Epiphone Les Paul Black Beauty

This is a copy of the Gibson 3-humbucker '57 Les Paul Custom. It was made in the Samick factory in Korea in 1997. The pickup selector switch is R/MT/T. The middle and treble pickups are wired out of phase.

I have played this guitar a lot for 3 1/2 years. I tend toward blues and progressive rock. I play through a Fender Superchamp/Rocket A10 dual amplifier setup. I liked this guitar right away, it plays well and in tune. As far as the tuners go, sometimes it stays perfectly in tune for days at a time, other times it is the G and/or B string that needs attention. I changed a lot of things. I re-shielded the control and pickup cavities and wired the switching so there were 3 volume knobs and one master tone. I also replaced the pickups with Duncan Jazz, '59 and JB. (With the middle and treble pickups no longer wired together I saw no need to make them equal output so I graduated them instead). I installed push-pull pots to get phasing on R and M and series/parallel on T. I also made a new micarta nut and installed it. I never would have gone through the trouble if the basic construction of the guitar weren't so sound to begin with. Now the sound is lovely, you can get awesome crunch and low-end throb and ethereal nasal tones, and everything in between.

This guitar is fully appointed with creme binding and Custom inlay on the headstock. The hardware is gold. The neck is U-shaped and fairly sleek. It has a glued-in neck and the woods (mahogany body, maple top, rosewood fingerboard) all seem to be good quality. It is beautiful to look at and my guitar has no cosmetic flaws that I can see. At least until I got aholt of it (there are a few solder burns now). Here we come to the qualifying part. This is not a Gibson! It lacks refinement in some ways. Although the neck is set up perfectly, the low frets on the low E and A strings buzz a little unless the action is set fairly high, and then they still can buzz, although not audibly through the amplifier. There is nothing in the setup to account for this, that's just the way it is. And the guitar has sweet spots and somewhat dead spots, it's just not totally consistent. But for the most part, the money spots are there. It's just a bit quirky. But it does sound really good for the total of a 900.00 investment (including mods). And it looks as good as ever. It is not and will never be a primo Gibson. But if you start with a guitar that plays well, add mods and elbow grease and your own discriminating ear, you can come close! [Lecture time: are you a professional musician with a healthy income or a doctor who plays in your spare time? Buy a top-of-the line Gibson! But if baby needs new shoes, don't! Putting a 2000+ guitar on a credit card can be a cry for help!]

I have been playing this guitar for years now, and it is totally solid. In fact, it sounds better the more it is played. The hardware (with the exception of the pickups, which I have replaced) has held up fine and the gold plating has not worn off. The strap buttons are solid. Get a soft leather strap for this guitar, it is heavy (mine is nearly 10 pounds). The balance is good, you just don't want anything cutting into your shoulder. This guitar would need no backup.

N/A

I have been playing guitar for 32 years. This is the first electric I have owned (I have always borrowed my friends' instruments - everyone seems to have an electric guitar they never use!)If it were stolen (i don't know why anyone would, with all the mods it would just confuse them), I would buy something else, probably. There is so much out there right now! It's a great time to play the guitar.

'98 or '99 Les Paul. Standard Les Paul set up: 22 frets, H/H/H pickup configuration, I won't go into too much detail because the other reviews give the rest. Mines got an ebony finish, gold hardware, vibratone tailpiece- this guitar is beautifull!!! The tuners are ok. I got a great hardshell case with it. Probably the only problem is that it weighs a ton, but thats the price you pay for that great sound

This guitar sounds awesome! The third pickup definitely improves the sound. I'm playing through a Marshall VS265 (love that amp too!) and it sounds like six-string perfection. I can get a great heavy distortion sound and a vintage, blues-like sound too. The sound has that nice bottom end and mid crunch with the clear highs.

It came set up perfect, the action was a little low but thats the way I like it. It plays wonderfully, even nicer than some Gibsons I've tried.

So far this guitar stood up. It seems to be built like a tank. I could probably throw it through a plate glass window and not even scratch the finish(but who would want to). I probably wuldn't gig without a backup just in case you drop it, but thats why I bought strap locks.

never dealt with them

How many times can say it, I love this guitar! Its got the calssic Les Paul sound without that hefty Gibson price. If I lost this guitar, I would definitely buy a new one. If I ever buy another guitar, it will probably be a Gibson SG special, just something that doesn't break your arm if you hold it too long.

This guitar is absolutely beautiful. Arched neck, pearl inlay, abalone custom headstock, arched top. The Vibro-Tone makes it look even more classy. The humuckers are durable aswell as beautiful. The bindings and gloss are superior.

The guitar sounds excellent. Although the pickups are microphonic, adjusting tone and switch can take care of that. I wouldn't recommed this guitar unless you're going to get a great amp with it, or you won't hear any difference from a squire strat.

No Kidding. I love my guitar, but there was enough factory defects for it to be a factory second. There was scratches on the humbuckers, paint on the hardware, no paint on parts of the neck, and some of the Vibro-Tone was silver.

Excellent. Hard as a rock. Get really greasy really fast.

The customer support is the pits. I called them regarding my finish problems and they couldn't offer me any support. Also, if I wanted them to even just inspect it, I had to pay the $100 to ship it to them. Just Awful.

I love this guitar, but I would never buy another one. The guitar is great, but the warranty is worthless, and I would have been happier with a Fender Stratocaster.

Usual 22-fret Les Paul Design, but with 3 humbucker pickups Black gloss finish and gold hardware...beautiful.

Play mostly rock and blues, suits the styles fine. Usually just play through a little fender practise amp, but I hooked it up to a friends marshall and it sounded awesome.
Pickups are a little microphonic however and I might change them in the future..but they are fine for now.

Good low action, beautiful finish.

The guitar is very robust and will take a few knocks....if i was good enough to play live (i will be one day hopefully), then i would have no hesitiations in using it without a backup..

Never used 'em

I have been playing for a year and a half and got sick of my crappy Squier Strat (affinity model)..wanted a decent guitar but was on a budget. Got a real bargain with this guitar, and it looks gorgeous as well. Kind of miss the tremelo bar a little, but you can get them with trems fitted. If someone stole this guitar, i would scour the earth for the motherf***er. Would definately buy one again though if it were to go AWOL.

It's your standard Black Beauty Triple Pickup. 22 frets, factory pickups, with an SKB case.

I play in a church youth group, we play some different kinds of music, from Christian rock, to punk, to slow driving styles. So far sounds great with my setup; A Peavey Bandit 112(Scorpion speaker), Zoom 505 effects, with expression pedal. Sounds really good with a little crunch, awesome with a really heavy metal setting, and totally awesome clean, with a little chorus, delay or anything. Can make any type of sound I want with my setup, fat, tight, it's the best sounding guitar I've ever owned or played.

Only problem was, when I had the guitar for a little while, it started to have rattles on the first three frets. And had a slite flaw on one of the volume knobs. Pickups were fine, bridge was fine, needed a new neck set to fix the rattles. I didn't have a warranty, that sucked. But, played even better after the new neck set!! Good balance. It's a heavy guitar, but you make up for it in sound quality.

Best guitar I've ever had, take care of it, and it will take care of you. The gold finish on the hardware will eventually wear off, but, you can't really do anything about that, just a fact of life. Play it live all the time, no backup, strap buttons are solid.

No warranty, never dealt with them.

AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I saved $500, from them, awesome guitar, awesome value!!!

This guitar is the infamous triple pickup model les paul. It has 22 frets, a rosewood fingerboard, carved top, rectangle inlays, and gold hardware. Enough pretty equipment to give you a boner. The neck is binded and the bridge is a standard tune-o-matic. The finish is, of course shiny black. It weighs a ton, and prohibits jumping around while wearing it. Compared to my other guitars, this one has a lot of cool stuff on it. Thank GOD there is no whammy bar. I swear those things were built to detune even the cool guitars. Um, what else...this guiar was purchased at a pawn shop, so no warranty did I get. The tuners are gibson tuners. oh yeah.. Too bad the guitar isnt.

I play punk rock. Yeah, I know, why does a stupid punk own a respectable guitar? Well, tim armstrong plays one, and the white guitar player from the specials plays the gibson version. When I saw it in the pawn shop I let name recognition get the best of me. Anyway, its pretty standard knowledge that epiphone stock pickups suck - and this it true. I play through a Fender deluxe 85, which I think can make anything sound good - except my epi. This guitar does really good on the low end of things, and a good variety at that. Great on clean. High gain makes the pickups squeal and feedback like a microphone would, though. That sucks. standard pickups have no punch and the only thing that is cool about them is that they are gold plated.

Ho, baby. This guitar is awesome to play. The action can be set reallly low without buzzing. If I could wail, believe me I would. This les paul is balanced really well, the neck wont fall if you take your hands off of it. The bindings around the body of the guitar are smeared in some places, but, hey, its not a gibson. Everything seems to work just fine, and it plays very good. The pickup switch is a bit noisy, but I fixed that by bending the metal connector back into place. No biggee. There are no structural flaws. If there were Id be very mad at myself for buying a shitty guitar.

This guitar is reliable. It stays in tune, at least for me it does (the other guy says it doesnt) The finish is scratched up quite a bit, but it is not wearing away or rotting or anything. The gold hardware is starting to come off. Oh well. The hardware itself seems really durable. I dont think I will ever have problems with any of the hardware peices. I play this guitar alot, like everyday. Ever since I put in a seymour duncan, it has sounded lots better and there is no squealing. I would never go to a gig without a backup, thats just dumb.

nope, never dealt with em. I think epiphones have a lifetime warranty, but thats probably for the original buyer.

This guitar is built well. I really like it alot. Its such a change from my jackson that I like it even more. The stock pickups suck, but thats to be expected. Who cares. I just put in a seymour duncan in the bridge and everything is fine. If I would do it over, Id just save for a couple more months and get a gibson. Sorry epiphone, but nothing beats a gibson. I wouldnt have had to mess with the pickups or anything. I do like the guitar, though. Its really cool. If I lost it or it got stolen, Id hunt down the bastard who ripped me off and ask for it back. Then Id give it a big hug and say, "lets go home, honey" with a tear in my eye.

This guitar does come with the nice third humbucker, which is rarely seen. It has 22 frets, mohogany neck, beautiful black and gold finish that was done to perfection, the tuners work fine for me. the best feature on this guitar has to be the classic broken in feeling on this guitar. You can play up and down this thing for hours its great. Mine came with the case which was a beautiful hardcover case that fits very snug so it won't damage.

I love the classic Les Paul sound and i think the third humbucker add alot to your individual tone. I am blues fanatic, so getting the right tone is essential. I play it through a Digitech Rp-7 along with my 80 Watt crate. it sounds great .

The guitar was great straight from the factory the action only had to be adjusted slightly to my own specs. The stock strings suck!!! I think they are either 8's or 9's which i don't like,anyway i broke it as soon as i had it in tune and played the high e string. i had to adjust the pickup alittle but yet again that because i have to have it my own way. I have to say this, this guitar had absolutely NO FLAWS!!!!

This guitar will and has withstood live playing, who needs a gibson all you are buying is a name anyway. i have played a many a gibson and its the same i don't carewhat anyone says!! Hardware has lasted so far and it seems it will. the finish is still incredible I love it.Always bring a back-up but you probably won't need it with this baby.

haven't dealt with them... that s good!!!

I have been playing for 6 years now and i have been playing my ass off so this guitar is the best i have played yet.It is SOOOO COMFORTABLE. Its play ability is like silk you can go through the fretboard with ease. I would buy it again in a second. This guitar is great for any type of music i totally recomend it for everyone and for the price and beauty of it, it is well worth it.

I bought a used black beauty, and I love it! It's a '97 Epiphone made in Korea. The passive electronics and 3 pickups provide a professional sound that is almost as good as any Gibson. It has a quality made carved top that adds a real "look". The action is so low that it's obvious why it named the naickname "fretless wonder". With all the possible sounds imaginable, this guitar is useful for anything, although blues and jazz is where it seems most at home. The only problem is the cheap tuners, but they still work fine.

This guitar most have been made with the blues specificaly in mind. Its snorky, fat tone can change into a heavy metal machine at a flip of a switch, although I would never play that garbage. There is no humming, so this versitile guitar has excellent sounds.

The action is great- low and fast. The pickups seem to be a bit loose, though. The finish is beautiful- a real show guitar. No flaws there. The tuners and gold finish doesn't look as if it will last long, though.

This guitar really can take a beating. It seems to be made like a tank. I have not had a single problem even when I use it a lot.

I love this guitar, and even if I could trade this in for a Gibson, I wouldn't. It has soul and character and always works. It can act like any guitar out there, and I love it.

See other posts for features. I give it a six, since the three position pickup switch robs me of the value of three pickups. Tuners are better than the other Epi LPs.

The stock pickups are incredibly microphonic. Don't buy this guitar unless you are ready to replace them. The acoustic character of the guitar is very good. It has a full warm tone and sustains well. With a JB in the bridge, I am extremely pleased with the tone. My sound rating is with the JB and not the damn stock pickups.

The factory set up was too low. Sure it played easy, but it buzzed. Properly set up, it plays well, but it isn't great, just good. The finish on the guitar is good and I'm very pleased. However, the gold tone wears off pretty quickly. One annoying feature my guitar has is that one of the frets extends just a wee bit over the fret board and occassionally when I'm playing away, the high E will get caught underneath it. I have to stop and unhook the string. I know this is an easy fix, but its really poor workmanship.

I think this is a very sturdy guitar. With the replacement pickups, a good setup and the fret problem fixed, I think I'll have this guitar around for a long time.

I've been playing for 25 years, with a couple dry spells in there. I needed an electric guitar that I wouldn't cringe every time my kids wanted to "help daddy" (My 68 SG stays in the case until they're asleep. I didn't want to spend a lot of money and I didn't mind frankensteining it to suit my needs. In that respect I am very happy and feel it was worth while. However, If I had to do it all again, I would probably buy a Epi LP standard, since you don't get anything extra from the three pickups. Or, I mightr have spent more time looking for a used Gibson LP Studio to frankenstein.

Standard pretty much other than it has 3 pickups. Annoyingly, only a 3 position switch. I would have really liked to have been able to use top and bottom p/ups in combination to really tailor the sound, but I guess I just need to rewire for that (Only need a push/pull volume knob). The overall finish is VERY VERY good. LP's always look great in black, and although I was a little sceptical about gold hardware (which normally looks tacky)I was very pleased. Tuners are actually not too bad, a bloody site better than standard tuners.

Stock pickups are absolutely attrocious. Pickup output is VERY low and breakup is in a very non musical way. If you put a bit too much effort into a strum then it just sounds awful. The pickups are unuseable at gig level. However the sound is full of sustain (Which is nice) and hopefully with a full set of Seymour Duncan Seth Lover pickups (79 UK pounds each (urghhhh)), she should sound rather nice. I tend to play tuned to D# so I have to use 10's or 11's as far as strings are concerned otherwise pitch problems ensue.

FINE. FINISH WAS VERY GOOD OVERALL

Everything is totally reliable, or will be until after I resolder and rewire the thing. I always use a backup, but that is no reflection on reliability. I always use 'straplocks' so 'buttons' are solid.

NICE. Although the pickups are dreadfull. At least its very pretty.