Epiphone Les Paul Black Beauty

What year was it made? 1998 Where was is made? Korea How many frets? 22 Solid-Top? Laminated top? Laminated, I think Which controls are given 2xvolume, 2xtone, 1 3-way switch Pickup configuration? 3 humbuckers Make and model of pickups? Epiphone stock pickups Active or Passive electronics? Passive Body and neck woods? Body is maple, so is the neck Finish Very nice ebony finish Body style Les Paul Bridge style stop bar? Tuners Epiphone? Neck/Scale Pretty thin and fast neck Any included accessories? A TKL hardcase

It suits my style very well. I am playing very aggressive metal and the the guitar is very fast and has a lot of sustain.(massive body) I am using a Marshall Valvestate VS100RH amp-head and a 4x12 cabinet, nothing else The pickups are VERY noisy even when played in high gain settings with low volume, I think I am going to buy EMG's Rich/Full sound? Bright sound? I just love the sound of these pickups, too bad they scream so much. The neck pickup I will keep, because of its warm and deep cleen tone. The bridge pickup is pretty trebly, but has a nice "punch" to it, and I like that. Hope the EMG-81 gives me the same sound. The middle pickup is great for solos, just a little more bass than the bridge pickup, sounds sweet. I don't like the way my pick gets stuck in the middle pickup(I will lower it a little more I think) Because of the screamy pickups, I'd give it a 9

The factory set-up was great, I didn't have to do anything, just played right away. The action was very low, but without buzzing, really comfortable. They were well adjusted, but I want a little more gain, so I raised the bridge pickup a bit. Otherwise, even gain on all pickups. My guitar had no flaw whatsoever, not even a little paint or glue where it wasn't supposed to be. I am very happy! It looks great!

Will this guitar withstand live playing? Yes, and well I think Does the hardware seem like it will last? Not shure about this, maybe I need to change tuners sometime in the future. Is the finish good enough to last, or does it seem thin and easy to wear off? The finish will last many years, you could even eat on this guitar, I think. Are the strap buttons solid? No, so I changed these before I even played on the guitar. Can you depend on it? Yes. As much as on my mother. Would you use it on a gig without a backup? I don't have a backup, so i guess I have to.

Never dealt with them

I have played for 7 years now, and I am totally satisfied with this guitar, but I think I will change the pickups to EMG's to increase gain and reduce noise. If it were stolen or lost, I would buy it again. What do you love about it? The looks and the playability. What do you hate? I don't hate anything, but I do dislike the feedback the pickups produce. What is your favorite feature? The non-vibrato bridge and the fast and smooth neck. Did you compare it to other guitars? Yes I did. Which ones? I compared it to Gibson Les Pauls, and the only difference I discovered was that the Gibson is heavier and also, surprisingly, the playability wasn't as good as the Epiphone. Anything you wish it had? EMG's Anything else you'd like to share? Feel free to contact me if there's any questions.