tonygoode Posted March 24, 2017 Share Posted March 24, 2017 I am trying to decide which to buy. I was a very amateur player 40 years ago, so essentially I am now a beginner again. From the epiphonewiki Les_Paul_Special site the primary differences there are the Special II has a Mahogany 1960's Slim Taper "D" profile neck, 700T/650R Open Coil humbucker pickups, and a Basswood or Mahogany/Alder Laminated body, and the Special II-LTD ha a Maple Les Paul Special profile neck, Open Coil 700T/650T humbucker pickups, and solid Alder body. Any other major physical differences? Is there any significant difference in the 650T versus 650R humbucker pickup sound or quality? Any playing, sounding, tuning, etc., differences? P.S. What is the difference in the necks? I have found conflicting descriptions and don't know which are correct. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LPS1976 Posted March 24, 2017 Share Posted March 24, 2017 I am trying to decide which to buy. I was a very amateur player 40 years ago, so essentially I am now a beginner again. From the epiphonewiki Les_Paul_Special site the primary differences there are the Special II has a Mahogany 1960's Slim Taper "D" profile neck, 700T/650R Open Coil humbucker pickups, and a Basswood or Mahogany/Alder Laminated body, and the Special II-LTD ha a Maple Les Paul Special profile neck, Open Coil 700T/650T humbucker pickups, and solid Alder body. Any other major physical differences? Is there any significant difference in the 650T versus 650R humbucker pickup sound or quality? Any playing, sounding, tuning, etc., differences? P.S. What is the difference in the necks? I have found conflicting descriptions and don't know which are correct. usually, the LTD refers to a limited finish or even just a fancy way of sprucing up an existing model even though there's no real difference. Physically, there aren't going to be too many differences as far as build. the pickup listing is probably a typo. T usually stands for "Treble"(bridge pickup) and R for "Rhythm"(neck pickup). i would bet that the 650R is also in the LTD since there would only be one "treble" and one "rhythm" per guitar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rookery Posted March 24, 2017 Share Posted March 24, 2017 I've had 2 Special II's. I have a feeling that the LE came as part of a starter pack and whilst I may be wrong, I'd bet that there is no difference between the Special II and the Special LE other than the name on the headstock. No matter, they are great guitars for the money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonygoode Posted March 30, 2017 Author Share Posted March 30, 2017 I sent this question to CustomerService@Gibson.com and here is their reply: The links below contain specs for the regular production version of the Les Paul Special II and the dealer exclusive limited edition Les Paul Special II: Epiphone Special II specs : http://www.epiphone.com/Products/Les-Paul/Les-Paul-Special-II.aspx Epiphone Ltd Edition Special II specs : http://www.epiphone.com/Products/Les-Paul/Ltd-Ed-Les-Paul-Special-II-Wine-Red.aspx I replied to them: The only difference in the descriptions in the links you sent in the two models were that one had chrome and the other had nickel hardware. The descriptions you sent said that both had mahogany necks, and that the LTD was a red color. Here is the description of the Les Paul Special II-LTD from the listing on WalMart that has a sunburst color: Includes a Les Paul Special-II LTD The Les Paul Special-II LTD is renown for its monstrous tone thanks to two open-coil humbuckers and a solid wood body with the classic Les Paul Special profile. Together, they produce that one-of-a-kind Les Paul roar. Unlike single coil pickups that are sensitive to interference from all other electrical sources, Epiphone humbucker pickups "buck the hum," giving you buzz-free tone that can go from clean to overdrive without the extra noise. The Les Paul Special-II LTD's solid bolt-on hard maple neck has a classic rosewood fingerboard with dot inlays. The iconic Epiphone "clipped dovewing" headstock features precision 14:1 ratio machine heads and the iconic signature of the man himself, Les Paul. Only real Les Pauls have Les' classic signature on the headstock. Accept no substitutes. The Les Paul Special-II LTD comes in two classic color finishes, Ebony and Vintage Sunburst. So, you are saying that this Walmart description (and the same description of it on other sites) that says this guitar has a maple neck is not correct? Does the LTD guitar have a maple neck or a mahogany neck? And is it a red color or a sunburst color? They have not replied yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LPS1976 Posted March 30, 2017 Share Posted March 30, 2017 I sent this question to CustomerService@Gibson.com and here is their reply: The links below contain specs for the regular production version of the Les Paul Special II and the dealer exclusive limited edition Les Paul Special II: Epiphone Special II specs : http://www.epiphone.com/Products/Les-Paul/Les-Paul-Special-II.aspx Epiphone Ltd Edition Special II specs : http://www.epiphone.com/Products/Les-Paul/Ltd-Ed-Les-Paul-Special-II-Wine-Red.aspx I replied to them: The only difference in the descriptions in the links you sent in the two models were that one had chrome and the other had nickel hardware. The descriptions you sent said that both had mahogany necks, and that the LTD was a red color. Here is the description of the Les Paul Special II-LTD from the listing on WalMart that has a sunburst color: Includes a Les Paul Special-II LTD The Les Paul Special-II LTD is renown for its monstrous tone thanks to two open-coil humbuckers and a solid wood body with the classic Les Paul Special profile. Together, they produce that one-of-a-kind Les Paul roar. Unlike single coil pickups that are sensitive to interference from all other electrical sources, Epiphone humbucker pickups "buck the hum," giving you buzz-free tone that can go from clean to overdrive without the extra noise. The Les Paul Special-II LTD's solid bolt-on hard maple neck has a classic rosewood fingerboard with dot inlays. The iconic Epiphone "clipped dovewing" headstock features precision 14:1 ratio machine heads and the iconic signature of the man himself, Les Paul. Only real Les Pauls have Les' classic signature on the headstock. Accept no substitutes. The Les Paul Special-II LTD comes in two classic color finishes, Ebony and Vintage Sunburst. So, you are saying that this Walmart description (and the same description of it on other sites) that says this guitar has a maple neck is not correct? Does the LTD guitar have a maple neck or a mahogany neck? And is it a red color or a sunburst color? They have not replied yet. it's all marketing b.s. they're the same guitar. one may have chrome hardware the other may have nickel but at this price point; they aren't changing too much between the two. also, this wouldn't be the first and probably not the last time an Epiphone spec has been wrong in print. You'll find more errors on their site than any dealer's site. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ES335Pro Posted April 16, 2017 Share Posted April 16, 2017 I am trying to decide which to buy. I was a very amateur player 40 years ago, so essentially I am now a beginner again. From the epiphonewiki Les_Paul_Special site the primary differences there are the Special II has a Mahogany 1960's Slim Taper "D" profile neck, 700T/650R Open Coil humbucker pickups, and a Basswood or Mahogany/Alder Laminated body, and the Special II-LTD ha a Maple Les Paul Special profile neck, Open Coil 700T/650T humbucker pickups, and solid Alder body. Any other major physical differences? Is there any significant difference in the 650T versus 650R humbucker pickup sound or quality? Any playing, sounding, tuning, etc., differences? P.S. What is the difference in the necks? I have found conflicting descriptions and don't know which are correct. The regular LP Special II doesn't come in wine red. The wine red run is a limited edition, even though everything else is the same as the Special II. I like that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
broken Posted May 1, 2017 Share Posted May 1, 2017 Timely topic for me... Just bought a LP Sp 2 (black) on Amazon. It was a return. Someone I know dropped their LP SP 2 and I offered to fix it. It turned out to be identical to mine just a few years older...but upon closer inspection I noticed it was a ltd. The only physical difference was the PUP covers had black screws instead of chrome. Here's the kicker. Once I fixed it I noticed it sounded sooo much better than mine. A/B test was obvious. Stronger AND clearer sound. The only difference was the PUPs. Mine has epiphone stamped on the back, his didn't. He bought his new as well and didn't have the PUPs replaced. So my question is: What are those LTD pickups??? No, no matter how much I wanted to, I did not switch pickups. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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