Elitist Tak Matsumoto - The Ultimate Les Paul Standard
Epiphone broadens the range of its Elitist Collection with a flashy new signature model from Japanese rock virtuoso Tak Matsumoto. The Elitist Tak Matsumoto Les Paul is based on a Gibson Les Paul played by Matsumoto in the Japanese supergroup B'z.
The Elitist Tak Matsumoto model is the ultimate Les Paul Standard, featuring a quilt-maple top and abalone fingerboard inlays. The top finish is Takburst, a unique faded cherry sunburst that is complemented by faded cherry back and sides. The Tak Les Paul is equipped with Gibson USA-made 'Burstbucker pickups, which are coverless humbuckers with "zebra" black and white coils, designed to replicate the pickups on the original sunburst Les Pauls of the 1958-60.
The Elitist Tak Matsumoto Les Paul Standard Wood
At the heart of every great instrument is the wood itself. That's why every piece of wood used in the Elitist Tak Matsumoto Les Paul Standard line is hand-selected. It is then slowly and painstakingly dried to perfection in custom kilns until it is at the ideal moisture content.
The Elitist Tak Matsumoto Les Paul Standard Neck
All Elitist necks are cut at a 14o grain orientation from one piece of wood for optimum strength, stability and tonal response. As with all great instruments, the necks are then carefully and individually fitted to the body using a hand-glued, dovetail neck joint. The Elitist Tak Matsumoto Les Paul Standard has a 22 fret, 1-piece mahogany set neck with a rosewood fingerboard, which imparts a warmer midrange sound.
The Elitist Pickups
All Elitist instruments are equipped with custom-wound pickups "Made in the USA" exclusively for Epiphone by Gibson Musical Instruments and feature such uncompromising features as:
- High Quality Cover Materials - All pickup covers use quality German silver with vintage Nickel or real 24K Gold finish.
- Vintage Braided, Shielded Wire - For authentic vintage look and tone with no noise.
- Full Wax Potting - Every pickup is potted in a special wax bath to insure that microphonic feedback due to internal vibration is eliminated. All covered models receive a second wax bath to further protect the pickup.
- Specially Made Magnets - All magnets are magnetized by Gibson to ensure the total reliability of each magnet's performance. Critical magnetic flux is maintained for the perfect combination of output without sacrificing tonal characteristics.
The Art is in the Elitist Details
The Epiphone Elitist Tak Matsumoto Les Paul Standard 's appointments are nothing but the finest including real abalone and pearl Inlays, bone nuts and saddles, hand-rubbed finishes, USA strings, and it goes through a meticulous adjustment and set-up.
- Color: TakBurst
- Body Wood: Book-matched mahogany
- Top Wood: Book-matched quilt-maple
- Neck Wood: 1-piece mahogany
- Neck Profile: Joint set, 16th fret, 1-11/16" bone nut
- Fingerboard: Rosewood
- Position Markers: Abalone inlays
- Scale length: 23 3/4"
- Number of Frets: 22
- Pickups: Rhythm pickup - Gibson Burstbucker-2, treble pickup - Gibson Burstbucker-3
- Controls: 2 volume, 2 tone
- Pickup Switching: 3-way selector
- Hardware: Vintage nickel
- Machine Heads: Green Keys by Gotoh
- Bridge/Tailpiece: Stopbar
- Case: Hardshell
