Epiphone Les Paul Standard Plustop Pro Guitar For Sale (2024 Update)

Totally stunned at how beautiful this guitar is. After looking at the advertising picture, the Desert Burst colors looked "flat", and I had feared that the "flame maple top" on this would look like imitation wood stickum' vinyl flat color type looking stuff or something for some reason,…BUT NO…it is the REAL THING!, genuine FLAME MAPLE, and you can look down into it's wood finish "a mile deep", and as you move the guitar around, the natural flame maple stripes dance and change shape like a "iridescent 3D hologram type effect", it is absolutely AWESOME! The mahogany body back and neck is glossy, deep, and beautiful. It feels good to hold, has a nice weight. Epiphone has upgraded the humbuckers on this, the switches give so many choices, and I will definitely NOT be changing them in any way, they are perfect, and sound AWESOME! And I am impressed with the Epiphone's upgraded Grover tuners it has. Mine did have a bit of fret buzz, but my technician fixed it in less than 15 minutes. One thing that bothers me, is that this guitar needs better strap buttons, they are beveled inefficiently, and mounted at a outboard angle (as opposed to a Stratocaster's inboard angle). An outboard angle lets the strap slip off easily while playing, so use strap locks, or a slightly bigger outer washer "retainer" on the button. Some straps have excessively long attachment slots for some reason, and it might help to stitch up this slot a bit shorter too. I LOVE THIS GUITAR!Sir Ripstring

I'm amazed by the quality of this guitar at this price point. It sounds simply amazing. Rich, beautiful tone, with sustain that lasts for days. It is an extremely resonant guitar, quite loud even unplugged. I was very excited that it was not too heavy, as I was afraid it would be. While I haven't weighed it, it is clearly lighter than my 8 pound Strat, so guessing it is maybe 7.5-7.7 pounds or so. The neck is not too thin, which I like, and I love the radius. It is quite flat, and bends are a breeze.The craftsmanship on mine was fabulous. Not sharp frets, no issues with the finish, or the electronics, or anything I could see. The only disappointment I had was that the color was not as vibrant as the stock photos. I got the 'Translucent Blue' and it is darker and you cannot see quite as much of the wood grain. It is an attractive guitar, but that could be a bit better. The setup out of the box was atrocious, but that was a very easy fix. I only had to lower the bridge (like 1/2 an inch…it was ridiculously high…surprised the strings didn't break) and once I did that all was good. I've only had it now for three days, but this is very likely going to become my go-to guitar. In humbucker mode, with distortion, it is simply the best sounding guitar I've ever owned. Period. And the single-coil mode (which I haven't played with too much yet, but have tried it out to see how it works) makes this guitar much more well-rounded to different styles. I always wanted a Les Paul, but didn't want to spend thousands to get one. I still can't believe how reasonable the price was. My only regret is not buying this model sooner!!!William

I had a hard time choosing between the antique finish or the desert burst, they both look awesome. The guitar was set up pretty well right out of the box. Tuned and played right away. No buzzing, intonation was spot on and no tuning issues. The grovers are smooth and hold the tune well. A few things I noticed that I did not like were the tone and volume control knobs were set at all different heights and one was actually rubbing the top of the body. It was with some difficulty, that I managed to get that particular one up and in a good position without marring the finish. The others I adjusted to a matched height about 3/32 off the body. Looks fine now. Now I know while I didn't purchase a US made Les Paul and shouldn't expect perfection, I was disappointed that the guitar body is made of several pieces of wood glued together. But the real issue is they show what appears to be a one piece solid mahogany in the rear view picture but in fact it's just a thin mahogany laminate covering three glued together pieces underneath. I suppose on the desert burst model you'd hardly notice any difference in the color of the finish but on the antique finish it clearly doesn't match. Is this enough for me to send it back? Well no, I can live with it as it has no effect on the guitars sound and I don't regularly stare at the backside anyway. Just thought I was getting a one piece mahogany body. I did point this out to the customer service rep and told them they should clearly point this out so others aren't surprised like I was. For the price I paid, I'm satisfied. The fit and finish is every bit as good as my US made Les Paul Classic. Other than those little issues, it's a solid well built awesome sounding guitar and I really enjoy the coil splitting feature as well. At less than one third of the cost of the real one, this is a real deal. I'd give it five stars if it wasn't for the laminated back, but it's still a great deal on a great playing/ sounding guitar.JimmyD

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

Its not the les paul Baseball bat neck and not the Slim Taper. Its somewhere in between. Ebony Fretboard and EMG Passive pickups. The pickps have a pretty good punch and the guitar plays well the factory Floyd is a nice touch and thousands saved with the Epiphone as opposed to the Gibson Logo on the headstock. I have 2 of them and have no intention of changing the pickups at this point. for under 500 bucks its a great guitar. I did change the saddle in the Floyd to Floyd Originals for about 80 bucks parts cost. also routed out the inside a little for the big pull bake on my big block floyd upgrade… its an awesome guitar if you are a floyd guy and a les paul guy this guitar is a winnerjampatgal2012

Epiphone's Standard Left-handed Les Paul, while not perfect, is well-worth your money. If you're looking at a Gibson, but don't want to fork over the cash, it wouldn't be a bad idea to consider this instead. I agree with the previous reviews I've read that describe the guitar needing some setup work and attention to the action. But I also agree that it's a solid product, overall and well-worth your money. I purchased my guitar over 10 years ago, and noticed about 4 years back that it started having intermittent problems with the neck pickup. Sometimes it would work, sometimes not. It might be a good idea to invest in a soldering kit and a pickup selector switch for later on down the road. Do not let someone try to sell you a replacement pickup without first replacing the switch. It's a quick fix and much cheaper than a brand new humbucker, so long as you're not afraid to bust out that soldering iron. All in all, some setup work might be needed as well as some future-maintenance to the electronics, but it's worth it. This is a great sounding guitar with solid craftsmanship and it's a lot of fun to play.JT

GREAT LOOK AND FEEL! THIS IS A BEAUTIFUL GUITAR AND IS A QUALITY INSTURMENT. I PURCHASED THE EPIPHONE LES PAUL STANDARD ELECTRIC GUITAR AFTER DOING MY HOMEWORK AND HAVING SOME 40+ YEARS OF PLAYING AND I SING AND PLAY IN MY HARDCORE ROCK N ROLL BAND! DONT HESITATE THIS IS A BEAUTIFUL GUITAR AND IT PLAYS AND SINGS LIKE AN ANGEL. IM IN NO HURRY TO REPLACE THE PUPS YET. THIS IS A PROFESIONAL TOOL. I RECOMMEND THIS GUITAR FOR WORK AND GARAGE OR YOUR BEDROOM. I EVEN SOUND LIKE I KNOW WHAT IM PLAYING LOL! THE REASON I PURCHASED THIS LMT.ED.2014 RED ROYALE RED PEARL GLOSS FINISH WASBECAUSE IT WAS THE DEAL OF THE DAY WHEN I WENT TO ORDER A EBONY BLACK STANDARD EPIPHONE LES PAUL AND INSTEAD I SNAGGED THIS BRAND NEW EPI FANCY GLOSSY GUITAR FOR 299.99💰DEAL OF THE DAY. WAY NICE AND I AM VERY HAPPY AND SATISFIED WHAT A DEAL! BEST MONEY EVER SPENT. BESIDES THE BEAUTIFUL SHINEY HIGH GLOSS FINISH, THE ELECTRONICS AND HARDWARE ALONG WITH THE D TAPERED NECK AND NICE FRET BOARD IS OUT OF THIS WORLD. VERY NICE AND COMPAREABLE TO MY GIBSON LES PAUL STANDARD 👍. I AM NOT CHANGING A THING ON THIS GUITAR BUT TO HAVE A PROFESIONAL TUNE,TWEEK, AND SET IT UP FOR ME. NOT TO KEEP SOUNDING LIKE A EPIPHONE SALES PERSON BUT IT REALLY DID COME OUT OF THE BOX BASICALLY ALLREADY SET UP AND TUNED.REALLY! IM GOING TO STILL BUY ANOTNER EPI STANDARD LES PAUL NEXT MONTH. I AM GOING TO GET THE REGULAR EPIPHONE EBONY BLACK COLOR LES PAUL STANDARD OR….A EPIPHONE EBONY "BLACK BEAUTY"- THE HIGH GLOSS BLACK FINISH WITH THREE PRO BUCKERS! REMINDS ME OF SEEING ACE PLAY HIS VINTAGE GIBSON WITH THREE PICKUPS BACK IN 1976 IN PORTLAND OREGON @ THE VETERANS MEMORIAL COLLISIUM.JOEY VOMIT

Totally stunned at how beautiful this guitar is. After looking at the advertising picture, the Desert Burst colors looked "flat", and I had feared that the "flame maple top" on this would look like imitation wood stickum' vinyl flat color type looking stuff or something for some reason,…BUT NO…it is the REAL THING!, genuine FLAME MAPLE, and you can look down into it's wood finish "a mile deep", and as you move the guitar around, the natural flame maple stripes dance and change shape like a "iridescent 3D hologram type effect", it is absolutely AWESOME! The mahogany body back and neck is glossy, deep, and beautiful. It feels good to hold, has a nice weight. Epiphone has upgraded the humbuckers on this, the switches give so many choices, and I will definitely NOT be changing them in any way, they are perfect, and sound AWESOME! And I am impressed with the Epiphone's upgraded Grover tuners it has. Mine did have a bit of fret buzz, but my technician fixed it in less than 15 minutes. One thing that bothers me, is that this guitar needs better strap buttons, they are beveled inefficiently, and mounted at a outboard angle (as opposed to a Stratocaster's inboard angle). An outboard angle lets the strap slip off easily while playing, so use strap locks, or a slightly bigger outer washer "retainer" on the button. Some straps have excessively long attachment slots for some reason, and it might help to stitch up this slot a bit shorter too. I LOVE THIS GUITAR!Sir Ripstring

I'm amazed by the quality of this guitar at this price point. It sounds simply amazing. Rich, beautiful tone, with sustain that lasts for days. It is an extremely resonant guitar, quite loud even unplugged. I was very excited that it was not too heavy, as I was afraid it would be. While I haven't weighed it, it is clearly lighter than my 8 pound Strat, so guessing it is maybe 7.5-7.7 pounds or so. The neck is not too thin, which I like, and I love the radius. It is quite flat, and bends are a breeze.The craftsmanship on mine was fabulous. Not sharp frets, no issues with the finish, or the electronics, or anything I could see. The only disappointment I had was that the color was not as vibrant as the stock photos. I got the 'Translucent Blue' and it is darker and you cannot see quite as much of the wood grain. It is an attractive guitar, but that could be a bit better. The setup out of the box was atrocious, but that was a very easy fix. I only had to lower the bridge (like 1/2 an inch…it was ridiculously high…surprised the strings didn't break) and once I did that all was good. I've only had it now for three days, but this is very likely going to become my go-to guitar. In humbucker mode, with distortion, it is simply the best sounding guitar I've ever owned. Period. And the single-coil mode (which I haven't played with too much yet, but have tried it out to see how it works) makes this guitar much more well-rounded to different styles. I always wanted a Les Paul, but didn't want to spend thousands to get one. I still can't believe how reasonable the price was. My only regret is not buying this model sooner!!!William

I had a hard time choosing between the antique finish or the desert burst, they both look awesome. The guitar was set up pretty well right out of the box. Tuned and played right away. No buzzing, intonation was spot on and no tuning issues. The grovers are smooth and hold the tune well. A few things I noticed that I did not like were the tone and volume control knobs were set at all different heights and one was actually rubbing the top of the body. It was with some difficulty, that I managed to get that particular one up and in a good position without marring the finish. The others I adjusted to a matched height about 3/32 off the body. Looks fine now. Now I know while I didn't purchase a US made Les Paul and shouldn't expect perfection, I was disappointed that the guitar body is made of several pieces of wood glued together. But the real issue is they show what appears to be a one piece solid mahogany in the rear view picture but in fact it's just a thin mahogany laminate covering three glued together pieces underneath. I suppose on the desert burst model you'd hardly notice any difference in the color of the finish but on the antique finish it clearly doesn't match. Is this enough for me to send it back? Well no, I can live with it as it has no effect on the guitars sound and I don't regularly stare at the backside anyway. Just thought I was getting a one piece mahogany body. I did point this out to the customer service rep and told them they should clearly point this out so others aren't surprised like I was. For the price I paid, I'm satisfied. The fit and finish is every bit as good as my US made Les Paul Classic. Other than those little issues, it's a solid well built awesome sounding guitar and I really enjoy the coil splitting feature as well. At less than one third of the cost of the real one, this is a real deal. I'd give it five stars if it wasn't for the laminated back, but it's still a great deal on a great playing/ sounding guitar.JimmyD

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

I am both surprised and please with this guitar I purchased this guitar at GC Nashville after returning a Gibson Les Paul Classic that I bought online. (lesson learned, don't buy from GC online.) The staff there were great and had no issues with me returning a $2200 guitar that I bought online. Even more supportive in helping me pick out a much less expensive guitar. Great people. This Epiphone is awesome. The fit and finish are great. The action is low and no buzz. The tone is great and It is lighter and easier to handle than the Gibson . The best part is it cost a third of the one I returned. I really wanted a Gibson but I am so glad I picked up this Epiphone. A word of caution. I looked at and played several guitars at GC before choosing this one. I even played a couple of other Epiphone Les Paul Customs. No two were the same. One had razors for frets, one had an action you could drive a truck under and this one was just right. Go in an play them before buying.Mike

I'm in a Fleetwood Mac tribute band. I wanted a period-correct guitar but could not afford a Turner or a Gibson Les Paul so I settled for the Epiphone. I was pretty happy with the guitar the first month….until at rehearsal, I "lost" my high E string. At first, it appeared to have disappeared off the fretboard. But upon careful examination, I found the string caught under the 5th fret 'tang'(?). The fret itself was not perfectly flush with the fretboard, leaving just enough of a tiny gap to catch the string as it rolled off the fretboard during playing with finger vibrato. Upon further examination, it looked like frets 4, 6 and 7 were not quite flush either. I remedied the situation somewhat by purchasing a Stew-Mac roller bridge that allowed me to slightly shift the string positions further in and away from the fretboard edge. I had previously attempted to pressure-seat the offending frets with a woodblock and hammer, but they would not budge. The roller bridge seemed to help somewhat. But today at rehearsal, I felt some stinging irritation on the inside of my left thumb near the 'web' between thumb & forefinger when I moved my hand quickly up and down the neck. Looking closely at the frets, I noticed that the end edges were extremely sharp as if having never been dressed properly. All that said, I realize this instrument is a 'budget' one when compared to American-made Gibson / Fender / PRS products. I'd read some great reviews on this guitar and made the purchase on that basis. But, once again, it is the same old story – "you get what you pay for". I should not have expected the same build quality and attention to detail like that found on instruments costing four times as much. I suppose a refret is the only solution now. Buyer beware.CHUCK

Totally stunned at how beautiful this guitar is. After looking at the advertising picture, the Desert Burst colors looked "flat", and I had feared that the "flame maple top" on this would look like imitation wood stickum' vinyl flat color type looking stuff or something for some reason,…BUT NO…it is the REAL THING!, genuine FLAME MAPLE, and you can look down into it's wood finish "a mile deep", and as you move the guitar around, the natural flame maple stripes dance and change shape like a "iridescent 3D hologram type effect", it is absolutely AWESOME! The mahogany body back and neck is glossy, deep, and beautiful. It feels good to hold, has a nice weight. Epiphone has upgraded the humbuckers on this, the switches give so many choices, and I will definitely NOT be changing them in any way, they are perfect, and sound AWESOME! And I am impressed with the Epiphone's upgraded Grover tuners it has. Mine did have a bit of fret buzz, but my technician fixed it in less than 15 minutes. One thing that bothers me, is that this guitar needs better strap buttons, they are beveled inefficiently, and mounted at a outboard angle (as opposed to a Stratocaster's inboard angle). An outboard angle lets the strap slip off easily while playing, so use strap locks, or a slightly bigger outer washer "retainer" on the button. Some straps have excessively long attachment slots for some reason, and it might help to stitch up this slot a bit shorter too. I LOVE THIS GUITAR!Sir Ripstring

I'm amazed by the quality of this guitar at this price point. It sounds simply amazing. Rich, beautiful tone, with sustain that lasts for days. It is an extremely resonant guitar, quite loud even unplugged. I was very excited that it was not too heavy, as I was afraid it would be. While I haven't weighed it, it is clearly lighter than my 8 pound Strat, so guessing it is maybe 7.5-7.7 pounds or so. The neck is not too thin, which I like, and I love the radius. It is quite flat, and bends are a breeze.The craftsmanship on mine was fabulous. Not sharp frets, no issues with the finish, or the electronics, or anything I could see. The only disappointment I had was that the color was not as vibrant as the stock photos. I got the 'Translucent Blue' and it is darker and you cannot see quite as much of the wood grain. It is an attractive guitar, but that could be a bit better. The setup out of the box was atrocious, but that was a very easy fix. I only had to lower the bridge (like 1/2 an inch…it was ridiculously high…surprised the strings didn't break) and once I did that all was good. I've only had it now for three days, but this is very likely going to become my go-to guitar. In humbucker mode, with distortion, it is simply the best sounding guitar I've ever owned. Period. And the single-coil mode (which I haven't played with too much yet, but have tried it out to see how it works) makes this guitar much more well-rounded to different styles. I always wanted a Les Paul, but didn't want to spend thousands to get one. I still can't believe how reasonable the price was. My only regret is not buying this model sooner!!!William

I had a hard time choosing between the antique finish or the desert burst, they both look awesome. The guitar was set up pretty well right out of the box. Tuned and played right away. No buzzing, intonation was spot on and no tuning issues. The grovers are smooth and hold the tune well. A few things I noticed that I did not like were the tone and volume control knobs were set at all different heights and one was actually rubbing the top of the body. It was with some difficulty, that I managed to get that particular one up and in a good position without marring the finish. The others I adjusted to a matched height about 3/32 off the body. Looks fine now. Now I know while I didn't purchase a US made Les Paul and shouldn't expect perfection, I was disappointed that the guitar body is made of several pieces of wood glued together. But the real issue is they show what appears to be a one piece solid mahogany in the rear view picture but in fact it's just a thin mahogany laminate covering three glued together pieces underneath. I suppose on the desert burst model you'd hardly notice any difference in the color of the finish but on the antique finish it clearly doesn't match. Is this enough for me to send it back? Well no, I can live with it as it has no effect on the guitars sound and I don't regularly stare at the backside anyway. Just thought I was getting a one piece mahogany body. I did point this out to the customer service rep and told them they should clearly point this out so others aren't surprised like I was. For the price I paid, I'm satisfied. The fit and finish is every bit as good as my US made Les Paul Classic. Other than those little issues, it's a solid well built awesome sounding guitar and I really enjoy the coil splitting feature as well. At less than one third of the cost of the real one, this is a real deal. I'd give it five stars if it wasn't for the laminated back, but it's still a great deal on a great playing/ sounding guitar.JimmyD

This thing is SWEET! Like reeaalllyy sweet. I have a solid body LP in my arsenal but the shoulder-wear gets to be a bit of an issue especially for practicing, this little guy? Play all day. The build quality is tremendous, the finish is gorgeous, the hardware is enough chrome to make late 90's rappers jealous. The only part I swapped out from stock was the bridge. I went with a TonePros locking tune-o-matic and instantly this thing went from good sustain to like, walk away and drink a coffee, come back and the guitar is still singing sustain. I bought mine as an open box level 1. The only flaw worth mentioning is a small finish crack on the fret binding at the 4th fret, not sure if this happened in the factory, with the previous "owner" or during shipping, to be honest it doesn't bother me in the slightest, if anything it makes me want to actually PLAY the thing and not just stare at it longingly as it sits in a case because i'm afraid I might make it imperfect in some way. Bottom line; you should own one of these.Daybone

IMHO there are two major considerations when grading a guitar.(1. Quality (2. Cost If I grade a guitar with five stars, (I do this one) it doesn't mean that I think it's the best in the world or even the best I've played. It does mean that at this price, this is way up top. 1. finish. I found no faults at all and it is beautiful. 2. Mechanical: Nothing broken, Nothing Bent, Nothing loose (so far). The frets are a little sharp on the ends but at this price range about as good as it gets. As mentioned by others, the tuning slips just a little, but I personally think this will take care of itself. If it doesn't and I find it to be really an issue with me, the guitar is worth new tuners. 3. Playability: It's like the guy in Indonesia new exactly what I wanted in a guitar. String height is perfect. Intonation is within a couple of hertz on every string and I mean this literally (my ear would never know the difference). For my ears the pickups are adjusted exactly where I want them. The volume of the Lows and Highs are very balanced. 4. Tone: Tone is something I've always struggled with. I'm not a great player and I have hearing difficulty so tone is something I'm working on constantly. I have a 1982 ES 335 that I believe is the best sounding guitar around; it will sound any way your talents will take it. I wanted this to sound like my 335: it doesn't and I don't believe it ever will but the tone that it does have is very pleasing and very versatile for just about any type of music. The coil splits are more fun for me than useful but I think for a professional they would really be useful. A Diehard Les Paul solid body lover may scoff at this new innovation.,,,,,,but just until they play it. You may get the idea that I like this Florentine and that would be a fact but keep in mind that all reviews are subjective and each guitar has it's own individual sound just as each player has their own likes and skill level. I'm not a good player and I need an easy playing. This is my guitar and I would buy it again.oge

I have had an older version of this same guitar for ten years and is my go-to secret weapon. I can't say enough about mine. Like all Epiphones you have to find a good one. By that I mean play several and pick the one that feels the best. There's always a remarkable difference between them – more than any other guitar. I won't list all my other guitars, but a lot of people can't believe this is my favorite model. The only thing that greatly improved mine was switching out the pickups for Duncan 59s. This thing now sounds so hot that you can't put it down. I'm not kidding, this thing is a steal if you get a good one. Your $5000 guitars may come and go – if you are ever lucky enough to have them – but this one stays where you can grab it when that riff comes to you at all hours of the day. You can't go wrong quite simply if you follow my advice; most importantly to swap the first one for a second if it's not right. You'll know when you hit the jackpot like I did. BTW, that swapping them out goes for all Epiphone guitars. If you were to line up ten, one will be much better than the others. I know stuff after many years and lots of guitars. Good luck and practice, then practice some more.Mikestrat

This Les Paul is a winner in everyway possible. Some folks have complained about the finish or lack thereof, meaning it isn't glossy, it's essentially flat gold paint. The neck isn't satiny either, it's "aged" as though it has been played for years. That aside, the guitar sounds and plays wonderfully. The pickups are crisp and wonderfully bright with none of the usual muddy neck sound that one expects out of a Les Paul style guitar. The coil split is pretty darn good at creating a good single coil sound which give a nice pattern of sounds to be used. As far as the fit and finish, the neck was great out of the box, no problem with fret sprout. The tuners are nice and do the job as intended and everything was as it should be. For the money it simply can't be beat, and is well worth the relatively small investment to own a Les Paul.George

Right out of the box, it was set up fairly well. Action appears to be about right for the lower frets. Up around the 12th fret, it's a little high but not unplayably high. It will need a new nut, though. The 3 high strings, in particular, tend to go out of tune and get caught in the nut when tuning. The pickups are a massive improvement over my other guitar (2001-ish Epi SG Special). I can get a lot of good tones out of it, both clean and dirty. Using the coil split on both seems to sound more accoustic like to me. However, I think the pickups may not have been potted very well. They do sound a bit microphonic. All in all, I think it will make a nice guitar with just a few upgrades.Matthew

I couldn't help but notice the previous owner of the guitar I bought had a sanded neck. He tried to Van Halenize it and failed miserably. However, I did expect some cosmetic damage, so I wasn't surprised. After adjusting the bridge and pickups back to their normal positions, I tried the guitar and fell in love with it. It's a great guitar, and I will buy another one if anything happens to this one. I had my heart set on a pacific blue, blue burst, or radio blue LP. The purple burst and the silver burst are also very nice looking guitars. But, my favorite color has always been blue so that was always first and foremost when it came to selecting a LP. I have three other LP's, but this one has such a good feel to it, I find it hard to put it down. I am very happy with it! I've even named it Sweet Madame Blue. Yes, after the song by Styx. If you name your guitar, you know you're serious about it.Ivan