NGD: Epiphone Les Paul Standard? Really?
I don't like Epiphone. Experience is to blame for this near sacred opinion.
The first experience was a friend's Epi Les Paul Deluxe (in black because teenager) that wouldn't hold tune. File the nut, replace the tuners, a young priest and an old priest for an exorcism... The demons wouldn't come out, no matter how hard we tried.
The second experience came from my very own brother. Fredo!
This time, it was an Epiphone Les Paul Standard from the early 2000s. The tuning held, but the pickups squealed like a stuck pig. No, I'm not going to look for a picture from Deliverance, and no pretty mouths here. Burt Reynolds is pretty amazing though, so... Last movie reference. Promise.
Since posting about the best deals you can find under $200 though, I was tempted to go find an Epiphone SG for under the $200 mark. The new ones are a far cry from the crap they were making in the late '90s from everything I've read. Besides, I sold the Orange Micro Terror, so there was a bit of money to burn. At worst, I'd be testing my own claims (or drowning in my own bullshit)
I made a few offers, but no bites, or responses frankly. C'est la vie. That's French. It means "no guitar for you today." The bullshit was creeping up to eye level it seemed.
Occasionally, I'd search for "epiphone" without a model name. Lazy sure, but maybe there was a Epi 339 lurking out there for a great price. Sadly no super deal 339s, but a few Les Pauls in the $300 range popped on the radar - prices were high, but seemed ripe for lower offers.
One in particular caught my attention. The pictures weren't great and may or may not have involved a Mickey Mouse blanket. Kidding. It totally did. After a week of following, I threw out an offer of $250.
The seller countered at $275, but I politely explained that $250 was my limit. Something about keeping my wife happy. It may have been a stretch of the truth (my wife is actually an amazing person to have in a guitar store with you - she has literally never said no), but I had a budget I was sticking to.
The seller accepted.
A short drive on a Monday morning and a meeting in a McDonald's parking lot to seal the deal. Once again, a stand up, extra friendly guy greeted me, pointed out each little flaw (minor), and stuck around for a little chat. He also explained that he took off the bridge pickup cover to capture a the spirit of Page. Can't fault him for that.
This only serves to reinforce my stalwart belief that the Kijiji community is filled with great people, at least so far as guitars are concerned.
Once I got the guitar home, it was clearly in need of a few things. The bridge was set too high, making the action laughable and the string tension unbearable.* The bridge pickup was set low, resulting is bad balance with the neck, and the pots were scratchy. Some contact cleaner here and a screw driver there and we were back firmly rock an roll territory.
*For those interested - The "break angle" of the string over the bridge has an impact on the perceived tension of the strings. Reverse wrap the strings over the stop bar on a Les Paul and 10's will feel like 9's. I can't explain the physics, but trust me on this one. Engineers feel free to explain this one in the comments.
I'll get into a full review in the next post, but I'm surprised, impressed even. I figured $250 was a great number to buy at - a couple of nice pictures and a good description would make this a flipper/trader at around $350 - still a fair price IMHO. But there's something about the way this one looks, plays, and feels that may have me reconsider my feelings about Epiphone.
That, and my daughter named this one - "Honey Chocolate Brownie". Once again, guitars and puppies find common ground.
Never let them name the thing. Never.
Dammit.
The first experience was a friend's Epi Les Paul Deluxe (in black because teenager) that wouldn't hold tune. File the nut, replace the tuners, a young priest and an old priest for an exorcism... The demons wouldn't come out, no matter how hard we tried.
 |
| Stubbornly refused A 440 as well. Also peed on the floor. |
This time, it was an Epiphone Les Paul Standard from the early 2000s. The tuning held, but the pickups squealed like a stuck pig. No, I'm not going to look for a picture from Deliverance, and no pretty mouths here. Burt Reynolds is pretty amazing though, so... Last movie reference. Promise.
 |
| How could you forget about Gator? |
Since posting about the best deals you can find under $200 though, I was tempted to go find an Epiphone SG for under the $200 mark. The new ones are a far cry from the crap they were making in the late '90s from everything I've read. Besides, I sold the Orange Micro Terror, so there was a bit of money to burn. At worst, I'd be testing my own claims (or drowning in my own bullshit)
I made a few offers, but no bites, or responses frankly. C'est la vie. That's French. It means "no guitar for you today." The bullshit was creeping up to eye level it seemed.
Occasionally, I'd search for "epiphone" without a model name. Lazy sure, but maybe there was a Epi 339 lurking out there for a great price. Sadly no super deal 339s, but a few Les Pauls in the $300 range popped on the radar - prices were high, but seemed ripe for lower offers.
One in particular caught my attention. The pictures weren't great and may or may not have involved a Mickey Mouse blanket. Kidding. It totally did. After a week of following, I threw out an offer of $250.
The seller countered at $275, but I politely explained that $250 was my limit. Something about keeping my wife happy. It may have been a stretch of the truth (my wife is actually an amazing person to have in a guitar store with you - she has literally never said no), but I had a budget I was sticking to.
The seller accepted.
A short drive on a Monday morning and a meeting in a McDonald's parking lot to seal the deal. Once again, a stand up, extra friendly guy greeted me, pointed out each little flaw (minor), and stuck around for a little chat. He also explained that he took off the bridge pickup cover to capture a the spirit of Page. Can't fault him for that.
This only serves to reinforce my stalwart belief that the Kijiji community is filled with great people, at least so far as guitars are concerned.
Once I got the guitar home, it was clearly in need of a few things. The bridge was set too high, making the action laughable and the string tension unbearable.* The bridge pickup was set low, resulting is bad balance with the neck, and the pots were scratchy. Some contact cleaner here and a screw driver there and we were back firmly rock an roll territory.
 |
| Middle-aged Rock and Roll mirror posing territory, of course |
*For those interested - The "break angle" of the string over the bridge has an impact on the perceived tension of the strings. Reverse wrap the strings over the stop bar on a Les Paul and 10's will feel like 9's. I can't explain the physics, but trust me on this one. Engineers feel free to explain this one in the comments.
I'll get into a full review in the next post, but I'm surprised, impressed even. I figured $250 was a great number to buy at - a couple of nice pictures and a good description would make this a flipper/trader at around $350 - still a fair price IMHO. But there's something about the way this one looks, plays, and feels that may have me reconsider my feelings about Epiphone.
That, and my daughter named this one - "Honey Chocolate Brownie". Once again, guitars and puppies find common ground.
Never let them name the thing. Never.
Dammit.
