Epiphone Les Paul Special II, Heritage Cherry Sunburst

The Epiphone LP Special II Les Paul Collection Electric Guitar is a GREAT GUITAR for $169.00 (The average selling price at the time of this review). The pickups, tune-o-matic bridge and stop piece are the same ones used in Epiphone's more expensive guitars, and are similar to what's used in much more expensive Gibsons. Although the tone adjustments have been simplified to a toggle between the three pickup combinations and an overall tone control for both pickups, this is not as big a deal as many might make of it. Given the vast array of other things that influence electric guitar sound -- strings, amp choice and settings, effects pedals and so forth -- the guitar sounds great as is.The finish and general fit and balance of the guitar are great. There was a time when budget guitars screamed cheap and were quite obviously low class in a lot of areas. Those days are past with the Epiphone LP Special II.All that said, there a few things to remember.* The guitar comes with very light bendy strings. This is probably due to market data that tells Epiphone that the bulk of buyers for this guitar are teen Guitar Heros who think that string bending every note is an essential aspect of shredding and wailing. If you plan to put heavier strings on the guitar (like 12-51s for example) for jazz or other styles of music then you will probably need a truss rod adjustment to compensate for the added tension. If you don't know how to do this, ask someone who does. You can ruin a guitar, permanently, by being too aggressive with a truss rod adjustment.* The guitar has a mahogany neck, but a basswood body. Do not let anyone tell you this is a bad thing. Basswood is a completely acceptable wood for musical instruments. It is not worse or better than mahogany or maple. It is just different. Once again, the differences involved will probably be irrelevant when added into all the other things that players do with amps, strings and pedals to create tone and sound from an electric guitar.* Epiphone has more than one factory making these guitars. One is in China, the other in is Indonesia. The guitars made by each are very close in every detail, but not exactly, perfectly the same.* The Chinese examples of the sunburst model that I have seen have a slightly golden-orange tone to the sunburst pattern, more like the traditional sunburst color in American guitars. The Indonesian examples I have seen have a much more over all orange look. Basswood does not have a lot of visible grain. The example guitar shown in the official Epiphone product photos, the photos you see on most web sites like Amazon and Musician's Friend and so forth, are probably a little optimistic when it comes to visible grain and the golden hued quality of the sunburst finish.* The Chinese examples I have seen tend to weigh more. One Indonesian model I saw weighed a full pound and half less than the Chinese model right next to it. There is not, unfortunately, any way to tell from the box or from the barcode or SKU number on the box what factory a given example inisde the box came from. The system will deal out whatever is in stock at the moment.The world is full of guys who will zero in on all the details they find inferior about this guitar by noting the rather obvious fact that this is not a Gibson Les Paul Standard costing $3,000.00. There are some people who will complain that this guitar has a bolt on neck. True, the set necks of the more expensive Epiphones and Gibsons are nicer. But, considering the fact that every Fender Stratocaster ever made had a bolt on neck, is this really a big deal? Would Jimi Hendrix have played "Purple Haze" better if his Strat had a set in neck? Probably not.The guitar this model is probably closest to, in spirit and purpose, is not the Gibson Les Pauls but, rather, to the old Gibson Melody Maker guitars from the 60s. That said, this is a hell of lot more guitar for the money than any Melody Maker ever was, and adjusted for inflation, relative to what a Melody Maker would have cost you in 1968, for example, it is almost like Epiphone paying you to play it.People listen to music, not guitars. Music is made by players, not by pickups and electronics. If you're on a budget, this is an outstanding choice. If you're not on a budget, it's still a very good basic instrument. RECOMMENDED.

Great guitar

Got this guitar…man..I love it…been playing for 47 years…this thing sounds and plays great…..after I did these simple set ups…new strings, lowered string action, b and high e needed slight intonation adjustment, made minor truss adjustment since I put 11 gage strings, I lowered the treble side of the humbuckers…these humbuckers are hot….note to new players…all guitars no matter what you pay…needs a set up…but this guitar is a keeper

Fine choice for this newbie.I bought this guitar for use with Rocksmith 2014. It has been a month and I have not had any issues with the guitar. One of the strings will lose some of its tension and will need to be adjusted fairly frequently. However, it is a minor adjustment to make.Rocksmith 2014 will work with other electric guitars. This one simply came with the bundle. I am sure that you can get higher quality, higher-performing units to use with the game. However, at this point, you may not be sure whether you will actually like playing the guitar. So, it may not make sense to spend more money for a better guitar at this point. I have known a lot of people who took up the guitar with a great deal of enthusiasm, only to lose interest after finding out just how hard it actually is to learn. It all depends on your budget, naturally.This is a fully-functioning guitar and not a game controller. Rocksmith 2014 is not at all like Guitar Hero, wherein the latter uses a special guitar-shaped game controller. The beauty of Rocksmith 2014 is that the game is actually made to work with an actual electric guitar. The secret is the cable. The cable plugs into where you would normally insert an amp cable. The other end of the cable is a usb that plugs into the front ports of your Playstation 4.The build quality of this guitar is more than good enough for you to learn on. If you are thinking of playing Rocksmith 2014 and you do not already own an electric guitar, then this one is worthy of your consideration. Buy a strap and the appropriate size guitar case and you are good to go. It should also be good enough if after you finish the game and you decide that you want to continue your learning, you will not need to immediately buy another guitar. In other words, this is a practical guitar choice for someone to learn on. You can buy cheaper models and you can also definitely buy more expensive models. But for this game and for a new learner, this one is a good choice. I do not foresee a situation in the game where you will find yourself under-equipped with this unit. This model was chosen by Ubisoft as one that would work well with their game, given the price of entry as well as the level of quality needed to play Rocksmith as well as interface with the different game console models.As I said, there are plenty of cheaper choices out there. But, I would not recommend a cheaper model for a new learner. Someone new to guitars will naturally make mistakes in the handling of the instruments, string tension, and adjustments. For someone just learning, they need a sturdy guitar that can tolerate a little bit of less-than delicate handling. Especially if the learner is a less-than careful youngster. In my opinion, this Les Paul is a sturdy unit.

Looks good. Sounds good. Easy to play and I was able to install a guyker tremolo on it. Can't beat it for the price.