DHart
Well-Known Member
I've enjoyed several different Les Pauls over the years, but over time I came to enjoy playing them less and less. I play sitting down and the weight and im-balance of them just wasn't all that comfortable to me. And, these days I prefer pickups with more clarity and sparkle than typical PAF-style humbuckers.
A couple of years ago I became aware of the Gibson ES-Les Paul when I saw one in a Sam Ash store. I picked it up and played it - and really enjoyed the relatively light weight and overall balance of the guitar. It was a used guitar and they wanted over $2000 for it. I wasn't willing to spend the dough on it.
A couple more years pass and last month I sold my last Gibson Les Paul Standard (it was a 9.7# guitar). About the same time I decided to check out the Epi versions of the ES-Les Paul. Price was much friendlier... but I found only ONE new one in stock: at Guitar Center online, none at Musicians Friend, none at Sweetwater. All of these big vendors saying that more stock was expected to arrive in TWO months - mid December. So, I immediately ordered the last new one I could find, from Guitar Center's warehouse in Kentucky.
When it arrived I was amazed at how nice the guitar is. Very fine fit, finish, playability - light weight, good balance, good looks!
I'm not a big fan of PAF Humbucker tones these days, much preferring the crisper, more articulate, and brighter tones of single coil pickups, so I was pretty sure I would be replacing the humbuckers in this guitar. That was until I pulled up the volume pot knob and engaged the coil-splitting feature. WOOW! What a surprise... a coil-split option that actually REALLY sounds great! Not some wimpy, thin sound, but every bit as big and bold as being in humbucker mode, but much cleaner, brighter, sparkly. I decided that I would likely be keeping these pickups - playing them almost entirely in split-coil mode. They really do sound excellent. GREAT job, Epiphone engineers!
SO... as it turns out, I like this ES-Les Paul so much that I looked around some more and found a like-new one (also on Guitar Center's website) in my favorite guitar color: Wine Red! Asking price $450. I could not resist!
When it arrived, I was surprised that it came with a hard Epiphone case, as well! Cool. And the guitar is in flawless condition. Except for one thing... the volume pot crackled when engaging the split-coil. I contacted Guitar Center about the crackling volume pot and they dropped off another $50, bringing the price to $400. Perfect for me, as I was planning to replace the electronics and pickups in this one ANYWAY. That extra $50 covered my cost to build a completely new wiring harness with CTS 1M pots... getting all ready to install a set of TV Jones T-Armond single coil pickups!
Anyway - long story, cutting to the chase... if you like the form factor of a Les Paul, but would like lighter weight, better balance, and a bit more lively tone quality... you might really love these Epiphone ES-Les Pauls.
Epiphone has been making them for about 20 years (since 1999) and in recent years, their build quality has become really very good. Regular price for new ones is just $649. With the easy-to-get 15% discount, that comes down to just $552!
Gibson only made these from 2014-2016, and used copies of these tend to be priced between $2000-$4000. I've play the Gibson versions and the Epiphone versions and with these two Epi versions that I have, my interesting in getting a Gibson version has completely vaporized! Yes, the Epiphone ES-Les Pauls ARE that good!
I think Epiphone is in process of changing the headstock, and they've allowed the pipeline of these ES-Les Pauls to dry up in the meantime. But they are expected to be re-supplying in mid-December, for those who might be interested in checking them out.
A couple of years ago I became aware of the Gibson ES-Les Paul when I saw one in a Sam Ash store. I picked it up and played it - and really enjoyed the relatively light weight and overall balance of the guitar. It was a used guitar and they wanted over $2000 for it. I wasn't willing to spend the dough on it.
A couple more years pass and last month I sold my last Gibson Les Paul Standard (it was a 9.7# guitar). About the same time I decided to check out the Epi versions of the ES-Les Paul. Price was much friendlier... but I found only ONE new one in stock: at Guitar Center online, none at Musicians Friend, none at Sweetwater. All of these big vendors saying that more stock was expected to arrive in TWO months - mid December. So, I immediately ordered the last new one I could find, from Guitar Center's warehouse in Kentucky.
When it arrived I was amazed at how nice the guitar is. Very fine fit, finish, playability - light weight, good balance, good looks!
I'm not a big fan of PAF Humbucker tones these days, much preferring the crisper, more articulate, and brighter tones of single coil pickups, so I was pretty sure I would be replacing the humbuckers in this guitar. That was until I pulled up the volume pot knob and engaged the coil-splitting feature. WOOW! What a surprise... a coil-split option that actually REALLY sounds great! Not some wimpy, thin sound, but every bit as big and bold as being in humbucker mode, but much cleaner, brighter, sparkly. I decided that I would likely be keeping these pickups - playing them almost entirely in split-coil mode. They really do sound excellent. GREAT job, Epiphone engineers!
SO... as it turns out, I like this ES-Les Paul so much that I looked around some more and found a like-new one (also on Guitar Center's website) in my favorite guitar color: Wine Red! Asking price $450. I could not resist!
When it arrived, I was surprised that it came with a hard Epiphone case, as well! Cool. And the guitar is in flawless condition. Except for one thing... the volume pot crackled when engaging the split-coil. I contacted Guitar Center about the crackling volume pot and they dropped off another $50, bringing the price to $400. Perfect for me, as I was planning to replace the electronics and pickups in this one ANYWAY. That extra $50 covered my cost to build a completely new wiring harness with CTS 1M pots... getting all ready to install a set of TV Jones T-Armond single coil pickups!
Anyway - long story, cutting to the chase... if you like the form factor of a Les Paul, but would like lighter weight, better balance, and a bit more lively tone quality... you might really love these Epiphone ES-Les Pauls.
Epiphone has been making them for about 20 years (since 1999) and in recent years, their build quality has become really very good. Regular price for new ones is just $649. With the easy-to-get 15% discount, that comes down to just $552!
Gibson only made these from 2014-2016, and used copies of these tend to be priced between $2000-$4000. I've play the Gibson versions and the Epiphone versions and with these two Epi versions that I have, my interesting in getting a Gibson version has completely vaporized! Yes, the Epiphone ES-Les Pauls ARE that good!
I think Epiphone is in process of changing the headstock, and they've allowed the pipeline of these ES-Les Pauls to dry up in the meantime. But they are expected to be re-supplying in mid-December, for those who might be interested in checking them out.
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