You can just about do it all on this axe—tapping, slapping, fingerpicking, flat-picking, and on. I took a small/fine toothed file and rubbed the too tall fret a little, checked again and did this until it was all OK. After that you can go over and check all the frets you’ve filed are nicely polished for smooth playing. it’s made. Absolutely! So if don’t mind having your instrument lose 50% of its value then buy an EPI. Adjusting the saddles allows you to intonate your guitar to near-perfection so your axe can sound its best. Les Paul Special 1959 Double Cutaway in Cherry nitrocellulose finish. They look, sound, and play almost like the real thing. Why is this important? You can learn more about Tune-o-matic bridges here. Tuners: Wilkinson® Deluxe WJ44 Chrome (GT/ CS), Gold (TSB/ BB/ WR/ GDL) We provide a perfect opportunity to blend the value of Vintage guitars with the impeccible set up services provided by Richards Guitars. I managed to get a replacement machinehead from Peterborough Music, which is an excellent, friendly and helpful guitar shop. the Special Vintage Edition to be one the best Epiphone Les Paul there is…at least for the money. I hooked it up to my Roland Micro Cube GX and tested it out in all 3 pickup configurations in lots of different styles. And the occasional damaged guitar does get past Epiphone’s QC, leading to a few disappointed buyers. I’m happy with that now but I feel that the fret ends, whilst polished and smoothed nicely are a little bit square in profile for my taste. In my search for the best electric guitar under $200, the Les Paul Special VE was a fun shred-machine that I’m happy to add to my collection. You know, all the really expensive, elitist “vehicles of tone.” I couldn’t be bothered with something as pedestrian as the single-pickup, student-targeted Les Paul Junior. Here’s a quick overview of how the Special VE compares to some similar guitars: My Special VE is one of the most affordable Epiphones around these days, which is obviously a big selling point. I’ve had the control plates off the back, when I was sandpapering etc, the electronics seemed tidy with 500k pots. Well, years have passed and we know a lot better now. I am a drummer who just spent months deciding between an EPI and a Gibson. There aren’t many guitars under $200 that sound and play better than this model. These aren’t knock-offs; they’re reproductions, and damn good ones at that. This silver shine is especially bright against the body’s muted darkness and looks great. The Gibson Les Paul Vintage Mahogany brings together old and new Les Paul features to create a unique and special guitar. Though I have no issues with the workings of the volumes and tones, they are as good as any other analogue controls I’ve used on a passive guitar before. For the pickups I’ve lowered them a little bit in their mounts but heightened some of the pole pieces to fit my chord work. The EC-10 subs basswood for the body and maple for the neck which would make it a somewhat fatter, brighter guitar than the VE. The plastic they’re made of feels a little cheap, but what matters is that they work. When you buy through links on my site, I may earn an affiliate commission(this adds no extra cost for you). Gibson Les Paul Classic 2005. It was the plastic green snot type tuner and the plastic and had obviously been bashed / broken off at some point. The pickups are supposed to be of a design imparted by the original Gibson PAF designer Seth Lover to Mr Trev Wilkinson of Vintage. However, they still included the authentic mahogany neck and rosewood fingerboard—one of the signature traits of vintage Les Pauls. It's basically a Gibson Les Paul guitar that's made in Korea using a pseudo name. The "Les Paul guitar" is beautifully and accurately reproduced for this necklace. A strong competitor of the Special VE is the ESP LTD EC-10. They run hot and provide the classic, warm tone LPs are known for. The Schecter Solo II Custom is a Les Paul Style guitar … It’s not bad enough to be a real problem—I might have expected worse—but it does catch me up a little. The highs might be a bit harsher than I’d prefer, but for the most part, I thought it was really well-balanced. Both guitars under $200 with Les Paul-style bodies, the differences are hard to tell at first glance. I’m an affiliate. Most seem to agree that the tuners need an upgrade. Now I’ve got the new machinehead and don’t have to tune up using a pair of pliers I have got round to changing the strings to a heavier gauge (I think it had some 9’s on, felt too much like little elastic bands). Also there were fairly large gouges on the back of the guitar body. Another thing I had to do was file a scratchy little plastic node off the pickup selector switch! If my Les Paul Special VE looks too plain for you, don’t worry! So, let’s dip into ‘new Gibson’. It didn’t exactly come playable out of the box, but it was ready to go after a tuning and some action adjustment. You can watch my full in-depth video review of this Les Paul also! Neck Inlays: Pearloid Crown I’ve said current specs because, the above don’t seem to tally with my own example. One of my worries when I get a budget guitar is that it will have low-quality frets. Bridge: Tune-O-Matic The Hipshot 3×3 locking … It's one thing finding cheap Les Paul guitars, another finding LPs that don't sound cheap.. Time and time again I come across a review or forum post stating how ridiculous the price gap is between the $2000+ Gibsons and the sub-$300 "copies". I know not everyone will agree with me on this, but I think this simple-looking guitar is stunning. A Les Paul that's indicative of Epiphone's stellar year, this '50s Standard has a lot of class, with sweet sustain, a classy feel and a pickup pairing that puts a wealth of classic rock and blues tones at your fingertips. Electric Guitar Headstock Designs; unveiling the new Stonelake range. Fingerboard: Rosewood, Scale: 24.75″/ 628mm, Frets: 22 There are better guitars for metal at this price range, but you can still pull some heavy stuff off with the Special VE. Adjusting the saddles allows you to intonate your guitar to near-perfection so your axe can sound its best. It’s main problems were that one of the machineheads (or tuners) was missing it’s tip. Thank you if you use my links, that helps to cover the expenses of this website! These are actually the same pickups you’ll get in Epiphone models costing $100 more than the Special VE, making this a great-sounding starter guitar. And in my opinion, it’s made quite well. Something you’ll commonly find in a lot of low-price electric guitars is poor electrical work. What matters isn’t where the Les Paul Special VE is made, but how it’s made. It’s main problems were that one of the machineheads (or tuners) was missing it’s tip. They’re this guitar’s biggest problem, and bring my rating of the hardware all the way down to 2.5 out of 5 stars. Topic Area for the Historic line of Gibson Les Paul Reissues. We know what professional guitar players want. The neck’s got the same Vintage Worn finish as the body and just doesn’t feel smooth on my palm. It’s somewhat rough and doesn’t have the silky, fast-playing feel I love. Hipshot 6GLO. It’s true that the best guitars are built from the inside out, and Vintage enjoys a well-earned reputation for building great vintage electric guitars.