![epiphone les paul 59 reissue 2020 epiphone les paul 59 reissue 2020](https://guitars.azureedge.net/aza/user/gear/gibson-les-paul-standard-re-9-x4Ec2fX.jpg)
It feels more like a "typical" guitar in regards to how weight is distributed. Differences Between the Modern and Customįirst, the Modern has some additional weight relief in the body, which makes it less cumbersome to play standing up. There are only a handful of technical differences between the Les Paul Modern and the two other Epiphone LPs we've tested. Most modern styles, heavy metal, classic rock, and even blues guitarists are great candidates for the Epiphone Custom. Ideal UserĪt under $700 retail it's an intermediate-friendly electric guitar that could also be helpful to semi-professionals or those who want a cheap gigging axe. Even in the new lighter models, the body feels much heavier than the neck, like it wants to hang from the strap with the body lower than you might want.īut it's a small problem, and you'll get used to the weight distribution after awhile. If you're used to other electric guitar designs, it might take you awhile to get used to the weight distribution of a Les Paul. It's certainly a guitar that plays faster, with the SlimTaper neck design and 22 jumbo frets. In that respect, even with the cheaper pickups, the Epiphone Les Paul Custom can handle a wide range of sounds and styles without much limitation. You get the same brassy, kind of high-end chime on the upper register of the fretboard, along with the percussive, chunky rhythms on the lower notes. Having said that, the tone of the Epiphone Les Paul Custom is still quite good. They're a high-end product that Gibson reserves for their nicer instruments. These are actually built by a third-party called CTS, a fairly large-scale manufacturing company:Īs you can tell, it would be much pricier to put these pickups in any guitar. PotentiometersĪnother part of the Custom that isn't stock, but falls more in the electronics category, would be the potentiometers. They're actually Grover® Rotomatic® 18:1 tuning machines in the Custom, which gives you some high-end hardware, and an uptick in value. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it does mean you're getting cheaper, mass-produced hardware that allows Epiphone to bring down the price of their guitar.Īlthough one important note about the tuning heads: Stock PartsĮpiphone uses the following stock parts on the Custom: The primary differences between the Gibson and Epiphone version of the Custom are going to be in the parts used. As long as the instrument is kept in good condition, the Epiphone brand will allow you to recover a good chunk of its value.Epiphone's version of the Custom does a good job of capturing the aesthetics and menacing look of the Gibson version, right down to the gold hardware and split diamond inlay on the headstock. Should you wish to trade or sell the instrument down the road, the resale value is very much in the name. The fix was easy and the excess was removed cleanly with a little help of a fine file. We suspect the uppermost part of the binding liquified a little during the polishing phase producing the edge. Lastly, there was a little bit of a sharp edge in a few spots where the binding transitioned to the top.With a little work, they could be trimmed to fit. The pickup surrounds were designed to marry with the complete curve therefor there was a small gap evident. Cosmetically, there was a noticeable flat spot at the very top part of what should be the arch.The remedy was to simply loosen the jack, rotate it a few degrees, tighten it back up and voila! Problem solved.
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The problem was due to the inner positive contact bumping into the inner wall of the route. We noticed the jack was a bit unnaturally stiff when plugging in the guitar.Again this is a fairly common issue with some new guitars in general, and was easily tightened up using an appropriate tool. The knurled nut for the toggle switch was a little loose.If you play a lot of slide, this is a good thing and is anticipated. Keep in mind, it’s not uncommon to have nut slots a little proud from the factory. The slots of the Graph Tech NuBone nut were a little high and needed to be filed down to be more comfortable.During our setup procedure we noticed a few small things that needed attention: