Epiphone Les Paul Classic Quilt Top

Guitar was made at the
Qingdao Plant (Epiphone), China
December 2005

This ia a quilt top with a tobacco type sunburst finish, with the smaller burst. Very smooth finish, high gloss. Neck seems to be 60s type and is very nicely bound with cream binding. Hs the Grover tuners.

Nothing in this world is a "10".

Nice clear sound played through a crate Palomino V32. It si all in the knobs and how you play.

Pickups have their unique sound - even though other say "muddy" I do not agree. Simply turn them down and learn how to adjust your amp.

Can get the harder edge of AC/DC but not Black Sabbath. Need a pedal for that.

Nice factory set up but the guys at Woodsongs (Greg and John) set this up nice. My advice - find a good shop and develop a good relationship. You will not regret it!

Neck Pick was replaced under warranty due to one pole piece would not adjust. Get used to it nowadays.

Solid and dependable. Probably crush just about anything not made of metal or concrete!

Excellent customer support for Epiphone! Very fast response and extremely helpful. Gotta love that!

Overall, this guitar is a 9.5. Way more reasonable than a "real" LesPau. Nice quality, fit and finish. Very satisfied!

-First off, I've had this guitar for almost 4 yrs now. So this review isn't a starry-eyed, new owner's review. And I've also done my share of picking over the past 28 yrs.

-2002 Les Paul Classic Quilt built in Korea's Unsung plant. Standard Les Paul configuration. Amber transparent "quilt maple" top. Parenthesis are because it's a thin layer of quilt maple veneer over an actual alder top. 2 piece mahogany body and also a mahogany neck.

-22 fret rosewood fretboard with medium junbo like frets. Frets weren't in bad shape, but a little elbow grease with 0000 steel wool really made them smooth as silk.

-Originally has Epi's Gibson Designed Alnico p'ups in it. Standard neck and overwound bridge. Almost like the Gibson 490R-498T set. Not too bad for import p'ups but I was going to yank them out and replace them with something of a more vintage PAF flavor. This was already figured in before the purchase was ever made.

-Gave a 5 because it's a typical Les Paul setup. Not a low grade, just typical.

-Originally the sound wasn't too bad. A bit hot for my taste. I pulled the stock p'ups and replaced them with DiMarzio Virtual PAFs. These lowered the output quite a bit and opened up more of that vintage Lester tone. I play everything from SRV to Third Day to Megadeth with this guitar. Even though the p'ups are lower output, they can still cover quite a few bases. Especially with a pedal in front of the amp.

-Using a modded Epi Valve Junior amp. I had a Fender VibroChamp when I was growing up, and all I can say is this little sucker has that TUBE TONE! Mine was one of the early ones, so the mods were almost a necessity. Do NOT underestimate the power and tone of this amp!! If people realized how many albums were recorded with small amps, they'd fall off of their chairs.

-I also gutted the rest of the electronics and installed a matched set of CTS 500k pots and a Switchcraft p'up switch. The stock Epi switch died after about 4 months. Also I have Orange Drop caps in it. A .015 for the neck and a .022 for the bridge.

-I give it an 8 on sound. But now I'm thinking of installing 'bucker sized P-90 p'ups. The madness never ends!!!!! The score may go up, or it may go down after the next phase of mods.

-The guitar wasn't set up too bad. There isn't a "one size fits all" setup, so I didn't care. The action was playable and the intonation was right on. After this, the guitar was restrung with GHS Nickel Rockers 11-50's. I tweaked the truss rod, lowered the action a tad until a faint buzz appeared, then I backed it back up until it went away. Right now she's sitting at 3/64" on the treble side and 3.5-4/64" on the bass side. Measurements taken at the 12th fret with no capo.

-The only finish flaws I could find were a few spots were the stain bled onto the binding and wasn't cleaned before finishing. And a small spot on the back of the neck heel that looks like someone rubbed the stain with an eraser before the clearcoat went on.

-Hardware is a-ok. Those stinking booger green tuners are actually doing their job. No need to replace them yet, but I've been eyeing up a set of Grover Sta-Tites or Imperials from Stew-Mac. Just something to dress this beastie up a bit.

-Next items for her are a new aluminum Stop bar and a bone nut. Is there any end to this madness of modification?????????????????????

-But as it goes, all of the mods I've done, including the DiMarzio p'ups, only ran me about $150.

-This guitar is totally dependable. Especially after the electronics upgrades. It's common knowledge that Epi uses budget electronics, but the rest of the guitar is rock solid. Straplocks are a must though. I have them on my Strats and my bass. Wouldn't go anywhere without them. Don't take stupid risks!!

-Never dealt with Epi's C.S. I bought it knowing I was going to void the warranty, so why even think about it?

-I've played guitar off and on for about 28 yrs now. If it were lost or stolen I'd probably get another one like it to replace it. But then again I AM kind of fond of the new Epi Les Paul Plain Top. I jut wish Epi would use a true maple top like Gibson instead of alder with the fancy veneers. Get a bit closer to the "real thing." But you gotta have that eye candy too I guess.

-I had to have a Lester. Growing up I was a member of the KISS Army. Ace was my hero, and still my biggest influence. Life wouldn't have been complete without a Les Paul in the stables.

Open Humbuckers, Cherry Quilt Top, Grover Tuners, Crafted in China and set up in the USA.

Pickups are good but not great. Good sustain and muddy tones near the 6th string, otherwise decent for the price. Might change the pick ups, but not necessary. Does good job for the price. I would definitly Gig with ths Guitar, although my Gibson Dot has a better sound. But for the price the sound can deliver what you need.

This is where I can lower the rating. Although in general this is a good looking guitar and the finish is stunning, there are some minor assembly flaws noticeable at the neck to the body and some color over run on the binding near the neck. One of the bridge pickups has a plastic burr on it but can be fixed. The neck and action is good on this guitar but have seen some bent necks on other quilt tops I tried. The action is very good. The frets are more than adequate and the neck is excellent. Grover tuners nice touch. Some roughness at the pickup sleeves although very minor - overall pretty good for $450.00 guitar. Pick up cold use beter adjustment/placement.

So far I have not had it long enough to know.

No experience

OK - I have been playing for over 40 years. Have had my share of good and bad guitars. I've owned a Clapton American Strat with terrible action and cost three times the price of this LP. But when you consider the price you getting: an absolute amazing guitar for the price. I would recommend this guitar to anyone interested in owning a Les Paul who cannot afford the Gibson.

This is an addition to my previous entry.

I went back to Guitar center to exchange my red quilt top for an amber one that caught my eye. I liked the fact that I could see the grain better on the sides and back. GC exchanged with no problem. Great guys.

Since the Epi wasn't an expensive guitar, I succumbed to the idea of changing the electronics. Not that it needed a change, just wanted to experiment. This gave me a chance to open everything up and see the quality. To Epihone's credit, these guitars are well put together. Except for the pots, the electronics are pretty good quality. The wood is 3 solid slabs of Mahogany. The veneer top and back are very thin, but who cares, they are beautiful. Channels and routing holes were smooth and clean, all coated with an electronic-deadening paint.

I purchased Sperzel locking tuners, Seymour Duncan 59's neck and bridge pickups and an upgrade kit of CTS 500k pots, Hovland capacitors and switchcraft parts from Specialty Guitars in Tempe Arizona (these guys have great upgrade kits all put together and are extremely helpful, highly recommend them). I did all the work myself. filed a couple of frets that were high and put everything back together.

With all that done, the output of the new pickups were about the same but had a more acoustic, fuller tone than before, taking this already good sounding guitar to an exceptional tone level. If you have the willingness to go into your guitar (this was my first time to do electronics. It's not hard) Then you can have a truely exceptional Les Paul for about a 3rd of the cash for a Gibson.

Epiphone Les Paul Classic Quilt Top, built 12/05 in Gibson's China Epi plant. It's got a stunning top of Quitlt maple veneer in Vintage Sunburst, that has a surprising amount of depth for a veneer. There are no visible flaws anywhere. It's got the urethane gloss finish all over. The sides, back, and neck are all very dark reddish - they look black except under intense light. The body is made of 3 peices of African Mahogany, with the center peice being about the width of the pickups, and there is a one-piece mahogany back to cover up the lines (I think it's unnecessary). 22 jumbo fret neck is Mahogany, made of 3-pieces typical of the Epi, and it's got the slim '60s LP profile. Typical Tune-O-Matic fixed bridge/stop tail, metal Grover tuners. It's got a cheap plastic nut that needs to be swapped out someday for bone, but at least it's cut right. It probably takes away a little bit of sustain. Typical LP controls. Typical two passive pickup configuration, but they are open-coil, "Alnico magnet" humbuckers that they put on the "Classic" models. I do not know if it's just a normal Alnico bucker with the metal cover removed, or if it's made special for the Classic. They sound phenomenal. No accessories were included, not even a case.

When I brought this guitar home, I figured I would change the p'ups like I've heard so many say. But I don't plan on changing these open-coil humbuckers. I'm playing it through a Marshall MG30DFX, and with some drive, it gets tones of classic rock, or soaring, mind-bending soloing sounds. The bridge is very bright, maybe a bit too harsh, but I like it because it has some flexibility with the tone control. The neck p'up with the tone rolled all the way down has a deep, round, full sound with that unmistakable LP tubular singing tone (like Slash's intro to Sweet Child o' Mine) and there is a wide range within that area. With both p'ups together, neck rolled down, and bridge tone rolled up, I am getting these buttery-smooth, vocal quality tones that just sustain forever, and with some tremolo from the fingers, it just sings like a goddess. Playing with the amp settings and tone controls, I can make it roar with chunky thunder - big fat chewy chords. I am addicted to playing it - I can't go a day without picking it up. I don't know if all the classic p'ups are this good, but I have no plans to change them.

Set up from GC was good. I lowered the action a bit, and had to fix the input jack, which I figured on anyway. After 3 months of daily use the p'up switch is fine. I am prepared to change out the electronics - they do have a cheap feel to them. The bridge hardware is all good. The tuners are installed properly, and it stays in tune for long periods of use. The bridge pickup cavity is slightly tilted. It doesn't seem to detract from the performance. As for the quilt veneer top, it is stunning, flawless, a mirror image of surprising depth. I did not expect this from a $375 guitar. It's Vintage Sunburst, and the middle GLOWS when any light hits it. It stops people in their tracks. Cosmetically, it's 99% perfect with only a tiny rough spot on the binding in an out-of-the-way spot. The wood sounds great acoustically, the neck joint is tight and solid (sustain!!). The Rosewood fingerboard looks a little dry in spots, and I had to clean it a little bit when I got it home. Overall, it's beautiful to behold, and I polish it every time I put it away. I take away 1 point for the crappy input jack (easy and cheap to fix though).

It feels solid. I knew when I picked it up in the store - it had "the feel" of the one for me. The strap buttons will unscrew themselves, and I will be repairing them. Right now I play this guitar at home sitting down most of the time, so it's not a problem, but I would address this before taking it out on a stage. It's only 3 months old with daily use, but nothing has happened to it cosmetically. I have heard that the chrome can flake off over time, but no sign of it now. If that happens, I'll replace the hardware with Gibson-type nickel. I bought this for home hobby use, not for gigging. I am a bassist in my gigging career. But I am finding that I love playing it more than I ever imagined I would. I give it a 10 with a minor ding for the strap buttons.

Have had no need to contact service.

I have played acoustic guitar for 27 years. I have played electric bass for the last 10, semi-professionally, gigging with 4-5 bands + many sit-ins. My bass gear is very HQ, pro-level gear. I wanted an electric guitar for years, and dreamed of a Les Paul with a Marshall stack. I went out just to get an inexpensive axe & amp just for fun, in the home, for my own amusement. I tried out Jacksons and Peaveys some other Epi LP customs, all sorts of guitars. When I was asking about the little MG30DFX, the GC guy went over to the Epi LP area, reached way back into them and pulled out this Epi LP Classic Quilt VS to demo the amp for me. When I took it and sat down to play, it felt like it was calling my name. Instant comfort, like an old friend. I bought it and the amp on the spot - $550 for the pair! ($375 +$175). I had my LP and Marshall, although not the $$$$$ rig.
I love the way it feels, the neck, the solid feel, the tone of the wood, and the quilt top, but most of all I am crazy about the plugged-in TONE! It is like melted psychedelic electric butter. It sings like an angel, screams like a demon, and roars like a Rock-n-Roll machine. The tones are seductive in a way that was unexpected. The Marshall MG30DFX is it's perfect mate. If I lost it, I would look for another one like it immediately. It amazes me daily. It was built 12/05 in the China plant. I don't know if I got an unusually good one, like maybe it was made the day the Chinese officials were touring the plant. Could they all be this good? Reading these reviews, it appears that the LP Classic Quilt tops are a special run of instruments. So many positive reviews.

Quilted maple top
Transparent black finish
Mahogany body and neck
24-3/4" scale length
Body and neck binding
2 open-coil humbuckers
Rosewood fretboard
Trapezoid inlays

I play a classic rock style and this guitar suits me perfectly. I play it through a small Vox amp and I can't hear any noise at all. This model featured open coil pickups and they are really quite hot.
Pretty nice sounding clean if maybe a bit sanitary. Add a little distortion and it becomes obvious what this guitar was built for.
I originally thought I would have to replace the pickups, but three years later they are still there.

The action out of the box was a bit high for my taste, but a small amount of tweaking made it just right. The finish was literally flawless to my eyes. The machine heads could be replaced without breaking my heart. I could swear the G string falls out more often than it should. Other than that a very solid axe right out of the box.

I wouldn't hesitate to gig with this guitar, but nobody should ever gig without a backup. I replaced the standard strap buttons with strap-locks, but everything else is holding up nicely. Seems rock solid to me.

N/A

I have been playing for 30+ years. I have many other guitars. Iwould definitely replace it if stolen. It is a sweet feeling axe and I liked it enough that I ordered another Epi LP.

Transparent red quilt top. LP with stop tail piece. Chrome hdwr. Sticker on back says "handcrafted in China". Grover tuners. Open alnico Humbuckers.
2006. Typical Les Paul stuff.

The punch that this Epiphone produces is impressive and accurately Les Paul by any standards. No reason to replace these pickups. Quiet when needed, loud when needed. Great separation betweeen pickups from the cheesy but working selector switch. Tone is, well, Les Paul.

Action, fit and finish is surprisingly good. The factory adjustments were pretty solid. The action can go LOW without fret buzz anywhere on the scale. The wood is as good as it gets for this price range, maybe even a step above. The quilting will tiger-eye about 1/3". No flaws. Glossy, thick poly finish. Very nice. Neck is dark rosewood and arrow-straight. Neck radius is spot on 60's LP. Fat wire frets will get great pitch bends. Grovers are smooth. Pots are smooth, but top hat knobs are off center.

Hardware, wood and finish are all VERY solid. No problem touring.

Been playing 30 years. My main electric is a Wolfie Standard for rock. For blues, a 1952 Gibson ES 150 and a 1975 Strat. Amps: Marshall Valvestate 4X12 and Line6 2X12. Lots of electronics. Got this guitar just to have at the shop. Ended up with a much nicer guitar than I thought. Lost? Probably buy again. Went in Guitar Center for a PRS Standard ES. Compared that, Schecter and a couple others. The Epi blew them all away for the price.
Not the most comfortable guitar, but played, sounded and looked better.
1 pound lighter than the LP. Nice.

All of the features have been listed ad nauseum - but one thing - when I saw the guitar in the MF catalog, it had Kluson - type tuners with the plastic buttons - I was very pleased to see chrome Grovers when it arrived!

I play Classic Rock, Punk and some Blues with it. I play other styles, but they're better handled by my other guitars. I mainly use my Marshall JTM 30 1x12 with matching 1x12 cabinet. This guitar and amp combo were made for each other. Great, punchy lows, good mids and a stinging treble. The pickups are double wax potted and I can't see myself hacking up the guitar to upgrade them. I will say though, that I'll be upgrading the pots, as they are definitely not linear. All things considered, IT IS A LES PAUL SOUND, which is precisely what I wanted.

I took the guitar out of the Gator Camoflage case (I ordered it with the guitar from Musician's Friend), tuned it and havent done anything to it yet. The action and intonation were spot on - no need for any adjustment whatsoever. Very pleased. Pickups were adjusted well, no need to adjust them either. Either a fluke or someone actually took the time to make them right.

Will this guitar withstand live playing? Hell yeah. It weighs within a pound of a Gibson, solid as a rock. The finish is chrome and although I prefer nickel, it will do just fine. The guitar's finish is flawless - it's poly, not nitrocellulose, but I prefer it anyways, as the neck doesnt get sticky. The fretwork is great - at least as good as a Gibson. Not sure about the pickup selector, but I'll swap that out when I change the pots.

The top: I want to love it, but I don't - the figuring is nice, yet the figuring doesnt change with the angle in which you look at it - indicative of a very thin top, but for $399.00 it's still a steal. If I paid double what I paid for it, it would still be half the price of a Gibson!

No idea, and I hope I never find out.

I've been playing almost 40 years, and have a bunch of guitars, some expensive, some not - each has it's own vibe and purpose, and I love them all. I own an EPI Dot and an EPI AlleyKat. I love them both, as they each have their own signature sound and play exceptionally well. I own Fenders, G&Ls, and others, but I am not afraid of taking the stage with an EPI - a true workingman's guitar. It is 1/4 the price of the cheapest new Gibson, but the Gibson is nowhere near 4 times better. For the $$$ I paid for it, it is a ten out of ten, a steal at the price.

I think mine is a 2006, possibly made in Korea, but I don't know as it isn't labeled anywhere as either. The truss rod cover has a scrip Les Paul signature written on it, along with the word Classic. Mine has no pickguard either and no holes for a pickguard. It's a clear amber color. I haven't seen that color advertised for a Classic Quilt Top online, so this might be older though I bought it new. Two open coil humbuckers, position switch, volume and tone controls, Tune-O-Matic bridge and stop tailpiece, tuners marked Grover. It has the "good" '59 Les Paul neck, 22 frets w/jumbo wire. Came with .10-.46 strings.

I play with a lot of rock/blues influences. I use a Marshall Valvestate 2000 and a Vox Valvetronix amp, play straight through the Marshall using only gain and reverb, but use a variety of effects and modeling through the Vox. This guitar is flat out quiet as compared to my Telecaster with Texas Specials. I'm used to the Telecaster and I like its note articulation better (so far), but I wasn't prepared to respect the stock Epiphone pickups this much. I don't think that it quite measures up to today's Gibsons in sound, but it is equal in quality to my '73 SG without question and comes so close as to raise the question. For an Epiphone, I don't think they've ever sounded this good, and I've played a couple of nice Epiphones like those fabulous early '60s models with the mini-humbuckers. It isn't fair to compare it to a Gibson. However, it sounds much better than the one Les Paul I used to have, a Black Beauty that sounded dull and muddy, and it sounds as good as my SG. I have to rate this as an Epiphone and not a Gibson, but it sure rates favorably as a Gibson anyway. Rates 8-9 as a Gibson.

I've seen one surface bubble. It has to be viewed in a certain light to see, but it's there. Mine came from the music shop perfectly intonated and setup. That's why you pay for the local guy vs. the warehouse, the little value-added stuff. Mine had been on the wall and probably handled a bit, but the setup and intonation were fine. I can see just one seam, and I had to look for that. It gives a high quality appearance in person, very dressy compared to the standard models and worth the extra money because of the classy appearance. If it didn't invite a Gibson comparison, I wouldn't mention it. It looks slightly more plastic than those fine current Gibson finishes, like spray car wash wax vs. polish and buffer. Gibsons today are from another planet when it comes to quality of finish. They deserve their current reputation and prices, much like Harley-Davidson and for the same reason, if you value such detail. The Gibsons I owned weren't anywhere near as good as this Epiphone. It was common to have neck pearl inlays fall out, binding come off, crappy wiring, cracked finishes, both visual and functional flaws that were inexcusable back in the 1960's and 1970's. I switched to buying Fender after the mid 70's because I got tired of Gibson shoddiness and the Fenders were better. I'm not very adventurous. It's a single coil Fender or a humbucker Gibson for me, although other guitars have their strengths and I've enjoyed playing some others. This Epiphone is the first of the Gibson type I've purchased with my own hard-earned money since then. I like guitars, but I don't like to keep more than two or three at any given time. I wanted to try the humbucker/mahogany/maple platform again but didn't want to throw away a couple of grand should the quality be as shitty as some older Gibsons and Japanese Epiphones I've seen. This seems to be well made. I love the neck. That's usually been Epiphone's downfall, but this one is like the best of the Les Pauls. This weighs just under 10 pounds but feels heavier. I'm used to a Telecaster which I thought had some weight, but this feels much heavier.

No idea.

They write good newsletters. If I have a problem, I go back to the store I bought it from and see the salesman who took my money.

I've been playing guitar in many capacities for 42 years. I keep playing harder, faster, and louder, and I keep learning all the time. I did a lot of research online before buying this guitar, and I did a lot of shopping comparisons, particularly to Gibsons. I think that motorcycle analogies to Harley vs. rice burners is where guitars are today. I overheard a music salesman say as much while he trying to sell a Gibson to some rich mofo looking for something for his son. "Ya can't lose money on a Gibson, nope, just like a Harley." Can you buy your way to heaven (or hell, like many people prefer)? Sure, just buy a Gibson. Does a Gibson say potato-potato-potato? Sure. Like nothing else. Can you make your money back in trade on a Gibson? Without a doubt. Maybe more. But damn if those Kawasakis aren't pretty nice at half the price, and you can run the dog shit out of them if you don't care about reselling them and they don't break and last thirty years, and I think this current crop of Epiphone Les Pauls are like that. I don't know that I will or won't change pickups. I don't mind, and I like to fuss with my gear. But it's the sound that tells me so, not the marketplace. Too many fat, incompetant slobs out on bar stages all over the country (saw one last night) making up for lack of personal charisma by unpacking a Gibson, too many rock stars who forgot what it took to get there driving up the price of "collectbles". I respect Tony Iommi for making sure there was an Epiphone model named after him that real fans could afford on top of his insanely expensive signature Gibson. He's also a great player I've had the pleasure of hearing live. I think that Gibson is well aware of it's pricing problems and does a pretty good job of filling the market. Like Harley-Davidson, I think they see a handwriting on the wall too. This Epiphone is a fine example, so far. It would be sour grapes to say that a Gibson Les Paul isn't a fantastic guitar. However, it is incredibly foolish to pay those prices for a workingman's axe that is this close to perfection. If you want to invest, call Price Waterhouse or buy a Harley. If you want to play guitar, though, you could do little better than this Epiphone.

2005 Vintage Sunburst. Normal Classic features, 2 open HBs, etc. Beautiful finish, Maybe there's a flaw somewhere, but I can't find it.

I played Strats and frankenfenders before this one. Didn't fully get it. I could hear the diffs when others played a LP, but I liked the Strat sound. Now I get it.
I still like the strat, but the LP is on a different level entirely.

Again, no flaws that I could find. Set up beautifully out of the box, beautiful top pickups perfectly adjusted, etc.

Great hardware stays in tune, solid as a rock, built to last. Take this guitar out and use it. It wants to sing!

Amazing guitar. I've played the Gibby and yes it's better. But I don't know if it's 1500$ better.
get this guitar and play it. You won't be sorry!