Epiphone Les Paul Standard Plus Top Electric Guitar  

Now this review will be based solely on my Epiphone Les Paul Standard. I have never played a different one, and this is my first Les Paul.

Now, this guitar has amazing features, such as:

- Excellent Grover tuners, mine hardly ever go out of tune.

- 22 frets that are very small compared to my Fender Tele. I will admit, it makes play up and down the fretboard extremely easy.

- Two very nice sounded humbuckers, but I also have to say that I just swapped mine out for a Dimarzio Humbucker from Hell (in the neck) and a Dimarzio Andy Timmons (in the bridge) and they truly make the guitar SCREAM now! They are both very bright, open and crystal clear. My Les Paul sounds fifty times better now.

The guitar has many other awesome features but you can see that just by reading its description.

Here are a few of the things I don't like about it:

- It has an EXTREMELY high gloss... A little too shiny for my taste but that can be easily fixed.

- I like a satin finish on the neck better than the gloss that they put on there, but a few minutes with some sand paper and that is an easy fix too.

- the bridge on my guitar had a rough spot on the high E strings saddle. I broke two strings at the same spot that verified that. A luthier friend of mine showed me this awesome stuff that was like sand paper in the form of a string and we used it to basically "floss" my saddles. This wore away all of the rough spots. Then for added protection we applied some grease mixed with graphite into the saddles. So be prepared that you might have to do a little work to the bridge....

The quality of my guitar was very good. It didn't have a single problem with the finish. The only problem I have had with it so far was the bridge as mentioned above.

Now here is the important part. I got mine for Christmas because it was on sale for $449. For that price, this is the best guitar I have ever seen! I play it at church since I am the rhythm guitarist and the old, lead guitarist at my church (and the luthier friend I mentioned earlier) said that this guitar was closer to his real Gibsons than any other guitar he had ever seen. He said that it played amazing well for such an inexpensive instrument. Personally, I love the guitar. It sounds better than any guitar I have ever owned and it plays easier. If you are trying to decide to pull the trigger, do it! Even if you could afford a better guitar buy this one, buy new pickups and get it a nice setup and you will have a great playing guitar that sounds exactly how you want it to!

I would recommend this guitar to anyone. Not only does it look awesome (who doesn't love the look of a Les Paul) but it also sounds and plays awesome, and I honestly don't think that there is a better one for the price!

     I purchased the Epiphone Les Paul Standard Plus Top in the transparent amber finish from the catalog.  The photos just did not do it justice; it is a beautiful piece of work.  I was very pleased when I opened the case.  No finish flaws, glue runs or anything else.  Nice job Epiphone!

     The electronics sound great to me, a non-professional, and I feel it sounds better than the 15 yr old G-400 I have; way better tuners as well.  The sustain really blew me away but I understand that is just the way a Les Paul should be.  A very soulfull feeling as the notes slowly fade away.

      Fit and finish is very good as mentioned above other than a nick or cut in the selector switch coating.  The screw and bolt and another screw on the pickguard were loose, but that was easy to correct.  The shipping carton was damaged with one end (the heavy or guitar body end) almost totally ripped out and the case was exposed but undamaged.  A dishonest courier could have had a nice score.  Use more tape MF; tape is cheap and will help hold the cardboard together if it gets wet.

      I believe this guitar is an excellent value.  After pricing Gibsons and talking with professional musicians and music store owners and a couple of luthiers, the concensus is that a mid range Epi is a better deal than a bottom end Gibson, especially for the non professional.  Is a Gibson better?  Sure.  Better materials, more made in the USA parts, etc.  Is it $1500 -- $2000 better?  Not to me.

     I feel this is a great guitar and very much worth what I paid for it.  Free shipping didn't hurt me either!

      I was very pleased with the experience of purchasing from Musician's Friend and appreciate all the help I got from James on the phone while making my decisions and choices.  I really love this guitar!  Great quality at a great price.  Better than expected.

Let's just start out by saying this guitar is FANTASTIC. I always loe the Les Paul design, but I want to give you guys an unbiased review. The pickups are really good, but a tad muddy. Not a lot, but I'll probobly put some Seymour Duncans in there. The Grover tuners stay in tune great, only have to turn 'em a tiny bit every few days (depends on how much you play). I also really like the looks of the binding and the flame maple. I know it's a veneer, but I actually kind of prefer it becase it brings out that mahogany sound. And I always thought a Les Paul looked incomplete without binding.

This really is a top-quality instrument. It arrived with no flaws or the slightest bit of damage. The top is absolutly BEAUTIFUL, with the flame maple and Vintage Burst (my color of choice). The fretboard plays and sounds great, and all of the electronics are perfect. I might eventually replace the pots because of my personal choice, but they are flawless if you like the sound.

The value of this guitar is NUTS. This guitar is great quality, and the price is a STEAL. It was ridiculous.

This guitar is amazing, and my bandmates agree. It sounds fantastic, it has that unmistakable Les Paul kind of beefy, chunky sound that I love. The value is great, this guitar isn't even worth what I payed. If you're thinking about getting it, don't even think. Get it NOW. The only debate I had was picking a color, they're all beautiful. My ONE AND ONLY problem is the frets buzz slightly. Just a little enough to be noticed, and it kinda bugs me. But other than that, this guitar is 100% flawless.

this guitar is going to be cool it has grover tuners on it and those are good tuners i like the finish on it and the heritage cherry sunburst i havent got it yet i cant wait till i get it

This instrument has all you need to play just about any style you cam dream up. Alnico Pickups have a great bite. It stays in tune well, nice neck and action. It'll do it all.

Excellent finish & feel, I dont buy my guitars to collect and look at. I buy them to play the hell out of them. This is an excellent guitar.

You cant beat the value. it's a no-brainer.

A nice playing axe, I'm using it on the road now & actually favor it over my Gibsons.