4/18/2021 0 Comments Epiphone Les Paul
With incredible detail, the Marshall emitted an extraordinary overdriven tone, with complete authority and even top end.Nearly every guitar player has heard of the legend of the Gibson 1959 Les Paul Standard.Regarded as the Stradivarius of electric guitars, the 1959 Les Paul Standard represents to many the pinnacle of electric guitar construction, and the instrument that helped define the sound of overdriven rock and roll.Everybody already knows original models are rare as hens teeth, commanding prices in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Its estimated that there are a little over 1,000 unaccounted for (as someone on the Les Paul Forum joked, theyre all probably in the same attic). Gibson reissued the instrument several years ago, but unfortunately, and understandably, quite a few players have found it difficult to scrape together 5699 for one of those Custom Shop gems. Enter Epiphone, a division of Gibson Musical Instruments, which in addition to offering a wide variety of its own instruments is also well known for producing lower-priced, official versions of some of the same models Gibson makesincluding the Les Paul, which Epiphone licensed directly from the man himself. It was Pauls desire from the beginning to have his signature model made by both companies, and this Special Run Collection release coincides with the illustrious guitars 50th anniversary. It also comes complete with Gibson pickups and a reproduction of the brown Lifton case that the originals came in. Stacking Up At first glance, the Epiphone 59 Les Paul Standard is a beauty. The AAA-grade flame top stands out proudly, and theres a very attractive grain pattern in the mahogany body. In order to save on cost, the flame top is a maple veneer that is attached to a solid, carved maple top. While the body itself has a nice, deep grain, holding it up to the light shows it to be comprised of four pieces of mahogany joined together, as opposed to one or two. Its hardly noticeable, but can be detected if you really look for it. Im a huge fan of larger Gibson-profile necks, and this particular one didnt disappoint. Its rather beefy, but not quite as large as a 58 profile, and certainly not as thin as the 60s slim taper shape. It was very comfortable running up and down the neck with my hand, and even more pleasing not to find any sharp fret ends. Apart from the action being a little too low, even the setup was pretty good right out of the box. ![]() This extra wood in the neck joint gives the two more coupling, providing more resonance. Even though the famed long tenon is employed in its construction, the neck is still comprised of three pieces of mahogany. I believe that a better sound could be achieved with just one piece. Electronics-wise, the instrument shares much in common with its Gibson brethren, sporting high quality CTS pots and Burstbucker 2 and 3 humbuckers in the neck and bridge positions, respectively. Oh, That Sound The original 1959 Les Paul Standard is closely associated with the sound of an overdriven vintage Marshall stack (although some players, such as Mike Bloomfield, attained incredible tones out of Fender Twins and Bassmans). Strapping on the Paul, I plugged it into a 1973 Marshall Super Bass head into a Bogner 4x12 cabinet with four Celestion Vintage 30s. Jumping for the train immediately, I cranked the head in true Marty McFly-fashion and hit an open G chord.
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