Epiphone Les Paul Custom Blackback Limited-Edition Electric Guitar $599 or $551 w Rewards + free S&H

The button and image didn't pull up the right listing for me for some reason. The middle hyperlink worked, though.

Quote from LowKeyG : The button and image didn't pull up the right listing for me for some reason. The middle hyperlink worked, though.

fixed link #2

Just heads up, specs say country of origin is USA… these are made in China. Don't know why specs say that. Still prob a solid guitar, Epi customs are usually pretty solid after a good setup.

50's necks are a thicker profile than 60's necks, personal preference but I would recommend slimmer neck profiles for beginners.

Quote from RumzDizzle : Just heads up, specs say country of origin is USA… these are made in China. Don't know why specs say that. ...

Of course it's not made in the USA, no Epiphones are made in the States. Like all Epiphones these are made in Asia, China or Indonesia.

Obvious typo on the product page.

Quote from rumata13 : Of course it's not made in the USA, no Epiphones are made in the States. Like all Epiphones these are made in Asia, China or Indonesia. Obvious typo on the product page.

There are some made in the USA Epiphone acoustics now, and you won't mistake the prices for made in China.

Price went down by another $30 Cyber Monday, it's $599 now:

https://www.musiciansfriend.com/g...ric-guitar

Looks beautiful. Maybe next year. Just got a Fender Strat Player Series. Is this a good Les Paul?

I got this exact model two years ago. It depends on what you're looking for in a guitar, but for the money, it is a great looking, great sounding and great playing Chinese made guitar.

For comparison's sake, I also own a USA Gibson Les Paul Standard Slash "Victoria" Goldtop. This one comes very close to Gibson as far as the actual tangible benefits (Sound, Playability and Looks). The Gibson will be far more collectible, and will have the "intangibles" like a nitrocellulose finish, USA pickups, far better construction, etc, but most of that doesn't affect sound quality as much. If you're a new player, save your money for a better amp. You can gig with this guitar easily.

They will come with a lot of fret buzz out the factory, so you will have to get the guitar professionally set up.

The pickups are Epiphone Burstbuckers, they are very good sounding pickups, and the open window design makes them look really unique. You also get coil split with this model, meaning you can switch from humbuckers to single coils, if you prefer to sound like a Fender Stratocaster (kind of silly on a Les Paul, but some people like it).

The black backing is piano gloss black so fine scratches will show easily.

This is one of the cheapest Les Paul Customs you can get for the money. However, they seem to always go on sale, and I don't know why, but resale value will be low because of that, and I suspect it won't be as collectible (though the original Gibson Blackback is super rare and super collectible).

The description is misleading because it talks about the 50s, which is when the Les Paul was first introduced, but the Blackback (the one this is modeled after) came out in the 70s. So it has the slim taper neck, which I prefer, but Gibsons are Plek'd at the factory so even with thicker necks, they play like a dream.

I actually play this more than the Gibson, because I'm always worried about scratching that one. With the Epi, I have less concerns, and it sounds 90% of the way there, even with the stock chinese Burstbuckers.

lots of comments about this epiphone. at $599 bucks, I would just say that you will never, ever get your money back out of this guitar (nowhere even close). epiphones are for sale used literally everywhere (from ebay, to reverb, to offerup, as well as among all of the major music stores that sell used gear). personally, i like and have two epiphone guitars. that said, i can't see any reason for paying this kind of money for an epiphone other than you just really enjoy lighting money on fire and throwing it out the window.

Quote from fleabus : lots of comments about this epiphone. at $599 bucks, I would just say that you will never, ever get your money back out of this guitar (nowhere even close). epiphones are for sale used literally everywhere (from ebay, to reverb, to offerup, as well as among all of the major music stores that sell used gear). personally, i like and have two epiphone guitars. that said, i can't see any reason for paying this kind of money for an epiphone other than you just really enjoy lighting money on fire and throwing it out the window.

For starters, I think this comment is well intentioned, and I agree that if your objective is to collect guitars, or buy and sell them with the goal of having them retain or appreciate their value over time, the way to go is with the originals, Gibson and Fender. Very few Epiphones will appreciate like a Gibson (though the original Epiphones like the Emperor do appreciate in value). Check this one out [reverb.com]:

That said, I also think it's a little unfair to characterize Epiphone in the light that you have. Epiphone has a storied history, just like Gibson. Les Paul, in fact, played Epiphone long before Gibson swayed him into playing Gibsons to compete against Fender (very long story, but it's a good one if you're curious and would like to look it up). It's not exactly like "Squier" for Fender, even though the Squier brand also has a reputation for quality.

The Epiphone line is complex. It ranges from budget models like the Studio, to the Standard, to the Customs and the newer Prophecy lines and their signature guitars. They aren't all $300 guitars. At the higher end of that scale, the Customs, Custom Pros, and the signature models, are known to be higher quality and some even compete with Gibson in quality, if not reputation and saleability.

This is what a Les Paul Custom Blackback (this model) sells for on Reverb used:
https://reverb.com/p/epiphone-les...ckback-pro

They may not resell the way a Gibson does, that's a given, but I also wouldn't liken it to "lighting money on fire and throwing it out the window". Not all Epiphones are created equal.

Also, not everyone is looking to make money off the guitars they purchase. Epiphones as you have noted yourself, are fine entry to mid-level instruments. Great for beginners and for working class musicians alike.

Apologies in advance, wasn't meaning to crap on your post. Just wanted to address some things that while well meaning, might be misleading to newer players.