Hey... I received an Epi Les Paul Prophecy EX a couple of months ago as a gift. I really wanted the guitar after seeing it and reading reviews, however, it has not lived up to the hype. I’m having 2 problems with it.
First, the pickup sound is very tinny on the top 3 strings (G, B and High E), and there is very little sustain. This is very surprising to me since my previous guitar is an Epiphone Goth Explorer with stock pickups, and they have much better sustain. I have also had other guitars (Dean) with EMG 81 & 85 pickups, that are just the opposite, the sustain is great.
Second, the action is horrible. I took it to my local guitar tech, and had him setup the string height and intonation. I took it home and played it off and on for a couple of weeks, and found that the strings were too low (so I thought) and it was causing buzzing, and affecting the sustain. So I took it back to the guitar tech this week and had him raise the action a little. It’s now more like my explorer, but still the buzzing remains and sustain is crap.
I’ve always used 10’s, but on this guitar at times they actually feel like 8’s or 9’s due to the lack of sustain and buzzing. I’ve changed the battery, thinking that was the problem, no change. However, I don’t really have any problem with the lower strings (Low E, A, D), they sound great.
The fret board and frets are also very rough. I find that my fingers hurt after playing for a while. I'm hoping that it just needs to be broken in, if that's even possible. Not sure, never had this problem before.
Did I get a lemon? I’ve played other Epi Les Pauls and they were great. I would have expected this to be similar in quality, and better when it comes to tone and sustain due to the EMG’s than some of the other cheaper guitars I own. I’m wondering if I should order another EX from MF or GC and see if it’s any better, then deal with EPI on the warranty, if that’s the case.
Anyone have any suggestions? Has anyone else had problems with the EX?
HELP!!!!!
