UPDATES: 1. As some of you correctly pointed out, most of what I though was wood filler is indeed just finish that wasn't scraped off the binding. There are some spots with wood filler, but the majority of what I was seeing was just from the binding not being completely scraped clean. 2.The guitar does have both a long neck tenon and a maple cap. I checked, I promise :P 3. I do not hate Epiphone. Just telling you my experience here. IMO there is no excuse for frets not being level on a $600 guitar.
@@IJIIKY9192 where did you get that model that's the one I want and can't find it anywhere except guitar center and id rather not guitar center I'd you know what I mean.
Why HK? You play a Strat most of the time you Les Paul traitor you!! Hehehe.... Lucas does play some awesome riffs doesn't he? He doesn't sit there and shred and sweep and all that stuff, he actually plays music.
Great review! I really appreciate the clean tones, most of the time someone will demo a guitar and it has so much distortion you can't really ascertain what the guitar sounds like. I have to say even when playing with dirt I could hear all the guitar's characteristics, sounded very dynamic on all settings, that's either good pickups or good playing, probably both. I wanted one already but this review has intensified my GAS.
Thanks for the video great to see some honesty I play a lefty 1999 epi' an a 56 avri strat lefty n been looking to upgrade my epiphone as you say the old ones sound super muddy. Thanks for the honesty on the frets to alot of the other channels seem to skip that.
Appreciate you making these videos. There doesn't seem to be many Epiphone reviews with not only great playing but great tones too, sounds fantastic! Not far off a Gibson at all.
I have always had good luck with Epiphone and my 2020 50s LP is no exception. Finish is flawless and other than a bridge adjustment, no issues whatsoever; even the intonation was dead on. Been playing for over 50 years, been doing guitar tech stuff for at leash all tha time,have a bunch of guitars from 400 to 2000+range.; this is a keeper, pickups are quite sweet as well
Great Video! I have just stumbled on your channel and love it! I'd like to see the whole video of you dressing the frets. I enjoy that stuff. You are an amazing guitar player. Great Job!
I will try to remember to shoot footage the next time I have to do a fret job. I'll have to do some time-lapsing because it usually takes a solid 2 hours to do.
@@booshting3520 That boy needs Jesus! And a '59 Epiphone 'Burst'. For real, though...sometimes when you are playing, the instrument just pulls you into another world. He doesn't stare at the fretboard, he's wherever it took him.
I own three Epiphone's all of them played great out of the box with the exception of your standard string adjustment and pickups my favorite is my les paul standard 2016 ..
I received the Epi 50s LP heritage cherry this past weekend from American Musical Supply. Their shipping was quick and professionally packed. The guitar is beautiful and there are absolutely no quality issues with the one I purchased. The binding looks great, tuning is stable, the frets are in great shape, no dead frets either, and the finish is superb. This one is definitely a keeper. I took a chance on this one and definitely got lucky! Plus the 50s neck is amazing! 👍🤘🎸
I like the 50's neck a lot. I suspect if I had bought it from a dealer like AMS, Zzounds or Sweetwater, they would have done a QC check before sending it to me and I wouldn't have had any issues. I got mine from a much smaller dealer that I can only assume took the guitar out to photograph and then put it in a box to ship :P
I had an earlier LP Standard and it had same issues. Frets were whatever size starting from the 15th and cosmetic issues around the binding and neck. I guess it's just something that happens from time to time.
Sorry to hear you had issue with your neck. Just delivered to me this morning..... (ordered thru sweetwater) an Epiphone SG standard '61 . Over all finish on mine looks to be excellent. This only has neck binding, the stain runs up on it about 1/64 of an inch onto the binding, no filler that I can see. Needed to drop the action about 1/64 on low and high to be on factory spec. I have no buzz at all and the fret finish is very good, my neck is absolutely fantastic on this one. Input jack came loose after 10 mins of use...ditched the washer on the inside to get enough thread, snugged it up and a drop of super glue around the thread top (goofing with it another hour or so, has not come loose yet). Anything drastic and I'll post again, but mine appears to be really good.
Looking at your video closer now that I have mine in hand, that does not look to be filler on the bottom edge of your binding, but stain on the binding like mine.
@@bluemawks Yeah I agree. There is at least a couple spots where I can see filler but I think most of what I was seeing is indeed just binding that wasn't scraped completely.
Does your guitar have push pull volume knobs to split the coils? because the one I played at GC did...and the guitar I got delivered does not even though the owners manual says it does.
Sounds pretty decent! Hopefully, the QC issues you experienced aren't common. In December, I picked up the 2019 Epi LP Standard. I experienced no high frets with it. I changed out the bridge pickup with a DiMarzio Super Distortion (to match Tom Scholz of Boston and Ace Frehley of KISS) and did the usual set-up/string-change routine. It's been a solid performer.
Tic tacs and puppy pads are required guitar tech equipment. Sounds pretty good. I’d like to know what the pups measure out at. There’s only a few minor improvements that could be made on the wiring but THANK YOU JESUS!!! Bout time somebody wired a LP the right way from the factory. It’s ashamed that Epiphone wires their guitars more appropriately than Gibson. Good vid broskie 🤘
Way to go - Goldtop! Looks so great! Hey, I was watching a 9yr old video of yours yesterday. You had a 78 Ibanez Musician. You know, the 5piece maple neck thru / walnut coloured wings... Such a beautiful instrument. It's a big dream instrument of mine. Do you still have it??
i played this guitar and a gibson 50’s standard at the store and it felt so similar. i think if you get lucky with a good one, have someone set it up really good(which some stores offer when you buy it new)and maybe swap the pickups it’s totally awesome for the price. sure the gibson has really beautiful wood comparatively and better hardware out of the box but it’s really tough to justify 2500 bucks for a guitar these days.
I’m looking to buy a VHT Special Ultra 6 amp head and I have some questions and hope you could help me. 1.) Have you played through a VHT amp? If so, what’s your thoughts? This style amp is made to use multiple different types and different mixes of tubes/valves. This is on both the preamp tubes and power tubes. 2.) what is a good mix of tubes to get good tones? 3.) Could you tell me what each mix of tubes are good for various genres? Thank you and keep up the great content.
I have a 2023 Heritage cherry burst mine came absolutely flawless its perfect I own a Gibson SG and Les Paul Custom and I'm in love with this Epiphone it sounds as good as my Gibson's .
Do those 50's Standards come stock with 50's wiring, or did you re-wire it when you did the fret work?. I don't think the Gibson versions they are based on are wired 50's style.
@@Michaelgracon cts wiring harness caps don't matter I can't even believe people are selling caps for more than 25 cents, you are being had, ask any electrician.
I notice alot of my guitars that came with high frets always had the worst ones where the neck is set into the pocket. Of course on set neck guitars, not bolt ons.
Great honest review. As with most affordable guitars, a quality setup makes all the difference. It’s a bummer they can’t do this at the factory, but that’s par for the course with Epiphone. They’re still an excellent value IMHO.
Lucas Fowler it really sounds awesome in this video. I’m pretty amped. I wonder if you got a pre-production or prototype guitar because they aren’t shipping any new ones until next week
You are excellent guitarists Lucas and prove its the players ability that trumps everything else as there are probably loads of Gibson LP owners that couldnt make their Les Pauls sound as good as you make that Epiphone sound.
@Pauly Walnutz I bought a couple of SX LPs in early 2000s, they were kind of crappy. But the one I got a few months ago is a big improvement. That being said, I spent $600 on the Epi. I shouldn't have to spend more on tools to fix defects.
Lucas, I was checking some pictures of these new Std models online (Peach Guitars website, more specifically) and I was under the impression the back of these guitars is a veneer. Could you tell me if it was just optical illusion or are they actually using veneers? Thanks for the demo/review!
I'm not sure about how common the fret issue is with Epiphone, but I'd say the little nitpicky things I pointed out about the finish and such are pretty common.
Great video... don't know why so many people were creeped out in regards to you looking at the camera while playing... i was looking at your fingers :p Awesome playing btw... best sounding review of this guitar aside from Arianna Powell's... the other videos i watched demoing this model guitar sounded pretty average... what amp were you using ? Lastly, i had my heart set on buying this guitar till you mentioned the fret height issue... surely not all of these guitars have the same issue... could be just bad workmanship from some employees... but yeah QC should have picked up on these fret faults before putting them out there... i guess the only way to avoid this possible fret height issue is to not buy this model guitar on line and instead walk in to your local store armed with a fret rocker... ;-)
Thanks for the review! Everyone is complaining about high frets on the 2020's. It's a shame because the headstock shape change seemed like they were starting to listen to customers finally. I hope they get their quality back on track soon because I'd really like to get a Standard 50''s.
Did you happen to record the full fret dressing? I have a Squire Classic Vibe Strat that is fretting out just as you described and a video on that, even time lapsed, would be a useful reference. Also, as a left handed player, I don't think any of these "Inspired By" models are currently offered lefty. I the previous gen Epi LP Standards and Plus Top Pros are the only lefty models available.
I didn't, since it's about a 2 hour job for me, my camera would have died or filled up the memory before I could finish. I will endeavor to record it as a tutorial the next time I need to do a level/dressing job. I would recommend taking the guitar to a luthier to have the frets done if you have never done it before, or find a cheap one to practice on first. It takes a lot of practice to get good at and it is easy to mess up.
@Wise Guy agreed...its just factual about QC issues..however, with epiphone I do not expect perfection..with that said these new one are better than ever.
hey what do you think about those two Legend amps behind you there? i have the 100, and the 50 combos, and they are GREAT but hard to find repair info on ....my 50 watter is broken and i need to fix it....any clues on a good schematic or repair expert on these amps?
I love the Legend stuff. My Dad is an absolute expert on them. You can contact him through his amp repair page and he can most definitely get you headed in the right direction. facebook.com/pmanelectronics/
I've had all the same issues on my Epiphone Les Paul 1960 Tribute Plus which is one of the highest end Epiphones on the market. It had sloppy binding, extremely thick and sticky poly finish that looked like a plastic shell over the body and the playability was terrible out of the box. There were also a few dead notes up the neck and terrible buzzing with the standard Gibson string height (5/64 and 3/64.) Raising the action a little helped, but there was always some buzz and dead notes. The fingerboard also made my fingers turn grey presumably from the dye they use to make it look darker. Another major issue was fast fret wear. After only a few months of owning it I started seeing small divots on the firets. I didn't want to spend another $100 to get the guitar fixed so I sold it, saved up some money and bought a Gibson Les Paul Special TV yellow. It played great out of the box and I only had to minor adjustments (intonation.) No dead notes or buzz at standard Gibson action, perfect finish all around. Sure, it was more than double the price of the Epiphone, but it was twice as good. The Epiphone was 600 euros new (around $650). It was way overpriced imo. I would have probably got a much better guitar if I'd went with one of those "lower end" Gibsons like the Tribute models which only cost a little more.
I've heard horror stories like yours and have witnesseswitnessed them in guitar center with that model you have but my les Paul standard cardinal red it's phenomenal and it's a mid range I guess so...
Glad Epiphone got the message and switched to Graph Tech nuts. Regardless of of good or how much I liked my new Epi, it was always a given to put on a Tusg.
It’s funny you mention the Tusq nuts. I bought three 2020 Epis, and two of the three have received bone nuts. I’ll be installing the third bone nut soon. Can’t stand Tusq myself.
It's funny: frets are like the one thing that make or break a guitar for me. I'll forgive almost anything else if there's good fret work. You would think manufacturers would try to do their best with frets and yet time and time again the usual offenders commit this most heinous crime against guitar.
neck profile, weight, stability and fret work pretty much make or break whether or not you'll like a guitar. The rest of the stuff can be swapped out. If you are a builder or work on guitars, Gibson's offerings in the last decade or two leave strange decisions to be made. I can reprofile the terrible neck on a Signature T, but what will it do to the value if I refinish it (which will be obvious). Once you can do fretwork, then the fretwork issue goes away, but the value issues don't.
Imagine if you got to fret rocker in store before you buy. We should all do this. Then the people wouldn't buy stock and pass that onto the manufacturer. Waking them up.
You gotta watch that Epiphone factory tour video with the awesome robot that hammers the frets in. Guess it needs service. Lol. I’d have returned that thing. That’s unfair to the average customer. Great playing and great review.
I leveled and re-crowned the frets. The short version is I straightened the neck, filed the frets level with a long piece of steel with sandpaper stuck to it, and then I rounded the tops of the frets off again and polished them with sandpaper until they were smooth again.
I played a few of their models when they just came out about two weeks ago. None of them had issues with frets or buzzing. Just wanted to try a few, but I couldn't help myself for buying a 50's as well. Got one fresh from the box and that one was also setup perfectly. Seems like you got a lemon, I played at least seven of their new line-up without any problems.
You could actually pay $2300 for a Gibson and have similar issues. I purchased a 2016 classic 1900 and it wasn’t a guitar that had any quality control.
Seen the sloppy binding rout and filler on Gibsons too. Best Gibson I've played recently was one of the cheap faded ones which was flawless in every department and £350 used with a decent ABS hard case. Total lottery if you get a good deal or not"
@@xjohn1970 I didn't buy it, I've not owned a Gibson in a long time as there are better options out there which are built to far higher standards. Speak to literally any luthier, Gibson are a trash company producing largely trash instruments with a terrible reputation, as I said the best one I've played recently has been one of their cheapest most basic models which was perfect. Every other one has had issues. If I was buying a guitar blind via mail order and needed to use it immediately I would probably get an Epi over a Gibson, the overall standard of build and fretwork is going to be more consistent. Pickup swaps are cheap and easy but a refret is either expensive or time consuming.
If I'm being honest I still like the Greco's a little better. But I'm probably a little biased since I had to do a fret job right out of the box on this one.
Hi Lucas, very nice review. Thank you. One question: are you sure it ports a hard thick maple cap? Could you make a video where you remove pickups to see if it’s a real maple cap? Thanks!
I'm on preorder for the '20 LP Modern from Sweetwater. I'm excited to receive it. But, if my frets are that bad, they'll be getting it back. I recently picked up an Epi LP Special II for under $200. It was perfect straight out of the box. Low action, level frets, the intonation was even nearly spot on. I was truly surprised and I enjoy playing it daily now over my PRS SE Custom 24 or my Schecters or Ibanez RG. I guess, because it is so inexpensive, I don't mind if it gets a little playing relicing. The fret ends were mildly rough on it is the only problem I had. But that was easily fixed with a bit of filing. I'm an Epiphone fanboy lately. For the price, they are far better than Gibsons imho.🤘🎸🔊🍻💯
Sweetwater has excellent QC with their guitars, I'd say you will not get any issues if you buy from them. I bought this one from a smaller retailer that probably didn't do a QC check when they got the guitar and just boxed it back up to ship out. This is the second Epiphone I currently own and I've had several others through the years. They are quite capable of making some great stuff!
That Epi sounded really nice in the intro, sorry i skipped a head ao i didn't hear if you were playing direct or through a real amp?, I have played many Epi LP's that were muddy and dark like you mentioned. I got an 04 Korean Epiphone Les Paul Standard in a trade and it already had Gibson pick ups (not sure which they just say Gibson USA) installed and it sounds sweet so i didn't need to upgrade the pick ups but I did change the tone pots, wiring and I added orange drop caps and it sounds even better 👍. I also just got an 80's Korean Epiphone SG and i added a DiMarzio Super Distortion in the bridge and changed all the pots and wiring and bingo 👌.
The line under the binding is not wood filler. I does look like wood filler, but it is just where the finish lacquer overlaps the binding. In a Gibson guitar they spray the lacquer over the binding, then scrape the binding with a blade to remove it cleanly. In the Epiphone they mask the binding which can over lap and leave the yellow line.
Epiphone needs to have the same quality control of guitars made in Indonesia. Jackson and Fender, Squier guitars are very excellent. I’m a luthier if that matters ...
Too bad about the QC issues. I'm really interested in getting one of the LP Classics or the LP Custom, but I might hold off until more reviews surface. And after watching this review, I must also look into getting a Black Spirit. Sounds fabulous!
QC thing aside, the tone is completely out of my expectation. I have several Epiphone guitars from the older days. The tone of those guitars seems to always miss a little bit of that sparkle in the top end. I hot-rodded all of them with SD pickups. But these 2020 Epi, WOW. It seems that they've got the top end back! Huge shoutout to Epiphone! I mean, I love the brand, since the first day of playing in a band back in college. It feels really nice to see Epiphone coming this far, to this Inspired by Gibson range. Definitely gonna get one! Thinking about the 50's cherry burst.
Received my Epiphone 1950's heritage cherry sunburst this week and can totally relate to the poor fret work mentioned in this review. The guitar is really nice and I did anticipate addressing the fret level issue, which once corrected will no doubt make this a very fine instrument. My perspective is that when purchasing a new guitar , I always factor in resolving quality control issues and therefore budget accordingly.
I usually factor in having to do some set up work at the minimum, but I think if you pay $600 for a guitar, the frets should at the very least be *level*. I can deal with them being rough or not crowned as nicely as I'd like, but having massively high frets is a problem for me at that price point. But I agree, after I fixed the fret issue, it plays and sounds great!
@@LucasFowler Hi Lucas, Just a quick update I finally got around to having the frets levelled, 9 in total were high. I have to say that now that issue has been resolved I really enjoy this guitar. Needless to say I agree that it's not a simple QC issue such as adjusting intonation etc, and Epiphone should understand that a player investing in an instrument of this value should have have something to play out of the box. Really enjoy your content - keep up the great content.
Really great review .its not right you had to make the ajustments But apart from that.i totally love that guitar i play strats but im really getting into les pauls i had one years ago but didnt do much With it. Im getting back into it. I seriously need to get a 50s gold top like this .brilliant demos as well
UPDATES:
1. As some of you correctly pointed out, most of what I though was wood filler is indeed just finish that wasn't scraped off the binding. There are some spots with wood filler, but the majority of what I was seeing was just from the binding not being completely scraped clean.
2.The guitar does have both a long neck tenon and a maple cap. I checked, I promise :P
3. I do not hate Epiphone. Just telling you my experience here. IMO there is no excuse for frets not being level on a $600 guitar.
beautiful guitar. Lespaul epiphones models of this year are just very good for the price.
My 2020 Special was pretty spot on. Love it
@@IJIIKY9192 where did you get that model that's the one I want and can't find it anywhere except guitar center and id rather not guitar center I'd you know what I mean.
@@auntjenifer7774 zzounds
Poor Gibson copy made in China ..... cool ... LOL
So,Epiphone Inspired by Gibson, Quality Control!!
Lol! Yup!
Literally laughed at this
QC: Authentic !
Gibson take qc issues to a different plane of existence
Hahahah.. right on the nail
Thanks for your honesty!🏆
Thanks for the review, much appreciated.
TBH, I just watch to pick up lots of the great riffs you play!
Thanks :)
Why HK? You play a Strat most of the time you Les Paul traitor you!! Hehehe.... Lucas does play some awesome riffs doesn't he? He doesn't sit there and shred and sweep and all that stuff, he actually plays music.
Great review! I really appreciate the clean tones, most of the time someone will demo a guitar and it has so much distortion you can't really ascertain what the guitar sounds like. I have to say even when playing with dirt I could hear all the guitar's characteristics, sounded very dynamic on all settings, that's either good pickups or good playing, probably both. I wanted one already but this review has intensified my GAS.
Thanks for the video great to see some honesty I play a lefty 1999 epi' an a 56 avri strat lefty n been looking to upgrade my epiphone as you say the old ones sound super muddy. Thanks for the honesty on the frets to alot of the other channels seem to skip that.
Hallo... I bought my 50s gold top a month ago... Just a little adjustment on the 15th and 20th fret and now it's ok... Sounds and looks great👍👍👍
Appreciate you making these videos. There doesn't seem to be many Epiphone reviews with not only great playing but great tones too, sounds fantastic! Not far off a Gibson at all.
I have always had good luck with Epiphone and my 2020 50s LP is no exception. Finish is flawless and other than a bridge adjustment, no issues whatsoever; even the intonation was dead on. Been playing for over 50 years, been doing guitar tech stuff for at leash all tha time,have a bunch of guitars from 400 to 2000+range.; this is a keeper, pickups are quite sweet as well
Great Video! I have just stumbled on your channel and love it! I'd like to see the whole video of you dressing the frets. I enjoy that stuff. You are an amazing guitar player. Great Job!
I will try to remember to shoot footage the next time I have to do a fret job. I'll have to do some time-lapsing because it usually takes a solid 2 hours to do.
Stop looking at the camera when you are playing it’s like you are looking into my soul 🤣🤣🤣
Sorry, I'm not actually *looking* at the camera when I'm playing, my brain just goes into autopilot when I start playing :P
@@LucasFowler When you were learning did you try really hard to NOT look at the neck?
Gotta second this. It's a blank eyed stare that looks through your soul
@@LucasFowler dont apologise mate i thought the hole guitar review was perfect
@@booshting3520 That boy needs Jesus! And a '59 Epiphone 'Burst'.
For real, though...sometimes when you are playing, the instrument just pulls you into another world. He doesn't stare at the fretboard, he's wherever it took him.
Excellent playing and review Lucas.
Nice sounds & a solid review.
Thanks for the video. I've been eyeing the SG 61 after they change the headstock design.
I'm most impressed with your playing, clean and tasteful, the guitar does sound good too. I never like Epiphones until these new models.
Thanks :)
I own three Epiphone's all of them played great out of the box with the exception of your standard string adjustment and pickups my favorite is my les paul standard 2016 ..
I received the Epi 50s LP heritage cherry this past weekend from American Musical Supply. Their shipping was quick and professionally packed. The guitar is beautiful and there are absolutely no quality issues with the one I purchased. The binding looks great, tuning is stable, the frets are in great shape, no dead frets either, and the finish is superb. This one is definitely a keeper. I took a chance on this one and definitely got lucky! Plus the 50s neck is amazing! 👍🤘🎸
I like the 50's neck a lot. I suspect if I had bought it from a dealer like AMS, Zzounds or Sweetwater, they would have done a QC check before sending it to me and I wouldn't have had any issues. I got mine from a much smaller dealer that I can only assume took the guitar out to photograph and then put it in a box to ship :P
I had an earlier LP Standard and it had same issues. Frets were whatever size starting from the 15th and cosmetic issues around the binding and neck. I guess it's just something that happens from time to time.
Sounds good. It's a good thing you can fix bad frets. It's an important skill that can save money that could be used to upgrade what needs upgrading.
Sorry to hear you had issue with your neck. Just delivered to me this morning..... (ordered thru sweetwater) an Epiphone SG standard '61 . Over all finish on mine looks to be excellent. This only has neck binding, the stain runs up on it about 1/64 of an inch onto the binding, no filler that I can see. Needed to drop the action about 1/64 on low and high to be on factory spec. I have no buzz at all and the fret finish is very good, my neck is absolutely fantastic on this one. Input jack came loose after 10 mins of use...ditched the washer on the inside to get enough thread, snugged it up and a drop of super glue around the thread top (goofing with it another hour or so, has not come loose yet). Anything drastic and I'll post again, but mine appears to be really good.
Looking at your video closer now that I have mine in hand, that does not look to be filler on the bottom edge of your binding, but stain on the binding like mine.
@@bluemawks Yeah I agree. There is at least a couple spots where I can see filler but I think most of what I was seeing is indeed just binding that wasn't scraped completely.
So glad you're reviewing this.
Were you able to scrape off the excess finish on the binding?
Does your guitar have push pull volume knobs to split the coils? because the one I played at GC did...and the guitar I got delivered does not even though the owners manual says it does.
Sounds pretty decent! Hopefully, the QC issues you experienced aren't common. In December, I picked up the 2019 Epi LP Standard. I experienced no high frets with it. I changed out the bridge pickup with a DiMarzio Super Distortion (to match Tom Scholz of Boston and Ace Frehley of KISS) and did the usual set-up/string-change routine. It's been a solid performer.
I could have just gotten a lemon, it happens!
But, on the plus side, like me, you finally have a Goldtop! I love mine!
Tic tacs and puppy pads are required guitar tech equipment.
Sounds pretty good. I’d like to know what the pups measure out at.
There’s only a few minor improvements that could be made on the wiring but THANK YOU JESUS!!! Bout time somebody wired a LP the right way from the factory. It’s ashamed that Epiphone wires their guitars more appropriately than Gibson.
Good vid broskie 🤘
I'll meter them out and let you know. I'm guessing around 9k in the bridge and maybe 8k in the neck.
Way to go - Goldtop! Looks so great! Hey, I was watching a 9yr old video of yours yesterday. You had a 78 Ibanez Musician. You know, the 5piece maple neck thru / walnut coloured wings... Such a beautiful instrument. It's a big dream instrument of mine. Do you still have it??
I do still have it. It needs some work though, it developed some problems with the neck and fingerboard that I haven't solved yet.
i played this guitar and a gibson 50’s standard at the store and it felt so similar. i think if you get lucky with a good one, have someone set it up really good(which some stores offer when you buy it new)and maybe swap the pickups it’s totally awesome for the price. sure the gibson has really beautiful wood comparatively and better hardware out of the box but it’s really tough to justify 2500 bucks for a guitar these days.
Woof filler or is it the maple top for the body binding?
As far as the neck though.
It sounds great to be honest didn't expect that.
Great review!
nice review Dustin. slayed the demogorgon
The middle position sound very 60's Rock and Roll.
I’m looking to buy a VHT Special Ultra 6 amp head and I have some questions and hope you could help me. 1.) Have you played through a VHT amp? If so, what’s your thoughts? This style amp is made to use multiple different types and different mixes of tubes/valves. This is on both the preamp tubes and power tubes. 2.) what is a good mix of tubes to get good tones? 3.) Could you tell me what each mix of tubes are good for various genres? Thank you and keep up the great content.
I have a 2023 Heritage cherry burst mine came absolutely flawless its perfect I own a Gibson SG and Les Paul Custom and I'm in love with this Epiphone it sounds as good as my Gibson's .
Hi Lucas. What were your amp/plugin settings?
Same here with a late 2019 plus top pro. Had to fret level it.
Awesome Lucas《☆》Nice Gold top without the Gibson tax🤓Man I have to stop looking at the fretboard when I play🤓🗣☮🤳👍🏾
Do those 50's Standards come stock with 50's wiring, or did you re-wire it when you did the fret work?. I don't think the Gibson versions they are based on are wired 50's style.
Yes, I checked when I had the guitar on my bench, it was wired 50's style from the factory. A great feature IMO!
Lucas Fowler What type of pots and caps in the guitar?
@@Michaelgracon cts wiring harness caps don't matter I can't even believe people are selling caps for more than 25 cents, you are being had, ask any electrician.
I notice alot of my guitars that came with high frets always had the worst ones where the neck is set into the pocket. Of course on set neck guitars, not bolt ons.
Great honest review. As with most affordable guitars, a quality setup makes all the difference. It’s a bummer they can’t do this at the factory, but that’s par for the course with Epiphone. They’re still an excellent value IMHO.
I pretty well expect to have to set up any new guitar I get at least to some extent, but the frets not being level is a no-no IMO.
Which Epiphone LP do you consider a good guitar, without major flaws?
Thats guitar is amazing man. Good playing too. Proper demo.
I've never owned a guitar where I didn't need to do any fret work. These 2020 Gibson inspired epiphone les pauls sound amazing.
I’m about to order this model. Thanks for the video! Sounds great. I hope mine doesn’t need a fret level
I may have just gotten a bad one. I bet if you ordered through somewhere like Sweetwater with an inspection department you will be fine :)
Lucas Fowler it really sounds awesome in this video. I’m pretty amped. I wonder if you got a pre-production or prototype guitar because they aren’t shipping any new ones until next week
Thanks for an honest review.
You are excellent guitarists Lucas and prove its the players ability that trumps everything else as there are probably loads of Gibson LP owners that couldnt make their Les Pauls sound as good as you make that Epiphone sound.
Got mine around Dec. 20th (My birthday) and there are 8 frets that want to draw blood. My $170 SX lp copy from Rondo Music has one. ONE!
@Pauly Walnutz I bought a couple of SX LPs in early 2000s, they were kind of crappy. But the one I got a few months ago is a big improvement. That being said, I spent $600 on the Epi. I shouldn't have to spend more on tools to fix defects.
Lucas, I was checking some pictures of these new Std models online (Peach Guitars website, more specifically) and I was under the impression the back of these guitars is a veneer. Could you tell me if it was just optical illusion or are they actually using veneers? Thanks for the demo/review!
It is most definitely a veneer on the back. A good veneer, but a veneer nonetheless.
@@LucasFowler thanks, man.
Good to see an honest review. Warts and all. Do you think your LP was typical of the quality, or did you get a bad one?
I'm not sure about how common the fret issue is with Epiphone, but I'd say the little nitpicky things I pointed out about the finish and such are pretty common.
Great video... don't know why so many people were creeped out in regards to you looking at the camera while playing... i was looking at your fingers :p Awesome playing btw... best sounding review of this guitar aside from Arianna Powell's... the other videos i watched demoing this model guitar sounded pretty average... what amp were you using ? Lastly, i had my heart set on buying this guitar till you mentioned the fret height issue... surely not all of these guitars have the same issue... could be just bad workmanship from some employees... but yeah QC should have picked up on these fret faults before putting them out there... i guess the only way to avoid this possible fret height issue is to not buy this model guitar on line and instead walk in to your local store armed with a fret rocker... ;-)
Excellent review
Thanks for the review! Everyone is complaining about high frets on the 2020's. It's a shame because the headstock shape change seemed like they were starting to listen to customers finally. I hope they get their quality back on track soon because I'd really like to get a Standard 50''s.
Hopefully they'll get the QC thing ironed out because these are really cool otherwise.
you have no idea of how much I love for playing led zeppelin
Did you happen to record the full fret dressing? I have a Squire Classic Vibe Strat that is fretting out just as you described and a video on that, even time lapsed, would be a useful reference. Also, as a left handed player, I don't think any of these "Inspired By" models are currently offered lefty. I the previous gen Epi LP Standards and Plus Top Pros are the only lefty models available.
I didn't, since it's about a 2 hour job for me, my camera would have died or filled up the memory before I could finish. I will endeavor to record it as a tutorial the next time I need to do a level/dressing job. I would recommend taking the guitar to a luthier to have the frets done if you have never done it before, or find a cheap one to practice on first. It takes a lot of practice to get good at and it is easy to mess up.
I've finally decided to get an Epi. Just not decided on the model yet! Good value as long as no quality issues.
Quality control has always been a problem with them. Was hoping 2020 would be a change
@Wise Guy agreed...its just factual about QC issues..however, with epiphone I do not expect perfection..with that said these new one are better than ever.
Nope, epiphone has usually been quite good qc
hey what do you think about those two Legend amps behind you there? i have the 100, and the 50 combos, and they are GREAT but hard to find repair info on ....my 50 watter is broken and i need to fix it....any clues on a good schematic or repair expert on these amps?
I love the Legend stuff. My Dad is an absolute expert on them. You can contact him through his amp repair page and he can most definitely get you headed in the right direction.
facebook.com/pmanelectronics/
I've had all the same issues on my Epiphone Les Paul 1960 Tribute Plus which is one of the highest end Epiphones on the market. It had sloppy binding, extremely thick and sticky poly finish that looked like a plastic shell over the body and the playability was terrible out of the box. There were also a few dead notes up the neck and terrible buzzing with the standard Gibson string height (5/64 and 3/64.)
Raising the action a little helped, but there was always some buzz and dead notes. The fingerboard also made my fingers turn grey presumably from the dye they use to make it look darker. Another major issue was fast fret wear. After only a few months of owning it I started seeing small divots on the firets.
I didn't want to spend another $100 to get the guitar fixed so I sold it, saved up some money and bought a Gibson Les Paul Special TV yellow. It played great out of the box and I only had to minor adjustments (intonation.) No dead notes or buzz at standard Gibson action, perfect finish all around. Sure, it was more than double the price of the Epiphone, but it was twice as good.
The Epiphone was 600 euros new (around $650). It was way overpriced imo. I would have probably got a much better guitar if I'd went with one of those "lower end" Gibsons like the Tribute models which only cost a little more.
I've heard horror stories like yours and have witnesseswitnessed them in guitar center with that model you have but my les Paul standard cardinal red it's phenomenal and it's a mid range I guess so...
Thinking about getting one of the new epiphones. Has anybody bought 1? Which model and what's your opinion?
How thick is the body? And, how thick is the maple cap? Thanks!
Dude, that intro was sick !! wow
i just got the same one and its flawless so you got something that was just a crap happend that day deal
Glad Epiphone got the message and switched to Graph Tech nuts. Regardless of of good or how much I liked my new Epi, it was always a given to put on a Tusg.
@@jayrichardson5811 Haven't got a new one in a while. Good to know.
It’s funny you mention the Tusq nuts. I bought three 2020 Epis, and two of the three have received bone nuts. I’ll be installing the third bone nut soon. Can’t stand Tusq myself.
It's funny: frets are like the one thing that make or break a guitar for me. I'll forgive almost anything else if there's good fret work. You would think manufacturers would try to do their best with frets and yet time and time again the usual offenders commit this most heinous crime against guitar.
Fret work is a big deal. That's why I had to mention it in the review. Otherwise this is an excellent guitar IMO!
Sodacake it’s not just you. The whole playability of the guitar is the fretwork.
neck profile, weight, stability and fret work pretty much make or break whether or not you'll like a guitar. The rest of the stuff can be swapped out. If you are a builder or work on guitars, Gibson's offerings in the last decade or two leave strange decisions to be made. I can reprofile the terrible neck on a Signature T, but what will it do to the value if I refinish it (which will be obvious). Once you can do fretwork, then the fretwork issue goes away, but the value issues don't.
Imagine if you got to fret rocker in store before you buy. We should all do this. Then the people wouldn't buy stock and pass that onto the manufacturer. Waking them up.
Fret work would really raise the labor costs. That’s why it’s pushed out of the factory as is.
Wow, you got banged up a bit in these comments this time, holy crow! Loved the review though myself!
Can't please everyone :P
You gotta watch that Epiphone factory tour video with the awesome robot that hammers the frets in. Guess it needs service. Lol. I’d have returned that thing. That’s unfair to the average customer. Great playing and great review.
Cool review,what amp did you use on this video,sound great, are you using 11 gauge strings on les paul,Thank you,James,keeping on Rocking.
I used my Hughes And Kettner Black Spirit 200 amp. Those are 10 gauge strings, I had a few extra packs of them lying around :P
Thank you.
Thanks for the honest review. How did you fix the frets?
I leveled and re-crowned the frets. The short version is I straightened the neck, filed the frets level with a long piece of steel with sandpaper stuck to it, and then I rounded the tops of the frets off again and polished them with sandpaper until they were smooth again.
@@LucasFowler Thanks!
My dude staring straight into my soul at the beginning of the video 🤣😂🤘
I played a few of their models when they just came out about two weeks ago. None of them had issues with frets or buzzing. Just wanted to try a few, but I couldn't help myself for buying a 50's as well. Got one fresh from the box and that one was also setup perfectly. Seems like you got a lemon, I played at least seven of their new line-up without any problems.
Man I'm jealous, I was excited and wanted to just play the guitar. I did NOT want to spend 2 hours fixing frets lol
Just bought one. My frets are good all the way down
You could actually pay $2300 for a Gibson and have similar issues. I purchased a 2016 classic 1900 and it wasn’t a guitar that had any quality control.
Seen the sloppy binding rout and filler on Gibsons too. Best Gibson I've played recently was one of the cheap faded ones which was flawless in every department and £350 used with a decent ABS hard case. Total lottery if you get a good deal or not"
You didn't inspector your guitar be you bought?
@@MegaTerryNutkins Just Stop.. Gibson is a better guitar than epiphone.
@@xjohn1970 I didn't buy it, I've not owned a Gibson in a long time as there are better options out there which are built to far higher standards. Speak to literally any luthier, Gibson are a trash company producing largely trash instruments with a terrible reputation, as I said the best one I've played recently has been one of their cheapest most basic models which was perfect. Every other one has had issues.
If I was buying a guitar blind via mail order and needed to use it immediately I would probably get an Epi over a Gibson, the overall standard of build and fretwork is going to be more consistent. Pickup swaps are cheap and easy but a refret is either expensive or time consuming.
Jay people who own only epiphones just can’t accept that. Drives me nuts
How does this guitar stack up to the Greco guitars that you talked about in a previous video? Would you still recomend a Greco over these?
If I'm being honest I still like the Greco's a little better. But I'm probably a little biased since I had to do a fret job right out of the box on this one.
Lucas Fowler I can understand that. I would have been very mad if I had received that guitar. Thank you for the excellent video and reply.
I don't like the way you eyeballin' me when you play, boy
LOL just kidding. Gave thumbs up. Thanks for the video.
You may have a cold in this video but it still made me sub. I like your no BS honesty.
Thank you!
An amazing sound coming from this guitar!
Hi Lucas, very nice review. Thank you. One question: are you sure it ports a hard thick maple cap? Could you make a video where you remove pickups to see if it’s a real maple cap? Thanks!
I will get some video next time I change the strings, but yes I checked, it does have a full maple cap.
Lucas Fowler Terrific! Thank you! :)
I'm on preorder for the '20 LP Modern from Sweetwater. I'm excited to receive it. But, if my frets are that bad, they'll be getting it back. I recently picked up an Epi LP Special II for under $200. It was perfect straight out of the box. Low action, level frets, the intonation was even nearly spot on. I was truly surprised and I enjoy playing it daily now over my PRS SE Custom 24 or my Schecters or Ibanez RG. I guess, because it is so inexpensive, I don't mind if it gets a little playing relicing. The fret ends were mildly rough on it is the only problem I had. But that was easily fixed with a bit of filing. I'm an Epiphone fanboy lately. For the price, they are far better than Gibsons imho.🤘🎸🔊🍻💯
Sweetwater has excellent QC with their guitars, I'd say you will not get any issues if you buy from them. I bought this one from a smaller retailer that probably didn't do a QC check when they got the guitar and just boxed it back up to ship out. This is the second Epiphone I currently own and I've had several others through the years. They are quite capable of making some great stuff!
That Epi sounded really nice in the intro, sorry i skipped a head ao i didn't hear if you were playing direct or through a real amp?, I have played many Epi LP's that were muddy and dark like you mentioned. I got an 04 Korean Epiphone Les Paul Standard in a trade and it already had Gibson pick ups (not sure which they just say Gibson USA) installed and it sounds sweet so i didn't need to upgrade the pick ups but I did change the tone pots, wiring and I added orange drop caps and it sounds even better 👍. I also just got an 80's Korean Epiphone SG and i added a DiMarzio Super Distortion in the bridge and changed all the pots and wiring and bingo 👌.
I'm playing through my Hughes and Kettner Black Spirit 200, plugged directly into my interface with the built in Redbox out. It sounds great :)
@@LucasFowler Yes it sounds sweet and like a real tube amp, ,y son and I are admiring your work and tone !
The line under the binding is not wood filler. I does look like wood filler, but it is just where the finish lacquer overlaps the binding. In a Gibson guitar they spray the lacquer over the binding, then scrape the binding with a blade to remove it cleanly. In the Epiphone they mask the binding which can over lap and leave the yellow line.
I have a Les Paul Epiphone left handed it's great I have no complaints
Killer playing man.
Sick sound! What gear are u plugged in bro?
That's my Hughes And Kettner Black Spirit 200 plugged directly into my interface with the Redbox AE out. Thanks!
How about making a u neck or boat neck Gibson or epiphone??? I did notice the yellow epiphone 50s had some girth all the way down the neck.
Epiphone needs to have the same quality control of guitars made in Indonesia. Jackson and Fender, Squier guitars are very excellent. I’m a luthier if that matters ...
Curious to find out if Epiphone stuck with the 14 degree head stock angle or switched to the 17 degree to match Gibson.
I haven't actually measured it to be sure, but I held it up next to my Gibson SG from 1991 and the angle appears to be the same.
Amazing playing
What amp are you using for the clean sound? It works well with that type of guitar.
All of the tones are from my Hughes And Kettner Black Spirit 200 :)
I will check it out. Thank you.
Great Demo Luc !!!!!
What amp are you going through here?
Sounds great! 👍☮️🌞🎸
Too bad about the QC issues. I'm really interested in getting one of the LP Classics or the LP Custom, but I might hold off until more reviews surface. And after watching this review, I must also look into getting a Black Spirit. Sounds fabulous!
And using the BS200's DI out too!
I’d love to add one of these to my studio.
QC thing aside, the tone is completely out of my expectation. I have several Epiphone guitars from the older days. The tone of those guitars seems to always miss a little bit of that sparkle in the top end. I hot-rodded all of them with SD pickups. But these 2020 Epi, WOW. It seems that they've got the top end back! Huge shoutout to Epiphone! I mean, I love the brand, since the first day of playing in a band back in college. It feels really nice to see Epiphone coming this far, to this Inspired by Gibson range. Definitely gonna get one! Thinking about the 50's cherry burst.
I bought the 50s cherry burst. Absolutely gorgeous guitar. Sounds amazing too
@@niklasfreericks5436 Man, the tone doesn't get muddy, right?
@@richardc1129 the pickups are actually, pretty chimey
@@niklasfreericks5436 awesome! I've placed my order.
I bought the 50s heritage cherry, like Rick Emmet played live, no regrets.
In the past 3 weeks I have bought 6 of the new Epiphone guitars(5 SG's & 1 50s Les Paul) & have had no problems with any of them.
I'm jealous, I hate doing fret work and I wanted to just play the guitar :P
@@LucasFowler I mean not all guitars are gonna be perfect from the start. If you get a good setup then good.
This is the third review I'm seeing with bad frets. A shame.
Mine was great just needed to adjust the neck and bridge slightly.
Mine has crappy fret work but everything else is premium ! And the frets are bad so it's going back.
This is why you should try guitars before you buy them to find good ones 😂😂
But itbis a shame yes, they have great potential
I think these are the same probuckers they’ve been using the last few years, so I wonder if the improved tone is just from the better pots/wiring.
I'm not sure, but man it does sound really good!
Sounds great, what are you playing through ?
I'm pretty sure that was all my Hughes And Kettner Black Spirit 200.
Received my Epiphone 1950's heritage cherry sunburst this week and can totally relate to the poor fret work mentioned in this review. The guitar is really nice and I did anticipate addressing the fret level issue, which once corrected will no doubt make this a very fine instrument. My perspective is that when purchasing a new guitar , I always factor in resolving quality control issues and therefore budget accordingly.
I usually factor in having to do some set up work at the minimum, but I think if you pay $600 for a guitar, the frets should at the very least be *level*. I can deal with them being rough or not crowned as nicely as I'd like, but having massively high frets is a problem for me at that price point.
But I agree, after I fixed the fret issue, it plays and sounds great!
@@LucasFowler Hi Lucas,
Just a quick update I finally got around to having the frets levelled, 9 in total were high. I have to say that now that issue has been resolved I really enjoy this guitar. Needless to say I agree that it's not a simple QC issue such as adjusting intonation etc, and Epiphone should understand that a player investing in an instrument of this value should have have something to play out of the box. Really enjoy your content - keep up the great content.
Getting this exact model in lefty mode (lol) when it comes out on sept 30th
Really great review .its not right you had to make the ajustments
But apart from that.i totally love that guitar i play strats but im really getting into les pauls i had one years ago but didnt do much
With it. Im getting back into it. I seriously need to get a 50s gold top like this .brilliant demos as well