Epiphone Les Paul 100 Guitar Review

Gibson's Les Paul model guitar has been a staple in all facets of the music industry for decades. It is the choice guitar of many legendary musicians and studio performers, the list of which is too long to even mention. Its versatility and sound make it unique among the guitar industry in that nearly every version and edition of the Les Paul have sold extremely well, and for good reason. Epiphone, a daughter company of Gibson, has made its own version of the Les Paul for the mid level musician on a budget. Let's take a coloser look at what it has to offer.

Features: This guitar is manufactured in China. The body of the Epiphone Les Paul is made up of a combination of Alder and mahogany woods, with a surface made of a thin layer of maple, the preferred top of the Gibson brand Les Paul guitars. The neck is bolted on, and made of mahogany as well. The surface of the fretboard is made of Epiphone's old sstandby rosewood material, and features pearl dot inlays. And in classic Les Paul design, the neck is heavy and wide. All of the hardware, including tuning heads and Tune-O-Matic bridge is made of chrome. Electronically, it features 700T/650R open coil humbucker pickups. Also, there are two volume and two control knobs with a three way selector switch.

Playability: Although it is a feature common to nearly all Les Paul styles, the wide neck may make it difficult to form those complicated, obscure chords and perform some wide reaches. Another common observation is that the Les Paul 100 has to be treated very nicely to avoid going badly out of tune. Additionally, the fact that the neck is bolted on, combined with the Les Paul's wide body, makes it a bit hard to reach higher frets.

Sound: The humbucker pickups on the Epiphone Les Paul 100 deliver a very wide, full sound. One word I hear a lot from players about its tone is "fat". The tone knobs and three way selector switch provide for great control of its sound. You can go from the fat, Led Zeppelin tone that the neck pickup delivers to a more bright B.B. King-like tone on the bridge pickup. All in all, it is very versatile.

Overall: The Epiphone Les Paul 100 is a great find for those looking to step up from entry level instruments. It has the versatility to cover several genres of music. And, if properly taken care of, it is very dependable. So, if you are beginning to get serious about your music, the Epiphone Les Paul 100 could just be the instrument for you. To get a Les Paul 100 of your own, you can expect to drop about $300.