After not picking up a guitar for over a year (for personal reasons, see my details for a hint as to why...), I decided to pick up a guitar again and wanted a new one. Preferably a good but not pricey one and not a Fender, my usual weapon of choice. So after much humming and ahhhing, I decided on a the Les Paul Custom by Epiphone. I would have loved the real Gibson version, but hey! I work for the NHS and that is waaaay out of my league cost wise. However, Gibson bought out Epiphone in 1957 and since that time have used Epiphone for not only contnuing to produce models unique to Epiphone itself but also to make cheaper official 'copies' of 'proper' Gibson guitars. So in effect, you're getting a Gibson in all but name. I managed to get a Chinese-built Epiphone Les Paul Custom in black as an offer from an ebay seller for the great price of £260 plus £20 postage.

Holding it comes as a slight shock if you're used to playing Fenders like I am. The balance just feels different. Not wrong, but just... different. The strings on my model came slacked off (a thoughtful touch). One tune-up later, I was ready to rawk. While it was heavier than my Tele it wasn't as heavy as I'd expected. The neck is a fairly shallow 'D' and sits well in your hand. It feels good, once you get used to it. The fretboard is pretty flat and modern, which makes for fairly fast playing, so no probs there. The feel of playing it is the real acid test of course, as is the sound. Now, I'm not exactly a guitar hero but I can hold my own (oo-er, missus), have a good chord repertoire and do fairly basic lead solos.(Cinnamon Girl, anyone?).
So to really get some idea, I plugged it into my Line 6 Spider III 75 watt amp (review to follow at some point) and warned the neighbours in advance. I used the clean channel and also a setting called P-W Peacock Suit, (slightly dirty and overdriven but without being too crunchy).
On 'clean', we can hear where the weakness in this guitar lies. While the bridge p.u. has a good treble range in addition to the thicker sound you'd expect from a humbucker equipped guitar, it lacks the harmonics that give it that certain something. Dialling in the neck pickup immediately cuts that higher range resulting in a muffled, muddier sound that is noticeable immediately, as does just using the neck pickup.

In conclusion? Despite my liittle quibbles, I have to be honest and say I love it and would easily recommend it! I only give it 4 stars because of the pickups and how they affect tone and intonation In a way, I was expecting this, as it's a common problem with cheaper guitars even from long standing and reputable companies like Fender and Gibson. While they are made to the same design as pups from the more upmarket guitars, they often use cheaper material and the quality control seems laxer. But it's a problem that can be fixed quickly enough by splashing out on a better set of pups. I may put a pair of IronGear or Seymour Duncans in mine. And of course, the overall build quality of the guitar is well up to that on the 'proper' Gibsons I have used belonging to friends.