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Where it really counts, the specs are spot on.
#EPIPHONE LES PAUL 50S PRO#
The knobs and P-90 Pro pickup covers are similarly vintage in style and although we’re less enamoured with the truss-rod cover and textured rear cover plates, these are very minor details. We have an original Gibson guard on hand to compare and Epiphone’s attention to detail is admirable. Vintage plastics obsessives will be pleased to note that the five-ply pickguard is equally impressive, with the upper layer of white thinner than the lower layer.
#EPIPHONE LES PAUL 50S TV#
“There’s nothing more you could want from a TV Special” The colour looks wonderful and with its grain-obscuring opaqueness and hint of olive green, the vibe is very much mid- rather than late-50s. You might not expect a modern budget version of a 1950s student model to have much of a ‘wow’ factor, but this £349 guitar has it in spades. Time to take a deeper dive… Les Paul Special
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Other common features on our Original Collection review guitars include Graph Tech nuts, nickel-plated hardware, vintage-style Epiphone Deluxe tuners with an 18:1 ratio and Indian laurel fretboards with a 12-inch radius. Either way, most people – us included – seem to think it’s a massive improvement.
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So although the Kalamazoo headstock more closely resembles the classic Gibson outline, it’s actually a historic Epiphone design. That said, the switch for 2020 isn’t such a radical move Epiphones had open-book headstocks long before Gibson acquired the company and in recent years, they’ve continued to be a feature of original Epiphone designs such as the Wildkat. Such has been the demand, a whole subculture dedicated to Epiphone headstock conversions can be found online. The strategy is pretty clear Epiphone guitars in the Original Collection will be closer to their forebears than ever before, with vintage-style features and finishes, upgraded electronics with hand-wired CTS potentiometers and in addition, Les Pauls and SGs will benefit from a headstock design Gibson is calling the ‘Kalamazoo’.įor several decades, most Epiphone solidbodies have featured a headstock with the top corners of the ‘open-book’ outline missing, and many players have requested a design closer to the classic Gibson look. Epiphone was next in line for a refresh and Winter NAMM 2020 saw the public debut of a range of new Inspired By Gibson models. Hold this guitar in my hands without playing it it feels great and if I decide to use some spare parts it could be good but this will need to be in the hands of someone that can repair the brand new unused fretboard.Gibson’s new management demonstrated its willingness to listen and respond to customers last year when the core lineup was updated and split into Original and Modern collections. Lastly there is the most unnatural grain across the back of the guitar that makes this look like a sub $300 guitar and it is going the wrong way compared to the pictures of these online. The tuners are great and this is style I use on eppy SG's to replace and alleviate the neck dive that those heavy grovers seem to cause if the body/neck ratio are not perfect.
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I never leveled a fretboard before and it's insulting to have to do it on a new guitar.Īlso these pickups sound like crap compared to the probuckers in the custom and I believe they're the same. I have trouble returning items so it's going to go back in the box for a future game plan. But this is high frets galore and the most uneven fret job I layed my hands on. My epiphone lp custom came with bad fret work but it was only the ends and to me that is no big deal. I would like to add that I received the gold top 50s and the fretwork is unfortunately the most terrible craftsmanship that ever came out of the box.