My 10 year-old has been playing acoustic guitar for a couple of years and really wants an electric. He likes the Epiphone Les Paul....or should I say the Les PaulS? There seem to be a dozen variations, and I can't find a resource that explains all the differences. I have spent a couple of hours now jotting down the differences I can find, but it would sure be great if all this info were in one place. I see the Les Paul Special II Plus Special Edition, the SL, the Special T, the Vintage Edition, the Studio LT, and others. Two days ago, I thought the world of sub-$500 Epiphone Les Pauls was limited to the Special II Plus at $200, but now I see there are Epiphone LP models from $150 all the way up to $1000.
As a 10 year old, my son preferred the lighter Special II to the Standard, but even if he has settled on the Special II, should we go for the plus special edition? There is a Special II LTD with an amp, gig bag, etc, but the guitar in this bundle is apparently inferior to the II Plus Limited Edition? One reviewer asserts that one model has much better components and that the cheaper one will go out of tune much more quickly. I like the prospect of saving $50, but not if it means he'll have a guitar that plays worse.
Aack! Is there a spreadsheet somewhere that compares all the models?
