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NGD (Epiphone) coming up Tuesday


kensh999

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Musician's Friend has shipped my Epiphone Les Paul Slash "Rossa Corsa" limited edition model.

 

I'm hoping to be the first bloke on the block to have one.

Welcome! First rule of new guitars: If there are no pictures, it did not happen! Let us see that beauty on Tuesday!

Pete

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"out for delivery". Will report later today. Hopefully I can figure out how to post some pictures to this here forum thread. I'll take some comparison shots with other guitars.

 

Looks like most online outlets are reporting this new limited edition "outfit" as in stock and ready to ship, so a lot of folks will be getting one this week. How many, can't say.

 

Ken

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Tuesday at 3:15 PM the UPS truck pulls up (finally) with my featureless brown box

that I know contains a new Epiphone Slash Rosso Corsa Les Paul Standard guitar outfit.

After removing the inner box from the outer, and the large plastic protective bag

from the included hardshell case, I'm happy to see the gold "Slash" filigree logo

on the outside... a sure sign that the correct model awaits me. After a suitable

delay to stabilize my heart rate and maximize the drama, I open the case. Yes there

is in fact a guitar in there. And I must say, she is really a looker.

 

I give it the once over visually and it looks very nice, no complaints on the finish.

The neck is straight. Exhale. The frets are nicely finished and comfortable. The

other thing I notice right away is the weight... it's a most lovely, moderately

heavy weight that gives it a solid feel and makes me wonder just how much weight

relief was done on the mahogany body (or do they just start with denser wood?) My

frame of reference here is my Les Paul Studio 2011 which is a lightweight at 8.1lb.

I haven't had a chance to weigh it but my guess is the Rosso Corsa is

about 9.4lb or more. The overall balance with a strap, in standing position, is excellent.

 

I tune up the guitar, it tunes right up and the strings feel nice. I can tell

within about 5 seconds that the action is too high. I take out my feeler gauge set

and start comparing with my LP Studio with a capo on fret 1. Yup, the action

on the Rosso Corsa is too high. Fortunately this is a very easy fix, just lower

both sides of the Tune O Matic bridge. There is plenty of room for adjustment

here. I sight down the neck to ensure there's no bow-in (which would require

a truss rod adjustment). The neck is straight, and now that I have lowered

the action at the bridge it's time to plug it in and check the pickups.

 

All of the electrics work great, the pickups sing -- they are really amazing

ones with no doubt. The bridge PUP is way too close to the strings so I do need

to lower that pickup, also I like to have the treble side a bit lower than the

bass side for both neck and bridge PUPs but that's a personal preference.

 

The neck shape is just what I was hoping for. It's a bit thinner than the

SlimTaper D neck shape on the Epiphone Casino Coupe, but is thicker than the

Modern C on the Gibson LP Studio. It has a gloss finish which is not to some

folk's liking, but to my palms it feels great. So I can describe the neck as

solid but not bulky, perfectly befitting a heavy-bodied Les Paul. Slash was recently

on an episode of "Talking Dead" (the live after-show companion to AMC's The Walking

Dead) and was asked what guitar he'd use to defend himself if confronted by an

undead hoard. There was some discussion but Slash says his choice is the Les

Paul because "they're pretty heavy". It's clear he prefers his signature

Les Paul guitars to be on the hefty side! And I can report, happily, that he got his way.

 

So basically it takes about an hour of messing around to get it playable, but

that's pretty much par for an imported guitar, and for reference my Epiphone Casino

Coupe needed more setup than the Rosso Corsa including truss rod tweaking. However

there is a lot of satisfaction in getting the guitar action "just right" and in

the case of both the Rosso Corsa and the Coupe the payoff is with fantastic

sound and playability.

 

I'll get some pictures up here in the next day or two. I seriously doubt that

photos will do much justice to this finish. It really must be experienced

in person. I am super happy with this guitar purchase, with the good people at

Epiphone and Musician's Friend, and of course the fine folks at UPS who transferred

to me this stunning new instrument in reasonably short order.

 

I will post pictures of my existing Les Paul Studio and Casino Coupe guitars alongside

the new Rosso Corsa for comparison purposes.

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Tuesday at 3:15 PM the UPS truck pulls up (finally) with my featureless brown box

that I know contains a new Epiphone Slash Rosso Corsa Les Paul Standard guitar outfit.

After removing the inner box from the outer, and the large plastic protective bag

from the included hardshell case, I'm happy to see the gold "Slash" filigree logo

on the outside... a sure sign that the correct model awaits me. After a suitable

delay to stabilize my heart rate and maximize the drama, I open the case. Yes there

is in fact a guitar in there. And I must say, she is really a looker.

 

I give it the once over visually and it looks very nice, no complaints on the finish.

The neck is straight. Exhale. The frets are nicely finished and comfortable. The

other thing I notice right away is the weight... it's a most lovely, moderately

heavy weight that gives it a solid feel and makes me wonder just how much weight

relief was done on the mahogany body (or do they just start with denser wood?) My

frame of reference here is my Les Paul Studio 2011 which is a lightweight at 8.1lb.

I haven't had a chance to weigh it but my guess is the Rosso Corsa is

about 9.4lb or more. The overall balance with a strap, in standing position, is excellent.

 

I tune up the guitar, it tunes right up and the strings feel nice. I can tell

within about 5 seconds that the action is too high. I take out my feeler gauge set

and start comparing with my LP Studio with a capo on fret 1. Yup, the action

on the Rosso Corsa is too high. Fortunately this is a very easy fix, just lower

both sides of the Tune O Matic bridge. There is plenty of room for adjustment

here. I sight down the neck to ensure there's no bow-in (which would require

a truss rod adjustment). The neck is straight, and now that I have lowered

the action at the bridge it's time to plug it in and check the pickups.

 

All of the electrics work great, the pickups sing -- they are really amazing

ones with no doubt. The bridge PUP is way too close to the strings so I do need

to lower that pickup, also I like to have the treble side a bit lower than the

bass side for both neck and bridge PUPs but that's a personal preference.

 

The neck shape is just what I was hoping for. It's a bit thinner than the

SlimTaper D neck shape on the Epiphone Casino Coupe, but is thicker than the

Modern C on the Gibson LP Studio. It has a gloss finish which is not to some

folk's liking, but to my palms it feels great. So I can describe the neck as

solid but not bulky, perfectly befitting a heavy-bodied Les Paul. Slash was recently

on an episode of "Talking Dead" (the live after-show companion to AMC's The Walking

Dead) and was asked what guitar he'd use to defend himself if confronted by an

undead hoard. There was some discussion but Slash says his choice is the Les

Paul because "they're pretty heavy". It's clear he prefers his signature

Les Paul guitars to be on the hefty side! And I can report, happily, that he got his way.

 

So basically it takes about an hour of messing around to get it playable, but

that's pretty much par for an imported guitar, and for reference my Epiphone Casino

Coupe needed more setup than the Rosso Corsa including truss rod tweaking. However

there is a lot of satisfaction in getting the guitar action "just right" and in

the case of both the Rosso Corsa and the Coupe the payoff is with fantastic

sound and playability.

 

I'll get some pictures up here in the next day or two. I seriously doubt that

photos will do much justice to this finish. It really must be experienced

in person. I am super happy with this guitar purchase, with the good people at

Epiphone and Musician's Friend, and of course the fine folks at UPS who transferred

to me this stunning new instrument in reasonably short order.

 

I will post pictures of my existing Les Paul Studio and Casino Coupe guitars alongside

the new Rosso Corsa for comparison purposes.

 

 

I can't wait to see the pictures, sounds like a very fine guitar...another great instrument from Epiphonemsp_thumbup.gif

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Trying some imgur hosted photos now, hopefully these will work for you guys

 

Here is the first photo of the new Slash "Rosso Corsa" Limited Edition Les Paul:

 

nulzJA7.jpg

 

Body detail:

 

jKiaRnU.jpg

 

Headstock detail:

 

gKGtkAx.jpg

 

Family Picture: Epiphone Casino Coupe, Rosso Corsa LP, Gibson LP Studio:

 

Gc1zIQZ.jpg

 

 

Just the Epiphone Electrics:

 

HKZbseI.jpg

 

Including my new Epiphone DR-212 twelve string acoustic for scale and such:

 

SPvvRur.jpg

 

Another batch of photos to come. Let me know if you have any questions or requests... Ken

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Before I post more photos, here's some addition info to correct an assumption I made earlier about the neck heft of the new guitar.

 

After playing around some more I noticed it's really a bit thicker than the SlimTaper D on the Casino Coupe. Caveat: all guitars will vary a bit from sample to sample so your numbers will not exactly match mine.

 

I decided to gather some data on the neck heft (at the third fret) of my electric guitars for posterity. Here are the results (in MM):

70.5  Gibson Les Paul Studio
74    Epiphone Les Paul Slash "Rosso Corsa"
72.5  Epiphone Casino Coupe (SlimTaper D)
67    Fender Am. Jazzmaster
68    Fender MIM telecaster
68.5  Fender MIM Stratocaster

The numbers are not really absolutes due to neck shape changes but accurately represent the real-world "heft" of the electric guitar necks in my possession. In any case if you have smallish hands by all means try out this Slash Ltd. Ed. model in the store first, to make sure it's comfortable for you. It is for me, but it does represent the extreme in terms of neck size for any guitars I may decide to keep in the future. The clear advantage of the thick neck is in a highly resonant string action with maximum sustain... i.e. it improves the tone. Ken

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Great instrument! [thumbup] This will blur the lines between Epi and Gibson even more.

 

What wall hooks do you use and do you recommend types any in particular?

 

The pictured wall hook is a new "String Swing". Last time I bought this product was about 12 years ago, since then they have been redesigned in about every possible way but still work just fine. You now anchor them with 2 drywall screws, but that's an improvement.

 

Anyway regarding Epiphone vs. Gibson, I have a Les Paul Studio 2011 that cost me $800, and this Epiphone Rosso Corsa goes for $899 plus tax, so in this case my Epiphone Les Paul is a more expensive, heavier, better finished, better sounding and in general more valuable guitar (at least in my opinion). That said there's just something about my Gibson Les Paul that makes me love it like no other -- definitely a mojo factor at work there. Who knows, that affectation may change over the seasons.

 

This particular Epiphone Les Paul Slash Rosso Corsa Ltd Ed. is truly a pro-level musical instrument, and is not aimed at kids and beginners by any stretch.

 

Ken

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