The Les Paul Standard has long been one of the most sought-after guitars in the world. And now, the Epiphone Les Paul Standard Plustop PRO gives the legend a fresh start, with ProBucker-2 and ProBucker-3 pickups with coil-tapping, an AAA flame maple veneer top, and beautiful color finishes.

The Epiphone Les Paul Story

Epiphone's history with legendary guitarist and innovator Les Paul dates back to the early 1940s when Les, working nights at the Epiphone factory on 14th Street in New York City, created what might have been first the solid body electric guitar, better known as "The Log." Over the next 15 years, Les continued to develop his dream guitar that would "sustain for days" and in the late '50s, Epiphone's historic Kalamazoo factory made that dream come true with the "sunburst" Les Paul Standard and its new pickup, the "PAF" humbucker. Players like Slash, Ace Frehley, Zakk Wylde, Jimmy Page, Alex Lifeson and countless others get their signature sound from a "sunburst" Les Paul and now Epiphone gives you a chance to experience that one-of-a-kind tone at an affordable price with the Les Paul Standard Plustop PRO. The Les Paul Standard Plustop PRO features Pro-Bucker "PAF"-style pickups with coil-tapping, new colors and a beautiful AAA flame maple veneer top for a vintage look with all the modern appointments that players expect from Epiphone.

AAA Flame Maple Top and Classic Features

The Epiphone Les Paul Standard Plustop PRO features a solid mahogany body with a… read more AAA flame maple veneer top that delivers the classic tone and sustain that can only come from a "real" Les Paul. The body also features 1-ply cream binding on the top for a beautiful vintage look. Like all Epiphone Les Pauls -- and unlike less costly designs -- the Epiphone Les Paul Standard Plustop PRO features a 14-degree, angled headstock that gives you more pressure at the nut for longer sustain with less tuning hang-ups caused by "string-tree" gadgets. The mahogany neck has a 24.75" scale with a 12" radius and features a 1960s SlimTaper "D" profile with a glued-in neck joint for lifelong stability. The rosewood fingerboard comes with pearloid trapezoid inlays, 22 medium-jumbo frets, a 1.68" nut, and 1-ply cream binding.

Epiphone ProBucker Humbuckers with Coil-Tapping

The Epiphone Les Paul Standard Plustop PRO now features ProBucker pickups for that one-of-a kind Les Paul sound. ProBucker pickups feature Alnico II magnets, the same magnets used in sought-after vintage PAF humbuckers. Alnico II magnets provide a rich, warm tone with a sparkling high end and a solid low end. The Les Paul Standard Plustop PRO features a ProBucker-2 in the neck position and a ProBucker-3 in the bridge position. The ProBucker-3 is slightly overwound to provide balance with the neck pickup and a bit of edge for lead work. ProBuckers emulate the sound of original PAF pickups which were hand-wound with a few extra turns of wire. Both the neck and bridge pickups now also feature coil-tapping, controlled by a push/pull volume control, allowing players an infinite variety of pickup sounds from single-coil bark to full humbucker bite. When winding humbuckers, Epiphone utilizes a double vacuum waxing process that ensures quiet operation, free from microphonic hum. The pickup is first placed in the specialized wax vacuuming system before the cover is placed on the unit to ensure that the wax fully penetrates to the very center of the pickup and solidifies all parts. After the cover is placed on, it is again given a second vacuum wax bath until the unit is completely saturated with wax. Epiphone uses only the highest quality parts for its pickups. read less