Epiphone Les Paul Special 2

First of all, the tuners and pickups on this thing are utter crap. I'm not trying to be mean, but you really do get what you pay for in this category. The body is basically pressboard, but it's dense so it actually weighs about as much as a real Paul, which is good. It doesn't really carry sound very well but it's fine, only guitar nerds would really be able to notice one you're playing through an amp. The tuners are giant turds. They don't turn smoothly, making it difficult to tune really finely, and they tend to not hold the tuning too well. I replaced the tuners with the tuners off of a Les Paul Custom that got smashed (with some drilling in the headstock) and it works much better now.

The bridge and stop bar are fine and the wiring is acceptable. The body, neck and fretting are actually really good for the price.

The pickups on this guitar are the worst I've ever heard. Once again, the price is a good reason for this. It was pretty much just lower mids and highs that got through, and it sounded like an echo effect was being used the whole time. The gain on these weren't very good either. I replaced them with Epiphone copies of the Gibson 498T and 490R pickups, and it sounds immensly better.

The action was set up okay, but the intontation didn't appear adjusted at all. The body and neck are actually pretty usable. The reason I got this guitar in the first place was as a backup for my Gibson SG. I intended to replace anything on it with used parts that wasn't decent. Pretty much the only thing left were the pots, the neck, and the body by the time I got done with it.

These guitars are very solid, like a chunk of lead hanging around your body. Nothing that I left on the guitar has broken. We'll see what happens when I drop it.

This guitar is a rad backup if you're willing to do the work to make it usable. It's probably a good starter guitar to see if you really wanna play and sink some money int a real guitar. If you wanna use it for shows and not sound bad, you gotta gut the thing, but after that it's a sweet guitar. I think I put like 100 bucks into it, making a 130 dollar guitar more like a 600 dollar guitar. Not a bad deal.

22 frets, solid body, 1 volume, 1 tone, and a 3 way selector, It came with two Dual coil humbuckers, Basic les Paul Shape, the neck is just right for both a lead guitarist or a rhythem guitarist.

Its a really versitile guitar, great sounding when it comes to blues, rock, and metal. It rarley ever feeds back on me. I've played a lot of Les Paul customs and this guitar has almost the exact same sound I can get out of a les paul Custom.

The action is great, Its perfect the way it's set up, plays as good as a les paul custom. The guitar was beet to hell when I bought it, the neck was cracked, the paint was gone, the electronics needed to be rewired, but with a little tlc I rebuilt it and now its better then any other guitar I've owned, and there are only a few other guitars that I've played that were better than this one.

This guitar is really reliable, I've dropped it and its still perfectly fine. Its very dependable on stage for preformance, I rarley break a string.

Bought it used

I played a lot of guitars in the time that I've been playing and I think this is defenatly a players guitar. I'd recommend it for both stage play and for beginners.

Purchased with Epiphone player pack, October 2002. $200 with amp, bag, and some other random junk. 1 Volume and 1 Tone knob. Comes with 2 humbuckers, 22 fret, basically what everyone said above.

I switched the stock pickups out in favor of a Gibson 498 and 500 that I got off a friend for $30. Excellent sound now. The pickups change the whole guitar. I still use the original 10 watt amp. Overall, since switching the pickups and even with the original amp, it has a great sound and is great for a $200 guitar. I love the sound.

I play hard rock (godsmack, black sabbath, and some nirvana or pumpkins). Strapped to a better amp, I think this guitar could rival some more expensive ones.

Action was set a little high, now it's set up extremely low. Had to adjust the truss-rod in the neck, but that's typical. Build wise, the guitar was put together A-1.

I'm not a fan of the tuners, they don't hold a tune too well with heavy bending, and are kind of vague I ordered a Gibson TP-6 tailpiece with fine tuners, so it should help, and then finally getting the gibson deluxe tuners will make it fine.

The only thing about this guitar (and alot of epiphones) is that the electronics suck. Even before switching pickups and rewiring some stuff, the switch wouldn't switch into the "rhythem" selection. Getting it back into the Trebile after switching out requires some wiggling and jiggling. Now that needs to be replaced, probably with a Gibson switch since they're more reliable. Finish and overall structure are very stable. I'd depend on it, once that switch is replaced.

No idea.

I've been playing for a little over a year. I also use a Dunlop Jimi Hendrix Wah and Arion Compressor. This is a $200 guitar. If you want to pick up and start, this is a great deal. It comes with everything you need, an amp with good distortion on it, and a solid guitar. I love the price being so cheap, but the guitar's "expensive" sound.

I obviously throw alot of money into such a cheap guitar. If I could go back, I would look for a used LP Studio perhaps. But, no regrets, for the money this guitar is a great deal with a ton of potential.

its a les paul kindda thing. mine is heavy so i thing the body is mahogany with a little bit of alder i think. neck is mahogany and fing. board is rosewood. its got a bolt-on neck.
its 22 frets. 1 tone 1 volume and a 3-waytoggle switch in between. two epiphone hummbuckers. tune-o-matic bridge with stop tailpiece, tuners are plastic(no brand). came with gigbag, and a useless cable.(i suggest buying a proco
by the way i got the wine red finish....
mine is heavier than the other lespaul special2 iv carryed in other stores...dont know why??!!.....i guess thats what it makes it sound fat and sturdy. i bang this acouple o times but i can onley see some very little wood pushed in the body itself..

.....now, the bottom line.. its sounds fat, crunchy and lots of harmonics. i run this into a laney TF-200 combo(a very very good amp. check out my revieve on that one too) and no effects..( no effects yet at this moment) one thing i can say is that, i can sound what ever i want with this guitar and my amp. i can sound like welcome to the jungle, sweet child o mine, paradise city, nightrain..anything. trust me. just e-mail me and then ill give you some mp3 clips!"!!!
oh and i always clean the strings before i go to bed with a liquid cleaner. i also wipe the body with cloth and the liquid ones. and of coures dont forget to clean and put lots of wood oil on the fretboard when you break a string or if you change strings. put PLENTY of oil on the fretboared using your index finger then leave it for 1-1? hours then rub fretboard with cloth, put strings, intonate then of you go..thats it...

action is good but not before. now i adjusted it good. ( 2mm between low and high E). the guitar stays in tune very very good. i just figured out how to intonate a guitar and now its stable!!i could bend strings from 1? to 2? steps without going flat. i could finish 2 entire songs and not go flat. if you know how to intonate it accurately... like i do.
finish is good and dark, as i said...not like the others iv seen in other stores.it very good alinement (routing) too
one problem is, the selector always cuts out. iv had it repair for about 4-5 times in one year.
the bridge saddles on the high E always gets sliced by the E string thats why i break the high E more than 7 times! one cure though..just rub the saddle`s mouth(the V shaped mouth) with a very fine sandpaper until you can see any small U shape in the V mouth shaped saddle. i lowered both pickups to reduce small background noises and it makes it sound more O shape sound and mellower and fat. i give it a 7 anyway!!!!

yes i could depend on it if i could change the selector to a very sturdy and high quality ones..
the frets are starting to ware out of one year of playing. (i play everyday, some times from 9am to 3am in the next morning like i did this entire summer)
the strap buttons are good., no gigs yet..still sitting on a chair mastering my techniques..

my local store where i bought it repaires all the trouble. (the switch remember)
sadly, the warranty is just 1year and that it lasted this year`s august 27, 2003.. sad, right???

i guess im gonna do all the repairs myself.

ive been playing for one year now. no gears yet although im gonna buy a guitar that has floyed instead of some effects later.
i didnt even had a chance in test playing it before because i freaked out coz i was to buy an IBANEZ gio10 or something but coudnt afford that if i was giong to buy the laney TF-200 amp so i just saw this on a guitar stands with some cheap other guitars , i thought " hey this looks good" then i begged the dealer that if he could give me a discount coz this cost about 2300kr and the amp cost around 4400kr. so i got about 700kr. off discount,"nome sayin`"???
so i bought it then i just couldnt regret buying this instead of that corny IBANEZ plus i had TO BUY the TF-200 coz its tube amp so that i could sound near to GUNS N FUCKIN ROSES, "Nome Sayin'"???..
thats my story.
if you "new beginer" freaks out there looking for a very good rig to start, have like i have right now!!!! oh and hey, you should give me a buzz to hear me playing some GUNS N ROSES songs too please??? and to let me 'know how my one year of playing had affected me......
contact me at...

made in 2002 or possibly 2003 in china, passive with humbuckers. pretty much a les paul minus a few special feature. only a tone and volume knob, which i believe is all you need, with a neck, bridge, or both selector. no stratch pltes, open pickup, dont know about tuners, crome hardware, some just plain plastic. tailpiece bridge with a mahogany body body and a bolt on mahogany neck and a rosewood fretboard. i dont think you need lots of features, theyre not necessary with the right parts.

i play heaps. mainly blues or britpunk. boss distortion and overdrive onto a JCM 800, which work ok together. got a fair bit of a hum to it on most settings, but i will cure that. at the neck, it has full tone needed for blues, with a bit of attitude, and not nearly as much muddage as the usual LPs. at the bridge its a real rock sound. not a very good twang that i need for punk, but still bright enough. i enjoy both the pickup sounds, and with my seymour duncans just put on, my sound has gotten heaps better. over driven it sounds great, and with absolute muddy distortion, it is the perfect guitar for that heavy rumbling sound. the buzz has stopped a fair bit with the covers on the pickups, but that was still a big minus.

pretty good from the factory, but a slightly tilted neck. the action is knida fast, and very clear, like a LP sould be. the pickups are not in top shape, but ok all the same for pickups on a $400aus. guitar.the major flaws were the neck joint pickups, which was a little bit disappointing. The finish is fantastic, many dents in the back, but the paints still there, and i havent seen any wood at all. the lead input nut is slightly loose, but thats my fault.

if its played right it'll do a good job and last maybe six months of good gigging. the hardware is not that great, i plan to change it, but it would the hard yards well. finish is excellent, with a lot of playing, it should still last a while. i have replaced the strap buttons, but the previous ones were very very solid, could put a perfectly good strap to death over 3 months. i am fairly confident with it, it make the strings last much longer than my strat, but bring a backup to a gig. with the right treatment, this guitar can do bigger things than the LP, but not in the traditional gibson style.

i havent been thre yet, but i plan to about faulty tine knob. warranty still up, and i think theres still about 9 months on the warranty.

i own a good fat strat, but i actually prefer this. i knew the ins and outs of this guitar when i bought it, i owuld buy it again every the other stopped or was stolen. i love its sound and action, especially with new parts. i think the neck could possibly be improved by getting a faster strat like action, but still with the clarity it has. i love the neck pickup. its an individual sound, and one i chose myself. ive compared it to my fat strat, with texas pickups and a pearly gates humbucker and a gibson LP standard. i was looking for a cheap gigging guitar to use at shows and it would be easy to replace, but i find that i use it for almost everything now. it was out of this or squier strat, adn i chose this one, because it didnt just sound like a cheaper LP, whereas the squier sounded like a cheaper strat.this guitar is good for hardware experiments and whatnot, and it is the best guitar you'll find from even $500AUS down. buy lots of them, do them up, and use em at gigs, if youre on a budget.

there isn't much to say about features theres 2 knobs(volume and tone)and one 3 way switch.les paul style body made of mahogany and rosewood fretboard that is a little wide. 2 open humbuckers and 22 frets. the finish is probably worst atempt at a sunburst finish ive ever seen an i dont know why anyone would pay 30 bucks extra for this crappy of a finish. it has a tuneomatic bridge and is pretty high qaulity for $100

I play hard rock and blues and and have a fender princeton 65 amp. its realy noisy with distortion and has a lot of unwanted feedback due to the open humbuckers but who cares. when the switch is on the neck pickup its really bassy and on the bridge pickup it still has a really bassy sound and it work s great with distortion. ive played alot of les pauls and this one sounds just the same for one fith the price.

AS i said earlier the finish isnt worth 30 bucks extra but it is better then the crappy ebony finish on some of them. i wish the pickups were coverd. it dosent have the best action but i adjusted it so its real good now. the one flaw is one of the frets is lifted so if you bend the e sting it sometimes gets stuck under the fret.

i woulnt gig with this guitar because of the lifted fret. its has a thick finish and i havent seen wood yet. i bought it used and it was in perfect condition so thats a good sign.

didnt need to deal with them yet

exactly what i was looking for

Les Paul body, 22 frets, 2 open humbuckers, volume/tone knobs
Made in China, around 2000? Neck and fretboard is rosewood. That's pretty much it. Not that bad.

I love the sound from this guitar. On the rhythm pickup selector, it sounds very warm and full but a little bassy and on the treble, it's very bright but not tinny and perfect for lead. Not much variety, but that doesnt mean its bad either. I might replace the pickups soon.
I am using a MarshallMG50DFX amp.

No flaws, but alot of fret buzz but I can get that fixed easily.

Built like a ROCK! I dropped it many times but the finish is nice and thick and I haven't seen any wood yet. Hardware seems like it will last but its best to replace all the parts. I can certainly depend on it and the strap buttons are solid.

N/A

Amazing. For those people who think this guitar is bad, why'd you buy it in first place? I mean you get your money's value and this guitar is bang for the buck. This guitar beats any guitar from $250-0 hands down.

Amazing backup guitar and beginners.

LesPaul style body
2Humbuckers
Volume and tone

I dont own this guitar, but played my friends. The sound sucks. It sounded really wierd and didnt sound right. The pickups were also very muddy. this could also have been because of his crap amp, but i know the guitar was crappy too.

The action was pretty low. The strings were crap and i dont think my friend bothered to switch them. The finished looked nice... but the pickup selecter sucked big time. I dont think it even worked. I switched from treble to rythm and it sounded exactly the same, just one a bit louder.

I guess it'll withstand, but you'll have smashed it in no time. It's not very reliable unless you wanna play some floppy shit.

n/a

Well if you're a super beginner you may wanna look into this. But if this is your 2nd guitar, you may want to look elsewhere, and get a guitar with better tone and pickups. The only reason you should buy this guitar is to smash it at a show thats about it.

Made in 2001 in Korea..Hence Its a 2001 model. Standard Les Paul..22 Frets.. Solid Top thats pretty good. 1 volume and 1 tone control and 3 way pickup selector...Standard stuff as i said. Pickups were from the factory..I dont know what kind they are..pretty cheap ones..I'm planning on putting a Dimarzio evolution onto it. Fretboard is rosewood i think. the darker one. It has a nice black finish to it. The body style is a Les Paul of course since its a Les Paul model. It has a fixed bridge. Non locking tuners...it sucks.standard factory stuff. The neck is a standard les paul neck. no more or no less. i got the starter set for this guitar so it came with a gig bag, picks, videos, cables, the epiphone studio 10 amp, tools..I recently got a marshall avt50 combo so its working out good

Well lets see. I play altnerative rock pretty much and some jazzy stuff. I'm using a Marshall AVT50 combo with this guitar and just amp distortion. Its actually pretty quiet but somewhat noisy when you turn it up pretty loud on the distortion. It has a jazzy feel to it. The sound is pretty rich. but it could be better if you replaced the pickups. This guitar makes very limited sounds. most of it has to come from the amp. Its a decent guitar for what you pay.

The action on this guitar is pretty decent i guess. It feels like other les pauls you could say. The pickups needed some adjustment to get the tones i wanted from it..the bridge was ok i guess too. Orinally it contained a zillion flaws but then they all got fixed. First was the pickupselector switch had faulty wiring so it was under warranty and the guitar shop changed the switch.next was the tuning pegs. they were too short so it had a vibrating neck and headstock...that drove me crazy. but its all fixed now. strings were pretty crapy too that came with it..

This is where this guitar rules in. Its so sturdy and rock solid. It can last during the gigs. THe hardware will probably die someday though since its a cheap guitar. This guitar has a great finish since its only ebony and will seem like it'll last forever. THe strap buttons suck really bad. i had to get a straplock for it cause the strap kept falling off and it once hit my foot. I can defitnely depend on this guitar. most of the time. i would not use it without a backup because you never know when a cheap guitar can break.

Nope never dealt with Epiphone. i just brought it to the guitar shop and they do the warrenty work and then they get paid by Epiphone. it all works out good. its a 1 yr warranty and its gonna end in a matter of weeks. Boo.

I've been playing for about 2 years and this is the only guitar i own but my brohter has a ibanez js1000. so thats pretty neat. i play that when i get hte chance. i wished to ask wether this guitar would crap out and it did..if it was stolen i would buy a better guitar for sure. I dont love much about it. its sturdy thats all i can say. i compared it to the squiers and they were alot better. i wish it had better pickups.

bought it at Harmony Music in Belleville, same old stuff 2 hums 1 volume 1 control,3way selsector, Mhagony body, Maple neck with rosewood and 22 frets

My band plays everything, Lenny Kravitx, AC DC Mettallica, Def leppard Cranberries, Dylon etc, guitar sounds really good on all the setings, its running through a Peavey 112 to a 2x12 half stack with a digitech RP 100 Processor, I dont know why people complain about the humbuckers and shit, with the processor and a good amp you can get any sound you want, I have an old Vantage Avenger(groan) but it even kicks ass through this set up

Cam set up perfect from the factory, No blems , Low actions both humbuckers pick up the sound well with No feedback or buzz, Sunburst finish, and i like the style, you buy a guitar to play not to have sex with it luagh

its solid hardwood and has never let me down

never needed it