Epiphone Les Paul Standard

2006 Korean Guitar. You know the specs by now. Mine came with HSC.

I would like to give 2 different reviews for the sound of this guitar. I have owned it for over a year, so I have had time to weather the storms of ownership, and believe to have found the highs and lows of the instrument.

The pickups on the stock Epi are just too muddy for my style of music. They seem best suited for players who are mainly playing power chords, or possibly for players who are linked to a digital modeling amp like a Line 6. They are ok when distorted heavily, but not great for sounds on the verge of breakup.

The tone of the guitar on the other hand is a completely different story. With a mahogany body, maple top, and rosewood fretboard this guitar sings when not plugged in. That made me decide to install better pickups (Anderson pickups specifically) into the guitar. Once this was done, the guitar had clear voicing, creamy distorted tones, and is a real pleasure to listen to.

So with the stock pickups, for the style of music I play I will give the guitar a 6.5. With the andersons, I will give the guitar a 9, so overall I would give it a 7.5

I can't speak for the factory, as I purchased the guitar used, and I always take my guitars to a luthier for the initial setup. I will say this, there is a fret buzz on the open "g" string that drives me up a wall. Also, the pickup selector broke off, so I had to have a new one put on.

Reliability wise, I have no fear to use this guitar live. It is made of solid wood with hard binding and chrome hardware. There is nothing to be afraid of there. Unless you like to throw your guitars in the middle of shows, but then again I guess if you break this guitar at a gig, you could probably break any guitar at a gig.

Why deal with the company when you can work with a quality luthier you can go see.

I have been playing for the better part of a decade, and have owned a lot of gear during that time. If it were stolen or lost and $600 was my limit I would probably buy this guitar again, but I would rather save money for an anderson.

Epi LP standard, plain top, 22 frets, trapezoid inlays, vintage sunburst, chrome hardware, grovers, alnico v humbuckers, rosewood fretboard, maple neck, dedicated tone and volume controls, toggle switch.

I play hair and glam metal with my band, and death metal for myself, this guitar fares well but not amazingly. The pickups have a very dull sound and the palm mutes just don't produce the grinding tones my EMG jackson does. I wish the sound was brighter on both clean and distorted settings. But don't get me wrong I only get these problems on my practice amp. On my Fender Deluxe Reverb I get a great grinding distortion with a digitech death metal pedal.

The action is low which is fine, however there is a horrible amount of fret buzz and I dont think the fretboard was sanded properly. The strings were very rusty and scraped the wood, I immediately changed the strings to Ernie Ball Customs and the playability soared. I also had to re-adjust the frets.

This guitar is not a good live guitar for me anyways, because I dont like the weight. The strap buttons are nice and solid though and if necessary I would use it live but not unless it is the only guitar i had available.

Bought from Guitar Center, extremely helpful and caring I recommend to everyone to go there.

I've been playing for about 3 years. I own a ****** LP special from epiphone, a gibson invader, fender deluxe players strat, and a gibson es-335 (from a garage sale 200$ yeah!) I made the mistake of buying a guitar solely on looks. I saw the LP and I thought holy crap! a REAL LP but i didnt consider my playing style and sound. Yet again dont get me wrong, I love it just dont LOVE it. I compared it to the fender deluxe and the deluxe played better and felt better but the LP had that powerful humbucker sound which i needed for metal. I recently traded the LP in for the fender i mentioned earlier, love it alot! If it was stolen I would probably buy an sg or another strat.

We all know the classic Paul setup- 2 alnico classic hummers, 2 tone 2 volume controls, 3 way selector. mine is a mahognany bck and maple top. Replaced tuners with Grovers, mulling a pup change.

Good Paul sound from nice and chunky to a ringingly sweet treble. Running thru a Crate VTX65b with a Ts 9 overdrive. Able to get that J Page tone with no problem. Also grest on jazzier stuff. With the amp pedal combo really able to get almost any sound I choose to emulate.

Setup great out of the box from MF. Had it for almost three years now looks as good as the day i got it. Nice ebony gloss finish. Have been over the axe forwards, backwards and sideways and so has my local tech shop, no complaints or problems. Grovers made a big difference but the stock tuners were just fine.

AS i stated earlier almost three years in and the Paul is better now than when I got it, finish is great, tone is awesome. I know that a ploy finish isn't suppose to enhance the sound with age like Nitro does, but it sounds better, can't wait for it to reach ten. Have a Carlos acoustic(don't laugh) that is 29 yrs old and it sounds(no ****) as good as the Low end Martin I tryed out two months ago, so some inexpensive guitars do get better with age too. I gig without a backup with no worries.

Life time warranty, but i haven't needed it.

Been playing 41 years. Dad and granddad had pauls..one a '58 standard and the other a '66. I have them both now..too afraid to take them out of the house and won't pay two plus Gs for a new one. the epi gets the job done. Also have a Tele and an Es 335 custom copy, the Epi holds its' own in fast company. Use the VTX65B, a rewired Fender "franenstein" tube with two 12's and 100 watts all tube and the tube screamer, in combo with the Epi I get all the tones I ever wished for and then some. Buying an Epi Goldtop and a Prophecy LP one for my B'day later this year and the other for Christmas. I would burn any ***** that lays a hand my Epi.

No idea when this was made, probably in 2007. Seeing as how its an Epiphone, it was likely made in Japan or Korea. Has 22 frets with pearl-block style inlays, very classy! I'd say its a solid top but then again I don't know the difference. This model has a tone and volume knobs and what I'm GUESSING to be pickup knobs (I can't tell what they do). The guitar has two humbuckers, whatever comes on an Epiphone Les Paul standard. Has a beautiful sunburst finish, I wouldn't ask for anything different.

Now this guitar sounds WONDERFUL, for just about anything except metal (with the exception of hard rock). If you couldn't see the headstock you wouldn't know the difference between this guitar and a genuine Gibson Les Paul. This guitar hardly buzzes at all. Like a Gibson, this has that beautiful warm, rich sound.

Well I'm guessin' that this guitar was set up at the store I bought it from. But when they set it up they knew what they were doing! Although the action, when set low or at medium, the frets buzz on the low E and A, especially when power chords are utilized. But hooked up to an amp, you can't tell that the frets buzz at all so its nothing to rant about really. I wouldn't replace the pickups in fear of losing that warm Gibson tone, after all, it'd be more than a shame to lose that! As far as that goes though, the guitar contained NO flaws whatsoever.

This thing is tough. Quite. Although I wouldn't suggest taking a hammer to it! I've had this guitar since December '07 and the finish hasn't even begun to phase, still looks brand new. If the hardware doesn't last, then I'm a monkeys uncle, because like every Gibson-made product, its built to LAST. The strap buttons aren't coming off any time soon, even if you wanted to rip them off (not that I've tried). Without a doubt though, this thing is 100% reliable! If I gigged or went some where with it (and not a backup guitar), I would be confident that this guitar could stand up to about any challenge.

I bought this from the Dexter Music Center, the employees there gladly demonstrated how well the guitar played and were very friendly and helpful. The thing came with a warranty, but I don't remember how long it was, but it was long enough that if anything happened to it now, I'd still be under warranty.

Its a Gibson Les Paul standard without the trademark Gibson headstock practically. Just think of what a Gibson Les Paul standard is like and visualize it with an Epiphone headstock. I would reccomend this guitar to just about anybody for the tone and price. I have a 1961 Melody Maker, and really, they're quite equal in tone, but that also depends on what tone you want.

Just as a warning, this thing is made for hard-rock and lower. Not quite metal friendly.

You all know the features. My lady was build in China and I think they have used an unusual amount of varnish for the finish. Nevertheless the Honey-burst finish looks pretty nice and is giving this lady a very expensive look - as my daughter says.

I??ve prefered to play acustic guitars (Ovation, H??fer) years before. Got some experience with a Fender Strat - stopped for 10 years and entered jazz and blues guitar 2 years ago. I use a Roland cube 30 for this lady and a Beringer sound modulator for the note book when playing just with head phones.
I??ve tested some of the LP-standards build by Epiphone and I??ve to say that the sound varies very much. My lady sounds very rich with a rich sound especially from the neck HB. I use D??Addario EXL110W strings and they give a much more intense sound than many other strings I??ve tried (from .009 up to .013) The neck HB is perfect for Jazz and Blues and I??ve to admit that I rarely use another configuration.
But as I??ve said: sound characteristics seem to vary comparing different "individuals" of this modell. Test your lady before buying!

Baught this guitar from a Music Store where they adjust all Guitars perfectly. Can??t judge the quality of the factory.

I just play this guitar at home and on very small sets. It works without any problems since 2 years (and I play it every day, travelling a lot as well). The toggle switch is a little wobbly and the buttoms have been placed sloppy.

Did not need this so far.

This is a guitar which enables you to play a great variety of sounds. The price is reasonable. You should play with the guitar before you buy it, because the individual sound might differ.

If my lady will be stolen, I shurely will replace it.

This Epiphone Plaintop Honeyburst was made in China in 2008.It has 23 frets.The pickups are Gibson design Alnico V's.2 volume,2 tone controls in the old style Gibson top-hats.Passive Electronics.Finish is Gloss Plaintop Honeyburst.When I say plain,I don't mean it's ulgly,in fact it's quite striking.Les Paul body style.Frets seem jumbo and neck is right in the middle between thin and fat..nice feel.No case or bag but there was a cheap cord that I probably will never use.Tunamatic bridge with stopbar tailpiece.I was looking for a great guitar for under $500...I found it!!

I have been using it with a small Peavy tube amp and also a Marshal DSL 401.THIS GUITAR ROCKS!Pickups are very very good...Alnico V's..no need to change em in my opionion.Nice AC/DC crunch on the bridge pickup and on the neck nice Funky...Doobie brothers "Long Train Comin"Plenty of Sustain.This guitar Sounds great.A+

This is the Second guitar I received.The first had buzzing and cosmetic problems..like..a knot in the neck by the first fret..also the first finish bled into binding.AMS was very good at taking it back and immedialtly replacing it....

The second Guitar was absolutly PERFECT!!I believe there has been a significant improvement in Epiphone Quality in recent months...BRAVO Gibson.Nut beautifullt cut...Action perfect...Everything....ROCKS..And I'm a finicky guy...

Yes,it can withstand constant use.Very Solid looking guitar.I have ordered the Epiphone LP case..hoping it's good.I would use it without a backup,it's that good

I didn't need customer support,But,I'm not trustful of the Warranty.The only real help from Gibson is there 1-800 number.If you get to the point of needing to go for repair...GOOD LUCK

I had a couple of Rock bands in the 60's.Now I'm just livin the dream.I have done an open Mike...that was fun.I have a Tele.Strat,SG 61 reissue,SG Classic,Epiphone Casino Elitist...very nice...Fender Blues Junior Amp...Epiphone Valve Junior..and lots of Boss pedals and Many Acoustics...just got the Taylor Baby...Very nice.

If this Epiphone were stolen,I would get another.I Love the sound,feel.I hate that I had to eturn the first guitar to finally get perfect one.It has everything a Rocker needs :)

2007 Chinese Les Paul Standard that was a factory 2nd. 22 frets
This one is light more like a Studio than any of the other 4 Epiphone Les Pauls I had. The finish isn't transparent but I'd be inclined to say this guitar either is hollowed out in certain areas or is alder wood. I changed the nut to a Tusq nut right away and put String-Saver saddles on it. I took it into a luthier as I bought it off eBay and he found the frets were very uneven. I guess that is what made it a factory 2nd because everything else is fine on the guitar. Anyways he set in and glued the frets and dressed them and now it plays very well. I got a hardshell case with it even though I only play at home. I figure every guitar of mine should have a nice place to rest. The Grover tuners perform wonderfully. I give it an 8 because it was a 2nd and because the factory nut and saddles are pretty cheap. But for $379.00 it is a good value for those looking for a Les Paul styled guitar.

I run it through a Digitech RP50 effects unit into a Peavey Studio Pro amplifier. It has a 12" speaker so it provides good sound from a relatively cheap amp. The pickups are okay. They sound pretty much like my other Epiphone pickups with the exception of two of my previously owned Epiphones which both had 57 Classic/57 Classic Plus
pickups in them and they were pretty fine. I may at some point change to a Seymour Duncan Jazz in the neck and a JB at the bridge, but I'm in no rush. The sounds I can get with the stock setup are pretty good. The neck pickup is not muddy and the bridge is bright and can get raunchy with some distortion, which I like when I'm in the mood. It is good for jazz, blues and rock. Not country though. But I have a Telecaster for that kind of twangy sound. I give it an 8 because the sound is good but if Epiphone spent another $50.00 bucks on this guitar they could install much better pickups in it and I would gladly pay the extra $50.00

The guitar was not set up well from the factory and required work at my local luthiers shop to get it into Grade A playing condition. As I mentioned before the frets had to be re-set and dressed. The paint job was fine and the gold hardware looks fine. It gets an 8 because my Fender came with a decent factory setup, and the quality control sticker(which has been removed) should not have been put on this guitar that had terrible fretwork. Note also that it has a logo on the back saying this is a limited edition custom shop model. It should have been fixed before they rushed it out of the factory.

It is a solidly built guitar and I believe that it would stand up to live playing quite well. The gold hardware finish will likely wear off pretty quickly, but it it would be dependable as long as it wasn't abused.

No warranty since it's a 2nd. I would never take it to the local Epiphone dealer. I take it to the local Ibanez shop where they do good work at a fair price. I think if you take care of something from the start it will last and you'll never have to deal with a warranty issue. I think the Chinese factory still has a ways to go before it matches the quality of the South Korean models of 2003 and before.

I have been playing off and on since I was a teenager in the 70's. I just play for fun. I won't buy another Epiphone guitar on eBay without playing it first. I think that I'll buy my next guitar (an acoustic)locally and try it first. I compared it with an Agile Les Paul copy. I had two Agiles before and I had to return one of them with a crack in the neck. I chose the Epiphone this time over the Agile because it's expensive to ship it back if there is a problem even though the Agile dealer is great. My other guitar is a Fender Standard Telecaster which I will review next.

2 passive stock humbuckers,rosewood fretboard. black/white,grovers, les paul style single cutaway guitar, jumbo frets.

I like this guitar for the money. It has the weight which contributes to the sustain. I knew I was most likely going to have to change the electronics/pickups but the guitar provides a great base product to upgrade. The finish work is very respectable relative to its Gibson peer.

Classic Rock run thru a Vox 30 watt Valvetronix. The stock pickups are decent but nothing special. Good harmonics, feel and playability. I will upgrade with some hotter pickups. Rhythm pickup is a bit muddy. Middle and Treble position are OK.

Many of these companies cut corners on the finish work but, again, I like the base product features and finish. The strings buzz a little but I will have that worked out with a set up and some heavier strings. The frets, usually the area suffering on these copy guitars, are very well done on mine. Smooth jumbo frets with no overhang thanks in part to the bound fretboard. A very nice looking guitar.

Feels like a heavy duty and durable guitar - weighty. Parts are solid with no loose connections. Well built. Neck is solid and joins the body well. I would play live with it.

Not a lot of experience with Gibson but they do offer 24 hour customer support.

This is a very good guitar. I don't understand the folks that expect a $3,000 Gibson Les Paul for $400 bucks. Just make the upgrades and setup and you will have a very nice guitar. Good looking, solid build, smooth playing - what more can you ask?

This Epiphone Les Paul was made in China and i have no idea what year. It has 22 frets The controls are 2 volume controls (for each humbucker and two tone control likewise. The pickups are passive being Epiphones own and they perform well. The body is a solid chunk of mahogany, enough said. The neck is glued on and has a rosewood fretboard. It has a flamed top. It has Gibson/Epiphones stop tailpiece. The tuners are top quality grovers and have satisfied me from the onset. It also has a fat wide neck, that is very fast and comfortable for a les paul. not tons of features so it won't give it 10, but it does heaps of tones

It is perfect for my rock/blues music style. I run it through a Behringer GMX212 (sadly) so the tone of it dosen't quite show. It is hum free and completely silent due to the humbuckers, which are medium output. The sound isn't particulary bright, but is very, very rich. it dosen't do shimmering cleans all that well, but your eyes will light up when you run it through a Plexi or something like that, it is made for this kind of amp.

The action is not to low, not too high, perfect for playing and sounding good. Th guitar only had minor flaws like the neck-strap button coming loose every time you use the strap, and the pickup toggle coming loose, but these are minor cosmetic flaws and are easily fixed, other than that, the guitar is absolutly perfect.

I have used it on a gig and it is very solid, the hardware will last if you look after it. I don't think the finish will wear off, and so what if it does, it will only look like a well aged les paul. I would trust this guitar with my life, very solid and unsmashable, it just wouldn't break like a flimsy bolt on neck type (you all know the model im talking about)

Never dealt with them

I have benn playing for 4 years now. I fit was lost or stolen i would be seriously pissed off, because it the most expensive thing i own, and I treat it like a baby (wiping down after gigs etc.). The only thig i don't like about it is where the intonation screws are, but i don't care, I get music headquarters in newcastle to do it for me for reduced price because i buy everything there. If you want a serious Les Paul, at a reduced price, run and get one of these axes, you will not regret it

Nothing I can add here that hasn't been described in full better than I could. Semi-hollow body certainly helps make it lighter!

With a good amp it seems to produce a good tone and the humbuckers can certainly be adjusted enough to mimic almost any type of music as long as you have the right amp (I'm a beginner with a nice Vox Ad30VT which sounds great to me). The pickups aren't as loud as real Gibson or others but they do the job. The neck pickup is very quite and doens't offer much. It acutally sounds kind of nice unplugged.

This is the area that I have the most gripe about this guitar. It buzzes a lot. When I mentioned it to the sales person they said it wasn't that bad but after only a month is certainly gets on my nerves. It's adjusted as well as it can be so must be caused by crappy frets. When bending the strings it ofter causes my finger to go under another string causing a possible twang. Also, bending the A string a bit may make the top E string slide off the end because the neck is very narrow. The action just doesn't feel very good to me. The finish on the neck causes my hand to sweat and get sticky so I have to use talc or baby powder to keep from sticking. Because of all of these issues I wish I could get different guitar that I like more.

This guitar seems very sturdy, I haven't had any issues and it seems to hold its tune. I am a beginner so don't know how it would hold up at gigs.

Unfortunely it lookes good but just doesn't feel very good or play easily. You have to be very skilled to keep from doing something wrong (keep frets from buzzing, sliding hand without sticking on neck, bending strings without causing problems). I would love to buy something else and probably will sell on craigslist for cheap.