My Epiphone Les Paul Standard Pro

[Kage]

Hey everyone.

 

Well Christmas came and went, but something special also came. My Epiphone Les Paul Standard Pro in a limited edition Bourbon Burst.

I did do something people say not to do, and that is to order online without playing so I do have some questions.

 

Now I know it isn't a true Gibson in the sense I wasn't expecting it to sound exactly like one but from reviews, I thought the sound would come quite close.

 

First issue; Every single knob as you rotate also pitches to an angle.

Is this fixable?

 

2) The lowest string has fret buzz which is picked up on the amp too if you play as I would my older strat. Any way of sorting this?

 

3) I have a Blackstar id Core 10, yet I can't seem to get the sound I'm after.

Again, I knew it wouldn't sound like a real true Gibson but I was hoping it'd be closer... or is it just the amp?

 

First of all, I love this kind of sound:

 

https://www.youtube.com/shared?ci=YSoWvIoywj4

 

I was hoping that'd be possible but I'm not so sure now. It just doesn't sound...as well...at all like I thought a Les Paul would.

 

Upon watching this I began to mess with tone/volume but even then, it didn't even sound anything like this..

 

https://www.youtube.com/shared?ci=0f0hCN3adng

 

Have I expected too much? I am really only just getting into playing guitar properly so it may also be my technique, but even single notes don't sound the same.

 

Sorry about the long first post.

Hope you welcome me.

Just looking for a few answers

[kidblast]

First issue; Every single knob as you rotate also pitches to an angle.

Is this fixable?

 

It probably is, but sounds cosmetic, and I think it's a pretty common anomaly.

 

2) The lowest string has fret buzz which is picked up on the amp too if you play as I would my older strat. Any way of sorting this?

 

is it buzzing while playing an open E, or just when fretting? does it buzz when you pick lightly, or buzzes regardless of how you're attacking the string? if you have a heavy picking technique, that will introduce fret buzz.

 

3) I have a Blackstar id Core 10, yet I can't seem to get the sound I'm after.

Again, I knew it wouldn't sound like a real true Gibson but I was hoping it'd be closer... or is it just the amp?

 

I am not totally familiar with that amp, but I see that as an entry level amplifier. Suffice to say, the amp is just as important to the tone and sounds you'll get, it may suit to see if you can experiment with other amps. eg: take your guitar with you to a local music store, and ask to test drive a few amps to see if you get different results.

 

First of all, I love this kind of sound:

 

https://www.youtube.com/shared?ci=YSoWvIoywj4

 

I am a firm believer that tone is in the individuals hands, you wouldn't sound exactly like that player, even if you were using his rig. Take one guitar, one amp, and give it to 10 players, it's going to sound different every time, no two players are going to get the same sounds out of the same amp/guitar combination.

 

 

 

Have I expected too much? I am really only just getting into playing guitar properly so it may also be my technique, but even single notes don't sound the same.

 

I don't know much about your technique, and your playing style, I have an epiphone Sheraton Pro II that has the same pickups (I Think) you have, they do a pretty nice job all around but do they sound like my stock gibson pcikups? not really... but that's not to say they don't sound good because they do.

 

I would off hand say there's probably nothing wrong with your instrument, and maybe you're expectations on this guitar are not in line with where your skill level is. again the tone and sounds you get, it's all in the hands... (I say this knowing nothing about how proficient you are or how long you've been playing)...

 

My advice is, just work with what you have, and remember that it takes time to develop the touch/chops you're aspiring to, any good guitar will get you there eventually.

[Kage]

Thanks for the great response!

Aye maybe it is just me being overly critical at this point.

 

I will do as suggestes though and take the guitar with me to test amps.

You are right though.

I'm trying to learn by ear some songs, but I have only been learning to read music for a year or so.

 

Thanks again

[Kage]

Sorry, the fretbuzz happens when open and when fretting the last quarter to the tuners.

You don't really have to hit that hard for it to do it either.

The other strings are fine in that regard

[kidblast]

Hi Kage

 

It's not really uncommon that small setup issues are present on brand new guitars. There are two things that come to mind with your fret buzz question:

 

1: the slot (at the nut) for the low E string might have been cut a little too low. This can be addressed, but you would want to find a guitar repair guy to take a look at it (and you'd want find one who has a good reputation :) ask your local music store folks)

 

2: The neck has a very slight back bow. This is easy to cure with a truss rod adjustment. you should be able to look down the neck from the head-stock and you will see how straight it is, you should see a slight concave bow, (it should be almost imperceptible but you should see a slight bow. This is normal.) If it looks very straight or, the neck is bowing back against the strings, that's probably what's contributing to the buzz. In this case however, more than just the Low E would buzz but it's not unusual that this could just affect one string. For example on one of my SGs if the neck needs a small tweak, my open D string will buzz. I know right away, I need to back off the truss rod a 1/4 turn.

[Kage]

Thanks for the replies :)

Doesn't appear to have a bend so I'll get it checked out as it is rather annoying unless it'll get better with more play.

 

Had it connected up today though, messing with tone/volume, and managed to get something a lot more pleasing.

 

My sustain however doesn't seem as good as people have tooted, however every guitar I believe is different in some way?

[kidblast]

Thanks for the replies :)

Doesn't appear to have a bend so I'll get it checked out as it is rather annoying unless it'll get better with more play.

 

Had it connected up today though, messing with tone/volume, and managed to get something a lot more pleasing.

 

My sustain however doesn't seem as good as people have tooted, however every guitar I believe is different in some way?

 

Hi Kage,

 

I would still go and try some other amps, the black star core series are really entry level / practice amps, I wouldn't expect too much from it to be brutally honest. it may take some more tweaking to get sounds you are really liking, but a small amp, with a small speaker, bout 99 US bucks... it is what it is. Blackstar on the other hand, does make some fine amps the club series are nice.

 

About the neck relief, a truss rod tweak is not hard, it would probably not require more than 1/4 turn counter clockwise (while looking down from the top of the headstock)to add some relief to see if that helps. Note that you really don't want to add a lot of bow, if you do, the action is going to start to feel a little spongy around the 5th to 10th frets

 

Might sound daunting if you have never done this, but if you just make a minor adjustments as you go -- as in never more than a half turn - and use the proper tools you will not harm anything and you'll be able to make those minor adjustments as the climate changes in your locale. The Truss rod is there and accessible just for this reason. just remember looking down from the head stock, left loosens, (adds relief "bow") right tightens (removes relief "bow") Too much to the right (tighten) and you'll introduce back bow and this will introduce notes fretting out especially open and low register fretted notes. (this is what I'm wondering is part of your issue)

 

Epi uses a bolt to for the truss rods that adjust with an alan wrench (hex wrench?), should be one in the case? I think they usually provide one. If you don't want to try this yourself, your local store probably has some one on hand for small adjustments just like this.

 

you tube probably has dozens of vids on doing these small sort of adjustments.

[Kage]

Thanks yet again :)

 

Aye, is this how the chain works:

 

Pickup, amp, speaker? In terms of importance?

I think part of my issue was that I wasn't heating the guitar up enough with gain on the amp side. After I did that, more of that sound came out.

Do wonder why the pickups don't seem to be picking up subtle things like hammer ons and squeals easily. They don't sound powerful enough.

 

Is it best to get an amp without multiple sertings on the drive side?

I.e clean, bright, crunch, super crunch and just get one with a standard gain you can change yourself to make a sound?

Seems like they limit the ability of the guitar

[Kage]

I do however want USB recording as I don't want to be buying microphones and such as it is only ever going to be for home use and never for a stage

[kidblast]

Hi Kage,

 

there's a lot of choices for amps.

 

if you're looking for a solid state - do it all - kind of amp, I like the Fender Mustang III and has a USB port.

 

does lots of stuff, not too expensive.

 

if you have a USB interface are using pro-tools, or something similar, then you can probably get plugins and bypass the amp completely.

 

if it's a small tube combo that's your thing, going to be more expensive, and most of them only have a clean/and gain channels, or they are just more or less one tick ponies where there is no channel switching.

 

check stuff out at the local stores, and online stores, most of the online places have demos you can view to get an idea of the amps functions.

 

most of us use amps that have one or two channels, and we use stomp boxes to for effects, overdrive etc.

 

when I record, I go direct with plugins to get the trac down, then I reamp later using a Radial re-amping DI device which allows me to take my dry signal than pump it back into what ever rig I think I want for a given track which is then miced to new tracks, and the initial tracks are usually pushed aside.

[Pinch]

http://www.billybowmanmusic.co.uk/blackstar-id260-tvp-1278-p.asp

 

I would like more OD modes - a built-in HM-2 digital thingy or something - but hey, there's loads of things you want, right?

 

The sound in the Youtube vid, I can dial in, in under ten seconds. You get 120+ presets, and believe you me, you can sculpt your tone. And save it as a preset. My Epi LP went from "generic LP" to "fxxking Slash".

 

And @ 400 pounds, it's pretty inexpensive. You'll need to fork out a few bucks/bob for the pedal though - and DO; because you'll need it.

 

So don't give up on your Epi just yet. Or Blackstar, for that matter.

[merciful-evans]

You probably already know this, but both the video examples you posted feature a good deal of reverb. Does your amp have a reverb/echo circuit?

 

There are simple and inexpensive things you can do to change your tone. I know people who spend a fortune on amps, pedals, pickups etc but never give any thought to these things:

 

1/ picking technique: This is important to both the sound and fluidity of your playing. For example this picture shows the commonest attack angle for melody (single string) picking.

 

 

You can hold the pick flatter on to the strings for strumming. Experimentation pays!

 

 

2/ picking placement: where on the string do you pick. You get a treble tone close to the bridge and a warm tone close to the neck. I actually pick a great deal over the 18th fret to get the tones I want.

 

 

3/ the pick itself: That silly little piece of plastic matters. Lots of players use a thick gauge pick (upward of 3.mm) for lead work. It suits fast alternate picking, but it also will change the sound you get (not necessarily for the better!). An example of this is a jazz pick. Its small, thick and most crucially, has a pointed tip. It doesn't have to be plastic. Wood, shell, stone, bone and metal alloys all sound different. Buy 2 or 3 different kinds of pick (size shape & thickness) and use ONE ONLY for several hours of play exclusively (dont mix them). Once you're completely used to it, try another.

 

Good luck.

 

PS You have a fine guitar BTW.