Epiphone Les Paul Studio

Mine was made in 2009. Ebony finish, all mahogany. Mine has Seymour Duncan SH-5's in it (aftermarket replacement). It didn't come with anything else, such as a case. Grover tuners, which is a plus.

My sound is straight rock n roll, from the 1960's through to today. I needed a guitar that would cover all genres with ease. One that would be comfortable, sound great, can handle clean and overdrive, and stays in tune.

I use a VOX AC15 with NOS tubes.

Before I replaced the pickups, the stock Epi pups were muddy, dark and lacking depth of tone. I was not concerned though, for a $400 guitar they have to cut corners somewhere. They obviously didn't cut corners in the fit and finish since it is solid mahogany with rosewood fingerboard, grover tuners, etc.

I replaced the pickups with Seymour Duncan SH-5's. Now the guitar comes alive! I've never had a better sounding, more comfortable, better able to handle all types of distortions and overdrives, kind of guitar.

It sings when I want it to, has great sustain, and the cleans sound great. It is my favorite guitar that I own, as well as the nicest sounding of any that I have ever owned. Overdrives are deep and rich, and the volume/tone pots work very well.

Action was high, of course. I lowered it, no big deal.

Pickups were replaced.

No flaws that I could see. The finish was superb, all of the frets were properly dressed and highly polished. The body was perfectly sculpted and finished. The guitar feels good, weight-wise. Inside, the routes for the pickups and electronics are all properly dressed and grounded.

They paid attention to all appropriate details when making this guitar. They didn't go overboard, but they also didn't ignore important aspects of the construction.

I played a long 4 hour show with it last week. It stood up perfectly. It stayed in tune well and the body is very comfortable.

It's very solidly built, the neck is a tad thick but that does add to its strength.

The finish doesn't look weak or prone to chipping.

I replaced the buttons with straplocks, they are solid enough.

I depend on it, but never without a backup. You can always break strings.

Limited lifetime warranty of which I negated when I switched the pickups, so that's a moot point. I'm not too concerned as I have electrical experience so I have no problem replacing every bit of wire in the thing. As long as the wood stays in tact, I'm happy.

I've been playing since 1992. I have owned several Strats, several epiphones and an Ibanez. I've owned more amps than I can count, and dozens of effect pedals. I don't keep gear very long since I tire of stuff quickly and have bad GAS.

I would replace this in a heartbeat if it were lost or stolen. Its a beautiful guitar.

My favorite feature is that it is solidly built, even for a $400 guitar. Its weight and heft make it feel reliable. It's not neck heavy at all. It sits perfectly in my hands. The neck is easy to reach. I does its proper job of getting out of my way and allowing me to make music, as opposed to fighting with it.

I chose this guitar because:
a.) I wanted a mahogany body, I figured that would sound better with a bright amp such as a VOX.
b.) I wanted a stopbar tail and fixed bridge, they stay in tune better than Fender's style.

It produces excellent tones. For my money, there isn't much difference between this and its Gibson brothers. Once I put American electronics in it, then they are essentially the same.

Frankly, anyone claiming to "hear" the difference between nitro and ploy laquers are sniffing too much paint.

Lastly, you have to remember that after leaving the Chinese Epiphone factory, it was shipped to Gibson's factory in Tennessee to be hand inspected by real luthiers. You can't beat that, really.

As others have said before me: this was made by a Gibson-owned company and it has Les Paul's signature on the headstock, therefore it is a real "Les Paul". Period.

Mine was made in China, and I'm assuming that according to the serial number on the back of the headstock, that it was made in December of 2008, so mine is a newborn so to speak. It is a limited edition custom shop model in Alpine White so that too is a nice bonus. It has 22 frets, rosewood fretboard, Mahoghany body and neck, 3 way pup switch, 2 sets of volume and tone controls along with a tune-o-matic bridge with alnico classic humbuckers. The tuners are the standard Grovers and seem to work quite well while the neck is quite chunky and is 24 3/4 scale.

I'm using this with my Crate GTD 120 combo and it seems like a perfect fit, although the pickups tend to produce some hum and feedback at louder volumes, so using a noise gate is recommended. The pickups on this guitar can produce some serious sustain contrary to popular belief. I see no reason to swap these out for another set of Gibsons or Duncans. These are quite to my liking and I'm pleased with them. The clean tones from them are full and lush and are good for any type of music from Blues to Ballads. Using Distortion or Overdrive will put this guitar in a hard rock/ blues setting with no problem at all.

Here's where I had to do some work when I got this little guy home. It seems to me that Epiphone should do a better job of training their employees in china on how to do a proper setup on their guitars before they ship them out IMO. The string action on this was way off thus causing tuning instability and the intonation was off also. It took me about a hour to correct these and let me stress that all guitarists should learn how to do their own setups. It'll save them headaches, not to mention the costs of bringing them in to Guitar Center or anywhere else to have a setup done. Other than what I mentioned, everything else on this guitar was flawless. This is one well made instrument. I couldn't find any flaws at all in the finish or the frets, electronics, bracing,loose hardware, or anything else.

I have a habit of babying my equipment, so reliability should not be a problem at all. I feel that I can depend on this with no problems at all, although when I do play out, I always bring a backup just out of habit. As I mentioned earlier, this is one well made guitar that I feel will last me a hell of a long time. I am quite pleased with my purchase of this product.

I've been playing for over 36 years and besides this, I own a Fender Strat, a Crate GTD 120 combo and a Digitech RP-70. If anything happened to this guitar I would definately go out and get another one. I've always wanted a Les Paul but didn't want to pay the outrageous prices for a Gibson. Epiphones IMO, are just as good and are much more affordable for those of us on a budget, and besides, they are owned by Gibson.

Made in China, but isn't everything these days? Mahogany body & top. It has all the typical LP controls, etc. All good quality, good feel & install. I've seen the pickups listed as "Vintage" and "Hot". All I can say is they're not Burstbuckers, but they're MUCH better than the ones in the LP Special I had years ago. Tuners are chrome Grovers.
I have a limited edition model in Alpine White & Tone-Lok (sic) bridge.

I'm playing this straight through an old Peavey Audition, I think it's 30W. Sounds good in my basement & with a drummer. Getting DiMarzio's soon, Super Dist. & PAF Pro.

It needs a pro set-up. All fitment & hardware was good. No complaints.

I've had it 2 months & like I said, it sounds great in my basement. But I'm playing for 25 yrs. off & on I know quality when I see it.

I couldn't say, has a "Limited Lifetime" warranty, can't recall the details.

I walked out of Guitar Center after spending $400 & I have a beautiful, solidly-built guitar. Would I like a Gibson? Sure, but for the money, I can't complain about anything. I bet I could plug into a JCM 800 & play anything from the 60's or 70's. Once I find my old distortion box, I'll cover the rest. I'll put in the DiMarzio's & really take off.
I haven't really played in a couple years, so I'm reliving the 'Zeppelin, Deep Purple, AC/DC songs. I got the itch again, so I'll be buying more gear as I progress. But I can't believe this guitar only cost $400.

Cost me 400 Euro's at my local musicianshop.
Made in October 2007, in China. (just checked it at http://www.guitardaterproject.org, for this special occasion :D)
Frets.
It has 22 frets, but not the standard Les Paul/ SG frets. The frets are more roundcarved, and a bit smaller than your average Gibson/ Epiphone Les Paul/ SG.
Looks.
It doesn't have this binding on it, these contrasting lines around the edges of your guitar, and both sides of your neck, which are a matter of taste. Mine is a lightly purple kind of wornCherrey, kinda kool, the wornCherry finish is awesome. It didn't worn off anywhere, even though I hit some closets, chairs and walls. (don't ever try to play guitar and walk downstairs at the same time.
About the body. It's all mahagony, as Les Pauls should be(my opinion), and it has these ES335 Dot-inlay, which I think most players are more used to, so it's straightaway playable.
Hardware.
It doesn't have a tremolo-arm, don't buy a Les Paul anyway to do tremolo-stuff, this guitar is in my opinion not ment for tremolo-thingies. And thank God for the Tune-Omatic bridge. I've had a Fender Telecaster from 1963, but it always went way out of tune. I can bike(we do a lot of biking in the Netherlands, lol) to my guitarteacher with my lady in my guitarbag, and not having to retune.
Grver tuners, check other reviews whether they lock or not.
No included Accessories.
Not a ton of features, but for the money!

This guitar suits a lot of stuff, when you know how modificate your love, you can do anything. I can get a lovely Jazz sound, can make it sound like AC/DC's SG's, can do some funky stuff, it all sounds good, except for surfer stuff. Don't play surfer stuff anyways :D
Whenever you're very picky you can hear the most unhearable noise at bridge pickup 10, 60 watt guitar amp at 10. Don't use this combination of settings, you will blow your ears way. So we can say that it's noiseless. I want to buy a Strat to be albe to play more Clapton/ Funky stuff, and becease they are so beautiful.
For the unhearable subtle noise(and I do mean unhearable:D) a nine

This was a shop- modificated guitar, so it was all perfect, pickups a bit to tony, so I lowered them, Jazzy sounds and stuff like that. Mind you: the guitar rings whenever you set the action to low, so be aware of that, whenever you buy a studio you max. sound, and you won't get that with ringing strings
Not a single flaw.

I trust this guitar for a 100 percent. she's a really well built lady, she can withstand anything. I suggest you always bring another guitar for string-breaking accidents, but you can trust the guitar absolutely. The strap buttons are crap, but here in the Netherlands we have these Grolsch beer-bottles with rubber caps, with a small hole in the middle. The caps fit perfectly on your buttons, and put them on your buttons after you've put on your strap, and your guitar will never fall down. A six for the stupid strap buttons

No idea of the support. (never dealt with them)

I love it being so cheap, for having an amazing sound.
I love it for never wearing it's finish off.
I love it for the playabilaty.
I love it for the looks.
It's a keeper.

I have an epiphone les paul studio gothic, which means black finish, black hardware, and one very metal set up!
it features,
Black chrome hardware
Rosewood fretboard with 22 frets and XII inlay at the 12th fret
Mahogany body and set neck
2 Alnico V humbuckers, which ive swapped for EMG 81 and 85's
two volume and two tone, 3 way switch
Satin black finish
24.75" scale
grover machine heads which i am quite dissapointed about, the guitar does not seem to hold tune as well as my ??80 yamaha pacifica!

1.6" nut width

i play metal generally and with the emg's its perfect for the job, i play it through an old linear 50 watt combo and a battered DOD thrash master, but it creats the perfect sound for my style.

i bought mine seccond hand but well set up very well, did not have to adjust a thing, only complaint is teh 9v battery for the EMG's moves around a bit, and rattles.

thsi guitar has never let me down, everything is solid and well built.

nevr had to use them, and hope not too!

not too much more i can say, excelent guitar, i would reccomend fitting emg;s or seymore duncans for a more metal tone. best guitar ive ever owned

Vintage Sunburst. Which means all black except the light top. three colors. very nice. clear gloss. all excellent except for beneath the pickguard the screw on top has scratches in the paint around it.

Single Cutaway solid mahogany. Carved top. The top grain is all one piece, very upscale looking.

Tune O matic, works perfectly, good chrome. Grover Tuners. Alnico Magnet passive humbucker pickups. black rings and bezels, no covers.
24 1/2" scale. dot inlays, no body or neck binding.

2007 chinese model. 22 frets. comes with nice manual and so forth.. cable and truss rod wrench.

Standard controls. vol vol tone tone three way.
all solid and smooth.

Allsolid mahogany. weighs about 9 lbs, too.
nice fingerboard.. rosewood.

I'm giving this a ten because the features are:
set neck.
mahogany body.
alnico magnet humbuckers.
grover tuners.
and those features are all exactly what I expected and I'm perfectly happy with them.
This is a hell of a lot of guitar without some of the cosmetic niceties, but that doesn't mean it has no features.

and oh yeah! It came with a really slick poster of a Casino.. with all the other epi guitars on the back.. both excellent posters for your music room. Mine went up right away.

My current music room set up, which is what I use the most, is an Epiphone Valve Junior Head and one 12" cabinet. I plug the guitar into the Digitech rp7, first.
I play mostly rock and blues, and this is a killer guitar for this style of music, and will handle a lot of other styles easily.

I cannot fail to mention that I beleive the all mahogany body gives this thing a push above typical les paul clones.
Buy this one! It's got massive tone on it's own!

Very quiet humbuckers, with a nice midrange, not too pronounced, and excellent highs. Good old humbuck bottom end, a bit lighter perhaps than something truly vintage.
These pickups have very nice response when they are lowered or heightened, or if the poles are adjusted. String to string balance is better than many if you take the time with it. And, it's fast!

I'd call this a brighter sound than some humbucks of the jazzy bent.. or even the fusion bent.. these have a very nice cutting tone. easy to mix!

I've been going through ZZ top, sort of the old fart getting around to tunes he never got a chance to play before.. and this guitar is killer on that stuff.

Boy.. this set up fast. and easy. and everything on it was smooth as you could hope for.
The bridge went up and down slick.. the saddles intonated smooth and fast, the tuners hold well and operate perfectly. nice big buttons, very nice feeling.
What I'm saying here is that with just your set up you ought to make excellent sounds with this guitar.. no sweat.
I'm giving it a ten.

Here we go with the pros and cons section on this guitar.
It came from MF with a broken string. No outside box damage. I sent pics, they said they'd accept a return. I said, no thanks I'm keeping it.

There was a dent in the board beneath the high E string just below the nut, right where the string was broken.

Also, when I took the plastic off the pickguard there were four scratches on it, plus two sections that were not shiny or new looking, but blurry and screwed up looking.

I don't think MF is going to give me a new pickguard, so I'll tell Epiphone when I fill out my warranty card.

Now the pro side
beauty finish. all over. well done Epiphone.
Action was a tad high. The very last two frets rattled on the high e string only.. which I promptly levelled with a small hand file and paper and steel wool to polish.. and it took all of four minutes start to finish.
I adjusted the pups of course. each amp is different. effects pedals vary. you have to set up for your other gear and for your playing style.
It was generic. Like it's supposed to me.
Easy to change, and now it's perfect for me.
Beauty top, I was so glad they bothered to have the carved top, but to have a nice piece of mahogany up there. one piece.. really makes this guitar look great.
Everything was detailed correctly.
good smooth frets. nicely crowned. good nut work.
a peach.
That's why I kept it despite the screwed up board and guard and the scratched paint beneath the guard.
Too nice to take a double chance one!

I'm giving it an 8. because it had flaws.. and because MF should have done something.
but I feel bad because at least one point of that is for MF. and in full honesty, I doubt I'd take a full point away considering how well everything else was done.
so.. remember I'm being a jerk on this one.

Oh man. it's two days old. But I've been playing my epiphone sheraton for 14 years about and except for fretwear it's like new.
This one is every bit as good.
Everything about it says longevity. I see no scrimping on parts quality.
Haven't popped the covers, but the pots are smooth and have a full range.
I'g gig with this anytime, and I'm absolutely sure it would be problem free.

Epiphone has always been great with me. They've sent me free posters, always communicated well.
I've never had a complaint that meant warranty service.
I own two epi valve juniors, one epi vj cab, my epi sheraton and now this epi les paul studio.
I am totally happy with epiphones replys and repsonses for the last 14 years.

I've been playing since 1965? has it been that long? I own about thirty guitars, and have a small store where I build and repair guitars.
I own solid bodys, semi hollows, classicals, acoustics, basses, etc. etc. personally.
I would buy this guitar again in a heartbeat. I believe epiphone has a real winner with this model.
I love the sound. I love the beautiful job Epiphone did on a guitar in this price range. A beautiful job on the look and the sound.
I compared this to everything I've played all my life, of course, it's called experience.
I play it everyday, (I can say that though it's two days old, because I know I'll have it out permanently) and it's more than I expected.
It may very well be nothing more than an epiphone special II with the neck glued in. I don't know. I do know, it looks fantastic, it sounds wonderful. The pickups are fine.. the tuners work great.. on and on.
This is a definate ten. A no bullshit ten.
If you get an example of this guitar as nice as the one I have you will be happy. period.
229.00 with free shipping.
I see they sell for 299.00 almost everywhere and I believe MF is not going to have the 229.00 models for long.
Grab one. There is no reason not to have a great little solid mahogany *like the original* les paul in your hands.. and no reason this one wont stay there for forty years.
Feels great to own it!

The following is a first-day impression. I might write a second review in a couple months' time.

This instrument is everything many people think of when they think of the Les Paul design, but since this is the Studio, a step down cosmetically from the Standard, it has no binding, open-coil instead of covered pickups, dot instead of trapezoid inlays, and no fancy flamed maple top. Everything else is there.

Made in the Gibson-owned Qingdao China plant sometime early in 2006, from what I can tell from the serial number, and it's been sitting around at Musician's Friend for a year until I bought it.

So much more powerful than my Squier Strat. Since I spent all $300 of my budget on this, I'm stuck with a Squier SP-10 amp. Fortunately, I use a Zoom 505 (snagged for less than $20) and that improves it. The Squier amp is rattling before the might of the dual humbuckers. Maybe it's because of the power of the dual humbucker design, or maybe these pickups are far better than people say. It, along with my Squier Strat, will be enough for my covering video game music.

Action and intonation was great straight out of the box. Finish is a beautiful Heritage Cherry Sunburst. However, for some reason, the strings are about a millimeter or so off center at the bottom of the fretboard. Doesn't affect the playability, though, and I didn't pay the full $350, so I'm not complaining. Still, it's worth a point off the score.

It seems gig-worthy, and the hardware seems durable enough. The finish seems unbreakable without some abuse, which I obviously will never do. If I ever gig, I could trust the strap buttons (my strap is pretty crappy, though) and I would never gig without a backup, but it seems good enough to not need a backup.

Many are complaining about the nut and the selector switch, though.

Haven't had a problem in the day I've had it for. In my update, I'll probably not have a problem. I did have a problem with the Epiphone Faded G-400 (the nut broke) and Musician's Friend had no problem taking it back.

I found this for $299 new on Musician's Friend (at the time of writing this, these are still $299), probably because they are discontinuing the sunbursts (on Epiphone's site they list the available colors of the Studio as ebony, arctic blue, worn brown, and worn cherry--no mention of the sunbursts).

I've been playing for about about a year and a half straight (since I was 14), after a failed attempt when I was 8.

There is nothing left to be desired. I returned an Epiphone Faded G-400 to get this, because I wanted a good Les Paul-type guitar, set neck, carved top, and not an Agile. I can't believe that Musician's Friend had this one sitting in stock for a year before I bought it.

see other reviews

I really like the diversity of sound it produces. I play through a little 30 watt marshall, and it can give me that classic deep les paul tone, or flip the toggle and and a few knobs and get a nice thin cutting tone with a hint of twang. I think this guitar espically suits me, as I enjoy a lot of indie, as well as some classic, alternative and heavier rock. I really like strats and teles, and was thinking about buying one of them, but I think ill hang on to this for a while. afterall, youve gotta have a bit of originality, right?
ps I have the stock pickups still in it

well it doesnt really matter what i say here, because every les paul is different. make sure you play a number of them before buying though. personally, mine has nice low action and no buzz. i did not have this guitar set up. i'm happy with it as is.

i ve had it for 3 or 4 years now and it has stood up pretty well. i play it every day and jam with it all the time. the toggle switch broke off but that wasnt a big deal.

n/a

i ve been playing since i was 10 or 11 and i m 20 now. it's a great guitar if you have a low budget and just wanna make and play music...thats what its all about. sure you can spend over a grand on a gibson...but why? with a few mods, this guitar is just as good. one thing i favour in this guitar appose to the gibson model is that it's a lot lighter, and the neck is not as thick. if it were stolen, i dont think i'd get another, as i don't have any money, but i will say that i m satisfied with it. make sure you play a bunch of different guitars. you dont wanna end up like those poor sap's on here bitching about buzz and high action....when its their own fault for making the shotty purchase

Was made in 2004 at Daewon plant, China. Features have been covered extensively here, I suppose. A solid guitar, with no frills like maple tops and gay binding. All I wanted, so it gets a 10.

Play all sorts of rock, a bit of blues, some acoustic stuff, reggae, singer-songwriter stuff... I play nylon-string acoustics(here in Brazil we use them as bashers, not steel-strings like you americans do), so I my style is definitely non-electric(I hammer-on and slide instead of bending, don't tap, strum hard, fingerpick a LOT) Handles the rock with aplomb, and the cleaner stuff sounds surprisingly nice as well... Probably thanks to my Fender Frontman 25R's clean channel... Drive channel can be annoying if you can't set it up smart... But yesterday I got a close Slash solo impression just with some knob setting... With a EQ or boost pedal I could pull off that tone and switch back to the fine rythym tone I coaxed out of this unlikely guitar-amp pair... Treble pickup doesn't have the sweet highs I hoped to get... Could change pickups, though I got such a beautiful almost-acoustic tone out of the two that I just don't want to lose... A solid 8 because the clean surprised me, but the distorted stuff didn't

Impressive. Don't know ho much the store I bought it in had to do with it, but it was VERY well intonated, and didn't have a SINGLE dead spot on the neck. Well-dressed frets, flawless finish, controls feel just fine. However, the volume and tone controls don't adjust as gradually as I'd like, and pickup switch sometimes won't let me have both pickups on, which pisses me off. Can't tell about strings, I left the store with new ones already installed.

Two words: Sherman Tank. Apart from the pickup switch, which is a bitch(sorry for the stupid rhyme), no hitch with input jacks or whatever else. Would gig without backup anyday, this thing is a Les Paul, folks. Not much to go wrong, just a solid piece of mahogany with 2 pickups and Grover tuners that do what they should. Why do people use guitars with so much crap on them?!? To play shred on top of that?!? Ridiculous...

Haven't contacted Epi or it's Brazilian distributor yet, so can't tell. Not that I'll likely need to, with my local shop helping me out pronto with anything I need, as repairs go.

Been playing for 4 years, lusting for a Fender Strat for 2 of these years. Was gonna get it but wound up with this so I could afford a slightly better amp(damn, gear is expensive in Brazil). Still lust for the feel of a raw maple neck, but this is a fine guitar. Own a Crafter nylon-string acoustic, which I love to death and has the thinnest neck I've ever seen on a classical, but I digress. If lost, would get another cause I think I turned into a Paul player for life. Love it's sound and especially the feel of the neck, never tought I'd get along this well with rosewood. Compared it to a LOT of stuff, Squiers, Ibanezes, Corts, all the asian and Brazilian brands. Got this one 'cause of the price and lack of frills that weren't wanted or needed. Gets a 10 here because it's my overall opinion, and I just love the damn thing to death, not to mention for the price you pay for it in the US, it's a LOT of guitar.

Bought used with EMG 81 and EMG 85 pickups
Mahogany body and neck
Black finish, carved top
22 frets
Rosewood fretboard
Set neck
Block inlays (not the dot inlays like on the new ones)

I can't vouch for the stock Epiphone pickups, but with the EMGs, this is a really great-sounding guitar. I'm running this through a Line 6 POD 2.0 and a Behringer KX1200 and it sounds beautiful. Like I said, can't say much for the stock pickups...but upgrade this guitar with any decent set of humbuckers and you'll be happy.

I bought this used with pretty low action (a little fret buzz). The nut may be the only thing you might want to replace. Nice finish...looks great with the arched top. This is one of the older versions of the guitar with the block inlays rather than the dot inlays - looks very similar to the Gibson Les Paul Studios.

Haven't gigged with it, but it's a well-built guitar.

For the price I paid ($225 US), it was an awesome deal, especially with the upgraded EMGs. If it were stolen or lost, I'd probably go ahead and buy another with the same pickups.

If you're looking for a decent, cheap guitar, used Epiphones will work fine. With a decent pair of pickups, this guitar is pretty damn awesome.