Feature:
Grover tuners are excellent (and a pleasantly surprising addition) and also look mutch better than the regular LP custom's.
Pickups are proper Gibson's, I've read they were specially made for this model but haven't been able to comfirm this.
Special anniversary mural on back.
Quality:
Build quality is excellent, it looks like Epiphone have used all thier best materials, taken more time with the fitting and finshed this guitar to a higher standard than on there other models to produce a truely special product for this limited addition run.
Everything about the finish spells quality, no glue over runs or cracked\thin lacquer shows that the finsh wasn't rushed.
Only problem is that some of the gold hardware has started to tarnish slightly but this happens on all guitars, even Gibson's, due to being constantly touched.
This guitar feels really robust and reliable, will last for decades and still sound amazing.
So what if it doesn't say Gibson on the head stock, it means I'm £1000 or so better off.
Value:
I paid just under £200 for this guitar second hand and it's incredible, I would still consider I got the bargain of the century if I'd twice as much.
I also own an Ibanez RG750 which when in production was the top of the RG range and at the time retailed for over £800 and this Epiphone is better, and thats not a slight on my RG which is fine guitar.
Desirability:
This guitar looks the business, all balck and gold and gleaming, feels amazing to play and sounds like it could make grown men cry one minute and blow your head off the next.
Sound:
Neck pickup gives a really nice warm tone clean or distorted, neck replaced with Dimarzio Evolution pickup which makes this guitar scream!
Combination of wood and pickups give almost endless sustain, warm bright clean tones, full on screaming distortions and everything in between.
I haven't played a Gibson Les Paul but I can't inmagine how they could sound much better for many times the price.
I thought my Ibanez RG750 sound good (which it does) until I played this.
Ease of Use:
Neck is amazing, straight, slim has a low action, plays like a dream and is as good as if not better then my RG750.
Only complaint is that it's difficult to play the lower strings above the 15th fret but this is due to the Les Paul design in general not this guitar.
Pratice makes perfect!
Support:
Have had the need to call them so can't comment.
Overall:
I really don't see that I'd ever want another guitar, this pretty much covers all the tones I can ever see myself needing.
I'd still use my RG750 for some stuff, like playing lower strings above the 15th fret and it's a more suitable design for this style however there's not much I play that requires this, oh and anything requiring a tremolo!
Quite simply this the best guitar I've ever played, is a fraction of the price of a genuine Gibson LP Custom and sounds truely expectional.
If it were stolen I'd desperately try and find another, although with only another 2001 out there this would prove difficult.
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