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Like the Fender Stratocaster, the Gibson Les Paul has become a music icon, favored by guitarists in such differing styles as rock, metal, blues, jazz, and country. From Slash to Jimmy Page, the lovers of the Les Paul are everywhere. For us mere mortals, there’s usually a major drawback to owning a Gibson Les Paul. They don’t come on the cheap, unfortunately! The average street price of a new guitar is well over $2,000, which is hardly small change. What’s a Les Paul devotee to do?

Look out for the Epiphone Les Paul Standard Plus.

Aside from its trademark Epiphone headstock, an Epiphone Les Paul is a Korean-made guitar that plays, feels, and looks like a more expensive Gibson Les Paul without the expensive price tag. It even has the signature of the greatLes Paul on the headstock. So how does it measure up?

We played a transparent Blue Les Paul Standard Plus Top, and I have to remark that the review model has one of the most delightful tops I’ve  in this price range. The figuring is absolutely beautiful, and is wonderfully supplemented by its creme-colored binding and chrome hardware. Aesthetically, the Epiphone Les Paul Standard Plus Top is simply a killer guitar.

Having used a Gibson Les Paul Standard for quite some time, I was curious to take note of how the Epiphone Les Paul would measure up, and I have to admit that I was very impressed. The slim-tapered neck reminds me of the 1960 Gibson Les Paul Standard neck and in many ways was much faster than my Gibson Les Paul Standard with a 50’s style neck. The rosewood fretboard felt great and the frets were smooth and well-polished all in all, but not quite as pristine as my Gibson Les Paul. That said, the fretwork is still very good, especially given the instrument’s low cost.

The alnico classic pickups deliver the classic Les Paul crunch out of the bridge pickup and a round, smooth tone from the neck pickup. I generally swap pickups out of new stock guitars and would likely do the same here. I think a Duncan JB and Jazz would sound wonderful in this electric guitar, but the replacement pickups would be more of a proclivity than a necessity. These pickups sound very good and might be what you’re hoping for without the need for replacement pickups. They did happen to make some noise a bit at high volumes, but not terribly so.

The trade-offs in a model like this guitar aren’t incredibly apparent. Epiphone saves money by using a veneer flame top glued to non-flamed maple. Similarly, where Gibson Les Paul Standard bodies are made from a single mahogany slab, the Epiphone mahogany body is laminated, as is the guitar’s neck. Still, these cost-saving decisions enable the guitar to weigh considerably less than their Gibson counterparts. For the cost you pay, the Epiphone Les Paul Standard Plus Top is a beautiful sounding and effortlessly playable Les Paul for a minute fraction of the cost of the Gibson model.

Author R. S. Rasnick is the owner of Ray’s Guitar Shop, where you can find more reviews and choose your own Epiphone Les Paul Standard Plus at the best possible price!

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