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Imagine a 1960 Gibson Les Paul Custom; A shiny black mahogany body with a mahogany top, a slender neck with an ebony fretboard, and those classy Grover kidney bean tuners...Now imagine that guitar with a chambered body so it doesn't crush your shoulder and spine like a blacksmith's anvil, and with a price tag that won't crush your bank account.That's what Epiphone offers in this limited edition beauty that is only available at a few selected dealers.Out of the box this guitar only required a slight lowering of the bridge. The frets are nicely dressed with no sharp edges, and the intonation was perfect. I couldn't find any flaws in the finish notable enough to even mention.The chambered body gives the guitar a nice ringing acoustic quality when played unplugged. I'm no expert but I have to think this resonance helps with the sustain which is considerable. The mahogany top makes the tone a bit darker than the maple capped Pauls but it's a tonal quality I personally prefer.As far as looks go, this thang isBE-YOU-TEE-FULLThe only weak point here, to me, are the pickups. I'm not a fan of Epiphone's stock pickups. The neck pickup, an Alnico Classic, isn't awful but I found the Alnico Classic Plus in the bridge to be rather loud and not particularly dynamic. (Tone is subjective and others have reviewed this pickup in favorable terms so YMMV.) After thoroughly testing this specimen to make sure it had no defects I yanked out the stock pickups and installed some Dimarzios; a Super Distortion & PAF.Epiphone has really hit their stride when it comes to top notch instruments for people not hung up on labels and their Les Paul Customs are truly the flagship of their fleet. (I had a Black Beauty 3 & the Frampton Phenix but I sold those because I just couldn't get used to middle pickup. They, like my white 2007 Custom, are all superbly crafted instruments.)Forgive my longwindedness but I am really impressed by the Custom Lite, I'm not a big guy and that lightweight chambered body is just what the chiropractor ordered.

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Verified Customer zZounds has verified that this reviewer made a purchase from us.

I want to reiterate that this is a great guitar, GREAT. But... Be advised that if you intend to install aftermarket pickups, you should use low output vintage-voiced pickups.I put a Dimarzio Super Distortion in the bridge and it was just too hot.I pulled both pickups and installed a set of Dimarzio PAF Masters and this guitar absolutely sings. Remember that Led Zeppelin IV was recorded using a 1959 Les Paul and a 1959 Tele. You don't need a 16k pickup to rock the world. A 7.5k pickup is just fine. It worked for Jimmy Page.

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Verified Customer zZounds has verified that this reviewer made a purchase from us.

Ordered it from zZounds. Arrived in a box, not very well packed. Got it out, the first thing I noticed was a reddish streak on the fretboard. I'm pretty sure the fretboard is ebonized and not real ebony. Be aware of this. Then, tuned it up and looked and the headstock was broken. Almost off. So, didn't even get to play it. Put it back in the box. Called zZounds they said they check QC but I'm skeptical. The box inside the main box was not crushed to indicate a transit issue. My guess is that zZounds just shipped it. So, was going to take them three days to get me the return label, and then not another one to me until then. The one I got was supposed to be two days shipped but was 3.5. All around, a poor experience. Won't be buying any more guitars from them. Stay with the nickel and dime stuff. Buy your guitars from Sweetwater or someone else who actually looks at the guitars before being sent out.

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