Epiphone Les Paul Custom Classic PRO Electric Guitar Ebony

Very good value for the money. Real Gibson pickups and sounds for quite a bit less. I own several Gibson Les Paul guitars, but really the value of this of many of my others $$$!

What can I say. Just got it a couple weeks ago. Ordered it thru GC during some kind of 20% sale. The guitar is a beauty. This is my 5th Epi. I have a Les Paul 1960 tribute plus top that has Gibson 57's, a Sheraton that I highly modified with 57's, CTS, Swithcraft, bone nut and a Gotoh bridge, a Lucille, and a Limited Edition 3 PU SG W/ a Maestro trem. So, I wanted something with a little different sound and the Gibson 490/498 PU's delivered. Sounds great! To my ears they seem a little hotter and thicker (lowered them a bit)than the 57's although the 1960 tribute has a thick maple cap and the Sheraton is a semi-hollow in maple which I'm sure plays a major roll in the sound difference. This custom classic was fairly playable out of the box. The action was a little high for my preference. So, I lowered the bridge a bit and tweaked the truss rod about a quarter turn to get my neck relief just under .010. No fret buzz. Who would have ever thunk it? Plays real nice now. The frets are smooth and nicely dressed so they don't bind up when string bending and no sharp fret edges. The tuners seem to be fairly stable. The overall build quality is very good although I did find an extremely tiny ding in the neck binding and there is a little black paint on the neck binding where the neck is inset into the body. Not a show stopper. This one was built in January of 15. The fret-board seemed a little dry so I oiled her up. Looks great now. Nice and dark with a tight grain. I'm not seeing any noticeable filler material around the inlays, so that's good. Haven't changed the strings yet but the Epiphone site says this comes with D'Addario's. But, I figure a fresh set will only make it sound better so I'll do that real soon. I'm very happy with my purchase. No regrets! If you like the look, give one a try.

I picked this up recently when it went on sale as I was intrigued that it had GIBSON pickups in it vs. epiphone pu's. First off-its a gorgeous guitar....black & gold with ivory binding-just beautiful. The action was set up nice and low when I got it and I love the slim tapered neck. It just plays like butter..... The USA Gibson 490 pickups do give this a richer tone. The bridge pickup seems to have a bit more grit/edge and brightness in it which I really like. I have owned many epi les paul's and have regularly swapped out the pickups for Gibson probuckers....but this sounds really good stock. My only disappointment is the headstock inlay....why didn't you guys put the les paul custom 'split diamond' logo inlay on this one??? I know I'm just whining about the bling factor but it did bug me. Bottom line this feels great, plays great and sounds great. I love it.

They have finally become a dollar smart! I am buying an empiphone

I went to Guitar Center in College Station a few weeks back, thinking I was looking for an SG, hopefully a Gibson but maybe an Epiphone if I found one I could live with. I'm a real traditionalist when it comes to guitars, and all my other guitars are "real" Gibsons, Fenders, and an Epiphone Casino from 1966. So when I look at the headstock, etc., I'm bugged if it's not authentic. The first thing that caught my eye on this one was the binding, which is aged looking. I picked it up and thought about playing it but there was a kid whanging away real loud on another guitar, so I blew it off. Still, the guitar haunted me. A couple of weeks later, after pretty much CONSTANT whining on my part, my wife picked me up from chemo in College Station and we went to Guitar Center, "just to look," as she said. The guitar, which had been on the bottom row a few weeks back, was now hanging on the top row. A very professional GC salesman whose nametag read "Blake Shelton" (didn't have the guts to ask if that was his real name!) got a ladder and got the guitar down for me. I said, "Well, it WOULD be on the top row," and he replied, "Hey,that's where the most FUN ones are!" He let me play it a while through any amp I wanted, but I chose a little Fender with effects, gain, etc., all of which I turned off because I wanted to hear the GUITAR and not a bunch of amp models, etc. It was love at first pick, and my wife saw it in my face. She bought me the guitar on the spot. I love her! My only complaint is that at this price, I think a hardshell case should be included, as you want to protect this baby a long time! I'd recommend this guitar to anyone, amateur or professional, It looks FANTASTIC, plays GREAT, and sounds WONDERFUL. The coil-tapping feature is one I may not use that much, but it doesn't hurt to have it available. I just hope everyone doesn't rush out and buy one, as I've not seen any reviews in the usual guitar mags yet and I kinda like feeling like not many people have one!

I went to Guitar Center in College Station a few weeks back, thinking I was looking for an SG, hopefully a Gibson but maybe an Epiphone if I found one I could live with. I'm a real traditionalist when it comes to guitars, and all my other guitars are ""real"" Gibsons, Fenders, and an Epiphone Casino from 1966. So when I look at the headstock, etc., I'm bugged if it's not authentic. The first thing that caught my eye on this one was the binding, which is aged looking. I picked it up and thought about playing it but there was a kid whanging away real loud on another guitar, so I blew it off. Still, the guitar haunted me. A couple of weeks later, after pretty much CONSTANT whining on my part, my wife picked me up from chemo in College Station and we went to Guitar Center, ""just to look,"" as she said. The guitar, which had been on the bottom row a few weeks back, was now hanging on the top row. A very professional GC salesman whose nametag read ""Blake Shelton"" (didn't have the guts to ask if that was his real name!) got a ladder and got the guitar down for me. I said, ""Well, it WOULD be on the top row,"" and he replied, ""Hey,that's where the most FUN ones are!"" He let me play it a while through any amp I wanted, but I chose a little Fender with effects, gain, etc., all of which I turned off because I wanted to hear the GUITAR and not a bunch of amp models, etc. It was love at first pick, and my wife saw it in my face. She bought me the guitar on the spot. I love her! My only complaint is that at this price, I think a hardshell case should be included, as you want to protect this baby a long time! I'd recommend this guitar to anyone, amateur or professional, It looks FANTASTIC, plays GREAT, and sounds WONDERFUL. The coil-tapping feature is one I may not use that much, but it doesn't hurt to have it available. I just hope everyone doesn't rush out and buy one, as I've not seen any reviews in the usual guitar mags yet and I kinda like feeling like not many people have one!