The neck has a traditional 24 and three-quarter inch scale. The necks today are made from a three-piece maple design. This is another piece of the authenticity of design that has now been discarded. As per the original Les Paul, it is made from one piece of mahogany. It is designed with that delicious to play ‘D’ profile neck with a very slim taper. It has the traditional scratchplate and also the white binding that has been given the ‘aged’ look.Īuthentic woods used on this guitar mirror the words used on the originals. But, because Ephiphone has used solid mahogany, that is why it feels so much like a Gibson. They now use multiple pieces of mahogany with multiple strips of maple for the top. Gibson, however, has since changed the design from the original… This is the classic body design that defines this guitar. Epiphone has used genuine mahogany for the body and topped it off with a classy Maple veneer. These tonewoods as they are known to help to produce the sound. So it is with the Epiphone Les Paul Custom Pro. Mahogany and Maple have been used to construct the body of the Les Paul since the beginning. The materials used are a combination of woods that are traditional to this guitar. Of course, the body design features the legendary shape. To find out why we need a closer look… Construction Body If you didn’t know you could quite easily think you were playing a Gibson. Not anymore, not with this guitar anyway. My Gibson LPs are all flame top bursts, so it’s fun to add these solid colors to the mix.It used to be you could tell them apart just by the weight when you picked them up. FWIW - I like my Pelham blue one so much that I might add the red one to the collection as well. Lucky for me - I love both Gibson and Epi LPs, so I can freely “shop on both sides of the aisle” and find stuff I like If you love the LP shape but are not attached to the real Gibson LPs, then I would definitely try an Epi. If you’ve played a bunch of Gibson LPs and are looking to replicate them in the Epi line, you’ll be disappointed. The weight, the poly vs nitro finish, etc. The caveat: as others have noted, Epi LPs have a different feel than Gibson LPs. I had a 2012 - this one feels similar to that in some respects. The wiring similar is similar to the 2012-18 Gibson LP Standard setup (minus the fourth push-pull pot to bypass the tone control). The neck is great and the pickups are pretty good. I just bought this exact Epi in faded Pelham blue a few weeks ago and absolutely love it. I currently have 7 high-end guitars (3 PRS 2 Gibson Historic Reissue LPs 1 Musicman 1 Fender American strat) and a handful of moderately priced guitars. No tone snobbery here.if it plays well and sounds good, I’m interested. I’ve been playing for over 30 years and owned A LOT of guitars at all price points. I would encourage you to definitely try this one out. I bought it for the dodgy gigs that one sometimes gets, but I don't have a decrease in sound quality or functionality. Neither do automobiles, for that matter, which is why you pay dealer prep. They don't come out of the chute set up by angels to your liking. Chucked it at "the guy" and for less that a C note it was stellar. It came Plek'd but not crowned with fret sprout. It's a stripper model, and I bought it at Best Buy, so forget dealer setups. Typical dead octave note on the G string most SGs have, but it affects sustain, not volume, so you can work with it. It's hard to explain my synesthasia because it's textural, but to me the sound sinks into mahogany and bounces back more gradually than maple does, which speaks more quickly. It has the voice of a maple necked instrument, harder than mahogany aurally. I love the extra real estate in all positions this neck affords, 24 of the biggest frets that I own and 25" scale solidifies the low E quite a bit. The (maple) neck is a tad girthier than my LP, but C shaped, I don't like big shoulders or V necks,this is right in the middle. Are you kidding me? A 4 knob USA set neck Gibson with a warranty for $350 is a steal by any measure. Best $350 ( adjusted for inflation) I ever spent.