Zakk Wylde Signature Les Paul Custom Review

The Signature Les Paul features Wylde's trademark black and white bullseye graphics over an antique ivory finish and pearl block inlays on the fingerboard, mahogany body with a maple top, a raw, unfinished maple neck, gold hardware, EMG humbucking pickups (HZ H4) and tune-o-matic bridge.

Features:	9.4
Sound:	9
Action:	8.4
Reliability:	8.9
Impression:	9
Overall rating:	8.9
Users rating:	8.8
Comments:	96

overall: 7.8

Featured review by: UG Team, on february 28, 2007

Features: This solid-body electric is the brainchild of Ozzy/Black Label Society guitarist Zakk Wylde, Who has dominated the rock and metal scene for years with his "Alvin Lee on crack" Precision soloing style. His Les Paul is very traditional, with some stylistic touches that make it his own. The mahogany body has the familiar Les Paul shape with an arched top and seven-layer binding top and bottom. You'll either love the bullseye paint job or you'll hate it, and this guitar makes no apologies about it's looks. The hardware is gold throughout (even the truss rod cover -- a nice touch), and features the Standard Tune-O-Matic bridge, stop tailpiece and sealed Grover tuners. The scale length is 24.75", just like any Les Paul. Pickups are two EMG-HZ passive humbuckers, and there is one volume and tone knob for each. Pickup switching is done with a three-way Switch. The hard rock maple neck is finished with clear satin rather than the glossy creme on the rest of the guitar, and the rosewood fretboard sports block inlays. // 8

Sound: True Zakk buffs will immediately want to ditch the pickups for a set of active EMGs, like what he has on his Gibsons. However, the EMG-HZs are an excellent alternative that also serve to keep the price down. The bridge pickup is fat and crisp, and the neck pickup is smooth and buttery. A wide range of rock, metal, or even bluesy tones are possible with this guitar. Country, funk, and jazz players stay away! The mahogany body and rosewood fretboard contribute to the warm Les Paul sound. // 7

Action, Fit & Finish: My test model was set up very well, and I saw no flaws in the finish. I took a point off because the frets were not polished as well as they should have been, giving vibrato and bends a somewhat gritty feel. I was able to clean them up with some 0000 steel wool and a bit of elbow grease, but I don't feel I should have to put this kind of time into an $800 guitar. Other than that, playability was excellent. It responded well whether I really dug in for chunky rhythms or finessed it through leads. It's easy to see why the Les Paul has been such an enduring design. // 7

Reliability & Durability: Epiphone has stepped up their quality in recent years, and the current crop of Korean-made guitars like this has fared very well in the long term. The craftsmanship is good, the tolerances are tight and the quality of materials is very good for this price range. I see no reason why this guitar shouldn't last for years and years. // 9

Impression: Overall, I liked this one. I play primarily rock and metal, so I don't really miss the lack of a single coil pickup. If you want a guitar that is meant to rock morning to night, this is your guitar. Whether or not you want to parade around on stage proclaiming your love for Zakk Wylde is another thing, the bullseye is tough to miss, and is certainly associated with him. I think the Epiphone is a great buy, with it's combination of features, playability and tone with an affordable price tag of $800 or so. Even if you have to drop another $200 for the set of active EMGs, you have a guitar that is very nearly as good as the Gibson for $3200 less. // 8

Reviewed by: unregistered, on august 17, 2005

Price paid: $ 948

Purchased from: Major/Minor Music

Features: This guitar that I have was purchased at the end of 2004, it was one of the first purchased in the city. I belive this is a Koren made guitar, 22 fret/24. 75 scale. It has some fare size frets with a Rosewood fretboard and laminated top, Mahogany body. This little master piece has the Bullseye finish. These finishs are stickers not paint, but don't let that fool-ya this is a solid butt kicking grinder. It has the fixed Bridge and passive electronics, well not any more for my self, I opted for the matching EMG Zakk Wylde active set. The passive EMG hz's are great for someone new to playing, but I'v been playing for close to 16 years. And I can say I'v had a few guitars in that time, and still have a Kramer Nightswan and a Hamer Californian. Both of them are strait shreding axes. So this guitar is quite a departure for me. The EMG's that I put in are wired fore 18 volt not 9v this gives more headroom sound wise. The finish is a little disapointing in that, there is way too much clear coat on this and you can see the stickers seems. I'm a little pickey on this because all my other guitars have been American hand made customs(dollar wise between 2400. to 2800. So you can see there is big difference in detail. But the finish would probably survive a Nucular blast(I think that's the point). // 8

Sound: My music style is mostly Metal(I grew-up, sorta, in the day of the shredder). but I do alot of Blues and Jazz stuff, and some new metal. Amp wise I run it in to a CarvinX-50B tube head (slightly modified)and a Carvin 4X12 cab with Emenice speakers. The set-up I run has lot's of head room in the sound because I use to use a ART-SGE processer (until it died). Now I just run a Zakk wylde Overdrive and the Zakk Wylde Wah. And if your a Zakk fan like me (I've followed his carer since he joined Ozzy when he was 19). This set up gets me about as close as I'm going to get to his sound. This guitar in it's pressent state will do just about any sound you want. I have a beautiful clean sound, but I mostly have it set for kill(Overdrive, & lot's of it). This thing sounds like a monster. It still dosen't sound qite as good as the Gibson version I tryed but for the money ya can't compare the two like that, but it's darn'close! For an idea of my amp setting Press. 4 bass10, mids1, trebble6 and thers also a 18 db gain curcit on the lead channel, and a 5 band active EQ. // 10

Action, Fit & Finish: Factory set up was alright but a little high for my taste, so I lowered it and I also run the strings backwards through the stop tail bar, the same way Zakk does. For the strings I use the the Gibson pure nickel 10 gauge, there a pretty fat sounding string and there easyer on your frets. The pick ups are pretty close to the strings( a little rubbing never hurt anyone). The reason for rapping the strings around the stop bar is it's an old timers trick to get a little more sustaine and it also gives the strings a slinky feel (real nice). One other thing that was dissapointing was the bridge hardware oxidized pretty bad, but that could just be my playing, I'm fairly rough with it. I can't say too much about the electronics, seen I gutted them right away. // 8

Reliability & Durability: Like I said before this thin will withstand anything you can dish out. As for live playing I'v seen and talked to people using them live and they say no prob's yet. I can't see my bridge lastting a long time I'm trying to see if a original Gibson one will fit (there much better). As for the strap buttons, ther on there pretty good, I'v only tightened them once in a years time. Like I said I'm pretty hard on my Axes, I like that used look. I'v been beating this guitar for the past year and there is no wear what so ever on this thing and beleve me I thrath this thing good. // 10

Impression: My main style of music would have to be metal/blues, it's a great match for what I play, I've been playing for about 16 years with no breaks inbetween, even when part of my thumb was cut off I still played guitar two days latter (and yes it hurt). It's hard to play when part of the thumb you use to hold the pick is missing. Anyway my other guitars are a Kramer Nightswan cerca 1989. hand made in the USA Mahogany body, Ebony fret board, rock Maple neck. It has a Seymour Duncan Heavy metal live wire pick up in the bridge & a Jeff Beck in the neck position, the live wire is not for the weak at heart, this thing does not have a clean sound. It's an active 18 volt pick up. The Jeff Beck is passive and does the clean to mean. The other guitar is a Hamer Californian hand made (old style, when Hamer did not make a cheep guitar). Again Ebony fret board, rock Maple neck. Pick ups are also Seymour Duncan, but both are passive, in the bridge theres a Trembucker & a little 59'er in the neck. I would have to say that if the Epiphone were to have something happen to it, Yes I would buy another, it's awsome bang for the buck. As for comaring to other guitars, you bet I did! I wasent even looking for a new guitar when I bought this one it just blew me away that much I had to get it. I was supost to be helpping my friend buy his first guitar (and guess what he bought). So we both walked out with one. I really don't want to say the long list of others I've tryed before it (that's a long list)and it's kind of like name calling, but yes there is a lot of junk on the market today. My Kramer I'v had for 16 years & the Hamer I've had close to 10 years, and buy the way I'v barrley touched my other guitars since buying my Epiphone, It's built to bash and sound awsome. I usally prefer a Ebony fret board (because ther much faster) but like I've said before this Epiphone is an exception to the rules. It's kind'a hard to rate this fairly, if your talking bang for the buck it's a 5. But if your comparing it to it's Gibson counterpart (kind'a un fair), I'd have to say a 4 would be about right. I just don't think it's fair to compare a $6000 guitar to a $1200 guitar. You could not touch a guitar like this Ten years ago for that kind of money. All I can say is if ya try it you'l most likley like it and or buy it. Remember you can always change the pickups. I can say that a friend of mine bought an ESP Gibson copy and payed twice the price I did and he has the same EMG pick ups and we both played through my Amp, and I gota say I think the Epiphone did more than hold it's owne, it plane smoked the ESP, keep in mind the ESP was much more money (he spent 2200) that's pretty impressive to me. // 10

Reviewed by: unregistered, on march 01, 2006

Price paid: $ 986.37

Purchased from: GAK.co.uk

Features: My review is for the 2005 Bullseye model, made in good old China. 22 frets with big bolck inlays, and a very fast and smooth unfinished maple neck. Similar to a Strats, and this is what brought my attention to the guitar. Mahogony body, hard maple top, neck and fret board. Bullseye finish, with laminate finish. Single cutaway Les Paul. Tune-O-Matic bridge with stoptail. 2 volume and 2 tone knobs. Twin EMG-HZ humbuckers. All Gold Hardware. Oh, and Grover tuners. Pretty good overall. // 10

Sound: Suits me down to the ground, I play metal, tuned down to B a lot, and also a lot of blues. The EMG's have a warm tone in the bridge and a very sharp and striking lead tone in the neck. Full rich sound with no buzz at all. They are EMG's after all. Very easy to do pinch harmonics, which lets face it, it why most people buy this guitar anyway. // 9

Action, Fit & Finish: Factory set up was spot on, very low action and I have not had to adjust it since. Pickups were spot on, tight to the strings, no routing problems, the binding is spotless and not a single discoluration or laminate flaw. Perfect. // 10

Reliability & Durability: This guitar is great live. The only Les Paul I have ever played that you can shred to bits! Hardware will tarnish over time, such is the nature of gold plate, most importantly get some strap locks. Every Les Paul owner knows that these guitars are heavy and if it falls off, well you know what happens. I will play this guitar all night long with no backup, tunes well, stages tunes well, and never goes out of tune thanks to the good old Grovers. The finish has not faded and I dont think it will, I have had it for only a year now, not a scratch on it. A hard waring guitar. // 10

Impression: Zakk's Signature Guitar, so of course this is built for Metal, and does the job perfectly, I've been playing for 5 years now, had many guitars and this is the best. Until off course I can afford the Gibson! If this was lost or stolen, I would of course have a little cry first, then wend my way down the shops to get another. I will be investing in the other 2 signature models just as soon as I have the cash. A great investment and collectores item. I just love the sound, versatility and weight of this guitar. I has endless sustain. If your moving up in your playing, and need to invest in a guitar, that even the pros would play. Get this one. // 10

Reviewed by: unregistered, on july 29, 2005

Purchased from: James Cook Music Store

Features: Made in 2005. The Zakk wylde model features a mahogany body, a good, hard 24 fret maple neck, gold hardwere and a cool spiral paintjob in black and ivory white. One of the key features of the guitar is the EMG pickups which when played loud with lots of distortion sound imence. Exelent value for money. // 10

Sound: This guitar is very versitile. I use it for anything from bassy blues to hard rock and it dosn't fail to deliver everytime. I mostly use this guitar for bedroom practice through a 50 watt amp but it still sounds impressive. // 10

Action, Fit & Finish: The guitar came well set up from the factory so I could just plug it in and go. The only flaw I found with the guitar is that the 3 way toggle Switch becomes loose easily and because of its size, is hard to tighten. // 8

Reliability & Durability: I've had my Zakk Wydle Epiphone for just over 6 months with it being played regulary and I've found it to be reliable. The groover tuners are exelent and I very rarely have to retune the guitar. // 10

Impression: Overall impressions for this guitar are exelent. For the money it not only looks the part but sounds the part to. The attention to detail is great and it even comes with a Zakk Wydle Siloette decall on the back of the headstock. I would most likley buy this guitar again if it was lost or stolen because theres not many other guitars in the same price range which can compete with it. // 10

overall: 9

Reviewed by: madaxeman123, on december 21, 2007

Purchased from: www.Andertons.co.uk

Features: Mine was made in Korea, serial number U06093124. It has a Thick mahogony body with a maple top and the finish is the buzzsaw one. The neck is Raw maple and fills your hand nicely. It has 22 frets (Not the easiest access to number 22 but still good). It has a Gibson style tunomatic bridge and grover machineheads all finished in chrome. The pickups are a passive EMG-HZ set and there were'nt any accessories included. // 9

Sound: I try to be a versatile guitarist and so I play everyhing from Jazz through to shred. This guitar is capable of both genres and everything in between. Many people have trouble with the fact that the pickups aren't Zakks own EMG 81 and 85 set but having played these pickups on another guitar I must say that I prefer the passive ones as they give an excellent clean tone as well as some great distortion that never really loses clarity. // 10

Action, Fit & Finish: My guitar had come set up from the shop with a set of Ernie Ball Regular Slinkies (0.10-.046). The action was perfect but the string tension made it difficult for me to bend the strings in Zakks Wylde way. I suggest stringing them over the bridge as Zakk does to reduce tension. I have done this and makes the guitar much more playable and I use gauge 10-52 strings. All Hardware was set up perfectly on mine although I did invest in a pair of straplocks as the strap didn't want to stay on the buttons. // 9

Reliability & Durability: This guitar will stand the test of playing live. I have only played it once Live but it was very capable. The hardware will last although after a few weeks the bridge pickup cut out (this was due to the Switch which is often poor on Epiphone guitars. I Payed £15 for a new switch and haven't had any trouble since). Apart from this the guitar is very durable and I believe it will continue rocking for many years to come. I only mark it down because of Epiphone's poor switches. // 8

Impression: This is a great guitar for what I play. It is very rugged, sounds awesome and is an excellent guitar. I also play a modified Epiphone SG (I replaced all the hardware and pickus so it sounds and plays excellently) and this sounds just as good as it despite the SG's awesome pickups (Seymour Duncan JB and Jazz combination). If this guitar was stolen I would hunt down the man that stole it and destoy him. I love this guitar. The reason I chose it is that I love LesPauls but being a 16 year old I do not have the money to but a Gibson. I chose this particular model almost purely based on the neck and pickups. I recommend it especially if you can buy it at the same price I did. // 9

overall: 8.2

Reviewed by: hminh87, on july 16, 2008

Price paid: € 480

Purchased from: eBay

Features: // 9

Sound: Don't expect too much that this guitar will sound like Zakk Wylde Farewell Ballad video. Unless you have his amp of course. But don't worry too much about this, this guitar will do his music just fine. The EMG-HZ isn't bad at all despise all the bashing around. The bridge pickup is trebby, perhap too trebby for my taste. Neck pickup is really good! It has a very good mix of hi and low, a little bassy, though. I found myself mostly playing either with the neck only or both for some added treble from the bridge pickup. Because of the body mass on this guitar, they give amazing sweet sustains. And yeah, as a personal benchmark I always try to pull out the Slash tone out of any of my guitars. This guitar handled it quite well but misses some of the treble respond from the neck position. I think the pickup is almost too hot for it. // 8

Action, Fit & Finish: The finish bullseye is decal, on cream background it really beautiful and cool finish. A little finish flaw on the edge of the neck where it meets the body, though. The action was a bit high when I received it. Pickups were also too high. While lowering the action I noticed a dead fret due to a fret was sitting too high. Nothing I couldn't fix with a piece of leveling tools. After a setup it became a really good guitar. Neck is very close to '60 profile and it's unfinished (love it). Fretboard was a little dry and needed to be oiled. Very nice pinch harmonic respond. The nut needed to be replaced because I just hate plastic so much and it was a little too high, too. The Grovers tuners works well but my low E string goes slightly out of tune all the time. My fault, really. I pinch harmonic like a maniac. // 8

Reliability & Durability: This guitar was built like a tank. Really heavy, so heavy that I afraid the strap button might fall off after a while. The bridge pickup gave me a bit of a problem, though. Happened once, the output dropped almost completely and replaced by a low static noise. I opened it up but found nothing wrong. Strangely when I plugged it in again the thing worked as nothing ever happened. The finish will last a long time. // 8

Impression: I'm a fan of Zakk, and I like Les Paul shape. That's a good enough reason for me to purchase this guitar. My mom really liked this guitar. She said "It got style!". She couldn't stop complaining when I decided to sell it (was planning to buy a ESP btw). I just wish that it has better quality check from factory as I needed to give it a setup. I really wanted Epiphone to put real ZW EMG into this instead of some passive ones. I mean, after all it's HIS signature guitar. // 8

Reviewed by: unregistered, on december 10, 2007

Purchased from: Melody Music Store

Features: This Epi was made in 2005, and when I got it it had seemed like the strings were too. But, that's besides the point. it's got a 22 fret Rosewood fingerboard with dot inlays (pearl). It has mahogany back and sides, mahogany neck, and a beautiful butterscotch blonde flamed maple top. It has a a double f-hole design on the wings and a Les Paul shaped body with a more rounded off cutaway. The single cutaway body gives you easy travelin up to the 22nd fret. It's smooth sailing. It's got nice Grover locking tuners. It has a pickup configuration of 2 single coil chrome V-P90's, with all chrome hardware and a nice old-school Bigsby tremelo/vibrato which throws the strings over top of a Tune-O-Matic bridge for easy adjustment. It has a volume knob for each pickup, pverall tone knob, master volume knob, and a rhythm/treble toggle switch. It has the headstock plate that is remenescent of the old hollowbody Epiphones. It has beautiful cream/vintage white neck, and body binding. The one I purchased came with a Fender Deluxe gig bag (yeah, I know, awkward combination.) If you are looking for a semi-hollowbody Les Paul shape with P-90's and a ES-335 sound (with a little ease on the wallet), then get one now! I have a Peavey Raptor Plus EXP and a First Act ME505. I have played Fender strats, teles, Gibson Les Pauls, and Gibson Stereo guitars and nothing has gave me the Blues/Rock mixture that I have been looking for in a guitar. If you like the sounds of Chuck Berry and AC/DC, then why buy 2 guitars. Just get an Epiphone Wildkat. It is well worth the money! // 10

Sound: I play blues/rock and it suits my style extremely well. I play through a 1974 Teisco Checkmate 22 Solid State amp with a DOD Stereo Flanger, DigiTech Grunge Distortion, and a Boss Blues Overdrive pedal and Fender Electro-Volt + Fender California Cables. The Teisco head has volume, tone, reverb, tremelo depth, and tremelo speed controls. I crank everything up on the head except for the reverb which I hardly ever use. You can go from blues, rock, grunge, pop, funk, oldies, even a little bit of Metal with this guitar. Go bright or mellow rich/full great sound it is your choice. // 10

Action, Fit & Finish: There is one little problem with the Wildkat I got, it has a little bit of a green color mixed with the paint that is about as big a nickle, right by the top of the neck on the edge of the guitar. The wood helps provide great sound. The tuners work perfect and smooth with no trouble. But with the Bigsby vibrato (depending on your strings of choice) you may have to do a good bit of tuning every now and then. // 8

Reliability & Durability: I have played quite a few Live shows with it and it has never let me down. I will always go to gigs with no backup when I have this guitar, I plan to keep it forever. As well do I expect it to perform great for me and my listeners. Like a cast-iron skillet, it only gets better seasoned with every time you play it. It's got a deep/rich vintage rock and blues tone/sound. // 9

Impression: As a Blues guitarist that has been playing fo a year at the age of 16, you may not think I know much about what I say. But I live the blues mentality and it's all I listen to. I love the blues and the only band I have seen bring good blues within the past decade is The White Stripes. Listen to a song called "Ball And Biscuit" on www.youtube.com and you will get what I'm saying if you know true blues. // 10

overall: 8.8

Reviewed by: False_God, on july 07, 2006

Features: This Epiphone features the black and cream bullseyes, it was built in 2004 me thinks in Korea, the neck is maple with a rosewood fret bored and 22 medium frets. the Body is mahogany with maple top and typical weight of a Gibson. It features two EMG's HZ H4 in the neck and bridge, it has the typical 2 volume and 2 tone for versitility and the 3-way switch. all the hardware is gold (shiney) and has a tune-o-matic bridge. I got a soft case and that was it basically. // 9

Sound: I play alot of metal and this suits it to the ground. The pickups help to achieve this edgy metal sound that I was after. I use a MT-2 and a Hughes And Kettner which I have gain up to 10 27/7 so their is a hum which isn't too bad compared to other high gain pups. This guitar can get a nice warm bluesy tone and a tearing metal sound so it has pretty god variety. // 9

Action, Fit & Finish: The action was a bit too high for my liking but was easily fixed, I adjusted the pickups to my own liking so it wasnt a problem or anything. This guitar doesn't contain any other flaws. // 10

Reliability & Durability: The guitar is really well built and could withstand 1,000,000 gigs, am the gold tends to lose colour but it is my fault for not cleaning it. Every now and then I have to tighten the strap lock because they tend to come loose, but its no biggy! // 8

Impression: This guitar is pretty perfect for me as the music I play is metal. I've been playing nearly two years and I own a Godin Radiator and a Jackson KV, am I wish it had maybe active EMG's, cos the HZ are only ok. I love the bulls eye paint job, it pwns the Orange one, I actually compared it to the Gibson verson and I found this to be much better, because it took the guitar tech a week to fix the Gibson they got in and the Epi was perfect the minute it arived. // 8

Reviewed by: unregistered, on july 14, 2005

Purchased from: Pruger's Music

Features: This Epiphone comes with a mohagany body, hard maple neck, and gold hardware. This guitar comes with some nice EMG humbucking pickups and block inlays. The neck consists of 24 frets. I'm not 100% sure of all the fetures but for 1300 dallors Canadian, this guitar is worth it. // 10

Sound: I'm an old school rocker and the heavy sound that comes from this guitar suits me perfectly. I'm only uses a little backstage Peavey amp for it but I still love it. // 8

Action, Fit & Finish: I've had this guitar for about a month and a haven't had to change or adjust anything on this guitar yet. The paint job was done flawless and the spiral design is very atractive to have on this guitar. // 6

Reliability & Durability: The neck is a little fat for me but the finish is thick and the strap buttons are solid. If you were on stage with ths baby you woudn't have to worry about a thing, it was biult to last. // 10

Impression: I love this guitar because like many others I idolize Zach Wylde. I've been playing for about 4 years and this is my second guitar to have owned. I started with a peavy Raptor and finally decided to get a better guitar. if anything happened to this guitar I would probably try something diffrent because I am always intersted in trying diffrent brans and styles. // 8

Reviewed by: unregistered, on march 22, 2005

Features: Korean Made, 22-frets, Les Paul body with maple neck, 2 Emg HZ Humbucker (H4+H4A), special Zakk Wylde finish (bullseye), Tune-O-Matic bridge, 3-way toggle-switch, block-inlays, 24.75" scale, grover mechanics. // 10

Sound: When I first picked up this guitar I thought it'd be like the other Epiphones I've tested but not this time. I couldn't believe how much crunch it had. Zakk wanted a maple-neck because he wanted to increase the brilliance of tone, he made it. Well, the passive pickups are not the best (because of that I've put in the EMG81, EMG85's) but they're quite powerfull. The passive pickups are the passive version of the active EMG81 which has a very aggresive tone. I liked the passive ones but I wanted the active ones. It fits perfectly for pinched harmonics (if you know Zakk). // 10

Action, Fit & Finish: The factory set-up was perfect, nothing to say against. It has this comfortable Les Paul feeling with a neck that's even more comfortable. It's kind a great tuning down the guitar to C or lower because it always stays in tune. Mostly I'm using the Zakk Wylde signature strings 10-60 and tune it down (sounds like I'd be a fan of Zakk, honestly I didn't care about him since I've seen his guitar. The strings are really great, too). // 10

Reliability & Durability: Zakk's costum guitar withstands a lot. Since I'm palm muting a lot the bridge is a bit rubbed of, that's not that nice. Dunno if other guitars with fixed bridge have the same problems. As you see there are no other problems at all (not yet). I can depend on it totally. // 8

Impression: I love playing metal but also soft stuff like Red Hot Chili Peppers, Creed etc. and this guitar gives me all I want. I can come out with a chunky sound and play fast downtuned riffs or clean melodic riffs. I chose to play with active EMG's because they give me a bit of both high distortion and warm, mellow clean. And I don't regret it a bit. Before buying it I also tested a few Ibanez, Gibson, PRS and found out that for the price the Epiphone costs, nothing from the other named marks could be compared with. For all of those who are now interested in that guitar-go and play it. I couldn't describe it better. // 10

overall: 8.4

Reviewed by: matrixman_21, on may 30, 2005

Price paid: $ 1027

Features: This 23 fret thin neck guiar with a laminated top is probaly one of the best guitars I've ever played in th 1300 price range. Although it did not come with any accessories. This guitar makes up for it with its AMG pickups any wicked spiral design. // 10

Sound: This guitar suits my musical style perfect. I'm currenty using a little back stage amp with it but that is all you need. Even with my amp turned up I still get a feeling of the guitar being held back on the sound. That could also be because of my amp and my settings. I guess I'll go home and experiment for a bit. // 8

Action, Fit & Finish: The action on the guitar is averge but I like the pickups and the adjustments. I haven't inspected the guitar fully but I cant see any flaws so far exept for a loose input jack. // 8

Reliability & Durability: Everything is good for my standards. // 8

Impression: I think this is a perfect guitar for those who admire Zack. I've only been playing for 2 years but I've playded my share of guitars and this one is one of the best for sure. // 8

Comments

[Immortal_Guitar]

This guitar looks so good...I saw it back at my local music store

[acdcrockz]

Dude I played that guitar at guitar center and not only does it look cool it plays amazing!

[Kain_Doom01]

The gibbson one, as you may guess, blows this thing out of the water

However, if you want to look like Zak, and sound KINDA like him, and have his Wah/Overdrive Pedals, and a Marshall Amp, you can pull off his tone live!!!!

THIS is how they should make all their guitars, beautiful, and deadly

[Homer F.]

Put some EMG 81 pickups on it, and it is nearly the same as the gibson one

[gemtextr]

ah i want this guitar so bad (i even got a job 2 save up 4 it) nd im so jelous ov every1 who ahs it!

[fantomas2599]

got a couple of thousand for it.

[Andrewsonfire]

couple of thousand? i dont think so.. i can get it in a music store for 1100 canadian.. I played it and i didnt like it at all, its the only les paul i ever played so maybe i just dont like les pauls.. haha I didnt like the shape of the neck.

[gtojoe92]

my charvel totally out does that

[Linchpin]

Yay!Somebody Went To School!

gemtextr wrote:

ah i want this guitar so bad (i even got a job 2 save up 4 it) nd im so jelous ov every1 who ahs it!

[CustomCustom]

neck was too fat when I tried one, the Tokai Zakk model feels better and has good Korean quality.

[ReBoRnBaND4]

i played one at guitar center, it was nothing special but like Homer F. said, put some EMG 81's in there and it would sound AMAZING

Whoa whoa, disturbed42 warned. Easy on the harsh words there buddy. b.b-king_19 youre cutting it close as well. checked and comments deleted. let's try to keep it clean kids.

[Aziraphale]

I'm not a fan of Gibson necks at all, I've always been a strat-person (lately leaning to Ibanez-person tho :p)and if you're interested in Les Paul tone but a neck that's more of a strat, check out PRS. Expensive but worth it, as good old Nicko McBrain put it.

Btw, as far as I know Zakk has an 85 in neck position and 81 in the bridge position. They're sold as a set by EMG. He's also got signature GHS strings :p If you really want to go all the way.

[avenged_lover06]

Homer F. wrote:

Put some EMG 81 pickups on it, and it is nearly the same as the gibson one

rofl
the epiphone i just bought is the midnight and its the same but with emg 81 85 so it owns

[garden of grey]

avenged_lover06 wrote:

Homer F. wrote:

Put some EMG 81 pickups on it, and it is nearly the same as the gibson one


rofl
the epiphone i just bought is the midnight and its the same but with emg 81 85 so it owns

that makes all the difference, today im installing my 81 and 85s into my dimebag custom

[ArcherTheVMan]

why the hell did false_god buy a hughs and kettner amp and a fairly good guitar and then put the boss mt-2 in the middle?! waste of good time and tone.

[garden of grey]

bosses are decent pedals, but i agree, with a $3000+ rig i would not use one (i do because i use a n00b line 6 for gigs)

[jumpmanhat]

sounded crappy when I played it. However, it looks amazing, especailly the Camo one, I can drool over that all day!!

[gutfeeling666]

Hectic Guitar. Ive played it at my local music store and it was great.
Good Work

[dimebag7]

i wanna buy it!

[gemtextr]

[quote]Linchpin wrote:

Yay!Somebody Went To School!]

lol soz bout da typo

[gemtextr]

still an awesum guitar tho

[Jaffaps2]

Yeah its a good guitar, and excellent for pinches.

[gjmmh123]

are these any good for punk?

[DimebagRIP]

I just got this guitar today and it by far kickes any of my other guitars arses. I got his sig pick-ups put in aswell it sounds ****ing awsome!.. I love this guitar and by the way this guitar isnt made for punk is one southern rocking metal ass guitar

[gjmmh123]

I know it's good for metal! but can it play punk too cuz i play both?

[page33]

Im about to throw some cash down on one
of these babies. Ive had my eye on it
for quite a while.

[OttovanZanten]

those pickups are GREAT

[matrixman_21]

once u go zakk, you cant go back! i just put some juicy 390's on my epiphone and i can honestly say that was the best desicion of my life!

[shugo449]

GOOD GUITAR GOOD PICKUPS

[shugo449]

gjmmh123 wrote:

I know it's good for metal! but can it play punk too cuz i play both?

Yah, it works better for metal though

[OttovanZanten]

Homer F. wrote:

Put some EMG 81 pickups on it, and it is nearly the same as the gibson one

don't they have EMG 81 and 85 pickups?
or do you mean put the Active pickups in?

[nickmarshall69]

no way id use sum1 elses custom guitar, yuck!!!

[fear no beer]

this guitar is obviously not as good as the gibson thats why its about 2 grand cheaper,but in my opinion there is much on the market for the same price that can compete with this guitars brutality,this guitar screams and i love it,until i can afford a gibson there is nothing wrong with this guitar,the EMGs although there passive,sound great still,the unfinished neck is very fast and easy to get around,the weight is perfect for a les paul,heavy but not too heavy

homer f
put some EMG 81 pickups on it,and it is nearly the same as the gibson one

which is right if your not satisfied with the passive EMGs you can always change em for the zakk wylde set (81 bridge/85 neck)

[bodom0420]

I like it besides the neck is a little fat. Looks pimpin tho

[Mcassidy42]

My friend bought this for about 650$, it dosn't play to much better than my 450$ Strat, it's a nice guitar though, just a bit to flashy for me.

checked, i love the way that guitar looks never played it though

[Bille joe6]

maaaan i love that guitar.

[Aziraphale]

I really wouldn't recommend putting two 81's in it. 81's are good for tight, badass rhythm playing in the bridge position, but soloing with an 81 in the neck position sounds absolutely horrible. Just listen to Kirk Hammet playing Fade to Black now compared to back in the 80's. Never liked his solos but he had a way better sound before he got two 81's in his guitars.

[Super_Chris]

I have this epiphone and it is AWSUM!!! of course the gibson will blow it out of the water nd so i'd hope for an extra £1200

[The Novice]

I've never understood why everyone loves this guitar, I mean, can someone tell me why ?

[JHD]

wooott
just bought my first Les Paul today
i just thought every one shoud kno
cuz im relle happy about it

[clapton-floyd]

There's a Buzzsaw at my local music shop, it's like sex in guitar form!

[Kilimacory]

yeah... just wrote a paper on this guitar..
I want it bad!!

[kenshinsrain]

yup its deff. a pretty weet guitar who wouldnt want one in there personal collction

[emr_steelmech]

Kilimacory wrote:

yeah... just wrote a paper on this guitar..
I want it bad!!

I wish I had that class...

[this&that]

I want to make love to this guitar

[DaveDaThrasha]

buddy of mine has one of these, and he's had nothin but problems since he got it. maybe its just his but hardware has been comin loose alot, and one of his pickups fried about a week after he got it. put some active EMG's in tho, and now its not a bad sounding guitar.

[jack_132]

anyone see how many matrixman_21 made in his review?~!

[jack_132]

Mistakes that is! hmmm, apologies for double posting

[OzzyOwnz]

I have it

Got it 1 week before your review came out lol

its GREAT my friend just got a Gibson SG and he wants to trade for my Epiphone Zakk lol mine was $200$ cheaper than his too

[OzzyOwnz]

The Novice wrote:

I've never understood why everyone loves this guitar, I mean, can someone tell me why ?

every one loves this guitar because...

ITS THE BEST --- epiphone that is

Zakk Wylde Has even used this in-concert sometimes too

oh, and hes a REALLY good guitar player.

just listen to zakk wylde crazy train

[Yngwie #1]

that guitar is pretty good, I almost bought it, but instead I got a Jackson RR3, it's more my style because it has a Floyd Rose. I like to go divebomb crazy!

[zerowing]

oohhhh man the finish is pure awesomenessicity

[nao_guy]

i have a zakk wylde epiphone and a ibson les paul specail and i must say the gibson comletely owns the bullseye in everyway and the bullseye has a terrible sound if not through a great amp

[sneauxman]

dude, the only reason people like zak wylde is because he played in black sabbath, and he can do pinch harmonics

[mafoogles]

i wish people would start putting how much they paid for these things

[tallicadude1205]

my friend smashed one of this live on a guitar battle

[nksoloman5000]

dude i have 1 of these and its great the effin best sound ever idk if its better then my gibson sg but its good

[cturner11]

I personally have the Gibson version of this, and i love using it for my band....http://myspace.com/officialwhiterice

!!!!!

[cturner11]

that was a joke btw

[Dark Aegis]

dude, the only reason people like zak wylde is because he played in black sabbath, and he can do pinch harmonics

He didnt play in sabbath

[jeromeo12]

"The bridge pickup is fat and crisp, and the neck pickup is smooth and buttery." WTF! Are we talking about pickups or food here? I know describing sound objectively is difficult but this is too much. Smooth and buttery means nothing to most people.

[Kevin DEEGAN]

This guitar rocks, Ive had mine for 10 months now and have played it through a marshall DFX250 and now have a JCM900 4102 DUAL REVERB. The sound from it is awsum even through the dfx it was great, even better through my JCM900 the action on this thing is very good also mind you I do have EMG 25TH ANNIVERSARY PICKUPS on it which does help a lot with the sound.

I must say I cant fault this guitar, I know as someone has already said its a signature guitar but who cares as long as it plays well and the sound and action are what you want it doesnt matter that its a signature guitar. Its a lot cheaper than the gibson one and in my opinion just as good with active EMG'S through a good amp

[Kurai-sama]

"dude, the only reason people like zak wylde is because he played in black sabbath, and he can do pinch harmonics"
1. He never played in Black Sabbath. For their guitarist's signature Epi, check this out:
http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/reviews/electric_guitar s/epiphone/sg_tony_iommi/index.html

2. Pinched harmonics are part of his style.

3. Do some research before disagreeing.

4. Zakk can shred your face off.

Thanks.

[triv fan]

Ive found my epiphone Zakk to be of great value and quality.I ve played substantially more expensive Les Pauls and diddnt find them to be as comfartable even at three times the price . Im now getting the emg 81 85 combo for it but have to say the stockers are pretty close for passives . Durable reliable built to last.Great clean and dirty tones nice paint . overall an 8 on a 10 scale to me. mmmmmetal

[wyldes god]

the zakk wylde les paul has everything sound, playability, looks, great with the ladies aswell but diehard zakk fans will replace the passive pickups for actives. great guitar though any type of player will be happy with it

[Hanger 17]

zakk wylde didnt play crazy train that was rhoads

[DDOG1230]

Yngwie #1 wrote:

that guitar is pretty good, I almost bought it, but instead I got a Jackson RR3, it's more my style because it has a Floyd Rose. I like to go divebomb crazy!

[DDOG1230]

DDOG1230 wrote:yopu need to be careful with the whammy man , mine fell apart and i had to put it back together, and the 2 guitars that are the best ive ever played, keep in mind i have 4 years on me, are my Jackson vintage 80's Dinky \M/ and the Zakk Epiphone, waiting on the money, i havent played the gibson yet but im waiting to.

Yngwie #1 wrote:

that guitar is pretty good, I almost bought it, but instead I got a Jackson RR3, it's more my style because it has a Floyd Rose. I like to go divebomb crazy!

[hetmeister]

I have had this guitar for a few months now and it is perfect for just about everything. This guitar also makes you look great which is a good thing.

[[B]C [R]ich]

damn this thing would sounds prime through my new fullstack...weooo

[Epiphone-Man]

dudes
this guy i know bought the gibson one for $10,000(NZ)and it is the bees knees man
rock ure socks off

[Ginger-les-tom]

[quotefear no beer :
this guitar is obviously not as good as the gibson thats why its about 2 grand cheaper,but in my opinion there is much on the market for the same price that can compete with this guitars brutality,this guitar screams and i love it,until i can afford a gibson there is nothing wrong with this guitar,the EMGs although there passive,sound great still,the unfinished neck is very fast and easy to get around,the weight is perfect for a les paul,heavy but not too heavy][/quote]

yeah but come on dude, it may be 2grand cheaper, but the difference you are paying for is only a couple of hundred, 600 at most, trust me,
i admit the gibson is better but no 2k better, but if youve got the money get the gibson

[Phe4rTheGod]

"Whoa whoa, disturbed42 warned. Easy on the harsh words there buddy. b.b-king_19 youre cutting it close as well. checked and comments deleted. let's try to keep it clean kids"


is this site ran by FOX??? talk about censorship...

[protestthehero8]

OzzyOwnz wrote:

The Novice wrote:

I've never understood why everyone loves this guitar, I mean, can someone tell me why ?


every one loves this guitar because...

ITS THE BEST --- epiphone that is

Zakk Wylde Has even used this in-concert sometimes too

oh, and hes a REALLY good guitar player.

just listen to zakk wylde crazy train

crazy train? seriously? there are such better zakk wylde/ozzy songs out there. take the song I Don't Wanna Change The World off No More Tears. that song is incredible. and if you really want to hear Zakk Wylde at his best, download the acoustic version of Stillborn, a BLS song. it will blow your mind.

[Shread_6009]

ah, the only one at my store is autographed and probably costs like 6 times what its worth...

[clapton1969]

I picked mine up second hand in a local store, once I brought it home and fixed it up a bit (some of the stuff was loose) it started to play great. Only cost me £370, which was well good, and at some point in the future I'm probably gonna replace the passive EMGs with active 81/85 set. And personally my favourite BLS song is Suicide Messiah, ****ing awesome riff!

[Zertuche]

I was going to buy this but if your going for a sig. model go for the gibson.

Bought a PS3 with the money though lol

[kInG_Of_sHReD69]

the epi bullseye is a shred machine... its is close to being the best epiphone on the market, ive had mine for over 2 years now and ive got some emg 81 85 actives in it and it absolutely kicks ass

[Ginger-les-tom]

where can i get emg 81 85s ? yeah i like this guitar, though when i played my last gig my frikin e string snapped ! and snagged me finger ! so now it got blood on it, CUSTOM PAINT JOB DUDE ! looks awsome ! lol

[YYZX]

gjmmh123 wrote:

are these any good for punk?

its a quality guitar, so, no

[ruder 2358]

i've had this guitar now for a little over a year and it is amazing. i also use his pedals and pretty much the same amps to get his quality. best guitar purchase yet.

[Multiplayerjon]

Hey, Now if it had the Broken Bullseye from That Loker Shoe by Fallen Footwear... that would be sick... maybe it should have a whammy on there... or maybe just use that Flying V one...

[Anjohl]

I played the Camo version today, and really liked it. As an older guitar buyer (28 years old) than the average UG poster, I can say that the guitar is very high quality. It's definitely the top of the Epiphone line, though I think for versatility and overall, the Epi Slash signature beats it.

I love palm muting, so if that's what you want it for, whether for thrash, sludge, groove, etc, it's great. I actually found that the rhythm pickup gave a beautiful clean tone...which is strange since it's a passive EMG. Go figure.

Anyway, the guitar is perfect for Zakk's style, IE, palm muted riffs and blistering leads. The finish has some spotty issues, with the finish being partially applied tot he base of the neck, but no big deal. Amazing guitar, definitely worth the price.

[craigeater]

DaveDaThrasha wrote:

buddy of mine has one of these, and he's had nothin but problems since he got it. maybe its just his but hardware has been comin loose alot, and one of his pickups fried about a week after he got it. put some active EMG's in tho, and now its not a bad sounding guitar.

Make sure its not a fake there are quite a few!!!

[speedforhire]

Don't buy any Epi's that have a serial number that starts with the letters "EE".....those are cheap chinese copies.....BUYER BEWARE!

[speedforhire]

Hope this helps!

Epiphone

Most regular production models since ca. 1993. Many '80s and early '90s serial numbers may follow a similar scheme, but may not include a factory ID code.
FYYMMRRRR
F= Factory code (this can be 2 letters as well)
YY= year of manufacture (this can also be just 1 digit for '90s models)
MM= month of manufacture
R= ranking number (may be more or less digits, not necessarily indicative of total units produced)
Example - S02021234 was issued in Feb. 2002.

Another code used on some current Epiphone models
FYYMRRRR
F= Factory code
YY=Year of manufacture
M= This will be a letter code corresponding to the month (A=January, B=February, etc...)
RRRR= ranking number
Example - R03D0263 was issued in April 2003.

Epiphone Elite/Elitist models
FYSSSS
F= Factory Code (this code will be an "F" or "T")
Y= Year of manufacture (2 = 2002, 3 = 2003, etc.)
SSSS= Sequential Serial Number
Example - T41234 is a 2004 Elitist model.

[luke-bassist]

can this guitar actually do clean sounds because i thought EMGs couldn't do them?

[FOO_PYPER]

Getting the buzzsaw for christmas

[led+metallica]

i played this guitar at a local store and its the best guitar ive ever played. The sound very heavy, awesome sustain and feel plus killer looks. Neck is also really fast. Ive never really liked my kh-202 after playing this...

[minchew]

luke-bassist :
can this guitar actually do clean sounds because i thought EMGs couldn't do them?

EMGs can do clean tones very well. I have this set in my shecter and they sound amazing. I doubt I would swap out the pickups.

[sanester]

I bought this guitar last week and I love it. The NUT sucks though. It's has very sharp angles and I'm inflicting bodily harm while playing Machine Head "Davidian". I'm considering filing the sides of the nut because they're angled down and very sharp. When I slide my hand down the neck to the nut to play an E power cord (drop D tuning), the nut is digging into the side of my left hand index finger. Will filing the sides of the nut effect the sound in any way? I'll probably replace the nut when I bring this in for active EMG pickups, but the stock pickups are working for now.

[MetalManic 666]

i LOVE MINE

[jonathan666666]

it's amazing i didn't change the pickups or anything. its the greatest guitar i've owned

[DreadEnds]

I cant decide which to buy...
LTD Ec-1000 or A buzzsaw

I have Sig Zakk Wylde EMGS that i could stick in the Buzzsaw but im not sure what too doo