Sonny Wolf
New Member
- Joined
- Nov 21, 2019
- Messages
- 13
- Reaction score
- 24
So I walked into Guitar center the other week and noticed a black Epiphone Les Paul custom pro for sale in the used section.I picked it up and realized it was in 100% unplayed condition with the plastic film still on the pickguard.Probably a guitar bought by someone who wanted to learn to play but never pursued it and ending up selling the guitar un-used.I have played several of these ones over the years and always liked them.I own several Gibson Les Paul traditionals and 61 reissue SGs so I know what the real deal is all about.But these Epi customs always impressed me...they feel a bit more 'quality' than the Epi Les Paul standards to me for some reason.I owned some Epi Les Paul standards and although they were well built I always thought the pickups were crap and always ended selling them.But the Probucker pickups installed since 2014 on higher end Epi's always impressed me.
So seeing that this was quite a bargain getting a brand new condition guitar at a used price the notion of buying her became more tempting.I plugged her in and immediately recognised that she was a good one with that great tone from the pickups.The setup was really off though and there was a bad buzz on the B string at the 1st,2nd and 3rd frets.I decided to buy her and set her up at home.I brought her home but no matter how I set the truss rod and the bridge height I couldn't get the buzz away without raising the action way too high on the upper frets.I had no choice but to return her fearing a twist in the wood or bad fret.I spoke to the GC tech and explained I had to return the guitar but if he could check the fret level and fix it I might keep the guitar.He was cool and pulled out his tools.Sure enough the 4th fret was too high causing the buzz.He banged it with a plastic hammer for about a minute.Now it played great!!The buzz was now gone and the frets were even and it played smooth.So I brought her back home.I have played several gigs and love this guitar...it sounds just as nice as my Gibson Les Pauls with burstbuckers.Great bark and bite from the bridge pickup and the neck pickup is fat with great clarity...nothing like those crappy pickups my older Epi's had which were mud.I don't really care for the coil taps because I play Fenders too which provide me with single coil tones.But I think the coil taps are great for a player who only has one guitar and needs more versatility.The guitar plays really smoothly with no dead spots and my prefered 11-49 string gauge feels great and gives those humbuckers some extra muscle.I prefer chunky 1950s style necks over this guitar's slim D shape.But I already own some fat neck Les Pauls so I don't mind the thinner one on this Epi because it is different...I can live with that.The Grover tuners are really good and live they seem to hold their tuning even better than my Gibsons(!!!)...maybe due to the 14 degree headstock vs the 17 degree Gibson one(???).I dislike pickguards on a Les Paul so I removed mine...much prettier now.I really love this guitar and value it as a great player alongside my more expensive Gibsons.Definitely the best Les Paul on a budget bang for the buck deal out there!!
So seeing that this was quite a bargain getting a brand new condition guitar at a used price the notion of buying her became more tempting.I plugged her in and immediately recognised that she was a good one with that great tone from the pickups.The setup was really off though and there was a bad buzz on the B string at the 1st,2nd and 3rd frets.I decided to buy her and set her up at home.I brought her home but no matter how I set the truss rod and the bridge height I couldn't get the buzz away without raising the action way too high on the upper frets.I had no choice but to return her fearing a twist in the wood or bad fret.I spoke to the GC tech and explained I had to return the guitar but if he could check the fret level and fix it I might keep the guitar.He was cool and pulled out his tools.Sure enough the 4th fret was too high causing the buzz.He banged it with a plastic hammer for about a minute.Now it played great!!The buzz was now gone and the frets were even and it played smooth.So I brought her back home.I have played several gigs and love this guitar...it sounds just as nice as my Gibson Les Pauls with burstbuckers.Great bark and bite from the bridge pickup and the neck pickup is fat with great clarity...nothing like those crappy pickups my older Epi's had which were mud.I don't really care for the coil taps because I play Fenders too which provide me with single coil tones.But I think the coil taps are great for a player who only has one guitar and needs more versatility.The guitar plays really smoothly with no dead spots and my prefered 11-49 string gauge feels great and gives those humbuckers some extra muscle.I prefer chunky 1950s style necks over this guitar's slim D shape.But I already own some fat neck Les Pauls so I don't mind the thinner one on this Epi because it is different...I can live with that.The Grover tuners are really good and live they seem to hold their tuning even better than my Gibsons(!!!)...maybe due to the 14 degree headstock vs the 17 degree Gibson one(???).I dislike pickguards on a Les Paul so I removed mine...much prettier now.I really love this guitar and value it as a great player alongside my more expensive Gibsons.Definitely the best Les Paul on a budget bang for the buck deal out there!!
