Epiphone Les Paul Special-II Electric Guitar, Vintage Sunburst (Amazon Exclusive)

I wish that entry level guitars like this had been around when I started learning to play 36 years ago. In those days if you bought a cheap guitar you got something that produced horrible screeches, buzzes and crackles when amplified, was virtually unplayable and was impossible to tune. This is nothing like that and in my opinion it lives up to the reviews I read of it before I bought it.Despite the good reviews I was still a little nervous when it arrived as I have never bought a mail order guitar before; I have always tried guitars out before I have parted with any money. I needn’t have worried though. It’s well put together, quite weighty, and has a reassuringly solid feel to it. The toggle switch and controls are smooth. It appears to have been set up before despatch as the intonation on mine is as it should be, although the action is slightly high for my liking. That’s just a very minor gripe though and it could probably be lowered with a little attention.Another petty gripe is the feel of the fretboard and strings on arrival. Epiphone seem to apply some sort of coating or treatment for some reason which caused my hands and fingers to stick and catch when moving around the neck. Thankfully though this wore off after I had played it a couple of times and now (2 days later) it feels perfectly fine.So at this stage I was fairly impressed but it completely surpassed my expectations when I plugged it in. I’ve got it going through a Boss Distortion and the clean channel on a Fender combo as shown in the picture. The sound is unbelievable for a guitar of this price! I played a number of rock standards from AC/DC, Thin Lizzy, Guns n Roses etc and I was just massively impressed by the sound of the thing. On top of that there isn’t a squeak when I stop playing; no whistles, hums and screeches that have me reaching to turn down the volume pot. The clean sound is a little boxy but perfectly adequate…and I’m spoilt anyway as I have an American Standard Telecaster which is the master of “clean”. I bought it to use at rehearsals and gigs on a couple of songs that need alternative tuning but now I’m considering using it on the songs that need more girth than the tele can supply.If you want a decent guitar to learn on it’s a great choice and it is good enough to keep you going from learner through to first band. If you play pubs and clubs like me and need a second guitar you could certainly do a lot worse. I can see why it is Epiphone’s best-selling guitar worldwide.

I bought this as my first guitar after having borrowed from people for years, and it is absolutely amazing. I waited (impatiently) a month for it to arrive, which given I was told to expect upwards of 2 wasn't bad at all, and I couldn't wait to play it. Getting the shallowness out of the way first it looks stunning (vintage sunburst), and is obviously a really high quality build and in may ways it looks and feels like a Gibson without you having to sell a kidney to pay for it.Of course where it counts is the sound and it sounds just as good as it looks! Its a very clear and crisp tone with enough adjustment through the pickups and tone knob to get a decent range of sounds. I have seen that a few people have said that they have had difficulty keeping it in tune, which I admit I have had a bit of, particularly on the heavy E, A and D strings but not to a level where it is problematic. You probably will have to retune it every time you use it, but in my opinion you should be checking that every time anyway!One thing I will say is that you get NOTHING else in the box. No strap, no picks, no bag, no nothing. This isn't a fault, as all the value is embedded in the guitar which is exceptional value in itself, but the only reason I mention it is if you are just starting out make sure to get everything else you need because you wont be able to wait to play it. Honestly, I think that this is the best thing I have ever bought from Amazon.

The guitar was well packaged and seems to work fine.Couple niggles, it doesn't ship with a strap but fortunately I had read that in the answered questions.And would be nice if it had come with a pick but not a biggy.Slight stray thread poking out next to one of the pickups but other then that it seems to work fine.Although I'm still only learning so can't comment on sound quality.

Nice looking guitar, well made & very light. The guitar has a very nice, loud sound due to the humbucker pick ups. It is very good for rock music, but can also be used for clean tunes. The build quality & finishing is very good for the price, there are no rough or sharp edges on the neckboard, frets etc. and everything appears well put together. The guitar is easy to hold and the neck is reasonably narrow, making chords etc easy to play. The only slight problem I had was that the B string ( 2nd string ) could not be tuned, I solved this by unwinding the string & rewinding it onto the post again. After doing this the string could be tuned & stayed in tune. As with all new guitar strings, it needs to be played a few times & retuned a few times until the strings are bedded in and then it stays in tune. There are many posts on the internet about people buying this guitar & then upgrading pick ups, tuners etc, but, in my opinion, this is not necessary, the guitar plays & sounds good as it is. If you want to do that, it would be easier just buying a more expensive guitar in the first place. This is the second guitar I have bought from Amazon Warehouse, and both have been in excellent condition, with no visible damage & with all the manufacturers information, original box etc included. I would buy from there again, as I have two guitars in excellent condition for a bargain price.