snarf.rocks
thoughts and musings from the mind of snarf
  • Snarf.Rocks
  • About Snarf
    • Snarf's Gear
  • Snarf's Blog
  • Contact Snarf

1/4/2021

My Epiphone Les Paul Standard 50s

0 Comments

Read Now
 
A couple of months back I picked up one of those Epiphone Les Paul Standard 50s. A gold top. Because everyone needs a gold top, right? Never expected to play it much because I've never bonded with an LP. Granted the only ones I'd played had been the entry level Epiphones and the entry level Gibsons. I'd never played a "nice" one from either brand, so some would say I had probably never given them a fair shake.

I think I got a pretty good deal on this guitar because it was being sold as a blem from American Musical. No big though because I fully expected to just hang this one on the wall because I think a gold top is a beautiful guitar.

It came in, and I pulled it out of the box. I'm not sure why American Musical was selling it as a blem. I'm guessing someone bought it and returned it, so they couldn't sell it as new. It was setup pretty nicely, and I couldn't find anything wrong with it. Once I got it on the workbench, I noticed that the nut is a couple of millimeters off center. I think it was cut weird because it's flush on the bass side and just barely not flush on the treble. Otherwise I have been all over this thing, and can't find anything wrong with it.

The neck is perfect. I wish all my guitars had the neck on this one. It's bigger than all the other electrics I've got. I've got an Epi acoustic that has a big neck on it that is bigger and borders on being uncomfortable to play after a few minutes. This one is big without being as big as that one. It's a good handful without making my hand tired. It's just a great feeling neck.

The pups on it are advertised to be an Epiphone Probucker 1 in the neck and Probucker 2 in the bridge. I've read that those are Epi's version of the the Burstbucker pups. I really like them. To my ear, they're clear and articulate. I especially like the neck pup. I've really liked the Epi Alnico Pro (Epi's equivalent to the 57 Classics) that are in my 339, but I think these Probuckers make the Alnico Pros sound kind of average.

It has the 50s-era wiring in it. From what I've read, that means that the highs don't get muddy if you turn the tone down. Honestly, until recently I've always dimed the tone and never messed with it again, so I'm not really sure if wiring like this makes a difference. Since I've started playing with the knobs on all my guitars more, maybe I'll eventually be able to hear a difference.

I think it looks as good as a gold top should. I think that the gold color is more yellow than the Gibsons I've seen. The Gibsons seem to be a greener gold that this one. You can look at the sides and see that it is a 3-piece body. Looking at the back, they have a veneer on it (albeit a nice looking veneer) that make it appear to be one piece, but it's not.

It's got the to-be-expected cream colored binding and hardware and gold knobs with pointers. There is binding on the neck, too, but the binding doesn't cover the fret ends like it does on a Gibson. It's got the vintage looking tuners with the off-white plastic tulip keys. The headstock is the new Gisbon-inspired headstock that I, personally, like better than the usual Epi headstock.

The one thing I don't like about the guitar is that this mug is heavy. Like orca heavy! I stuck it on the scale because I was curious, and this thing is 9.5 pounds. It is noticeably heavier than any other guitar I've got. I wouldn't want to stand and play it for long periods of time.

Other than the weight, this guitar is really a great guitar. My assumptions of the guitar when I initially bought it turned out to be completely wrong. It feels good and plays good and, to my ear, sounds really good. Since I picked it up, it has become the guitar that I play the most. For the last couple of years, I was typically reaching for my 339 when I played. This Epiphone Standard 50s Les Paul seems to be making the move to become my main player. I've played Gibson LPs that I didn't like half as well as this one. Over the course of the last 10 years I've bought several Epiphones (a 1962 anniversary Sheraton, a 339, a couple of different acoustics, this Les Paul, and others), and with every purchase, I am more impressed with Epiphone's offerings.
Picture

Share

0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

Details

    Author

    Snarf is a wannabe musician who currently resides in the great state of Texas.  His wife is his favorite.  He believes chocolate milk made from milk that is anything less than whole milk is basically water and deserves to be dumped down the sink so nobody has to suffer through it.  He hates having to shop for clothes. But he has a thing for really cool bags, and, consequently, has more gig bags than guitars and a closet full of messenger bags and backpacks.  He still misses his dog who was taken by cancer 5 years ago.  Check out his Reverb shop and see if he has any gear he's trying to get rid of.  

    Archives

    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    April 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    September 2021
    July 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    May 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    November 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018

    Categories

    All
    50s Les Paul
    ABY Switch
    Acoustic
    Acoustikar
    Affordaboard
    American Design Experience
    Astronomy
    Axle Grease Delay
    Backpacks
    Back Packs
    BGU
    Bigsby
    Blues
    Blues Breaker
    Blues Guitar
    Blues Guitar Unleashed
    Boss
    Boss Pedals
    Caline
    Capo
    Cork Sniffer
    Creme Brulee
    CruzTools
    Dallas Guitar Show
    Danelectro
    Daypacks
    DIY Guitar
    Dumble Amps
    Effects Pedals
    EHX
    Electric Guitar
    Epiphone
    ES 335
    ES 339
    ES-339
    Fender
    Fender Stratocaster
    Filtertron
    Fort Richardson State Park
    Franken'Tron
    GarageTone
    Gator Gig Bags
    Gator Guitar Case
    Gibson
    Gig Bags
    Greasy Groove
    Gretsch
    Gretsch 5120
    Griff Hamlin
    Griff Hamlin's Blues Guitar Unleashed
    Guitar
    Guitar Cases
    Guitar MultiTool
    GuitarSetup
    Highway One
    Hiking
    Hiking Adventures
    Horseman
    Hwy 1
    Hybrid Guitar Case
    Ibanez Guitar Case
    Incase Gig Bags
    Inspired By Gibson
    Klon
    Klone
    KTR
    Lake Jacksboro
    Lakota Leathers
    Learning
    Les Paul
    Looper
    Mono Gig Bags
    Mooer
    Morning Star
    Multi Effects
    Mustang Floor
    Not Guitar Related
    NuX
    Outdoor Products
    OwnTheTone
    Parker Gig Bags
    Patio Gardening
    Pedalboard
    Pegasus
    Play What Makes You Happy
    Polyfoam Guitar Case
    Probag
    Probag Gig Bag
    Probag Gig Bags
    RC 20xl
    RC-20xl
    Reunion Blues Gig Bags
    Route 66
    Saddleback Leather
    Sonicake
    SoulFood
    Spinning Speaker
    Splattercaster
    Splatter Strat
    Strat
    Stratocaster
    TC Electronics
    Teton Sports
    Texas State Parks
    They're Not Investments
    Tone Bakery
    Tone Snobbery
    Tools
    Totally My Opinion
    Travelite Case
    Tru Arc Bridges
    Tru-Arc Bridges
    TrueTone
    TS9
    TU2 Tuner
    Tube Screamer
    Tumnus
    TwiggyBlues
    Valvetronix
    Visual Sound
    Wampler
    WhatsInYourGigBag
    YMMV

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly
  • Snarf.Rocks
  • About Snarf
    • Snarf's Gear
  • Snarf's Blog
  • Contact Snarf