Epiphone Les Paul Special II Electric Guitar Review

The Epiphone Les Paul Special II was designed for those looking to find that classic style of guitars that helped shaped rock history. From Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page to The Beatle's Paul McCartney, this body style of guitar, curvaceous and voluptuous, has become a staple of rock and roll. Epiphone, owned by parent company Gibson, now offers a basic electric guitar with quality features and that look that makes musicians melt: the Les Paul Special II. It is designed as a guitar for those just starting out or on a tight budget. Let's take a closer look at it.

Features: The Les Paul Special II (meaning second generation) is a solid-body electric guitar. Its body is made out of basswood, a common factor of lower end guitars. The neck is bolted on, and has a rosewood fingerboard. There are twenty two frets on the neck, and the inlays on the frets are pearl dots. It also has the classic Les Paul style Tune-O-Matic bridge, which makes it easy to change strings. Another advantage to this type of bridge is that the action, or height of the strings from the fretboard itself, can be easily adjusted. Since many musicians prefer a lower action than is produced stock by Epiphone, all it takes is a few turns of a screwdriver on each side of the bridge to lower the strings. This will make for much easier playability, especially for a beginner. The Les Paul Special II also has one volume and one tone control knobs, and a three way selector switch. With the switch, a player can go from the bright tone of the bridge pickup to the deep warm tone of the neck pickup. And speaking of pickups, this guitar has the classic Les Paul two humbucker setup.

Playability: As mentioned in the previous paragraph, the strings will probably need to be lowered to make it easier. This will help with muting notes less and avoiding shredding your fingers apart. One fact commonly praised is that it is very good at handling lower tunings without any annoying buzz. That is a big plus for those musicians looking to play hard rock and metal.

Sound: The two humbuckers combined with a decent amp should keep most musicians satisfied. But if you love this guitar and are looking to get a little more serious musically, it is probably a good idea to replace the pickups.

Overall: Epiphone's Les Paul Special II made exactly what it aimed for: a good quality, durable low end guitar. It's solid, has a decent sound, and features to please many musicians. If you or your child are looking to pick up a guitar and learn how to play, this "little Gibson" (as I affectionately refer to it) is definitely a great choice.