Epiphone Les Paul Special Ii Electric Guitar Vintage Sunburst For Sale (2024 Update)

I've been dabbling with learning how to play the guitar for several years, I've even took a guitar class at the local community college but have gotten frustrated easily to where I quit. I'll say that I have had a "on again, off again" relationship with guitars for the last 15 years. I am not an expert in guitars and am steadily learning the process – how they are built, the electronic parts, etc. I decided to give it a go again with this inexpensive guitar that is a great little learning tool for the novice player like myself. One thing I did do when I got this is change the strings. I watched several review videos on this model and one the the first things people recommended was to change the strings. So I bought a box of Ernie Ball Regular Slinky's (10-46) and re-strung the guitar immediately after I got it out of the box. I am pleased with my progress so far. Could be the fact that I found a great website that gives excellent beginner lessons and helps me to understand the fundamentals of guitar playing. Things that the college instructor didn't teach very well. Of course, it helps that I can play the videos over and over! I'm upgrading to a Fender Mustang LT 25 amp, which will give me a huge range of different tones that I can get out of this guitar. As my skills develop and I get better (hopefully), I will look at upgrading to a higher price point guitar. I would love to get an SG! If you are looking to get started in the guitar community, I would recommend this model to get started. I've watched many videos of experienced guitar players jam some pretty cool riff's with this thing!Jason

This is an incredible guitar for the money. Only thing that needed serious help was the action at the nut. Using the stock nut and a set of nut files, I set it up to my preferred specs of 1/64th of an inch a two the first fret. This ensured comfortable playing as well as tuning stability. After cutting the nut slots to the right height, looks like the file made sure the strings wouldn't catch and now the guitar stays in tune much much better. I would replace the pickups with p90s if I could. Some modification to the pickguard might make this a possibility. Sometimes, I forget I'm playing an Epiphone. With the nut corrected it really is possible to get it feeling pretty good. Here are my personal specs: .005" neck relief measured at the 8th fret. 1/64ths action at the first fret across all strings. 1/16ths of an inch action at the 15th fret. It does not play as well as my Gibsons do: the explorer feels much lower and faster with the same specs and my les Paul traditional does reel in some "big time" tone. In spite of this, the Epiphone SL really does hit the mark. It's capable of all the same specs after adjusting the nut, making for a very playable guitar. I also don't believe the tuning issues are due to the economy tuners since after I adjusted the nut the guitar stays in tune much better. I bought a replacement black tusq nut but have not installed it. I wonder if there's even really a need to do so. This action at the nut is very low but the guitar pulls it off very well. I'm sure that with better pots (remember this is an economy guitar) andLeón

My first electric. Got it in a combo kit with amp and bag. Hook it into my computer now and rarely use the amp for anything. That being said, as many people have mentioned the bridge. If this isn't your first guitar, or you are looking for a second guitar – don't get this one. I learned about intonation and action and all that while having this guitar. You can only set the intonation on the outside E's and everything else is just what you get. My the height of my bridge for medium action on the low E is maybe a 1/16 from bottoming out, any lower it will buzz more. To get the same range of action on my high E my bridge is almost a 1/4" in the air. I do not know enough to get into shimming the neck to get it leveled out more, I just know enough to assume a 1/4" rise over 3" space probably isn't a good thing. However! I've learned plenty on it over these last 6 months. I bought this guitar because I did not want to invest a lot of money into it if I wasn't going to stick with it. I bought this in February of 22. The first 5 months I probably played on it maybe 50-60 hours. These last 4 months I've probably played on it 1-3 hours a day. I started using apps to learn and being able to plug it directly into my computer has been amazing. It's served it's purpose, I'm now getting to the level of playing where I'd like a better quality instrument and am looking in the $400-$500 range. For a first guitar, and you're not sure if you're going to stay with it, this was great for me and I will pass it on to someone else to get started with. Other than the bridge intonation and probably not flat fret board, I have had 0 mechanical issues with it.Jay

I'm reviewing the gold top model. I own a lot of guitars but I didn't have a gold top Les Paul and always wanted one. This is an amazing guitar for the price! Fit and finish are perfect. It sounds and plays great. I love it. Note, always put a new set of strings on a guitar that comes with strings on it. It's a simple fix for a lot of problems you thought you had, but don't. Who knows how long they've been on or what brand they are. Now, the details. Frets were perfectly level, no sharp ends. Slight amount of oxidization. I polished the crowns and ends with Micro-Mesh pads. I used 6000>8000>12,000 grit pads. I wasn't taking metal off, just polishing them to a jewelery finish. Really makes bends and vibrato silky and smooth. I do that to all my guitars. I like the Indian laurel fingerboard. It's a good alternative to rosewood. I cleaned it with alcohol, then applied a very light amount of fingerboard oil/conditioner. Let it sit a few minutes then wiped it dry. It has a beautiful look and feel now. As for setup, the only thing that was set correctly was the intonation. So I lowered the bridge to the (low) action I like, and it was pretty clean, a little buzz on the upper frets. The neck was trussed completely flat, so I loosened the truss rod about 1/4 turn and that gave it the right amount of relief. No more buzz. Next, I filed the nut slots slightly wider and deeper. Action was too high off the nut. I use XL strings (9-42) and the slots were even too tight for them! That was the only real glaring problem on this guitar. Tight nut slots cause tuning issues and your average customer isn't going to have the tools or skills to fix that. I have a set of precision nut slotting files and feeler gauges to cut them to the proper depth. Man, that was the magic touch. The action is amazing now, all the way up the neck. No problems with tuning stability. And that's all I needed to do. It plays like a dream. I thought I would need to swap out the pickups but I like these. I'm old and play mostly classic rock, and these sound just right for the Les Pauls of that era. I get that sound that Gary Richrath (REO Speedwagon), early Joe Walsh, Duane Allman, Dicky Betts, Joe Perry, Page, Billy G, had in the late 60's – 70's. I ran it through a Goat distortion simulator and got Tom Scholtz Boston sound perfectly. It was actually better than another LP I have with DiMarzio super distortion pups. Easier to control the overdrive. All in all, Epiphone has really raised their bar. If you have typical electric guitar setup skills, you'll make this a sweet playing guitar. If you don't, it's worth it to find someone who does. Just a few minor adjustments and you'll have a fine axe to play.Rich

Overall I do think that this guitar is well worth the little cost, I think credit has to be given to Gibson and epiphone for overseeing the quality of overseas company that makes this guitar. I also want to say that I bought the epiphone Les Paul hardshell case after I received and played the guitar and knew I was going to keep it, the case is also of good quality. I have played professionally for many years and also for fun Jamming with friends and other musicians, and exclusively played my 70s fender strat, and will continue to play the strat as the action is better and a little easier to play and I like the fender sound, I play the strat with the original fender Tube Concert Amp and I play the Les Paul with the concert amp and it sounds good also.I also play both with the Line 6 Jam amp and they also sound very good on the line 6 jam amp. I intend to play the Les Paul as often as I can and I do enjoy playing it. I received this guitar on June 5 and I was very happy to see it was well packed for shipping and was in very good condition when I received it. The action is very easy to set up I changed the strings as it comes with .10 and I like a lighter string. The guitar sounds and players very well the humbuckers sound good the 2 volume and tone work fine and the neck and treble switch works well at this time. It seems the Les Paul 100 is a well built and quality guitar at this time and only time will tell how it will hold up. I think if care is taken it should last a long time. I have owned a lot of guitars in my time and in my time all guitars were made in USA. I did not really like the Gibson the necks are big and bulky but I did like some of the deeper sounds. The guitar I played the most is my70s Fender Strat and I think I will play this Les Paul 100 more also. The guitar seems of good Quality, right now I think if there is a flaw it would be in the tuning knobs, right now I have a little problem with one tuning knob the 3rd string [G] goes out of tune during playing a short time I will try to tighten tuning knob to see if this will help. But over all the quality is good I think that the epiphone les paul 100 is a great value for the price, it sounds good and plays well for a non USA guitar I dont think you will find better, I hate to say this because I am a real fender fan and I have played some of the fender non USA guitars and they were terrible.joesplaceny

I bought this guitar for a couple reasons. My first reason was because i wanted a guitar that was my own, and not acoustic, ive used my brothers acoustic guitar fr my learning thus far, but ive grown apart from it, ive started wanting to learn skills used on electric. Another reason was, i can play well, and im in a band, but our guitarist isnt good at all and insists on playing guitar, so ive decided if i can play in his place, i can at least teach him. Finally, i am a huge fan of the anime "K-ON!" and the main character, Yui, plays a Gibson Les Paul in the same color as this, so that had a bug impact on what guitar i chose in the end. I absolutely love how it looks! It's simply awesome to have it in my room, and i constantly get told at school that i have a "sexy guitar" or i get asked "how much did it cost" and its awesome to know that it didnt cost me more than a PS3! And i love the features the guitar has [the 2 different pickup sounds are very useful]. And there is in NO way there is a $2000 dollar difference in sound quality, it still sound amazing, especially with some distortion or overdrive added to it! I'm yet to change the string on it, so obviously it still lacks in my own touch to it, but i will eventually get to that. and very VERY tiny scratches to the pick guard and writing on the switch labels were spotted upon its arrival, but these cannot be seen unless close.jayzap96

My first electric. Got it in a combo kit with amp and bag. Hook it into my computer now and rarely use the amp for anything. That being said, as many people have mentioned the bridge. If this isn't your first guitar, or you are looking for a second guitar – don't get this one. I learned about intonation and action and all that while having this guitar. You can only set the intonation on the outside E's and everything else is just what you get. My the height of my bridge for medium action on the low E is maybe a 1/16 from bottoming out, any lower it will buzz more. To get the same range of action on my high E my bridge is almost a 1/4" in the air. I do not know enough to get into shimming the neck to get it leveled out more, I just know enough to assume a 1/4" rise over 3" space probably isn't a good thing. However! I've learned plenty on it over these last 6 months. I bought this guitar because I did not want to invest a lot of money into it if I wasn't going to stick with it. I bought this in February of 22. The first 5 months I probably played on it maybe 50-60 hours. These last 4 months I've probably played on it 1-3 hours a day. I started using apps to learn and being able to plug it directly into my computer has been amazing. It's served it's purpose, I'm now getting to the level of playing where I'd like a better quality instrument and am looking in the $400-$500 range. For a first guitar, and you're not sure if you're going to stay with it, this was great for me and I will pass it on to someone else to get started with. Other than the bridge intonation and probably not flat fret board, I have had 0 mechanical issues with it.Jay

I'm reviewing the gold top model. I own a lot of guitars but I didn't have a gold top Les Paul and always wanted one. This is an amazing guitar for the price! Fit and finish are perfect. It sounds and plays great. I love it. Note, always put a new set of strings on a guitar that comes with strings on it. It's a simple fix for a lot of problems you thought you had, but don't. Who knows how long they've been on or what brand they are. Now, the details. Frets were perfectly level, no sharp ends. Slight amount of oxidization. I polished the crowns and ends with Micro-Mesh pads. I used 6000>8000>12,000 grit pads. I wasn't taking metal off, just polishing them to a jewelery finish. Really makes bends and vibrato silky and smooth. I do that to all my guitars. I like the Indian laurel fingerboard. It's a good alternative to rosewood. I cleaned it with alcohol, then applied a very light amount of fingerboard oil/conditioner. Let it sit a few minutes then wiped it dry. It has a beautiful look and feel now. As for setup, the only thing that was set correctly was the intonation. So I lowered the bridge to the (low) action I like, and it was pretty clean, a little buzz on the upper frets. The neck was trussed completely flat, so I loosened the truss rod about 1/4 turn and that gave it the right amount of relief. No more buzz. Next, I filed the nut slots slightly wider and deeper. Action was too high off the nut. I use XL strings (9-42) and the slots were even too tight for them! That was the only real glaring problem on this guitar. Tight nut slots cause tuning issues and your average customer isn't going to have the tools or skills to fix that. I have a set of precision nut slotting files and feeler gauges to cut them to the proper depth. Man, that was the magic touch. The action is amazing now, all the way up the neck. No problems with tuning stability. And that's all I needed to do. It plays like a dream. I thought I would need to swap out the pickups but I like these. I'm old and play mostly classic rock, and these sound just right for the Les Pauls of that era. I get that sound that Gary Richrath (REO Speedwagon), early Joe Walsh, Duane Allman, Dicky Betts, Joe Perry, Page, Billy G, had in the late 60's – 70's. I ran it through a Goat distortion simulator and got Tom Scholtz Boston sound perfectly. It was actually better than another LP I have with DiMarzio super distortion pups. Easier to control the overdrive. All in all, Epiphone has really raised their bar. If you have typical electric guitar setup skills, you'll make this a sweet playing guitar. If you don't, it's worth it to find someone who does. Just a few minor adjustments and you'll have a fine axe to play.Rich

The les paul gt is a solid player, it sounds good for the price. Also the acoustic sound it produces is quite good, however, my frets are kind of worn out now, so it doesn't sound too good anymore. (I am not going to talk about the pros anymore, because there are plenty of reviews that focus on those). Now for the bad. The body of the guitar is incredibly flat and blocky. There is no tapering, or smoothing around the edges of the guitar. Because of this, when you are playing, the edge of the guitar is constantly jabbing your rib with its sharp edge. It also shows how poor the craftsmanship is on the guitar. I'd say that 99% of the guitar was made and assembled by robots. the guitar is also quite heavy adding to the discomfort. If your going to buy this guitar just be aware that the body is completely 2 dimensional with no concave or anything, also know that the guitar is rather heavy.nickname

As a hobby guitar player for 30+ years I was looking for an inexpensive LP style guitar with a tremolo. Something I could have fun with, not a wall hanger. Epiphone had the answer with this well built guitar. It's got the LP look with a set of pretty hot pickups which provide lots of snarl on command. The kill switch built into the tone control is a great idea and can be useful and fun to play with. The tremolo is pretty good and generally stays in tune well. Historically guitars in this price range have a reputation as being unfinished with poor fret work, poor nut work, etc. overall these days that's not true anymore and this guitar is a pretty good example of that…BobS67

Nice guitar. Same size as a les Paul. Not too much sustain which I'm sure is due to its light weight body construction. The cut off knob is a nice feature when using heavy distortion. It'll eliminate the need to switch off your pedal when there are pauses to avoid annoying feedback. Nice looking guitar but the flat black matte finish would really pop with a few coats of lacquer but I guess that's one of the steps, or lack of, that keep the cost sooo low. I'm pretty sure a few pounds of lacquer would help with the sustain. Maybe if I get bored I'll give it a try and post a new review.Ronald

My first electric. Got it in a combo kit with amp and bag. Hook it into my computer now and rarely use the amp for anything. That being said, as many people have mentioned the bridge. If this isn't your first guitar, or you are looking for a second guitar – don't get this one. I learned about intonation and action and all that while having this guitar. You can only set the intonation on the outside E's and everything else is just what you get. My the height of my bridge for medium action on the low E is maybe a 1/16 from bottoming out, any lower it will buzz more. To get the same range of action on my high E my bridge is almost a 1/4" in the air. I do not know enough to get into shimming the neck to get it leveled out more, I just know enough to assume a 1/4" rise over 3" space probably isn't a good thing. However! I've learned plenty on it over these last 6 months. I bought this guitar because I did not want to invest a lot of money into it if I wasn't going to stick with it. I bought this in February of 22. The first 5 months I probably played on it maybe 50-60 hours. These last 4 months I've probably played on it 1-3 hours a day. I started using apps to learn and being able to plug it directly into my computer has been amazing. It's served it's purpose, I'm now getting to the level of playing where I'd like a better quality instrument and am looking in the $400-$500 range. For a first guitar, and you're not sure if you're going to stay with it, this was great for me and I will pass it on to someone else to get started with. Other than the bridge intonation and probably not flat fret board, I have had 0 mechanical issues with it.Jay

I'm reviewing the gold top model. I own a lot of guitars but I didn't have a gold top Les Paul and always wanted one. This is an amazing guitar for the price! Fit and finish are perfect. It sounds and plays great. I love it. Note, always put a new set of strings on a guitar that comes with strings on it. It's a simple fix for a lot of problems you thought you had, but don't. Who knows how long they've been on or what brand they are. Now, the details. Frets were perfectly level, no sharp ends. Slight amount of oxidization. I polished the crowns and ends with Micro-Mesh pads. I used 6000>8000>12,000 grit pads. I wasn't taking metal off, just polishing them to a jewelery finish. Really makes bends and vibrato silky and smooth. I do that to all my guitars. I like the Indian laurel fingerboard. It's a good alternative to rosewood. I cleaned it with alcohol, then applied a very light amount of fingerboard oil/conditioner. Let it sit a few minutes then wiped it dry. It has a beautiful look and feel now. As for setup, the only thing that was set correctly was the intonation. So I lowered the bridge to the (low) action I like, and it was pretty clean, a little buzz on the upper frets. The neck was trussed completely flat, so I loosened the truss rod about 1/4 turn and that gave it the right amount of relief. No more buzz. Next, I filed the nut slots slightly wider and deeper. Action was too high off the nut. I use XL strings (9-42) and the slots were even too tight for them! That was the only real glaring problem on this guitar. Tight nut slots cause tuning issues and your average customer isn't going to have the tools or skills to fix that. I have a set of precision nut slotting files and feeler gauges to cut them to the proper depth. Man, that was the magic touch. The action is amazing now, all the way up the neck. No problems with tuning stability. And that's all I needed to do. It plays like a dream. I thought I would need to swap out the pickups but I like these. I'm old and play mostly classic rock, and these sound just right for the Les Pauls of that era. I get that sound that Gary Richrath (REO Speedwagon), early Joe Walsh, Duane Allman, Dicky Betts, Joe Perry, Page, Billy G, had in the late 60's – 70's. I ran it through a Goat distortion simulator and got Tom Scholtz Boston sound perfectly. It was actually better than another LP I have with DiMarzio super distortion pups. Easier to control the overdrive. All in all, Epiphone has really raised their bar. If you have typical electric guitar setup skills, you'll make this a sweet playing guitar. If you don't, it's worth it to find someone who does. Just a few minor adjustments and you'll have a fine axe to play.Rich

I bought one of these several months ago. Ok I'm not good guitarist so take that into into consideration but I have player series strat and have always played strat style guitars and I'm not saying i love this guitar more than the Fender I love them both but as far as the guitar is concerned she got so much potential tonally. I have no complaints about the ascetic she beautiful sexy gorgeous took a little getting used to the weight and contours compared to the strat there is adjustment period but she just rocks. I never played a Gibson but if this guitar had Gibson I guess it be a little better but also 2grand more. If I have any complaint is she is finger print magnet always wiping down get some dunlop 65 and microfiber cloth. The Glossy neck won't appeal to all but I can deal with it. Fret work perfect. I'm not a gigging musician but i have no doubt she gig worthy. Oh also, get the pro coverage cause I found out ALL Les Paul are extremely fragile at the neck,It has to do with the angle of the neck, Google it, do your research on owning a led Paul little different than strat anyway the guitar is 600-GREAT VALUE then with 2 years pro coverage plus tax it was under 900 or somewhere around there. And if you get a bad quality then ask for another cause it is coming from Asia so there is variability in workmanship but mine is PERFECT. If I ever get rich maybe ill buy a Gibson but for now this satisfy my Les Paul needs. I wanted an alternative to my strat to emulate Slash sound lol I need to work on my technique but this definitely rocks a Les Paul sound. I did see a review or 2 that liked the sound of the 1950 better but I played them both and liked the 60s better but check them both out the inspired by Gibson line is definitely worth the money if you want a Les Paul without breaking the bank. Just take your time do your homework if you can go to a GC and play it then do that In rarely write reviews especially this long but I love this guitarMichael L

This Epi is the best out of my 4 Epiphones and right next to my Gibson Les Paul. I weighed this at about 7.8lbs. I had to leave the pickguard off. Fret ends are smooth and the neck is between a slim-tapered and chunky. I love the Probucker pups, which, to me, are similar to the Gibson 490R and 498T pups that I have on my SG. This axe presents a lot of 'firsts' for me-my first modern relief axe, my first access Les Paul so it's nice to have the extra room at the higher frets, my first set of locking tuners which makes changing strings so much easier and these Grovers hold well. The pot tapering is superb and the out-of-phase switch has a nice sound, too…Overall, this is the perfect axe for beginners and the perfect axe for professionals. You deserve to play one for yourself. Play it plugged AND unplugged…Feel the resonance.John564

I brought the Caribbean Fade, and it's amazing looking. Great sound, really has that Gibson sound. Finish is really really nice, very well put together, perfect weight, great guitar all around for the money. I am a huge fan of both Gibson's, and Fender's, I may lean alittle more towards the Fender side though. I will say for the money I bought after playing them both back to back that the new Fender Player series Mexican Stratocasters sound almost as good as the Fender American's nowadays, and for the money if you are split between a Epiphone (trying to get the Gibson sound on a budget), and the Fender Player Mexican (looking for the Fender American sound) these guitars are both about the same price, I would get the Fender, maybe not as pretty as the Gibson, but the Fender is the most versatile guitar there has ever been and the Player series is alot of guitar for only $700+ dollars, and is very close sounding to the American. But if you want a Gibson and can't afford their outrageous and I know they are amazing, but I just don't see or hear $2,800 worth of guitar there. But I do hear an amazing Epiphone Les Paul for under $800, I guess my point is, you could buy an Epiphone Les Paul Modern, and a Fender Player Mexican Stratocaster, and still have a $1,000 to spend on an Amp for the price of the Gibson alone, and I feel the same way about the Fender American model, although I think the Fender American at only $1,700 is a superior guitar to the $2,800 Gibson, you just get alot more guitar for $1,100 less then the Gibson. Save your money, this Epiphone Modern is a great guitar that sounds amazing and looks amazing. One thing I didn't realize, and this is another reason to go with the Fender Player series, is your going to have to pay a professional to put your pick guard on your Epiphone, as it does not come attached. I'm sure that will be another $100, as I'm not scewing anything into my guitar without the insurance a store would have to replace it if something went wrong haha. Personally I don't beat on my guitars enough, and with how pretty the Caribbean Fade looks, and with the Epiphone having more clearance from strings to tje body, then the Fender, I'm leaving it off. Hope this helps, if you are dead set on wanting the Gibson sound at a budget the Epiphone Les Paul Modern is a great guitar. One other thing you will most likely also have to buy a specific case as it doesn't fit in the basic hardcase I bought when I bought my Fender. Gibsons body Shape is more unique then alot of guitars, and I wouldn't risk using anything other then specifically designed Gibson/Epiphone cases, wear as a PRS, Ibanez, and a great majority of guitars fit in the standard hard case. I spent the extra $130 for a Epiphone case. As it was resting on the tip of the guitar in my standard hard case and that's a big no no. Enjoy!!!J

Sound: Pickups sound great with several different voicing available with the coil taps and phase switch. Features: Just feels like a top shelf instrument. Ease of Use: Playability was great out of the box , it is outstanding with a truss rod and bridge tweak. Quality: Fells extremely well made. Value: I think it is comparable to other guitars in this price range Manufacturer Support: No The Wow Factor: It is absolutely beautiful – the prettiest guitar I’ve owned and I’ve owned over 70 guitars! Overall: First of all, I have extremely high expectations when an import guitar cost $700, so this review is written from a critical viewpoint. I ordered Thursday night and it was in my hands Saturday morning at 11! Great job. Epiphone box packaged inside of a bigger box albeit with no packing material between the two. Guitar arrived unscathed. Epiphone decals and warranty info but no truss rod tool. I was so happy that the pickguard wasn’t installed nor are there holes drilled in this beautiful finish, but it was included in the box. The fret ends are as smooth as silk! I was worried about this as my 2020 Epiphone Explorer felt like a cheese grater. Action was a little high with zero neck relief from the factory. Frets are actually pretty level. I gave it the slightest amount of relief and dropped it to 2/64 on both the low E and high Es. Predictably, it had some buzz up past the 12th fret. I raised it to my standard 4/64 and 3 /64 and there is zero fret buzz. Way to go a Epiphone factory! The Grover locking tuners are great but whoever put the strings on at then factory doesn’t know how to use them properly as they still wrapped them around the post. The electronics all function as they should and have a quality feel to them. They have a full range of motion and not just on/off like some cheaper guitars tend to have. The fit and finish is near perfect. I found just a very slight over spray on the binding on the treble side and a finish imperfect on the side of the nut. Other then those two things, nothing- it’s perfect! The Caribbean Fade is the prettiest did sg I’ve ever seen in person – the wow factor is huge on this guitar.Arnie

The setup out of the box was actually pretty good,no sharp frets, action was pretty good, I changed out the strings and tuned it, and the string height was still perfect so that was awesome. I actually had really low expectations given the price point, and I had previously loved my old Ibanez so I figured this wouldn't compare, but it was close enough to the model that I had my eye on, that I would go for this one since it was available and the other one was back ordered. Honestly, I got lucky that I went for this one instead. I almost didn't. This guitar is so comfortable to play, it's LP style, but super light. I love the maple finish, and the satin finish on the neck makes it super comfortable moving around on the neck. The guitar sounds great, it requires tuning pretty often but thats great for learning, and someday I'll get locking tuners. I had low expectations but I couldn't be happier with this purchase.Shibbylbby

A while ago, I started coming across videos and posts about this guitar and the finish of the guitar really caught my eye. I have a couple of Les Paul guitars already, but none of them have a flat finish where you can see the wood grain like this. And for the price, I didn't think it sounded bad either. So I decided to get one and I am SO happy that I did! The only changes I've made are a change of strings (which I do on every guitar anyway) and tuners. The tuners it came with were fine, they didn't HAVE to be changed, it's just a personal preference thing. I have played guitar for nearly 25 years and have guitars much more expensive than this, but this really has become one of my favorites to play. There's just something about it that I love and, in most cases, is the one I pick up when I want to play. I've been very, very happy with it and I would highly recommend it to anyone. If you're a beginner, it's a great, lightweight, easy guitar to play. And if you're experienced, it's still fun to piddle around on. I don't know if they're all like this or I just got lucky, but I am very pleased and even considering buying a second one in another color. Five stars!Luke

First off I want to get the fact out of the way that AMS is the only place I buy musical instruments anymore. There are many reasons but best of all they are good people who put the customer at the front of what they do. So if I was asked I will tell you to buy from AMS. Now to the guitar. This Epiphone Les Paul I purchased for my 11 year old grandson and he loves it. He is a beginner just took his 4th lesson this week and he can already chord it to play a song he likes. It is built solid and the humbuckers are ceramic 8 magnets so they have that heavy feel for great chorus and can also put out the bite for clean leads. He told me the neck feels good and his small hands can manage the instrument pretty well. I took a good look at the guitar when he got it and the only thing I did was tune it for him and as I played it I felt comfortable with the feel and the sound and knew I made a good buy. The only thing I am going to do is put a set of nickel plated Super Slinkys on for him 9-42. I think it will even make the feel better for him as well. Overall I am happy with this purchase because this guitar will serve my grandson well over his guitar journey. Just as a caveat to this review. I am an Epiphone loyalist. I have been buying Epiphone products for over 50 years and nothing against other makers of who I have purchased a few, I keep going back to Epiphone for the quality and price you can't beat the deal. So when I found myself looking to buy a guitar for my grandson, the manufacturer choice was already made. I just had to find a model that would suit his purpose.Laurence W.

Overall: I've been a guitarist since the late 80's, but I no longer play professionally, but I do play at home a lot. I've sold off most of my Gibsons (I held on to my '19 Les Paul Traditional) and I'm having a blast with these new Epi models. Everyone is raving about the Standard and the '59 models, and rightfully so. I own both, as well as a new Custom Silverburst and they're all great. This Classic is no exception. It actually arrived needing the least amount of setup work of all the others. The Alnico Classic Pros are brighter and a bit hotter than the Probuckers, but they're not at all harsh. The electronics work as expected, the neck pickup sounds sweet when split and the Phase feature sounds good with some moderate gain. The nut was cut extremely well and the frets don't need really much dressing. The neck is a little slimmer than what I'm used to, but it's easy adapting. The fretboard is a bit dry, but that's normal. Actually, these new Epiphone models all arrived in better condition than most of my Gibsons did in the past. The new Epiphone models are players guitars. Not wall art or collector's (cork sniffers) guitars, I wouldn't hesitate to take any of them to a gig and have fun with them. That's the whole point, right? I just wish they had made import guitars of this quality when I first started playing.Uriah

Out of the box and tuned, this guitar was completely unplayable with the neck so bent that pressing the strings at anywhere beyond the 8th fret fouled the frets higher up the neck, this also meant the action (measured at the 12th fret) was over 6mm. Fortunately I’ve a good understanding of how to set-up a guitar so adjusted the neck to have minimal relief with the truss rod – as a point of interest there was no truss rod allen key in the box, so just as well that I have my own tools. Once the action was set to my preferred settings (and by no means not as low as many like it) I had loads of fret buzz all over the place. So resetting the neck flat and using a ‘fret rocker’ I found 17 of the 22 frets (at various points across the neck) in need of remedial work to get them level. However as the guitar was new I decided initially to just add a bit more neck relief & set the action a shade higher, while I decided if I should just send it back or spending some hours sorting the frets in the near future? There are some positive points! I really liked the ‘worn’ (satin) finish although I feel there should have been a higher discount over the gloss finished versions as this must have saved loads of time during the finishing process. The Alnico Classic PRO pickups sound powerful with loads of variation between the neck and bridge and support coil-splitting. With the coils split option, with push/pull volume pots, there is (as expected) a significant drop in output but they do sound good, verging on P90 territory, rather than Strat/Tele sound ‘alikes’. One of the areas that lower cost guitars usually fail on is the quality of the tuners, here they have fitted Grover Rotomatics with an 18:1 ratio. They are smooth and easy to operate with the large kidney button heads, holding tune very well. The nut, a Graph Tech, was superbly cut, but unfortunately this was completely wasted with the poor quality of fret levelling from the factory as several of the strings would buzz when played open when set at a reasonably low action! The trapezoid neck inlays are very well fitted and although acrylic, do a very good impersonation of mother of pearl. Visually the guitar look stunning with its unusual colour and matt (worn) finish, but I do find the inclusion of gold knobs a bit of a clash with the all Nickel hardware and at the back cream control plate covers just don’t look right and should have been black. But both of these last two issues are a really cheap to resolve at about £12 for both black cover plates and 4 clear knobs. Overall both positives & negatives to consider and if I’d been unable to adjust the guitar myself, there would have been no option but to just send it back for a refund/replacement (hence 3 stars which I think is quite generous) as it is I’ll be keeping this. If I could have bought this locally it would have been great to try before I bought, but my local Epiphone dealer (90 mile round trip) didn’t have any in stock and was unlikely to get one, so I went the mail order route. The guitar is now playing well and will be even better when I get the time to sort out the frets and put a set of 9-42 gauge strings on.Paul

This guitar is absolutely stunning. At about $450 the Epiphone Les Paul Special certainly hits its price point without question. This is the 2nd time I bought this guitar, but I couldn't resist buying this again. I'll start with the cons first, that I noticed applied to both Special's I've owned.. The poly finish is thick. The combination of the "tv yellow" color and the thick polyurethane sort of gives a toy like feeling, or a bit of a cheapness to it.. Speaking of "tv yellow," it's really more of a Dijon mustard/ Carmel color. I don't think that's a bad thing or ugly by any means, but as other reviewers may have stated, the Epiphone isn't quite as accurate to its high end counterpart. The pickup routes and control cavity were also a little bit choppy, but that's just nit picking. If you buy this guitar, you will most likely need a setup. 2nd time around, I knew that going in but both guitars I bought needed set ups. That being said, this guitar is awesome. Surprisingly the laurel fingerboard was really smooth and moist. I do not sense bad or tall frets, but are scratchy at first. The P90 pros are so good. The CTS pots are so dynamic. The volume and tone sweeps combined with these P90 pros are so dynamic and touch sensitive, that they can hang with the best of em. The guitar resonates so well and plays both clean and crunchy top notch. Punchy and warm…Absolute quality electronics. I haven't found a bad tone in any position. If your used to playing your guitars with everything at 10, this guitar with inspire you to play around with all the tonal possibilities by simply rolling in & out your pots. The neck on this is fat, and so nice but not absurd. I highly recommend it. For the price, you can't go wrong and will love the tones, just plan on getting a setup and you will absolutely love this guitar.Zac F

My first electric. Got it in a combo kit with amp and bag. Hook it into my computer now and rarely use the amp for anything. That being said, as many people have mentioned the bridge. If this isn't your first guitar, or you are looking for a second guitar – don't get this one. I learned about intonation and action and all that while having this guitar. You can only set the intonation on the outside E's and everything else is just what you get. My the height of my bridge for medium action on the low E is maybe a 1/16 from bottoming out, any lower it will buzz more. To get the same range of action on my high E my bridge is almost a 1/4" in the air. I do not know enough to get into shimming the neck to get it leveled out more, I just know enough to assume a 1/4" rise over 3" space probably isn't a good thing. However! I've learned plenty on it over these last 6 months. I bought this guitar because I did not want to invest a lot of money into it if I wasn't going to stick with it. I bought this in February of 22. The first 5 months I probably played on it maybe 50-60 hours. These last 4 months I've probably played on it 1-3 hours a day. I started using apps to learn and being able to plug it directly into my computer has been amazing. It's served it's purpose, I'm now getting to the level of playing where I'd like a better quality instrument and am looking in the $400-$500 range. For a first guitar, and you're not sure if you're going to stay with it, this was great for me and I will pass it on to someone else to get started with. Other than the bridge intonation and probably not flat fret board, I have had 0 mechanical issues with it.Jay

I was quite lucky to get the last Worn Yellow in stock online (for now). It arrived the next day. After some easy setting and adjusting it started to play very nicely. The sounding is quite pleasant and the playability is great. I'm an acoustic player who is very picky on the sounding of a guitar, now owning an all-solid Yamaha which sounds great. And I'm happy to have this Epiphone to try some new types of sounding. Overall, a great buy at this price! Highly recommended!David

Went in-store and purchased this blue beauty, got it home tuned her up plugged her in and on my VOX VT20X this Les Paul sounds amazing!! I also own a D'Angelico SS and a Squire fat Strat and obviously none of them will sound exactly the same however the LP for the price sounds far better than I expected. This is my practice guitar and who knows maybe even a couple of upgrades and it will be my travelling guitar. Well balanced lightweight even the factory strings worth keeping for a while. Definitely a good buy.jason

What a brilliant guitar and superb value package! I have owned ‘real’ Gibsons over the years and bought this outfit as a birthday gift for my granddaughter who is learning to play. She has had a fender acoustic for a couple of years and now wants her own electric guitar. I chose this outfit as having previously owned one in the past I like Epiphone guitars. Before giving it to her I thought it best to check it over and set it up but there was nothing to do really, after tuning this guitar was perfectly playable right out the box! The feel, balance and weight is very like my Gibson and the sound is superb. The amp is excellent and packs enough punch to put a smile on your face too. She’s delighted with the built in tuner as well as the other essentials included in the outfit. What’s not to like? I can’t find a better value package!W O.

My original review still stands, but I made cosmetic-only upgrades for less than an average couple's meal at a casual restaurant that makes this look much, much more expensive. No tuner, pickup or pot swaps. Replaced black plastic parts with cream, added cream pickguard, replaced chrome tuner knobs with Klausen-style ivory-look knobs. Installed chrome pickup covers. Replaced speed knobs with gold top-hats.Easily done to make this look like a proper Les Paul. I'm happy with the looks for the little extra money spent.Steve

As the song says: "I'm a Sucker for a Cheap Guitar". I own over 30 – some cheap, some not so cheap. This one arrived perfectly set up: low action, no buzzing, no sharp fret edges, easy to play – amazing for a guitar in this price range. Although not great, the pickups even sounded acceptable. It's heavy, which to me means good, though not as heavy as my Gibson. It's OK-looking, but needed something to enhance it – a pickguard. I added one and it looks much better – more expensive. Instead of cutting off part of the guard to accommodate the knob as I've seen some others do, I drilled a hole big enough for the nut on the body underneath the knob to fit through the guard (see photos). Since the guard isn't much thicker than the nut, it allowed the guard to fit flush with the body and the knob to turn without any restriction of motion, and the pickguard is not butchered. It's a very clean look – like it came that way – not modified. So, I am pleased with this instrument, and would recommend it to anyone for any purpose: especially beginners to play or someone like me who just collects cheap guitars to hang on the wall of their studiio.Steve

I've played for years and have been in several bands, would not hesitate to take this little fella up for a full set any day! I added a little mini Lea Paul pickguard I made and some chrome epiphone pickup covers for a vintage custom mini lp. Currently my favorite guitar, easy to just grab and jam on for a few minutes or a good enough quality instument to record with. I inspected it closely out of the box, No blemishes on the beautiful warm tobacco burst finish, no buzzing or noise, just a clean clean little les Paul that shouts Gibson quality, I'm actually amazed at the lp tone this thing has at its size. Fun all the way.Jetsetretrodesign.com

As stock it was pretty good out of the box. I wanted a short scale LP that I could mod to get a Billy Gibbons sound and vintage look. No problem with tuning but see below.
I put in BYO 59 vintage (SD pearly gates clone) nickle cover pups, cream pup rings and switch, amber vintage top hat knobs and vintage Grover deluxe tuners.
Had some minor fret work and put on some Gibbons. 07 strings.
Total upgrade parts $180. Guitar $130. and installation and setup by master luthier, Hugo Mermet at $70.
So for $380. I have a great looking vintage LP "Junior dual pu guitar that plays like a dream and sounds like early Gibbons/ZZ Top.
Only thing minor neg. is only one knob ea. for tone and volume. No big deal.
Plays better than stock Gibson at 1/3 the price!
My beard grows 2" every time I play it!
(At this time using a BLACKSTAR DEBUT 15e amp (clean channel) with Danolectro Billionaire Texas Pride pedal.japonaliya

I bought this for my son. I was immediately jealous as I have always wanted a Les Paul and this smaller scale Les Paul sounds bigger than it is! It's a great guitar for smaller hands or as a travel guitar. I would expect any guitar near this price point to need some adjustments. I had to remove the spring in one of the saddles to allow enough room to get the intonation right, but it worked and it's a fully functioning and playable guitar. If you want something properly set up straight out of the box, you'll need to pay a lot more and cross your fingers. This guitar is everything it's supposed to be and then some. I own two other Epiphones (SG and bass) and am very pleased with them.MATTR35S

Wanted a cheap project guitar so I gutted this Special II and put in completely new electronics. Brand new Bridge, Alnico wax sealed pups, brand new harness with larger pots, locking tuners, and a graphite nut. Guitar sounds better than most $200 guitars and more like a $300-$500 epiphone so Im happy with putting all that work in. This is a great guitar to start with and make small mods as you grow.joshtolens14

This solid-body electric guitar is a great value for beginners or experienced players alike. The quality that is built into the instrument is apparent right out of the box. The guitar features dual humbuckers, chrome hardware, a stop tailpiece with tune-o-matic bridge, a bolt-on 22 fret neck, one volume/one tone knob with a 3-way pickup selector switch (bridge pickup, neck pickup, or both), and a good selection of colors-ebony, white, wine red (with black hardware), vintage sunburst or cherry sunburst. The newer units have basswood bodies which are lighter, but the older ones (like mine) are solid mahogany, pretty heavy but with better tone and sustain in my opinion. The stock pickups have very good tone for such an inexpensive guitar. I upgraded mine with USA-made Carvin humbuckers (H22N neck & M22SD bridge) which do sound better, but the switch would not be necessary for most players-I'm just finicky. The biggest "downer" on this guitar has to be the tuners, they are of poor quality and do not hold tune well. A good set of sealed units aren't too expensive, however, and the swap isn't difficult. Once again, I purchased a fine set from Carvin Co. that work great. The Special II is easy to set up for your personal preference as far as string height/action. The tune-o-matic bridge is fully adjustable for string height as well as intonation, and the neck also has a truss rod which is adjustable. If you buy one that is difficult to play or doesn't sound right, any good music store should have someone who can dial it in for you (if you're not sure about doing it yourself). All in all, you can't go far wrong with this guitar if you're a beginner or just need a spare, or "beater" that you can take anywhere. I play mine regularly at home and in church, and at other functions, and get compliments on the great sound from my Epiphone Les Paul Special II. I highly recommend it for anyone on a budget.snickasnee83

This is now my favorite guitar . She is light with ought being flimsy and the action is terrific! A regular workhorse of a guitar while looking slick and polished. Great sound and all around awesome guitar! Can't beat the price for the quality! Excellent! I highly recommend this guitar…my playing ability is a different story all together…..suzanlowe9965

I have wanted a Les Paul since I was in high school in the 1980s. For my 50th birthday (Jan 2022) I really was determined to get one. But, on a country church pastor's salary, no chance at a Gibson, even Epiphones were pricey for me. Thanks to some generous friends who saw a post of mine on social media about my dream guitar. They took up a collection and told me to buy a guitar! So I did! I purchased the Translucent Blue. It is everything I hoped it would be and dreamed of having since I was in high school. Ordinarily, not a fan of factory strings, usually change strings first thing when I get a guitar. But this sounded fantastic out of the box. It's not very often a product lives up to expectations, much less exceeds them. This Les Paul is everything I hoped and then some. The Translucent Blue is an absolutely GORGEOUS intstrument. It plays great, sounds fantastic. Be warned, Les Pauls are heavy guitars. If you're used to something more lightweight, this may be a surprise. I've played them before, I was expecting it to be heavy. This feature might turn some off, but I'm fine with it. Bottom line, if you're pondering getting this guitar, make the leap! You will be glad you did!!!Pastor Frank

Holy wowzers I'll try to keep this quick. I'm one of those guys that has had TONS of guitars. I currently own 10. I had a Gibson LP but ended up parting with it years ago and have recently started wanting one again. Did a lot of research on just about every LP clone out there including ones from Japan, etc. Why not just get a Gibson you say? Well obviously because of the price tag and how much extra it costs to get the name on the head-stock. In no way do you need to spend triple to quadruple the amount it takes to get a Gibson if you don't feel like it these days. These Epi's are cut using the same exact machine that the Gibsons are cut on here in the USA. The same wood is used. This particular model even has CTS pots, a GraphTech nut, and ProBucker pickups. The major difference is China. Yes, China. I would have balked at that years ago, but I also own a J. Mascis Jazzmaster that is made in China and it is absolutely flawless… just like this Epiphone. As a bonus, the "made in China" is only a sticker. You can just remove it so you'll feel much better about yourself when you look at it haha. Without rambling on and on, I always check Guitar Center online to see what is available at my local stores when I am in the market. This one caught my eye because I'm a sucker for quilt top LP's. I called in and had the local dude confirm it was there and he said it hadn't even been taken out of the box yet. BONUS! I rushed to the store and got to unbox it myself. I always like to see guitars like this in person to make sure the top looks good and there are no glaring QC issues. In this case I was extremely satisfied. It came right out of the box with perfect action and perfect intonation. Literally all I had to do was stretch the strings and tune up and it was ready to rock. Here are a couple more nuggets before I sign off to play it more. The frets on this one are nailed. Smooth and polished. The quilt top is unbelievably gorgeous (just look at the pics). The weight is about right for a LP. Chunky and not too light like a super shredder. I love that. The pickups are exactly what I need in my collection. They will do just about anything but super clean chimey ambient tones but who cares, I have other guitars for that. All of the switches and pots feel excellent so I am feeling like I will not have to change one thing on this guitar making it a steal at this price. If I had to nitpick one thing, I would like to see Gibson "allow" Epiphone to use the same exact head-stock shape that the Gibsons use. Fender does it with Squiers so what's up with that Gibson??? While the new "inspired by" Gibson head-stock is WAY better than the older ones, it is still a shame they are so hard headed and that is yet another reason why I chose to get an Epiphone. Again, that is being extremely nitpicky. In conclusion, the newer mid to upper end Epiphone guitars are worthy of checking out by any level of player. Do yourself a favor and at least pick one up if you get the chance. Now excuse me while I go blow my windows out.Mark

My first electric. Got it in a combo kit with amp and bag. Hook it into my computer now and rarely use the amp for anything. That being said, as many people have mentioned the bridge. If this isn't your first guitar, or you are looking for a second guitar – don't get this one. I learned about intonation and action and all that while having this guitar. You can only set the intonation on the outside E's and everything else is just what you get. My the height of my bridge for medium action on the low E is maybe a 1/16 from bottoming out, any lower it will buzz more. To get the same range of action on my high E my bridge is almost a 1/4" in the air. I do not know enough to get into shimming the neck to get it leveled out more, I just know enough to assume a 1/4" rise over 3" space probably isn't a good thing. However! I've learned plenty on it over these last 6 months. I bought this guitar because I did not want to invest a lot of money into it if I wasn't going to stick with it. I bought this in February of 22. The first 5 months I probably played on it maybe 50-60 hours. These last 4 months I've probably played on it 1-3 hours a day. I started using apps to learn and being able to plug it directly into my computer has been amazing. It's served it's purpose, I'm now getting to the level of playing where I'd like a better quality instrument and am looking in the $400-$500 range. For a first guitar, and you're not sure if you're going to stay with it, this was great for me and I will pass it on to someone else to get started with. Other than the bridge intonation and probably not flat fret board, I have had 0 mechanical issues with it.Jay

I'm reviewing the gold top model. I own a lot of guitars but I didn't have a gold top Les Paul and always wanted one. This is an amazing guitar for the price! Fit and finish are perfect. It sounds and plays great. I love it. Note, always put a new set of strings on a guitar that comes with strings on it. It's a simple fix for a lot of problems you thought you had, but don't. Who knows how long they've been on or what brand they are. Now, the details. Frets were perfectly level, no sharp ends. Slight amount of oxidization. I polished the crowns and ends with Micro-Mesh pads. I used 6000>8000>12,000 grit pads. I wasn't taking metal off, just polishing them to a jewelery finish. Really makes bends and vibrato silky and smooth. I do that to all my guitars. I like the Indian laurel fingerboard. It's a good alternative to rosewood. I cleaned it with alcohol, then applied a very light amount of fingerboard oil/conditioner. Let it sit a few minutes then wiped it dry. It has a beautiful look and feel now. As for setup, the only thing that was set correctly was the intonation. So I lowered the bridge to the (low) action I like, and it was pretty clean, a little buzz on the upper frets. The neck was trussed completely flat, so I loosened the truss rod about 1/4 turn and that gave it the right amount of relief. No more buzz. Next, I filed the nut slots slightly wider and deeper. Action was too high off the nut. I use XL strings (9-42) and the slots were even too tight for them! That was the only real glaring problem on this guitar. Tight nut slots cause tuning issues and your average customer isn't going to have the tools or skills to fix that. I have a set of precision nut slotting files and feeler gauges to cut them to the proper depth. Man, that was the magic touch. The action is amazing now, all the way up the neck. No problems with tuning stability. And that's all I needed to do. It plays like a dream. I thought I would need to swap out the pickups but I like these. I'm old and play mostly classic rock, and these sound just right for the Les Pauls of that era. I get that sound that Gary Richrath (REO Speedwagon), early Joe Walsh, Duane Allman, Dicky Betts, Joe Perry, Page, Billy G, had in the late 60's – 70's. I ran it through a Goat distortion simulator and got Tom Scholtz Boston sound perfectly. It was actually better than another LP I have with DiMarzio super distortion pups. Easier to control the overdrive. All in all, Epiphone has really raised their bar. If you have typical electric guitar setup skills, you'll make this a sweet playing guitar. If you don't, it's worth it to find someone who does. Just a few minor adjustments and you'll have a fine axe to play.Rich

Wanted a cheap project guitar so I gutted this Special II and put in completely new electronics. Brand new Bridge, Alnico wax sealed pups, brand new harness with larger pots, locking tuners, and a graphite nut. Guitar sounds better than most $200 guitars and more like a $300-$500 epiphone so Im happy with putting all that work in. This is a great guitar to start with and make small mods as you grow.joshtolens14

This solid-body electric guitar is a great value for beginners or experienced players alike. The quality that is built into the instrument is apparent right out of the box. The guitar features dual humbuckers, chrome hardware, a stop tailpiece with tune-o-matic bridge, a bolt-on 22 fret neck, one volume/one tone knob with a 3-way pickup selector switch (bridge pickup, neck pickup, or both), and a good selection of colors-ebony, white, wine red (with black hardware), vintage sunburst or cherry sunburst. The newer units have basswood bodies which are lighter, but the older ones (like mine) are solid mahogany, pretty heavy but with better tone and sustain in my opinion. The stock pickups have very good tone for such an inexpensive guitar. I upgraded mine with USA-made Carvin humbuckers (H22N neck & M22SD bridge) which do sound better, but the switch would not be necessary for most players-I'm just finicky. The biggest "downer" on this guitar has to be the tuners, they are of poor quality and do not hold tune well. A good set of sealed units aren't too expensive, however, and the swap isn't difficult. Once again, I purchased a fine set from Carvin Co. that work great. The Special II is easy to set up for your personal preference as far as string height/action. The tune-o-matic bridge is fully adjustable for string height as well as intonation, and the neck also has a truss rod which is adjustable. If you buy one that is difficult to play or doesn't sound right, any good music store should have someone who can dial it in for you (if you're not sure about doing it yourself). All in all, you can't go far wrong with this guitar if you're a beginner or just need a spare, or "beater" that you can take anywhere. I play mine regularly at home and in church, and at other functions, and get compliments on the great sound from my Epiphone Les Paul Special II. I highly recommend it for anyone on a budget.snickasnee83

This is now my favorite guitar . She is light with ought being flimsy and the action is terrific! A regular workhorse of a guitar while looking slick and polished. Great sound and all around awesome guitar! Can't beat the price for the quality! Excellent! I highly recommend this guitar…my playing ability is a different story all together…..suzanlowe9965