Epiphone ES Les Paul Pro

[Pudge]

Pudge... you were fortunate to stumble upon that ES-Les Paul. Congrats to you - they're awesome guitars and have become quite scarce.

Where did you find yours?

Thank you! I found mine at a music store in Melbourne (I there), it was the last one there and this was the only colour. It is also my first electric guitar.

 

[DHart]

Thank you! I found mine at a music store in Melbourne (I there), it was the last one there and this was the only colour. It is also my first electric guitar.

Congrats, man! You may not realize it, but you did DANG WELL finding that as your first guitar. Think twice if you ever considering selling it, because you may not find another again! The ES-Les-Paul and the ES-339 Pro are, arguably, among the best guitars Epiphone has produced.

 

[Pudge]

Congrats, man! You may not realize it, but you did DANG WELL finding that as your first guitar. Think twice if you ever considering selling it, because you may not find another again! The ES-Les-Paul and the ES-339 Pro are, arguably, among the best guitars Epiphone has produced.

Hahaha Thank you so much! I might change the tuner to a locking tuner, sick of my G string going out of tune haha.

 

[BGood]

Hahaha Thank you so much! I might change the tuner to a locking tuner, sick of my G string going out of tune haha.

Before going there, try lubricating the string slots in the nut. Make sure strings don't bind in each slot. If some do, try widening them very slightly with a folded fine sand paper sheet. 99% of the time, the nut is the guilty party in strings going flat. The other 1% is when your strings are too old If it's one of those two issues, your investment in locking tuners won't help any.

 

[grinwer]

A possible reason is also improper winding of the string on the peg.


Great guitar. ))

 

[BGood]

https://d3rurcfks3ktvw.cloudfront.net/guide_video/7a06f571d62e4be7a12cb31f26fbcaea.mp4
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[Raiyn]

Hahaha Thank you so much! I might change the tuner to a locking tuner, sick of my G string going out of tune haha.

It won't do anything on that front, nor will tying your strings. What you have there is a common malady on 3+3 headstocks. Try coloring in the nut slot with a pencil while ensuring that there isn't a burr. Sometimes a luthier can reshape the slot a bit other times it's better to just get a replacement.

Locking tuners are great if you have a trem system or just want to simplify string changes. Personally I hate tying strings and dealing with all the excess string wraps compared to a locking tuners system.

 

[Dave Ball]

While reading thru this thread I found that everyone did miss the 1998 and 1999 Les Pauls that are totally hollow. I have two, and nice aged Cherry burst and a Lemon burst that is pretty much the same condition as when it came out of the factory. I had to rewire the cherry burst and replace the pickups and found that they are built like any other full hollow body and only have a small internal block under the bridge. There is no full center block. I have tried searching all over the internet and cannot find any real information on full hollow LPs, only on ones such as the ES and Florentine. There are no special markings on either of these guitars I have. Sure love the sound and playability of them both. Very light and are susceptible to feedback if playing in front of a loud amp with distortion.

Here is a photo of the Lemon burst. Note the wiring needs a little cleanup. All hardware is actually gold plated, but showing some wear.

 

[BGood]

... 1998 and 1999 Les Pauls that are totally hollow ...
... only have a small internal block under the bridge.

So it's not fully hollow ?

Here's what the ES construction looks like. Pretty hollow. Yours might just be that.

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[Dave Ball]

BGood, Actually, when I rewired and replaced the pots, I also took out the pickups to refresh everything. I found that there is no backbone down the middle. There is the usual tenon attachment block for the neck and a much smaller block than shown for the bridge. The Bridge block is about 1/2 the size shown in the picture and there is no block at the base. The base looks the same as the sides.

It was all pretty easy to see once the pickups were out and using a light in thru one of the F-holes and a mirror. It also made re-wiring much easier.

 

[BGood]

BGood, Actually, when I rewired and replaced the pots, I also took out the pickups to refresh everything. I found that there is no backbone down the middle. There is the usual tenon attachment block for the neck and a much smaller block than shown for the bridge. The Bridge block is about 1/2 the size shown in the picture and there is no block at the base. The base looks the same as the sides.

It was all pretty easy to see once the pickups were out and using a light in thru one of the F-holes and a mirror. It also made re-wiring much easier.

Hmm ... interesting. Maybe a special run for a dealer near you ? Must be pretty light. Any ... neck dive ?

 

[Xtypeintn]

Over the last 10 years I’ve had 5 LP style guitars. In Epiphone’s I had a Junior, a Nightfall, a Standard (all in black) and in Gibson, a Trad Pro, in Wine. My current guitar, and my favorite BY FAR is my LP ES PRO, in Faded Cherry Burst.

The ES is just a stunningly capable, incredibly musical thing to behold. Picked it up from Sweetwater about three years ago. Setup from day one was spot on. Only changes have been to remove all stickers, and use E.B. Cobalt Slinky 9’s dropping the action as low as possible.

My amp was set up to compliment the guitar: Bugera G20 with matched Mesa Boogie 6L6’s and 12AX7’s. Speaker cab is a Seismic sealed cab loaded with a Celestian English Made Anniversary 12”.

Once it was settled and played in, the most amazing fluid tone you can possibly imagine. I’m no pro, more of a hack, but I’ve had a number of friends who ARE recorded pro’s who have played this rig and have claimed it’s one of the most musical sets they have ever played.

Cheers
RD

 

[BGood]

On my bucket list.
I bet it would sound betterer without the pickguard.

 

[Xtypeintn]

On my bucket list.
I bet it would sound betterer without the pickguard.

My only guitar without a pickguard is my Ovation Custom Legend in Ebony. A friend of mine wanted to play it, grabbed it up and started strumming, but more like mashing, he really enjoyed himself, a little too much, cuz when he handed it back to me, MASSIVE pick marks all down the front. Yeah, he’s an okay player, but damn son...
Since then, I keep the pickguard on...
It also hides a bit of the untidy factory wiring you can see thru the upper part of that F-hole.

Cheers
RD

 

[Xtypeintn]

Okay, I caved...
I always felt that the whole “Pickguard On/Off” thing was vanity. Oooh, look how pretty it is without the guard. Meh
But, you know, yeah, sure it’s prettier, but the sound actually opens up a tiny bit more without it! That guard was doing something to the sound. I’m not a luthier, so I’d be clueless as to how to explain. And since I’m social-isolating-anti-having people over or going over to somebody else’s place and no ham-fisted people will have a chance to scuff her up...
Filled the worm holes with brass 4-1/4. Being OCD, I’ll pull the pups and clean up the inside wiring next time I re-string in a month.

Cheers,
RD

 

[BGood]

Waaay better eh ?

To me a pickguard on a LP looks a bit like this.

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[BGood]

Man ... that is a crazy beautiful photo ! My hat to you ... or the photographer.

 

[Dave Ball]

Hmm ... interesting. Maybe a special run for a dealer near you ? Must be pretty light. Any ... neck dive ?

I am not so sure abut special order. I got the Cherry Burst from a local shop. I know the owner well and he told me it was one he got from a shop that was closing up in Ontario Canada. The Honey burst I got off EBay from a shop in Florida. The Cherry was definitely a player and the Honey looks like it spent most of it's life in the case. I have tried to research as much as possible, followed the serial numbers and even tried contacting Epiphone and Gibson. Never got much info other than the serial numbers come back as correct and the year they were built.

As to neck dive? Oh yeah. I use a wide leather strap and it helps considerably. But they are so nice and light, I don't get any shoulder issues like what I get with a regular LP.

 

[Xtypeintn]

So is this the ES or the Florentine? Or both? Or something else?

Actually, that is a Gibson Memphis ES Les Paul. The main difference is that in an Epi Les Paul ES Pro circ. 2016 (like mine) the center block stops just under the tail piece, and does not go all the way through to the strap button. That means it’s upper and lower chambers are joined, not separated like the Gibby.

 

[John]