Epiphone Les Paul Standard

I'm giving this guitar a 10 for features because in my opinion, it has everything a decent player needs to get great tones. It's a classic design and needs no improvement.

The pickups are probably the weakest link on this guitar, although for the price, they are not bad at all. I play blues, hard rock and punk-you can still coax some great tones out of this guitar when it's bone stock. The guitar has great resonance and excellent sustain- if the electronics are upgaded this would make a professional, killer sounding axe.

For a budget-priced guitar, this thing came set up like a beauty. Finally a budget axe that stays in tune!!!! The action is low and smooth with little buzz, and the finish and binding look absolutely superb- this guitar is a real looker! Mine has a gorgeous tobacco burst finish. The body also has quite a bit of weight to it, which a like- it feels like a solid hunk of wood.

Haven't played her out yet, but it seems built very solid like it could take quite a beating. This is meant to be my backup guitar so it'll likely see little action, except for practice.

Can't say.

This was an Ebay find that I bought on a whim, and I'm damn glad I did. For the price, it's a great axe. Once I change out the pickups, I just might use this as my main guitar. If you ever wanted an LP at a fraction of the Gibson price, go pick one up!

Blue quilt top LP Standard, rosewood neck, alnico humbuckers, 3 way pup selector, cream-colored binding, grover tuners, nickel plated hardware, made in China; but "100% inspected and Set-up in the USA" the sticker on the back of the headstock proudly proclaims.

This instrument is absolutely beautiful!! The finish is gorgeous and perfectly applied. The binding is perfectly set. No flaws whatsoever. This guitar will turn some heads in case your playing doesn't. The only negative is the volume and tone controls are the most phenomenally tacky copper color I have ever seen. Really, really ugly. I'll be replacing those soon.

I bought mine at Guitar Center, and had been shopping for one for about a year. The day I went in GC had six others in stock, and this one had a slightly richer, more complex, sound than the others. The others didn't sound bad: this one just sounded better.

If you've heard a Les Paul, then there are no surprises here: it's pretty much what you'd expect, which is a throughly rock and roll instrument. While you can get some lovely clean sounds this guitar wants to rock. Others on this forum have noted that the pups aren't that good. They're right about that. It's not that they're bad, it's just that they aren't that great (but then, heck, this guitar only sells for between $350-$500). Depending on the vibe you're after I could easily see this guitar fitted with soem after-market Seymour Duncan "Antiquity" or Gibson "Burstbuckers". I'm thinking that would give you 90% of that vintage Lep Paul mojo.

Mine was setup perfectly. The pups were well adjsuted and the string height was that magic distance between "low, but not buzzing". The others I played were setup quite nicely too. This seems to be something Epiphone is really paying attention to. Kudos to them. As noted above mine is a blue quilt top and the bookmatching is excellent. The finish is gorgeous, but then I've played a lot of Epi LP's in the last year and thought they were all beautiful looking instruments. Again Epiphone seems to be really focused here.

This thing is built like a tank. I can see it lasting a lifetime.

Haven't needed. Don't expect to.

Whenever you rate a budget priced guitar like this I think you have to rate it in terms of "bang for the buck". Does it sound like a '56 Goldtop? Well no, but as Guitar Player magazine recently pointed out, with some after market Burstbuckers you could be competeing with the new Vintage re-issues that Gibson is doing (they run in the $5,000 range).

Even if you don't do the pup upgrade you still have a solidly built, great sounding instrument. If you want the Les Paul vibe, but you're strapped for cash this is a purchase you will not regret. Kudos to Epiphone for producing a class instrument at a budget price.

blue finish, China-made, rosewood neck, grover tuners etc
fairly standard - nothing eye catchingly special

I bought this guitar last year and on the bridge pickup, it sounds really good, just as it always has. The neck pickup, however sounds weak and thin and barely pickups much sound most the time. I use it live because the bridge pickup run through a marshall 50 watt sounds so good, but I really want to change the pickups on it. With new strings it stays quite well in tune, because of the grover tuners.

Straight from the shop in Reading, the guitar had a nice blue finish, and no dents or anything like that. The action was alright and there weren't many general flaws with it at all. The pickup on the neck wasn't too good but I still bought it, after playing it through the bridge pickup. Unfortunately, after a slight problem with one of the strap buttons which lead to a few drops of the guitar, the finish has been compromised.

This guitar, through bridge pickup is really good for live playing, but because of the strap button, I might bring a spare guitar. It would probably be fine though.

No opinion

I've been playing for 2 years now and I have a cort acoustic, a marshall 50 watt amp and also an aria black strat which costed little cash. This guitar has genearally been very good, despite a few issues which are resolvable. I would recommend it, but I would still rather have a more reliable guitar like Danelectro because this guitar isn't as soild as a rock when it comes down to it. But it sounds good, and that's what matters really.

I have been playing for about 30 years, and have almost exclusively played Strats. I wanted to give a Paul a chance, but did not want to drop over 2K in the process. I went down to the local music store and played about eight different Epi Les Paul Standards. Each played and sounded slighly different, so I suggest playing a bunch before you buy. I bought a honeyburst one that felt righ. I studied the construction and was impressed at how well this one was put together and how good the brilliant gloss finish was. The only odd thing was the matte finish on the control cavity covers. I later removed them and discovered they had been put on upside down at the factory.

The bridge pickup sounds surprisingly good, the neck is way too muddy and bassy even when lowered to compensate. I changed the tone circuiot cap on this PU to a smaller value and regained some highs, but it is still slated for replacement. With the bridge PU in my Plexi 50 Watt Marshall I can get some great ZZ top tones through the Tube Screamer. The guitar breaks up well and has a full heavy hitting tone. As noted the neck PU is not used much at this point. For the money, this was a great buy, I have no remorse over the deal.

The action was set up OK at the factory, but the frets were not leveled enough to get it where I like it. Also the intonation was not even close on a few strings. I leveled the frets, adjusted the bridge, cleaned and oiled the neck put on some new strings, set the intonation with a strobe tuner and now it is fantastic. The guitar has great potential, it just needs a little help getting there.

I have only owned the guitar a couple of months and have not played a gig with it yet, so it is too early to tell. I did replace the tuners with some vintage LP style ones from Gotoh as the Epi ones tended to go out of tune a little too frequently.

As stated before, I have been playing a long time. I own a stable of Strats, some vintage and some new, a Dobro and a PRS now the Epi. I am very happy with it, but as stated, be sure to play a few before choosing, and be repared to do some set up work, or pay a tech to do it and you will be happy. After reworking mine, it plays as good as any Gibson I have played. I have two PUs on order, a Seth Lover for the neck and a Pearly Gates for the bridge, and can't wait to get them in. For the money, you cannot beat this guitar.

we all know what a les paul is. mine is a 2006 china model. i got the black one as it has all the same stuff as the sunburst but is much cheaper. i paid $340 for mine brand new. i kinda wanted a sunburst but i thought they all had cheap nasty finishes when i checked them out at the store. the black one looks classy and is the original finish for a paul i believe. quality control is **** on these. i played prob 8-10 pauls before getting the one i now have. many of them had serious issues. play before you buy... seriously.

i have a love hate relationship with this guitar. im a good guitar player that moved through several guitars before getting this one. the epi gold top i had for awhile was cool but sounded muddy to me. the casino is great but its too jangly. in the end i decided that itd be better to go cheap and upgrade later. with any epi i feel id have to change out the pickups so i might as well do it on the cheap. i havent yet upgraded it. somedays i play it and i love the classic tone i get. somedays i feel the pickups are weak and noisy. these pickups arnt great but i know the guitar will sound amazing once upgraded. clean sounds are the best on this guitar. blues, jazz, and classic rock are the best styles for this guitar as is. im playing mine through a vox. this thing cannot do metal at all as is. i play blues mostly and somedays this thing really has serious attitude. somedays i wish i had saved alittle more and bought a highway 1 strat.

this particular guitar was set up ok from the store. others were not. i set the action low on mine. buzzes in a good way. set alittle higher and theres no buzz. guitar came great from the store. i liked the neck on the custom much better than this one but the custom wasnt worth the money as it sounded exactly the same as the standard.

the guitar is heavy and im sure i could bang it around and itd be fine. the switches and the knobs seem to be of very good quality. dont feel cheap at all. the bridge on mine started making a buzzing sound which was messing with the sustain. i put some paper on it and its fine now. it bothers me but i was planning on replacing that anyway. the tuners are good. i tightened the screws on mine so that the knobs felt more solid in my hands.

no need.

ive been playing for 13 years mostly on ibanez guitars (with mods) and various pawn shop gems. i bought this guitar because i wanted a quality guitar that i could upgrade. many other guitars i played at the store like teles and strats were cool but were more expensive and still needed upgrades. if this guitar were stolen id be pissed but i wouldnt buy it again. at the time i hadnt heard of the highway 1 strats. i prob would have liked that more. right now im debating if i should sell the paul and get a strat or just go ahead with the upgrades. honestly though, this guitar was much more versatile than many of the strats i did play. a strat cant do jazz at all.

Honeyburst 2006 model. Made in China. Standard Epi lp Stansard.

I was completely blown away. I was NOT expecting the guit to sound this good! Classic Les Paul sound. The bridge pickup is tremendous. Classic Les Paul pump and growl. The neck a little less so. It is a little muddy and wont completely clean up. But there really isn't $1,700 worth of difference between this guitar and a Gibson. For a live player, you really can't go wrong with th Epi LP. I understand that there are big gaps in quality between each guit that comes off the assembly line, but I also understand that that is changing with the switch of production to China. All I know is that the one I have is a great player. Because I am recording with this guitar (and needed a little more string-to-string clarity) I did change out the pickups and electronocs with a Seymour Duncan Jazz in the neck and a JB in the bridge and HOLY SMOKES, is this guitar ever a keeper now. But I have to say that the Epi bridge pickup was a tad more harmonically wild than the JB! I am hanging on to that pickup and will probably put it in the bridge of one of my strats.

Incredibly well put together. Not flawless, but close to it. Neck feels and plays great. Only one buzz on the high E at the 12th fret. No buzzes anywhere else. Paint was really well done. One little bump on the neck up near the body that wasn't sanded out. Everything is lined up perfectly, (do you remember that guits in this price range years ago ALWAYS had terrible alignment problems? Not anymore!) Hardware was better than expected, especially the tuning machines. As with all Epi's the electronics are not very good, but I didn't have any problems with them before I switched them out.

I see no problems gigging with this guitar>

I've been playing for 34 years and am just returning to Les Pauls after about a 25 year hiatus. Of course, I can't afford a Gibson, who can? But I really am not all that disappointed about it. This Epi LP Standard is like coming home to me. It has all the vibe of a Genuine article, and I had enough $$ left to feed and clothe my daughter! I would strongly urge anyone thinking of buying a Gibson to try a few of these out first. I would definitely get another if this one was stolen.

The guitar is a 2007 Les Paul Standard (made in China at their new factory), honeyburst with a gorgeous flamed maple top. Mahogany body and neck, maple top, rosewood fretboard with pearloid trapezoid inlays. Standard everything like you would get from the factory

I mostly play hard rock and progressive rock/metal, but I also play jazz and alternative rock. The guitar has the ability to make every sound I need and then some. I am just running it through a Vox AD30TV ( I am currently in the Army, and I don't have the need for anything larger) and the guitar just sounds incredible through. Everything from the glassy Gilmourish tones to Opeth, this guitar has it covered. It sounds full, almost like getting hit in the chest with a hammer when distorted, but when run clean, it mimics classic jazz tones without any issue. Considering there are only so much this guitar can do, it does all of them amazingly well, and that is without any updrading.

The guitar out of the box had the action a bit high, but I can't let that influence this review. After spending no more than ten minutes setting it up, it played fantastic. The top looks immaculate, the bookmatching is perfect. The binding is almost perfect and the fretwork compares with that of my PRS. There are no dings or any flaking in the finish.

The guitar is built like a tank, the only things that I will do in the future is replace the tuners with Sperzel locking tuners, change out the pots eventually and maybe get some different pickups. But for right now there is no reason for me to do any of those things. Before I enlisted in the service, I played professionally, and at the time I used a Carvin DC400TA, a 2005 PRS Custom 24, and a few assorted Mexican Strats. While I can't say I would use it at a gig without a backup (because lets be honest, no matter how good the guitar, you always run in to some issue) I would use it right up there with my other guitars, if not featured.

N/A

I have been playing for 7 years and currently I own a Carvin DC400TA, a PRS Custom 24 and an old Strat. As far as amplificiation is concerned, at home I have a rack system and here at the barracks I have a new Vox AD30TV amp. If the guitar was lost or stolen I would definately get another Epiphone. After trying several Gibson's over the years I can't see myself spending that much money on one when Epiphone's feel and sound just as good (to me at least). Considering how little this guitar costs, I can't say I have a single complaint.

Black, solid body, Tune-O-Matic. An axe. Bought through Ebay. Just didnt like the original reddish knobs and replaced them by black dice knobs, now it looks awesome.

I mostly do church music so it fits perfect my playing stile. I personally use for solos and mostly using the clean channel, just some chorus and light reverb. It performs fine as rhythm guitar as well. It has a warm sound, my guitar player just fell in love with this guitar.

As I bought it used, I just restringed it, dissasembled, cleaned it and set it up all my way. No flaws apart of normal use wear.

An axe, it will last for sure.

Not dealt with them

Well my opinion has some bias: I love this guitar...

I chose this Epiphone Les Paul Elitist Standard over a Gibson Les Paul Studio Plus model. Both guitars had AAA flame maple tops, but the Gibson was over $500 more in most places, a little less at others, and simply not worth the extra money. I'm more concerned with playability and looks than whose name is on the headstock. The finish is a thin lacquer iced tea sunburst with the nicest flame top I have ever owned on a guitar. Grover tuners; made in Japan in the Fuji Gen Gakki factory, as are all the Elitist series guitars. It has the standard Les Paul pickup configuration with USA made 'buckers and the usual control setup. The body is hand-selected and kiln-dried mahogany, and so is the neck, with a nice rosewood board. The fretwork is flawless.

It suits my harder side of playing very, very well, and as I'm 5'6', it fits me well. I use a newer Fender Hot Rod Deluxe and assorted stompboxes. It's not noisy at all (humbuckers aren't, generally), and with the USA 'buckers, it screams when cranked and sounds mellow when turned down. Classic humbucker tones all around. I see no reason to change the pickups at all. They do the job and have plenty of power. The sustain is great.

The factory setup is OK, but I plan to have it set up professionally anyway, and soon, and also plan to change the strings it came with; .009s, which are too light for me. It stays in tune pretty well, and it will stay in tune better once it's set up right. Action is fine, neck is straight, pickups adjusted nicely. The top? Well, let's just say, the top is spectacular in its "flame-iness." The nicest top of any guitar I've ever had (I said that already). With the faded iced tea 'burst, it looks a little like Peter Green's old Les Paul. The fit and finish is flawless from the factory, as I expected. They do great work at the Fuji factory, and have for years. You can count on it.

This guitar is built like a tank. No doubts it'll survive live gigs in every way. Finish is solid, hardware is solid, strap buttons are fine. This is a totally dependable guitar, but I always take 3-4 guitars to gigs, so it will never be the only one.

No problems at all with the instrument, so no opinion on customer support. Good warranty.

I've been playing rock, R&B and blues for over thirty years and own 17 guitars. If it was lost or stolen, I would definitely buy another. I love the playability, the looks, the flame top, and its classic, vintage Les Paul vibe. I chose it because it was a better deal than the Gibsons I was looking at, it sounded as good as any of them and felt great. I wish it came with a Bigsby option. Otherwise, it's a killer guitar. Comes with a very good HS case. It may look like I paid too much for it compared to some of the other prices listed for this model, but I got the industry standard 40% off list based upon current retail prices, which go up sometimes twice a year at Gibson. I've owned at least five Les pauls, and this might be the best one yet.

well this beauty was getting hungry, so naturally, i fed it. i made a decent roast chicken basted to death, followed by a crisp salad with toasted croutons and parmesan with an excellent dressing (in my opinion). i was dead chuffed with myself when i finished everything. oh and also i made a scrummy apple cinnamon cake for afters. i think this stunning piece of equipment was deeply satisfied.

my style is mainly either italian, japanese or english cuisine dependng on how i feel. i think it suits my styles perfectly, with the perfect precision and it's modern techniques.i love it to be honest.

i would say my presentation is quite...rustic, you know, move it 3 times then dont touch again. it has to have a natural look and feel to it.although sauces are important and i use them a lot , i wouldn't say it's always necessary.

my portions are generally large, which is just how i like it. there is no point serving tiny portions when someone is dead hungry is there?

if i get a complaint from a customer i tend to either refud them or make them another dish, unless they're just picky. dont get it often however

income is great at the moment and i think my skills are increasing, rapidly. soon im going to add a new section to the menu 'eau cuisine' . with seafood and more complex dishes. i thnk my customers love to visit and im getting to know them. gainiong quite a reputation actually.