Epiphone Les Paul Custom Electric Guitar - Ebony Reviews

Great guitar, little to no factory defects. With small setup plays perfectly. Neck profile and feel of guitar is awesome. My personal sweetwater sales engineer is very knowledgeable and answered every question i had. More than satisfied with purchase and sales engineer.

Just received my ebony Epiphone Les Paul Custom. This thing is awesome!!! Great sound and looks fantastic. I compared it to my 2016 Gibson LP Studio, and they sound very close! I actually think I prefer the Epi. This Epi is so good that I would be happy if it was my only guitar. Awesome!

Epiphone did an amazing job on this custom
As always Sweetwater and Matt were great

Well, this guitar is phenomenal. It's phenomenal if it cost four times what I paid I can't believe Epiphone is doing such a nice job now ! Sweetwater had it ready to play right out of the box. They forgot to put the bag of candy in for my wife so they sent her a big sweet water jar full of candy. Unbelievable you guys are the best.

I have been looking at this guitar for a while and my wife decided to get it for me for Valentines day. I play a Fender American Standard strat and Gibson LP standard as my main guitars and have a PRS SE as a back up for people to play if they want to jam at the house. I'm very particular at who touches my guitars and was under the impression that this was going to be a back up guitar as well. But the guitar is so beautiful that I don't think my kids or anyone else will be touching this guitar as well. It's not an LP standard as far as tones are concerned, but it has its own sound and the playability with the slimmer neck is phenomenal. It's kind of somewhere in between my strat and LP az far as tones with a strat neck. The ebony fretboard is smooth and beautiful. If you're thinking about it, stop hesitating and go for it.

Just got it to day it rocks action is great totally worth it but one now

Way higher quality than expected from Epiphone(current) and about 1000 times higher quality than the Epiphone's from the early '90s. Maybe I got lucky, but nothing needs to be changed on it: electronics are great, pickups are great. This should come with a hardshell case for sure at a slightly higher price as you don't want a set neck guitar to be unprotected. Mine is well balanced and 8.5 lbs. Would buy again.

I've had more Les Pauls than some people have had hot dinners! I can say that this version by Epiphone meets & exceeds guitars costing thousands more. The fit & finish is superb & the tone is as a Les Paul should be. Neck is nice & slim for easy fingering. It is however, rather heavy as was my 69' reissue of LPC by Gibson. You can't go wrong with this version.

I own 20+ guitars and I do own a couple Gibsons (les Paul and SG). The epiphone custom I have (alpine white) is a pro instrument. It doesn't feel or sounds like my Gibson but it's still so darn good! And it stays in tune for longer and feels a lot stronger so I ended up taking this one to the gigs because It's replaceable but still sounds and feels fantastic and... It looks so stunning!!!
So unless you do want to spend on a Gibson custom shop go for this one! no need to change pickups or do anything extra. Just a plain beautiful and good instrument that will hold well in hands of a seasoned player.
Very different from other epiphone models that feel like a toy in my hands. This feels immediately like a pro instrument when you grab it.

Let me start by saying that I am a 25.5" neck scale guy! I know that Gibson/Epiphone are 24.75" scale guitars, but I need an LP for an upcoming show. Regardless of scale, this is built like a tank! I've heard so much lately that the quality of Gibson and Epiphone has increased over the last couple of years and this guitar lives up to the hype. I read in some reviews that the frets needed some minor work, but my tech said he only needed to adjust the truss rod and set up the string height. The tone that comes out of the Probuckers is so rich and creamy!! To be honest, I can't put this guitar down! It sounds that good!! I looked at its Gibson big brother, but I couldn't justify the price. However, these are a little more than pre 2020 Epi's, but still worth the extra amount! Since I've gotten this my peers have bought their own this thus they are now sold out again…sorry! I'm very proud to see a classic company bringing quality back!

I bought mine from Sweetwater about 5 or so years ago, and I never got around to writing a review until now. I have owned many many guitars, and I will say that in my humble opinion, this beauty offers the best value for the money of any guitar I've ever owned. It sounds as good, if not better, than my far more expensive Gibson LP studio (and I love that guitar). I did have Sweetwater Plek the Epi for me, and that was a great decision. It wasn't cheap, but well worth the extra money. It plays and sounds incredible. The Intonation is perfect, and the fabulous Grover machines with an 18:1 gear ratio, keep it in tune exceptionally well. It's got a gorgeous finish, with high end features like binding, ebony fretboard with beautiful inlays, and stunning gold hardware. Most importantly it has a beautiful tone, no matter what you play it through. It sounds great for rock, blues, country, pop, funk, and yes, even jazz. Just amazingly versatile. I cannot believe the beautiful, sparkling, chimey jazz tone I can get playing this through my Roland Street Cube on the classic stack setting with no gain dialed in. But then it's got a big, fat, powerful, beefy sound for classic and blues rock and modern country, when played through an amp on high gain settings, or through an overdrive pedal. Both pickups are fantastic, and the middle setting sounds great, as well, Not to mention the further versatility offered by the coil splitting feature, which gives an authentic and ultra-pleasing single coil sound. I am seriously considering picking up the Alpine White model. I could probably go on and on about this Guitar, but I'll leave it there for now.

I love this LesPual ,plays extremely well and sounds great .I have 10 guitars and I put this one right up there with my american strat .Shes a little bit heavy but the tones you can get out of her makes up for the weight fretboard is a dream and Gibson seems like they want this epiphone to be gibson like

Pretty much all the perks of a Gibson but with a happy wallet.

The guitar snob in me for years would stick my nose up at ever getting an Epiphone. It was Gibson or nothing. But for a year, my eye was on this guitar. Sweetwater was constantly in and out of stock. It LOOKS like a Gibson, but would it PLAY like a Gibson?

I finally pulled the trigger and ordered one when a new batch came in. This guitar looks even better in person. The gloss, the binding, the gold hardware on black body and that headstock no longer looks like a cheap afterthought. Wow. It looks like a $3000 guitar.

How does it play? True to a Les Paul, it's got some weight to it (which I love). It took about a day to break it in, loosen the strings, move up and down the neck (which removed any excess ebony fingerboard paint.) There were no buzzes on any of the frets. The Sweetwater team was true to their 55 point inspection and sent a guitar ready to play.

From a guy whose owned several high end guitars from Gibson like Les Pauls and Es-335s, if I didn't KNOW it was an Epiphone, I wouldn't notice.

The Grover tuners keep it in tune for extended play and nothing on the guitar feels cheap.

The Probuckers sound excellent. I had to track a song for a project this past weekend. This thing crushed it in the session. Big and meaty for the power chords, and the neck was easy to glide on for the melodic noodling.

After getting this guitar, that "snob" has stepped away. This guitar is gorgeous, it plays like a pro and it didn't break the bank. I highly recommend to anyone who wants a Gibson without paying Gibson prices!

I read the reviews, watched the YouTube videos before purchasing this guitar. I've owned an older model Custom Pro before and it was ..ehh. However, the reviews persuaded me to try again with the new Custom. I was not disappointed! I can not believe how nice a guitar this is. My biggest concern was the fret work.. I didn't want a buzz here or there which had been my previous experience with Epiphone. Not this time, the fret work is impeccable. This guitar has smooth, low action and no hint of fret buzz at all. The frets are polished smooth with the ends nicely rounded. Another surprisingly nice feature is the tuning stability. This guitar stays in tune flawlessly while being put through it's paces. I had Sweetwater set this guitar up so the intonation is spot on.
I couldn't be happier with this guitar. I own several Gibson guitars. I love each of them. dare I say, I enjoy playing this Custom over my 2017 Classic. Well done Epiphone! Thank you Sweetwater!

Cannot believe the high level of quality in this piece of art. I have been looking at the finish, mother of pearl and finger board super close. Not one even tiny flaw. Not one!sounds and plays great too!

Nice looking, sounding, and playing. Intonation as well tuning stability are very good. Mine is as close to perfect as it can be. Might just get another so it has a friend. Nice!!!!!

I have an assortment of Gibson Les Pauls ('77 Special, '90's Studio Lite, 2008 Les Paul Standard) and now have this black beauty. A while ago I bought the Epiphone Les Paul Tribute with rainbow finish as well. That guitar contained Gibson "57 pickups and first rate hardware. Wonderful instrument! First I have to say this Custom is probably the most beautiful electric guitar I've ever had. The "Kalamazoo" headstock adds immeasurably. I think it plays great and was set up nicely when I got it out of the box. I've been playing over 50 years and have had so many guitars I've lost count. This is astonishing for the price. It is so well made I don't know how Epiphone/Gibson can sell them at this price point. I often just sit and look at it. A true piece of art. Oh yeh - and you can play it! Just great.

A bit of personal history--way back in the early 70's I got a guitar for Christmas--a Japan-made Les Paul copy (I wanted to rock). Later on got into acoustic roots music & sold it. Lately wondered if I'd really been not ready to appreciate that guitar. So when this new model appeared, it piqued my interest. Well, I think I've come full circle--this axe has all the right stuff cosmetic-wise and sound-wise except for the name on the headstock. Took it out & tried some Chuck Berry licks, some jazzy stuff, even Muddy-style slide-all good! Might upgrade to a bone nut & Switchcraft jack later but for now everything works fine. Note: came w/o case or gigbag but at this price point, no biggie. (We are not gigging outside the home now anyway). Thanks to Sweetwater for your excellent customer service!

I own a 2015 Epiphone Les Paul Custom Pro in alpine white, and love it more than my other guitars. Therefore, I wanted the ebony evil twin. This doesn't have the Pro option, but it was clean and polished,set up, and ready to play! It feels so nice, and sounds great! The packaging was perfect, the delivery was fast and free, and the price was in line with everyone else. I couldn't possibly be happier! I LOVE SWEETWATER!

I have no complaints with this guitar. Looks good. Sounds good. Plays good. Very good guitar for the money! Sweetwater is great, as usual! No need to buy from anywhere else!

I purchased this Custom recently and love it. I originally played in high school but after joining the military I didn't pick up in a guitar in years. Now I'm taking lessons from the great Ben Sherman and he tried my new Custom and said it was impressive and sounded like a Les Paul should. I can say it's heavy as a Paul should be and has the tone a Paul is. I did some mods. I added Keystone buttons to the tuning machines and changed the four gold mounting screws on the pickups to black. There is no problem with this axe. The frets are level and smooth, the nut is perfect. I did lower the string height and adjusted the intonation. With that said the guitar is fast now. Greatest thing is that this Epi stays tuned. I think with the angle of the headstock compared to a Gibson helps with that. Speaking of the headstock I really love the new/old Kalamazoo shape. I play through a Marshall Code 50 Amp modded with a Celestion Classic Lead 80 and an extension cabinet with the same speaker. Plenty loud and clean sounding. I have no need to do any modifications to this Paul it plays and sounds great with every genre from Jazz to Rock. Pound for pound you can't beat the quality and cost of the Epi Custom.

I got this a couple of months ago. This is one of the best guitars I've ever played. This is my first Epiphone and I am more than impressed. I have a 1971 Gibson on loan and this sounds just as good and plays the same. The action was so low I had to raise it to grab the strings for bending.
It's advertised as a C profile neck. I thought that would be a rather slim neck. Mine feels a bit more like a D. Thick around the edges. It feels great, a very solid feel.
As far as looks, it's beautiful. Black Customs have always been my favorites.
I've been playing for over 50 years and have owned dozens of guitars, I would recommend this guitar to anyone.

I got mine about 2 weeks ago the lp is beautiful arrived without a mark on it it plays unreal I can't put it down.had a small problem with the neck volume switch no problem sweetwater is taking care of it.This is my 8th guitar from sweetwater and not the last the company is 2nd to none thanks to Josh Strid excellent representative

I just received my new 2020 Epi LP Custom in Ebony from Sweetwater. It arrived well packed and in almost perfect tune. Fit and finish are perfect and the the neck is straight with beautiful fretwork. The setup is fine, slightly high action but with no buzzing at all. The Pro Buckers sound good both clean and with overdrive. All in all a great value. I had previously owned a Gibson Custom LP, sold it when I got married, and have always dreamed of acquiring another. This is a close as I will come. I own several Gibson Les Pauls, and while the Epi does not quite have the tone or feel of the Gibsons, I can say that while it's different from them, it's as "good" a guitar and I will use it as frequently as the Gibsons. I have only good things to say about this guitar and would recommend it as either a first guitar or as an addition to any collection of guitars.

I purchased an Ebony model and it is beautiful. I currently have a faded red Gibson Les Paul, a barely broke-in 2018 model with 490T/R pickups,a MIM Strat, plus a USA Strat; I have owned Gibson's in the past that I named as The Good,The Bad,and The Ugly. The bad was a beautiful red ES-335 that would conjure up new problems on a regular basis so she had to go. The Good and The Ugly were almost 100% perfect Les Paul's...the sound, the neck,the heavy arse weight! I became a life-long fan of Gibson as their Les Paul's truly set the bar for all to follow. I also learned a thing or two along the way,regarding Quality Control issues. The point being,I have been thoroughly blown away by the level of QC applied to the imported Epiphone vs the 2018 Gibson USA. While one is plain and the other an eye-popping beauty,all I really care about is the neck,the frets,the pickups...and the weight. My guitars must be studio quality and if they didn't start out that way then they are promptly upgraded to Made In USA standards. This one has already been upgraded. Real nut, CTS pots,tuners! My Chinese Epiphone easily meets all the criteria,on their merits,without the heavy weight,when compared to my Gibson. It has the best neck,way easier playin' than the Gibson plus the frets are perfect. The finish is spectacular,as is the binding. I have looked and looked and cannot find a single flaw on my new Epiphone Custom. The gold hardware is stellar,too. I am impressed with the stock pups and how well they work together but I will be replacing them with Gibson 490's,pronto. If they sound as good in the Epiphone as those loaded in my Gibson,then that will truly be something to ponder,indeed. Because in every other metric that matters,the "new" Epiphone I own is truly as good as the 2018 Gibson that I own. Add in the value of the Custom's finish,hardware,binding,all the frills,etc.,and the picture starts to change dramatically- I really hate to say this but I prefer the Epiphone's neck, although I wouldn't trade or sell either one of 'em. The finish is so perfect,it is hard to fathom,albiet it is that color of black that only comes from China. Seriously,I fell in love with a Chinese neck. Just one,mind you,but it usually starts with just one. At these prices,I can own a matching Alpine model,something I only dreamed about. If you are inclined to purchase an Epiphone Les Paul Custom, I urge you to get one ASAP; mine is exceptional. Buy from Sweetwater,no one else compares,warranty or otherwise.

No issues so far!
A tad heavy but its all good.

I was very skeptical about buying a guitar made in China, but ultimately decided to give this one a try (more about that later). Epiphone does seem to maintain better quality control than other Chinese factories, and overall the guitar is pretty good. I was able to choose from four on the Sweetwater site, and they all looked great in the photos, but previously I'd seen one at a local guitar store that had two glaring issues: the pickup switch had been broken during shipping, and the tailpiece had a spot where silver showed through the gold plating. My Sweetwater guitar, however, had no issues. Everything looks perfect, and the binding and pinstriping are impressively well done.

Before buying this I'd ordered a Gibson Les Paul Custom, so I can directly compare the Gibson and Epiphone. Unfortunately the one I received had been returned by another customer, so it may not be a valid comparison to a truly new guitar. The Gibson I received had visible swirl marks all over the paint, front and back and a couple of minor blemishes that could have been from the factory or the guy that returned it. Either way it was unacceptable to me at the premium price Gibson charges for their Custom Shop guitars, so I returned it and bought the Epiphone.

Obviously, given the price difference, the Gibson is the superior instrument: it has actual mother of pearl inlays instead of plastic, and a Corian nut instead of GraphTech. The pickups are superior and sound much better to my ear. All of that should be expected. However, apart from the inlays and the name on the headstock, you'd be hard-pressed to discern the Epiphone from the Gibson by a close visual inspection, or by playing it. If you choose the Gibson, that name had better mean a great deal to you, because you're paying dearly for it.

Interestingly, both guitars had an oily residue on the fretboard. Not surprising for a Chinese guitar, but very surprising for an American instrument from a custom shop. I've purchased several inexpensive guitars over the years, and none of them had that issue.

In summary, the Epiphone is a bargain by comparison and gives you 80% of the Gibson instrument at 20% of the price (I'm including the price of the Epiphone hardshell case).

I originally wanted a modern style les paul with the extra features, but I scrolled past this and got it instead. Could care less about the coil splitting now. Out of the box she was clean and set up pretty well. Some scratches on the finish and and a couple of knicks on the neck. I'm pretty sure they all come with some love on em though. Plays very smooth and fretting is almost effortless. The slim taper neck is comfy for gripping but a little harder to move up and down frets for me. Gives that classic les paul sound weather dirty or clean. I'm very impressed with this guitar as I had some QC concerns with it being manufactured by epiphone. Sweetwater will make sure your guitar is set up and plays well. They dont take ones that have major issues. I would definitely recommend this guitar to anybody. It sounds great, is beautiful to look at, and tons of fun to play.

Let's get to the negative(s) first shall we? The only two things I can knock on this Epiphone Custom Les Paul are with the fret work. First, they're not as smooth (during bends) as I prefer (like on my PRS's). They kinda grind a little. Secondly, the edges of the frets are a wee bit sharp. I believe a little touch-up will eliminate these concerns to my liking.

Now on to what I like and love about this guitar. First off, fit and finish are nearly flawless. The binding is exquisite as are the block inlays and the Split Diamond in the headstock! No flaws to be found. Construction is solid as would be expected on any Custom Shop guitar. There is a little abrasion on the ebony fretboard on the high E side at the 7th and 8th fret. The corner(s) of the nut has been filed down and does not jab while fretting at the first fret.

The electronics are superb! No scratching when turning the pots. They are extremely sensitive and accurate during the entire range. No popping when flipping the toggle switch with very positive stops at each of the three positions.

Pickups seem like PAF quality to my ear! I'm so glad I'm not in a position and forced to upgrade like I had to with my Gibson Tribute (with 490's). Between the PAF style ProBucker pickups and the ebony fretboard, the tone out of the Custom LP is sweet music to my ears!

The input jack is held in place with a four screw jack plate and receives the cable with a firm, positive grip as well.

Setup was nearly perfect. Both string height and neck relief are well within specs; therefore playability is excellent! The intonation was the only thing a little off with this guitar upon arrival and adjustment was easily done thanks to the LockTone ABR bridge. There was ZERO fret buzz along the entire fretboard.

Nothing much needs to be said about the Grover tuners (but I will comment briefly). They operate smoothly and tune easily and hold tune exceptionally well (with the added benefit of the GraphTech nut). That said, I will be upgrading with Grover Locking tuners on this guitar when I need to change out the stock stings.

Final thought:
Prior to the new "Gibson Designed" Kalamazoo headstock being rolled out, I couldn't bring myself to adore an Epiphone entirely. It's not exactly a Gibson shape but it definitely brings it up to an acceptable aesthetic design (for my taste).

If you've always wanted a Custom Shop Les Paul adorning the Split Diamond inlay in the headstock like I have, this axe is definitely for you.... and it won't break the bank!

everything was great except the broken 1st e string witch I replaced it plays great it is one beautiful guitar!

The sound quality of this guitar is very high and it plays very well all the way up the neck while maintaining tuning. The one issue I have is on the high D note of the first string... it buzzes from the fret being a couple microns too shallow. Everything else is great.

this LP is built very well, fit and finish is very good. the neck feels great, pickups are pretty good although I did change the bridge pickup for a Duncan JB as I play hard rock to metal, although the pickups that come in it sound fine,I just needed more fire power in the bridge. the problem was the frets. some were high, but fret 13 was very low, so rather than pulling the fret out and replacing it and taking a chance on splintering the nice ebony fingerboard I did a whole fret leveling and from around fret 12 up I lowered the frets as I went up. now the guitar plays great. I don't know if this is a common problem or if it just slipped past QC. any way it is a nice guitar now. so in closing if you buy one of these EPI LPs just know this could happen, but for the price, if it needs a little work and you know how to work on guitars it can be a very nice alternative to the over priced Gibson guitars. I always wanted a black beauty but could not afford a Gibson, so now I have one. ROOOOCK ON.

It had some small chipping in the fingerboard and gigh frets on the fallaway to get low action but after i sorted all that stuff out it is fantastic. Get a plek if you are uncomfortable at fretwork and stuff. My family thinks it sounds better that my gibson standard. Pickups are not very hot but nice and clean.

Her soul is dark as her tone. At this price point, not a bad guitar.would but it again to get her evil twin.

I love this guitar. The sound quality is superior to others I have played. The custom fine tuning and fret shaping makes a huge difference. The fret smoothing was a must. I have issues. The first, which I should have known (but chose to ignore due the beauty of the instrument) was its' weight. It really is heavy, particularly if you are standing up to perform for awhile. The edge under my right forearm is a bit uncomfortable after awhile too (unless I am sitting). The biggest pain was that the input jack slipped in after the first use. I opened it up and pushed it back through, tightened the nut as best I could. That last for about 3 more playing sessions. The nut would not stay tight. I finally bought an internal toothed lock washer for the inside of the input jack and tightened the external nut with needle nose pliers. It has stayed put ever since.

I purchased this guitar just before Christmas, 2022.

As others have written, these Epiphone LP Customs are beautiful, and they cost far less
than a Gibson LP Custom.

But....

When I received mine, I couldn't even plug a cable into the jack. How did this ever pass
inspection? I removed the output jack and bent it so I could plug in. Ultimately, I ended
up replacing it with a Switchcraft jack.

The toggle switch is flaky. When I switch from the neck to the bridge pickup, the guitar
sound will cut out at times. It's infuriating that Epiphone keeps using these poor quality
switches in their guitars. How much more would it cost to use a Switchcraft switch and jack?

The pickups sound pretty good, and the volume and tone controls seem to work OK.

Finally, the guitar makes static noises while I'm playing, if I touch the guitar.
This could be due to poor shielding or grounding.

So I have decided to gut it, and replace the pickups and all of the electronics with
better quality parts. Of course, this adds hundreds of dollars to my investment.

Maybe yours won't have the issues I have. But I guess you get what you pay for...

I get it.
We buy these guitars because we don't want to spend $ and up for the real thing.
When you buy one of these you have to understand what they are and what they are not.  If you're a beginner and don't know the difference you most likely will be happy with this instrument but they are nothing close to the more expensive comparable models they are patterned after except for in the looks department.  In that respect Epiphone did a good job in copying the original.

This is my second inspired by Gibson Epiphone Les Paul and not much has changed from the first one.
First one was a smokehouse, this one is a black custom.
A basic Epiphone factory setup again appears to be virtually nonexistent on these guitars although this one did have some neck relief dialed in that the other one didn't.
Overall these guitars look nice but the playability just isn't there. 
The old saying "you get what you pay for" is never more true than in this instance but for that money I would expect more from Epiphone.

They do have fairly good bones to start with but it takes considerable effort to make the guitar play like it should.  This guitar like the first one had sharp fret ends and a nut that's cut too high.  The strings that come with the guitar are were complete junk.  Most say that's just to be expected so add an additional $ for strings before you play.  The strings that it came with had nicks and gouges underneath like they had been played a lot.  The case that it came with also had loose wood chips in it.
I also noticed that several of the tuning machines seem to have considerably slack in them so I'll need to change those out. The smokehouse I bought didn't have the tuner issue so not sure what that's about.

I spent a couple of hours cleaning up, filing and polishing all the sharp fret ends, adjusted string height and intonation and now it's better.
The nut still needs to be cut lower and I'll do that in the next few days when I get the time.

The good;
There wasn't any fret buzz so it is basically a "playable" guitar out of the box.  Not great but playable. The 55 point inspection checks that.

The finish is good and the guitar overall looks nice.  Only blemish "QC/QA" issue in its construction is at the bottom of the guitar where the neck meets the body.  There's a small bulge where the binding wasn't filed/smoothed down properly but it isn't too noticeable.
The electronics are good except for the pickup switch.  The sound is also very good coming out of the guitar as the pickups are surprisingly great!

Overall the Les Paul Gibsons I have owned were very slick smooth playing instruments critically setup from the factory before they were shipped.  In comparison the Epiphone doesn't have that and doesn't feel like that.  It's just not the polished ready to play guitar like it's more expensive big brother and that's probably to be expected given the difference in price.  But the Epi could be if just a little more attention to detail in a basic setup were applied before shipping but that's not likely to happen unless you pay extra for it so add that cost into your purchase also.

If you can live with that and don't mind paying extra for a "complete" setup, new strings and possibly tuners and you don't have $ for a Gibson then you might be generally happy with this guitar.

But understand that a full and complete setup isn't really optional, it's a must so be prepared to pay extra for that.

Unless the setup was much better, for another bucks you can get a lower end Gibson or something more comparable that I think overall would be a much better investment.
I probably will never buy another Les Paul by Epiphone inspired by Gibson.

I bought this guitar at the Sweetwater store in person. Tried it against a Gibson and couldn't initially justify the price difference. Brought it home and compared it to my Gibson - noticed a huge difference. The frets on this were huge but only categorized as medium-jumbo. Didn't feel like other medium jumbos that I have played. The electronics were also not what I was hoping for. There was little change in sound between the pickups and it sounded very "muddy." Ultimately, I knew I wouldn't play it when I had better feeling and sounding guitars sitting right next to it. Brought it back and bought the Gibson I was originally considering. If the frets matter to you - either buy a guitar from a company that does Plek-ing or pay to have Sweetwater do it for you. It makes a world of a difference. Gibson guitars are now Plek'd as a standard practice (wasn't always that way). I could have definitely kept this guitar and likely saved money with a pickup swap and a Plek job, but I felt like I might as well get the Gibson at that point. Either way - not a bad guitar. Take it and make it yours - or maybe those little things won't bother you.

Before I start, I have to say, I enjoy this guitar. I've ALWAYS wanted a black 1968 Les Paul Custom, but Gibson's ever climbing price tag on those has me in a situation where it's gonna be a while before I can own something like that. So I bought this, with the intend to mod it, and believe me, I have. For those of you that simply intend to buy this and use it as a stock guitar, here's where my review begins. Out of the box, these guitars are NOT ready to play. Mine had quite a roller coaster when it came to the fret work, and the neck had pretty high action, with a fair back-bow to hide this. It wasn't until I set the action and the neck relief to the proper spot, did I uncover all the buzzing and mess this guitar was in. So that's $... for a fret level right there. On top of that, the stock Epiphone bridge saddles are pretty sharp, in addition to being noisy, so those had to go. The pickups are okay, pretty average from Epiphone. They'll probably do most blues, rock, and maybe some jazz at 70% satisfaction. Metal, or modern "heavy" styles wont happen on them, but I don't see most people in that genre going for one of these. They just seem to be medium output and I found myself constantly trying to turn the volume up but it was already at 10. The new CTS pots from Epiphones 2020 lineup are definitely an upgrade, but they're still using the same jack and switch from previous years. The switch just screams Chibson or chinese import so that has been changed. Mostly it was really stiff and very loud, not smooth like my Gibsons. The undoubtably good things about this guitar are the new headstock, and MAN this neck is great. My Gibson Les Paul Standard has a 60's neck, and it is the best neck in the house. But even though this Epiphone has a slim D shape, going from one to the other is no problem. There's no doubt the neck is slightly wider, and normally I wouldn't enjoy this, but for whatever reason, it works on this guitar. Overall, If you're not opposed to paying around $... for additional set up work, then this guitar can be a contender for your number one spot. But if you're wanting to save your money and just have something that plays, I'd rethink this purchase.

this guitar wasnt checked out very good ,,loose screw,, here and there , wouldnt stay tuned, the strings was so far off the neck ,it was hard to play..i ended up taking it and tradeing it off for a strat and loosing my *** .where the strings go over the bridge next to the pickups the bridge was even fasten good. where the electric chord plugs into the jack it wasnt tight either,,i should of known better than to order a guitar with out playing it