If you are looking for classic Les Paul looks and a humbucker sound, it is hard to go wrong with the incredibly affordable Special II. Features include a Mahogany neck, a Rosewood fingerboard with dot inlays, volume and tone control, and chrome hardware.
Featured review by:
unregistered, on november 12, 2004 27 of 29 people found this review helpful
Purchased from: Guitar Center
Features: - Made in 2001 in the USA
- 22 jump frets, rosewood fretboard
- Mahogany/rosewood neck, alder/maple body
- Dot inlays, chrome hardware
- Ebony black finish
- Les Paul form factor
- Tune-o-matic bridge
- One volume, one tone, one three-way Switch
- Two humbucking pickups
- Non-locking tuners
- Came with gig bag, strap, cable, set of Dunlop Tortex picks, (2) Ernie Ball string packs.
This guitar has some very nice features. It obviously isn't going to be quite as expansive as its "uptown cousins" as far as the on-board controls go, but for the price, the features list is very, very nice. Less controls for me to worry about anyway. // 8
Sound: I'm a metal player for the most part, and the distortion sound is very good. Even on my small Marshall MG Practice amp. The only un-wanted noises made are due to the amp limitation. At a respectable volume on my amp, this guitar really cranks out a full and strong sound. Especially after stringing it with the thicker strings needed to play in lower tuning. I now have a set of Zakk Wylde Boomers (10's) on it, and it sounds phenominal, especially when paired with a better amp, like a Line 6 Flextone III. // 10
Action, Fit & Finish: The guitar has nice, even action all the way down the fret, and the pickups start off well and stay nicely adjusted now matter how much you play it. Nothing was damaged when I got it. Perfect condition. // 10
Reliability & Durability: I play at all kinds of places and volumes. It's good to bang on, and it can also be one you take nice care of too. It depends on what you want from it. However, it's quite capeable of covering any and all bases. The stop-bar tail peice might eventuall rust out after a couple more years, but it's an easy item to replace, and it eventually happens to all guitars from my understanding, so no big deal. I went for an entire year (moderate usage) without changing the strings, and none of them broke. They only recently started to sound a little off. I wouldn't be worried about anything breaking. The finish gets finger prints on it since it's pure black, but that's nothing a cleaning cloth won't take care of. // 10
Impression: I play all kinds of metal and "nu-metal". Sevendust, System of a Down, Skindred, Drowning Pool, Linkin Park, DreamTheater, Godsmack, and bands similar to them. THe guitar fits in very well since most of the bands tend to use Les Paul's. I've been playing for about two years total, and playing regularly (every day) for about a year now. The only other guitar I have is a Jay Junior Dreadnought accoustic guitar. My LP is far more fun to play. And while my uncle has a music studio in Boxford that I go to every Sunday, with several different nice guitars including a Shecter Diamond Series, and a Dean Les Paul, I find myself playing my Les Paul Special II far more.
If the guitar were lost or stolen, I might get a Custom Les Paul and string it with the same strings, just because of the extra features it has. If I wanted to save a few hundred for an amp though, I'd buy one of these again. It's a solid product for advanced users, and it's very beginner friendly as well. I love the sound and the look, nothing makes me hate any part of it. The only draw bag with the Les Paul's is they tend not to have whammy bars. No need on most the songs I play, but it would be a nice feature to add. But anyway, if you want a new guitar that can perform well for one hell of a price, stop sitting here and go buy an Epiphone Les Paul Special II! // 10
Reviewed by:
CandyCaneChild1, on november 26, 2004 5 of 7 people found this review helpful
Price paid: $ 200
Purchased from: Musicians Friend
Features: - Made in Japan
- 22 frets, rosewood fretboard, dot inlays
- Solid ebony body
- Tune-O-Matic bridge
- 1 volume and 1 tone control, 3 way selector
- 2 open coil pickups
- Epiphone 10 watt amp, picks, gig bag, video and strap included.
Good guitar for beginner/intermediate players. Best value guitar for price. // 8
Sound: I play all styles of rock, and this guitar has been able to handle anything I dish out to it. By itself with no effects or pedals put through it, the pickups work very well. There is no feedback what-so-ever put through clean or distortion. They're definitly not the best pickups money could buy, but they are underpriced for this package. This guitar puts out a great sound. Although more tonal controls would be nice, I'm not complaining about it. // 10
Action, Fit & Finish: For a $200 guitar, it was put together extremely well for a factory guitar. I didn't have to adjust anything out of the box. Everything has functioned great, save for the machine tuning pegs that will come out of tune with relatively hard playing. Also, the input guard has bent a little over time. Other than those things, the guitar has functioned very well. I would have liked a polished finish, but it's still nice. // 8
Reliability & Durability: This guitar is obviously good enough for live playing. The hardware on it has not faultied enough to make an extreme difference for playing live. The strap buttons will lose the strap easily, though, so get some strap locks if you plan on playing live. (It would suck to be rocking out a solo then have the guitar fly out of your hands). I can definitly depend on this guitar enough to use it in a show without a backup. I don't think the finish could last longer than a decade, but by then you should have gotten a better guitar. // 10
Impression: Anyone who has tried on a LP, knows that it fits any style of music, and the Epi version replicates it's Gibson brethren perfectly. I have been playing for around 2 and a half years, and this is my main guitar. I really like it's ability to go through so many different sounds with so little tone controls, but I don't like it's weak machine tuning pegs. If this guitar was stolen, I would probably just buy a Standard Epi LP, but only because this is a beginner/intermediate guitar. Great guitar for the money. // 10
Reviewed by:
Jaz915, on march 14, 2007 2 of 2 people found this review helpful
Purchased from: www.Gak.co.uk
Features: // 9
Sound: I play main metal and thrash e.g. Metallica, Trivium, God Forbid etc. but also play anything from flamenco to country, '70s rock/blues. And this guitar handles these many different genres surprisly well. I play through a 50w Marshall MG50DFX amp (not the best amp ever). This guitar you would not expect to be able to handle the metal/thrash sound and speed. But amazingly handles it very well. Providing you are using balanced jack leads, it's virtually noise less when left up played. This guitar you can tell suits hi-gain and some distortion and gives a good quality tone, however it does seems to lack richness when on a clean tone, it seems to be either to treble or too bassy, never the less it is possible to get a nice warm tone once you get to know the guitar. I am seriously impressed with the quality of the sound, I have never played a guitar anywhere as good as this one for the price I payed. If you don't have much money this is definitely the guitar for you. I could be happier with it. // 9
Action, Fit & Finish: This guitar arrived set up extremely well, the action seems perfect, nothing wrong with the pickups. Everything seemed to be perfect. Very good quality. I've had this guitar just over a year now and it still plays as if bought yesterday, very impressive! // 10
Reliability & Durability: I believe this guitar to be very reliable, I've never had a problem with it. I've never really even thought about if I could rely on it or not because it's never caused any problems. The hardware seems solid enough no signs of wear and tear. I would use it a gig and definitely depend upon it, it's easily capable of giving. The finish seems very hardwaring. However mines scratched to shit but that's my fault because I tend to chuck it about. But these scratches aren't really visible unless you look closely. Very reliable and durable. // 10
Impression: Well I play metal lots. I mean this guitar can handle it well but obvioulsy not designed for this genre and I am looking to buy a new guitar. But for the price you wont fine anything as good as this even for playing metal. I've been playing nearly three years and playing this guitar for one or two years. Most definalty don't regret buying this guitar, it will probably stay with me till I die. If I only had around £100-£140 I would definitely buy it again. I love how versatile this guitar is and never seems to struggle with anything I put it through with a great tone and sound. I would strongly advise if your into your metal, don't have that much to spend, and are looking for a great guitar to start learning with then you need this guitar. You won't find one as good for the same price. Obviously it's not the best guitar in the world, but for what pay it's amazing. // 10
Reviewed by:
Tyler Rogers, on november 18, 2008 1 of 1 people found this review helpful
Price paid: $ 200
Purchased from: Guitar Center in Modesto, CA
Features: Made in Indonesia, this 24-fretted Rosewood-neck guitar has a solid top. It's a deep black color, with a Les Paul body style and a Standard bridge style. This guitar features 3 controls: Tone, Volume, and a 3-way selector. It comes with two humbucker pickups. // 8
Sound: I play Rock, Classic Rock, Metal, Funk, Blues, Jazz, and anything else in that area. This guitar suits it perfectly for it's shape, color, and amazing sound. I'm using an Electra practice amp and a Line 6 Pocket POD. It's only noisy when you want it to be. It is extremely easy to do what you want to do with it. No matter what style of music or sound it is, this guitar adapts to you. // 9
Action, Fit & Finish: The action is second-to-none. Perfect pitch, perfect height. The pickups could be better, though. One of them was a little tilted, but no biggy. Both the bridge and the top were perfect, and when I got the guitar it had no problems, but when I got my first one, it had a manufacturing problem that consisted of a loose G-string peg, a loose neck, raspy frets, and the nut that holds up the amp jack input was there, just under the base plate... // 7
Reliability & Durability: This guitar could easily withstand Live playing, built-to-last hardware, solid strap buttons, and a long-lasting finish. You wouldn't have to worry about many problems with it. It's very dependable, reliable, and durable on the road or just in the studio. It should last long, even with a constant use. // 9
Impression: I play Rock, Classic Rock, Metal, Funk, Blues, Jazz, and anything else in that area. A great matching guitar. I had not a doubt in my mind if I wanted this Les Paul or not. I knew I wanted this exact model. If this guitar was stolen, I'd probably not get one fore some time, since I don't have much money... but overall this is a great guitar that properly suits any kind of music, has great durability, and a great finish for such a low price. // 10
Reviewed by:
MommasHooligan, on october 04, 2008 1 of 1 people found this review helpful
Purchased from: Musician's Friend
Features: Well, I ordered this because I've never played on a Les Paul. So I decided to get the cheapest one that was out there. And I could say this is one of the best axes I ever bought.I got the white one just to add to the diverse color selection of my guitars. it's the basic package with no frills added to it. Chrome hard ware, 3 way toggle Switch, double coil pickups for bridge and neck, control knobs for volume and tone. The machine heads could be of better quality, but I'm not complaining. The fretboard is smooth front and back and very fast to play on. // 8
Sound: Beautiful. Just like a Les Paul should sound on any record that a guitarist plays on with it. Very warm and bright. I'm currently using it on an Ibanez 30w and it goes together just perfect. I play with every thing full blast, high gain, treble and mid. Again it's doesn't have all the bells and whistles of a Les Paul Standard. // 8
Action, Fit & Finish: I'm not really a guitar virtuoso per se. All I know is that this guitar was ready to go out of the box. No fret buzz, or any other adjustments needed. The finish was flawless, of course now it's not because I put a beatdown on every guitar I have. The strings that come with it are garbage though. I use Elixir Super Lights anyway, and they compliment the pick ups very well. // 8
Reliability & Durability: I would definitley play Live with this guitar. I have plenty of back ups to use and would Switch this out every other song or use it exclusivley. Very solid and well built guitar. But I'm willing to be that if it took a hard drop it probably would need some serious repairs. But that's why I use Strap Locks! // 10
Impression: I play punk rock. This guitar gives me the sound I'm looking for and the ability to play fast with excellent palm muting tone. I'm definitely buying one in every color that Epiphone makes of the Les Paul Special II. I'll make some minor adjustment to some of them, such as replacing the machine heads and adding some EMG 85's and 81's to them just to have a diverse sound. I am perfectly satisfied with it and it has everything I need to play my music! // 10
Reviewed by:
evill22, on january 18, 2007 1 of 1 people found this review helpful
Price paid: $ 200
Purchased from: Musicians Friend
Features: // 8
Sound: I've always played a classic and modern rock style of music, and I feel that this guitar fits those music genres perfectly. Usually I use my Jim Dunlop Jimi Hendrix Wah-Wah pedal and a DigiTech Hot Head Distortion pedal, and together with this guitar, it sounds awesome. I use a Vox DA15 with it, and it sounds a little scratchy, but that can be blamed on the amp, not the guitar. The sounds are unlimited with this guitar. // 10
Action, Fit & Finish: The guitar was in perfect shape when it arrived at my house. The pickups were perfectly lined up and the bridge was a little off, but it is easily adjusted. The guitar seemed free of flaws when I got it, however it seems that the slightest pressure either direction on the neck of the guitar, seems to have the same effect as a whammy bar, something that can be a disadvantage when trying to sustain a note. // 9
Reliability & Durability: This guitar seems more than perfect for live preformances. I've already been in a band battle, and this guitar hasn't disappointed me. Everything is solid and in place perfectly. I did end up bringing my another guitar to the battle, but I didn't end up needing it. // 9
Impression: This seems like a perfect guitar for anyone Who likes to play any kind of rock music. It has fit my needs perfectly. If it was stolen, I would probably get a Standard Gibson Les Paul, just because I like that Standard look more than the look of the Special 2. I also own an American Strat from Fender, but I think that this guitar blows that away. // 10
Reviewed by:
FRDesign, on february 05, 2007 1 of 1 people found this review helpful
Purchased from: Long & McQuade
Features: My guitar was made in 2006. it's a Les Paul Special II. It is very basic with 1 tone knob, and 1 volume knob. It has chrome tuners which are non locking. The guitar has a Chrome Tune-O-Matic bridge which works great. I've broken a lot of strings, and this makes it quite easy to change them fast. I only gave it a 6, but if it had more features, I would have gave it higher. But what else can you get for this cheap. It is in the cherry sunburst finish. I'm hoping to get a pickguard soon. The store gave us 30 free picks and a cable, But I had to buy my own case. // 6
Sound: This guitar suits my style of music well. I mostly play classic rock, and bands like Velvet Revolver, Guns N' Roses, Led Zeppelin and AC/DC. It sounds a lot like Slash's, which is good, because that's what I mostly play. It's great for me, and I'm playing with a crappy Yamaha 10W Amp. It sounded awesome with my friends Marshall. If you play metal, I would not suggest this, it's more of a blues sounding guitar. // 10
Action, Fit & Finish: Everything is great, except for the Humbuckers don't seem right, they seem to be weirdly adjusted. The wood is good, and it looks nice, And the finish is lasting long too, which is good. Everything elsewhere was set up great, and it was ready to play as soon as I got it. There was one scratch on the back I didn't see however until I took it out of the case. If you did get this, Don't go on a gig with the strings it comes with. They break pretty much instantly. The treble/rhythm switch feels loose. // 7
Reliability & Durability: This guitar is heavy, and I believe it would last playing Live. I would bring a backup however, just in case of a string breaks, or anything else. The finish is great, and I love the color. The strap buttons seem to be put on pretty good. The stock stings sucked, and I replaced them with Dean Markley's which work great. Otherwise, I love how it feels, and I would bring an identical backup just in case. // 8
Impression: If you only have a hundred or two to go out and buy a guitar, this one is a good bet. If you like classic rock and want to start playing with a guitar which sounds great, or just want another guitar you should consider this. If this got stolen, I would either get another one or a Epiphone Les Paul 100, the step above this. // 8
Reviewed by:
unregistered, on may 12, 2008 0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Price paid: $ 277.2
Purchased from: Ad Lib Music
Features: This Guitar is My first one and it's features include: 2 Double Coil Epiphone Humbuckers - Tune O Matic Bridge - 22 Jumbo Frets - 3 way Pickup Selector - Volume Adjuster - Tone Adjuster - Chrome Tuning Pegs and Hardware - Dot Inlays In Frets - "Vintage Sunburst" Body Color. // 8
Sound: I play a Variety of Music from metal to blues but my main style is classic rock, like Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath and stuff similar to that. This guitar is very good for blues and rock and works Ok for metal also. I have a Roland Micro Cube and the two work well together. The Humbuckers cancel out nearly all noise except for when you crank up the volume. it's a great sounding classic Guitar // 9
Action, Fit & Finish: This was where I have Problems with this Guitar. The Nut is to deep on the two lowest strings (E and A). This causes an annoying buzz with even a light strum. I also noticed 2 small white lines (possibly cracks) in the wood underneath the lacquer. One of the tuning pegs is also kinda loose, which knocks it outta tune quite often. The plastic volume knob also came off in my hand while I was using it. // 4
Reliability & Durability: The Finish is pretty good. The strap buttons are on the small side though. I wouldn't gig without a backup because of the badly fitted hardware. it's a good practice guitar but not for gigging. It would work Ok if there was no other option though. It should last a Good Few Years if it's properly maintained and taken care of. // 6
Impression: My main reason for choosing this Guitar over the Squier Strat (which was the same price range) was the much better pickups on this guitar. The Pickups are the best feature on it, they rock! Overall, it was a cheap buy and a decent guitar. The only problem I have is the hardware. I probably was just unlucky to get this particular one. Nice Sound, Good Overall Guitar. If it was stolen I'd probably Get A Proper Les Paul because I'm now a more experienced player. // 8
Reviewed by:
Mistaa Man, on november 19, 2007 0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Price paid: $ 138.25
Purchased from: Music Stop
Features: Made in 2006, my Indonesian-made Epiphone Les Paul Special II has 22 frets on a rosewood neck, bolted to a mahogany body. Stop-bar tail-piece and chrome hardware with Epiphone non-locking tuners. Set up the same as my Ibanez with 700T and 650R pickups, this guitar packs it in! One volume control with 3 way selector, and tone control, however, I wish there was 2 volume controls and tone controls. No whammy bar (I don't use them anyways). // 8
Sound: It suits my music style fairly well, except for the drop-c stuff and real heavy metal stuff like Disturbed and Slipknot, that is what my Ibanez is for. But other than that, it goes very well with my other music which is rock and metal stuff. Using it with Line 6 Spider III on "Insane" mode and cranked up to eleven, this thing kicks butt! The only noise I seem to get, but this is with every other guitar I used on this amp, is on the "Crunch" setting with full Drive. It has that bzzzz noise. // 8
Action, Fit & Finish: The action was great! It was very very low and really easy to play and move around from fret to fret. The pickups were adjust okay. Not great but okay, but it sounded good in-store so when I got home I adjusted the pickups and now I have the sound I am looking for. Basically the only "flaw" is that there is a scratch that is hardly even noticeable, on a higher up fret area on the neck. But it doesn't affect playability one bit. So technically it is not a flaw. Excellent condition for the price of it. // 10
Reliability & Durability: This guitar definitely could withstand a gig. It seems to be very durable, I just got it yesterday and I already dropped it and smacked it off a wall, accidentally of course. The hardware seems to be able to last, the guitar holds tune fine and the strap buttons seem to be in there pretty good from my understanding. I would use it on a gig without a backup only if I didn't need to play anything played in drop C, like the real heavy stuff like nu-metal, because this guitar doesn't seem to play that genre. But I would definitely gig it with no backups. The finish seems very good and strong, I think it should last a while. // 10
Impression: I play lots of heavy rock, heavy metal, and now I am starting to play nu-metal. This is a fairly good match, except for the nu-metal, as previously mentioned. That is what I use my Ibanez for. But this really matches the rock/metal stuff I play. I have 1.9 years experience and I play an Ibanez Gio GSZ120 which is very very nice. I play on a Line 6 Spider III 30 Watt which is very loud. I own a Kustom bass amp which remains unused (sold my bass) and I own a Fender Gemini II 1987 Acoustic. // 9
Reviewed by:
RoaryB., on february 04, 2008 0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Price paid: $ 181.17
Purchased from: www.gak.co.uk
Features: This guitar was made in China, I am not sure when. It has a fairly thick neck with 22 jumbo frets. Laminated Alder, in Wine Red with a Mahogany/Rosewood neck. Features the classic Les Paul body style with a Tune-O-Matic/Stopbar tailpiece and tone and volume knobs and a 3-way pickup Switch. The Pickups are open-coil Alnico V Humbuckers. A low-quality cable was included with the guitar. // 7
Sound: I play most styles that fall under rock. Mainly metal, punk and blues, lots of Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Metallica and this guitar handles each very well. It sounds amazing given it's price when I play it with my Vox ADVT-30, and I can use my DigiTech Grunge pedal with it for extra distortion, but it does tend to hiss quite a lot, this could be due to the pedal or the amp though. It has a nice acousticy sound clean as well. I mainly play it in treble, and it gives a good full sound, handling distortion very well. It suits my styles, and can make a wide range of sounds from thick heavy overdrive to all out scream with the right effects. Excellent sound given it's price, and very versatile. // 8
Action, Fit & Finish: When I got the guitar, I did not have to make any alterations. It was very well set up at the factory, with a nice action, and I did not need to change the strings. There were some fine hair-like scratches in the finish, which was strange considering how well it had been packaged for transit, but other than that, it was fine. // 7
Reliability & Durability: I would say the guitar could quite easily withstand Live playing, although I would definatley have a backup. The hardware is very sturdy chrome, although it could chip I would say it will last the lifetime of the guitar, and the strap buttons are rock-solid. It's a very hard wearing guitar, I have dropped it and knocked it several times to no I'll effect, other than some minor aesthetic damage in the finish. The finish is relatively easy to scratch, but I don't think it would wear off easily. All the same I would buy products to take care of the finish as it is a really nice colour. // 8
Impression: This guitar is a good match for me, as it can adapt to most styles, and often surprises me with its versatile sound. I have been playing it for a year now, and while I previously played it with an ancient Marshall Reverb 12 it did not perform nearly as well as it has been with the Vox ADVT-30, so I would definitley recommend it with a quality amp. If it were lost or stolen, I'd be pretty upset, but might consider something like an Epiphone SG rather than buy another one. The things I like about it are it's looks, and it's awesome sound as well as it's unusual colour. I don't like the weight of it though, and the neck is a bit too thick for my liking. I sometimes wish it had some more features, but for the price you can hardly complain. An ideal choice for beginners I'd say. // 8
Reviewed by:
unregistered, on november 03, 2007 0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Price paid: $ 250
Purchased from: Daddy's Music
Features: This guitar I purchased about 6 years ago, and I still have it. It was set up in a Gibson factory in 2001 of August, It is now 2007 of Nov as I write this!. This was my first electric guitar. It has everything you need to get started in rock. It supply's you with the bare basics at a cheap cost. Two made in Korea Humbuckers, a bolt-on 21fret neck"which is a good thing", two nobs one for vol. the other for tone, and a three-way Switch that I am not to crazy about. This is a std sized guitar. it's not like the std LP's the whole body is flat, it's not figured, remember this is a starters guitar!, The guitar is set up by Gibson though. I guess they ship the parts from Korea then Gibson sets it up. idk, but it's lasted and it got me through. I switched to a Mex Fender Strat 3 years later and that guitar is amazing as far as quality. My next guitar will either be a PRS SE, or Epiphone LP Custom. // 7
Sound: It defiantly suits my style. I play modern hard rock, blues, and jazz. It can handle it all. I first started off with a cheap amp by Epi for it, then I bought a cheap Fender frontman amp for it with an effects processor and let me tell you, it sounded pretty good. I just bought a high end Fender Blues Jr. Blackface tube amp, and both my guitars sound amazing through it. And yes, this guitar is noisy unless you have a N.C. which takes away from overall tone sometimes, but my Strat doesn't have that problem because I put in Noiseless Pickups. Come on Gibson and PRS make some noiseless pickups please! This guitar sounds like an Epiphone the bite is not as powerful as American wound Pickups, but it's good for a starter. I've played Gibson's and If you want that sound then purchase Gibson Pickups for your Epiphone it will save you an arm and a leg. // 7
Action, Fit & Finish: Very well set up, better than my Fender when I got it. I had to set up my Strat all on my own. This guitar has lower action though than my Strat. No buzzing at all, but even if their was just go online and look up at Gibson on how to set up your Stop-tail piece. Everything was mint out of the box! // 10
Reliability & Durability: I wouldn't play this guitar Live, just because of the 3-way switch. It is nothing but a bad, loose connection in their! It makes that horrible scrambled noise when you touch it. My Fender switch doesn't have that problem. "Come on Epiphone" make better electric parts. If the switch would stay yes you could play Live. My friend has an Epiphone STD LP. And he has that same problem with his switch. If the switch worked better I'd give this a 10. My friend has had his Epi for 4 years now and it is starting to crack around where the neck meets the body, that's why I'm considering buying a different brand, next time. Other than that Sturdy guitar. this has a bolt-on neck so no worries. It's stood up to a whole 6 years of use and I don't even have a case for it hahaha. // 8
Impression: Basically I really didn't want this guitar I wanted the more expensive versions, but hey if your just a starter, then it's good enough. It makes a nice Christmas gift for the surprise to the beginner player. Overall I was happy with it and it got me through. What a nice guitar. Thanks Epiphone! // 8
Reviewed by:
classicrocker01, on october 22, 2007 0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Price paid: $ 150
Purchased from: musicians freind
Features: My Les Paul was made in China in 2007. I bought it wanting a cheap instument for my first electic after playing bass since summer 06. It has 2 Epi open coil 'buckers, and only 1 volume and 1 tone knob and a 3-way pickup selector that isn't in the normal LP position. It has a fixed Tune-o-Matic bridge. No pickguard. No gig bag or anything, just a cable. // 7
Sound: I play lots of classic rock and older metal, such as Metallica. It fits these styles plus most other styles, it's very versitile. I run it through a Marshall MG15DFX (which I can't understand why it has such a bad reputation, it sounds great) with a Morley Bad Horsie 2 wah. I've also run it through a very expinsive Marshall tube, Orange Crush Series, and a Fender studio. It had a decent sound, but it could be better. Sound can be full, thin, thick, or just about anything else. A little noisy, but very good for the price. // 9
Action, Fit & Finish: Finish is beautiful, better in person than any picture. Pickup selector Switch is around knobs which drasticly cheapens the look. Action is just right, was set up perfectly from the box. Body is basswood, but doesn't cheapen sound. No flaws. I was very pleased, just a simple tuning and I was ready to rock. Tuners, however, could be better they come out of tune often, but not overwhelmingly bad. // 9
Reliability & Durability: You could've put this guitar on the Titanic when she sank, brought it back up, thrown it in the Grand Canyon, and gigged with it that night. This is one area it gets a 10. It's fallen off stands onto hardwood floors and the finish didn't even scratch (but the floor did) I would use this without a backup for sure. // 10
Impression: This is perfect for my rock style. It is great for a begginer because it is cheap and good quality. I just wish it looked more like the Gibson. If it were stolen I would probley upgrade to an epi LP Standard, or at least a Les Paul 100, which is just a little more $$$. If I could do it over again, I would save a little longer and get the 100. But if you don't have a constant source of income, the special 2 is perfect. // 8
Reviewed by:
HMR, on may 24, 2007 0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Price paid: $ 150
Purchased from: Guitar Center
Features: // 10
Sound: Well, I play mainly punk rock and some classic rock. It works extremely well for the classic rock. But, when I add the distortion it had some fret buzz. I am using the 10 watt amp that came with it. (Epiphone Studio 10 series) It has a full range of sound with the tone knob and the 3 way Switch. Overall, it's ok. // 6
Action, Fit & Finish: The guitar was set up very well at the factory. It was completely tuned and the action was perfect. I needed to make no adjustments. The pickups were aligned well and so was the truss bar. The strap buttons however suck and I am going to go into more detail on the next section. // 9
Reliability & Durability: This guitar is great for Live playing. Just did a gig at my school the other day, and it worked perfectly. I did not have a backup guitar in case it got messed up some how. The hardware seems solidly built. The strap buttons however suck! Replace them or get locks! I really emphasize this since when I was playing in my garage, the strap fell off. it's really lucky I caught it or it could have been smashed to bits. The finish is really good, just don't bang the headstock into stuff because it chips off easier than usual there. // 8
Impression: My overall impression is that as a beginner, this guitar was perfect for me. But, now that I am moving on to more advanced stuff, I am looking at buying a Fender Strat. It is perfect for beginners looking for a cheap but quality guitar. I know about 5 people Who bought this as their first guitar and were happy with it. // 7
Reviewed by:
unregistered, on february 06, 2007 0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Purchased from: Sam Ash
Features: // 8
Sound: I play rock ranging from Jimmy Eat World to Thrice, and this sounds great on both. I've run it through a Marshall JCM900 head and 1960A cab with no effects and it sounds beautiful. I've also run it through a DigiTech RP-50 directly into a board for recording and it sounded just as good. The Bridge pickup falls a little thin on clean tones, and the neck pickup is too fat sounding with distortion. The volume difference between the two is high. // 8
Action, Fit & Finish: The guitar was set up extremely well straight out of the box, and there were no flaws to be found whatsoever. The pickups were adjusted well, and the action was decent. I have since lowered it, because my tastes and style changed, and now it has a slight buzz on the 7th fret of the low E string. Other than that, it was nearly perfect. No complaints here. // 10
Reliability & Durability: This guitar has been used without a back up for several gigs with absolutely no problems. I only had to tune once before the gig. The strap buttons are very solid, but that hasn't stopped me from dropping the guitar on more than one occasion (faulty straps) one of the times I dropped it the D string tuning peg broke, but it was easily replaced. The finish is thick but I managed to break a few chips off when I dropped the guitar on cement (again, faulty strap) after about 5 years of owning this guitar, the pick ups are extremely rusted, as are pretty much all the screws. But, surprisingly, it still sounds good. // 10
Impression: as I said earlier, I play any kind of rock I'm feeling at the moment, and it fits them all. the neck pick up on a clean setting has a nice thick bluesy feel, and the bridge with distortion sounds amazing, I can get screaming metal tones and warm overdrive out of it. I've been playing for about 6 years (this was my second guitar, my first being a broken down Strat copy bought used off ebay for $80) and this guitar has been great. I wont even bother rating anything that came with it, as it was all completely terrible. If they had sold it by itself back then I would have just bought that and saved the wasted $50. I recently ordered online an Epiphone Les Paul Custom, Squier Standard Telecaster, and a Boss ME-50 to add to my inventory of equipment, and so I can have some variation in my recordings. If it were lost or stolen, I would miss it dearly, but I'd be content with all my new gear. I'm also going to save up and buy a Voletto 212 50 watt all tube combo amp. This product is great for the money. If I had to go back and do it all over again, I would, but I'd try to get the guitar by itself, not with the crap they try to force on you for an extra $50. // 9
Reviewed by:
randyrhoads723, on may 26, 2007 0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Price paid: $ 150
Purchased from: Guitar Center
Features: The Epiphone Les Paul Special 2 is a very good beginner guitar. If you're on a tight budget then, this is a perfect guitar for you. The finish is black, has a les paul body style (obviously) it has a tunomatic bidge and a neck and bridge pickup. It has rythm and lead pickup selecter and both pickups. It came with a gig bag. It was made in Indonesia. The body is alder/maple, and the neck is mahogony and rosewood and a rosewood finger board, and 2 humbuckers. 22 normal sized frets. // 8
Sound: It does not have a wide variety of sounds but like I said, it's for beginners or someone on a tight budget. Well, it has a lot of fret buzz unless you change the strings right away, I use it on chorus, higain 3 on a Vox amp, good for classic rock, hard rock, not that great for heavy metal, unless you get different pickups and higher gauge strings. It is good for tapping if you don't mind a little extra background noise, and it still has a little distorted sound on clean settings. Very playable fret board, pretty fast, 22 frets. Nice humbuckers. // 7
Action, Fit & Finish: The guitar was set up quite well at the factory, the pickups were adjusted fairly well, the action was fine, maybe a little high. The bridge was routed fine, the tuning pegs were a little loose (only the G string one) and the tone knob is loose. The nut is cut fine, the pickup selector is not noisy at all, the strings were already a little bit worn out, nice shiny black finish, but scratches easily, I recommend buying a polish cloth or something. The input jack sometimes falls out, but is not a large problem. // 7
Reliability & Durability: I beleive this would be a good guitar for small gigs, but I would not go without a reliable backup. The strap buttons are extremely solid, the hardware is not the greatest but it lasts surprisngly long for the price of the guitar. The finish is good enough to last for a while, but, may need to be replaced with lots of playing. Does not have a pickguard, that's one downside, also the pickup selector I not up by the neck as on most Les Pauls but, it's down by the knobs, also there are only 2 knobs. // 7
Impression: I play mostly classic rock and hard rock, every once in a while I will attempt a heavy metal song but this guitar just isn't cut out for that. I've been playing for 3 years and I have a Vox amp and a monster cord, roadrunner gig bag. The reason I picked this guitar is because I am on a very tight budget. I wish I would have thought more carefully about getting this or an Ibanez. Now I would probably have bought the Ibanez. If this were lost or stolen I would probably buy a new guitar, probably an Ibanez. I love this guitars playability, but I hate the hardware and the tuning pegs. I compared this to a B.C. Rich and got this because it costed a lot less. I wish this guitar had a tremelo, that's probably the one thing I want most on it. // 7
Reviewed by:
athlete1, on august 20, 2007 0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Purchased from: Guitar Center
Features: This guitar is a solid body electric guitar with 22 frets. It has a rosewood finger board and has several choices of finishes, such as ebony, white, sunburst; ect. It is in 24-3/4 scale and the body is Lam Alder or Maple, while the neck is Mahogany. It has two open coil humbucking pickups that you can switch between with a Standard 3-way switch, and one tone and one volume control. All in all it is very well set up, and I like it more than a real Les Paul because it is much lighter. It's Switch is near the controls so that is also easily reached. I would rather it have more controls though.You can also buy it in a set with an amp and gig bag and such. Standard Les Paul bridge and tail piece. // 8
Sound: Sounds very nice clean, very full and rich. Goes very well with valvotronix amps which I use. Sounds great with flanger, reverb, comp, delay, tremolo, phaser, and wah. Sounds OK overdriven or distorted. Not too great for metal, but by adjusting controls and effects it will work. Decent variety of sounds, but it will take a little while to figure out how to get them. // 8
Action, Fit & Finish: Well set up from the factory, though some things like the jack and humbuckers needed to be tightened a little so they weren't loose. Thick finish that holds up great, and you won't notice if it gets any dings or smudges unless looked at closely. Keep it clean and it will stay near mint. All in all it was nicely set up, and needed little work. The strap buttons were not properly set and fell out though. Check them and glue them in. // 7
Reliability & Durability: Pretty reliable. It always sounds consistent, and stays in tune OK. The tuners slip once in a while though, and the strap buttons don't come properly installed. The finish will definitely last. Very thick and nice to look at.I would have a backup on hand with this one, though. // 6
Impression: Good match for rhythm and Satch and Vai stuff OK for heavy shred.Great guitar for the cost. I would buy another in the future if something happened. Great guitar to have for jams and mellow music. The best thing on it is the finish. Feels great. Only things I don't like are the strap buttons and how it is a little loose from the factory. I would also rather it have soap bar pickups than open coils, but the stock pickups are fine. This guitar is well rounded, and is basically a real Les Paul, only a little lighter. This guitar lives up to it's name. // 8
Reviewed by:
WickedBeast666, on september 05, 2007 0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Price paid: $ 150
Purchased from: Guitar Center
Features: // 7
Sound: It suits my music style pretty decently. I have a tendency to very from metal to a rythmic blues. So it is very versitial surprisingly. A very good starter guitar with great sustain. Though the 10-watt Amp that came with it did not do it justice. So I retired that amp and I am now using a Line 6 Spider 3 with it, and Loveing it. // 7
Action, Fit & Finish: The action from the factory was extremely poor. I had to have it ajusted by a friend of mine Who is a guitar collector. The Pickups were ajusted perfictly for an all-around sound. The body of the guitar was pretty good. The finish on the guitar did seem to have a dullness to it. // 7
Reliability & Durability: This guitar would easily withstand Live playing to my suprise, but it may need better pickups for a greater sound. The hardware is of good quality. I have owned this guitar for 3 years and only have one problem with bad sodering. The Strap buttons are extremly strong. It can also withstand an amazing 2 days of playing with out needing to be retuned. It holds it's tuning very well for non-locking tuners. The Finish has Ware off on the back of the guitar but that is do to my belt. // 9
Impression: It is a extremly good beginner guitar. You can't ask for much because of the price, but they deliver more then you pay. It would be better with active pickups. I plan on getting a Higher quality guitar after this one, but I am going to save this guitar for any children I may have. It is very comparable to the Les Paul Stuido Goth guitar that runs for 400+ Dollors. // 7
Reviewed by:
unregistered, on may 20, 2008 0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Purchased from: Guitar Center
Features: Id like to start off by saying that I'm a beginner and this is my first electric guitar. This is a great guitar... for the price. It doesnt't have a lot of bells and whistles. I bought it seperate from the LP Special II player's Pack which is a great value though. Look into it at Guitar City. // 7
Sound: I play mostly classic and punk rock. It is versitile in it's playing abilties if you have a good amp and sounds really well when playing Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, and ACDC songs well. The pickups are ok but they could use replacing. You also want to replace the strings after purchasing this guitar. The onlt other thing is there is only one tone knob for two pickups which limits it's variation/distortion capabilities. // 8
Action, Fit & Finish: The action on this guitar is OK. Not great but not bad. I'm able to solo well on it and the neck is the perfect diameter. The fretboard is nice however the strings seem to be far away from the frets. I got the white version of this guitar which is beautiful but a little boring. Also the treble pick up is a little loose and the tone knob bent but other than that I've had no problems. // 8
Reliability & Durability: I've dropped the guitar once and it's fine but I haven't taken it outside of my house yet. The guitar, like all epiphones and gibsons is covered by a lifetime guarantee, if you don't change the parts. // 10
Impression: This guitar is a great beginners guitar because of the good action versatility and amazing price. Its especially good if you want to play classic or punk rock like me. However I SUGGEST THIS GUITAR TO BEGINNERS ONLY. // 9
Reviewed by:
Womage, on june 10, 2008 0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Price paid: £ 120
Purchased from: MBmuisic
Features: // 7
Sound: I play mostly rock, alternative, hard rock and sometimes some metal/metalcore, the guitar suits this style well. The guitar goes well with my 15w cube practice amp and BD-2 overdrive pedal. It has a deep sound to it, and the humbuckers produce a good sound on all three settings. If you put a heavy gauge of strings on the guitar there is even more possibility for a more powerful sound. // 9
Action, Fit & Finish: I received the guitar when I first started playing and it needed no adjustments, as the set up was fine. The finish is very good, no dinks or damage at all. The pickups were adjusted well from when I received the guitar. // 9
Reliability & Durability: I think this guitar can withstand Live playing very well, I would definitely take it as a backup to a live show as it is incredibly durable, no matter now much you throw it around on stage, it will be fine after. The hardware seems like it will last, maybe more used components will need replacement after a few years of use, but as is the same with most guitars. I would play it live without backup, as I is a good-all round guitar. The finish seems surprisingly strong for a guitar of this price, even though it lacks a scratch plate, the finish has stood up surprisingly well to the impact of picks and so on. // 10
Impression: I play metal and hard rock and the guitar is a good match as it has a powerful sound you will need, I also own a Mexican Strat and I see the Special 2 as a guitar to use for heavier songs that require dropped tunings and heavy strumming etc. If it were lost or stolen, I would probably buy it again, although the Epiphone 100 is a similar price and has more features. All in all it is a solid guitar that won't let you down, and most importantly, it's ideal for a beginner to start on with the simple controls and reliablity. // 10
Reviewed by:
deathbycontrol, on may 26, 2009 0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Price paid: $ 100
Purchased from: Local Pawn Shop
Features: I found this at a pawn shop and couldn't pass it up. I'd been wanting a LP for a good while. Being Epiphone, I wasn't expecting all the features of a real LP, but it still holds up suprisingly well. The neck is made of maple with 21 frets. There are two control knobs and one 3-way Switch, the knobs controling volume and tone (but they're not labeled). It has 2 hambucker pickups, one on the bridge and one on the neck. The tuners are a little too easy to turn, but that can be fixed with some minor adjusting, and they're non-locking. It also came with a case. Came with crappy strings, too, but they broke after 2 hours of playing. All in all very feature-filled for the low budget price. // 10
Sound: I usually play harder rock and metal, ranging from Breaking Benjamin to All That Remains, and I have to say, this guitar can play it all. When I want to play something really heavy, I use a ModTone Speedbox and a cheapo overdrive pedal and run it through a cheap little Yamaha 30v amp, and it sounds simply amazing. If you flip the Switch on the guitar to the "rhythm" side, it adds a little more crunch to chords, and the "lead" side makes higher pitched notes sound clearer. For the softer stuff, I just use the overdrive pedal and max it out. It still sounds good, but it's also a little flat. If I just use the Speedbox (with it turned down a little), it does the same thing, so I guess that's probably my crappy amp. Basically it sounds nice no matter what you play. // 10
Action, Fit & Finish: The guitar came with everything intact and almost properly adjusted. I just had to tighten the stap buttons and the pickups were a little loose. But before I noticed these problems I could still play it without it falling apart. Also there is nothing around the knob to help you know what your tuned to (I.e. You can tell if it's set to 3 or 5), so you'll have to take a sharpie or something and put a little mark on it. The only problem that I don't know how to fix is with the tuning pegs, they're too loose (as I said before) and I need to tighten them. I can probably discover this by googling it, but for now it's just loose. Very few problems, and even those are minimal. // 10
Reliability & Durability: This thing can take one hell of a beating. I've dropped it, smacked it into a wall, fell on top of it (and I weigh about 250lbs), and it still hasn't broke. Still works like the day I bought it. So I'm sure that it'd be great to use in a gig, although I havn't had a chance to try it yet. The finish also doesn't have any dings or scratches, which is suprising with how rough I am with it. You'll have to clean it often if you leave it sitting out, though, as it's a dust magnet. I'd probably call this the most reliable guitar I've ever played. It'd probably take 3 or 4 swings to smash at then end of a song. // 10
Impression: For the price, this guitar is amazing. I have no complaints on the sound or look. Again, it does get out of tune easilly, but that's really the only problem. It can take a beating, and is probably good for Live shows. It's also a little heavy, but you should expect that with a LP. I would've been happy with another fret or 2, but I can just bend the string if I really want a 22nd fret. I've been playing guitar for about 2 years now, but I've played lots of different brands and styles of guitar, and this is probably the best budget guitar I've played. So if you're low on money and want a good guitar, do yourself a favor and buy this one. // 10
Reviewed by:
unregistered, on may 11, 2009 0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Price paid: $ 192
Features: I've had this Epiphone Les Paul Special 2 for around half a year now. Mine's black (ebony that's what they call it). Made in indonesia. The body is a basswood body, with a mahogany (bolt) and a rosewood Dot inlays. It is extremely glossy so it is easy to get fingerprints on it. Features a tune-o-matic bridge, stopbar tailpiece. Two alnico V open coil humbuckers (700T, 650R). Two knobs, one volume one tone, but its really sufficient for a starter, worth the money. Chrome hardware, from bridge to tuners. Got a package with a gigbag, strap cable and stuff // 8
Sound: It is really good for beginners, Who want to venture into the realm of good old rock. Plays classic rock well, sustain is there, great solos out of it. It is rather versatile, can do punk and metal, but I wouldn't recommend it for country and blues (check out the fenders). I play for my own interest, I use a extremely small 10watt Epiphone studio amp, doesn't disturb others. The adjustment of the tone knob on the sound of the guitar is coarse, but it really packs a punch with great distortion and gain. It can really get the twang, especially with the bridge pickup. All in all it is worth the money, great for starters, even intermmediate. After all, you don't have spend tonnes of money to get a good guitar. // 8
Action, Fit & Finish: The set up out of the box was so-so. Not the well done, strings a little high off the fretboard and the strings itself were not that good. But after some adjustments, I could just plug it in and jam away. However, I have problems with the pickup selector Switch. Sometimes when switching to hit a solo or something, it just cuts off, no sounds (especially when changing to bridge pickup). So that aspect is not thet great. It does buzz quit abit, noisy and all. But still looks and sounds great. // 6
Reliability & Durability: The toggling between pickups worries me, but I'm sure it can play Live, extremely durable. Strap on buttons haven't given me any problems so far, I'd probably have a backup if on a gig as precaution, but not saying that the special 2 won't do it's work. In a nutshell it lasts, it lasts. // 8
Impression: It is good for me, I play hard rock, classic rock, and punk. I've been playing guitar for about 3 years now, but only picked up this baby last yr. If stolen, I might buy it again (in a different colour) or might try checking out a Les Paul 100 or SG Special. I was on a budget when I got this, but paid off well, compared it to low end Ibanez and Cort guitars, like the feel of this the best. Les paul never fail to give the chunky rock tone. // 8
Reviewed by:
metal_punk, on july 07, 2009 0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Price paid: $ 150
Purchased from: Musicians Pro
Features: I believe this is one of the newer 2006 models. 22 small/medium frets, rosewood fingerboard. The neck is kinda thin for my taste but good. It is a solid-top guitar. Umm the body is basswood, so it is very light-weight, which is a plus. The finish is gloss black and holds up very well. It is a Les Paul stylre guitar with a tune-o-matic bridge. Passive electronics, (Alnico humbuckers.) There's 1 volume, 1 tons and a 3-way pickup selector. It's got bridge/neck pickup config. The tuners are Standard Epiphone tuners. // 7
Sound: First off, I play technical death metal and grindcore, so I'm biased. But it does actually sound pretty great out of my 12 watt practice amp. It will play just about anything, Hotel California, Metallica, The Faceless, you name it. I don't use any effects just the distortion and tone controls on my amp. The guitar is a bit noisy, but I think that's because of my terrible amp and cable. It has quite a bright sound when clean, a little darker in overdrive. The harmonics on this guitar could be better, but that's ok. // 8
Action, Fit & Finish: I can't say, bought it used. The action was perfect when I bought it though. I had to raise the pickups quite a bit, but that's not a problem. The only flaw is that the fret's are raised a small bit near the high e string. But that was probably cause by the previous owner. Also, the G-string tuner is kind of loose. // 6
Reliability & Durability: For Live playing I would probably not use this guitar, just because when I play Live, I jump around and the guitar is pretty thin. The hardware is pretty great on the guitar actually. My only complaint, however, is that my bridge pickup will cut in and out and sometimes not work at all. Remember though, I bought it used. Strap buttons are great, haven't worn out at all. I would not use this guitar Live, but it's because of my damaged bridge pickup, and the guitar is used, so I don't think it came that way. My finish is scratched on the back all the way to the wood, because somebody played my guitar without permission with a belt on. But the finish has lasted quite a while besides that. // 7
Impression: For death metal and the sort, I wouldn't really recommend this guitar, but to regular rock, oldies metal, and blues, it's a can't miss opportunity for the price. I have been playing electric guitar for close to a year now, asnd I use no other gear that isn't previously described. Umm... at the moment I'm about to buy a Schecter Damien 6 guitar, so if I lost or this got stolen, I wouldn't mind that much. I love how versatile it is. I hate the broken bridge pickup. My favorite feature is probably the body wood, because of how light it is. I compared this guitar to a Warlock silver series, a Jackson Kelly, and an ESP KH-20. I chose this one because it is about $300 cheaper. I do wish it had EMG's but I'm to cheap to buy them // 8
Reviewed by:
mvp_jordan23, on july 23, 2009 0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Price paid: € 215
Purchased from: Muzikas centrs
Features: First of all I would like to say that this guitar rocks! For the price you really cannot go wrong with this buy if that is your first guitar like mine. Mine was made in an unknown year in China, but that I think doesn't matter in this case. It has 22 frets, neck -bolt, mahogany, very playable (not too thick or thin) scale 24.75", body is made from basswood, the Vintage sunburst could look better but that is what you get at this value. The tune-o-matic bridge/ stopbar tailpiece gives you great ease to change strings. Alnico V Humbuckers, a volume knob, treble/rhythm /both Switch and a treble knob, all Standard. The tuners aren't the greatest because the tuner on my D string produces an unwanted noise so I had actually to wrap around the tuner some isolation. // 9
Sound: This axe can play almost anything you can imagine, really a versatile instrument for the price. I play different kinds of music:blues/jazz/rock/metal/rnb/prog...it can deliver just about anything you want with the right amp configuration and your fingers. right now I am using a Vox AD15VT xl series amp and it sounds very well with the guitar if you tweak a little bit the amp and maybe use some pedals like Boss blues driver for blueasy sound or metal zone for some more distortion or anything else, you just have to experiment.
Sometimes the guitar gets a little noisy but it is okay, you just have to pay morwe attention to your noise dampening technique. The sustain also could be a little better but it is okay, you can get great bends with it. // 9
Action, Fit & Finish: The guitar was set up okay, as it should be, no mistakes. The action is maybe too high but you can get better bends that way, so it is all about the compromise what you want it to sound like. The pickups were also flawless and so was the bridge. Actually there were no major mistakes but the frets could be more precisely made. All I can say that for this price you cannot get anything much better right away from a shop. Only the one tuning peg was a little worse made than the others. // 8
Reliability & Durability: My Les Paul Special II is going to last if not a lifetime then a decade for sure. All solid and very playable even Live if you wish but then it is the compromiss which you certainly need to consider if you are ready to show up on stage with such a cheap guitar. The hardware is great overall and also very solid. I would definitely depend on it because I haven't had any situations when this guitar fails so I am certain this guitar is pretty reliable. // 9
Impression: As I play different kinds of music then the Epiphone Les Paul Special II which is right now priced very cheaply, is a great choice for me because it can deliver anyone a wide range of versality and that is I think the greatest thing about this guitar. There really isn't much to ask someone, I would say, that go and buy this guitar because it is very affordable and a great instrument for beginners to start off. // 9
Reviewed by:
unregistered, on october 07, 2009 0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Price paid: £ 130
Purchased from: Hartnolls
Features: My Les Paul Special 2 only come last week and come equipped with an allen key for adjusting the neck, lead and a poster. It has humbucker pick-ups, Mahogany neck, Rosewood fingerboard, Dot inlays, one tone and volume controls, three way pick-up selector and chrome hardware. It has a gloss finish, Tune-O-Matic bridge style and is the best quality Les Paul your get for one hundred and thirty pounds. // 8
Sound: I mostly play alternative e.g Razorlight and some rock. It works and sound very well when used with my ten watt practice amp and Hohnor amp. There is virtually no buzzing and there is a massive range of sounds to choose from considering that it just has a three way pick- up selector and one volume and tone controls. The sounds vary from heavy rock to light distortion which is brilliant for playing 'Use somebody' by 'Kings Of Leon'. // 10
Action, Fit & Finish: The guitar finish is generally good but mine did come with two indentations on the back which I'm not sure if they happened in the factory or the shop. The guitar came pre adjusted and stays in tune very well. The pick-ups wobble slightly and some of the the bare wood can be seen round them and the neck. All in all though the guitar is absolutely brilliant for just one hundred and thirty pounds. // 8
Reliability & Durability: I've just had this guitar a week but so far it seems to be brilliant and I am difinitely going to use it for my next gig. The strap buttons are solid but the gloss effect does show up finger print marks very easily. I hope the guitar will be as reliable and durable as my Stagg Strat but the scratches and dents it's going to get will prove that. I was able to take it straight out the box and play it without no setting up. // 8
Impression: Overall the guitar is brilliant for one hundred and thirty pounds. The finish, sound, quality and reliability is good and I would definitely recommend this guitar to anyone wanting a cheap and good quality guitar. It is a brilliant guitar for The Music I play and I like the simplicity of the controls. The only main thing I don't like about it is the finger print marks which show up very easily on the gloss effect. But overall it is a brilliant guitar and I am definitely going to buy another Epiphone guitar maybe a Dot. // 9
Reviewed by:
Mrfussytabs, on april 06, 2009 0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Price paid: $ 170
Purchased from: The Guitar center
Features: This is a decent guitar if you're ona tight budget like me. It has 22 Frets with mother of pearl Dot inlays.it's a solid top as far as I'm aware. The body is Basswood and the neck is mohogany (bolt on). The finish I purchaced was tobacco sunburst.The body stylee is the typical les paul style; single cutaway, Dreadnaught-ISH, wide body but not the same electronic layout as Les Paul Standard models. It hass a Tune-O-Matic bridge that makes string changing less time consuming then a string-thru style bridge. The pickupe are Standard pickups (700T/650R), Passive humbucking pickups (don't know if there is a difference between that and a humbuckER).
You don't get much in the way of controls you get one volume and one tone knob as well as a pickup selecter Switch inbetween the two knobs.The tuners are Standard nonlocking Epiphone tuners and do give trouble for a while but take it from an owner patience pays, they just need to be broken in. I don't know about anyone elses but mine came with a 8 foot amp jack(cable). // 7
Sound: I play mostly rock, and alternative rock and this guitar is well suited for both I'm sure a little bit of jazz could be pulled off with the right amp. I am currently using a Line 6 Spider III 15 watt and a Boss ds-1 pedal. The guitar is fine not much static but sometimes you get some feed back if you leave it lying around.but plenty of fret buzz at the 8/9 fret depending on where your saddle is. You can get plenty of sounds with this guitar. You can play anything from Taylor swift on clean to dragon force on insane. Variety? Enough said. // 9
Action, Fit & Finish: The action from the factory leaves you with a little bit of fret buzz. The the guitar contained only one miniscule flaw, a small flake in the finish about 2 1/2 milimeteres in diameter. The bridge seemed to be in plase well and the top was beautiful in terms of the wood and the finish they appled. // 8
Reliability & Durability: Live playing is not a problem I've done it before and actually ended up with money in my case while playing waitin for afriend. This guitar is great but first of buy new strings (Ernie Ball ftw) and probably new pickups to get better tone.The strap buttons should be replaced with strap locks this guitar is very heavy and 4 minutes after I first played it the guitar fell into my hands. I'd definately depend on this guitar given the pros and cons. The finish can withstand anything short of a projectile the size of a nokia cell phone(I now have a good 1mm sizd chip in the fnnish) // 9
Impression: Thias guitar over al if great not awesome but great. You can't find a more reliable guitar in the price range I've been playing for about 3 years soon. I own a couple othe guitars but this one is definately my favorite. Make sure you get them to set it up for you in the shop before taking it home. If it were stolen or lost I'd be devastated. One thind I love is the neck. The frets are all aligned near perfectly so I don't have to worry about getting blisters between my thumb and fore finger(plus I'm ocd). Switch gets a bit trippy you might say after leaving it on rhythm for more than a week and then switching to treble. I wish it had the full Les Paul Standard electronics configuration but hey it's cheap reliable and it works so no complaints. // 10
Reviewed by:
BangYerHead, on january 12, 2009 0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Price paid: $ 170.00
Purchased from: E-Bay
Features: This guitar was set up in America, 22 fat frets, Rosewood fingerboard, solid top. Off-white finish, Classic Les Paul body, Tune-o-Matic bridge, Active Electronics, One tone knob, one Volume knob, 3 way selector, 2 humbuckers. Beautiful guitar, fans of Les Pauls will feel right at home holding the guitar, off-white guitar is GORGEOUS, defenitely a classy looking instrument. Wine-Red is good looking too, and the two tone burst finish is a real looker as well. // 9
Sound: I play mostly Hard Rock to Light Metal, and this guitar ROCKS for that. I play with a fairly expensive Digitex digital foot-pedal, and with a slight reverd, it'll make any note sounds authentic and like an actual Les Paul. It had a rich, long sustaining sound to it, that's come to be expected of Gibson, or any sub-company of Gibson. The variety of sounds this guitar can put out is almost limit-less, Switch to the top humbucker for a blues feel and throw it down the bottom for some crunchy Hard Rock and Metal tunes. Pinches are a bit hard to do on this guitar, but when you do hit that pinch, you and everyone else will hear it! // 10
Action, Fit & Finish: Guitar was very well set up, no flaws what-so-ever. The top humbucker, I'll admit, was a tad loose, but once tightened, I didn't have anymore problems with it. Absolutely a flawless guitar. The wood-quality was fantastic, tuning pegs were solid as well as the knobs and selector. The only problem I had with the initial guitar was the string tension, very high. I would reccomend that once you buy this fantastic instrument, you replace the strings. // 9
Reliability & Durability: I have not tried this baby Live, but I've dropped this thing a couple of times, and the finish isn't going anywhere, scratches are nearly un-noticeable on the off-white color. The hardware seems like it will last a while, nothin' is coming loose, and I play with the volume knob and selector while I sustain some notes, and they always are responsive and solid. The strap buttons are great, even when I push down on the guitar does the strap never come off the buttons. Personally, when I start gigging, I would have a back-up just in case. // 10
Impression: Like I said, I play mostly Hard Rock to Light Metal, so this guitar is perfect for the sound that I'm looking for. I've been playing now for about 3 months, and honestly, this guitar inspired me to play even more, it keeps you coming back for more. I own a Squire Stratocaster, a Vox pocket amp, an Ibanez Toneblaster, and an HOB-E Guitar. If this guitar was stolen, I'd be very upset, and I'd probably buy it again, because of the overall quality of the guitar and the price that was tagged with it. I love this guitar for it's long sustaining notes, diverse sound, and beautiful shape. I compared this guitar to the LTD EC-50 and found that this guitar has as good a sound, if not better, than the EC-50. I highly reccommend this guitar to novices and veterans alike, simply a fantastic instrument for it's price. // 10
Reviewed by:
Raijouta, on june 12, 2008 0 of 1 people found this review helpful
Purchased from: The MusicMart
Features: This guitar was made in 1996 when I checked the serial, in Japan, but I've owned it since 2006-ish. It comes with 22 rosewood frets. I have no idea what it's made out of but it's too heavy to be plywood and too warm-sounding to be alder or maple, but I doubt it's mahogany. It comes with a Tune-o-Matic bridge, one tone and one volume knob, and two humbucking pickups. // 7
Sound: At first the guitar had an okay sound. Eventually the bridge pickup "died", and around the time I got my Strat both pickups "died" (I'd assume the solder for the cables got loose) However, once I'd fixed it, it sounded much better. The only thing is the bridge pickup produces more feedback than it used to. In actuality, I'd venture this guitar would sound a lot better on a better amp than my Marshall MG. // 9
Action, Fit & Finish: The action was fairly medium at first, but eventually I lowered it to suit my tastes. The pickups were the same height, and I adjusted those as well. The pickup selector is fairly noisy, eliciting a cavernous, echoey sound when switched without muting the strings, but it's only noticable to a guitarist thanks to the Marshall MG's crushing distortion. // 8
Reliability & Durability: This guitar can take a beating. Even with vigorous, concentrated effort with the pick, the finish won't strip or rub off. However it does peel if the guitar were to be dropped. There are several spots where the paint has been peeled back because of a fall. A piece of the nut broke off when I was bending behind it and as such it's pretty hard to play chords involving the low E string (I had to slice a new channel for the string to run through, much closer to the A than I or any other guitarist is used to) I've replaced the strap buttons with straplocks simply because I play my guitar at certain angles and the strap is pretty prone to just ripping off. I always gig on this guitar simply because it gets the high-gain sound that the Strat just can't get with it's single-coils. Another problem is that the tone knob is cracked inside because a friend of mine dropped the guitar face-front, but it's still fully functional. // 7
Impression: I've been playing for about two years, and as a beginner guitar, this is pretty good for what I paid. I play mostly hard rock and sometimes shred, and the pickups can handle it pretty well. Since I should be acquiring a Peavey Valveking tomorrow I hope the tone will be even better through it. If this guitar were stolen or lost, I'd probably end up getting an Epiphone Prophecy or customizing my Strat with a humbucker. But really this guitar has been through some good times with me and I wouldn't part ways with it, except maybe change the pickups later on. By themselves they're pretty good, but they could be better if they were Duncans or DiMarzios. // 8
Reviewed by:
Roy McCartney, on july 10, 2008 0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Price paid: $ 230
Features: If you are looking for a guitar with a pretty sound and a "friendly" price, the Epiphone Les Paul Special II is the best option. It was made in Indonesia, under Gibson license, and it's a good choice for a classic Les Paul sound with an amazing price! It has a mahogany neck, with a 22-frets rosewood fretboard, a Standard Epiphone head, single cutaway design, a volume control and a tone control, a rhythm-treble 3-way selector switch, two open coil humbuckers, chrome hardware, without a tremolo bar system, available in black, ebony, white, heritage cherry sunburst, vintage sunburst and wine red colors. It included a cable. // 10
Sound: I'm a huge blues and classic rock nut, and this Epi suits perfect to these styles. I usually set the rythm humbucker with he tone control on "0" to get close to an Eric Clapton's "woman tone", perfect for any distortion blues songs. It also offers a very nice smooth acoustic sound to play styles such as folk, bossa nova, blues, rock, etc. Although I've got a basic amp, the sound is pretty good, and I've played in on huge amps and auditorium speakers, so the sound is quiet perfect. In general, this guitar offers sounds for any kind of rock, soft acoustic and other nice styles. // 10
Action, Fit & Finish: The factory made a great set-up for this guitar, nice action, well adjusted humbuckers, well bookmatched tops and routed bridge, it fits well, with no flaws in my case. Good finish. Although it has not the quality standards of a Gibson Les Paul, it's a good made one. // 10
Reliability & Durability: The Les Paul Special II is great for Live playing, and it look great too! The hardware and all the settings are well done, so I'm sure they last a long time. Is a very reliable gear, you can depend on it (but it's good to have always a backup). // 9
Impression: Well, for the blues and classic rock (and any kind of rock) this guitar suits great! I've been playing it for half a year, and I can feel a good difference: I used to play a basic Washburn. I love the sound it gives to my styles, and the color (cherry heritage sunburst). I hate how underrated this guitar is, and I wish it had a tremolo bar system. The Epiphone Les Paul Special is a good choice for an easy play, nice price and great sound, so it's kind of a perfect guitar for beginers to intermediate players. // 10
Reviewed by:
unregistered, on august 13, 2008 0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Price paid: A$ 350
Purchased from: Music Powerhouse
Features: This guitar didn't include accessories, although this may have a lot to do with where I purchased it from. The guitar is quite small, and very light. Perfect for the long and tiring gigs. It has volume, tone and a 3-way selector. // 8
Sound: I mostly play death and black metal. This guitar produces the sound I want perfectly. Also the fact I can write clean songs and they sound beautiful is a bonus within itself. The guitar has minimum feed back (depends on the amps too though). The guitar can pull off harmonics quite well. I don't use effects pedals, I feel I don't need them. This guitar does the job without the use of them! // 9
Action, Fit & Finish: When I purchased this guitar and brought it home, I plugged it in and was very impressed with the action! The low action makes the playability of this guitar simply amazing, and for the low price I expected it to have high action and issues with the bridging and pickups. But everything was fine. I popped the bottom E string within the first 2 seconds of using it, but that was the fault of a dodgy string. // 10
Reliability & Durability: I've used this guitar Live and it was fine. I didn't have a backup (because I didn't have a second guitar) and quite frankly with this guitar I don't think you'd need one. The strap buttons are good and the chances of your strap falling off are very slim, unless you are using a cruddy, cheap thing. The finish seems fine, numerous times I've hit it on walls and dropped things on the finish and everytime it remains as good as it was when I bought it. If anyone is worried that this guitar isn't good enough for gigs, then no need to worry. It's fine for any style, anywhere. // 9
Impression: As stated previously, I play metal. Death metal. Black metal. And it pulls of that crunchy, distorted sound perfectly. I've been playing for a few years now, I only own a budget amp but the Epiphone still pulls off a nice sound through it. I've used Marshall amps a lot with brands such as Ibanez, Fender, ESP etc. And the Epiphone sounds just as good, if not better then them all! If it was stolen. After a few hours of tears and tissues I would scrape some money together and purchase it's twin, although I'm saving up for a B.C. Rich. My Epiphone Les Paul will be by my side always. // 9
Reviewed by:
captainCAPSLOCK, on december 22, 2008 0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Price paid: € 149
Purchased from: Music Store Cologne
Features: 2007 in Indonesia, 22 frets, rosewood fretboard, Dot inlays, Solid ebony body, Tune-O-Matic bridge, 1 volume and 1 tone control, 3 way selector, 2 open coil pickups. // 8
Sound: First I wanted to buy me a super cheap Strat copy, but then I watched a movie where someone plays a les paul and instantly fell in love with the LP shape. I play a lot of things, but mostly rock and blues. The two humbuckers of this guitar are pretty excellent for the type of music I play and because I didn't have enough money for a more expensive one, I decided to buy this one. As this is my first electric guitar, I can't say much about the sound compared to other instruments but all I can say is, it meets my requirements. It has a pretty sweet clean sound and a high output, which makes it easy to plug it into the PC and have a little, unamplified jam at night. Due to the humbuckers, there is not really a noticeable background noise. When I plug it into the amp (Line6 Spider III 15), it gets loud and awesome, even though I wish the amp had some more bass. What I like about this guitar, I can play blues, rock, metal and clean stuff without any problems. // 8
Action, Fit & Finish: When I first got it, it was alright, until I read how to check the action and setup. Then I decided I wanted to get more out of it. I adjusted the neck angle, the pickups and the action, put new strings on it. Now it's as good as it can get for this low price. Unfortunately the fretboard has some flaws but I guess I got what I paid for. After six months or so, the pickup selector Switch got a little noisy but only if I change the pickups which doesn't happen that often. Overall, I'm pretty happy with this instrument and right now, I'm collecting money to buy me a second guitar, which will be Epiphone again. // 8
Reliability & Durability: After six months, everything is still in place and except for the dust (which is damn annoying on a solid black body), it still looks like when I first opened the box to see it. I bet some more expensive guitars would already have taken a beat or serious scratches or something. Rock solid. // 9
Impression: The humbuckers definitely match the type of music I am playing and the les paul shape is pure love for my eyes. After about six months of playing, it still is in very good shape, but I expect it to stay with me forever (its my first electric guitar so it has to keep a spot inside my heart! ) so lets talk again in 20 years from now. If it would be stolen or something, I would probably wait until I have more money and buy an Epiphone G400 but that's only due to me finding SGs more sexy at the moment. I wish it was white, but it's not that this can not be changed, right? // 8
Reviewed by:
unregistered, on may 21, 2008 0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Purchased from: Guitar Center
Features: Id like to start off by saying that I'm a beginner and this is my first electric guitar. This is a great guitar, for the price. It doesnt't have a lot of bells and whistles. I bought it seperate from the LP Special II player's Pack which is a great value though. Look into it at Guitar City. // 7
Sound: I play mostly classic and punk rock. It is versitile in it's playing abilties if you have a good amp and sounds really well when playing Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, and ACDC songs well. The pickups are ok but they could use replacing. You also want to replace the strings after purchasing this guitar. The onlt other thing is there is only one tone knob for two pickups which limits it's variation/distortion capabilities. // 8
Action, Fit & Finish: The action on this guitar is OK. Not great but not bad. I'm able to solo well on it and the neck is the perfect diameter. The fretboard is nice however the strings seem to be far away from the frets. I got the white version of this guitar which is beautiful but a little boring. Also the treble pick up is a little loose and the tone knob bent but other than that I've had no problems. // 8
Reliability & Durability: I've dropped the guitar once and it's fine but I haven't taken it outside of my house yet. The guitar, like all epiphones and gibsons is covered by a lifetime guarantee, if you don't change the parts. // 10
Impression: This guitar is a great beginners guitar because of the good action versatility and amazing price. it's especially good if you want to play classic or punk rock like me. However I suggest this guitar to beginners only. // 9
Reviewed by:
Flametop001, on november 10, 2005 0 of 1 people found this review helpful
Price paid: $ 120
Purchased from: Music And Arts (Virginia)
Features: This guitar was made in Japan I think. It has 22 frets. The body is made of alder I believe and mine has a sunburst finish. It has a les paul style body but is much thinner than a real one. It has a Tune-O-Matic bridge and comes with passive pickups, with a three way Switch. It has cheap tuners and 1 volume and 1 tone control. // 6
Sound: The stock pickups aren't very good for distortion, but for the price they were ok. I bought it because it was cheap and use it as my practice guitar so it didn't really matter to me. I switched the pickups out with some Duncan's and it sounds alot better. I use this guitar with a Randall RG200 combo and you wouldn't even be able to tell that it was a cheap guitar if you just listened to it and didn't see it. It's got decent harmonics and tone for the price, and I am actually glad I got it because I don't have to scratch up my other guitars or anything when I practice. // 7
Action, Fit & Finish: Since I bought this guitar from a music store there were some minor adjustments that had to be made as far as intonation, tuning, and out of personal preference, action. I can put the action down fairly low (low enough) without the strings buzzing like crazy. Again, for the price, it wasn't too bad. // 6
Reliability & Durability: I'm not sure if I would ever play a gig with this guitar, but I suppose if you wanted to try it you could get by. The hardware on the guitar is all fine except for the tuners. They have a tendency to go out of tune after a few minutes of use, but getting new ones fixed this problem. The finish on this guitar is OK, but not the greatest. After awhile I had alot of little swirls and small scratches in it, but once again the price made this not matter so much. // 6
Impression: I usually play metal and this guitar is good enough for practicing. I've been playing for a few years now and have a Jackson DKMG and a Washburn. This guitar doesn't compare to them really, and if it were stolen or lost I probably would not buy a new one. I would just buy a different guitar. I don't really have any major likes about it other than the fact that it was cheap and it's my main practice guitar, and I don't really hate anything about it. One thing I wish it came with when I first got it were better tuners and that's about it. If you aer looking for a cheap guitar to use for practice or for your first guitar then this fits the bill. // 7
Reviewed by:
TBCIV, on april 30, 2004 0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Features: This is pretty much as basic of a guitar as you can get, as it is meant to be. This is what I got as my first learning guitar, so its what I paid for. It's got 22 frets, which isn't bad, but I could have used a few more. But also the frets are on the small side, making them harder to use near the top of the neck. Its got only two knobs and two pickups, with a three position pickup Switch. The pickups are both humbucklers though, which sound good. The rosewood neck is nice. // 6
Sound: Suprisingly I can get pretty good sounds out of it, especailly once I got very used to playing it. Although when I hear it right next to a really good guitar, you can tell the difference. It suits the band I'm in right now, which is an Indie rock band, because its got that sorta half-assed tone that sounds good with that. Also played alot blues with it, and its ease of use and play made that better as well. When the distortion is really cranked though, it can feeback extemely easily. // 8
Action, Fit & Finish: Seemed allright when I got it. Can't remember if it had any problems right off the bat, didn't know enough about guitars to know at the time. Couldn't have been perfect though because of the problems listed below. Came as part of a package, which had an small amp, strap, and gig bag. Whole package was $300, so that's why I said its around 225 for the guitar. // 6
Reliability & Durability: I've had many reliability & durability issues with this guitar, but its crap what do you expect? I've often had the pickups sink into the body, needing re-adjustment every month or so. I've had some pickups or the Switch fail occasionally, coming back unexpectedly. The volume knob once became loose inside so you turn it more then 360 degrees. Stap buttons could hold my strap on for squat, had to get those replaced. Also one of the tunning pegs are loose, not sure if its my fault or not. Also intonation went a little bad, again not sure if its my fault or not. Already got some big chips in the finish despite a lack of much real abuse. I would never gig professionaly with this. This IS my backup. My bitch guitar that I'll smash or lite on fire some day. // 2
Impression: Well although this may seems like one of the most harsh reviews in recent history, I give it a four overall because in reality, this guitar is supposed to be bad. Its cheap! I make up for its tone with my Boss GT-6 effects proccesor, which really makes what it is insignificant. Its had some some minor problems here and there, but nothing that made it so I couldn't play. I like the fact its cheap because I don't have to worry about taking care of it too much and I even painted on it. It's always good to know that you have a guitar that is just fun to play. // 8
Reviewed by:
evilville, on april 29, 2004 0 of 1 people found this review helpful
Price paid: $ 149.99
Purchased from: American Musical
Features: This 22-fet LP is wonderful. It has a solid top, has one volume, 1 tone, and I 3-way pick-up Switch. It has 2 humbuckers, not sure what type. Alder/maple bosy, mahogany neck, and a rosewood fingerboard. Plain black paint job makes it great to do custom paint on it. Tune-o-matic bridge set-up. 24.75" scale. Features are good for me..I don't need 4 knobs. // 10
Sound: I play a lot of punk, and a lot of folk/bluesy stuff. I have plugged into a DOD Grunge Distortion pedal which is in a 12-watt Peavy Rage 108. The distortion level has to be all the way done or it is noisy as hell..other than that its fine. The sound is very "full" when the DOD is off the clean sound comes out really swell, very powerful. And LP's an LP..good for any style...it has good clean sound but is noisy when distortion os on. // 6
Action, Fit & Finish: I didn't have to change anything on the factory work..which surprises me. // 10
Reliability & Durability: I would totally rely on this guitar..it's the best LP in my opinion..everything has stayed true..but I've only had it a year..but the strap button on the top falls out if your strap is to low...if I played gigs I would have a back-up, but I like to have humbucking and single-coils sounds, I would have to bring my lotus. // 8
Impression: Excellent Guitar...cheap and awesome. // 10
Reviewed by:
unregistered, on june 14, 2004 1 of 2 people found this review helpful
Purchased from: Hertford Music
Features: - Sunburst, mahogany neck
- 22 frets
- Chrome hardware
- Two humbuckers
- One volume pot and a tone pot
- 3 way selector // 8
Sound: I play stuff like Green Day and Alkaline Trio, so I thought it was perfect. I play through a Marshall MG100DFX combo, so I already knew I was getting good tone, but I always used my paul with the bridge pick up only and the volume right up and the tone right up. But something else I noticed, was that for those of you who want a guitar to sound like tom delonge, ignore the Squire and get the Epiphone! The sound is much more like toms when you play an octave chord on the Epiphone, simply because of the power comin out of those pick ups. // 10
Action, Fit & Finish: When I bought it I had been playin for about 2 years so I knew what to look for when buying. After looking it over it was very impeccable, no scratches (though its covered now!) and everything was workin in the electronics. Aftre about 4 months of playing, the treble and rythm Switch disconnected, but the guy at the shop told me this happens alot so beware! And the D machine head starts to rattle because of it getting kncoked around in the guitar case, so it's a tought one to look after! // 8
Reliability & Durability: I own 5 guitars: an Ibanez Rgt42bp, a Squire Stdrd, a Takamine Accoustic , and a Fender Highway 1 Strat. This guitar is the choice for any gig! If I had to run in my room to get a guitar for a gig in 10 minutes, the Epiphone is going to go! It's just quality, you'll have to be mad to not own one! // 8
Impression: How much? What's wrong with it? But there is nothing wrong with it my friends, it is just really good, and thats that! // 8
Reviewed by:
SixxStringSk8er, on july 24, 2004 0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Price paid: $ 139
Purchased from: Fullerton Music Center
Features: - 22 frets
- 24 3/4" scale
- rosewood fretboard
- mahogany neck
- laminated maple/alder body
- Bolt-on neck
- 2 humbucker pickups
- 1 volume control, 1 tone control
- Tune-O-Matic Bridge
- Single cutaway body // 10
Sound: I play stuff like Blink 182 and Green Day, so the Drive is perfect but pushing bottom end just a little too much on the neck pickup. I put this through my Ibanez Tone Blaster and has the best lead sound I've heard on any guitar I've played before. Bends don't throw the guitar out of tune. // 10
Action, Fit & Finish: The action was perect and needed no tweaking. Everything was in perfect condition. // 10
Reliability & Durability: The strap buttons are the only thing I've had to get rid of. They did not hold the strap very long before it fell off. When I play live this is my main guitar that I can depend on. Does not break doewn or give up. // 8
Impression: This has the perfect sound I want from a guitar. I've been playing for 5 years and this is the best guitar I've come by, beating my Fender Strat. // 10
Reviewed by:
unregistered, on september 15, 2004 0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Purchased from: Lentines Music
Features: Made in China, I'm not sure what year though. 22 frets, Rosewood fingerboard. Ebony finish. Volume control for the dual humbuckers. // 6
Sound: It suits my music style, which is rock, punk and anything thrown in. I'm using an Aria with it, which you can't really get a hardcore distortion, but it still sounds ok. It's really noisy on distortion, and the clean sounds like an acoustic. It's a multi tone sound, and is great. The guitar is great with a variety of sounds, including pick slides, and bending. // 10
Action, Fit & Finish: When I bought the guitar, the tuneing was amazingly off, and pickups were pretty good. The finish isn't too great, it leaves a lot fingerprints. // 8
Reliability & Durability: I've been playing really hard, and it can withstand a good live playing. The hardware is something else, it's half&half. It's very finicky the way you handle it. The strap buttons are good and steady, but could be secured better. If was at a gig, I would bring a back up, because altogether, I would never go to a gig without a back up. The finish would wear off after a while of playing, so I would get a custom paint job. // 8
Impression: I play heavy rock, and punk, so it works because it looks a little devilish with it's finish and style. I've been playing around a month, but my friend has been playing for around a year, and he teaches me. This is the guitar I started out with, so it was hard to learn. If this was stolen I would buy a Gibson Special 2, not an Epi, but it was in my price, so. I love the sound from this guitar, it's great. I hate the finish, but what can you do about it? The fingerboard is my favorite feature, it is nice and durable. I wish this guitar had a whammy bar. It needs a whammy bar. I mean it. // 10
Reviewed by:
unregistered, on july 26, 2004 0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Features: I'm playing this guitar for a half year and now it isn't as perfect as it was. Perhaps I played a bit too heavy, because now the bridge pickup is moving a bit, perhaps that's because it's a open humbucker and not a burstbucker or something like that, but it doesn't bother the good sound. Another thing which I don't like are the strap buttons which aren't really able to fix the strap. I took a little metal-ring and put it between the thick end of the button and the guitar ( at the neck-button) and now everything's ok again. // 8
Sound: I think it's a guitar which fits to everyone. I often play metal songs, and it's got a real fat sound.But you can also change the amp settings that it's got a hard, metallic sound like a Strat. What I also like is the 3-way-controler, with which can change between two very different sounds. What I like about that is that if you play with medium distortion, you can tune down with the tone and the volume controlers and Switch to the neck pickup, it's got a very nice clean sound without changing the amp settings. // 10
Action, Fit & Finish: // 0
Reliability & Durability: // 0
Impression: I often thought about buying a new guitar, but always when I sat there, thinking about which guitar to buy, I grabbed my Epiphone and forgot about buying a new one, because I've got everything I need in this great guitar. My advise to everyone who reads this is: Buy this guitar! It didn't always get "excellent", but the sound is the fattest I've ever heard. It's the best guitar you can get for this money! // 10
Reviewed by:
unregistered, on march 26, 2004 0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Price paid: $ 159
Purchased from: Musician's Friend
Features: 22 Frets, White in Color, Chrome head pieces, humbucking pickups. // 8
Sound: I use my LP special 2 with a Digi-Tech effects box and the result is as close to a Les Paul sound as I can get for 200 bucks (counting box). I play mostly classic rock (not live) and would feel comfortable using this onstage if I had to. // 8
Action, Fit & Finish: I have not made any setup changes but I had to call Epiphone for a new selector Switch. This one starting cutting out when switched between pickups. If I leave the Switch alone right now, I don't have any problems. I am very happy with the action, barre chords are easy and I haven't noticed required re-tuning after bending some solos. // 6
Reliability & Durability: I replaced the stock strap buttons with a locking strap setup. I can't tell you how bad I felt when I dropped a Flying V I borrowed from a buddy years ago using a crappy strap. // 8
Impression: Overall I am very pleased with this white wonder and would definitely recommend it to anyone. I have been playing for about 20 years and just recently bought this and put together a classic rock band. Rock on players and thanks to this website for lots of great tabs... // 10
Reviewed by:
basketofplastic, on march 18, 2004 0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Price paid: $ 181.7
Purchased from: long and mcquade
Features: The Epiphone Les Paul Special 2 has some interesting features, It has 2 humbucking open coiled pickups.chrome hard ware, it's scale is 24.75" the width at nut is 1.68 which I think is great plays very well. The neck is a blot on it has dot position inlays and it is available in almost every finish you could possibly think of, the woods used on the body are Alder/Mahogany,and for the neck Mohagany. The Epiphone Les Paul Special 2 has a 3 way selector togle Switch featuring treble,rhythem and the normal standard setting. I enjoy the features on this guitar, it's perfect for people like me who like a quick attack but still have a heavy sort of bond. // 8
Sound: This guitar I think you can adapt 2 most styles of music for what I like to play things like metallica riffs or system of a down riffs I think it's perfect. This guitar sounds great when using metal distortion pedles and flanger if you like a sort of heavy and funky sound.It has a beautiful sound its very smoth and never to much feedback no buzzing it's great. // 10
Action, Fit & Finish: This guitar was set-up great at the factory the action is I slow but not 2 low so it gives you a quicker attack with your fingers,the pickups are set about half a centimeter below the strings. If you're not enjoying the sound its making you should try and expirament with string sizes untill you get the right sound this guitar will have you just need to experiment a little bit. // 8
Reliability & Durability: This guitar has unbilieveable reliability, I've never had any trouble with the hard ware this hard ware is set it will last You very long. It's absouloutly dependable as long as you have your sound right it will keep that perfect tone You could use this at a gig without a backup and I guaranty that you won't have one single problem. The finish is solid I haven't seen anything ware off and ive played it for a wile its still the same solid colour that it was when I purchased it. // 10
Impression: My own impression is for people who like to play metal, punk, blues, or just choosing your own different path as a guitarist this is your guitar. The thing I love most about this guitar is the action and the double Humbucking featre sounds great when playing metal or hardcore punk. I suggest You go and try it out if it's not your thing fine but if You like the sound, it's worth it, it's a very affordable price and I personally love the sound. // 10
Reviewed by:
zeppelin_05, on february 04, 2004 0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Price paid: $ 250
Purchased from: Samash.com
Features: This gorgeous guitar was made in 2002, dunno where though. It has 23 frets, with a dot inlay fretboard, and bolt neck, made out of mahogany wood. It has chrome hardware,and its body is made out of maplewood, with a laminated top satin finish. It has two open coil humbucker pickups, one volume and one tone control, with a three way Switch that goes from treble, to normal to rhythm. It has a Les Paul style cutaway body, after all its a special LP model. Mine came with a gig bag, a nice strap, a cable, electronic tuner, an instruction video, a mini 10 watt studio amp and some picks.
The whole package was awesome, but the cable was kinda short and crappy, it only lived through about a month and a half. The amp wasnt that good either, but for a beginner player it filled in the spot for the time being. // 8
Sound: The sound is the classic Les Paul sound, except for the sustain. It has and Awesome mean crunch to it, so the guitar works perfectly for classic and hard rock, metal and some sorts of punk, which is basically what I play. Definetely not the guitar you're looking for if you want some smooth tones, but hard and heavy describes it pretty well. The 3 way selector creates three different sounds, and when used with the tone controls, it can definetely chuck out some cool sounds. The mini amp it came with makes it sound really metal-ish, but I bought a Roland Cube 30, and the guitar sounds Perfect under the different settings.
It has a slight amount of humming, but hey what more did ya want? // 10
Action, Fit & Finish: The guitar didn't have any factory flaws at least until now... Everything was right were it was supposed to be. // 10
Reliability & Durability: I have played live once or twice with the guitar, and it has survived everything from head first falls to water spills right in the humbuckers, and it stills plays as if it were spankin new. The finish seems solid, and it hasn't been scratched yet, and the hardware is yet to be harmed. I feel like I can rely completely on the guitar, without a backup, after all I've done that already. // 10
Impression: I love this guitar, period. Its mean crunch and smooth looks make it a great choice for any beginner who would like to play rock, metal and punk. If it got stolen or lost I would definetely but the guitar again, specially because of the great price. My only suggestion for anyone who is up to buying the guitar is to get a good amp for it...don't take the crappy turd it comes with. // 10
Reviewed by:
Patrick420, on december 31, 2003 0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Purchased from: Musician's Friend
Features: I have the 2003 model, apparently assembled in the US. It has 22 frets on a rosewood fretboard. Has a knob for volume and a knob for tone, which is all I need starting out. I could even do without the tone knob seeing that I never adjust it. Also has a Switch that instantly changes from rythm to lead, or from neck pickup to body pickup. The guitar has two nice humbuckers, perfect for what I use it for. The body looks great, just like a regular Les Paul with a Vintage sunburst finish, and is made from alder/maple. I bought the guitar in a pack that came with a pretty nice Epiphone Studio 10S amp, an Epiphone gig bag, a strap, a cable, some picks, and an instructional video. It was a great deal. // 10
Sound: As I said before this guitar is perfect for what I am playing with it, which is mostly rock, some punk, and some metal. I am playing it through the 10w amp that came with it, but I have tried it on a more expensive 65w amp and the sound was still just as sweet as any $1000 Les Paul. The sound is very crunchy, just as any rock guitar should be, but I have also produced some mellow tones after playing around with it. I just love the humbuckers over the single coils. // 10
Action, Fit & Finish: The guitar was in perfect condition when I got it. The action was set just as it needed to be. The finish on the body is pretty much unscratchable. Both knobs turn smoothly and the rythm/treblr selecter will not come loose unless you beat it with a hammer. // 10
Reliability & Durability: I haven't played this guitar live yet, but my friend doesn't even carry a backup when he uses his Special II live. The body can't be beaten up. I have run the headpiece and the body into walls and desks and everything else imaginable and there are no scratches or marks anywhere. The finish will NOT wear off no matter what I put this thing through. The strap buttons haven't given me the slightest bit of trouble, only the strap that came with it is poorly made, but I wasn't even expecting to get one. When I get better and start playing live, I would definately use this before spending my money on anything else...well unless I was rich and could buy countless Gibson Les Paul Customs to perform with. // 10
Impression: The Epiphone Special II is the best guitar out there for the money. I have tried other guitars such as Fenders and Squires, but this is by far my favorite. The humbucker pickups and the powerful sound just could not be matched by those. I couldn't imagine playing rock with anything else. The Les Paul body is beautiful, and the Vintage Sunburst finish is great. If this guitar were stolen or lost, I would definately get another. The only thing missing is the fret marker inlays are dots instead of the trapezoid shape on other Les Pauls, though I can definately live without those. I highly recommend this guitar to any beginner-intermediate player, or even an expert who is just looking for a cheaper back-up guitar. // 10
Reviewed by:
Rageoffury16, on february 13, 2004 0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Price paid: $ 210
Purchased from: East Coast Music, Danbury CT
Features: This Epiphone LP II is made in 2003. It was made somewhere overseas, unfortunately not in America, but still it is a great guitar. It is a 6 string and has one volume and one tone control knob, I wish it had two tone knobs but it's still fine. The pickups are humbuckers (standard on Gibson and epiohones) and the it has a 3 way selector, one for the bridge, one for the neck and one for both. It has 22 frets it has a maple neck and a stadard headstock. It is obviously the classic Les Paul style but instead of the normal curve top it has a flat top, it's sorta cross between and SG and a LP. The finish on mine is a red glossy, but you can also get it in Black/Sunburst and a Yellow/Orange Sunburst. It unfortunately didn't come with a gig bag or any accessories. But it's definitely worth the 210 dollars. // 10
Sound: I normally play Punk rock, classic rock like Zeppelin and Pink Floyd, etc and it suites all styles. I use a Peavy 112 65 watt transtube amp and Boss Mega Distortion pedal. It sounds amazing on both clean and the endless list of distortions that u can make on the pedal. I have no dislikes it perfect for a intermediate guitarist. // 10
Action, Fit & Finish: The Setup at the factory was ok. I still had fretbuzz but after a quick adjustment on the neck and bridge by my teacher it was fine. The pickups are fine as soon as you take it out of the box. The hardware is great and I have no complaints as of yet. // 8
Reliability & Durability: I definitely would play this at a gig, I'm bashed it into walls by accident and the finish has not chipped or anything, the hardware seems to last and the strap buttons are solid, but I suggest a strap lock if you plan really playing (ie headbanging while playing and doin the whole punk thing lol) I could definitely depend on it and would need a backup. // 8
Impression: As I said I play all kinds of rock and it matches perfectly. I have been playing for 3 years and its the best electric I've owned. I also have a Squier Fender electric and a lotus electric Fender Strat copy. My acoustic is a guild and that is so sweet. I asked every question imaginable before buying it and I love it. I would buy it again if I lost it or something but I also think I would possibly upgrade either a Gibson Lp or a Gibson SG. I love the humbucker sound and the action. I compared it to mexican Fender strats and a Epiphone SG and it surpassed them both if you are to get either a Strat or a SG, go with Fender american and Gibson SG. // 10
Reviewed by:
PunkRawk1224, on february 16, 2004 0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Price paid: $ 210
Purchased from: music123.com
Features: I have a 2003 model assembled in the U.S, I believe. It has 22 frets with a rosewood fretboard with dot inlays. It has 2 knobs, one for volume and there's one for tone. There's a 3 way selector:one for the bridge, one for the neck, and one for each. The Vintage sunburst finish is unbelievable and yet to be scratched. The guitar works well for rhythm and lead guitar work. // 10
Sound: The Epiphone LP suits my musical style perfectly. I play lots of emocore and such and the crunchy LP sound works perfectly with it. But I also play classic rock and some punk which also works with this guitar. I only use a 20 watt amp which it also sounds good with, but I tried it with a 65 watt amp (can't remember which company it was from) and it sounded perfectly. The rich, powerful sound of the LP Special II will blow you away. // 10
Action, Fit & Finish: The setup in the factory was alright. The body was nice and unscratched, the tuning pegs werent loose or anything, but rhythm/treble selector was already a tad bit loose when I received it but at least it hasn't gotten any worse. But the controls were loose also when I received it and lets just say it hasn't gotten any better. But besides that everything seems to be working nicely. // 6
Reliability & Durability: I haven't yet played live, but I've seen quite few people perform live with it and it definitely did not let them down. I always recommend carrying a backup guitar no matter how good the guitar may be, but if I had to choose one guitar not to have a backup with, then I would definitely choose the Special II. My strap comes off often, but I wouldn't completely blame teh strapbuttons, I have a crappy strap. But they are smaller than I would expect so I would definitely get some strap locks, especially if you plan on jumping around and headbanging. // 8
Impression: The Epiphone LP special 2 is definitely worth the money, it's the best one out there for the money (as someone already stated) of the other guitars I've tried (Fenders, Washburns, SG's), this is most definitely a fovorite of mine. I have been playing for about 3 years and I'm gonna have to say I'm a bit better than intermediate and the guitar is still suiting me. If I were to lose this guitar or it somehow got stolen, I would definitely but another one. I love the sound of this guitar and couldn't play without it. // 8
Reviewed by:
unregistered, on march 03, 2004 0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Price paid: $ 199.99
Purchased from: Sam Ash
Features: Made in USA.
22 Frets.
Controls - 1 volume, 1 tune, pickup slector switch-up rhythm middle-middle, down-treble.
Neck/Body - Mahogany.
Bridge - tune-o-matic.
Accesories - case, strap. // 10
Sound: This guitar suits anyones music style. I like punk rock and I use a Ephiphone amp and it sounds awesome together. The sound of the guitar is excellent when distorted and treble is up and creates and amazing rock/metal sound. There is one problem the sixth e string makes a buzzing noise if it is picked to hard which gets really annoying sometimes but other than that no other flaws. // 8
Action, Fit & Finish: // 8
Reliability & Durability: This guitar will withstands playing pretty well but a few neck adjustments might be required. I suggest you wipe down your guitar if you were swearing when playing because the finish gets ruined very easily. // 8
Impression: This guitar was an excellent match for me because I like punk rock and I have been playing for a year. I don't think I would buy it again though because I would rather save up my money for something else. This is a excellent beginner electric guitar. This a good guitar if you just don't have the money for the orginal les paul but it still produces an excellent sound. I like everything except for the buzzing string and I would rather have a maple neck because it's easier to slide your hand up and down the neck. // 8
Reviewed by:
unregistered, on november 23, 2004 0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Purchased from: Imuso.com
Features: My LP was made in China, but I'm not sure when it was made. It has 22 frets with dot in lays. I got it in hertiage cherry. It has the customary LP single cut-away. There is only 1 tone and volume cotrol with 3 way selector. There are 2 humbuckers. // 8
Sound: I play mostly Indie, but I also play some nu-metal and punk. I think it sounds pretty good, but then I play it out a MG30FDX. But still it fits any music style I play. As there is only one tone control, I can't do much to the sound but saying that the tones do sound very different. // 8
Action, Fit & Finish: The action is pretty good, no complaints and seemed to be set up in the factory very well. I've had to make now changes so far. I've read about the LP Special 2 and the most common complaint I've heard is that the strap buttons are always falling of. Well They ain't that bad. Not as good as my friend's SG the brige, nut etc. Are all fine nothing to complain about. It's got an elaminate fish which does leave alot of fingerprints but it isn't something really bad. // 8
Reliability & Durability: I would definatly play this live. It sounds as good as a Fender, if not better, and the best offer you'll ever get for a guitar. The hard ware seems as though it will last and I have no problems playing it. I can deffinatly depend on it. If I had to choose between my freinds Epiphone SG, my friends Strat or this, I would choose this. The only change I would make before going to a gig is the strap buttons. The finish would last, for at least 2-3 years before something really bad happens to it. And maybe, if I had to, I would play this without a back up. But then, this is my first electric and I don't have a back up. // 10
Impression: This deffinatly fits pretty much all types of rock and blues. I've been playing for just about a year, and I usually play rhythm but ocasionly lead. This is good for both. If this was lost, or stolen I would probably buy a epi Les Paul Standard or something a bit better than the special 2, but if ihad to choose a guitar under £300, I'd buy this anyday. I wish it had a whammy bar and maybe some more features. But overall this is the best guitar under £300 you'll find. // 10
Reviewed by:
unregistered, on november 29, 2004 0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Price paid: $ 236.07
Purchased from: GAK.CO.UK
Features: A basic, great sounding budget guitar. Now available for less than £150 online, why would you buy a cheapo Jap-O-Caster! Heavy solid well resonating body with a good cherry sunburst finish (for the price) and simple 3 way selector between two fairly well balanced humbuckers. // 8
Sound: I play blues, jazz and heavy metal in the bedroom, but use it for garage/punk live. Used with a russian Big Muff and a cheap flange it does the job for rhythm and solos. The clean perforamance is OK but feels more at home with a nice warm distortion. Very little noise or fret buzz. // 8
Action, Fit & Finish: Factory set-up suited me well for both action and pickup height. The only problem I have recently had was a dodgy connection in the pick-up selector (a widepread problem with this guitar). I will soon bastardising the guitar with some SD pickups. // 8
Reliability & Durability: Well played live (given a proper hammering to be fair) and has performed really well considering the abuse. One minor gripe is the angle of the strap buttons (coupled with the weight of the body) - I received a nasty blow to the face on stage, high amusing for the audience! Laquer is wearing thin at the back but not posing any problem. // 8
Impression: Out of three guitars I own, it is certainly the best value and is ideal for gigs where you wouldn't risk a £500+ Axe. Purely on cost this would get a 5 everytime and hardware aside there are not many differences from its Gibson countaparts (sorry label snobs!) If you are thinking of buying a Squier - try out the Epi LP Specials first, you won't regret it. // 10
Reviewed by:
DanTheMan7772, on july 22, 2005 0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Price paid: $ 150
Purchased from: Guitar Center
Features: For a guitar priced like this, you would expect the basic things but this guitar is incredible. This guitar includes a Mahogany neck, volume/tone controls, rosewood fingerboard, chrome hardware, plus a Switch that includes a "regular/rhythm/treble" Switch to change up your tone. // 10
Sound: The sound of the guitar is everything you would expect from a Les Paul. The amp I use with it A Fender Frontman 25R works together perfectly, combining the tones you love at just the right amount of choices. // 8
Action, Fit & Finish: When I recieved this guitar, it was in perfect condition, not a scratch to be found. The neck was already in the perfect possition, none of the controls where loss. Excellent quality. // 8
Reliability & Durability: I believe the only complaint I have about this guitar is that some guitar strings tend to pull out of tune easily. It is a very dependable guitar besides this flaw. After a couple months of playing, the out of tune problem ends. I would recommend this for gigs, and it will last you for years to come. // 8
Impression: This guitar plays my style of music perfectly. It has the tone we're known to love from Les Paul and in a cheaper package. I would recommend to beginners and advanced students alike. // 8
Reviewed by:
unregistered, on july 07, 2005 0 of 1 people found this review helpful
Purchased from: Soundsmusical.com
Features: This one is made in China but not sure when. It is fitted with 10-46 gauge strings and uses 2 open coil humbuckers. It also has 1 tone and volume and a 3-way selector Switch. Some may say that the 1 tone control is not enough, but I feel that simplicity is the best and you can still get pretty decent tones. // 8
Sound: This guitar is perfect for what I play which is lots of punk rock like The Clash, Sum 41 and Green Day. This guitar is especially suited to the newer American Idiot Green Day stuff since you would have noticed that Billie Joe is using a Gibson Les Paul Junior. I can also get a wide range of tones with the Switch and tone control. Though you need to get a decent amp to fully appreciate this since by crappy 10w amp buzzes so much when the tone gets too heavy. // 10
Action, Fit & Finish: The factory set-up was good, pickups work fine and no complaints yet as to poor tuning pegs and selector Switch. Though one complaint is the strap buttons. They work fine with my crappo cheap strap, but when I use my more expensice one, because of the thnickness of the tips on one side of the strap, I have a real trouble putting it on, and when I do, the strap button is wrecking my strap. // 6
Reliability & Durability: I will definitely use this for live playing and it sems quite durable. // 8
Impression: I think this is a perfect match for any style of music and if you want the Gibson Les Paul sound but dont have the pocket for it, the Special is definitely a good choice. Also the actual look of the guiatr is awesome (Vintage sunburst) and to the untrained eye, this guiatr looks like it could be worth a few bob (money). // 10
Reviewed by:
darigaaz2022, on september 01, 2005 0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Price paid: $ 150
Purchased from: Rik's Guitar Center
Features: This guitar is very basic. A couple of humbuckers and 1 volume and tone control. Everything on this quitar works perfectly. Can't ask for a better deal. // 10
Sound: I'm a heavy rocker who also likes to take a break and kick it back real mellow. This thing can play both styles with ease. I love this thing better than my friend's Fender is which cost over twice as much. It has awesome lows but still can belt out screaching high notes. I run mine through a Roland Cube 30 amp and it sounds amazing. I also use a DigiTech Grunge pedal and the combination is right for any kind of heavy rock. // 10
Action, Fit & Finish: Only problem here is the action can be hard to adjust. It works fine though once fixed up. Slight buzz in the lower tunings though. Finish and fir are what you would expect at this level. // 8
Reliability & Durability: This thing last like you wouldnt believe. I've only had 1 problem with this guitar, and that was the output jack got loose and the nut got stuck. As a result the jack swivled in the mount and twisted the wires and cut the connection. This was easily fixed but it was a little bit of a pain. Everything else survived hell and works fine. // 10
Impression: This is a perfect guitar for a beginner. It sounds better than a lot of other guitars that are more expensive. I would choose this over a BC Rich Bronze Warlock, or a Fender Standard Strat or Tele. You could not ask for a better deal. // 10
Reviewed by:
angusyoungwb, on september 19, 2005 1 of 2 people found this review helpful
Purchased from: Carlton's Music
Features: There's 21 frets, mahogany neck wood, volume and tone controls, rythmic, treble and normal conrols like all Les Pauls, and mine came with a strap. That's all I can remember from memory. // 8
Sound: This guitar suits my music style really well. I play mostly AC/DC, Metallica, GN'R, then lots of modern stuff too. Right now I'm using a cheap First Act amp with gain, tone, and volume. It's my first amp and I am hoping for a new one soon. The Special 2 on the amp is not that bad just really a practice amp and the guitar is not that noisy unless you have a lot of gain or distortion on a cheap amp. This guitar has a bright sound but with a good amp you can get very good distortion. This guitar can play all kinds of music just you need to have a good amp. // 8
Action, Fit & Finish: I bought the guitar used but it came with everything in good and working order. The guitar doesn't have much flaws except the strap buttons came loose. // 10
Reliability & Durability: This guitar can definitly play live. It seems as though it could last a lifetime. My strap buttons like I said came loose but I tried other Special 2 on expensive amps and the buttons were fine on those. This guitar is pretty dependable and I would use it without a backup. The finish is great. // 10
Impression: I play classic to modern rock and it blends well. I've been playing for 3 months but I practice for about 6 hours every day. I own a cheap First Act amp and a black strap. If it were stolen I would definitly get a new one of these. I love the great Les Paul with the price. I hate I didn't get it sooner. I love the Les Paul sound and feel with the price and availibility. If you are looking for a beginner or intermediate guitar then this is the one. // 10
Reviewed by:
Preszombie, on september 08, 2003 1 of 2 people found this review helpful
Purchased from: Local Music Store
Features: 2001 model
22 Extra Jumbo Frets
Solid Top
1 Volume 1 Tone 3-way selector controls
H/H pickup configuration
Factory pickups
Active electronics
Maple body w/rosewood fingerboard
Black satin finish
Les Paul body style
Stop Tailpiece bridge style
Factory locking tuners
Rosewood jumbo frets
No included accessories // 8
Sound: This guitar suits my musical style incredibly well. I play mostly rhythmn and a little lead and this guitar complements my style well. It has a very mean, crunchy punch when playing with distortion much like all Les Pauls, but a very clear, clean tone and sound at the same time. I'm using a small Crate GFX and a Peavey Raptor Plus with a DigiTech RP50 effects processor and the sound is AMAZING for an inexpensive beginner's model guitar. I am not a beginner, but yet I'd rather play this guitar over any others that I have. The guitar does have a tendency to get a little noisy when lots of distortion is used at the max volume level, but a simple noise compressor can solve that problem easily which is what I do. Very rich and full sound, just like a Les Paul should sound. This guitar can be used to play lead, but it better suites a distorted, crunchy rhythmn. I like pretty much everything about this guitar and I have no dislikes except that maybe more tone and volume controls could have been given. // 10
Action, Fit & Finish: The guitar was set up with great Gibson/Epiphone quality. The pickups were adjusted perfect. There are no noticable flaws with this guitar. // 10
Reliability & Durability: This guitar will definately withstand live playing and hardware seems as if it will last for a long time. I have had to replace NOTHING but broken strings. The finish has not worn off yet, so it looks good in that area. With a little cleaning this guitar is always shiny and nice looking. The strap buttons are solid, but are a little small and would probably require a strap-lock depending on what kind of strap being used. I depend on this guitar when playing and I feel as if I can always depend on it. I would also feel comfortable using this guitar on a gig without a backup, but that is never recommended no matter what guitar you are using if it can be helped. // 10
Impression: I play mostly heavy metal/Hard Rock and this guitar is a perfect match for those styles. I have been playing for almost 4 years and this is the best guitar I have. I own another guitar (A Peavey Raptor Plus stratoscaster). If this guitar were stolen or lost I would probably upgrade to a better Les Paul, though this guitar is definately a guitar for someone who is wanting to try out a Les Paul. // 8
Reviewed by:
Gabel, on october 05, 2005 0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Purchased from: Förstärkardoktorn
Features: // 7
Sound: I play rock and punk, mostly Nirvana, AC/DC, The Clash, The Ramones, Guns N' Roses and White Stripes. It suits that well. The two pickups are really good (esceppally for that price). It covers almost every humbucker sound you need. I run it through a cheap Behringer 15w amp (but I'm going to get a Vox amp. My father plays in a band and tried to play through a Marshall amp and said: woah, great sound! I relly like the sound! // 9
Action, Fit & Finish: It was poorly tuned when we bought it, but that was the stores fault. The pickups were fine! I didn't need to change the setting there. Everything was routed fine. No flaws from the factory (bad tuning, stores fault). Everything else was top notch! // 9
Reliability & Durability: I have not tried to play live, but I dropped it once and smashed the head into walls sometimes, and no flaws at all! I took it with on a trip with my class. Everything execpt the tuning was fine! It's really reliable, but it goes out of tune really fast. I only needed to change the e string once (beacouse I hit it to hard with my pick, so my fault) everything works. I could play a gig without a backup, but only if you have a tuner/good tuning "ear." // 8
Impression: It works great with my music and a bit more. I have been playing it for 6 months, still in "out of the factory condition." Great guitar for great price, if you need a good guitar but only want to spend 300 dollars, this is a great altenative. If it was stolen I would not buy a new one though. I would either buy a Gibson Les Paul or an Epiphone Standard Les Paul. I don't miss any faetures. // 9
Reviewed by:
Demagogue01, on june 14, 2005 1 of 2 people found this review helpful
Price paid: $ 100
Purchased from: Guitar Center
Features: First off, all Epiphone parts are made in China, but the guitars ar assembled and inspected here in the usa at the Gibson factory, so all Epiphones are basically Gibsons with a smaller price tag. My guitar is a 2004 junoir model. This has nothing to do with size, just features. My guitar came with one open coil humbucker and volume and tone controls. It has a gloss black finish with a protective clear coat on both the body and frets, like most other Epiphones. // 6
Sound: I usually play hard rock, and this guitar works very well. It seems to sound very good no matter what style I play tho, wether it be hard rock, classic rock, soft accoustic songs, solos, or whatever. I have a cheap little Squire Sidekick with overdrive, and a 15 watt Marshall with basic distortion, and a DigiTech Death Metal pedal. It sounds good using the pedal on eithr amp, or the Marshall's distortion, but the Squire's overdrive just sucks. Either amp sounds perfectly clear and sounds great when played clean. // 8
Action, Fit & Finish: Overall this guitar came in excellent condition. All the wood is good with no flaws and all the meatl and hardware is bran new with no problems. Everything was perfect and ready to go except for one thing. The action was too high, way off from the Epiphone suggested height, but it was very easy to set it to my likings. // 8
Reliability & Durability: This guitar will definatly withstand live playing. I've used it a lot and never had any problems with it. I don't expect the finish to wear any time soon. The pickup prolly wont last too long seeing how its open, and dirt and other stuff seems to be magnatized to it. At a gig I would use a back up either way just in case a bolt of lightning from god strikes my guitar, but I would definatly keep the back up in the van. // 10
Impression: This guitar works very well for my style, and any other. It plays very easy, and I can do anything I want with this guitar, except for use a wammy bar. I've been playing for just over a year and have a acoustic guitar as well, and have played many of my friends guitars, and I like this one the most. There is nothing really that I hate about the guitar, but it would be nice to have the higher model with more features. If it were stolen I would hunt down the person who did it and kill them. But if I couldnt find the prson, or my guitar got run over by a Mac truck somehow, I would definately by another Special 2 without hesitation. For the price, this is arguably the best guitar. // 8
Reviewed by:
Burpbelly, on june 14, 2005 1 of 2 people found this review helpful
Features: // 10
Sound: I play mainly rock (stuff like The Strokes, Supergrass, Blur, Oasis RHCP) and this guitar suits those styles perfectly. I use a Zoom Fire 30 amp and occaisionally run it through a Korg AX10G effects processor. It has a nice full sound and tone is really variable, flicking the Switch to rhythm and turning the tone right down makes it sound like an acoustic. I really like the sound although it may be more to do with my equipment, the only comparison equipment is the shitty stuff at school so no comparison really. // 10
Action, Fit & Finish: This guitar came to me in perfect condition, the only thing is there is dust in the tone control so it makes this fuzzy sound when I alter that setting. And the strings that came with it were cut too short, which didn't really matter 'cause I bought a new set of strings at the same time. Other than that it was set up perfectly. // 8
Reliability & Durability: // 10
Impression: As I have previously said this guitar suits my style perfectly. Mind you any electric guitar suits my style. I've been playing guitar for about a year now although I've been playing bass for 2 and a half years and own a Peavey milestone III (which by the way is a top bass). My dad has a very old acoustic guitar and a Crafter FX550 (or sumething like that) but I much prefer playing my LP Special. I simply love this guitar, from the perfect action to the wobbly humbuckers. I am getting a new guitar however, an Epiphone Dot ES-335 semi acoustic, but I'm keeping this as a backup. If it were stolen I'd use my 335 without a backup until I got some more money then buy this guitar again as a backup or for when a different style was called for, like (if you've seen Oasis live) you'll see Noel Gallagher do for different styles of songs. // 10
Reviewed by:
unregistered, on april 04, 2005 0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Purchased from: ivars music
Features: I have no idea what year this guitar was made. What I do know is that it was made in Gabor in China, and a sticker on the back of the headstock says it was inspected by J. J. Les Paul body and stringing system. Two knobs: one volume, one tone. I haven't checked the materiels. Two humbuckers and a three way selecter. My first ever electric guitar. Had it for about a half year. Have not changed five of the strings for a half year. Looks cool in black. Falls a bit out of tone bout twice a week. The distance between the frets is a bit small in the upper parts, and I can comfertable play 18 of the 21 frets. // 8
Sound: been playing for bout a year now, and I play mostly blues/rock, and ocasionally raggea, or country. It suits my style great. Always wanted a Les Paul, and this one is great. Pretty full sound. Maybe its my amp, but I find I hard to get a sharp tone on the lower registers. I use a Peavy Rage. It sounds pretty good distorted. On clean I can adjust between sharp rock tone, and rich bluesy tone just by twisting the tone knob. // 8
Action, Fit & Finish: The action on this thing is great, even tho I get a bit of buzz on the two lowest strings (E and A) the bridges are perfect. I haven't adjusted anything about this guitar since I bought it, and it still sounds great. Black finish looks cool, but unfourtunatly it makes smudges and schratches very visible. No major dents. No dents at all actually. I've never actually dropped it, but I have banged the head a few times, and its still perfect. Finish on sides of fretboard is worn off a bit after bending. // 8
Reliability & Durability: I have never played a gig, but I think you could do it whith this guitar. Not whithout a backup though. Apart from a ocasional slip from the tuners, the hardware I perfect. The finish is prone to minor schratches, but otherwise great. // 10
Impression: I love this guitar, and I will probably have use of it for many more years. I have been playing for a year, and play this through a Peavy Rage. It sounds great, but a bit noisy. My favorite feature is a Les Paul. To me there is nothing missing. If it where lost or stolen, I might buy a more expensive Epiphone Les Paul or SG copy, or even a Gibson. But if I had little money I definitly would buy this guitar agein. It's an Epiphone. // 10
Reviewed by:
AlMoStSaNe, on december 27, 2004 1 of 2 people found this review helpful
Purchased from: Musician's Friend
Features: Six months ago, I had just my Ibanez GRX-40, and I wanted a new guitar. My 16th birthday was coming up, and thats when I wantd to get my new guitar. Now, like many others, my parents (usually) controlled what I got, expecially something that's over $100. My parents are not rich, so I needed to find an affordable and goood-valued guitar. But me, I just wanted a Paul, so I found the cheapest one I could find; the Epiphone Les Paul Special 2, for 150 (I got a custom paint job that was $50 extra). Made in Asia, this Paul comes with 22 frets on a dot-inlayed fretboard. Though the neck was thocker than my Ibanez, I found this to be a plus side, there wasn't as much extra space between my fingers and the fretboard. Comes with a standard Paul body, but its not carved-top. Two open-coil humbuckers, one volume and one tone control, and a standerd Les Paul bridge make this one nice-looking guitar. // 8
Sound: I play hardcore/posthardcore music, some heavy stuff like As I Lay Dying, and some not-so-hard stuff, like From First To Last and Blindside, and let me tell you, there is no better guitar for octaves than this. It sounds amazing on distortion channels, but I usually play out of a Roland Cube-15, and the clean channel is rough at higher sound levels. But distortion is sweet! With my Boss DS-1 Distortion pedal, it will knock your socks off. And plugging into a Marshall half? Watch out Kirk! // 8
Action, Fit & Finish: No flaws, action is great. From soloing to shredding rhythm guitar, this is it. // 10
Reliability & Durability: This guitar would be great for live playing, because I actually saw a guy play with it at a gig I went to. It was pretty rad. The only concern I have with are the pickups - open-coil pickups just don't seem like they would last forever. Everything else is really great though, the finish is good, the straps are solid. // 8
Impression: For my post-hardcore/hardcore style, there wouldn't be a better guitar for the price. Playing for about two years now, this guitar is pretty good, and I thoroughly enjoy it. If I did lose this guitar, I would make my parents get a Studio or something, just because I would want to upgrade, and get a carved top and gold hardware. But her, if you're living with cheap people or your budget doesn't allow for $4,000,000,000 guitars, then pick this one up for sure! // 8
Reviewed by:
ALKoHoLiK, on april 12, 2005 0 of 1 people found this review helpful
Purchased from: 3
Features: // 6
Sound: The style of music I play it suits it very well.. I like alot of Metallica, Guns N' Roses, AC/DC ect. I am currently using a Marshall MGCDR15 and that's what makes my guitar sound bad. In the clean it is very clean and I like it, and the distortion sucks, it's all muddy. I can go from Thunderstruck to Nothing Else Matters and it sounds damn awesome. I like everything about my guitar except the pickup's and the tuning pegs, everything else it is awesome for my first electric. // 6
Action, Fit & Finish: Mine is still factory and I love it, I might lower the action a bit, but not anytime soon. The pickups for me adjusted very well, again a little on the weak side, but what do you expect from a 149 dollar guitar. The only flaw that was on my guitar was on the fret board and there was a large scratch on the 13th fret looked like someone drug there fingernail across it. The only thing that gave me a problem is that the soddering on the wires on the inside got loose and broke off so I had to resodder it, and the input nut comes off very easily. // 6
Reliability & Durability: // 6
Impression: I play alot of classic rock, and metal. It ranges from AC/DC to Led Zepp. I've been playing now 8 months, before this I had an Epiphone acoustic to get me started. How well put together is the harware on the inside? If this were stolen I would save my money up some more and get a higher end Epi so I wouldn't have to deal with the hardware problems. I wish this guitar had 4 knobs instead of just 2, and a little better pickups. It's a good starter guitar. // 6
Reviewed by:
unregistered, on june 02, 2005 2 of 5 people found this review helpful
Price paid: $ 79
Purchased from: Second Hand Music
Features: Don't know too much about the features, haven't been bothered to really check it out. I know that the pick ups are shitty though, don't it them on anything even slightly or they go all buggy on you. The finish I got is this nifty red colour, truly kick ass. // 6
Sound: I play just about anything and well, it handles it pretty well. Though you don't get much in the ways of variety of sounds. I find that the guitar doesn't sound all that good. // 6
Action, Fit & Finish: Don't know about the factory settings since I got it used. Though not really used, it was played twice beforehand. And yes, it did have a flaw, a poorly filed fretwire up at the 13th fret on the high e string, doesn't allow the 12th to sound. Anyways, simple repair so no worries. // 6
Reliability & Durability: I would not take this to a gig, the damn thing'd prolly fall apart on me. An' the strap buttons really bite, gonna lose one of them very soon. The one thing I do praise highly though is the finish, that stuff is not coming off any time soon. And I've hit this thing on stuff numerous times and it still hasn't fallen apart on me so all is well I suppose. // 6
Impression: Like I said before, I play most anything an it is pretty suiting. I've been playing for about half a year now and I've got is some shitty amp, I really need a new one. Before buying this, I really wish I had found out about the fretwire repair I was gonna need to get. Heh, if the thing were stolen I would indefinately buy something else. Though I will say this much, it is a good beginner guitar. I hate the pick ups and the strap buttons, really should buy a new guitar. Unfortunately, when I bought this guitar I had no playing experience so I couldn't test it against other guitars, though upon playing my guitar teacher's Strat once I'm thinkin' that may be the way I go when I finally get my new guitar if only I weren't so goddamned poor. Oh, I do like the tuning pegs, they hold quite nicely, only time I need to retune it, essentially, is after taking it out of the case (only have a gig bag and it squishes it outta tune). Anyways, overall this is a damn good guitar for starting off. // 8
Reviewed by:
unregistered, on june 14, 2005 0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Price paid: $ 239
Purchased from: Mom's Music
Features: // 8
Sound: I play mostly rock, from classic rock to punk to metal. I use it with a Marshall amp and it sounds good. I use a DigiTech Bad Monkey for my distortion and a DigiTech RP50 for my other effects. It sounds great with the Bad Monkey. The sounds on this guitar go from chunky rhythms, to super high leads. // 10
Action, Fit & Finish: The set-up was great when I got it. The pickups were adjusted great. There were no flaws on the guitar. Other than the strings it was great. It has pretty good action for what I need it for. // 8
Reliability & Durability: I have used this guitar live and it did it's job. The hardware seems pretty good. The strap buttons are ok. I would depend on it live without a back. // 10
Impression: I play mostly rock and it suits me well. I've been playing for 3 years, and I also own 2 acoustics. If this guitar were lost or stolen, I would probally try to upgrade to an Epiphone Les Paul Custom, or a Gibson SG. I've compared this guitar to the cheapo Squier Strats and Teles and for $20 more you can get a Les Paul. // 10
Reviewed by:
unregistered, on november 22, 2005 0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Price paid: $ 276.5
Purchased from: Long&mcquade
Features: // 5
Sound: It suites my style well which is AC/DC, Zeppelin, Green Day etc. and any kinda good rock or punk or metal. I'm useing a Marshall 15CD with no pedals but it sounds great on distortion. It's noisy if I turn everything up but if I have middle volume, low trebile high bass and full distortion it sounds great. A mix of all kinds of sounds it can sound rich and full if I play lightly bright if I play it moderaltely hard and very muddy and deep if I beat the hell out of it. // 6
Action, Fit & Finish: I fiddled around with that the seconed I got it so I don't know the action was. I didn't adjust the pickups 'cause they were fine for me. no flaws apart from the non-strap locking bouttons but oh well. // 9
Reliability & Durability: after the beatings it's gotten from hitting my floor well I was doing something similar to Angus Young and running around with it yeah it will. Yeah the hardware seems good though I am still a beginer so not sure. The strap buttons suck. I'd use a backup at a gig but the exact same guitar. It's soild the finish beucause I use heavy picks and play hard on it and it's good. // 8
Impression: I play rock, metal and punk and it's an amazing match. Been playing since July. Nope it was a day present so I don't know. If it were lost or stolen I'd ball my eyes out I love this guitar. I love almost everything about it but hate the wight of it. No it was a day present so I didn't get to compair. Yes buy it but exspect your fingers and back to hurt afterwards and get Boomer 9 strings they really are great. // 10
black_sabbath12
: about 3 monthes ago i went to Florida and when i was there i got a Les Paul Special 2 for $160 american.
best thing i ever bought, before this all i had was a behringer strat from a pawn shop.i would recommend this guitar for anybody, it has great ditortion on any kind of amp.anyways, anybody looking for a cheap guitar with a great look and a great sound get a Les Paul!!! POSTED: 07/22/2006 - 12:32 pm / quote|
edwardthegreat5
: Man, no wonder my review was rejected, there's like 50 reviews on here already.
I should've looked at this beforehand. POSTED: 08/03/2006 - 12:10 am / quote|
RandyRhoads12
: WTF? This guitar is horrible, Ive used 3 different ones and they all sounded horrible. POSTED: 12/25/2006 - 09:28 pm / quote|
bc2025
: ive got the hot rod edtion and it rocks! aslong as you replace the pickups with EMG's but this rocks Like Hell POSTED: 01/11/2007 - 10:07 am / quote|
InuYasha259
: is it worth my time puttin in a emg 85 for the neckl and a seymour duncan sh6 for the bridge? i'm trying to decide if i should put them in this or my bc rich warlock or get an esp viper POSTED: 01/17/2007 - 07:17 am / quote|
Zwart
: get an esp viper ! POSTED: 01/18/2007 - 03:17 pm / quote|
evill22
: This is by far the best guitar that I've ever owned! The sustain is incredible on this, as well as the look. Very nice guitar! POSTED: 01/26/2007 - 02:07 pm / quote|
ronan-the-great
: dont put those pickups in waste of money on a piece of shit guitar like this. those pickups cost more than the actual guitar POSTED: 02/24/2007 - 11:38 am / quote|
Phill-Rock
: I got the Epiphone Les Paul Special (the first one) years ago, wonder what the difference is.... POSTED: 03/14/2007 - 10:40 am / quote|
TwistedLogic
: I have one of these and the guitar itself is nice enough. I like playing the neck and find the dimensions of the neck to be alright but the pick ups suck like there is no tomorrow. I moved up to a dot deluxe. The special two sucks like there is not tomorrow when played next to me epi dot, and the dot is not all the great either. I personally am looking to put some burstbuckers on the special model and will be very happy after that. POSTED: 03/14/2007 - 02:15 pm / quote|
ixion
: nmot being harsh... but its a 200$ guitar... have you ever played a real PRS? tell me this: play for 5/10 years. Get actually good.. then play a PRS then play that.. then tell me if its the best guiitar ever.. liek wtf.. how can it get 10 for everything on reviews.. played one myself.. nothing special.. pick ups have low sustain and go muddey.. POSTED: 03/14/2007 - 03:59 pm / quote|
nmot being harsh... but its a 200$ guitar... have you ever played a real PRS? tell me this: play for 5/10 years. Get actually good.. then play a PRS then play that.. then tell me if its the best guiitar ever.. liek wtf.. how can it get 10 for everything on reviews.. played one myself.. nothing special.. pick ups have low sustain and go muddey..
true ,true but it is possible to get a really good tone
out of a special 2
: checked.. POSTED: 03/15/2007 - 12:12 am / quote|
METSOAD
: how much do they cost in the UK? POSTED: 03/16/2007 - 10:03 am / quote|
Korzack
: they're about 200 UK. However, you're better off getting s Vintage version of a Les Paul for that money - these are shoddy. Remember tryin one of these out when looking for a cheap upgrade, there's a very good reason why they're 100 cheaper than the rest of the epi range. The pickups are god-awful. Mind you, it is an entry level guitar, so ya pays ya money & ya pays your chances. Personally, i'd go for the vintage version (V99/100 I belive) POSTED: 03/26/2007 - 02:51 pm / quote|
frankthewolfman
: would ti be better to go with this or the epiphone lp 100?
Bloodtoxic
: picked one of these up as i needed a third guitar all different tunings. and for the price of the lowest entry level Epiphone/gibson guitar it sounds amazing the bridge pickup is incredibly smooth for leads. i find the neck a little thick almost accoustic like. found them only in cherry sunburst and black sunburst but recently seen designer painjobs on them
easy to get used to.well balanced standing or sitting.
and again the sound just fabulous i know there are much better models but for the price one cant go wrong
8.5/10 POSTED: 04/18/2007 - 05:20 pm / quote|
Bloodtoxic
: for a cheap guitar it sings well
a good guitar doesnt make a better player, but a good player can make even a shitty guitar sound good. POSTED: 05/23/2007 - 06:06 am / quote|
bokuho
: Friend of mine got one of these just a couple of weeks back. Used it a bit, it seems decent considering the price, but Epiphone make some much better guitars too, and virtually all Epi's are cheap anyway. Unless you really are looking for the absolute cheapest LP out there, I'd say you're better off going with an Epi LP Standard - still cheap, and sounds a helluva lot better POSTED: 05/24/2007 - 07:36 am / quote|
a good guitar doesnt make a better player, but a good player can make even a shitty guitar sound good.
it's about time sumone realized this..well said, my man. i totally agree, and although this guitar may not be as good as a Gibson LP model, i think it plays surprisingly well for the price. i'd use it in a gig. POSTED: 05/24/2007 - 06:35 pm / quote|
jcs5234
: my gf's little brother has this guitar, and it plays surprisingly well for its price, but the intonation is bad and the neck isn't straight. oh well...what do u expect for 100 bucks? POSTED: 05/24/2007 - 10:08 pm / quote|
mrmen
: I have one that I got for Christmas 06. Before that I had a Squier strat. The first thing i noticed was how much easier it was to play, it's a lot lighter, smaller and sounds lovely with the humbuckers. I would reccomend as a starter guitar over the Squier, although build quality may not be quitae as good. POSTED: 05/25/2007 - 05:42 pm / quote|
dont put those pickups in waste of money on a piece of shit guitar like this. those pickups cost more than the actual guitar
Hey ******* i have this exact guitar and model so go play the only instrument you can play , the SKIN FLUTE and screw off, this guitar sounds amazing. POSTED: 05/27/2007 - 08:48 pm / quote|
would ti be better to go with this or the epiphone lp 100?
Yes, because the special 2 wont last you very long, and is made out of very cheap hardware, therefore making only good fot a beginers guitar. The lp 100 however is made out of better materials, and is more suited to intermediate players. But for the price, because of its lame pickups and flat top and bolt on neck, I'd fish out an extra few bucks for a lp studio. They're just as good as a standard without the binding, and the trapezoid inlays. POSTED: 06/27/2007 - 07:37 pm / quote|
dont put those pickups in waste of money on a piece of shit guitar like this. those pickups cost more than the actual guitar
Hey ***** i have this exact guitar and model so go play the only instrument you can play , the SKIN FLUTE and screw off, this guitar sounds amazing.
Ronan is right, this guitar is a piece of poop. Flat top, crap wood, bolt on neck, crap pickups; but hey, it's a 200 dollar guitar; if it even passes as a guitar. Get a standard or studio. POSTED: 07/05/2007 - 01:32 pm / quote|
AllOpenStrings
: i bought this last year for $230 CAD, and i really enjoy it. the distortion is great through my line 6, and so are the cleans so lonag as its on rhythm or middle.... love the neck, pickups are good but i could use some better hardware. highly recommended for a beginner over a squier . i think ive "outgrown" it as a player, so i think ima get an ltd ec-1000 deluxe with the emg 81-60's. anyone got a different recommendation? POSTED: 07/17/2007 - 06:54 pm / quote|
mobius90
: this guitar is good for beginners, i learnt on it. but man...i could push the neck, and it would bend and sound like a whammy bar :S its not supposed to be able to do that.... POSTED: 07/24/2007 - 04:46 am / quote|
travis012345678
: Man I've had nothing but problems with this guitar. I do like the sound, but the wires inside it keep coming loose, I even took it back after it did it the second time, and got a new one and it started doing the same thing. But like I said it has a good sound. POSTED: 08/01/2007 - 11:06 pm / quote|
2p1k3
: I am learning how to play and I like how the guitar feels. I have no idea about sound and such things but I am extremely happy with what I got for $150. Sure I imagine that as I get better I might buy a better one but I did not see the point yet. It's like buying a Ferarri for a 18 year old who just got his license. POSTED: 08/02/2007 - 05:03 pm / quote|
I am learning how to play and I like how the guitar feels. I have no idea about sound and such things but I am extremely happy with what I got for $150. Sure I imagine that as I get better I might buy a better one but I did not see the point yet. It's like buying a Ferarri for a 18 year old who just got his license.
good analogy my friend POSTED: 08/07/2007 - 02:38 pm / quote|
WickedBeast666
: I'm surprised my Review made it on here. Alot of people in the comments don't seem to like the guitar, and I can see where they are comeing from. With that said though, Can you see where this guitar would be great for a beginner who can't afford the gear that you can? POSTED: 09/06/2007 - 12:33 pm / quote|
blackdeath1523
: The rythm guitarist for my band stupidly got this guitar when he could have got like a low end ibanez for the price. I personally dont like it. It's got nothing on my dxmg. The bridge doesn't move AT ALL and the tuners felt extremly cheap. I tried to tune it and I could turn it and it wouldn't change. I guess it would be good for a beginner unless you pimp it out with some better tuners and duncans or something. POSTED: 09/08/2007 - 07:34 am / quote|
fredzeskater
: I got this guitar off my m8 4 £125, so ya.
It is an awesome guitar
i havent played it recently tho coz my B string snapped, and i replaced it with a lower gauge, so its thinner than the E string LOL POSTED: 09/22/2007 - 01:57 pm / quote|
nmot being harsh... but its a 200$ guitar... have you ever played a real PRS? tell me this: play for 5/10 years. Get actually good.. then play a PRS then play that.. then tell me if its the best guiitar ever.. liek wtf.. how can it get 10 for everything on reviews.. played one myself.. nothing special.. pick ups have low sustain and go muddey..
true ,true but it is possible to get a really good tone
out of a special 2
i agree
you just have to get really used to the specifications
ive played quite a few prs`s myself and didnt like them as much tone wise but that might just have been the amps i used POSTED: 10/03/2007 - 12:49 am / quote|
|\puto_rodas/|
: have it for an year,
for the price, not bad at all.
but U get to a certain level that U got to get another thing...
a thing that U can really play like crazy!
Althought, Ive seen beginners guitars,
and few can reach this relation of price / quality,
the pickups are pretty much reasonable for the price.
I think that's all...
well, all in all, I want to get a ****in dxmg, or a dk2m dinky...by Jackson of "xore..."
Metal it Dudes! POSTED: 10/22/2007 - 08:16 pm / quote|
|\puto_rodas/|
: by the way...
check out the SPECIAL II review, on the search box...
kinda funny aint it?
xD
who cares... POSTED: 10/22/2007 - 08:17 pm / quote|
|\puto_rodas/|
: WHAT?!
"I went for an entire year (moderate usage) without changing the strings, and none of them broke."
that guy is crazy!!!
U must have played a lot of times han...
or else you'd see a lot o strings broke.
not sayin I play smoothly, but an entire year with this guitar must be a lot of luck.
guess thats really all xD POSTED: 10/22/2007 - 08:20 pm / quote|
MarcoGE
: I've had it for about two months now and I broke my strings two times... But I don't play really smoothly, even if I don't play trully violently.
I think it's a good guitar for its price. If you have a good amp it can sound really good. POSTED: 10/29/2007 - 07:09 pm / quote|
ripjoestrummer
: I was gonna ge this guitar, but I got a telecaster custom instead. And I'm very happy with it. this guitar is a piece of shit. POSTED: 11/04/2007 - 11:35 am / quote|
eggy1991
: what drives me CRAZY about this site, you all slate a £109/$200 guitar and try to compare it to a Gibson, Ibanez, Fender whatever!
it is cheap, it is for beginners/just to play around on, not meant to be top of the range!
My friend has this, and i personally love the sound!
quit comparing low end equpiment to top of the range stock! POSTED: 11/04/2007 - 04:14 pm / quote|
they're about 200 UK. However, you're better off getting s Vintage version of a Les Paul for that money - these are shoddy. Remember tryin one of these out when looking for a cheap upgrade, there's a very good reason why they're 100 cheaper than the rest of the epi range. The pickups are god-awful. Mind you, it is an entry level guitar, so ya pays ya money & ya pays your chances. Personally, i'd go for the vintage version (V99/100 I belive)
Actually, at the time of writing, they were about £110 if you looked in the right places. They've come down to £99 now mind. So they've basically made the junior obsolete. POSTED: 12/02/2007 - 11:20 am / quote|
ich-komme
: And another thing, why do people say they were gonna get one of these but got something else cos the specials a piece of shit. Do you not try one out before you decide to get one? POSTED: 12/02/2007 - 11:21 am / quote|
LoveIsHell
: this is an ok guitar for the price, though id rather get the esp ec-50 for a little bit more...thats a great guitar for a budget price! POSTED: 12/03/2007 - 02:38 pm / quote|
garrett5
: for The price, this guitar is sweet, I picked one up they other day.
Snarx
: I just got one and really like it. I'm just a beginer though. I plugged it in to my Fender BXA100 bass amp just for grins and I think it sounds great. I even plugged it into my Digi BP200 pedal and had a blast screwing around. It drove my wife nuts. I only paid 105.00 US so it really is a nice guitar for beginers like myself. I would recommend the Special II for beginers, it's got a good feel and decent action. POSTED: 12/28/2007 - 03:59 pm / quote|
jermzxsugarx
: I have had this guitar for about a year, ive dropped it many times, slammed the headstock into the wall while playing it and it still sounds excellent, it sounds good for most music styles and works great with my boss ds-1 distortion pedal and diplomat amp POSTED: 12/29/2007 - 12:24 pm / quote|
GenocideMetalhe
: i have a question about this guitar:
could you get any pinch harmonics with the stock pickups? POSTED: 01/05/2008 - 03:12 am / quote|
Rock Strongo
: I don't like dot inlays on les pauls.. They just don't seem to fit. POSTED: 01/05/2008 - 10:19 pm / quote|
Bloody Impusle
: I got this same guitar for christmas and it is great. except for the fact that when i got it, i had to adjust the pickups on it because they were way to far away from the strings and sounded like crap. but this guitar is very flexible. POSTED: 01/06/2008 - 01:39 am / quote|
kari king
: The special 2 is unquestionably the best guitar ever produced for sound, playability and finish irrelivent of price or make truly the guitar of choice for the professional musician POSTED: 02/24/2008 - 06:22 am / quote|
Kynyster_K
: my friend has on of these, but the back pickup stopped working after like a month... when he switches the 3 way switch to the back pup, it dont make a sound... POSTED: 03/20/2008 - 03:57 pm / quote|
taylordtriplett
: this was my first guitar. i love it. if it just had jumbo frets i would be so happy! POSTED: 03/25/2008 - 02:56 am / quote|
jon3782001
: This was my first guitar also, I put a Fender strat neck on it, looks silly but holds the tune perfectly. Great for Oasis and early nineties music then you can just stick it into a marshall and stick overdrive on and there's your classic rock tone! 10/10 for this personally. POSTED: 03/30/2008 - 09:42 am / quote|
I was gonna ge this guitar, but I got a telecaster custom instead. And I'm very happy with it. this guitar is a piece of shit.
Excuse me, but if u didn't get the guitar, how do u know it's that bad, it's actually a great guitar in my point of view, and it's pretty obvious that u don't know what ur talking about, so shut up! I'm tired of ur kind of people, y did u even got to the review if didn't like the guitar and wasn't even thinking of buying it?.....There...I said it POSTED: 04/13/2008 - 07:37 pm / quote|
I was gonna ge this guitar, but I got a telecaster custom instead. And I'm very happy with it. this guitar is a piece of shit.
Excuse me, but if u didn't get the guitar, how do u know it's that bad, it's actually a great guitar in my point of view, and it's pretty obvious that u don't know what ur talking about, so shut up! I'm tired of ur kind of people, y did u even got to the review if didn't like the guitar and wasn't even thinking of buying it?.....There...I said it POSTED: 04/13/2008 - 07:38 pm / quote|
|\puto_rodas/|
: I was going to say exacly the same, it's way amost impossible to get any pinches with the nec pU, easier at both selector, and sweet in bridge Pu, Im satisfied with this guitar since i can play malmsteen on it, but I really need to shred on something more... "soft"...
anyway, first guitar, Love it, specially for d price! POSTED: 05/05/2008 - 10:29 pm / quote|
RAGman22ReborN
: I got this guitar 2 years ago and despite the price I've done so much with this. From some Hard Rock, blues, salsa, Funk and even Jazz, this baby gets it done. I got pinch harmonics no problem with it by just adjusting the toggle to the bridge pickup as usual. With some pledge furnisher, I somehow even enhanced the power of the neck's wood and thus a change in tone. POSTED: 05/20/2008 - 06:17 pm / quote|
DonJulio
: i got one too. love it, and its great for its price. i checked out the cheaper PRS (SE and stuff) and i have to say that they felt much cheaper and sounded worse than the epi... POSTED: 05/28/2008 - 10:01 am / quote|
pimpinazndude
: i bought this guitar from a friend for $90
kinda heavy though. i'd recommend this guitar for beginners
that was my idea be4 i decided 2 save up for a squier tele thinline POSTED: 06/13/2008 - 07:15 am / quote|
RomCs
: guys, I've bought such a guitar,and it sounded great on Line6 spider III(30watt) with 11strings. but when i've changed strings to 9, the sound became very fuzzy with distortion, even with small overdrive it sounds very fuzzy, unclean. but the clean tone sounds good. what's the problem? POSTED: 06/17/2008 - 05:48 am / quote|
guys, I've bought such a guitar,and it sounded great on Line6 spider III(30watt) with 11strings. but when i've changed strings to 9, the sound became very fuzzy with distortion, even with small overdrive it sounds very fuzzy, unclean. but the clean tone sounds good. what's the problem?
The spider III,
i know its a bad new, but the spiders are just like that... at least what it goes to sound...
but maybe its just me, Cmon youll know how to fix it... rock on |m| POSTED: 07/10/2008 - 09:03 pm / quote|
Gr33n
: Hey which guitar is better this 1 (special 2) or the LP 100?? The special is cheaper so it probly wont be as good. Can sum1 help plz POSTED: 07/11/2008 - 06:49 am / quote|
GuitarOfGlasgow
: Well, I've been playing one of these for almost a year now, and I have to say I was pretty impressed with it. For the price, I felt I got a decent enough quality guitar, and the tone I was able to get on it through my amp (with a bit of playing about) was pretty good.
However, I would agree with a few people here and say that for a beginner, this guitar is actually really good, but as you progress, a different model would be more suitable, as I find that despite the tone being fairly good, the range of different sounds availible that dont sound nasty from it is surprisingly limited.
I would give it a 7.2 out of 10, and point out that, for beginners, its excellent, otherwise, might be wise to avoid this model. POSTED: 07/12/2008 - 11:56 am / quote|
I have one that I got for Christmas 06. Before that I had a Squier strat. The first thing i noticed was how much easier it was to play, it's a lot lighter, smaller and sounds lovely with the humbuckers. I would reccomend as a starter guitar over the Squier, although build quality may not be quitae as good.
WTF a les paul lighter than a strat? POSTED: 07/30/2008 - 06:55 pm / quote|
ilovebamboo
: My dad bought me this guitar for my birthday!! I upgraded from a crappy budget guitar and the differences are amazing. Obviously you cant expect everything the real deal has to offer but this guitar is great. i've played a couple gigs with this guitar and i didn't have to tune it once. It has a great feel and is nice and light!! i recommend this guitar to anyone who is looking for an awesome instrument with a little budget! POSTED: 08/07/2008 - 10:45 pm / quote|
fsae0607
: This guitar kicks a**! I strung it up with Gibson strings, dropped to action to 2/32" and it plays so well! The sustain is great and overall it's a bargain. You get a lot for the price. I'll be putting in some Gibson '57 classic Humbuckers. It's fun to get cheap guitars and make them sound like $2000 guitars! POSTED: 08/18/2008 - 06:21 pm / quote|
Complifyer
: The guitar is really clean and it looks great. (specially if you get the vintage sunburst finish).
If anyone can find this guitar cheaper than 181 let me know. POSTED: 08/23/2008 - 06:42 pm / quote|
carmax
: Hi all!
I'd like to play guitar (I've already learned the very basic things but I haven't bought any guitar yet) and as I read here, this guitar seems to be great and really cheap but do you advise me this guitar (especially to play punk rock) or do you advise me another one? POSTED: 09/13/2008 - 07:14 am / quote|
wicked_hobbit
: After casually playing a pawn shop acoustic for two years, I decided to get more serious into guitar playing. So I got this guitar and a tiny Marshall mg10cd (how noobish can u be? haha). So far I'm satisfied with them and it's surely gonna keep me busy till my skills worth a more competent set of gear. POSTED: 10/04/2008 - 03:31 am / quote|
I have one that I got for Christmas 06. Before that I had a Squier strat. The first thing i noticed was how much easier it was to play, it's a lot lighter, smaller and sounds lovely with the humbuckers. I would reccomend as a starter guitar over the Squier, although build quality may not be quitae as good.
I'm kind of in the same position as you are, I now have a squier strat and I consider to but this one too. I only dont't know how else this guitar will sound from my squier, if it's quite the same, it would not be worth to buy it. So my question is: how does the tone of this lp differ from my strat? POSTED: 10/16/2008 - 05:00 am / quote|
FATAROX333
: this is okay but I wish it had full controls POSTED: 10/24/2008 - 03:56 pm / quote|
TaylorsEpiphone
: I have an epiphone les paul special II, its amazing-period. no complaints. The only thing that i am wondering is if you can install a whammy bar on it (no special things added to the guitar- just the guitar as it comes stock and the whammy bar). if somebody could respond to this soon i would appreciate it very much! POSTED: 10/26/2008 - 01:52 am / quote|
Hi all!
I'd like to play guitar (I've already learned the very basic things but I haven't bought any guitar yet) and as I read here, this guitar seems to be great and really cheap but do you advise me this guitar (especially to play punk rock) or do you advise me another one?
Well i would advise getting an acoustic guitar because if you learn the one thats harder to play then the easiest will come so easy and it will also give you some time to save up more cuz if your lucky you could find a nice acoustic guitar at a pawn shap for like $150 POSTED: 11/13/2008 - 06:47 pm / quote|
Xguitar13
: I tried this at my local music store today, played it through a fender vintage modified amp, it was amasing. I rate this guitar 5/5 stars. Sounds great for Green Day covers. POSTED: 11/15/2008 - 06:12 pm / quote|
warrenguitar
: Great guitar! Both my friends have this guitar, you can buy some wicked scratch plates for it. Pickups work really well. POSTED: 11/18/2008 - 01:33 pm / quote|
Hi all!
I'd like to play guitar (I've already learned the very basic things but I haven't bought any guitar yet) and as I read here, this guitar seems to be great and really cheap but do you advise me this guitar (especially to play punk rock) or do you advise me another one?
This is an awesome punk guitar. Its a little heavy, but thats good because I really put a beating on mine. For the price and brand you can't go wrong. Its a totally solid guitar. If you're gonna play punk, skip the acoustics some have suggested to you and stick with electric. You can learn either way, but go with what you want to play. POSTED: 11/29/2008 - 12:05 pm / quote|
i have a question about this guitar:
could you get any pinch harmonics with the stock pickups?
I can with the bridge humbucker, its all technique
I get great pinch harmonics with this guitar. Especially with D'Addarios. You can get pinch harmonics with just about any guitar. I agree that its all technique. Took me months to learn it effectively. POSTED: 11/29/2008 - 12:10 pm / quote|
wbjackson517
: After reading the reviews, I am definitely swayed to buy this guitar, besides I am just a beginner and left handed. what better guitar to start out on POSTED: 12/03/2008 - 12:11 pm / quote|
sathyan
: i am expecting only the reliability for my harsh usage .if that is good i am going to get it.
-----
sathyan
[url=http://www.addictionlink.org/drug- rehab-center/arkansas]arkansas drug rehab[/url] POSTED: 12/17/2008 - 02:06 am / quote|
ken20008
: im nowhere near the beginner stage, but still a student and very poor ):
was thinking of getting this. but seeing the comments....im better off with some ibanez or tele copy i found in a store. POSTED: 01/29/2009 - 07:45 am / quote|
about 3 monthes ago i went to Florida and when i was there i got a Les Paul Special 2 for $160 american.
best thing i ever bought, before this all i had was a behringer strat from a pawn shop.i would recommend this guitar for anybody, it has great ditortion on any kind of amp.anyways, anybody looking for a cheap guitar with a great look and a great sound get a Les Paul!!!
i completely agree it is a little heavy but it has an awesome tone. one thing though my neck had a bow in it which is something you can fix and it causes a little string raddle. it isn't a minor problem at all because it fits in the category of tuning your guitar you just adjust a little bit and bam sounds great. I highly recommend this guitar to a beginner or even to bruce springsteen POSTED: 02/04/2009 - 10:06 pm / quote|
sogetsu527
: i have a buzz problem on the low E and the first few frets of the A string does anyone know how to fix this issue?? Other than that it is a phenomenal guitar. POSTED: 02/11/2009 - 04:51 am / quote|
museiscool
: I have it and its awesome
the only issue i have with it is that the g-string machine head has something loose in it.. gotta get that replaced..
otherwise its an awesome guitar POSTED: 02/27/2009 - 08:19 pm / quote|
mondo83xx
: I owned this guitar for about a month. Was cool for the price but it just didn't have any GO to it. I did like the clean sound tho. Almost sounded acoustic. But for a soloing and thrashing I'd give it a miss.
I recommend this guitar to kids who are just starting out on the guitar. Its light and has a slim neck.
Bargain for the money but more exp guitarists should look elsewhere. POSTED: 03/01/2009 - 11:53 am / quote|
azisnomarsa
: Hmm, I am just considering buying this baby, after reading these reviews, I realize I have no choice but to do so. Because this looks just awesome. POSTED: 03/26/2009 - 05:56 pm / quote|
Morbius77
: Funny, I found one of these in the trash in the alley behind the dormitories at the local university the other day. Had a big chip in the finish by the input jack, and the strings were rusted.
I plugged it in just to see if it would work, and lo and behold...It did...
So I got one for free. I had some spare Duncans laying around, so I gutted the old electronics, replaced everything, changed the tuners, changed the tailpiece and the bridge, hardware and all.
Replaced the selector switch, the input jack, the pots, gave it a new nut. Reworked the frets, cleaned the fretboard and oiled it (needed that BAAAAAD), and gave it a good intonation set, adjusted the truss rod, and BAM... DECENT playable guitar that cost me all of $50 worth of parts. (I get a lot of freebies from a buddy that works at a luthier's shop)
I let a guy play it yesterday, and he offered me $300 for it...
So when everyone decides to throw these away... I will salvage the hell out of them and make some cash. POSTED: 03/30/2009 - 07:18 pm / quote|
inferno34
: I'm looking at this guitar for my first guitar since I have just basic knowledge of how to play one. Here where I live these go for 220$ its one of the cheapest (the Epiphone Les Paul Studio is 440$ wich is on par with Amazon.com prices but I don't really want to shell out alot of $ on a guitar when I'm starting out, sadly not alot of selection where I live for guitars here (for cheap beginner ones) POSTED: 04/14/2009 - 05:05 pm / quote|
Skatar119
: I bought this guitar as a begginer and I tihnk its a pretty good guitar at a good price I got this guitar for 150$ POSTED: 04/16/2009 - 07:14 pm / quote|
SocialismCross
: I had this guitar for a while, and it's not bad at all for the price. And i got an advice:
This guitar, like many cheap guitars, sometimes have defects with the finish, hardware, or strap buttons...so if you have that when the guitar is brand new, just get it to where you got it from, and show them you're not satisfied, and you want it fixed, they are gonna fix it for free, for you, because it's not your fault that a brand new guitar got a problem. And that's what i've done. POSTED: 04/19/2009 - 01:36 am / quote|
SocialismCross
: When i first got it, 1 of the strap buttons was really loose, and that wasn't ok, so i just got it to the store i got it from, and they fixed that. that simple. POSTED: 04/19/2009 - 01:37 am / quote|
SocialismCross
: fixed it for free, because i got it from them, then it got defects. NOT MY FAULT. cheap guitar = low quality, NOT "not functioning guitar". POSTED: 04/19/2009 - 01:39 am / quote|
Thnder1nYourEar
: A good starter guitar, but I couldn't keep mine for longer than six months due to the lower-quality workmanship restrictions (ie, high fret access, note sustain, and neck width). But not a bad guitar at all, I enjoyed putting stickers all over it, as a 16-year-old. POSTED: 05/11/2009 - 04:42 pm / quote|
Armagedden66
: Holy Reviews, looks to me like alot of people own it, im surprised i saw the review just today POSTED: 05/26/2009 - 11:08 am / quote|
gunpowder123
: not that good.... but fun to play POSTED: 06/07/2009 - 10:36 pm / quote|
Trfsrfr
: Heres my take on it.
I picked one up for 40 bucks.
I normally play Ibanez and Jacksons, but I didnt have a rig without a locknut so I decided it would be cool to change tunings easily.
I also have been playing for 20+ years.
This thing is an okay starter guitar. The tuning pegs suck, and it is made from plywood. I know this because I relocated the pickup selector switch to where the Les Paul's are located.
The action can be set to be quite playable I have found.
The best thing about this guitar is the bridge pickup. It really sounds better than most of my other guitars (although I just picked up an X2N but havent installed it yet in my Ibanez).
I have actually considered stealing this bridge pickup and putting it in my RG570.
Also, I am so used to having the cutaway for your right arm, that it is really uncomfortable for me to play.
Other than that, when I plug it into my Marshal 1/2 stack, it rips.
Until it goes out of tune 30 seconds later.
I think if I were to put a nice set of tuners on it, and take a power tool to it to remove the wood where my right arm likes to rest, it would be a kickass piece of plywood.
I'll probably do that.
It was worth my $42.00 dollars I paid for it. POSTED: 07/02/2009 - 12:35 am / quote|
cokehit
: ive had mine for about 9 years now. if you are completely new to guitar and dont have the cash for anything else, its not a bad place to start. but within a year or two i was havig problems (eletronics went out, tuners wore out very fast). you will out grow this fast (for serious players). for everyone else, knock yourslef out. POSTED: 07/07/2009 - 02:56 pm / quote|
GibsonGuy401
: i've been playing for little over a year now. and i got this guitar and a package for 500$ (came with a kickass amp although small it's really good it's a Kustom dart 10) anyways this was a good introduction for me into the gibson world, i'm in love with this guitar yeah the finsh is sorta messed up on and yes i do get that buzzing sound but it's alright because when i plug this thing in i'm utterly in love i gave it a 8 but i meant to give it a 9/10 doesn't matter if your serious about guitar or not low on cash well buy this guitar your gonna love it POSTED: 10/01/2009 - 06:28 pm / quote|
WatUWant???
: Hi guys!!
i sort of need a lil help here....
im a beginner, so i dont want to spend too much on a guitar (max $300) but i'd like a good quality one that will last me a nice while. i've investigated the epiphone les paul special 2 and the epiphone SG special. they both seem to be exactly what im looking for and they're both rated 8.4. Now, for my question(s) Which one is better? The SG or the Les Paul?And Is there another guitar from ibanez, fender etc. that would be better than both?? Please let me know =) POSTED: 10/13/2009 - 11:04 am / quote|
rocklegend73
: i got one of these last christmas except my cousin worked on it and it's got seymour duncans instead of humbuckers. i love the sound. it's a great alternative to the gibson les paul and at a reasonable price too. POSTED: 10/18/2009 - 11:11 am / quote|
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I only paid 105.00 US so it really is a nice guitar for beginers like myself. I would recommend the Special II for beginers, it's got a good feel and decent action.
