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Epiphone Les Paul Custom Plus
List: $1,250
The Epiphone Les Paul Custom is an elegant guitar, made to look like its original Gibson counterpart; the headstock, neck & body binding is the signature feature of this model. This is in fact, the guitar’s differentiating highlight. Considering its mid-price tag, many of us would be resorting to this guitar as an alternative to the boutique Gibson version but is it really a comprehensive substitute?
Construction/ fit/ finish/ features
Many of us approach the Epiphone brand name with a Gibson expectation; please be informed that the manufacturer has incorporated their own production philosophy in addition to the obligation to replicate the Gibson guitar outlines. The huge price difference would also suggest where the Epi LP Custom stands in terms of production.
On matters of construction & fitting, this Custom is arguably faultless. However, much is to be desired from the finishing department. The audition piece displays glue splatters (albeit non-horrendous but visible nevertheless) over at the nut/ headstock area. The nut piece itself has black spottings on the bass side. The neck binding here is nicked in several locations along the entire neck register, on both the bass & treble sides. The fretboard has dry spots at the lower frets & glue stains were evident at the upper fret register. The saving grace remains to be the visually stunning flame top but a closer look at the body binding reveals minor fraying at the bridge end.
The tuners here are perfectly functional but a little messing around uncovers minor nut choke (for unwound strings), nothing some lubrication wouldn’t cure. The knobs could have been a little smoother too.
Ratings:
• Construction/ fit: 95%
• Finish/ features: 69%
Playability/ tone
If you have handled the Gibson Les Paul Custom, you’d note the guitar’s massive (but perfectly playable) neck profile; however the Epi version isn’t true to the original specs. The overall depth on offers strays onto the less wholesome feel; the first few frets register displays a compound nature. A quick check with the Standard Plus neck reveals a trimmed profile indeed. The guitar in its entirety is very playable but lacks a dedicated organic feel, in part; it’s due to the lacquer grade.
Tone-wise, the Custom isn’t as appealing as its Standard/ Classic Plus counterparts. The overall resonance is impaired in its bottom end offerings. One would expect a healthy dose of boom from a set neck guitar of this nature but somehow, the default electronics coupled with the less sumptuous bulk threatens to thin-out especially on crunchy drive settings. Clean, the Custom is more appealing, emanating some of the most defined single notes from both the neck & bridge humbuckers but in this turf, many of us would prefer investing in the hallowed tones of a semi/ hollow jazz units.
Tone test equipment:
• Amp: Randall RG200/ Roland CUBE30X/ Ibanez ValBee
Rating: 70%
Conclusion
While the Epi LP Custom here scores big in visual attraction; the elaborate binding screams Custom unmistakably, a guitar should appeal in whole & not rest squarely on the reputation of the original it replicates. Despite the Standard/ Classic/ Custom label, Epiphone Les Pauls do not reproduce the original specifications of its Gibson cousins. Time & again, players would be splitting hairs just to decide which Epi Les Paul is worth their hard-earned money but their assessment, with all due respect, rests mainly on visual differences. There are no comprehensive constructional & electronic differences to revere one Epi LP exclusively from another unlike the Gibson hierarchy.
If you are possessed upon seeing this Custom, you could just be in love with an elaborately bound instrument as the Custom monicker here adds very little prestige (if any) to the guitar’s nature. For the rest of us in search of a more virtuous Epi LP, we have the Standard & Classic Plus to consider.
Overall rating: 70%
Likes:
• Binding is sheer visual attraction
• Above-average clean tones
Dislikes
• Finishing standard is a let down
• Bland drive tones
Worthy competitor:
• Edwards E-LP85CD
Review as requested by: Theuneven/ dacrylic
