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This solid-body electric guitar is a great value for beginners or experienced players alike. The quality that is built into the instrument is apparent right out of the box. The guitar features dual humbuckers, chrome hardware, a stop tailpiece with tune-o-matic bridge, a bolt-on 22 fret neck, one volume/one tone knob with a 3-way pickup selector switch (bridge pickup, neck pickup, or both), and a good selection of colors-ebony, white, wine red (with black hardware), vintage sunburst or cherry sunburst. The newer units have basswood bodies which are lighter, but the older ones (like mine) are solid mahogany, pretty heavy but with better tone and sustain in my opinion. The stock pickups have very good tone for such an inexpensive guitar. I upgraded mine with USA-made Carvin humbuckers (H22N neck & M22SD bridge) which do sound better, but the switch would not be necessary for most players-I'm just finicky. The biggest "downer" on this guitar has to be the tuners, they are of poor quality and do not hold tune well. A good set of sealed units aren't too expensive, however, and the swap isn't difficult. Once again, I purchased a fine set from Carvin Co. that work great. The Special II is easy to set up for your personal preference as far as string height/action. The tune-o-matic bridge is fully adjustable for string height as well as intonation, and the neck also has a truss rod which is adjustable. If you buy one that is difficult to play or doesn't sound right, any good music store should have someone who can dial it in for you (if you're not sure about doing it yourself). All in all, you can't go far wrong with this guitar if you're a beginner or just need a spare, or "beater" that you can take anywhere. I play mine regularly at home and in church, and at other functions, and get compliments on the great sound from my Epiphone Les Paul Special II. I highly recommend it for anyone on a budget.Read full review
A nicer "Axe" than you might think at first, but well worth the purchase. Inexpensive "little brother" Epiphone makes a nice instrument that resembles the feel of an SG neck with the body of a 'Paul Jr. with dual-humbuckers and the classic stop tailpiece with a Tune-o-matic bridge. The one I got is Clear Red Mahogany and it is BEAUTIFUL!! If you know how to do a set-up on your guitar, great, you can get yourself squared away easily and save a couple of bucks along the way. If you don't and are not feeling adventurous enough to try it yourself, just take it to the Music store of your choice, pick out a set of strings you want and tell the Luthier/Tech that you want a "Full Shampoo & Set" on your Axe. They will know that you're asking them to check & set the Neck-bow, inspect/dress/polish the frets, String it up, Check/set the intonation, adjust the pick-up heights, inspect the electronics, and give it a good wipedown. That should run somewhere around $30-$50, including the strings, almost anywhere you go. It's suddenly alot better Guitar than you thought you bought! And it is a few bucks WELL spent, because now that Epi' that you got on a bargain, plays like it really should say "Gibson" on the headstock. It's like getting Steak & Lobster on a Bologna Sandwich budget! Classic, versatile, affordable, solid. This little "Gitt'er" is all a player needs to get their point across!!Read full review
Per the specs you can find on the internet, has the thicker rosewood fingerboard and the slim taper neck, otherwise is normal Gibson specs. As I have a lot if Jackson/Charvel/Ibanez/Fender guitars, I found the slim taper neck shape a lot more to my liking than the regular thicker Les Paul neck, so the neck on this guitar is comfortable and easy to play. The 490T bridge pickup is decent, but I prefer more output. I swapped the pickup for a 498T (~14k) which was very easy to do if you find one with the plastic connector that fits the PCB board. Interesting to note is that the neck and bridge are wired in different phase so the middle position on the pickup selector gives a fairly decent single coil-ish clean tone. Good playing guitar with low action.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
I rate four stars four stars for beginners, and 2 stars for anything above beginner. I bought this guitar a few years ago as one of my first guitars, and it has served me well. But it can not keep up with my sound needs at all. It is a nice guitar, perfectly suitable for anyone who wishes to learn the guitar, but if you want to record music with it, you will have problems. It is alright for recording metal, and maybe some blues, but since there's so much basswood on it, it does not resonate with the high notes very well. The lower 3 strings are noticeably louder when plugged into an amp, and the upper 3 strings can barely be heard. It could also suffice as a knock-around travel guitar for a professional, but nothing more. You get what you pay for. This is most definitely NOT a Les Paul, and has very few similar characteristics other than the shape.Read full review
Wanted a cheap project guitar so I gutted this Special II and put in completely new electronics. Brand new Bridge, Alnico wax sealed pups, brand new harness with larger pots, locking tuners, and a graphite nut. Guitar sounds better than most $200 guitars and more like a $300-$500 epiphone so I’m happy with putting all that work in. This is a great guitar to start with and make small mods as you grow.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
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