btoth76 Posted March 13, 2017 Share Posted March 13, 2017 Hello. My first ever semi-hollow just arrived from Thomann Germany. Wanted to be safe and not to invest big money into something I am unfamiliar with, so I went with an Epiphone Les Paul ES. Gibsons of this kind are far beyond my budget. Bence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveinspain Posted March 13, 2017 Share Posted March 13, 2017 Congratulations on a great looking guitar... hope it plays and sounds as good as it looks... Let us know...🎸 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidblast Posted March 13, 2017 Share Posted March 13, 2017 Hi Bence That's a nice looking Les Paul ES... Let us know how it plays and sounds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
btoth76 Posted March 13, 2017 Author Share Posted March 13, 2017 Thank You. I am very curious too. The reviews are great (especially on pickups). I still at work, nor do I want to talk with the new guitar excitement on my lips. What I can say now, the guitar is nice - not Gibson nice, though. The optional case is perfect! More on this tomorrow... :) Bence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
btoth76 Posted March 13, 2017 Author Share Posted March 13, 2017 A review in German... Bence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cody78 Posted March 13, 2017 Share Posted March 13, 2017 Looks great and sounds really nice in that review. I've yet to try an ES LP, but thinking I will have to go test one out at some point now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RevDavidLee Posted March 13, 2017 Share Posted March 13, 2017 Congrats Bence! Epiphones are just fine in many cases. I believe I have 4 in my stable now including a Joe Bonamassa Pelham Blue Les Paul model. It looks gorgeous & I hope it meets your needs. Enjoy!!! :) B) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Bill Posted March 13, 2017 Share Posted March 13, 2017 Very nice, love the color!! Congrats!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rct Posted March 13, 2017 Share Posted March 13, 2017 Nice! rct Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdgm Posted March 13, 2017 Share Posted March 13, 2017 Congrats, looks good! Very interested to hear about this...the Epi LPs I've tried so far have all been excellent players. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanHenry Posted March 13, 2017 Share Posted March 13, 2017 Congratulations, those look great. I don't know if you saw the Andertons review of those that I posted a few weeks ago, very impressive: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nadYgL0vIKM Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigKahune Posted March 13, 2017 Share Posted March 13, 2017 . Hey Bence, great economical idea for trying out an ES-LP. Looking forward to your review. . B) . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drog Posted March 13, 2017 Share Posted March 13, 2017 I have tried the Gibson ES-LP but have not had a chance to try the Epi version. Sure looks great. Looking forward to your review. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelly campbell Posted March 13, 2017 Share Posted March 13, 2017 Very Nice guitar, Congratulations. Enjoy it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tman Posted March 13, 2017 Share Posted March 13, 2017 Sok boldogságot! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capmaster Posted March 13, 2017 Share Posted March 13, 2017 Congrats, Bence, on your new purchase. She looks nice! I'm curious about your review - those from Session Music and Anderton's are quite encouraging I think, so I guess she will sound nice, too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merciful-evans Posted March 13, 2017 Share Posted March 13, 2017 Bence, if its anything like the Epiphone Florentine I tried in 2015, its probably very good. I like that finish too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougar Posted March 14, 2017 Share Posted March 14, 2017 ....Wanted to be safe and not to invest big money into something I am unfamiliar with, so I went with an Epiphone Les Paul ES. Smartly done! Love that dark rosewood fretboard. Goes great with the wine red. I'm betting you're going to like those probuckers.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigtim Posted March 14, 2017 Share Posted March 14, 2017 Good looking Epiphone you received. I like the epiphone models. I wish I still had mine. Congrats!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
btoth76 Posted March 14, 2017 Author Share Posted March 14, 2017 Hello and thank You for the kind responses. I have spent the yesterday night with evaluating and setting up the guitar. Let me share my observations on it. At first glance, - removing it from the polyfoam wrap - what immediately strikes the eye is the very thick poly finish. Looking closely it seems very plastic-y. The Gibson`s nitro lacquer finish seems more natural and organic. This finish is very industrial, if I can put it that way. Even Fender`s poly finish seems easier on eye. However, the application of the finish is nicely done and the top maple veneer has a beautiful, reverse-chevron grain pattern. Looking at the fretboard, I realised it is the same variant of rosewood seen on Indonesian Ibanez guitars. It is polished very smooth, almost glossy. ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
btoth76 Posted March 14, 2017 Author Share Posted March 14, 2017 Then, the next thing that caught my attention is the quality of the plastics. Again, it seems industrial-grade: thick and rigid. Especially, the pickguard: When I looked at the nut, I immediately decided that I have to change it. It isn`t nice, but later I found out it does it`s job properly. Does not catches the G-string, like it did on all of my Gibsons: ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
btoth76 Posted March 14, 2017 Author Share Posted March 14, 2017 That was all for complaints. The rest of the features are surprisingly nice on the guitar. The first surprise came, when I noticed that the neck is made of one piece of mahogany. There is no scarf-joint: The machine heads are the same mini Grovers, as on my 2011 Gibson L6S: The felt ring under the strap button is a very nice touch I would like to see on Gibsons: ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
btoth76 Posted March 14, 2017 Author Share Posted March 14, 2017 The neck on the guitar has a very similar shape to those on the classical guitars: thick and flat "D"-profile. The heel is quite big, as expected on a semi-hollow instrument: The ridge on the push-pull volume pots provides a better grip: The locking TOM and stopbar are done perfectly with tight tolerances: ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
btoth76 Posted March 14, 2017 Author Share Posted March 14, 2017 The instrument came with a very-high action. I am not going to complain about this as I completely understand the reasoning behind not setting up an instrument at the factory. After lowering the strings to my prefered height, I found out that the neck is set up perfectly, and the frets are in level too. No buzz at all. The frets felt a bit raw, but that was gone after a half an hour of playing. It plays smooth and comfortably. Another thing I noticed is that this Epiphone Les Paul has a correct body shape. When I looked at Epiphone Les Pauls, even without seeing the headstock and the bridge, I could immediately recognize it`s brand. I don`t know what is the detail that gives it away, but I always felt that something is off on them, compared to a Gibson. Not on this one. From distance, the body shape perfectly matches the appearance of a Gibson. ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
btoth76 Posted March 14, 2017 Author Share Posted March 14, 2017 Most importantly, the sound! It`s not going to be a case queen, nor a decoration. It`s a real guitar that meant to be played. When I first plugged it in, my Sykes/Rhoads sound setting was active. I didn`t buy the guitar to play it at high gain levels, but I though I should give it a try that way too. Surprisingly, it wasn`t feedbacking, nor humming. In fact, it sounded great for high-gain, high-speed chops. Just like a Les Paul should, not less. After lowering the pickups, I tried it with clean settings. Brilliant! What is great about a semi-hollow like this, that it allows playing with dynamics. Pick it lightly and it sounds gentle, strike the strings and it shouts. I didn`t had to touch the volume pots to play at different levels. The coil-tapping function makes it very versatile. I liked both pickups coil-tapped together - it`s a very nice jazzy sounding combination: round, woody, hollow notes. The new ProBucker pickups (that are said to be the most most most perfect PAF replicas ever made, with proper specs, blah-blah) sound great. Epiphone did overcome it`s weakness in this area. What surprised me again, that it didn`t sound very good with TS-like overdrive. The settings I used for solids just didn`t worked with this instrument. I had to back off the gain, because it sounded very harsh. I think, it is a very good instrument for the price. If I close my eyes, it sounds and feels nothing less than a real Gibson. Of course, there is room for improvement, but only from aestetical aspects. And it`s not about the crafsmanship which is perfect! It`s about the quality of the lacquer itself and the plastics. 8 points out of 10. Bence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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