Les Paul Special guitars (Gibson and Epiphone): Pro Les Paul Looks with a Beginner’s Price Tag. Over the years, affordable versions of the original Les Paul has been made available to guitar players. Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced player, today there’s a Les Paul Special guitar waiting to be played.
Introduction
Gibson introduced the original Les Paul Special in 1955, and it quickly appealed to guitar players who could not afford the Les Paul goldtop model and were not impressed with the Les Paul Junior. It quickly became the preferred guitar for working musicians in the US.
Now you also have Epiphone making Les Paul Special II guitars for a price that anyone can afford.
So if you want to experience the look, feel and tone of a Gibson Les Paul Special but are not able to afford it, you can always opt for the Les Paul Specials from Epiphone.
Epiphone Les Paul Specials (with its great Gibson sound) can also be used by seasoned pros as a backup guitar.
Comparison Chart
- [easyazon_link identifier=”B0047YUM9O” locale=”US” tag=”keytarhq04-20″ cart=”n”]Epiphone Les Paul Junior Electric Guitar[/easyazon_link]: Epiphone 700T humbucker and a Master Volume and Master Tone control
- [easyazon_link identifier=”B0002CZUUG” locale=”US” tag=”keytarhq04-20″ cart=”n”]Epiphone LP: Les Paul Special II Electric Guitar[/easyazon_link]: 700T / 650R Humbuckers, Tune-o-matic bridge, 3-way Toggle, 1-volume, 1-tone,
- [easyazon_link identifier=”B00J8Y19XQ” locale=”US” tag=”keytarhq04-20″ cart=”n”]Epiphone Limited Edition Les Paul Special-I Electric Guitar[/easyazon_link]: Magnetic-double-coil pickup, tremolo bridge, 3-way toggle, 1-volume, 1-tone
- Epiphone Les Paul LP 100: 700T / 650R Humbuckers, Tune-o-matic bridge, 3-way Toggle, 2-volume, 2-tone
- Epiphone Les Paul Studio (For the gigging player): Pair of Alnico Classic Humbuckers, each with separate volume and tone controls, Tune-O-Matic bridge
Best Les Paul Special Guitars
Epiphone LP: Les Paul Special II Electric Guitar
Epiphone LP (Les Paul) Special II Electric Guitar looks like the original Les Paul and offers a killer tone considering its price. This time-tested guitar comes with dual open-coil humbuckers and a mahogany neck and body. For the price, its definitely a steal. If you want the real Les Paul, you may continue to save money. However, if you’re okay to own an axe that looks like Les Paul and offers a similar feel and sustain, you should grab this Epiphone Les Paul right away.
- Pros: Clean tone and design, Classic Les Paul look and Humbucker sound, Les paul made affordable
- Cons: Sound is OK, but not excellent;
Features
Here are the main features of this guitar:
- Solid basswood body, mahogany neck, rosewood fretboard, dot inlay
- 22 frets, 24.75’’ scale length
- Two alcino v humbucker pickups, 700T, 650R
- 3 way pickup selector switch, one volume control, one tone control
- Tune-o-matic bridge
[easyazon_link identifier=”B0002CZUUG” locale=”US” tag=”keytarhq04-20″ cart=”n”][/easyazon_link]
Overall, the Epiphone LP Special II is a versatile, yet inexpensive, electric guitar that can be used to play various type of music such as jazz, blues, rock, metal (using the tone control and configuring the amps). This is a great guitar with great sound, perfect for learning, though you may also use it as gig guitar.
Buying Links
[easyazon_link identifier=”B0002CZUUG” locale=”US” tag=”keytarhq04-20″ cart=”n”]Buy on Amazon[/easyazon_link] | Buy on Guitarcenter
Epiphone Les Paul Junior Electric Guitar
Even though it says “Junior”, the model is actually a full size guitar, it just means the guitar is an entry-level model. Nice looks, fast-playing neck and resonant tonewood body, single high-output humbucker in the bridge position, LockTone Tune-O-Matic bridge and stopbar tailpiece create more sustain and make string changing easier. One pickup, 1 master Volume control, and one tone control. Just hook it up to nice amp and enjoy the great Les Paul experience.
- [easyazon_link identifier=”B0047YUM9O” locale=”US” tag=”keytarhq04-20″ cart=”n”]Buy on Amazon[/easyazon_link]:
Epiphone Limited Edition Les Paul Special-I Electric Guitar
Nice string-to-body resonance. Special-I comes equipped with a pair of hot open-coil Epiphone 700T and 650R humbucker pickups, to give it the Les Paul tone. 500K potentiometers for the master volume and master tone controls, 3-way pickup selector toggle switch and exclusive non-rotating heavy-duty output jack, 21-fret.
Gibson 2015 Les Paul Special Double Cut Electric Guitar
Gibson 2015 Les Paul Special Double Cut Electric Guitar is a guitar that’s made for the stage, perfect for gigging musicians who want the classic Les Paul sound and an axe with stunning looks.
Sleek, solid mahogany body, commemorative headstock hologram, beautiful pearl inlays, dual P-90 Soapbar Alnico Slug Pickups, 3-way stich and master volume and tone pots.
Epiphone Les Paul Special vs Epiphone LP-100
Most Les Paul Specials that gets sold nowadays are made by Epiphone. No doubt they are a budget brand and have a wide range of affordable guitars, but they have indeed upped their game in recent years and Epiphone guitars are a lot more durable than what people think, and are also easy on play-ability.
Epiphone LP-100 Electric Guitar
The Epiphone LP-100 (Les Paul) Electric Guitar features dual humbuckers and a bolt-on neck, looks beautiful, and incorporates all the major features of a Les Paul, but in a more affordable price range.
Epiphone Les Paul 100: Pros & Cons
- Pros: Affordable, Durable, Solid Electronics. Perfect for beginners on a budget. Has the same legendary Les Paul shape and appearance.
- Cons: Its not the real Les Paul
- BEST USES: Jamming. Practicing. School Bands. Small Venues
The guitar’s body is made of mahagony with Maple top that delivers the classic solid & heavy tone. Its made of maple and serves a rosewood fingerboard (makes it easy to play) with 22 medium jumbo frets (24.75″ scale length) and white dot inlays. The neck is bolt-on attached (Gibson Les Pauls have set necks). While experienced players don’t like bolt on neck, it works just fine on a guitar in this price bracket.
Its equipped with a LockTone tune-o-matic, and the guitar itself is rounded off with a classic Epiphone headstock. The axe is equipped with 2 Humbuckers, one at the neck (650R) and the bridge (700T), as well as a three-way switch indicating Treble and Rhythm. The pickups are further complemented by its individual Volume and Tone controls, amounting to four in total. Features Tune-o-matic bridge.
You might feel its a bit expensive if this is going to be your first guitar but the Epiphone LP (Les Paul) 100 electric guitar is what you want if you are serious about your music. The slimmer body makes it even more comfortable to play. If you’re beginner, this guitar will definitely thrill you.
Buying Links
More on Les Paul Guitars
Les Paul was an excellent jazz and blues guitarist, and an innovative guitar-maker. If you’ve always wanted to buy a Lespaul (because of their better tone and playability) but didn’t want to spend thousands of dollars, you may go for these options. Many blues players actually prefer Epiphone guitars as they are highly respected world wide the only difference is sometimes the pearl inlays on the neck wear eventually but that’s no biggy for a true guitarist.
You can use these guitars to play in any music style, such as rock, metal, blues etc. You can produce a warm sound on the neck pickup and a brighter sound on the bridge pickup. Turning the controls, to get the tone you want, is easy. Though not exactly a Gibson, these sound great for the price.
These guitars can also be made to sound better if you upgrade the pickups. You dont need to upgrade anything right away, when you first buy one of these. If your skills indeed outrun the stock pick-ups, you can upgrade the guitar and still enjoy it for years to come.
Les Paul guitars (from Epiphone) look much more expensive (than what they cost) and are great low-midrange guitars that offers good value for money. These are inspired by the original Les Paul, and provide all the features of a Les Paul but in a much more affordable version.
These guitars come with individual pickup volume and tone controls, features the classic Les Paul design and tone in an affordable package. Highly recommended electric guitars for serious beginners and intermediate level players.
More Affordable Alternatives
You may want to check out the Yamaha pacifica guitars.
External Links
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