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Aside from the gold plating and color, how are they different from other Les Pauls? The consensus on the board is that these are at least a cut above the other Epi LP's. Are they made with different wood?

J

Are you talking Made in Korea (MIK), Made in China (MIC) or the Made in Japan (MIJ) Elitist models? There's a difference in all 3 Epi Customs.

The MIK and MIC models are pretty much the same guitar, with the MIC models having a slight edge in quality because they come from Epiphone's own factory. The Korean models are made by Samick, who also makes loads of other guitars for other manufacturers. They use the same wood in the Custom as they do on the Standard and Standard Plus. All that's different is the binding, the inlays and the gold hardware. Some may be Mahogany, some may be Alder, but not both.

The MIJ Elitist models are several cuts above the MIK and MIC models. They are excellent quality and lots of folks like them. Their price range tends to overlap with the lower priced Gibson Studio's but you get the Custom quot;bling blingquot; on the Elitist whereas the Studio is pretty plain, but still one serious LP. I haven't played an Elitist Custom but have heard from those that have that they sound excellent. So it really comes to down quot;bling blingquot; versus plain here in the Elitist vs. Studio choice. Elitists are Mahogany.

Now, with all that said, I own a MIC LP Standard Plus that is a 2004 model. I was looking for a used Studio at the time but there weren't any there but they had a lot of new Studio's and Epi LP Customs, Standards and such. The new Gibby studio's were out of my range so I checked out the Epi Customs. No dice. They all played rough or just didn't have the resonance I was looking for (these were MIK models). Then I picked up the Standard Plus that I now own and it had the resonance. I then proceeded my points check (neck, frets, inlays, finish, binding, joints, acoustic playability, plugged in, sustain, neck contour feel, tuners, tuning stability). Yep, she checked out. It outplayed all the MIK Customs they had in the store and several other Standards.

Moral of the story, go play a lot of them and you'll find one that speaks to you. I know this is probably more than you asked for.


Originally Posted by ErikHMoral of the story, go play a lot of them and you'll find one that speaks to you. I know this is probably more than you asked for.

It was perfect...thanks!!

ive played an elistist custom and it was pretty nice not to mention quite heavy which i like in a guitar especially a les paul. It was a tad pricy though as much as a gibson sutdio which i could see causing sales problem for the epi custom. The lower end models haven't really tickled my fancy at all, they just don't feel right. I agree though try them out and see how they feel, that way you can choose for yourself which is the best.

The local shop has some Epi LP Customs in and one of them is kind of sweet! It feels great and is pretty heavy so it has some real wood in it of some sort.. I've picked up a few Epi LP's that felt like they were made of feathers... I somehow feel if the guitar has a little weight to it it is better... could just be me... But these Epi Customs are about $700 Candian... not the elitist stuff, just your middle of the road cheaper Epi's

For some reason(not sure why) the Epi LP Customs just feel like better guitars overall. There were only two things stopping it from being up there with a guitar that cost much more. One was the nut which caused string hangup and the guitar to not stay in tune so well. And the other was the pickups....the electronics were fine. Most people blame the tuners when these guitars go out....it's not the tuners....they are really good actually...it's definitely the way the nut was cut. I got my guitar to sound just as good as any other guitar I owned that cost alot more.

they have a nice Black Epi custom in stock at the store with a mirror pickguard.... it looks great and feels great! My Epi LP standard has all sorts of buzz and hum from the electronics... i took most of the junk out and wired it with a single volume for the bridge pick up only... no noise any longer

It's not hard to make those things in to serious players. Sometimes I think I got lucky finding one like mine but since I got it I've noticed the consistent quality with the MIC models. The tuners are nice sealed Grovers, I actually like the stock pickups but being a SD guy, I just had to put a CC in there. The nut is not bad, I get some hangup sometimes but nothing too serious. I just keep it lubed up until I can change it out for bone.

Every guitar I ever bought has gotten a full setup after it came home no matter what the price was. The one thing in a review that I usually get a chuckle over is when someone says the guitar wasn't set up right, action being the number 1. Well, maybe not set up right the way that person likes it, but it could have been set up the way the person who did it likes it. Everyone has different tastes when it comes to action. Intonation and such can/will change during shipment. Cold warehouse to hot truck to humid warehouse to dry truck to whatever else. The elements will have an effect so once they reach the final destination, another setup will need to be done. it's more-so on those that aren't in cases when shipped but packed well in cardboard boxes, Like Epi LP's. Guitars that come in cases in their shipping boxes, like Gibsons, MIA fenders and such, will retain their factory setup better.

My Epi lp standard has a badly damaged neck... Needs a refret to fix the hump after it was broken in half.... I have been thinking it is perfect guitar to turn into a Pete Townshend 3 pick up style guitar.... I have some LP Mini humbuckers and a Dimarzio Super Distortion in my parts bin... I'm just wondering what the pick up cavities would look like with mini's stuffed in there... I know i would have to rout some wood out.. The Humbuckers are wider then the Minis with their rings... Or maybe i could make custom plastic rings and mount the Duncan minis in a full Humbucker ring...

Since it already had a broken neck it is well on it's way to being a PT... ha ha ha Pick ups should be like the ones in this picture of a PT smashed LP below.

from : localhost/the Epi is damaged badly i would not wreck it by routing it out and wireing it up....

I had a LP Std that was MIC (clone of Eriks) and it was a damn good guitar for the bucks...TONE and playability wise. It had THE Les Paul sound with great sustain....I just didn't care for the thin neck, and din' wanna spend the $ upgrading the electronics and nut. It actually stayed in tune quite well, but the nut was installed kinda crappy. Grovers were great. Stock pups had a good PAF tone, but were a little muddy, especially the neck position.

If ya find a good one, they def can provide alot of bang for the buck. Kinda wish I had mine back as a quot;beaterquot;.

I tried a Zakk Wylde EPI custom a few weeks back and was pretty impressed too for the $. It was well built and had good tone/sustain. I especially liked the maple neck for quot;feelquot;..but with the EMG HZ's it was a tad too bright/raspy for my tastes. I'd put something else in it to tone (pun intended) it down.

Ouch, that's gotta suck. I keep mine in a gigbag and my daughter knocked it over the other day. Luckily nothing happened. It's fine. I probably would have cried had the neck cracked. It's probably the best sounding electric I have right now. If you want to hear it, check out my Tips and Clips thread.

from : localhost//forum/s...ad.php?t=53002

BTW Erik...finally gave the priest clip a listen..nice job...good tone ya got there. with the Epi and 900....very classic marshall metal tones.


Originally Posted by JeffBBTW Erik...finally gave the priest clip a listen..nice job...good tone ya got there. with the Epi and 900....very classic marshall metal tones.

Thanks. I played my Fender Strat on the other rhythm and upper harmony lead track.

Proof there that an Epi LP can sound good. Yes, I am tooting my own horn...

All of the Epi MIK/MIC LP Customs I saw had real thick maple cap, not just thin veneer.

And most of the time, they all featured correct woods (mahogany, maple) instead of Alder (on many standards.)