Les Paul Guitar Red For Sale (2024 Update)

I've had the guitar for almost a month now & decided to do the review after I had it for a while. Quality control on this guitar was not very good. There was a chip by the 22nd fret near the upper horn that was overlooked because it has the final coating sprayed over it. There is also a scratch on the headstock at the G string tuner, it looks like someone overtightened the nut & scrated the headstock with a nut driver. Plus there is some black paint that ran into the binding on the top part of the headstock. Also there is a nick/scratch on the pickguard right below the neck pickup. The guitar plays well, and it looks good except for the imperfections I expalined earlier. I took pictures of what I complained in case someone at AMS would like to see them. I'm not sure of the return policy for guitars or if this could be returned for another guitar of the same kind I have. In the end the playability has met expectations but the quality control was far below expectations. If a representative has any questions about my review or if they want to see the pics I took, please let me know.

Overall: A couple of weeks ago, I was looking at buying the Gibson les Paul Standard 60's Bourbon Burst for $2,499.00, as I was doing my research checking out reviews when I came across a side by side review of the Gibson verses the Epiphone les Paul standard 60s. The similarities in quality and sound were eye opening, still skeptical I thought to myself, I owe to myself to at lest checkout the Epiphone les Paul standard 60s what's the worst that could happen, if I don't like it ill send it back and order the Gibson. Well I'm here to say I don't JUST like it, I ABSOLUTLY LOVE IT. Right out of the box I was super impressed with the look and feel of this guitar with the flamed maple top to the deep rich cherry back and sides, I sat down tuned it up plugged it into my amp. I went from being impressed to ka-ching I hit the jack pot. You know after I bought this guitar and before it arrived I had that feeling of buyers remorse, thinking that I somehow compromised and I should have bought the Gibson. Well the first few licks on this guitar and all that washed away instantly. This guitar has it all, value, quality, sound, playability and the flamed maple top…. just wow…!!!!! thank you zZounds and Epiphone for this fantastic les Paul.

I just received this guitar a few days ago. It's already my favorite. Love the slim taper neck, and the probucker pickups are great. The pickups are fine on clean tones, but where they really shine is when the gain is cranked up. Build quality is very good, and it's a beautiful instrument. I prefer a rosewood fretboard, but find the Indian laurel to be completely acceptable. Only 2 negatives: 1. No coil splitting option, 2. it's a heavy guitar. This doesn't matter much to me because as a hobbyist, I typically play sitting down. But I can see that if you play standing, this could get tiring after a while. But these are minor quibbles – overall I'm very pleased with my purchase. Finally,kudos to Dave Hoffman, who held my hand during the 3 month period it took to get a new shipment in.

Overall: First thing I have to say is when I opened it I went over it with a fine tooth comb because I've heard so many nightmare stories about Gibson quality control over the past decade. My guitar was impeccable. Not a single issue whatsoever, as it should be for what they cost now. This guitar comes with the 490r and 490t pickups. These are fine if you play blues, jazz, or classic rock. If you want to play hard rock or metal you may want to look into replacement pickups. The 490r is very warm and thick. It sounds great for clean arpeggios and overdriven soloing, but it can sound downright muddy playing chords with any overdrive on it. Even with the pickup heights adjusted it was a little louder than the 490t bridge pickup. Now the 490t doesn't sound too bad. It's a pretty clear, but doesn't have a whole lot of output. Stick an overdrive in front of a dirty amp and it will sing, but it won't have the compressed singing quality on it's own. That can be good or bad depending on what you need. I played around with them for a couple weeks before deciding to replace them with Seymour Duncans (JB and Jazz). The Jazz has a lot more clarity in the neck than the 490r and it still has warmth to it. The JB just sings and still cleans up with the volume knob despite being high output. They're the go to aftermarket pickups as far as I'm concerned. If it had shipped with a 498t in the bridge I might not have been so quick to swap the pickups out. I love the fact that this has a maple neck. Maple is a lot sturdier than mahogany plus the Les Paul Customs in the 70s had maple necks. That's really the main reason I jumped for this rather than a Studio. No it doesn't have the binding like the Classic, Traditional, or Standard LPs, but I'm used to the no frills construction of my faded SG. It doesn't bother me. It has a simple beauty to it. My guitar is the tobacco burst and I really like how the neck, top, and back all have different colors. You get what you pay for, but it's not as good a value as it was a couple years ago. Replace the 490t with a 498t and drop the price (yeah right) back down a bit and I'd give it a 5/5. As it is it is a solid 4/5. I wouldn't hesitate to buy one if you're in the market for a Les Paul.

Overall: The Good: took a chance to save some money on a "blemished" deal. Have had good luck with these in the past with zZounds, and as before, could not find any blemishes in regard to the finish. The setup, however, was abyssal. Once setup, the guitar is fantastic. Lighter weight than my other Epi, and.my.Gibson. The Probuckers are amazing. Great clarity and I see or hear no reason to replace them. Liking them better than my 57+ classics. Black guitars and me don't get along, as I have always sold them off. The graphite black and plain back on this guitar is gorgeous. Most likely a keeper. Neck feel is perfect. Coil split and tone controls really make a difference. Many sounds can be had. May soon become my #1 guitar. Plays effortlessly. The Bad: guitar setup was non existent. Tuners were crooked, nut slots too high, pickup height too low, pick guard installed incorrectly, uneven frets, action set for limbo, and scratchy pots. After cutting deeper nut slots, leveling and crowning the frets, lowering the action, adjusting truss rod, readjusting tuning pegs and pick guard, spraying the pots, and installing quality knobs, the guitar is now fantastic. I can understand why it was returned as it took a lot of work to get it playable. Luckily, I do that all myself so no extra $. Sadly, although great luck with zZounds in the past, this will be my last order until either:1) zZounds offers shipping options other than FedEx. Or2) Fedex gets their s**t together and figures out how to deliver packages to the correct address, with accurate tracking, and without damage.

First of all, the ultra light aging done by the Murphy Lab looks and feels amazing. The finish checking is stunning and it straight up looks like it was built in 1956. They nailed it. Frets are perfect and I was able to set the action really low without any buzzing or issues whatsoever – a testament to how well this was built. It really plays like a dream. The P90's are perfect too – like single coils on steroids – everything you want a P90 to sound like – Clean, chimey, articulate, but also warm, fat, and searing. They cut really well in a mix, especially on the bridge pickup into an overdriven amp. They really sing. It's such a beautiful instrument in every way. Get one!

When you want a Les Paul you’ll want a real Les Paul so that’s a Gibson and not a single cut guitar by any onther manufacturer that has its looks changed because it may not look like a Gibson Les Paul. Furthermore: the Gibson Les Paul since its inception in the ‘50’s has always been and will be THE benchmark. Period. This Gibson Les Paul Classic is a gorgeous, great guitar and very competetively priced too. For your tone you really do not need an AAA flame top; many of the best sounding ‘vintage’ Les Pauls are plaintops. And when you do not want one of the ‘burst’ versions that just do not quite meet the looks of the old ones, this Translucent Red is the way to go.. you’ll be buying a guitar that reminisces of George Harrison’s ‘Lucy’ and Dicky Betts’s ‘Redtop’ without having to fork out Custom Shop money. You’ll also get 4 push-pull pots that effectively give you all the inspiring tonal options (including the ‘Peter Green’ out of phase tone) you’d find in a Custom Shop Jimmy Page # 2 (read the spec sheets) but again without having to pay the Custom Shop Price. Between 1990 and 2008 there was also a ‘Les Paul Classic’ too but the ‘Classic’ version on sale these days has little to do with that previous ‘Classic 1960’. The Burstbucker pick ups are supposed to adhere to the specifications Seth Lover intended and that Gibson was applying to the 1961 P.A.F. / Patent Number Pickups. And indeed the Burstbuckers are clear, brilliant, a bit ‘bright’ and not ‘woolly’ or ‘fatty’. More a bit like the P90 ‘without hum’ it was designed to be but then a little more powerful, without the screaming harshness of some ceramic pickups Gibson used in the past. The Grover tuners – although I prefer the looks of the Kluson keystones – are also ‘60’s-modifications’ and I must say they have a wonderfull ‘solid’ mechanically feeling action. The crown inlays in the fretboard are a perfect fit (unlike some others where gaps were obvioulsy filled up with glue or something) and the fret bindings have been finished properly (in the past I’ve seen that done less scrupulously..). The Classic also sports the ‘modern’ larger strap holders so it is not imperative to fit straplock systems right away… Any drawbacks? Some people might scare back at the weight: it comes in at 4.25 kilo’s and the Slim Taper neck profile (also a ‘60’s’ characteristic) has to be your thing. Minor detail: upon arrival the fretboard was very dry but all it needed was some luscious application of Axe Wax and now the fretboard has the same nice even chocolate brown hue as my Gibson 2019 Firebird. When you are on the search for ‘a’ Les Paul, at least try the Les Paul Classic as well. I have sold two M.I.J. Tokai LoveRocks (a 2002 and a 2003) to fund the purchase of the Gibson Les Paul Classic; that was a gamble but I was right in doing so; the Les Paul Classic really pleases me a lot more. And a note I must add: mine came perfectly set up by one of the guitar techs of Music Store; thank you! Even the intonation was spot on !

The Muse is a wonderful LP when the electronics work.. If you pull the OP(out of phase) knob it sounds(tones) as expected, however when you push it back it not only stays OP, the pickups do not go back to HB. They sound thread like or quaky. Now if you unplug and let it set a while they resolve back to normal. I love the build/color/playability of it, but as it stands I would not recommend it. I have had it 6 months.