tailpiece, sunburst poly acrylic finish, single dogeared P100, Grover Rotomatic tuners. Not many features but, I knew what I was getting into, so I'll rate it a 7.

Some might claim that this guitar isn't very versatile, but I can get a good P90 sound out of it. Played for about 10 minutes just to make sure it was a thin and lifeless P100, then pulled the strings. I took the PUP out and desoldered the wire from the lower coil, tucked it, and put the PUP back in. This is the Fralin mod, at 12K, it is probably hottest P90 I've measured. Strung it up with Dean 10s and played it for an hour through a modded VJr head. Plugged it into an AVT50, for about 20 minutes. I then swapped the cap for a KimberKap .047uf. This sounds very vintage through the VJr, less brighter but thicker. Tremendous tonal improvement over the P100. I may still put in a .068uf foil orange drop and 500K CTS pots.

It was set up quite well. I brought the bridge up some slightly. Checking the intonation, it's a little off. Could add a Hipshot baby grand bridge or something, but frankly I probably won't. Think the top is a vinyl applique or something. No flaws, the acrylic finish is kind of grabby.

A big fan of the flat top, this will probably be a tank. 10-46 Deans stay in tune quite well. Replaced the strap buttons w/ lock n' rolls. The finish will probably crack with time, these acrylics usually do.

I think my mods voided the warranty. But, in my experience the Gibson Warranty is about worthless anyway. They do have good response, not much help if you actually need a repair due to defects in material or workmanship. Sorry guys, love your guitars, but I can't in all honesty butter this up.

Playing longer than I care to say. Been wanting one of these since they originally came out. Lost out on the initial offering, and bought this sunburst off eBay, brand new in the box. As stated, I knew what I was getting into. It plays well and sounds very vintage. Other than the brightness, which I can easily dial out, I'd have to say that this is a very good Junior that I will never sell, and wouldn't want to have to replace. I'm tuning it to open D for bottle necking. Hope nobody minds. With the PUP mod, it's a keeper.

same feratures as all '57 reissue epi jr.s this one has a very nice brownburst finish that just jumps out at ya!!!

sounds quite amazing with the stock p-100; you get the p-90 snap without the chainsaw buzz!!! clean it sounds great and driven sounds all out rockin'!!! have an epi p-90 i might swap it out for, but i would probably go back to the p-100!

right out of the box it was ready to rock!!! great action, finish looks awesome, all around an excellent axe for only 199!!!!!!!

will put on straplocks for sure(standard on all my guitars) and that is all i need to do! built like a tank and will definately gig with it!!!!!

been playing for over 27 years and own an epi 50th anniversary les paul custom(reviewed here), and this jr. if lost or stolen would have to replace, no question!!! i have played every kind of gibson les paul there is, and for my money, epiphone blows them away!!!!!!!!

this is a follow up review from 3/15/07: ok, i got the bigsby b5 vibrato, and put it onto the geetar myself (im surprised the geetar even intonates now!) and it does some nice gradual bends, and note flutters. the bridge i used is a standard NICKEL stop tailpeice that it filed grooves over for the strings to travel over. the geetar loses some sustain, but i don't mind, cause it was so cheap, taht im not worried about the resale value. i just like the instrument to play. it stays in tune well, and i can use the vibrato, and that is one thing i can't live without on a geetar!

again, a follow up to the review on 3/15/07: since i swapped the original p100 pickup that i hated in it for a little bit nicer, but ceramic p90, i have since installed a beautiful duncan antiquity p90 pickup in it! the thing screams. i put shims under the pickup to get it closer to the strings, since you get more body out of the pick up when the whole magnet sits closer to the strings, as opposed to just the pole peices of the pickup. for some reason i get a twangy sound on the low E string, but thats a good thing, since its hard to get mahogany bodies to twang that well! i still go through the vox ac15 and the fender deluxe reverb reissue and it sounds killer together! total rock n roll, and now with the bigsby and the duncan antiquity p90, the thing is built for the stage!