Epiphone Les Paul Studio: A Wolf In Sheep's Clothing?

As I'm sure you all know, there's the Gibson Les Paul line of guitars, and then a series of economy guitars that goes down the price scale till you get to the Epiphone Les Paul 100. Both Gibson and Epiphone offer a "studio" version of their standard line, which purports to be essentially a standard model, but without the cosmetics and other non-essential features.

Which any sensible person would know is really stretching it. If the Studio was really that close to a Les Paul Standard, it would undercut the LP line as no one really wants to pay what Gibson charges for one. But in any case, that is the concept behind the Studio, and to be fair, it does offer a lot of quality for the price.

It became was the top of the line for the lower priced Gibsons which included the "Special" which sort of looked the same but had P-100s, a variation of the Special with humbuckers that was even cheaper (in Ebony), and the vintage finish line (worn red).

It's an experiment that Gibson hasn't repeated, and it's created a market where those used Gibsons were being sold around the same price as Epiphones or Fenders. For example, I've seen the vintage red Flying V going for as little as 450.00 in my area.

The Epiphone version was an interesting situation. Their studio was a stripped down version of a guitar that was already a low cost 400-500 dollar version of the Gibson Les Paul.

Which in the case of the Epi Studio made for a inexpensive, but kinda mediocre guitar. At 250-300.00 it was smack in the middle of a pack that included Jackson, Dean, Squire, and others that gave you real lookers for the price. Add to that, the age range of those players don't necessarily look at Fenders and Gibsons as the ultimate. Having a guitar that looks like a Les Paul doesn't necessarily create the same excitement that a tricked out Jackson or Dean would.

Epiphone is a good company (as is Gibson) and they do react fast to the market. What they've done to the Studio is create a Les Paul style copy that looks like it cost almost three times as much.

The reason is that they modeled it after the Gibson mahogany Studio, with a thicker carved body, set neck, and a very decent pair of open humbuckers as hot as any in this price range. In fact, from a few feet away or more, it'll fool a lot of people into thinking you have the Gibson version which always makes playing a beginner guitar more fun.

The woodgrain isn't the same as the Gibson (where you can feel the grain), but the satin finish is nice, and the guitar isn't overly heavy. In fact, it reminds me a bit of the Bob Marley model. If you really look closely, then you can see that it isn't exactly an Epi Custom, but at 300.00-350.00, this can be lived with.

It should be kept in mind that any solid "mahogany" in this price range on an electric or acoustic is probably the Philipine variety. It's sonic qualities are decent, but just be aware it's not like Honduran.

It's very playable. Much lighter than regular Les Pauls, and with a good feeling neck. The tuners work, and are surprisingly stable. These days, even cheap guitars tend to get reasonably good tuners, which elimates one of most common hassles of the past.

The pickups function best at loud rock levels where the sound has some real bite, as the output is a bit thin when playing clean. Because of the wood, like other Les Pauls of similar construction, you do get a warmer sound that's more similar to an SG in some ways. But if it's too warm, one can always turn up the treble.

My guess is the average buyer who wants this will more than find what they're looking for. For rock and anything close, this guitar will more than give you a good start. Also, don't let the 350.00 pricetag make you self-conscious. If it wasn't made overseas, this thing would cost one or two hundred more. Also, the quality level puts it above more than a few Squires and other brands in this range.

Given the style change, and the quality, I would have to say this is a guitar worth upgrading too. If you can find a pair of used Seymour Duncan or Gibson pickups, it would not only make this a real Fender Squire killer, but it might take down a few Epi Les Pauls too.