Epiphone Les Paul Nightfall Electric Guitar  (Used)

Comments about Epiphone Les Paul Nightfall Electric Guitar:

I played this axe for about 10 months now and found if you like heavy metal but want a classic feel and tone to your axe, it's a solid buy. I'm not much of a metal guy myself, but this axe maintains its Les Paul versatility, so for me it's a keeper.
Its sound and tone are exactly what I expected from it's appearance: Nice and deep like a Les Pual but plenty of grit and drive from the passive EMGs. The pickups actually maintain their warmth and depth when clean as well.
My favorite feature is the coil split. It gives you plenty of tonal options and sets it apart from the features available on other heavy metal axes in the same price range. My only critique is the satin finish on the neck was nice but began to wear off after 3 months. However, this can easily be fixed with Finger Ease. Get a comfy strap and Dunlop StrapLocks; it's very well built but it's very heavy too, even for a Les Paul.

Comments about Epiphone Les Paul Nightfall Electric Guitar:

I've been playing for 15 years - played lots of guitars, owned lots of guitars - I ordered this on a whim, because I have always wanted a LP and never had the cash in hand to buy one when a good sale was going down - to be quite honest I've only played one other LP in my LIFE....so, coming from odd-shaped, V, and ML body styles (BC Rich & Washburn, mainly) - the guitar took a bit of getting used to sitting in my lap - I hold the guitar between my knees and play it straight up and down - unlike a "V" body or ML that rests on my right thigh...I had to totally get used to it - BUT - I adjusted just fine and the guitar plays like a dream - My wife's Alexi 600SE was my most coveted instrument and played better than any guitar I've messed with...until the Nightfall came along - best of all about these guitars: They are so versatile and will compliment ANY style of music you play - from country to jazz to metal!! Everything is solid - Trem stays in tune, pickups sound ridiculously good - and I play death/black metal...body is solid and HEAVY - and the neck is immaculate! The coil-tapping is a nice feature to have also - really get some good Strat-style sounds out of it! I wouldn't change a thing about this fiddle! I love this guitar - and I plan on buying another one real soon! You need this fiddle!!

Comments about Epiphone Les Paul Nightfall Electric Guitar:

I own multiple vintage Fenders and Gibsons and this is quickly becoming my favorite. I have been playing individualy and in groups for over 50 years and I thoroughly enjoy this guitar. I have no complaints at all.

Comments about Epiphone Les Paul Nightfall Electric Guitar:

I can't tell you how excited I was when the Fedex guy dropped off the box at my house. I can't tell you how disappointed I was by the end of the evening. The tremolo does work as promised. Once set up by a professional, this thing won't drop out of tune unless you spend the whole evening dive-bombing with the whammy bar. It is difficult to set up, but what Floyd Rose'd guitar isn't? Now for the bad. It does "stay in tune," meaning you get the same reading at the end of your session as you do at the beginning in any given position, BUT the neck of mine has a twist in it. There is no way to get this thing even close to studio-worthy. We're talking like perfect E on open, almost a nickel off by C# kind of twisted. I've taken it to 3 different places thinking it was just me (1 professional luthier) but none have been able to fix the issue with the neck. Two of them said, "That's to be expected from an Epiphone." Well, if that's true, then I would never buy any Epiphone again. The pickups are VERY weak. The crunchiest sound I have been able to get out of it would be kind of a Zakk Wylde "Ozzy Live And Loud" sound. This for a guitar probably meant to appeal to metalheads. In fact, I took this over to play with some friends who were jamming on country, and after a rendition of "Folsom Prison Blues," they complimented me on the sound of it. However, try to up the gain, use a distortion pedal, etc, you sound like one of those kids with a Squier Strat trying to play Nirvana on a 10W beginner amp. I've fooled with pickup height and so have the luthier and the local guitar shops--there is no way to fix the sound without changing the pickups, so don't be impressed that they say "EMG" on them. They do sound great in a clean tone setting. Buddy Holly would be proud. The pull pots do a decent job of helping you mimic more of a Stevie Ray Vaughan kind of sound. I would only recommend this to a rhythm guitarist for an oldies cover band, but for the money, one could get a decent F-hole instead. If you're thinking of really tearing it up on some old Metallica, Pantera, or heaven forbid, any of that deathcore junk, DO NOT BUY THIS ONE!

Comments about Epiphone Les Paul Nightfall Electric Guitar:

I was pleasantly surprised on how well Epi did with a Floyd Rose, the neck suits it perfectly, ebony, flat with big frets. Great workmanship and painting on the guitar, the pickups are just OK, if I start playing it a bunch I'll probably swap them out but everything else is perfect.

Comments about Epiphone Les Paul Nightfall Electric Guitar:

Overall this is a very nice instrument, only plan on having to set it up properly yourself or by a qualified tech. The neck is nice and flat, but rather a bit wider than other les paul styles I have played. The string spacing is also a bit wider due to the floyd, rather than a tune-o-matic.

If you like to play metal lead or ryth you will probably want to invest in a better bridge pickup. Anyone else would probably be fine with the passive EMG.

This is one of the few les paul style guitars I have seen outfitted with a floyd, and one of the main reasons I bought it. And yes the bar is a bit undersized, you will have to give it one wrap of something to tighten it up.
Double locking nut, floyd, coil splitting, ebony fretboard, ect. What more could you want?

The guitar is quite heavy and unfortunately quite thick up high on the neck. Some people might find it difficult to reach some of the high notes on the lower strings. I do.
I gave this a 6 because the guitar I got for some strange reason had a locking nut that was WAY too high to the point of being impossible to tune properly. I had to remove the nut, which was screwed and glued, grind it down and then shim it to the proper height. After doing that though, it plays super sweet now near the first few frets. Also the action was set super high, like a half inch off the board.

As others have mentioned, the pickups are kinda of tame. Not bad sounding, but fairly tame output wise. I plan on putting in something else in the bridge position. The neck position is ok IMO.
I give this a 9 because for the money, it is quite a good value.

Comments about Epiphone Les Paul Nightfall Electric Guitar:

Fantastic guitar at a fantastic price. My only recommendation would be to include a hard-shell case with this guitar. This guitar deserves the protection it would provide during shipment. Overall, a great guitar.
The Floyd Rose tremolo and EMG pickups are a great touch to a great guitar! They play and sound fantastic!
After looking the guitar over from top to bottom, I was very impressed at the workmanship. This is my second Epiphone Les Paul, and I'm sure it won't be my last. No flaws, dings, or scratches. The glossy black finish was impressive. This guitar plays great and very little tuning was necessary after it arrived.
With the cost for even a lower end Gibson Les Paul frequently exceeding $1,000, this is a very worthwhile and high quality alternative. At half the cost (or less) than the Gibsons, this guitar provides just as much power and punch while not costing an arm and a leg. Excellent choice for both the rookie and experienced guitar players.

Comments about Epiphone Les Paul Nightfall Electric Guitar:

Overall the guitar is a great buy. Everything is in nearly perfect shape, but for the price you couldn't get much better. Would I replace it if it broke or was stolen? Probably not. I'd probably go with a similarly priced Ibanez. Why? Because I hadn't realized how much the quality of their guitars had increased until buying an RG for my brother, and seeing that even the base models play extremely well and have great features. Do I recommend buying this guitar? Definitely. Just remember, it's a Les Paul, and plays like a Les Paul. Oh, and I forgot to mention this really sweet sticker on the back that says "Limited Edition/Epiphone Custom Shop" and you get a complete detail sheet from whoever set it up at the Epi Custom Shop.
Overall, the features were great. Perfectly straight neck, level tremolo, coil splitting capabilities, locking nut works perfectly, and the keys needed are all conveniently attached to the back of the headstock. Under further inspection and playing, some flaws and quirks are noticeable. Just a tip, unless you're ONLY playing metal type things, you'll want to replace the pickups soon. They don't have any headroom or dynamics, and stifle individual string voices, so the same note on different strings sounds as if a guitar synth played the same note twice. Coil-splitting fixes this a little, but still almost no "twang." Alternatively, the Floyd is AMAZING. Don't listen to all of the trem-hating reviews out there. This guitar will NEVER get very far out of tune if you know how to work a floyd, and string changing, for me, is even easier than on a fixed bridge.
The guitar looks and feels great. the finish is smooth and shiny, the neck has a satin finish, so if you play solos that include slides, you'll want to get some fingerease or the like. The paint was almost perfect except for a bubble in the cutaway area, and another on the back. Although, the paint is EXTREMELY durable.
This is a FANTASTIC guitar for the price. Nice, chunky neck, sweet sustain, great frets

Comments about Epiphone Les Paul Nightfall Electric Guitar:

I bought this guitar around the holidays in 2010 and I have had a great experience with it the neck and the pickups really compliment this guitar and the push/pull potentiometers are a nice touch. Over all great guitar.

Comments about Epiphone Les Paul Nightfall Electric Guitar:

First of all, floaters are a #%$^& to tune, so know that going in. However, once they are tuned, they are tuned. My guitar was bought used from MF, and based on the fact that is didn't have a scratch on it, and it was so horribly flat on the lows and sharp on the highs, it was pretty obvious that the previous owner tuned from low E,A,D,G,B,E. BIG MISTAKE. Tune low E, high E,B,A,D,G. Go through that twice, tighten up the locks, then tune the fine tuners at the bottom in the same order until you are spot on. Yeah, it's a pain, but the results are so worth it. Keep in mind that new strings will stretch, so start out with the fine tuners all the way slack when you are breaking in new strings.The pickups: Spend some time playing them clean, up and down the neck, and see what they sound like with the different settings and levels. The single coil configurations with the coil splitting pots are really a nice feature. Then you will know how to get the dirty stuff I bought my first LP for. The coil-splitting pots are nice. No, it won't sound like a Strat, or a Fat Strat, but it will do their job better than they will do a Les Paul's. Try turning the volume down some on the guitar, and getting your volume from your rig. A nice, nasty surprise awaits you.The neck: The neck is fast. Really fast. But here is the one thing that I really don't like about this guitar. The end of the frets are really poorly finished. What is worse, is the roughest edges are on the bottom, where you have the most contact with the guitar. I almost wish they had spent twice the time on the bottom edge of the frets, and not finished the tops at all. But that is my only complaint. Of course, pickups and overall tonal qualities of the body are subjective, so some will love them, while others can only compare them to active EMGs. The thing to keep in mind, is how much would a Gibson Les Paul with a real Floyd Rose, and not a Floyd Rose licensed POS, cost you? Three, four grand. Too rich for my blood. Spend the extra money on a tube amp and live happily ever after.