Ever since I started playing the guitar, I’ve wanted what every guitar player really wants; a real Gibson Les Paul, not a cheap knockoff. Mostly Stratocasters, both Fenders and models made by foreign manufacturers. They’re cheap, they sound great for the money, and you don’t feel so bad about stepping on one or downing a beer at a gig. That’s not an insult to Strats, because real Fender Stratocasters are beautiful guitars. Les Pauls aren’t the only problem!
Les Paul alone has a fat tone, a strong and silky smooth tone, and endless sustain. Listen to records by Led Zeppelin, Kiss, Guns n’ Roses, The Cult, Randy Rhoads, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and All the Brothers Allman, and you can hear the common thread that runs through the music of each great group. The unmistakable sound of a guitar that bears the name of the man who changed the guitar and modern music forever!
The problem is, though, that a real Gibson Les Paul costs between $1,200 and $5,000. No child trailer-parks could afford one, and if he had one, either a rich relative bought it for him or sold it to him (usually this unfortunately). Seriously, how do you justify buying a guitar for more than your car, or maybe even your sex?
Well, thanks to Epiphone, it’s possible for anyone to recognize a real Les Paul. Epiphone was started in 1915 in New York by a family of Greek immigrants. By 1950, Gibson’s parent company, Chicago Musical Instrument, bought the company for $20,000, and made it a Gibson division. Since 1986, after a decade of making its mark with its line of guitars such as the Sheraton, Emperor, and Casino models (endorsed by such luminaries as Ernest Tubb, Grady Martin, and the Beatles), Epiphone has made versions of Gibson’s classics. SG, Volans V, Explorer, and of course, Les Paul.
Built to the exact same standards and materials as the Gibson models, the only difference is that Epiphones are mass produced overseas, while Gibsons are in the United States Thanks to lower production costs, almost everyone can now have a real Gibson sound without taking out another mortgage.
My wife got me mine for my birthday in 2004. She knew you always wanted one when she saw them at Guitar Center. for $599.99, he took our tax receipts that year, and he overwhelmed me at work, and what a surprise!
She took one down with a honeyed finish. In my four years in the furniture business, I have never seen a coin, of any value, so beautifully finished and so durable as that guitar. A chiseled top, leveled with AAA flame, abalone ablaze, silver tiger lashes glowing in the sun as I pulled into the parking lot. The mahogany back was a deep, rich rust with a tight, jet black grain, and the neck was made of the same beautiful, exotic wood.
It had cream colored binding to seal the fingers and edges of the body, and shiny chrome hardware. Finger rose wooden standard trapeze “crown” installation made from mother of pearl, with a jumbo nickel-silver hot rounded top. There was only a physical difference between my Epiphone and the Gibson in the head, but it still had a dark, glossy black finish, in the name brand< /a> set with mother-of-pearl, Grover’s exquisite engravings, and of course the gold signature of the owner himself.
When I took it home and plugged it into a Marshall JCM 100, it became that classic Les Paul sound I’ve been waiting years to call my own! After all, it has everything the Gibson version has, except for the chrome alnico tuners. It has a slim Gibson neck (1.68″ at the nut) and a short 24.75″ Gibson scale, which makes it easy if you’re used to the 25-inch style found on other guitars, including Stratocasters.
It feels quite heavy around your neck (after all Les Paul!), but that weight is a very heavy balance that reduces fatigue. And, to my ears, the sound is a Gibson Paul Gibson (although some players claim to be able to tell the slightest difference between the two). The neck pickup provides a warm, mellow sound, especially when played through a clean channel, and the bridge pickup is sharp and engaging, especially when playing distorted leads. They can be played individually or mixed with a toggle switch placed on the upper bar. Gibson’s patented Tune-O-Matic bridge, bolted right into the body and attached to the neck, helps with monster tone and endless sustain.
Minor differences in craftsmanship are the only real differences between Epiphone and Gibson instruments. Epiphone, mass produced overseas, has minor imperfections that do not appear on Gibson’s handcrafted model. The volume of the focus is usually applied to the raised body, also the goal of friction. Also, some of the retaining nuts on the sliders are loose, as well as the ANISOCYCLE on the idler and the nut on the input jack.
Don’t be fooled by that, though, as these are minor things that can easily be fixed by anyone who can use a pair of pliers and a pair of pliers, but please use extreme care not to lose that distinctive finish! In the end, the only real difference between the two models is tossing rights.
Normally, in the beginning, I would buy an American Gibson model in a heartbeat, but through Epiphone anyone has that killer sound. who can have stories about Jimmy Page, Pete Townshend, Ace Frehly, Tom Sholz, Randy Rhoads, Slash, Zack Wylde, Duane Allman and Alex Lifeson, because not all of us have $1,200 of just “starting”. lying around waiting!
