Guitar World Verdict
No, it’s not the real deal but this new ‘Reissue’ level of the expanding ‘Inspired by Gibson Custom’ Epiphone range is a noticeable upgrade to the original 2024 model.
Pros
- +
Good build quality.
- +
Great pickups and control circuit.
- +
Excellent tuning stability.
Cons
- -
Needs to go on a diet.
- -
Not everyone will get the price point.
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What is it?
Earlier in the year, Epiphone took the wraps off eight new ‘Inspired by Gibson Custom’ models. Each is now called a Reissue to differentiate them from the previous models and refers to various upgrades that include a return to rosewood fingerboards, new Vintage Gloss finishes that, says Epiphone, “are thin, allowing for more resonance and keeping a vintage lacquer-like look, that more closely resembles a Gibson aged nitro finish.”
There are electronic upgrades under the hood, too, with “vintage era-appropriate capacitors (Black Beauty, Bumblebee) to more accurately capture the Gibson ‘Golden Era’ tone.”
The range is home to four new Reissue Les Pauls: a 1960 double-cut Special, a ’57 Goldtop and two standards, a 1960 and the featured guitar here, the benchmark 1959 Les Paul Standard.
Specs
- Launch price: $1,299 /£1,199/€1,399
- Made: China
- Type: Solidbody electric
- Body: Two-piece mahogany back w/ AAA flame maple veneer over plain maple cap
- Neck: One-piece mahogany w/ long tenon
- Fingerboard: / Radius: Bound rosewood/ 12”
- Scale length: 24.75” (629mm)
- Nut/width: 42.9mm
- Frets: 22, medium
- Hardware: ABR-1 Tune-O-Matic bridge w/ Gibson Historic Reissue Aluminum Stop Bar, Epiphone Deluxe single ring, keystone button tuners
- Electrics: 2x Gibson Custombuckers, 3-way toggle pickup selector switch, individual pickup volume and tone controls
- Weight: 9.72lb (4.42kg)
- Left-handed options: No
- Finishes: Washed Bourbon Burst (as reviewed), Deep Cherry Sunburst
- Case: Hardshell case with Inspired by Gibson Custom Graphics
- Contact: www.epiphone.com
Build quality
Build quality rating: ★★★★☆
Now, if you’ve not played an Epiphone Les Paul for a while, you’re in for a surprise. First off, it’s made in a very similar fashion to, well, a Custom Shop Les Paul.
Yes, the back is two-piece, not one, and that subtle tiger-strip figure is a AAA veneer over a plain maple top. The actual top carve might not be quite as deeply dished as the original but it’s very close to my current Gibson USA Les Paul Classic reference.
With its long-tenon extending under the neck pickup, the neck itself apes the real deal: one-piece mahogany with the correct ‘open-book’ headstock and a shallower back angle, something that may help, rather than hinder, the Les Paul’s notorious Achilles heel.
This new Vintage Gloss is well applied and paired back to a lower gloss sheen that’s silky satin and certainly not a dull matte. The top’s figuring lacks some of the crispness of the real thing, the actual figure looks a little diffused too, but it’s a massive improvement over those heavily applied high-gloss finishes of old. And this ’59 is available in two colours: our Washed Bourbon Burst or the ubiquitous Deep Cherry Sunburst.
With rosewood now replacing the previous laurel we have a good-looking deep chocolate fingerboard contrasted by the bright and crisp inlays.
The fretwire can best be described as ‘medium’ and the ends sit over the edge binding without the binding ‘nibs’ of the real thing or the more historic Gibson models and the Graph Tech nut does look rather modern too, certainly not vintage.
While the hardware is pretty generic but perfectively serviceable, the inclusion of the real-deal Gibson Custombuckers, CTS 500k ohm pots, a Switchcraft toggle switch and some boutique-looking ‘Bumblebee’ capacitors – all wired fifties-style – are more than welcome.
Playability
Playability rating: ★★★★☆
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While certainly not the lightest Epiphone Les Paul we’ve ever played it’s on the right side of 10lbs and feels more comfortable strapped on than seated. Hey, it’s a Les Paul!
But with a good set-up and fitted with .010s it plays well although the relatively small frets do give it a more vintage than modern feel.
To be critical, while that set-up is good, as is the tuning stability with no more than some basic string stretching, the fret ends feel a little sharp and erode a little of played-in vibe.
You engage with a neck shape immediately and here the Rounded Medium C profile sits between, for example, Gibson’s rather fuller ‘50s profile and the slimmer but still quite full-shouldered ‘60s SlimTaper.
Sounds
Sounds rating: ★★★★★
At full tilt this ’59 has certainly got that Les Paul bigness, it’s a fulsome classic rock voice but not over-egged: the Alnico 3-powered Custombuckers are very much in the classic rather than hot Patent Applied For range. But select a clean amp and this is a plummy, smoky jazzer.
Pull the controls back up, hit the neck and you’re in thick, vocal solo heaven
Use those controls too. The fifties-style wiring pulls out lots of colours: back off the volume, pull down the tone to just before it rolls off and you have a completely different guitar with snap and plenty of cleaner jangle. Pull the controls back up, hit the neck and you’re in thick, vocal solo heaven. It’s a good Les Paul.
Verdict
While this example would be a tad too heavy for many, and it’s crying out for a little more time on fret finishing basics, this really is a very viable, vintage-inspired Les Paul.
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Yes, it’s got what some will always consider the 'wrong' name on the right ‘open book’ headstock, and it’s not as crisply built as the ‘proper’ Gibson USA Les Paul Standards. But if we’re talking about sound, playability and overall style it’s certainly worth considering against the start-point of the Gibson USA Les Paul range. The lines are getting blurred.
Guitar World verdict: No, it’s not the real deal but this new ‘Reissue’ level of the expanding ‘Inspired by Gibson Custom’ Epiphone range is a noticeable upgrade to the original 2024 model.
Test | Results | Score |
|---|---|---|
Build quality | It's in the ballpark of a 'proper' Gibson, with some sharp fret ends and diffusion to the figuring the only reminders | ★★★★☆ |
Playability | If you're not a fan of the chunky neck profile, try one of the SlimTaper-equipped models. | ★★★★☆ |
Sounds | The Custombuckers and upgraded USA electronics add a world of value to the range. | ★★★★★ |
Overall | As the line blurs between high-end Epiphone and entry-point USA Gibsons, this guitar will make you question the importance of the headstock logo. | ★★★★½ |
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