Epiphone Special

Made in korea '97, 22 frets, laminated top- black finish, it has a 3 way toggle switch, master volume and tone. Stock epi humbuckers that are actually alot hotter than other stock pick-ups (eg: rx ibanez). The neck/body is mahogany. The body is les-paul shaped, pretty thin and light. Just like a les-paul standard without the maple top. It has a tune-O-matic bridge like a les-paul, stock epi tuners. The neck is fat and comfortable. Pretty standard and simple

This guitar suits my style a hell of alot. I play heavy rock stuff in my band, like Creed and the les-paul like tone created suits me. I get a chunky sound through my marshall vs65r with it, heavy, crunchy and chunky. Just what i want. The pick-ups are pretty quiet, but are hot as. These pick-ups have alot of gain compared to other guitars in this price range. I find i need to jack up the bass on my amp to get a fuller sound but it's fine. The sustain from it is amazing, even though its got a bolt-on neck, and a lightish body it gets some major sustain. It's quite a versitile guitar. Good for alternative, punk stuff but i reckon it suits the heavy rock dropped D stuff the most. Just perfect. The only dis-like i have with it is that it sounds a bit muddy with palm-mutes sometimes when you consitantly palm-mute it. But i love the chunky palm-muted sound i get. The sound is just so me

The action outta the shop was excellent, very low and 'easy'. The pick-ups were set up well. The body work ie:routing etc... seems to be alright. The intonation was a bit out, but easily fixed. The factory strings suck! so throw some new ones on as soon as you get it. The tuners were alright at first, but i've dropped the guitar a fair few times, and i had to fix the G tuner. The pick up selector was gettin a little scratchy but a little contact cleaner later no worries. I don't like where they've put the selector, a bit hard to get at. The strap buttons are crap, on any les-paul you just gotta get some locks, then it's beautiful. The action is just so pure, makes up for everything!

My band is just about to play a few gigs in the next few weeks, so i'll see how it stands up. I've only gigged with it once before, and it was fine. I think i'm gonna change the tuners pretty soon, and get it set up again. The finish is good, and should last. Yeah, just get some strap locks and you'll be fine. I can depend on it to do the job. The best thing bout this guitar is the size/weight of the body. On stage you can jump around and be soooo comfortable with it! It just plays so nice and easy. I'm giggin with a back up guitar (who doesn't??).

I haven't dealt with the shop about my guitar cause it hasn't broken down yet. But they were helpful in with my purchase. It has a 12 month warranty.

I've been playing for 4 years and this is my 2nd guitar i've bought. I've got a strat but the single coils just don't cut it. The main reason i bought it was of the price! Unbeatable special. I was sorta looking for another guitar, then i saw it on the wall, i tried it out, fell in love with the action and chunkyness. So i pulled out the bankcard and bought it. It's a great guitar for the price. I reckon every beginner should start with one of these, cause they rock! This guitar is just so comfortable to play, it has really grown on me. This guitar just suits my style all over. My next guitar i'm looking at will be an epi custom very soon, but this will do in the meantime, great guitar for the price, so go get one

I'm not really sure what year it was made, though when I bought it, it looked as if it was no more than a year old. It was made in Korea. It has 22 medium size frets with a medium wide neck. It has a great black finish which I guess is only available with the Special and not the Special II. It has 2 knobs: tone and volume, and a 3-way toggle switch. I think that the middle setting turns on both the neck and the bridge pickups. The body is probably made of oak of maple by the heft and the neck is a mahogany base with an oh-so-smooth rosewood fingerboard.

It is perfect for my style and I love it. It has just the right amount of richness to it. It has this great tunneling effect when you put it on the neck pickup. It does buzz a little because the action is so low, but I can adjust that. I use it on a Peavey 10-inch, 40 watt amp and it had great sound.

It needs a little adjustment of the action but other than that it was great. Because I bought it used, I'm not sure if the guy before me did anything extra with it like adjust the pickups. In any case, they sounded great and were at the right height and configuration. It has good heft and looks good. Everybody who sees it thinks it is great.

It is damn reliable. Besides my odd G to B tuning, it will not allow the strings to be cut into by the bridge. I have bumped it many times and dropped it once and it only has one dent. It does scratch pretty easily because of the shiny finish. The strap button by the neck is a hassle because it is too far towards me on the curve so a strap tends to slip of at inoppurtune moments. It is over all a very, very dependable guitar.

Never dealt with 'em.

I have been playing for just under a year and it is the best guitar I have ever owned(it beats my old Mako). I got it at a pawn shop so there was no way to find out anything about it. The owner had for some reason priced it at $189 which is much less than the list price for one in such good shape. To my surprise it also came with a deluxe gig bag and the woman at the counter offered to lower the price to $175 without me even asking! I got a tremendous deal on a tremendous guitar. I would use it without a backup whithout looking back. It's best feature is its smooth, dark fingerboard. The only thing I don't like is the buzz it make sometimes if you hold the trings down lightly. If it were stolen, I would go right out and try to find another one. It is almost a perfect guitar.

The guitar's features were just like other's review.
I get a Cherry Sunburst finish and the guitar came together with a hard case.

Recently I play jazz and blues most of the time. The neck pickup sounds amazing thick & rich and I like it most. Its clean sound can beat any fender's guitar anytime. It is not absolutely free of noise but it's just worth the money. I don't really like the bridge pickup. It is too muddy for playing rhythm. I can hardly get the bright sound. I tried few amps and I gave up. But anyway I won't use the bridge pickup most of the time. The sounds from the neck pickup is good enough. I'm planning to change the bridge pickup, any good suggestion from you guys?

This guitar came in bad settings. The action was too low (The strings almost touched the bridge pickup!). Neither the pickups were set-up properly. After an hour of adjusting by myself and my lecturer, it was fine. All the hardware is in good condition. The only problem is the pickup selector which reacted too slow for the switch. And again, it needs replace!

So far this guitar did quite well. I played it in a few performance and it sounded great. I assume the finish will last if I polish it frequently. All guitars would last longer if you take good care of it! I haven't face any problems in the strap button like others. I will definitely depend on it since I don't have a backup yet. (I'm planning to buy a Sheraton. Is it good?)

N/A

I have been playing it for 2 months. I owned another korean made electric guitar before and I get rid of it as soon as I bought this one. The only thing which I wish I had asked was "can I pay less if I don't want the hard case!" It doesn't fit the guitar. If it were stolen or lost, I will truly be sad about it ($$$...)because I might not be able to get another one which sounds like this one. Frankly speaking the tone it produced is just like my lecturer's Ibanez AM-100! And it doesn't give me any trouble yet. I should have bought this guitar as my first guitar.

OK, same as everyone else's, tune-a-matic bridge, with H/H, three position p/u selector, 22 fret, one tone, one volume, mine is a '97(I think), made in Korea. I agree with some of the other comments regarding the tuners. Soon after I got my Special; won it in a promotional contest, I replaced the tuners with Grovers and have been happy with the tuning ever since. Good finish, but the detail work is a little sloppy, espeicially the frets, and the neck to body joint. Expected on a free guitar, that sells for $250 or less.

I get all of the sounds I want with this thing. I've only been playing for two years so consider my limited number of possible sounds at this point. I try to play everything from metal shred, to sweet strummed chords. I currently play through a Digitech RP-7(thanks to my wife), and Crate GX-30, and I have no problem waking up the neighbors. My friends can usually recognize what I'm playing too, so the sound possibilities are there. It has a meaty crunch potential, more so than singing or biting leads. With a little tweaking and concentration I can usually find a comprimise, to acheive a certain sound if necessary.

I had to take it in and get it set up originally. But as I've learned it's a forgiving guitar to adjust, and it responds well. The action is always somehow a little less than the best it could be, thus I am always searching for another guitar, I guess I'm trying to say it's not great, but not bad either. I will always be like that.

This guitar would definitely stand live playing, since the tuners have been replaced. Although I've never played guitar professionally, I played drums professionally for about five years. Considering my inexperience on guitar I'd still say this ain't no sweet machine, but it will do the job if you make it. I've had no problems with the strap buttons. I find this guitar to be consistent and dependable, and would use it as the backup or for detuned songs, not a primary guitar.

No chance or reason to.

Like I said I've been playing for two years, newby. I would be pissed if it were stolen because I've put Good tuners on it, and bought an Epiphone hsc to cart it around in. I have tried to play Fenders and I can't, so this style or feel of guitar is best for me. Sometimes when I'm making good music I forget how cheap it is and, it becomes an extension. So in that respect it's not so bad. But there are a lot of better guitars that by virtue of there superior tone and touch instantly inspire more.(and cost more)

made in 97 in indonesia 22 frets solid top 1 volume one tone and a 3 way switch stock pickups passive body: alder/maple neck:mahogany sunburst les paul copy no curve stock tuners neck: 24.75"

this guitar is pefect for the kind of person just starting out it has such a good sound for the price the humbuckers are nice for the stock kind but you can always upgrade them but i prefer it the way it is right now you can not get a better sound the price.

the guitar was setup to perfect spec at the dealer shop because they set all the guitars up to spec when they get them but i have a life time warranty.

it could withstand live gigs but i would recomend you don't the guitar is more like a guitar for screwing around with if you have played for a while but if you are starting out chances are you are not doing live gigs.

i have a great dealer to deal with and a life time warranty.

i have been playing for a year and the out of all the guitars i have tried in my price range this one looks and plays the best ibanez and squier will never be in the same league with this one they suck ass

Features: Made in 1997, Korea (probably) Frets: 22 Solid-top Controls: volume, tone, 3-way selector Pick-ups: standard Epiphone humbuckers, H-H configuration Body wood: mahogany Neck wood: ? Finish: yellow sunburst Body style: Les Paul Special (uncurved), single cutaway Bridge: Tune-o-matic Tuners: originally Epiphone standard, non-locking, replaced by Schaller, non-locking. Neck:flat
Comment: I'm really amazed about the quality of the pick-ups. They sound great for a guitar worth about 250$, and are reasonably free from feedback and noise. The tuners on the other hand are disastrous. They made the guitar worthless for heavy use on stage or in the studio. Therefore I replaced them by Schallers, which has proven to be a workable solution. I still have some problems with neck-instability, though. A small word of advice: if possible, give the guitar some time to adjust to the temperature level of the place you'll be gigging.

I'm mostly using the Special in combination with Marshall amplifiers, notably the Valvestate and JCM 900 series. For 'clean' settings the Special seems adequate enough, though it lacks in character. There are no 'fat' Gibson sounds in there, unfortunately, because the guitar is lacking depth on the low end. However, the high end's very nicely defined, almost Ibanez- or Fender-like. As far as distortion is concerned, the Special makes a better impression. It's sustain seems above average. Furthermore, even during the raunchiest playing chords stay well defined. And around the tenth fret notes gain a nice, Fender-like ringing quality, during soloing. I would recommend the Special mainly for heavy rock, punk and metal riffing. It's less adequate for blues, and jazz is certainly out of the question!

The Special's factory set-up seems okay, except for two important mistakes: 1. the completely unusable tuners. In my opinion, they should replace these as quickly as possible, even if it makes the guitar a little more expensive. 2. the action. The strings are set too closely to the neck. I think this explains the rumbling noise on the low end which was mentioned in one of the previous reviews. Just set those bass strings a little higher on the Tune-o-matic!

The Special performed well in a live-situation, after I replaces the faulty tuners. The guitar's hardware seems up too some road-wear. And when heavy touring takes a few chips of the body, who cares? It's not like you bought a Goldtop Gibson... Beware of snapping strings, though. The edges on the brigde-saddles can be a little aggressive, so take a file and let them know who's boss.

I don't remember getting a company-warranty. The Special's definitely a do-it-yourself-guitar. So it's probably a good idea to buy one from a dealer which has customizing experience, if you don't want to go at it yourself.

When I bought the Special, I was looking for a budget-priced guitar that would hold out in live-situations. I think I got what I wanted. Though the hardware (mainly the tuners) was not completely adequate at first, I grew very satisfied after the afore-metioned modifications. I don't think there's a better-sounding guitar in this price-range. It certainly beats those tiresome budget-priced Squiers, Ibanezes and Arias, as far as heavy shredding's concerned. In short: a great guitar for those who are not yet planning their touring schedule, and a nice little play-thing in the back of the car for those who are.
In short: a great guitar

This guitar was made in 96 in Malaysia. It has 22 jumbo frets. It has a laminated top ebony with orange sunbrust, the finish is good, I abuse it everyday for two hours and it has a lot of stickers on it but very good made. It has a 3 way pick swich and one volume and tone pot. Two humbuckers, the stock pickups are very good for what you spend, I replaced the bridge with a Duncan Distrotion and this guitar puts out some serious toneI this baby with a epiphone ten watt amp, gig bag, strap(sucked), cable, tuner(very good) and video (very basic) the neck is fast with a beautiful feel to it. mahogany. it has the normal Les Paul body(well kinda, not the same arc in the body, but is kinda light. The 3 way sucks, I've had to replace it twice and bought a real good (gibson) one to replace it. Compared to other guitars I've played and thought about buying, this is the best it gets for the money. The neck plays good even when you sweating, the strings never brake(I use ernie balls 10-50 slinky top, heavy bottom) and it can take a beating

This baby screams, and can be quit for soft stuff. I love it, I play everything from blues to rock to punk and it does IT ALL? I play it through a 80 watt Crate with settings for lows on 8, mids on 4, highs on 6. I play it with a Boss Mt-2, and a Zoom 505. Sound good on any setting. Full Sound, great rythem playing. I didn't care for the bridge pickup and put in a duncan, but that is personal taste. Great sustain for a guitar so cheap

Factory set up was flawless. Pickups were great,just wanted more bite from bridge. only flaws I found were the pickup screws holding the pickup protectors were misaligned and ruined the wood there on two screws but nothing to big.

THis guitar will withstand anything, I've dropped, kicked, and hit people with it and it doesn't do a thing wrong, the finish is thick and the back is scratched (my fault, my chains get in the way) the strap buttons are solid, the only thing I hate it the 3 way selector. Replaced it, and the cable plug loosens up every now and then, but can be tighted with your fingers and every guitar I've ever played does that. I would use this guitar anywhere with or without backup(backup would be another. T

They replace the switch the day I complained and the warranty is a life.

I've been playing for a few years, and played different guitars. The only thing I would have asked before buying is why didn't the salesman tell me about it earlier, way better then peavy, squir, and even cheaper Ibanez. I love that I know everytime I pick her up, she is gonna be 100% ready. One last thing, I love this guitar so much that, and I'm not lying, everyone who knows me knows that she will be buried with me. That is how much I love this guitar

It's a basic guitar. It is an electric guitar. This was epiphone's concern when building the Special.

Wonderful. I've owned Vintage Les Paul's and Fender Stratocaster's, and this guitar manages to produce a sound that easily out-performs its price. The sound on the neck pickup is fun, fat, and Hendrix all-out, while the bridge pickup is sharp, crisp and classic. I've never played such an accessible (price-wise) guitar with such wonderful sound.

The Special is cheap, and some of the cheapness is reflected in the construction. The neck is not fitted well, and the tuning pegs are just awful. When the final account is tallied, though, you can purchase new tuners at little expense, and the neck-gap doesn't seem to affect the sound at all. If it were a 500-1000 dollar guitar, the construction would be disappointing; for a 200-300 dollar guitar, the contruction is fine.

I play hard and care little about the look of a guitar, as long as it continues to produce good sound. The Special is a tough machine, and--though I would recommend an upgrade to a Les Paul case rather than the cheap cardboard thing that is usually paired with the guitar--can take much abuse.

none needed

I've been playing guitar for just over six years. I've owned all sorts of guitars, amps and effects. Currently, I own three acoustics and the Special electric. If you want, or need, the stunning beauty of an American Strat or the amazing power of a Les Paul, then you should put up the money and buy a Strat or a Les Paul. If you want a guitar that plays well, sounds great, and combines strength with finesse, then you should consider the Epiphone Special. There is no other--let me stress that--There is NO OTHER guitar under 600 dollars that is as great as the Special. If you are currently thinking about buying a Special...don't. Go get it. It is worth far more than the price for which it is sold. After that, have fun.

I don't mean 6 in a bad way, it just dousn't have a lot of features. It has 21 or so frets, Rosewood fretboard, Tune-O-Matic Bridge, 2 humbuckers, 1 volume, 1 tone, and a 3-way toggle switch. I like the feal of the neck, it is a bit wider than some of the others I have tried. Made in Korea

I play hard on my guitar. I play fast ska, punk, alternative, and classic hard rock(Led Zepplin, Deep Purple,etc.) The sound fits my style pretty well. The main complaint is that the low E string is pretty chanky and makes a growling sound when you let it ring. Also you can't mute the strings for anything, they just keep ringing. Other than that it has a good, full sound. I play through a Peavy Rage 158(mostly) and a DOD Grunge pedal. It works great with this combination

The guitar was set up ok. There were some flaws like loose input jack and wiring. Also the bridge keeps coming loose and throwing the tuning way off. I like the pick ups alot. You can switch from a bass sound to a really bright sound. They work great.

I have only played it live once. And it seemed ok. But at home it dousnt stand up very well. The strap button has broken off, the wiring cam unsoldered, the pick up selector switch cover broke, and the bridge came loose. I cant depend on it at all. I would deffinately use a backup at a gig if I could afford one.

I have never dealt with Epiphone but the dealer was very helpful. It has a lifetime warranty. And the dealer has an authorized repair staff to repair it under warrenty without shipping it all the way to epiphone

I know that that guy on top says he is sick us snot nosed little kids that dont respect this guitar. He got ripped off considdering the list price is only 200$. I feel sorry for that guy that he payed that much for that guitar. If it were lost or stolen, then I would pitty the theif. I am trading up to a Fender Standard Stratocaster soon. I like the feel and sound of this compared to a Guild Bluesbird, Ibanez Shomaster,and the Fender Telecaster but the quality sucks. Im always afraid Im gonna break something else. I have been playing for a while and this was my first electric guitar. I played my dad's 50 year old acoustic before that and it is still going strong, unlike the Special.