Epiphone Les Paul Studio

I bought this guitar for obvious reasons: 1) It was an Epiphone. 2) New, not a scratch on it. 3) It had four controls. Now with four controls, you can do a lot. I always used to crank em all full blast, but I now learned that that isn't the way to go. Though the bass and treble tone controls are a little shabby, volume controls are excellent (it's the kind of guitar where the volume actually LOWERS when you turn it down. Pickups are ok, not gibson though. Well what do you expect from an Epiphone. But if you go down to a store with $100 and buy some Gibson USA pickups, slip em into your LP Studio, you've got a gibson. My guitar's finish was Ebony, and it shined in the lights. The features on this guitar are quite the bunch.

I play hard rock, metal and alternative, kind of like Silverchair and Blink, and Metallica. This guitar sure shows it's power. It suits my music fine, and it's rather lightweight, so therefore it's comfortable. I'm using a Peavey Rage 158 and Danelectro Distortion and Chorus with it. Not very good w/ Danelectro pedals. I'm picking up a BOSS Hyper Metal, and that's worth buying for this guitar. Not noisy really, only if you have a shitty amp. It's got a nice bright, mellow sound when it's on clean, and a biting, kick-in-your-face sound on crunch. And because it has four knobs, your sound varies So much. I also like how you can slide down the neck easily and you don't have to press down with herioc effort. One minor flaw, pickups aren't THAT good.

The guitar came out pretty nice. Very light, so you're able to move around with it when performing. You don't have to strum or pick hard, because the bridge is quite LOOSE and TIGHT at the same time (know what i mean?). Pickups were Ok, kinda loose, and were sorta scarred. It had a properly bookmatched top and a clean routed bridge. It did have a flaw though: The tuners looked dirty and had a bad look to them. You might want to change the tuners to chrome or gold. Everything else was all good.

THIS GUITAR WILL LAST AND LAST. I can definetly depend on this instrument. The finish looks thick and smooth, and will most likely never wear off. Though this guitar is a Les Paul STUDIO, it can withstand quite a lot of live shows as well. This guitar is worth buying for performances.

One last note: I've been playing for 3 years and for those past years, I've only owned one electric. This is the best electric guiar I've ever played on. Get it. It's worth it.

1998 made. Can't remember where!
22 frets
Two volume pots, two tone (One each per pickup), 3-way switch
Two Gibson humbuckers
Dunno about the body, but the neck is rosewood
Transparent kind of roasted colour
1 cable (dodgy, unusable)

I play heavy-rock and heavy-metal, both based largely in blues. The sound is just fantastic. This was my first electric, so I bought it with a Fender Frontman 25. Through that, you can just get a huge range of tones. From a huge, ppphhhhhhhaaaaaaaaaaatttttttt thud, with loads of overdrive or distortion, using the neck pickup, to a jangly indie sound without the effect, using the bridge pickup.
This guitar can sound full and rich, or brittle and harsh, it's up to you.
In fact, for #200 in the sales, you couldn't find a nicer sound. It's an absolute beast. The ONLY problem, for that price, is that it whines. A lot. The feed-back is just incredible. This can be remedied by slightly turning down the volume.

I bought this at Musical Exchanges in Birmingham, England. Despite being a respected dealer (and owning the largest guitar shop I've seen), the Les Paul was somewhat less than satisfactory. Although the pickups where well-set, the action was appalling. I immediately lowered the strings and fiddled about with the rod. Once set-up, though, it has played nicely, though for a guitar of this price, obviously, it isn't perfect. The strings needed to be changed. They were not round. More square!

I have had to clean the switch. For a period, the neck pickup did not work at all. You have to take the switch out of the back of the guitar and sand down the contacts.

On the whole, well made.

Save yourself the hassle I've had and buy some new machine-heads with the guitar. I have now twisted off four of the six plastic bits, just tuning the thing.

Also, I break far too many first strings, although I am not a thrasher of the strings. The bridge needs to be filed a little.

The rest is fine. I fully intend to gig without backup until I have purchased another guitar (probably a BC Rich Warlock).

Never had to talk to anyone. I've had it since January 1999.

I've been playing for seven years, and only managed to get an electric in January 1999. Since then I have been using the guitar every single day, without fail. It is strong, durable and sounds like an angel or a demon and the flick of some dials. I am now in a much better situation to judge what I am buying, now, so, I would consider something of better quality (and regrettably somewhat more expense), but for a first guitar, it is fantastic. You won't find better in its price range.
While looking at guitars, I picked up myriad Fender and Squire Strats. I wouldn't wish a cheap Strat on my worst enemy. While being (still) the guitar of choice for many first-time buyers, the Epiphone Les Paul is an altogether nicer guitar. With a full and bassy sound and a half-decent action, it is very, very good.
Perhaps the guitar could have done with a single-coil in the middle, just for variety, but otherwise, it is a fine workhorse and will always be a staple guitar in my gigging diet.

Manufactured in Korea, year unknown, you could say the features are "Standard Les Paul". Here are the specs straight from the Epiphone web site:
Pickups 2 Humbuckers ,passive Hardware Chrome Scale 24.75" Nut Width 1.68" Neck Joint Set Neck Material Mahogany Fingerboard Rosewood/Trapezoid Binding None Body Material Mahogany/Alder Top Mahogany/Alder
Mine sports a nice translucent burgundy finish, very nice!

Since my last attempt at submitting a review was plagued by technical difficulties, I'm not sure whether or not my original post went through... if it's twice, I apologize, if not, here goes:
After trying it out more thoroughly at home in my Fender Blues Jr amp, those stock Epi humbuckers are very, very loud! By turning the knobs down, it sounded more than just decent, it sounded great! But that's a mark of a great amp: it makes a decent axe sound good and a good guitar sound great!
The key is to adjust the guitar volume knobs to "agree" with the amp - I used to keep all guitar controls full blast ... there is a lot to be learned from experimenting with different settings!
I admit that I'm in the "after glow" of the purchhase, and I do have a DiMarzio Super 2 and a Carvin Humbucker waiting "backstage" should my ears decide this guitar lacks anything ... so far, through my amp, I must say the pickups impress me. I was expecting the pickups would be the first thing I'd change, but I guess not now!
I'm into bluesy music: blues influenced rock, folk rock as well, and my own brand of pseudo-psychedelic rock -I'm a brit rock fan (Zepplin, The Stones, The Who, the Fab Four, Pink Floyd, Genesis, Deep Purple etc., etc.) so I take bits and pieces from various styles (or at least I try!) and combine them.
It took me a while to figure it out, but I'm a Les Paul man, period. This axe confirms it!

The action is what made me chose this guitar among the others. Agreed, the looks got my attention, but that setup was better than the other guitars I tested ( othe Epis, as well as Godin Radiator): low action,little or no fret buzz. I still have a free store setup that comes with the purchase, but does it need it?
I guess once the wood settles with temperature changes I might want the setup then.
The pickups are well adjusted indeed: so loud that I had to turn the volumes down all the way then turn them back up to where they sounded the nicest ... I'll say it again, I wasn't expecting that level of quality there!
It's a plain mahogany body with a translucent burgundy finish, I saw no dips or scratches, very, very nice.

The only weak point I see to that guitar is the old fashioned acorn-type tuners, they look shoddy and cheap ... then again, they (or similar ones anyway)seem to be favored by Gibson as well.
If one should break or become ineffective at keeping the guitar in tune, I'd likely replace them with Grovers or Gotoths. Otherwise, they'll stay on.
Otherwise, it seems well built and durable, but keep in mind I just bought it! Since I baby my stuff, it will last me!

Since I have a warrantee from Long & McQuade, they'd be the ones I see for any servicing if required. I can't otherwise comment on the quality of customer support.

Been playing for a while (good Lord is it 14 years already?), once played bass in a semi pro outfit (another story). I also own a home made double cutaway Les Paul Jr, fitted with Seth Lover pickups; and a Frankenstrat fitted with Duncan Alnico-Pro II pickups.
My amp is a Fender Blues Jr (best amp I've ever owned) and I use several different pedals (too long a list) depending on what effect I'm trying to achieve.
Since I know how inconsistent Epi's can be quality-wise, I jumped at the opportunity when I saw how feather-light this Les Paul was, and how "Gibson worthy" the action was (low, buzz-free, comfortable). I wasn't expecting the pickups to sound good as well, that's a bonus indeed.
Should it become lost or stolen, I'd collect my insurance premium and get another for sure, provided the action & pickups are this good on the replacement!
I love the weight & action, I also love the looks: those trapezoid inlays & inlaid Epiphone logo look very sharp! The only thing I dislike is the tuning gear, but they haven't yet given me any reason to doubt their reliability.
I also tried out an Epiphone Les Paul "sparkle" (felt like it weighed a ton) a generic Epiphone Les Paul (bolt on neck) nice but boring looking and well, a bolt on neck! Also tried an Epi SG and SG custom. as well as a Godin Radiator. The Studio was the only one that had it all together, light weight, great action, good looks and good sound too!
I guess splittable humbuckers would make it that much more flexible, but it has a LOT to offer as is!

This guitar was crafted in Korea, I am unsure of the year. The features are standard Les Paul - here are the specs straight from the Epiphone web site:
Pickups 2 Humbuckers (passive) Hardware Chrome Scale 24.75" Nut Width 1.68" Neck Joint Set Neck Material Mahogany Fingerboard Rosewood/Trapezoid Binding None Body Material Mahogany/Alder Top Mahogany/Alder
The finish on mine is a nice deep dark burgundy, which lets the wood grain show through.

It took me a long time to realize that I'm a Les Paul guy, end of story. Since I just purchased the darned thing, I'm in the afterglow of the purchase so I won't say it's the best sounding guitar ever made, but when I tried it out in the store, using a Fender Blues DeVille, it sounded pretty darned decent.
I enjoy blues, blues-rock, folk rock, as well as a weird neo-psychedelic mess (I'm a Brit Rock fan, what can I say?).
It has a nice clean sound, perhaps (and I do mean perhaps) a bit thin in the neck position - but the store tryout was rather quick: it sounded clean and played nice (see action fit & finish) that's good enough for me!

The factory setup is pretty damned good. I do have a free setup with Long & McQuade's that comes with the purchase, but that guitar's action was so low and buzz-free straigh "off the rack" that it really got my attention.
It's feather-light - a big plus for anybody who's ever had a pinched nerve or some other similar injury.
The finish looks gorgeous, I've seen no scratches or dings in the wood. A bit of dust was the only visual flaw!

The only weak point I see with this guitar would be the old-fashioned acorn type tuning gear. They just plain look shoddy.
The overall construction is, however, very well made. I baby my stuff so I know it'll last.

I've never dealt with the people at Epiphone, can't comment here!

Please note that the price quoted was after trade-in. It listed for $545.00. As I mentioned, I'm a Les Paul guy: my other axe is a home made Les Paul Jr with double cutaways fitted with Seymour Duncan Seth Lover pickups. I do have a Frankenstrat on standby if I feel like single coil tone.
I play through a Fender Blues Jr amp. Depending on the song, I'll use several pedals: Dunlop Rotovibe, Boss T-Wah, Zoom Amp simulator/Delay pedal, various distortion & fuzz boxes and a Boss Acoustic simulator ... mostly, I'll like the guitar straight in the Blues Jr!
What I love about this guitar is the light weight, smooth, low action and the good looks! The pickups sound decent but that's a secondary thought: should I feel (once the afteglow wears off) that they lack punch, tightness or whatever my ears feel may be lacking, I have a set of pickups gathering dust in my closet ... both splittable humbuckers which would add that much flexibility to it.
My only real concern is the tuners: they look cheap and frail, but it would seem that all of the better Epis & Gibsons use those acorn tuners ... if they keep the guitar in tune and don't break on me, they'll stay in. If one of them wears out to the point the guitar won't stay in tune, I think getting Gothoths, Grovers or Sperzels shouldn't be that difficult or expensive.
I compared it with other Epiphone Les Pauls & SG's as well as with a Godin Radiator, this one Les Paul beat them hands down in the weight & low action category. And it looks nice! Love those trapezoid inlays!
The inlaid "Epiphone logo" in the headstock looks pretty hot too!

This is a 1998, I think, Les Paul Studio. It has the standard LP features: solid body, carved top, two humbucker pickups, 3 way selector switch, tune-o-matic bridge, etc. The neck is nice. Not too think, not too thin, and good for just about all kinds of playing. The tuners, well, they are shit. As soon as I get the money, Im replacing them w/ gotoh locking tuners.

Nice. The pickups arent great, but I think I got a good one: they arent that bad. I use a Fender Frontman 25R usually. Usually, I use the neck pickup, or both, because, the bridge one has too much treble in it, but its not too bad. I play some blues, classic rock, and punk rock, and it does all pretty well.

The guitar was set up surprisingly well at the factory. I had to have one of the tuners replaced, and Im about to replace them all, but thats Epiphone for ya. So far, my biggest beef has been the P.O.S. nut. The second time I changed the strings, the damn thing snapped in two. But hell, it was plastic. Epiphone would only replace it w/ another plastic one, but when the luthier went to take the nut off, he found that some laquer had splashed onto the head and stuck the nut in. So, when he took the nut off, some of the finish on the head chipped off. He felt bad, so he made me a nice nut out of bone, and I havent had any problems since. I give it a 6 because of the sloppy finish splash, and the shitty nut.

I only play w/ my friends, not live, so I dont know about the reliability during live play. It seems pretty reliable, though, as soon as you replace the nut and tuners. Some people will want to replace the pickups, as well, but mine work well, and I can deal with them for now. I wouldnt ever gig w/ out a backup, though.

It has a lifetime warranty, but they wouldnt replace that cheap ass nut with a real one, so I was a bit peaved. Other than that, nice.

Not bad. Replace the shitty nut and tuners, and maybe the pickups, and its not badd. Its lighter than the standard and custom les pauls, too, which I like. I hate wearing a heavy guitar. If it was stolen, I would probably get a standard though, even thought I like this one a lot. The standards are too heavy, in my opinion. A pretty nice guitar, but look at all the ones in the store, and pick the best one.

'95 I believe. Made in Korea. 22 frets. Solid top. 2-tone, 2-volume 3-way selector. two humbuckers-stock. Mohogany neck, rosewood fretboard, and a thin layer of either maple or alder on top of a mohogany body. Cherry sunburst finish. tune o matic/stopbridge tailpiece. Regular epi(cheap)tuners. Not a load of features, but its a les paul.

Suits my style well. I play Guns n roses, aerosmith, ozzy, etc. Pickups suck. I use a Marshall vs102R through a dunlop crybaby, and usually use a Roland effects board while recording. It's got sustain, but its neck is bolt on so that takes a little bit away from that. The pickups tend to be noisy at high noises. I'm going to replace them with seymour duncans. This guitar gets all the sounds of a Gibson just at a lower price

Action way too high. The truss rod needed to be adjusted, and the nut was too low. I had to replace that, but I bought it used so some of this was expected.

Will withstand playing live, but the hardware is crap. The finish isn't very good to begin with. Replaced the strap buttons with strap locks. I would not gig without a backup, cause I don't plan on looking like a fool when I break a string. Besides, this is my #2 guitar soon to be my #3.

Don't deal with epiphone. Bought from pawn shop so no warranties or customer service.

For $200, this is terrific. I've been playing for 4 years, but I'm pretty decent. I love that it's a reliable backup. My favorite feature is that its a paul at such a low price. If it was stolen, I'd get over it. I wish it came with better stock pickups. I've had it for a while, but the pickups just started to screw up recently.

This is a '98 ebony, with white pickguard. 22 frets. Standard Les Paul set-up (H/H) with 2 volume knobs and 2 tone knobs. I replaced the bridge stock pick-up with a Seymour Duncan Distortion Trembucker because the stock pick-ups squeal when you turn the amp up. Still looking for a good neck pick-up. Has a stop tailpiece, of course. I got this one with a hardshell case. Can't forget the pick-up selector.

It suits my music style perfectly, rock and roll!!! (VH, GnR, Aerosmith, etc.) I use it with my Aden Delay, Crybaby Wah, and my DOD Mystic Blues overdrive pedals. The pick-up I have has great harmonics in my Lead 12 Marshall. It has amazing highs and lows. Not that good with the mids, but what rock fan uses that?? As I said, the only problem I had were the noisy stock pick-ups.

The action is great!! I lowered it as low as it will go without buzzing. The only flaws were scratches (put there by me, of course).

I would use this guitar as my main guitar at a gig, that is, if I don't get my Wolfgang!!

It's under a lifetime warranty.

Buy this as a beginner/ intermediate player, it's great.

Guitar is about 96-97 studio les paul. Solid top with cherry sunburst(nicely finished). Volume and tone pots for both humbuckers. Conrols are dismal. Stock Epiphone pickups had to be taken off and repaced - they were too muddy and lacked dekinition. no tuning problems - stop tailpiece and nice tuners (non locking) kept everything sounding nice. Neck was comfortable with mediun frets. and a rosewood fingerboard (22 frets).

I like to play shred, Neo-Classical, Classical, and rock. The guitar was disappointing in all respects. I used it with a custom shop Trace Elliot C50 combo, and it sounded muddy all the time. Hence the replacement pickups which helped matters a little but not a lot. Guitar is suited only to tashy rythm playing.

Medium action, extremely poor quality wood and pickups, Stain from the neck was spilled on the fretboard...need I go on?...

Played three gigs with it before selling it on, so I can't comment on reliability. But being a Les Paul I can't see any problems in this area.

Lifetime warranty (I think), but I had no dealings with the company.

The fact that I sold the guitar and purchased a Godin sums up my feelngs on this guitar. Shoddy workmanship, terrible woods, dismal pickups combine to make this a truly "entry" level electric. Gigging musicians avoid it.

this is a pretty good guitar. it was made in october 98 by some korean factory. 22 frets with a mohogany top. it has 2 volume and 2 tone controls and a 3 way toggle switch. 2 generic passive epiphone humbuckers. the body is mahogany and alder, the neck is mahogany. its a transparent vintage sunburst finish (very very nice) it looks nothing like the les paul special II. it has a tune-o-matic bridge with a stop bar tail piece. the tuners arent too great, pearloid generic epiphone tuners. the nut is 1.68" wide, with a scale of 24.75". the frets are a medium size (i think) with a rosewood fretboard with traditional trapeziod inlays.

the sound suits my music style very well. the pickups aren't too bad for a 400 dollar guitar. i play mostly classic rock (pink floyd, led zeppelin, black sabbath, stevie ray, skynyrd, etc.}. im using a zoom 505 pedal and a fender princeton 112 plus amp. its has a very rich and fat sound like a les paul should. you can play anything from great sounding blues to shitty alternative music if you want. with the zoom 505 i can make some good sounds with this guitar. the only thing is that it sounds kind of weak compared to a gison, but way better than a standard strat. but it still sounds great.

the guitar is set up well. no fret buzz at all. the intonation is perfect!!! the pickups were a little high so i lowereed up. the top is properly matched, and the bridge is properly routed. the only flaw is the on the side of the fingerboard, their is a couple spots of stain from the neck.

this guitar seems to be pretty reliable. it will probably with stand playing live. the hardware is pretty good. the finish is very thick and wont wear off for a very long time. the strap buttons are pretty good. its a dependable guitar. id use it on a gig without a backup.

never dealt with them.. lifetime warranty

ive been playing for 2 years and have read all kinds of magizines and catalogs. they all say its a pretty decent guitar. if it was stolen i might buy it again (im thinking about that g-400 custom). i compared it to strats and teles and this one was better for the price. the only difference between the studio and standard is the binding. it also has a black pickguard and black knobs. thats it. if you want those 3 things, shell out an estra $60 and get the standard. bottom line -- a good guitar for the price.

Umm.. It's an Epiphone Les Paul Studio, all black. I suppose it was made somewhere by a 5 year old who got paid a couple of pennies. But that 5 year old must be a phenom, because it's the best guitar that I've ever played on. Made in 98. Bought it from the best guitar store in the world. Moore Music in Evansville, IN. It's got 2 pickups, humbuckers, chrome overlay. Stock, of course, and will be forever. I don't really like it when people replace the pickups... it changes the sound of the guitar, and you're not playing the same guitar you were before. Might as well get a new guitar. A lot of people say the pickups in these things are crap, but isn't that what gives it it's individual style? If you can't learn how to play on one of these, and get the best sound out of it possible, then you probably should go play some standard fender stratocaster.. whoo hoo those are original. But anyways. It's all black, black pickguard, looks like a rosewood fretboard. It looks REAL SHINY LIKE. Fingerprints show up on it real well though. Has a single cutaway at the top, thin profile, VERY LIGHT. Don't know what kind of bridge it has, but it doesn't have a wammy bar, thank god. Non-locking tuners. It's got a 3 way switch on it, one for lead, one for rhythm, and one for in between. Each pickup has it's own volume and tone switch. When you put it on the middle setting, it uses all 4 nobs.. each volume, pertaining to each pickup, and each tone nob to fine toon the sound. You can really get a variety of toons with the way this works. Tooning nobs are kinda cheap looking, but when you get down to tooning and fine tooning, they are VERY accurate and don't lose the tooning unless the string itself stretches or something. Very nice very nice. I would make NO modifications to this guitar at all. Doing so would be like putting a different engine in your car. It would still look like the same car, but wouldn't have the same personality. The guitar cost me $680, worth every penny.

The sound of a guitar is not something that the player creates. The sound of a guitar is always there, hidden inside its soul, you just have to find it. Depending on the way you have it set up, it can sound thick and bluesy, or high and mighty. Clean sounds awesome, and distortion opens up a new avenue of perfection. I've found pantera, metallica, greenday, offspring, somebody kill me by adam sandler. Whatever type of sound that you want, you don't need to change the pickups to find it.. you need to change how you're looking for it. I haven't gotten any effects yet.. I am using a peavey bandit 112 with it, and man is it cooooool. but this aint an amp review. I can't think of anything about this guitar that I don't like. No, this isn't an "everything is perfect" review, because I am very critical, but I also know when I've got a good thing.

If you have the money, I wouldn't get a studio, if you perform that is. Get one with a better finish. All black is okay, but not too cool. I've seen a studio that was about $150 more, but it had a gothic sunburst with pearl pickguard. ooohhh.. But anyways.. The guitar, I noticed, has one single flaw. A deep gash (about a quarter of an inch long) on the fret board.. finished over, and not noticeable until I took all the strings off and decided to study the intricate detail of this black beauty. Probably one of the korean workers wanted some revenge or something, but not noticeable at all. All the hardware was put together nicely, haven't had to make any adjustments as of yet. Plays very nicely, strings don't hurt very much, you don't have to push down like an acoustic, but it does take a little pressure. But, it keeps the strings from buzzing.

HA. I dream about when I'll be good enough to play live in front of a lot of people, because I would just rock the house with this guitar. Very VERY reliable. I've had it for 2 months, play it every day, and i've only broken one string. I replace the strings every now and then anyway, because it just aint natural to have strings on that long, whether they're perfect or not. I've found that d'addario strings work beautifully on this guitar.. tune nicely, sound great, only broke one e string.

Never had to mess with them.

Been playing for about 8-9 months. I wish I had more money so I could have gotten the one with a much better finish, but they sound the same so I can't complain too much. If it were stolen, I would wreak havoc on the soul that took it.. I would probably cry forever, then buy the Joe Perry Signature Edition lespaul. My favorite feature is the versatility.. great lead, great blues, thick distortion, tinny distortion, whatever you want, it's got. Highly recommend over a Fender Stratocaster. Those things are like corvettes, they may look good, cost a lot, but a crap. Epi LesPauls are like Dodge Rams. Look good, maybe expensive, not the most flashy or racey, but man can it pull it's load. I give it a 9 rating, because it can't be completely perfect, but dangit it's close.