2008 Epiphone Les Paul Custom Guitar Review

Howdy!

Today we are looking at an Epiphone limited edition Silverburst Les Paul Custom guitar that was only sold for a brief time in 2008, though they must have made o ton of them because I see them pretty often. It is a fine looking instrument and is well built, but the electronics have not held up too well over the years.

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 nut, 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. I would be curious to see their Custom Shop…

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 a good collection of parts, and Epiphone’s Chinese (factory did a fab job of sticking them together. I am continually astonished that the public continues real-deal Gibson Les Pauls with terrible necks and 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 do not have much talent.

Unfortunately, the years have not been kind to the electronics on this one, as one of the pickups has dies and the other has a whacky tone that is super muddy. It certainly could benefit from new 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 a maple neck and ebony fretboard it just will not sound the same anyway…

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 $300 to $400, which is a good price for a nice guitar. But, make sure you plug it in before you buy…

Mahalo!

1981 Greco Flying V MSV850 Guitar Review

Hi there!

Today we are looking at something completely different: a wonderfully gaudy vintage Gibson copy from Greco of Japan. This is a 1981 MSV850 that is obviously a Flying V copy, and if you look at the color scheme and the model number you might be able to figure out the story behind it. It is a peach, and I have never seen one in the US before.

Obviously it does not have a conventional paint scheme, with a striking black and white split down the middle, and even the pickguard and headstock get the dual finish. Of course, this thing is getting close to 40 years old, so the white has turned pretty darned yellow. And if you look at the model number, the MS indicates that this is the Michael Schenker model (that guy from the Scorpions). The V means it is a Flying V, and 850 would be the price in Yen (85,000 Yen was around $420 in 1981).

This guitar was made at the Fujigen factory in December 1981, and it appears to have survived without the indignities of modifications or shoddy repairs for the past 37 years. Apart from the finish, this appears to be equipped with fairly standard fare for a Greco electric. I am not completely sure what it is made from, but looking at the pickup cavities I think the used mahogany, so the neck probably has the same wood. The fretboard is a nicely aged chunk of rosewood, and there are 22 frets set into it, as well as small plastic dot markers.

The hardware is chrome and included Greco-branded sealed tuners, and the expected stop-bar tailpiece and tune-O-matic style bridge. There is also a brass nut, which is how these instruments shipped from the factory.

Some of these guitars came from the factory with the legendary Dry Z pickups, but this one did not. The humbuckers are what are to be expected, and they measure out at 8.01k ohm for the neck and 8.05k ohm for the bridge. The pots are also original, and they look to be a little on the cheap side.

Condition-wise, this thing looks awesome for a 37-year-old metal guitar. The truss rod works fine and the frets are a little worn, but it still plays fine. It has a comfy neck and it is actually pretty easy to play, and it actually stays in tune really well. But the best part is the tone, and even though this did not come with Dry Z pickups, it has an exceptionally sweet tone and it sounds tremendous when overdriven. It is an awesome guitar for pretty much whatever you would want to do with it. Oh, and di I mention it comes with the original hard case? Those are pretty hard to come by…

I never knew I waned one of these Greco Michael Schenker signature model guitars, but now that I have one I am super happy with it. I hope you get to try one out some day!

Mahalo!

1970s SL500 Yamaha Studio Lord Guitar Review

Aloha!

Today we are looking at a nice Japanese Les Paul lawsuit-era guitar copy.

In case you have not run into these before, the lawsuit guitars were built by Japanese companies in the late 1970s and early 1980s. They used classic guitar and bass designs from Fender, Gibson, Hofner, Martin and Rickenbacker, and made killer knock-offs. The 70s and 80s were not exactly the best years for quality for any of these companies, and consumers really ate up the good quality copies. Well, Gibson and the gang caught on eventually and sued the crap out of the Japanese. Some of these very playable guitars are now collectible.

A fine specimen of these is this late 1970s Yamaha Studio Lord model SL500. In traditional Japanese manufacturing-ese, the 500 in the model name relates to the instrument’s original list price, in this case it was 50,000 yen. This was around $250 back then, if I did the math right. I have never seen another one in the US. I picked this one for a few hundred bucks on a business trip overseas.

This Studio is finished in a classy cherryburst, with a little burnt orange thrown in. The body is mahogany, with an agathis back, maybe. It is not unduly heavy for a Les Paul, coming in at a bit over 10 pounds.

It has a set neck with a rosewood fretboard. The neck is nicely rounded, is between the 50s and 60s style Les Pauls as far as feel. It is straight with plenty of life left in the frets. It has a medium action and it plays like a dream. There are a few small marks on the back of the neck, but nothing that bothers me when I play it, because I am a rock star.

Everything appears to be original on this guitar, including the Yamaha branded tuners. The wiring is tidy and the pickups and knobs appear to be OEM. The tailpiece shows some pitting and the tuning pegs have a few signs of oxidization but those things are not a big deal. As this is a 40 year old guitar, there are some small blemishes and the typical soft markings on the rear of the guitar. But overall it is in very respectable condition.

It plays very well with a set of Ernie Ball 0.010s on it. The pickups are sweet at normal levels, and are super crunchy with an overdriven amp. The action and feel is awesome. The neck is not chubby and not thin…in between. All electronics work as they should, and there is no funky integrated circuit board.

If you are considering a new Gibson Les Paul, think twice. Their necks and frets are a crapshoot in a losing game. Find a lawsuit-era guitar from Yamaha, Tokai or Greco, and you will spend a lot less coin and get a better playing guitar.

Mahalo!

1996 Gibson SG Special Electric Guitar Review

Aloha!

In recent years I have had much better luck finding good playing SGs than Les Pauls, and the 1996 Gibson SG Special we are looking at today is no exception.

The Gibson SG is a classic guitar that was introduced in 1961 as a cheaper version of the Les Paul. It has not really changed much over the years, and to be honest I think they play a bit better (easier) than the Les Paul models. They have never been as popular as Les Pauls, and everybody thinks you want to be Angus Young or Tony Iommi when they see you playing one.

Now, the SG Special is a little bit different than the SG standard, which is what I have always owned in the past. It has the same Mahogany construction, nitrocellulose finish, green tulip button tuners, Tune-O-Matic bridge, and stop bar tailpiece. And it certainly has the distinctive SG profile.

But the factory simplified some of the construction to make this guitar more affordable, so there are some cosmetic differences. The pickups are uncovered, there is no binding on the neck, there are small plastic fretboard dots instead of trapezoid inlays, and the headstock has a silkscreened logo instead of the mother-of-pearl Gibson logo and flowerpot.

There is also a slight difference in the electronics package. SG Specials long ago abandoned the P-90s that they had in the 1960s, and this model uses a balanced set of alnico-magnet pickups: a 490R at the neck and a 490T at the bridge. You will find that the SG Standard also uses a 490R at the neck, but has a hotter 498T at the bridge. There is no difference in the controls, which includes individual pickup volume and tone controls and a three-way switch.

Enough of the history lesson – how is this guitar?

This particular instrument is a very well kept SG Special that was built at the Nashville factory in 1996, and is finished in glossy Cardinal Red over its mahogany body and neck. This is not too common, as it seems that almost every other SG I have see is wine red or black, and all of the specials have been black. Hmm.

The neck is what makes this SG very good, as they got this one right. The fretboard is true, and the frets are dead nuts level. The fret edges are smooth as silk, and the action is low and buzz free with Ernie Ball 0.010s. There is almost no wear to the frets, despite its age. It also sounds amazing, and I do not notice that the bridge humbucker is not as powerful as on the Standard models. That is what you have a volume control for, after all…

As I said this is guitar is in really good shape, and I would call it collector grade if people actually collected low-end model SGs. It has no scratches or dings, and over the past 22 years it has been spared the indignity of ill-advised modifications (brass nut, speed knobs, etc.). I also have a Les Paul Standard and an Explorer (plus Japanese clones of all 3), and this is by far the best player of the bunch.

So, if you are looking for a good Gibson electric, think about extending your search beyond the sexier Les Paul models, and give a SG a try. You might like it!

Mahalo!

P.A.F. Electric Guitar Pickups - From Machines to Magic

Aloha!

Gibson PAF (Patent Applied For) pickups were originally installed on instruments from 1955 to 1961 (or so), and these are considered the holy grail of vintage electronics, selling for thousands of dollars each. If you have ever wondered what the complete story is on these pickups, Jon Gundry has put together a comprehensive website, P.A.F. Electric Guitar Pickups - From Machines to Magic, that will fill in all of the blanks for you.

Jon Gundry has plenty of practical experience repairing vintage PAF pickups, and he has figured out how to make reproductions that are very faithful to the originals owns. His company, ThroBak Electronics, sells very fine reproduction pickups that are made in the USA. So, he is the PAF man, and it is cool that he is sharing this knowledge with us. By the way, he also sells really kick-ass reproduction harnesses and non-PAF reproduction pickups too, so head over to throbak.com to see what he has in his store.

But for the full PAF story you will need to click on pafhumbucker.com. Of course, there is a bit of a sales element to the PAF page, but my god it is all good stuff. There are plenty of detailed photos, some videos, and many text sections that describe every last bit of these pickups. The site is neatly laid out, with sections for:

- PAF History

- PAF Anatomy

- PAF Winders

- PAF Repros

- PAF Legends

- PAF Links

I am not going to go into more detail, because if this sort of stuff is your bag you will click on everything in Gundry’s website no matter what I say. Anyway, I love this website, and if you ever wanted to know anything about the PAF pickups, you will find it here. Check it out for yourself at pafhumbucker.com

Mahalo!

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!

2001 Gibson SG Special Electric Guitar Review

Aloha!

In recent years I have had much better luck finding good playing SGs than Les Pauls, and the 2001 Gibson SG Special we are looking at today is no exception.

The Gibson SG is a classic guitar that was introduced in 1961 as a cheaper version of the Les Paul. It has not really changed much over the years, and to be honest I think they play a bit better (easier) than the Les Paul models. They have never been as popular as Les Pauls, and everybody thinks you want to be Angus Young or Tony Iommi when they see you playing one.

Now, the SG Special is a little bit different than the SG standard, which is what I have always owned in the past. It has the same Mahogany construction, nitrocellulose finish, green tulip button tuners, Tune-O-Matic bridge, and stop bar tailpiece. And it certainly has the distinctive SG profile.

But the factory simplified some of the construction to make this guitar more affordable, so there are some cosmetic differences. The pickups are uncovered, there is no binding on the neck, there are small plastic fretboard dots instead of trapezoid inlays, and the headstock has a silkscreened logo instead of the mother-of-pearl Gibson logo and flowerpot.

There is also a slight difference in the electronics package. SG Specials long ago abandoned the P-90s that they had in the 1960s, and this model uses a balanced set of alnico-magnet pickups: a 490R at the neck and a 490T at the bridge. You will find that the SG Standard also uses a 490R at the neck, but has a hotter 498T at the bridge. There is no difference in the controls, which includes individual pickup volume and tone controls and a three-way switch.

Enough of the history lesson – how is this guitar?

This is a player’s-grade SG Special that was built at the Nashville factory on January 23, 2001, and is finished in glossy ebony over its mahogany body and neck. Come to think of it, every other SG I have owned was also black. Hmm.

The neck is what makes this SG very good, they got this one right. The fretboard is true, and the frets are dead nuts level. The fret edges are smooth as silk, and the action is low and buzz free with Ernie Ball 0.010s. There is very little wear to the frets, despite its age. It also sounds amazing, and I do not notice that the bridge humbucker is not as powerful as on the Standard models. That is what you have a volume control for, after all…

As I said this is a player’s guitar. It has some small scratches and dings, though they are all from normal use, not abuse. One of the tuners was changed out as it got bent – it is the same tuner, but it looks a bit newer. And somebody (not me!) installed speed knobs on this thing at some point. I need to do something about that, as an SG just looks stupid with speed knobs.

So, if you are looking for a good Gibson electric, think about extending your search beyond the sexier Les Paul models, and give a SG a try. You might like it!

Mahalo!

Stewart-MacDonald Adjustable Toggle Switch Wrench Review

Howdy!

The toggle switch nut on Gibson Les Paul guitars can be a frustrating part to remove or install, despite the fact that it is super easy to get to. You see, since it is on the front of the guitar and so easy to see, Gibson wanted it to have a nice appearance. So they used a knurled ring to hold the switch in place, and there are no flats on which to fit a conventional wrench.

This means that most folks end up using a pair of pliers to get it loose, which can easily lead to a scratch in the finish or a chewed up nut. Plus, if you are really careful not to damage the nut when installing it, chances are good that it will not be tight enough and that it will loosen up over time.

There are special tools available, but they are made of plastic and strip out quickly. Fortunately, there is an answer to this problem. The marketplace for luthiers, Stewart-MacDonald, offers exactly the tool for the job: the adjustable toggle switch wrench.

This thing is made of metal with a plastic screwdriver-type handle. You can rotate the barrel around the wrench part so it fits snugly on the nut, and it does exactly what the company says it will do. You might think it is a waste of money to buy such a specialized tool that may not be used very often, but $17.71 is cheap insurance when working on your treasured guitars. Check out Stewart-MacDonald’s website for ordering details!

Mahalo!

Epiphone PR-150 Acoustic Guitar Review

Hiya! There are some nice budget guitars out there, and as you add hundreds or even thousands of dollars to the price the improvements in tone and playability are not commensurate with the amount spent. Don’t get me wrong, there is no substitute for a Santa Cruz acoustic or a Sadowsky bass, but there are some great values out there for short money, and I think one of them is the Epiphone PR-150.

Surely you know of Epiphone, they produce the entry-level Gibson brand instruments that get re-sold for almost nothing as soon as a guitarist can scrape up enough dosh for a real Gibson. Though much maligned, these imported guitars can be quite good.

The PR-150 is a square-shoulder dreadnought which can be loosely seen as Gibson’s answer to Martin’s D-series guitars. If I decoded the serial number correctly (which is tricky) the Epiphone version we are looking at here today was made in China in November of 2003. It has ok materials and parts so the labor costs must be almost non-existent. Human rights advocates be warned…

The woods are good, with a spruce top and a bound mahogany body and neck. Are these solid woods? I don’t know, but for this price I am suspecting probably not. The fretboard and bridge are made of real solid rosewood, which is amazing when you consider that Gibson is using all kind of bizarre stuff for Les Paul fretboards instead of rosewood. The body is sprayed in a clear finish (NA), but it is also available in Vintage Sunburst, which looks pretty nice.

Oh yes, and it has a big and kind of stupid-looking Epiphone “E” on the faux tortoise shell pickguard. Blerg.

The slim-taper profile neck is comfortable. It has a 1.68-inch wide nut and 20 frets with a 25 ½-inch scale. The bound rosewood fretboard has dot inlays and there is an adjustable trussrod at the headstock. On one end there are a set of cheap-o tuners, and on the other end there is a compensated synthetic bone bridge saddle. One welcome piece of hardware is two strap pins. Why do so many manufacturers only give you one?

I found this guitar second-hand at the local flea market, and picked it up in case a friend needs a cheap started guitar. It is in really nice shape and it appears to be well put together. The finish quality is good, and the frets are not sharp on the edges and are as good as the ones that you will find on a new Gibson Les Paul (which is not saying much, I guess). The tuners do not hold well, which is the weakest link here. In general the intonation is good and the neck can be adjusted for a low and fast action, though a little nut filing may be needed. Best of all, this guitar has a loud tone and a relatively balanced sound from string to string. Keep in mind that this is not an expensive guitar, and everything is relative…

I have saved the best for last, and that is the price. The Epiphone PR-150 has a list price of $249, and a street price of $139. If you look around you can find even better deals at Black Friday sales, and used ones are embarrassingly cheap. But if you buy a new one you get the Epiphone Limited Lifetime Warranty and Gibson 24/7/365 customer service. This is one of the best acoustic deals on the market right now. Trust me…

Mahalo!