Epiphone 1956 Les Paul Standard PRO Electric Guitar, Chicago Blue (Amazon Exclusive)

I'm very impressed by it, it looks like an authentic Les Paul and plays beautifully. I really enjoy playing it but two niggles I have are how heavy the guitar is and how much much effort it takes to fret the notes (it takes as much effort as an acoustic). I'm glad I chose this colour because its the best value, i'm sure it's not worth paying an extra £100 for the red version or £600 total for the white or black editions.

very happy great guitar

Fantastic guitar and great service

Very nice guitar.

This Guitar is amazing, looks absolutely stunning and sounds great. Amazing tones and it is easy to tune. Up until now, I have only played with Guitars priced around £100. The materials used and the workmanship is unmistakable and the claim that it is handcrafted is also evident, this is a Musical instrument made with attention to detail. Nicely done pickups (Neck and Bridge) and Pickup switches are sturdy and so are other knobs.It feels heavier than Guitars I am used to but I am not sure it could be this loaded and be lighter, maybe.All in all thuis is a fantastic Electric Guitar.

This is a beautiful, exceptionally high spec Epiphone Les Paul Standard Pro. The detailing is beautiful and the attention to detail is impressive. As far as possible this imitates the Gibson Les Paul Standard of the 1950s. Gibson guitars are generally heavy and this has the weight of a genuine Gibson. It has a wide neck compared to other Les Paul standards. The 50’s rounded C-neck is a matter of preference but increases playability as it allows you to wrap your thumb around the top to play the low E string. It is very much a blues guitar.It’s a beautiful instrument and the colour is unusual and striking. An original Gibson would cost at least five times as much.Interestingly Epiphone is owned by the same parent company that owns Gibson but generally makes lower quality copies. Usually with the same electronics but cheaper wood. This guitar however uses premium mahogany with maple veneer. It features P90 pro pick ups made to the original specifications. It’s an absolute joy to play with nice warm tones if you play clean. Definitely an upper intermediate level instrument at a fantastic price for the specifications.Please note this is a right handed version and can’t be restrung for a left hander.

Think of guitars and you might think of Fender or Gibson but one of the top brands, which is part of the same company that owns the second of those two, is Epiphone. The original company has been around since, wait for it, 1873, but the Epiphone name didn’t arrive until 1928, and if 75% of The Beatles used their guitars, they have to be worth a shout. This ‘56 Les Paul Standard Pro is available in four finishes, viz. Ebony, Cardinal Red, Metallic Goldtop or Chicago Blue. Mine is the latter of those.I’ve never played nor even held a Gibson Les Paul so I can’t compare the two but what I can say is I thought I would at least have had to tune the D’Addario strings, but no; unpack it, plug it in and away you go. It needed no tinkering, as the intonation, action and pickup height were well set. There was no fret buzz and if you prefer a lower action, there’s enough leeway to amend that. Yes, you’ll tweak it all eventually, and I’ve had mine a month, but that isn’t necessary to start with. I have a Vox AC30 (maybe the most celebrated amplifier of them all and when I was little, I could see the factory in Dartford from my bedroom window) and this sounds lovely through that. I have to admit I’m not that technically good or even technically minded come to that, but as a mainly rhythm guitarist with mates as a bit of fun, I can do the job and the P90 PRO pickups help. Compared to some of the competition, weighing in at a bit over 9lbs (4.1k) it’s not the lightest guitar you’ll find, and it is fairly deep, which may be a reason for that seemingly excessive weightiness, but you won’t care about that when you hear it. It’s a solid piece of kit.Manufactured in China, I initially thought there might be some sharp edges on the frets but no; they were all as should be. I really couldn’t find anything to fault in the workmanship. The Chicago Blue colour certainly looks the part (the back looks black but it has a ‘mauveish’ lustre to it) and you do get a hint of the wood grain underneath. With the cream guard, the gold volume and tone controls and those P90 PRO ‘soapbar’ pickups, catching the light just adds to the visual excitement. Another word on the pick guard; it’s personal preference but I removed the guard out of curiosity and decided this guitar also looks the part without that in place.Whilst seasoned guitarists and purists may well pass this by, it is a beautiful design with a stunning finish and lives up to its initial expectation regarding sound quality and is a serious contender. It might not have the Gibson name on the head (the serial number is lasered onto the rear), but a real one will set you back four or five times the price of this. Go and try one out. Oh, you also get a sticker, double-sided poster, hex (allen) key and manual inside the box.Paired with that Vox AC30, I’m transported back to the late 50’s/early 60’s. Great stuff!