Epiphone Les Paul Melody Maker E1 Electric Guitar Heritage Cherry Sunburst

I've had this guitar for 24 hours. It's the Heritage Cherry finish. I bought it because the price was right (on sale) and I wanted something with a radius of 12" or more and a scale length less than 25.5" and more than 24". (I have Fender and Squire electrics.) I want to work on slide play which has been hard for me on a 9.5" radius guitar with 9's for strings. (I know I can can put 10's or more on one of the Fenders, but I want to try something different.) Overall this guitar is fine. It is lightweight and comfortable to play. The body had no scuffs, scars, or mars and the finish is just fine and I like the color. It tuned up fairly easily, and held the tuning overnight so is acclimating well. The serial number begns with 1808, so this guitar has been boxed up in storage for 7 years! That showed in the feel of the strings and fret board, but in 24 hours in the open air, the texture is already better. The neck pickup was a litlle loose but I tightened it up. I noticed a little fret buzz at first. A few fret ends are rough. The online features says the fretboard is rosewood, but I doubt that. I have rosewood on my strat and it has darkened over time, but this one is practically black. There is one volume and one tone control each, but the online features describes "control layout: Volume 1, volume 2, tone 1, tone 2." The description also states there are 20 frets, but the guitar has 22 frets (which can actually be seen on the online pic). My overall assessment is that the guitar is just fine; it looks good; the tone is warmish; there are no serious issues; the neck is smooth and straight. I think it is a good begginer guitar, and can be good for experienced players too, depending upon what they want to do. I will eventually put 10's on it for slide, but I am initially quite content with the guitar as is, especially at the price.

nothing bad. i have no complaints. the guitar is great, especially for the low price point. it's a very lightweight guitar. but i and my other musician friends have been subtly surprised at how well this guitar plays.

I bought this guitar a while back as a project guitar/backup for my '65 Epiphone Olympic special. I've always loved that single coil Melody Maker style guitar, and while this is not exactly the same, I love the feel and tone I get out of it. It's extremely lightweight and comfortable to sit with, and I got lucky that it came out of the box set up fairly well (I know for budget guitars it's rare that's the case). The pickups are good for the price point, but I do have plans to upgrade them (already bought some Seymour Duncans, just haven't had time to make the switch out). If you like the sound or style of the Melody Maker (which sadly Gibson is no longer making), this is a solid alternative IMHO. Definitely recommend trying one out!

I bought this as a a backup for my Gibson Les Paul. I was looking for a cheap and comparatively lighter guitar with a similar feel to my Gibson. I got both of those with this Epiphone. As an added plus, the guitar sounds great. The single coils obviously sound different, but I actually like it. It's very clean and responsive. For reference, I play exclusively clean (through a DV Mark Jazz 12 with a few pedals) and play mostly Les Paul (the man) and Chet Atkins style stuff.

I am glad I have this guitar as an introductory Les Paul. Once I master this one, I'll buy other Les Pauls.

I play my guitar every day and it's awesome each time 👍👍