great all around sound. there is little residual sound (noise from untouched vibrating strings) compared to other chambered or hollow bodies. it sounds great with healthy distortion and good for the clean channel. it doesn't sound knock your socks off amazing clean, but it isn't a guitar for that. it can do almost any sound you want it to.

grover tuners hold/feel nice. otherwise straight forward. plus the gold hardware everywhere looks sweet w/ the color scheme.

fastest neck you can buy for this money. HUGE RECOMMENDATION: play this piece with 09 strings. i think you'll thank me. do that and your fingers will fly!!! it's light - makes you want to get up and jam all the time.

though the finish is excellent, it absolutely shines, some aspects of it seem like they're kind of thrown together. you get up real close and it seems kind of cheap. i think one of my inlays might be ever so slightly crooked. i'd say it's like a van gogh, far away looks absolutely beautiful get up close you see all the brushstrokes.

though you can get slightly cheaper guitars out there that sound "good" or at least adequate, at the typical price (almost everyone is at 499) there is ABSOLUTELY NO competition for this axe. you can get thinline or semi hollow products out there but unfortunatley they mostly sound like garbage. otherwise you're in the 7-800 price range for anything that compares.

this turns eyes. even mine every day and it's next to my bed. if it keeps on looking so good it might end up in it.

every day hobbyist

prog rock, classic rock, techno, blues, alternative, spoken word

I must start by saying that this is the best sounding guitar that I have ever had. I mainly bought is as a back-up and church guitar because of what I thought would be a more airy and different sound. I thought that I would get different. Not blow your mind different. I didn't expect much from the pickups. Some people have written that they are very weak. However, I would classify them as medium output pickups. These pickups sound the best with tone and volume at ten. The tone pots make it sound really muddy if you dial down. If you are looking at this guitar, you already know that it has a chambered body. I think that this is the single most important quality in the overall sound of this guitar. It doesn't sound like a Les Paul. Well...It does, but it doesn't. It possesses even more warmth and also, a certain snappiness. This guitar is great for any kind of blues-based music. It does a really good southern rock sound and I am confident that it could capture the Led Zeppelin sound or the AC/DC sound as well. It really needs to be cranked for the kind of Stevie Ray Vaughn or Texas blues thing though. I like playing the blues, so this guitar is perfect for me.

My guitar came with an Epiphone hard-shell case. It is faux leather and pretty nice. It also comes with a patch cord that you will never use. The guitar body is made of mahogany and alder. Mahogany is usually the wood used for Les Pauls. Alder is commonly used in the main line Fender guitars. The neck is made of maple(I believe) with a rosewood fret board. Maple is not commonly used for neck construction in Les Pauls, but is used in Fender guitars as well. I think that the combination of woods goes well with the chambered body. The stop-bar tailpiece is standard in Les Pauls and is also one of the best additions to an electric guitar. Period. The tuners are Grover and keep your guitar in tune like no other. The features and accessories on this guitar are functional and improve ease of use.

I will keep this short. This guitar is the easiest guitar that I have ever played and probably ever will play. I never want to play a guitar without a "satin" neck again. My overall playing has improved in my short time with this guitar.

Do not expect Gibson quality in an Epiphone. This is my only true gripe about the guitar. If you look at this instrument up close, the flaws cry out. The "pearl" inlays are not set right. You can only notice this if you are really looking however. The neck and the head are two different pieces of wood. I've heard of Ultra necks in three or four pieces. The body is at least three pieces of wood, and the maple top is two pieces. Speaking of the maple top...There are plenty of noticeable flaws in the finish. From little speaks to large blemishes. Anybody watching you play from 7 feet or more would probably not notice. From that distance, it remains a very beautiful guitar. The most frustrating quality issue with epiphone guitars in general is that the hardware is very susceptible to oxidation. Within days, I noticed the metal oxidizing. I hope that it doesn't give way to straight up rusting, like I've seen Mexican Strats and other rather cheap guitars do.

It is well worth it for the sound alone. The blemishes in the wood might only matter to a very nit-picky person like myself.

The look of the guitar in all the promotional pictures make it look veeeery sexy. In person, there is a slight disappointment. However, I still want to look at it all the time. So go figure. It is the greatest addition to my set-up since my last guitar. Ha ha. I keep saying that I am going to split time between them, but I always end up picking this one up.

Hobbyist

Blues

The clean tone at the neck pickup is huge, the clarity is pretty amazing. When playing with alot of gain or distortion it sounds great, has great overall sound. I get feedback but I need to adjust the pickups a little to take care of that.

Grover tuners hold the tuning exceptionally well. The satin finish on the neck is amazing, makes it easy for playing fast and moving around the neck. I was worried at first about the cavities inside, thought maybe that would take away from the traditional les paul sound, but it doesn't at all. And it just makes it nicer because its lightweight.

Extremely playable. satin finish on the neck lets you play fast, and all over the neck very comfortably. All you have to do is plug it in and its a great sound.

Its made real well, its one of those guitars in which I beleive it will last a lifetime. It feels solid.

A great guitar for the price.

Ill say the best, because I haven't had any problems.

I have it so I guess this would be hard to answer.

Guitar, Banjo, Bass. Ive been playing for 14 years.

Rock, Metal. Blues, Classical.

Deep and mellow. Not as hard as my Charvel Charvette, but overall once amp is setup, I can get what ever sound I want.

Not being used to two vol. and tone knobs made the guitar hard to figure out at first. After goofying around and understanding the setup, it become easier to manage.

I wound not have believed it, but it is as fast as my Charvel. No manual! The guitar is very playable and friendly. THose who play fenders might have to learn how to hopd it differently, as the layout is more like an acoustic.

Nice looking guitar feels kind of small compared to my Charvel.

It is worth what they asked for, but could go for less. My vender dropped 100 bucks right off the bat.

Had no need to contact them yet.

Sexy guitar. It concerned me at first--it's beauty, but not any more.

noise maker

new age, blues, experimental

While flipping to the neck pickup and turning the tone knob (which actually makes a noticeable difference) down, you can get a very Guns N' Roses tone which I think sounds great. Sounds awesome on any distortion pedal, whether it be a Boss or a Dunlop Crybaby Wah. This guitar makes my cheap 15 Watt Fender Frontman sound awesome.

Got it with a hard Epiphone case. Very nice. Didn't get anything else though.

This thing is so smooth, with an unfinished neck, your hand just glides between frets. With this guitar, you can go from Heavy Metal to Blues in seconds.

The quality's great, except that this guitar is chambered, so holes come easily to the top of the guitar. Sides and back are very strong though. And the back: It includes a curve to go with the shape of your stomach, so it's not a pain to sit down and play with. I give 10/10 to that, it's revolutionary for Epiphone, and we should all be glad they did it. This guitar is also 2-3 pounds less than a LP Standard, so it feels okay when your standaing up with it - it won't destroy your shoulder.

This guitar is worth more than the selling price. If I made this guitar, I would go ahead and price it at around $900 because it's just genuine value.

The finish on this guitar is absolutely BEAUTIFUL. The stock picture does it no justice, go on the internet and try to find some home photos of this instrument, you'll see what I mean.

Hobbyist

Rock, Blues, Metal

Beautiful warm tone when plugged into a good amp, sounds like a Les Paul, powerful output from the humbuckers. Sustain is pretty good, but could use a little work.

Having a hollow Les Paul is a godsend. This is a major upgrade from my Standard. I'm used to the crushing weight of a solid LP pwning my shoulder all the time, and this guitar weighs signifigantly less than my standard. I love the gold hardware, and all of the features standard on almost all LPs.

Plug and Play! Very versitile tone from the Blues to metal.

Made in Vietnam, so its not Gibson quality... Very high quality still. Finish is beautiful, and even more beautiful up close. Solidly built.

absolutely the best value Les Paul for any money. Sounds FANTASTIC and I got mine for $519, so the value was fantasic!

Haven't had to use it!

Sex embodied in a guitar.

Singer/Songwriter

Blues, ProgRock, Acoustic

the best sounding epi on the market

the features are great the tone chambers make it sound awesome and the hardware is nice

the quality and workmanship on this guitar is great

for a $500.00 epi it sounds as good as any of the gibson lp specials i've played

I have dealt with Gibson/epiphone and the have repaired my guitar with no problems. Except the wait to get it back.

this is the best finishes on any epi. This is one of the main reasons i purchased the guitar along with the tone chambers

Active Musician

All

the sound of this guitar is terrible, nothing like its older brother the gibson

comes w/case big woop

cable input broke second day of use, the lightest tap to tuners brakes them

too much $$$$ for such a cheap guitar

just a phone #

not really any more (check out ebay)

active musician

rock, classic rock

beutiful slash sound

takes a little messing with but u get it

beutiful guitar it sleeps with me

fits with a gibs id buy it for twice the price!!!!!!!!!1

nice groove in back relaxes on ur leg

makes ur friends jeles great sound

the sound is just AMAZING. i even dare to say that it sounds better than most gibson les pauls. the tone is awesome. the clean sound is perfect and the distortion is powerfull but not hurting your ears. even harmonics are easy on this guitar

the satinfinish neck is awesome, its smooth with bonedry-hands and sweatyhands. the neck is little narrow so in combinatyion with the stin finish you really fly over the neck. the locktonwe tunomatic system is usefull as well,it also improves sustain and tone!!! body cut is very nice as it makes it way more comfortable to play sitting and standing!!

very easy to use simply incredible comfort of playing because of the lighter weight and smooth and thin neck

i dont have it for too long but the finish is incredible. i got a custom shop version wich i havent managed to find on the internet yet. wich is very beatyful aswell.

sounds better then the average gibson les paul and costs hald the money!!!!!!

no experiences yet...

it simply looks ****** AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!! i got the custom shop version wich is in black cherry and chrome hardware. if god created a guitar IT WOULD HAVE BEEN THIS ONE!!!!

active musician,

rock,blues,poprock,hardrock,punkrock

the sound is great, it has a very clean sound, the tone is similar to a semi hollowbody! it responds great to playing, its very expressive! pretty good with other products. it sounds great live, and excellent in recording. the settings like always, effects the sound of every guitar, but it still sounds great in very settings! i have a fender g-dec amp, and the product sounds great with it. the mahogony in the body of the guitar could be a little bit thicker for a deeper sound, and if you are looking to upgrade gibson pick-ups would be a great way to get a different and arguably a better sound!

the most useful feature is the tremble, the rythm is an excellent feature as well on the pickup nob!

its very easy to use, easy to get harmonics and high pitches from this guitar

it was made well good controll and the body and frett work is excellent!