Epiphone Prophecy Les Paul Custom EX Plus - Midnight Sapphire Reviews

This is a perfect guitar for the shredder. It is so comfortable and easy to play, it almost plays itself. I had Sweetwater's amazing techs swap out the pickups for Seymour Duncan Gus G Blackouts only because I have the stock set in another guitar already. They did an incredible job and this guitar absolutely screams. The techs also did an outstanding job (as usual) on the set up. I suggest to everyone that you always take advantage of the tech services at Sweetwater, they're the best. Get all of your new guitars set up before you get your hands on them, you wont be disappointed. Kurt Martin, my Sales Engineer is the best. Sweetwater, you have earned ALL of my business because you never cease to amaze me with your customer service and support.

All the stuff everyone is saying is great stuff about this guitar. No on is mentioned the slim tapered neck.
I hate a Gibson Les Paul cuz of the fat neck.
This neck is the best because it is thin and tapers up. Thin at the nut and jus a little thicker as you go up the neck.

I own eleven Epiphone guitars and I love all of them. The LP Prophecy EX Plus is an amazing monster guitar. I have never played a Gibson that was better. This axe is worth every penny. Beautifully made and a dream to play. I need the SG now!

At first had decided to get a Gibson Les Paul. even though that's a lot of money. But as I compared price and feature set, this Epiphone Prophecy Les Paul Custom GX Plus stood out as a beautiful top of the line Les Paul. I could not resist the combination of features: 24 jumbo frets, split-coil Gibson 490R, 498T pickups, and then paid a little extra to get it plek'd. Fact is it looks, plays, and sounds like a Custom Shop Les Paul, at a fraction of the price. This axe sets a high bar for comparison, and is as good as it gets.

It's a shredder's delight, but I don't use it for that. I play blues, and prefer the bit fat clean sound of powerful humbuckers at the edge of breakup (you know, with a little hair on it). These Gibson pickups do the job just the way I like it. Have always loved jumbo frets, as well (have a Peavy Signature w/same fret config). No doubt about it - money well spent.

As always, my thanks go to Philip Courtney at Sweetwater for advice and help whenever I need it.

If you are looking for an affordable Les Paul with a faster and heavier sound, this is perfect!
Super comfortable, amazing guitar to play with!
The neck is the perfect size for me, it is really enjoyable to play and my fingers do not get as tired as I used to with other guitars.
For the price, this guitar really rocks!
It is also much lighter than most Les Paul also, which makes it a perfect guitar for live shows.
Really, Awesome job made by Epiphone on this model.

Very good quality

This LP has to be the best guitar to play metal on, i was blown away by the playability and how comfortable it is. Do note 2 things. The neck is thin but not too thin, as i was curious about as well. Don't worry about it , it is very comfortable and fits in the hand well, especially for people with smaller hands. Bigger hands, I don't think you'll have a problem either. And also, since the pickup is closer to the bridge and saddles than any other guitar I've seen, it does take away unwanted bass that i get with my explorer, which is nice because you can always add in more bass to your tone. For any Metallica fans out there, get this guitar, I achieved all of the first 4 album tones flawlessly on my amp (Fender princeton chorus slaved into another using the 1/4 inch headphone jack) clean and distorted. I get a lot of fizz and unwanted bass with the 1984 explorer reissue, but that is probably just me.

This guitar just blows me away. 24 frets for a Les Paul! Simply amazing! I got this for my birthday and ever since I unboxed this, I just fell in love. Amazing service from Jordan and his team! Would definitely recommend this guitar and highly recommend sweetwater!

Received this guitar as a Christmas gift last week. Excellent playability and tone. The finish is absolutely flawless. The case seems to be of really good quality and it includes the strap locks nice deal

Seriously wicked cool, beautiful guitar for the money at any price. I love my big daddy Gibson LP and I was leery of Epiphone, BUT, without a doubt this is a quality made, beautiful finish, highly featured guitar which has updated modern features that just have to be played and held to appreciate. No disappointment here. I love the real LPs but Epiphone spun my head around. 24 frets(excuse me), slim profile high access neck, factory wired EMGs, beautiful quilted top w matching blue pearl knobs. Special combination pearl and abalone inlays, wow amazing. Plays like a dream, required very little setup to suit my tastes. I did replace the 81/85s w 67/66 set more suited for my heavy fusion mix. Killer pickups by the way.

I admit, I'm not a professional musician, nor have I dropped more $1000 on a electric guitar. I have come to expect really poor quality for a guitar under $1000, UNTIL I purchased this Epiphone. I really wanted the Zakk Wylde Epiphone with the EMG 81/85's, but appears to be no longer be available…….but this guitar more than makes up for it with not only the EMG's but the two octave neck as well. This guitar is beefy with no hint of 2nd rate materials or craftsmanship. I am stunned at the quality for this price point. This may be billed as a shredders guitar, but I found to the neck pick up produces an nice, clean tone and the neck is super comfortable. The all black hardware just adds to the beauty of this guitar. If your budget can only accommodate guitars under the $1000 price point, by FAR, give Epiphone a shot……and Sweetwater. Great buying experience!

I hummed and hawed on this purchase for a while, even trying a different Epi LP before switching over to this. The extra frets weren't a huge factor, but the SpeedTaper neck intrigued me. This guitar sings... and screams...and roars... pretty much whatever you need it to do. On top of all that, the looks are downright gorgeous. Photos simply do not do it justice. Pick it up and you won't regret it!

Totally awesome! This thing screams and begs to be played hard. The neck is perfect - not too thick nor too thin, and the 14 degree radius is perfect in comfort and playability for me. I've heard a lot that emg's are a one trick pony. I haven't found that to be true, I play almost exclusively rhythms from rock/metal (maiden, metallic, ac/dc, cinderella, breaking benjamin, etc) to Christian/folk in a band and I have no complaints. This guitar handles it all.
The finish is beautiful with a glossy shine that rivals the best overpriced sports car. You can literally set it on the ground and watch clouds pass in the reflection. The quilt top is beautiful and defined in a subtle way (thanks Roq for all your help in choosing the best looking quilting from your stock - sorry but I'm picky about my eye candy), I also love that it is not a burst finish (seems hard to find in a sub $1000 guitar).
My only complaint was with the setup - which is personal preference and in no way a reflection on Sweetwater. Its just the only thing I can find wrong after almost three weeks.
Thanks Sweetwater and Roq Martin for helping this picky nicky get an awesome Christmas present.

Just got this guitar 2 days ago and the sound is amazing! No regrets. Thanks to Paul Allen for the support.

First off, the guitar that was shipped to me is absolutely beautiful! But more than that, it far exceeds my expectations and abilities in playability. In a word, I've got a guitar to grow into.

This guitar was packaged so well it took me quite a while to unpack it. There was packing paper and bubble wrap securing it inside the box.

Mike Arango was also great throughout all the stages of getting this guitar into my hands. Thank you, Mike.

First off I gotta say that the build of this guitar is of a Gibson quality.I cannot for the life of me knock the strings out of tune, must be due to the locking tune-o-matic bridge. You can't go wrong with this guitar.It comes with a hard shell case, strap locks and the overall feel while playing this guitar is amazing..from the satin neck to the fret edges and the overall weight and sound.(I'm a les Paul lover).While the pictures are nice to look at they do not do it justice when you see it in person. A shout out to my Guitar Engineer Delvin Wolf who goes above and beyond, Thanks Delvin for help and advice fast shipping is a plus also :-) ..SWEETWATER 4LIFE!!

this guitar is worth every penny once you pick this baby up it's hard to put down and for the people at sweetwater you could not ask for any better I've been dealing with matt this guys always there to answer any questions & has always been super patient with me I've also talked with devin seems to be these guys all enjoy talking with you. never no pressure to buy which is something I feel very comfortable with I would recommend these guys to anyone thanks all at sweetwater

I really hate to say this......this Chinese Epiphone Les Paul Custom is much better than my 37 year old American made Gibson Les Paul Custom in every respect. Granted, Gibson was going through a funk in the 70's. Sandwiched mahogany bodies, volutes, laminated necks etc..
This Epiphone guitar has excellent wood, excellent thin neck and action, excellent sustain clean or dirty, excellent hardware, excellent workmanship, beautiful quilted maple top. Gibson USA would charge at least $5,000.00 for an instrument of this quality. You'll never find a better guitar for under 600 bucks anywhere, new or used. Great service from Sweetwater as well.

This guitar has exceeded all of my expectations! It is beautiful and the quality is amazing. Much better than I expected being made in China. Cannot tell any difference at all in playability and sound from our other Gibson Les Paul and we gig 150 times a year, so this is not coming from a novice! The coil tapping is very useful and has incredible sustain. The speed taper neck makes playing a breeze. It came perfectly set up from Sweetwater and the customer service was second to none. Bottom line: It's the sweetest playing guitar I have ever owned. You can't go wrong if you get one as good as this one!

Great guitar at a great price. Hot pickups with classy tones is always a huge bonus. Would recommend for any guitarist who loves a nice smooth neck and like some crunch to their tone
Was even set up well. But a little fret buzz on the A-string but not hard to fix.

I wanted a Les Paul body style with a flatter than 12" radius fret board. I got it (14") and am happy with it.

I wanted midnight sapphire. I got it and am happy with it.

After I had my guitar tech go over it and make some adjustments, I love everything about the guitar except the active pickups (more on that below)

My guitar tech did the following:

Seated the 12th fret properly on the treble side since it wasn't level with the others and then he set it up for me by:

~Replacing the stock 10-46's with my brand of 9-42's.
~Adjusted Neck relief after string change (to suit my preference.)
~Adjusted intonation on a couple strings.
~The upper strap pin was stripped, he repaired it.

It plays like butter now, the way I need it to. Once I swap out the pickups with something passive (Burstbuckers? Rail Hammers? EMG Passive's?) I will consider this my main guitar.

About the pickups: I would NOT call myself a tone snob, especially after not using tube amps until about 30 years into my guitar life but so far, I have not met an active pickup I can live with.

Since I've learned the joys of using tube amps, I have been able to hear a lot more of the frequency response and "feel" in what I play. The active EMG's in this guitar seem almost "surgical" and there's something missing to me. I love balls to the wall metal but when I dial it down I have gotten use to the way passive pickups clean up and I'm not feeling that kind of love with these EMG's.

I knew this guitar had active's in it but since it's easier to change pickups than the finish, I went ahead and bought it.

I wanted to comment on the strap locks that Epiphone included. I applaud their providing a strap lock system that will still allow the pins to work with any old guitar strap. This is typically thoughtful of Epiphone. Despite that, I was uncomfortable with the way they worked. The locks that you install on the strap rely on a c-clip to fit over the thin portion of the pin that's mounted on the guitar.

It holds it in place using the spring tension of the c-clip and after using it for a couple days, my three negative comments on it are: 1. It doesn't provide a tactile click that lets you be sure it's locked, 2. it started to chew through the pin on the guitar pretty quickly revealing the brass underneath the black finish and 3. Removing the guitar strap from the guitar was awkward due to having to push the strap in the opposite direction to get past the spring pressure and I was concerned with accidentally running the lock into the guitars finish. I have already replaced them with another locking system.

I love the satin finish on the back of the neck, I can fret it easily. I have no problems getting up as high on the neck as I want.

The Sweetwater ordering process was fantastic, I got the guitar way faster than I thought I would when placing the order. Their follow up was great, I like the fact that my rep sent me the glamour shots of my actual guitar after placing the order. He was also very responsive and accommodating when I wrote back.

I will definitely come back to Sweetwater when I'm looking for more gear.

Scott in Royal Oak, Michigan

I have to say this is high quality epiphone and the emg pickups absolutely scream! Great for metal or rock. Mine did have a blemish on it but that's my only downside.
Build quality 8/10 because the binding was poorly sanded and there was a line straight through the headstock where I assume it's a two piece

When i received the guitar the toggle switch had broken off and recessed into the body. The inlays were very poorly done, and after replacing the switch, the pickups were a disappointment. Additionally trying to play the guitar stained my fingers black for days. Sweetwater took it back. Their customer service is tbe reason i return as a customer. No epiphones for me