
It feels like a Les Paul – a heavy one at that – and it looks the part, too. Well, there’s no shortage of sustain here, and in a blind test the Epiphone Les Paul Standard ’50s more than held its own. Described by Epiphone as a “rounded medium C-profile”, the neck is glued to the body via a long neck tenon – a deeper-set neck joint that adds mass and can enhance sustain if all other things are equal. Built for traditionalists, it features a big ol’ neck that fills the palm, making it extremely comfortable to wield. The Epiphone Les Paul Standard ’50s is a home run for Epiphone. Meanwhile, the dual-humbucker format and solid poplar body offer a convincing taste of that thick and warm LP tone that you’d expect from a guitar bearing Les Paul’s name. But how refreshing it is to witness Epiphone applying a worn finish to a beginner electric in the shape of the Epiphone Les Paul Special Vintage Edition, giving it some of the kudos and magic of a 1950s guitar. With vintage models held up as the acme of guitar design, it’s no surprise to see so many aged and relic’d finishes on the market.

The neck profile is reassuringly meaty and supremely comfortable and should you feel like bending a note and holding it, you’ll be knocked out by the sustain. With its ProBucker pickups (which replicate the vintage Alnico II magic of the original PAF humbuckers), classic finish and tonewood cocktail of solid mahogany and maple up top, the Epiphone Les Paul Standard ’50s in Metallic Gold is a real chip off the old-school block.
#Used epiphone les paul custom series
The thing is, even with Gibson’s Tribute Series offering a stripped-down Les Paul that costs around a grand, not all of us can afford a US-built model. Gibson’s peerless single-cut was the original aspirational guitar.


Currently, all Les Paul models have the modern "clipped-ear" style headstock.For many guitarists, the Gibson Les Paul is the alpha and omega of electric guitar design. Japanese and Chinese domestic models used a different version of the open-book headstock for a brief period of time. 1989 was the last year the Epiphone incorporated this headstock onto their guitars, with the exception on the 1990 SQ-180 acoustic guitar. Like the previous 1986-1987 LP models, the 1989's came with the Korean version of the open-book headstock. The 1989 models were the first to sport a set-neck and a carved top with a cap. Prior to 1989, Epiphone's Les Paul offerings were in the form of the LP-1, 2 & 3 bolt-neck models and a practically unknown Studio-type model with a set-neck and a flat top. Although not Epiphone's first Les Paul model, the 1989 Standards and Customs were their first Gibson-licensed set-neck Les Paul that closely resembled the original model. The Epiphone Les Paul Custom was first introduced in 1989 and was originally made at the Samick Plant in Korea. 1989 Epiphone Les Paul Custom Headstock Variation
