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Just look at the specs! Locking tuners included = mind blown! I had some time with it today after receiving it and I am just blown away. I own a bunch of other Epiphone Les Pauls. I also own many other types of Les Pauls. I've played Gibson Les Pauls over the 40+ years I've been playing guitar. This guitar EASILY stands with the best Gibsons I've ever played. The sound and the definition from the Probuckers is excellent! The locking tuners - first guitar I've had with them - make it SO easy to do string changes! I was doing some tone work with Amplitube 4 a little while ago with Joe Satriani's 'Boston 100' (Tom Scholz 'Rockman') plugin. I matched the tone with other guitars for the "Don't Look Back" song. They were very close. But, this guitar - with these Alnico II ProBuckers - got it very nearly exact! It sounds so amazingly defined! Wow! Even my DiMarzios couldn't match the tone THIS close! This Les Paul just edged a little closer than they could!I am VERY pleased with this guitar! It's AWESOME and worth every penny!!

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I couldn't BE more pleased with this guitar (well, I could but that's not on Epi, it's, "Na na na na, nobodies fault but mine. I've been performing for over 40yrs, first drumming and back ups, then fronting, now singing playing and TRYING to play. I realize I have much to learn. But not about the right guitar. I put this up against ANY Gibson and I don't look back. Clean clear tones, sustain for days. She whispers, sighs, sings cries, and screams. She has perfect pitch. I can't say anything that the reviews haven't already said. She's a perfect r&r machine and my life shall forever be marked pre or post locking tuners. What a revelation! I LOVE zZounds for their willingness to "front" me, as it were, this instrument, with no questions. I've purchased before, but things have been tight, I've been trying to rejoin the ranks of those entertaining but "fundage" has been slow coming. Then, of course, Co-vid, but with this last (and best) piece of the puzzle in place I can charge ahead. I'm kinda hoping zZounds will help me with the more pleased," comment from earlier though. After having viewed the, Caribbean Blue Fade, it has the perfect look for my act. I have to trade this beautiful burgundy guitar back Love EVERYTHING that Epiphone built this guitar with. Love zZounds for putting it in my hands.

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I've had it now for almost a year. It's always been completely awesome. When it first arrived the only thing that I changed was the strings. It looks incredible! And it sounds amazing! I've been playing Les Paul's for nearly 50 years. I've owned several Gibson Les Paul's and was in the market for a Les Paul studio. But when I played this guitar I was blown away. And I just had to have one. The one that zZounds shipped to me was set up perfectly. It has become one of my favorite all-time guitars. I also got a Les Paul Muse and I'm amazed by the sweetness of that guitar as well.

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Out of the box it needed some work. I leveled, dressed, and polished the frets, and tightened up all the screws. The only other things I found was the pickup height was off and had minor adjustments for intonation. Set up work on a guitar in this price range is to be expected, I’m not knocking it at all. The build quality of the body, neck, and finish is superb. The bridge, pots, switches, and tuners are not top tier but definitely good quality. The pickups sound amazing and overall the guitar plays extremely well. The weight relief is great and the body resonates very nicely. I don’t see the point in buying a Gibson unless it’s for nostalgic reasons, or you like that name on the headstock. The Epi modern is well worth the price. Even if you have to pay for a fret job and setup you will still save a couple of grand over a Gibson.

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This guitar and zZounds are amazing. For $650 this guitar is a steal. It looks amazing and sounds even better. With the weight relief if feels great on a strap, but what really caught me off guard was how much sustain this has. Love this guitar and very happy with shipping and packaging. Was delivered in 2 days and packaged nicely.

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Let me start by saying, I love this guitar. While not as lucky as the previous reviewer with the setup, an hour or so with some spot leveling on the frets and fixing up some sharp fret ends coupled with a string gauge change and intonation; I've got a real winner. For me it's a Gibson killer. Stunning looks, fairly priced with all the extra goodies and why would I shell out $2000 more dollars just to have a prestigious name on the head stock? I wouldn't, not with this fine guitar to choose. The only con I have is no poker chip for the three way switch. Just doesn't say Les Paul to me without the chip.

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It came ready to rock. Looks the business. Sounds the business. Plays real nice.Only slight hiccup? Neck pickup can get a tad wooly for my taste. But for the price, cmon. Get one and play it out this weekend. Leave that 3k Lester at home.

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I've been a bass player since 83. Just got into electric guitar a few years back. I had bought this guitar 2 years ago and love it as much as the 2022 limited Gibson studio. However, when pulling lightly on knobs, they came off from the first day. Easy fix though. The finish is amazing (red with natural back) and I would recommend this guitar and the Epi custom pro.

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I've always been a fan of Epiphone Guitars. 2020 is a great time to get that Les Paul (or any Epiphone) you've been wanting. The Grover locking 18-1 tuners, Graph Tech nut, carved neck joint, CTS controls just to name a few are reason enough IMHO. My Beautiful burgundy Les Paul showed up with great fret work and setup. This alone makes me happy but there is so much more that Epiphone did in their 2020 evolution of guitars.

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Absolutely fabulous instrument, plays great and sounds fabulous, top quality not a blemish on it, Epiphone has really uped the quality control.

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Received my Epi SG Les Paul today. I got the Pelham Blue color. Opened it up and the first thing that caught my eye was the beauty of it. No visual defects and an absolute pleasure to play. Fit this old man's hands perfectly. If you wanna spend more money for a Les Paul Model...go for it. However, you'll be pleasantly surprised with how this guitar feels and plays.

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The Epiphone Les Paul Modern sounds great and looks amazing. The new/old Kalamazoo headstock is a game changer for the overall look of the instrument. With push/pull coil split and phase switching there are a wide variety of useful sounds over and above the traditional Les Paul. Any differences between Epiphone and Les Paul pickups can be compensated for with EQ, especially while using overdrive. There is a bit of noise similar to single coils when using the coil split function.The guitar came with a great setup from the factory. Action and intonation are about the best I have seen of any of the dozen or so guitars I have owned. Tuning stability is exceptional. This is noteworthy for an Epiphone as there are often issues with tuning stability on Gibson LP's due to the angle of the headstock being greater than the Epiphones. The locking tuners are an excellent upgrade, and should be standard on most guitars these days. Regarding quality control, I identified three high frets that are causing some minor fret buzz, but not enough to send it back. Some minor fret work will resolve this, but you should take this into consideration if you are not inclined to spend extra money on a brand new guitar for fret leveling. I have read that this is a common issue with 2020-2021 Epiphones. Fret ends have some sharpness to them. The black pickguard has a gap around the neck pickup. Not very noticeable unless you are looking for it, but I am not sure why this is an issue. I have seen it on other guitars of this model. Though it is an Epiphone, this seems to be one area that would not be difficult to fix in design. Finally, there are minor quality control issues on the finish mostly around the binding with paint bleed or similar. Overall, at this price point, the guitar is a great purchase for the hobbyist, considering the Gibson version will cost about $3,000. However, with so many quality guitar choices in the $1,000 price range, I am not sure I would pay much more for an Epiphone, and am glad they kept the price point in this range.

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Side by side with my Gibson I have to say it looks as good or maybe better in terms of fit and finish. The Epiphone acrylic Urethane clearcoat will NEVER yellow, it's flatter and 5 times harder than the Gibson lacquer !! The sound is great, though my Gibson Les Paul Classic pickups are hotter and I like them better as a matter of taste and the Plek'd Gibson neck plays a little better, but in every other way I think this Epiphone beats out the Gibson !... especially since it cost about 1/3 as much. ... but I do believe in BUY AMERICAN made when you can, I wish Gibson would dump the Nitrocellulose lacquer for solid bodies because it doesn't help in the side by side comparison I have made and one of my Gibson's is so yellowed it looks bad enough I'm considering sending it in for refinish at Gibson.

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The Good: took a chance to save some money on a "blemished" deal. Have had good luck with these in the past with zZounds, and as before, could not find any blemishes in regard to the finish. The setup, however, was abyssal. Once setup, the guitar is fantastic. Lighter weight than my other Epi, and.my.Gibson. The Probuckers are amazing. Great clarity and I see or hear no reason to replace them. Liking them better than my 57+ classics. Black guitars and me don't get along, as I have always sold them off. The graphite black and plain back on this guitar is gorgeous. Most likely a keeper. Neck feel is perfect. Coil split and tone controls really make a difference. Many sounds can be had. May soon become my #1 guitar. Plays effortlessly. The Bad: guitar setup was non existent. Tuners were crooked, nut slots too high, pickup height too low, pick guard installed incorrectly, uneven frets, action set for limbo, and scratchy pots. After cutting deeper nut slots, leveling and crowning the frets, lowering the action, adjusting truss rod, readjusting tuning pegs and pick guard, spraying the pots, and installing quality knobs, the guitar is now fantastic. I can understand why it was returned as it took a lot of work to get it playable. Luckily, I do that all myself so no extra $. Sadly, although great luck with zZounds in the past, this will be my last order until either:1) zZounds offers shipping options other than FedEx. Or2) Fedex gets their s**t together and figures out how to deliver packages to the correct address, with accurate tracking, and without damage.

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Hard to believe I've been playing guitar for 50 years now. I'll never forget my 59' Les Paul Jr. or 62' Strat but fortunately I kept the old Martin D-28. Those tones stuck to me and I've come to build my own Master Builds (partscasters) that are superior to the Fender products for much less and sound amazing. I'm the picky guy who loves Marshalls with the wire straight to the guitar. Good hands and solid gear.I've picked up a 2020 LP modern and 2020 LP Special (P-90) and I'm very impressed with the quality and price point. These are the real specs with the correct feel and basic sound. Obviously a few corners have been cut however the core essentials are there. Much like souping up a hotrod I tweak my guitars and it pays off. Upgrading tuners, stop tail and ABS-1, boutique PAF's and a great setup can make this guitar competitive with anything. Plenty of room to upgrade since the Gibson model is $2800. So, I'll admit I'm a guitar snob and Epip's were below my standard.....not anymore. These guitars are very playable and a real value in today's Les Paul world. These may become one of those...dang.....really good years. WTG Gibson with shutting out competitors and building a Squire line that is much better.

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Very pleased with this instrument. Lighter weight and the Jimmy Page style wiring are nice benefits. I'm getting classic Les Paul tones thru my Marshalls. The asymmetric neck is fabulous. I've owned several Gibson LP's and they just like this Epipy LP. Highly recommended and a huge savings if you can live with the Epipy headstock. Personally I am a guitar snob but not about this one ! lol Go for it

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When this arrived, I uncharacteristically exercised restraint and didn't even open to box for almost 5 weeks (also mainly because I was recovering from surgery). When I did, I was more than pleasantly surprised at the appearance and finish of this Les Paul. The Sparkling Burgundy is simply beautiful! The photos really don't do it justice. So, how does it sound, you might ask? Well, the playability details however leave something to be desired, and I should have unboxed and played the guitar sooner because I would have returned it. There's considerable fret sprout (and way too much fret buzz) than I've ever experienced in a new guitar and it's something that I wouldn't have expected in an Epiphone (I own several Epi models and I'm pretty much an evangelist for them!). Fret buzz is something that can be relatively easily addressed but the fret sprout? Hell, that's just not acceptable from a company as reputable as Gibson/Epiphone, even if these are being made in China. I'm accustomed to taking my guitars (both new and old) to my local luthier for an initial set up, but this will require more extensive work, so I may even spring for getting this Les Paul plek'd in order for me to end up with the guitar I was sort of hoping that I'd get.

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I’ve spent hours with this thing and finally got the buzz out of four of the six strings. Sounds great. It would sound awesome if I didn’t hear that wonderful buzzing overtone on my (A) string. And don’t get me started on the (B) string. It has great features. If ya can’t play it... it’s a waste of money.

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Just unboxed the guitar. Only two of the three pickup selections work. I waited a long time for this guitar and for it to not work upon unboxing it is a huge disappointment.