Epiphone Les Paul Special II
My Review Of The Epiphone Les Paul Special II
By: John Sizemore
I can still remember myself starring at Slash from Guns & Roses ripping that awesome lick to Sweet Child O’Mine back in 1987 when I was 17 years old. I couldn’t believe that a guitar could make that awesome of a sound. If you know anything about Slash? He primary plays Gibson Les Paul’s and has since Guns & Roses first started. I thought to myself “I had to get me one of these guitars!” Well, to my dismay the guitar retailed for over $4000 for the model I wanted…. Agh! Back in that day Epiphone was making guitars. But, nothing that came close to the Standard Les Paul made in the USA. Well, since then Epiphone has gotten a lot better. They’ve been able to come up with less expensive models than the Les Paul that are very comparable in sound.
This is what has lead me to review the Epiphone Les Paul Special II just to see if what I heard was true….
“Here’s What I’ve Found To Be The Most Important Things To Look At When Purchasing An Electric Guitar”:
- What Type Of Wood Is The Body & Top Made Of?
- What Type Of Pickups Are Installed On The Guitar?
- What Type Of Wood Is Used On The Neck & How The Neck’s Secured?
- How Many Frets Are On The Guitar?
- What Type And Kind Of Bridge Is Installed On The Guitar?
- What Type Of Tuning Machines Are Installed On The Headstock?
- What Should I Expect To Pay & What’s Included?
What Type Of Wood Is The Body & Top Made Of?
Although not as important as the top for acoustic guitars… The wood used on the body of an electric guitar is worth considering for a beginner. There are several different types of wood used for the body of an electric guitar. However, we’re only going to be looking at the two most popular, which are maple and mahogany. Also, like the acoustic guitars, the top of electric guitars can be different from the sides and back. Believe it or not this matters with the tone of an electric guitar. Although the sound generally is received through the pick-ups… just as much is received from the top of the electric guitar. Weird huh? I thought so myself. But, it’s true.
So, let’s take a look at the two most popular woods for electric guitar tops and bodies:
- Mahogany- this wood gives more of a punchy tone and is mostly desired for the body. When used as a top it can have low overtones and sounds best in the higher ranges. When used as a body it can emphasize both highs and lows.
- Maple- This tends to be the most desired wood for the top of an electric guitar. Although not desired for an acoustic because of its flat sound…. When used in an electric guitar and amplified it has great resonance. This is why it is so desired.
The Epiphone Les Paul Special II comes with a completely solid mahogany body giving it that “punchy” tone I was talking about.
What Type Of Pickups Are Installed On The Guitar?
I won’t get into this too much… But, there are basically two different types of electric guitar pickups. Single coil and Humbuckers or double coil pickups.
- Single Coil- these pickups have a single coil wrapped pickup that has one set of magnets to draw the vibration from the strings. These pickups tend to have more of a “hum” when turned up to loud volumes. Now, for some this is very desirable. These pickups where made famous in the Fender Stratocaster and even more famous from Jimi Hendrix.
- Double Coil- Most like to call these “humbuckers”. They do just that…. they buck the hum so to speak cancelling it out so when used at high volumes the hum is almost non existent. These pickups were designed to do this. But, they also noticed the pickups tend to have a more smooth hollow sound and great sustain. These pickups were made famous with the Gibson Les Paul.
The Epiphone Les Paul Special II comes with double coil humbucker pick-ups.
What Type Of Wood Is Used On The Neck & How The Neck’s Secured?
The way the neck of the electric guitar is made is vital. If you have a bow in the neck, the guitars intonation will be off and it will sound out of tune. Basically, if you have a bad neck…. It will need to be replaced. So, it’s important that really strong hard tone woods are used when constructing the neck of the electric guitar. The two most popular woods used are mahogany and maple. The tonal quality of these woods is just like indicated above.
Also, there are two different ways the neck is secured. Bolt on or Set Neck. A bolt on neck is secured in place by bolts and a set neck is secured in place by glue. This is really a preference. But, some believe it really affects the tone. Fender guitars are known for having bolt on necks and Gibson is known for having set necks.
However, the Epiphone Les Paul Special II comes with a bolt on mahogany neck.
How Many Frets Are On The Guitar?
You may be wondering why this is important? Well, it really depends on what you want out of your guitar playing. If your desire is metal or hard rock? A 24 fret guitar is a must to be able to hit those high octaves. But, if you’re using the guitar for the majority of the time for rock, country or jazz? Well, a 22 fret electric guitar will be enough.
The Epiphone Les Paul Special II comes with a 22 fret fingerboard.
What Type And Kind Of Bridge Is Installed On The Guitar?
Now, the bridge is probably going to be one of the most important choices you’ll make when purchasing your first electric guitar. I know you’ve seen or heard the “whammy” bar on a guitar? It’s that bar that hangs off the bridge of the guitar that metal players love to hammer on to get you that real squeal or vibrato so to speak. My advice is to get a set bridge unless this is very important to you. A tremolo or “whammy” bar is going to kick your guitar out of tune a lot. So, unless you’re pretty proficient on tuning…. I wouldn’t get a vibrato bridge. I would get a set bridge.
The Epiphone Les Paul Special II comes with a set locktone tune-o-matic bridge. This works well with keeping your guitar in tune.
What Type Of Machine Heads Are On The Guitar?
Another important factor is the tuning machines on your guitar. There are generally 3 different types: Open, Covered & Sealed. With open machine heads you can see the gears on the back of the guitar. With covered machine heads you cannot see the gears. They are covered. Sealed machine heads are completely sealed and permanently lubricated. This tends to be the most desired because there is basically no maintenance required.
The Epiphone Les Paul Special II comes with covered machine heads. This will keep the gears from getting damaged.
What Should You Expect To Pay & What’s Included?
The Epiphone Les Paul Special II retails for $248. However, most online stores sell this guitar for under $150.
I was able to find a great deal at Amazon called the Epiphone Special-II Les Paul Player Pack, Ebony that comes with a Studio 10 Guitar Amp, gig bag, strap, cord, pitch pipe, picks & instructional DVD.
What Others Are Saying At The Top Sites….
From Amazon
“The Epiphone LP Special II Les Paul Collection Electric Guitar is a GREAT GUITAR for $169.00 (The average selling price at the time of this review). The pickups, tune-o-matic bridge and stop piece are the same ones used in Epiphone’s more expensive guitars, and are similar to what’s used in much more expensive Gibson’s.”
Rating: 
“Listen, If you want an inexpensive guitar with great sound and easy playability, buy this one. Period.
I bought a black one to leave in the trunk while I was at work, in case the guys called for a practice session, so I wouldn’t have to go all the way home to pick up my gear.”
Rating:
“I also bought this guitar like a Christmas present for myself. And I can say this guitar sounds great, is beautiful for me.
I can say this Les Paul is very good and I recommend to everybody “
Rating:
From Guitar Center
“i’ve had this guitar for about 3 months and it is absolutely great! before this i had a fender starcaster and i can defiantly say that this is much better. it is my favorite. “
Rating:
“This is a good beginner guitar, the guitar itself is pretty good. First, the strings that come with the guitar are horrible. The pickups are okay, not very good, but not very bad either, So you may need to replace them at some point. “
Rating: 
“Great beginner guitar pack, perfect for playing around the house for the new guitarist, or makes a great practice setup for those with experience. Great value!”
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More Reviews From Guitar Center
From Musicians Friend
“Now, if only Musicians Friend would ship it better, it would be a GREAT deal. I work in the shipping industry and while the whole setup was basically a box inside of another box, there SHOULD be some type of air packs, etc to surround it will in transit. Mind you, nothing was dented, banged up, etc, but I can’t believe that a shipper places that much trust on monkeys moving their product as much as they do, with no failures, damage, cost to reship a new product, and the resultant customer dissatisfaction that go along with it. Maybe I’m a bit jaded, but the extra cost associated with shipping would HAVE to be justified.”
Rating: 
“After breaking in my new Epiphone Special II for a month I decided to upgrade the strings and perform some minor adjustments. I replaced the strings with D’Addario super light gauge .009-.042 strings for easier playing. I then checked the adjustment of the truss rod and made a small correction to the neck. Next I adjusted the string height. I then touched up the intonation a bit. Now my Epiphone plays and sounds super. It stays in tune and needs little adjustments before playing. I will keep this Epiphone Special for a long time.”
Rating:
“I got this guitar about a year ago and i’m not gonna lie i loved it to death. it was my first good guitar and i could finally start learning more difficult music. The amp was also a step up from my first guitar which really isnt saying much but it’s very reliable despite its size. The only think i didnt like about it is that over time the tuning pegs that you put the strings through start to come lose and wiggle making tuner a tad more difficult, also the volume and tone nob began to fall off. So if your looking for a great guitar to learn on this i it but i suggest you prepare to repair later on”
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More Reviews From Musicians Friend
“Any Complaints?”
There was one complaint that the guitar had a buzz around the sixth fret on both the high E and B strings. He took it to the shop and they told him it would probably take more $ fix it than he paid for it. He was very disappointed.
Another complaint was that the guitar needed to be set up right out of the box and he had to pay additional money to the shop to have this done. He was also disappointed.
Epiphone Les Paul Special II Demo
“Here’s My Overall Thoughts of The Epiphone Les Paul Special II”
Sound
Great humbucker sound. Very punchy! What you’d expect from a Gibson. However, the guitar seems really really light and doesn’t have that heavy Les Paul tone I’d be looking for. All in all the tone from this guitar was more than I expected for the price of this guitar. Guitars under $200 usually don’t sound this good.
Action
The guitar has a good action. Again, not what you’d expect from a Les Paul. But, hey! There is a $2000 dollar difference. This would be an action I could play. the action was more like a Fender telecaster than a Les Paul though.
Reliability
This is a pretty new model. Not sure on this one. Yes, Les Paul’s have extreme longevity. But, this guitar is made up completely different than a standard Les Paul. Very light body. Seems like good quality for the price. Only time will tell.
Impression
A fantastic guitar for the price. You’re getting a name brand and quality to back it. The sound is great especially out of more high end amplifiers. This is now Epiphone’s most popular model within this price range and I can see why. I would recommend it to the beginning guitar player.
Here You Can Find The Best Updated Price On The Epiphone Les Paul Special II
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