Epiphone Limited Edition Les Paul Special EGS1WKNH3 Electric Guitar Review

Greetings!

I recently posted a review of an entry-level Fender Stratocaster, and in interest of fairness I should give the Gibson camp their fair share of publicity. So, today we are going to take a look at the Epiphone Limited Edition Les Paul Special EGS1WKNH3 guitar. This is one of the least expensive Les Pauls on the market, and it is not too bad!

I will start out by saying that is has the general look of a Gibson Les Paul, but this thing is serious de-contented in features, materials, and workmanship. This should not be a big surprise, as this guitar is not going to cost you much more than a hundred bucks. It has the single cutaway, a book shaped headstock, a couple of pickups, six strings, and a lot of stuff that you will not find on a real Les Paul. So this will take a little explaining.

The slab body (no carved top) is made of basswood, a good tonewood, but not the most durable material on the planet. Epiphone finished this LP in matte black, which is a departure from most of these that come with the faded finish. This is loaded up with Epiphone 700T bridge and 650R neck humbuckers that are wired through a 3-way switch that is located between the only tow knobs on the guitar: master volume and master tone. There is also a fairly terrible one-piece wraparound bridge.

The bolt-on mahogany neck is pretty nice, with a 1960s profile slim taper neck and 21 frets sunk into the rosewood fretboard. Funny how Gibson cannot use real rosewood on a $2K Les Paul, but Epiphone can do it on a guitar that costs a C-note. There are sealed tuners out of the headstock that are supposed to be nickel-plated, but it sure looks like chrome to me.

Right out of the box, this Les Paul played pretty good. Intonation was ok, there were no dead frets, and the D-shaped neck had a decidedly Les Paul feel. With a little bit of set-up (truss rod and intonation adjustment), it was definitely way better than the entry-level guitars of the 1970s that I grew up with. The sound is not quite up to snuff and I missed the dual tone and volume knobs that I use on my Gibson Les Paul Standard to get the vibe that I crave. But it is good enough. The pickups have good output and certainly can get crunchy, though there is a bit of hum to be found. All in all, it hits the mark and it is a viable candidate for beginning guitar players, or anybody that is looking for an instrument that may be subjected to rough conditions.

How much does all of this cost? Not much! The Epiphone Limited Edition Les Paul Special guitar has a list price of $245, but you would be a fool to pay that much. The street price for these is $149, and it you hold out you will find them on sale pretty often for $99. That is a steal for a playable electric that sounds good and looks ok. Trust me!

Mahalo!

MONO M80 Dual Guitar Gig Bag Review

Greetings!

There was a time when I sneered at gig bags, and would only get hard cases for my guitars and basses. My attitude has since turned around on this opinion, and most of my instruments are in gig bags now.

I would feel differently if I was playing out a lot and had to stick my gear in a van with the rest of the band’s crap, but that is not my situation. For around the house or loading up my car a gig bag is plenty for me. You will find that lightweight and less space are big bonuses, especially if you are using public transportation.

I got the chance to try out the MONO M80 Dual Guitar Gig Bag Review earlier this year, and it blew me away. In fact, you could even say that I am tickled pink with it. Hee!

For starters, this is a double bag so it holds two solid-body electric guitars, which makes for a tidy package when travelling, and it is always nice to have a spare guitar at a gig. It fits most of my electrics, including the Strat, Tele, Les Paul, SG, and even a pointy headstock metal thing. Of course my Gibson Explorer will not fit, but I never through for a second that it would, and Flying Vs are probably out of the equation too.

In case you are wondering it is around 42 inches long, and will fit guitars with a 12 inch upper bout and a 14 inch lower bout. More or less. And the whole thing weighs in around 7 pounds, without any guitars in it. That is pretty heavy, but fortunately it has comfy built-in backpack straps that tuck neatly out of the way if you are not using them.

Those guitars are very well protected inside, thanks to generous padding and a super-nice neck support system that might be able to keep you from snapping your Les Paul headstock off. It has a heavy-duty nylon exterior that is pretty much water-resistant, and the dual zippers are as heavy as they come. There are plenty of pockets, and they are well padded to keep the contents safe, as well as keeping whatever is in them from damaging your guitars.

Ergonomically the MONO 80 is awesome, as it Is very well through out, and it even balances well on the carry handle. This is the nicest gig bag I have ever used, but it is not terribly cheap. One of these will set you back $329 ($415 list), though that does include the MONO limited lifetime warranty. For that price, I cannot imagine them hassling you too much if you have to file a claim.

Check one out for yourself and see what you think, I think you will be impressed!

Mahalo!

2008 Epiphone Les Paul Custom Silverburst Electric Guitar Review

Hi there!

I am as much of a guitar snob as the next guy and am often quick to sniff at a cheap instrument and buy something more expensive on general principle, but this imported Epiphone is no joke. Today we are looking at an Epiphone limited edition Silverburst Les Paul Custom guitar that was only sold for a brief time in 2008. The quality of this instrument is impressive, especially when comparing it to the guitars that Gibson is crapping out of its American division.

The Custom has always been the top of the Les Paul line-up, and this one is a tribute to the original Silverburst instruments that were made from 1979 to 1985. The vintage Silverburst Les Pauls have been the go-to axe for Adam Jones from Tool, so they have developed a cult following and they are stupidly expensive now.

Les Paul Customs are set apart from the Standard models by more intricate inlays, as well as multi-ply body binding. This Epiphone got these adornments, but not the usual gold-plated hardware (thankfully).

Other than the color, the specs are fairly standard for an imported Les Paul. It has a mahogany body with a carved alder top, which is surprising considering that these usually have maple tops. The 24.75-inch scale set neck is mahogany, which is normal, but differs from the maple necks on the original Silverburst Les Pauls. The whole thing has a coat of thick poly and the silverburst fade is only on the front. The back is glossy black, while the originals were Silverburst back there instead.

The neck has a 1 11/16-inch wide neck, and a fairly fat profile. The rosewood fretboard has trapezoid pearl inlays, and it has an evenly applied cream binding. The headstock carries the 5-ply binding over from the body, and it is equipped with chrome Grover sealed-back tuners. In case you care, there is a diamond mother of pearl inlay on the front of the headstock, and an Epiphone Custom Shop Logo on the back.

The rest of the hardware is standard fare, with a chrome Tune-o-matic bridge with a stopbar tail piece and a multi-ply black pickguard. And the electronics are just about what you would expect on an Epiphone. These Customs come with plain-Jane Alnico humbucker with the usual Les Paul 2 volume / 2 tone knobs set-up.

In the end, this turns out to be an acceptable collection of parts, and Epiphone’s Chinese (or Korean, I am not sure which) factory did a fab job of sticking them together. I am continually astonished that the public continues buying $2500 Gibson Les Pauls with lumpy fretboards and hillbilly smile frets when there are much better alternatives out there for less money.

This Silverburst Les Paul Custom has a nice neck with perfect frets and a pretty low action with no fiddling around or modifications. It has a C profile and its thickness is right in the middle between the 50’s and 60’s neck profiles that are so popular. This translates into a lot smoother playing experience for me, which is worth a bunch because I am a horrible guitarist.

The tone is good enough if you are looking for the classic blues/rock sound, especially with the selector in the middle position. It certainly could benefit from better pickups and wiring, and I think a set of Burstbuckers (maybe out of phase) would be magical in this guitar. If you are going for the full Tool mod, Jones says he uses a Seymour Duncan JB at the bridge, though I have my doubts that he is being truthful, and without an ebony fretboard it just will not sound the same anyway…

As far as weight goes, this one is right in the ballpark for a Les Paul, coming in at around 9 ½ pounds, which is lighter than the Telecaster I am playing right now. Then again, maybe that says more about how ungodly heavy my Telecaster is.

When this run of Epiphone Silverburst Les Paul Customs was originally on sale their street price was around $600 (with no case), which is pricy for an Epiphone Les Paul. But nowadays they go for around $400 to $500, which is a good price for a nice guitar. By the way, Epiphone is now selling a Custom Pro Les Paul in Silverburst, but I have not had a chance to try one out yet. When I do, I will let you know!

Mahalo!

Sterling AX20 Guitar Review

Como estas?

Today we are looking at the ugliest guitar I have ever owned, a Sterling by MusicMan AX20 electric guitar.

Before we go any further with the review, let us address its appearance first. It still has the original Rockstar energy drink graphics, which are breathtaking (and not in a good way). I might eventually strip the top down, but for now it is what it is. I picked this guitar up in new condition from a 7-Eleven owner for $100; he told me that he won it for selling a metric ton of energy drinks.

The basswood body shares the MusicMan Axis profile and shape and should be as well balances as its MusicMan cousin, but it is not. It has a bit of neck dive actually, which is not usually something I complain about, but it seems worse on this one.

The neck is good. The nut is 1.65-inches wide and it has an asymmetrical carve so that it plays fast but is still strong. The five bolts really hold this thing solid. It is true, and the truss rod works freely. Aside from some fret sprout, the 22 medium jumbo frets and the fingerboard are in great condition.

The hardware is adequate. The locking tuners are capital C Cheap, and I would prefer non-locking tuners of a higher quality if given the choice. It has a hardtail string through the body bridge, which is nicer than the tuners.

This AX20 has its two original humbuckers, and I have not been able to figure out who made them. They look and sound like Dimarzios, which is a good thing, but they probably are imitations at this price point.

This one even came with the original padded gig bag and shipping box. No energy drinks were included, though.

So how does it play? If you can get past the neck dive and the logos it is pretty much ok, and would be a good guitar for a travelling or for a beginner. It is playable and can make crunchy tones, plus it is not terribly heavy.

I see these Rockstar guitars online often and they are a great value. You can buy one from eBay or Craigslist for $100 to $200 and save big! Keep in mind that hardtail AX20 guitars have been discontinued and SBMM is only making these with tremolos now, and MSRP on these was $749, with a street price of $499.

Mahalo!

Martin D-18V Guitar

Aloha!

I have tried the rest and finally bought the acoustic guitar I wished I had never sold, a Martin D-18V. This model perfectly captures the look and sound of an old Martin dreadnought, and I cannot believe I sold the last one that I was lucky enough to own.

A lot of folks like the simpler appointments and throwback look of older guitar models, so the wise heads at Martin introduced the vintage series of guitars which have these classic looks and features and are ready to play right out of the box.

This D-18V has plenty of vintage styling cues, including the rosette, headstock shape, pick guard, hardware (little bean tuners!), fretboard markers and neck profile. The vintage-ness carries over to its construction, with scalloped braces (light strings, please) and top bracing that is more forward than the regular D-18.

This Martin has a solid sitka spruce top, and solid mahogany sides and back. Note that the vintage series gets a nicely aged finish that is very thin. I am not fond of the newer Martins with really light colored tops, so the vintage tint brings the whole look together for me. The fretboard and bridge are made of ebony – good look finding that on a regular D-18.

The neck is fabulous, with great workmanship on the frets and fingerboard. The neck has a comfortable V shape to it, and the width at the nut is 1 & 11/16 inches.

This specific guitar is a 2008 model that was made during Martin’s 175th anniversary. It has a few light dings, probably because the finish is so thin, but I would not have it any other way. I think thick finishes really hurt the tone of acoustic guitars.

And the tone is what draws me back to the D-18V. I love the look and feel of the D-28, but I prefer the tone of mahogany, not rosewood. Also, the scalloped (and more forward) bracing gives the D-18V a fuller sound, making this the perfect guitar for me -- especially when I consider the classic vintage look of this thing.

These guitars are not terribly cheap, of course. The list price is $3349, with a street price of $2499, but you get what you pay for, and what you are paying for here is one of the best mass-production dreadnoughts around. By the way, I recently went on the Martin factory tour and got to see first-hand the care that goes into building these guitars, and it made me proud to own one.

It is good to have this guitar back in my stable, and hopefully I have wised up a bit, and will keep onto this Martin and not be distracted the newest, greatest thing that pulls into town. Hope springs eternal.

Oh yeah, and now I need to find a J-45. You got a line on one, Corey?

Mahalo!

1970s Aria 1532T Guitar

Good day!

I have written about a lot of guitars that were made during the “lawsuit era”. These were 1970s Japanese copies of famous Fender, Gibson and Rickenbacker guitars. The guitar we are looking at today was made before any of the lawsuits were settled, but somehow does not copy anything terribly well.

This guitar was made by Aria, and the sticker on the back of the headstock identifies it as model 1532T, and I am going to say it is closest to a Fender Jaguar in style. But there are only similarities to the Fender as the shape of the headstock and body, and the layout of the electronics are all quite a bit different.

I found this guitar at a pawn shop in San Pedro about 10 years ago, and I think I paid about $200 for it at the time. It was probably made between 1968 and 1972, and was in original condition with no modifications that I could find.

The body is made of alder with a modernistic offset shape. The white finish yellowed nicely over the years. The vintage tremolo is kind of awful, but it never bothered me much because I do not use the whammy bar on my guitars anyway.

The bolt-on neck was very nice and did not show much wear for a 30+ year old guitar. It was straight and the trussrod still worked fine. Look at those tuners! Their base is cast as one piece, which is pretty strange in the electric guitar world. The 21 original frets were in good shape, and the rosewood fretboard showed no wear. By the way, the 1532T is a 24 ¾-inch scale guitar.

The electronics are a lot simpler than the Jaguar. The Aria just has two single coil pickups (big ones, aren’t they?), a three-way selector switch and volume and tone controls.

Don’t get me wrong -- just because this is a bizarre take on the original does not mean it is not a great guitar. It sounds good and is really lightweight and fun to play. You get a lot of guitar for the money with these older Japanese electrics.

While researching this I found that Aria has re-issued this guitar as model Retro-1532, with a list price of about $300. I have not had a chance to try them out, but they look right and come with a 1 year warranty. I am pretty sure they are no longer made in Japan, but the quality of Chinese and Jorean guitars can be surprisingly good.

I f you’ve had a chance to play one of the re-issues, why don’t you drop me a line and let me know what you think.

Mahalo!