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1 year.
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That’s how long I lusted after the Epiphone Les Paul Special VE™.
I had just purchased an Epiphone Les Paul Express™, a tiny guitar you can bring along wherever you want without the backache associated with bigger guitars. A week after I purchased that tiny guitar, Crescendo comes out with the Epiphone Les Paul Special VE™! Mother of Plucking Pearl!
I immediately fell in love with the Epiphone Les Paul Special VE™. I had to muster all of my willpower not to reach into my wallet to buy it right there and then.
Good thing I waited. Otherwise I wouldn’t have gotten this Cherry Sunburst beauty!
It’s just beautiful to look at and lighter than your average Les Paul which is a huge plus for me. And.. it’s a sub Php10,000.00 genuine musical instrument from Epiphone.
But, let’s set our expectations here ok kids? Epiphone is an awesome company that produces excellent guitars but it can’t compare to a Gibson Les Paul. Near, but not quite.
Do I care?
Nope!
Sounds alright to me!
On paper, it’s not that outstanding.
PRODUCT FEATURES
Vintage Worn Finish
Epiphone Open Coil Humbuckers
Classic Black Speed Knob Controls
60s SlimTaper-D Profile Okoume Neck
SPECIFICATIONS
Finish Vintage Worn
Body Poplar
Neck Okoume
Neck Shape 1960s SlimTaper™; D profile
Neck Joint Bolt-On
Truss Rod Adjustable
Truss Rod Cover “Bell” shaped; 2-layer; “Vintage Edition” in white
Scale Length 24.75″
Fingerboard Dot inlay
Fingerboard Radius 14″
Nut 1-11/16″
Headstock Inlay “Split Diamond” in Pearloid; “Epiphone” logo in Pearloid
Neck Pickup Epiphone 650R Humbucker; Open-coil
Bridge Pickup Epiphone 700T Humbucker; Open-coil
Controls 3-way Pickup Selector
Master Volume
Master Tone
Black “Speed” knobs
Headstock Epiphone “Clipped Ear”; “Les Paul Model” in gold; “Epiphone” logo in silver
Binding None
Frets 22; medium-jumbo
Bridge Tune-o-matic
Tailpiece Stopbar
Hardware Nickel
Output Jack Epiphone Heavy-Duty, Non-Rotating 1/4″ with Square Jack Plate
Machine Heads Premium Covered; 14:1 ratio;”2016″ Edition logo on back of headstock
Color Finishes Cherry, Ebony, Heritage Cherry Sunburst, Vintage Sunburst, Walnut
Weight 6.75
I love the feel of the neck. It’s like satin.
The weight is almost negligible since it’s only 6.75 lbs. I can deal with 6.75 lbs no problem.
The body is highly resonant and I haven’t plugged it in yet. It didn’t disappoint once I turned the amp on.
I started with a clean setting and it sounds a bit chimey. No worries, a little tweaking here and there and I got the perfect sound.
Running the guitar through an overdrive is what it’s really meant to do anyway since this guitar is meant to be a rock machine.
Just look at the controls. 3-way pickup selector, master volume and master tone. That’s it. I always said that’s all I ever need. A tone knob and a volume knob. Everything else should come from your fingers. To adjust sharpness of sound, just turn your tone knob and volume knob til you reach the sweet spot. Hint: Don’t put it to full!
It’s just been a week since I got the guitar so we’re still in honeymoon phase. So far It’s been a great experience!