Review of: Epiphone Les Paul Traditional Pro Guitar

by Brian Lamacraft

30
%
Overall

• Classic Les Paul style look
• Full set of features
• Sounds amazing
• Sounds amazing

• A little on the heavy side
• Lacks the full sound of a real Les Paul

One thing that you’ll notice about this guitar it looks almost identical to a regular Les Paul. It has the same switches, knobs, pickguard, and style that the Les Paul does. This guitar is a standout in the Epiphone a lineup and one that you’re going to want to play often. It has that classic look many players are looking for without the gigantic price tag. You can buy this instrument at a reasonable price and you will still get a great sound.

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Full Detailed Epiphone Les Paul Traditional Pro Review

Are you looking for a Les Paul style guitar that won’t cost you a whole lot of money? You will find many different guitars on the market that look like the iconic Les Paul guitar. The problem with these instruments is that many of them are quite expensive. Not everyone can afford this type of guitar.

Epiphone is the lower-cost Gibson brand. This company makes excellent Les Paul style guitars. They look, sound, and play almost like the real thing. They have several options that can suit almost any need you have if you want the Les Paul sound. Here is my Epiphone Les Paul Traditional Pro review to see what this guitar can do for you.

Tones

This instrument has a broad range of tones you can create with it. You will be able to play rock, blues, jazz, metal, country, and other forms of music. The reason this guitar is so versatile is it has a good set of humbucking pickups. These pickups are capable of producing different sounds. They are suitable for most genres of music. I created excellent sounds with this Epiphone Les Paul Traditional Pro. The tone of the guitar is amazing and it sounds even better when paired with a good amplifier. There is not much that this instrument can’t do and it’s the perfect option for a broad range of musical styles.

Playability

This guitar is one of the most playable instruments I have ever picked up. The neck is fast and smooth. I found that the frets were well seated in the fretboard and they had no bumps or burrs. The guitar features a cutaway so you can move up the neck without difficulty. It also has an angled pickguard so you can rest your hand on this while you are picking different songs. This guitar might have a low price tag but it has the playability that you want in an electric guitar. The only downside is that it’s a little heavy but that is normal with the Les Paul style guitar. It may take you a little time to get used to the weight of the instrument.

Hardware

In my Epiphones Paul Traditional Pro review, I examined the hardware. Epiphone got the hardware right with this. It comes with two volume, two tone controls, and a pickup selector switch. These controls are standard on the regular Gibson Les Paul. These controls help you tailor the sound of your pickups so how you like them. It’s nice to see that these controls present on the instrument. You get more sound option and versatility. The neck is an open “Zebra Coil” Alnico Classic Pro™ humbucker w/coil-splitting pickup. The bridge is as Open “Zebra Coil” ProBucker™-3 humbucker w/coil-splitting pickup.

The pickups have the coil splitting features. this gives you the ability to not only have regular humbucking sounds but single coil sounds as well. You pull the knob up to activate the coil split and down again to turn it off. You can produce traditional Les Paul style sounds on your guitar and Strat sounds as well.  The coil spilt feature opens you up to new tones and sounds so you have more creativity when you play. Many other guitars in this price range don’t have this feature so I’m glad it’s present on this instrument.

The instrument features a Lock tone Tune-O-Matic bridge. This bridge keeps the tuning stable and makes it easy for you to change your guitar strings. The bridge makes it easy to adjust the string action height and the intonation of the instrument. Other hardware includes two strap buttons, truss rod, and nickel machine heads.

Value

This guitar has great value for the price that you pay. You get everything you need to sound amazing. I give this instrument almost full marks for its value. It has great pickups as well as hardware and at this price, you can’t go wrong. It would be nice if there were a couple of more color options but this is a minor downside to the instrument. This Epiphone is a great choice if you’re looking for a Les Paul style guitar and don’t want to spend a lot of money.

Build and Finish

You get a mahogany body, neck, and top. This instrument has a solid construction so you’re getting quality sound. There is not cheap wood used in the construction like many lower-cost instruments. it’s nice to see Epiphone using good wood for the guitar. The guitar only comes in two finishes which is a bit of a disappointment. There should be several more color options for more variety. The finish itself is smooth with no blemishes present. The guitar that I bought looked great right out of the box. The finish is superior when compared to other instruments in this price range.

Feel and Action

you shouldn’t have to change the action on your instrument. Mine was set up right straight from the factory. You can always lower or raise the action to how you like it. Some of us like our action higher while others like the action of lower. This is easy to do via the Tune-O-Matic Bridge. You can also adjust the truss rod if you prefer but this is often and not needed. The guitar feels great when you play because the Frets and the fretboard are smooth. You will have no trouble moving up and down the neck.

Overall Sound

The sound of this guitar impressed me. The humbucking pickups that ship standard with your instrument is a standout feature. They produce a rich and full sound that is quite close to the regular Gibson Les Paul sound. Of course, you won’t get perfect Les Paul sound because this is a lower-cost instrument. I had no trouble creating different sounds with my guitar. The coil split feature makes it easy to switch between humbucking to single coil sounds. you don’t need both a humbucking guitar and a single coil guitar. This instrument will produce both those sounds with ease.

You’ll get the best sound out of your guitar when you pair it with a good amplifier. The pickups shine when you plug this guitar into a nice amplifier. You will enjoy the sound that this guitar produces. For the price you pay, the sound can’t be beaten.

Who is the Epiphone Les Paul SL Guitar Suited For?

This guitar is the ideal choice for anyone that wants a high-quality guitar without a high price tag. It’s a solid choice for beginners, intermediate, and advanced players. There is no real downside to this instrument so most players will enjoy the guitar. It lacks some regular Gibson Les Paul features but it comes close. This is an easy instrument to pick up and play. It would make the ideal choice for any beginner or someone that has been playing for a while. If you are an advanced player but don’t have a whole lot of money to spend, this instrument is a solid bargain.

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Epiphone Les Paul Traditional Pro Review: Conclusion

This is the end of my Epiphone Les Paul Traditional Pro review. This guitar is a solid option for anyone that wants a Les Paul style guitar. You won’t have to shell out a lot of money to own one of these.  This instrument looks great from the bottom up. it has excellent pickups, great hardware features, and that iconic feel that you crave as a player.

You will make excellent with it as it has everything you need. It has the style and the feel of the iconic Gibson Les Paul. I recommend that you pick one of these up if you’re looking for this type of guitar because it has tremendous value.