Review of: Epiphone Les Paul Custom Pro Guitar

by Brian Lamacraft

30
%
Overall

• Looks plays and feels like a real Gibson Les Paul
• Enhanced features that other Epiphone Guitars simply don’t have
• Top quality high output humbucking pickups that sound excellent
• Loaded with extras and attention to detail

• It’s a little on the costly side for an Epiphone
• The weight may be a problem for new beginners

The Epiphone Les Paul Custom Pro is a top-quality Epiphone guitar that is more expensive than most of the guitars in their lineup but this guitar truly is exceptional. 

This is very closed to a real Gibson Les Paul and if you’ve always wanted to own one of those guitars, this is one that you’re going to want to try out. 

It has a wide range of features that truly make this guitar one of the best choices in the market in terms of looking as well as sounding like the authentic Gibson Les Paul. 

This Epiphone is perhaps the biggest stand out in their lineup so let’s have a more detailed look at this instrument.

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Full Detailed Epiphone Les Paul Custom Pro Review

The Gibson Les Paul is a well-known and famous guitar brand. Most people want to play a Gibson Les Paul but this guitar cost so much money that many simply can’t afford one. 

The good news is that Gibson has a lower-cost brand called Epiphone and they make exceptional guitars including a mini Gibson Les Paul models. They have a wide range of guitars in their lineup and some of them are truly exceptional. 

To make it easier for you to find one of these excellent guitars I have reviewed many of them for you and look at them according to several categories. Here is my Epiphone Les Paul Custom Pro review for your consideration.

I looked at this guitar in several different categories including tones, playability hardware, and overall value.

Epiphone Les Paul Custom Pro Tones

In terms of tone, this guitar simply is outstanding. It has everything that you need in a Gibson Les Paul guitar without that massive price tag. 

This guitar is suitable for almost every style of music including rock, blues, Jazz, country, metal, and many other musical styles. 

The tone that you will get out of this is crisp and clean because it has an excellent the neck and has all of the hardware that you need for the guitar to sound almost exactly like a Gibson Les Paul. 

You’ll be hard-pressed to find another Les Paul style guitar that has the sound that this one does. I was very impressed with the tones I got out of this instrument right out of the box. 

I simply plugged it into my amplifier and began to play and I was blown away by how well does guitar sounds and you will too. There is almost no tone that this guitar cannot produce when it comes to that Les Paul sound and feel.

Epiphone Les Paul Custom Pro Playability

Next, in my Epiphone Les Paul Custom Pro review, I looked at the playability of this instrument. 

Gibson guitars are well known for their excellent playability and this one is no exception. It has a very fast and neck with 22 frets which are medium jumbo, so you will be able to fly up and down the neck with ease. 

It also features the famous Gibson cutaway so it is very easy to hit all those higher notes. 

If you want to solo, this guitar is the real deal and you’ll be able to play fast solos on it with ease. you will also be able to play all of those smooth sounding or crunchy chords because the guitar is also well suited for rhythm styles as well. 

This is very easy to play guitar even for a raw beginner. You will not have any problems with this guitar in terms of its playability. 

The only thing you’ll have to get used to is the weight because most Les Paul style guitars are heavier than the Stratocaster style guitar.

Epiphone Les Paul Custom Pro Hardware

Epiphone spared no expense when it comes to the hardware of this guitar. It comes with the superior Probucker humbucking pickups which have not only coil splitting but they also have a phase reversal system. You can easily activate the coil splitting by using the volume push pull pot. This will give you the sound of a single-coil pickup. The phase reversal system will give you even more tonal variations in your sounds.

This guitar also comes with a standard two volume knobs and two tone controls for each of the pickups. To change pick up you also have the toggle switch which is located at the top of the guitar body. You can get many different sounds out of the pickups of this guitar.

You also have the LockTone bridge on this instrument which makes string changing easy and this also helps keep the stability of the tuning so it doesn’t go out of tune as often as other guitars might. You also get Grover machine heads which also help enhance the tuning of the instrument.

Epiphone Les Paul Custom Pro: Value

I couldn’t give this guitar full marks in terms of value. This isn’t because it’s not an excellent guitar because it is. The main reason why I can’t give it full value is that the  Push Pull coil splitting and phase reversal take this guitar a little bit away from that traditional and Les Paul sound. 

There is no reason why you would want this guitar to have a single coil sound. It would be much better to simply buy a guitar that has good single coils like a Fender Stratocaster and use that guitar for the single coil sound. 

With a Les Paul style guitar, you simply want the sound that the two big humbuckers provide for you. The coil splitting is simply a bit of a gimmick that you really don’t need in an Epiphone guitar. 

This guitar still has full marks for value, it’s just that it could be a little bit more if it would simply drop the coil split and use regular humbuckers.

Who is the Epiphone Les Paul Custom Pro Suited For?

This guitar is more designed for someone that has been playing for a while due to the added features. A beginner can certainly pick it up and play, but they might be more confused by the additional features. 

Cost is a little bit more for beginners but those that are intermediate or advanced in there playing will enjoy the extras that this guitar comes with. 

It has everything that you need in a Les Paul style guitar without all of the added costs that come with a regular Gibson. 

You’re going to be very please playing at this guitar because it really is outstanding in many categories

Epiphone Les Paul Custom Pro: Build and Finish

This guitar is built to a high standard. It has a maple flame top, the body is made out of mahogany, and the neck is mahogany. This is a solid construction throughout the guitar. 

It has added features such as the pearl inlays and the Gold Hardware which really stand out on the instrument. 

On top of the headstock, there’s a nice Epiphone logo and the Les Paul logo is found on the truss rod cover in the traditional styling I also like the inlay which is found on the headstock which is very attractive. 

The guitar comes in two finishes which are Ebony and arctic white. I do wish that the guitar came in More finishes because it is such an exceptional instrument that it should have other finishes so you have more options.

Epiphone Les Paul Custom Pro: Feel and Action

In terms of the feel of this guitar, it is an excellent playing guitar which feels great in your hand. You will fly up and down the smooth fretboard and you won’t have any bumps or burrs in the frets as they are all very smooth. 

This is a very comfortable playing guitar with a professional feel to it. 

The action of the guitar as well set up right out of the box but you may need some adjustments to suit your individual style. You can adjust this via the truss rod as well as the bridge to get the strings in just the way you want them. 

You may also want to check the intonation to ensure that the guitar is in tune. If you don’t know how to do any of this, see a professional you set up just the way you wanted. 

For most individuals, the guitar should sound great right out of the box and you can begin playing right away.

Epiphone Les Paul Custom Pro: Overall Sound

In terms of the overall sound, you’re going to be making vintage sounding Gibson tones with this guitar right away. 

The sound from the pickups is excellent and you won’t have a problem with creating the sounds that you want with this great guitar. 

You’ll be able to play all of your favorite music and you will have that authentic Les Paul sound without that large price tag that the Gibson guitar comes with. 

Some players have even indicated that this guitar sounds better than some regular Gibson Les Pauls because it is made it to such a high standard. 

You can’t go wrong in terms of sound with the Epiphone custom Pro because it is set up and ready to go so you can rock out and make excellent sounds.

Check out Dawsons’s review of it too:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nClfjUTJTic

Conclusion

This is the end of my Epiphone Les Paul Standard Custom pro review. 

This guitar is a superior Les Paul style guitar from Epiphone. It has a lot of extras such as the gold Hardware as well as the additions to the pickups which help you produce more sounds without having extra guitars. There is not much that this guitar can’t do and you’re going to enjoy playing it.

Image Credit:

Epiphone.com

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