Unboxing Epiphone's CHEAPEST Les Paul! - How Good Is It?

It's cheap...But is it worth buying?
If you enjoyed this video, be sure to like and subscribe :)

DARRELL'S GUITARS & GEAR LIST!

DARRELL'S RECORDING SETUP:

DARRELL'S AMPLIFIERS:

*Links to gear in the video description may contain affiliate links

T-SHIRT STORE:

TAB STORE:
Songs, Lesson Worksheets, and Guitar Techniques!

PATREON:
Become a Patron!

ALBUM:
iTunes:

OTHER FAVOURITE GEAR:

SOLI DEO GLORIA!

[DarrellBraunGuitar]

Got another affordable guitar review for you guys! It's the Epiphone Les Paul Special!
Enjoy :)

[ernestschultz]

200 dollars in today's money is roughly equal to 25 dollars in 1970. The cheap guitars of that era were like twice that amount and were no where near the quality and playability of this Epiphone. Just more proof that we are living in a golden age of cheap guitars.

[RFToob]

I truly think that Epiphone, based on my own experiences, always tries very hard to maintain the old family business quality level in every guitar they sell. I’ve never been disappointed with them. I’ve also noticed that all reviewers are invariably surprised by them. Cheers!

[gregbrown]

You could make a stick of wood with twine tied on sound good

[ElessarEstel]

The Epiphone special II was my first guitar. 20 years ago when I was just 9 years old. My grandfather got it for me. He was the bassist for a fairly large name band that I'm not going to mention, and he wanted me to at least have the path laid out to learn music. Most significant gift I've ever been given.

[sorenahlback]

I bought the cheapest Epiphone to have on my boat and after the mods I have done it is a really great instrument, very fun to play.
I have fixed the frets, sanded the neck, put PRS tuners I had that needed some drilling, changed the nut and other adjustments. Cost me almost nothing but work. It’s a lightweight guitar and the neck is great.

[caseypayne]

I have a Special-II with p90s and it's honestly one of my most favorite guitars. These Special-IIs are a fantastic value and they're really great players. Sound way better than you'd expect and if the pickups are too hot clean you can always just roll off the volume a bit.

[rxdhxrns]

I have an Epiphone Special-II WR edition, it sounded good for a cheap guitar, so I decided to customize it to upgrade it. I ended up buying hi-gain humbuckers, a pickguard, pickup covers, locking tuners, new inlays and changing the wiring. I just expended like $250 USD for everything including the guitar itself ($199) and it WORTHS it.

Some of my mates told me it's a bad guitar and customizing it was a bad idea, but now it looks and sounds AMAZING, far better than the cheapest Gibson Les Paul in our local music store lol. I'm in love with my guitar, seriously I recommend this model.

[courtney]

Epi was the first electric guitar i bought. It was for my daughter's 13 birthday. 2003 studio (we upgraded bridge pu) It is absolutely a blast even with practice amps. This is new and less than what I paid. I think as a first guitar for ANYONE this would be a fine vessel!

[ricklee]

Many of the earlier Epiphone Special II’s had a bolt on neck. It’s what is standard for budget Epiphones. Same vol tone and selector locations. Colour is nice.

[athathoth]

I did not expect that guitar to sound so great. To me, it's one of the best sounding guitars you've had on your show.

[mistershabadoo]

The Special ii was my main guitar for 22 years. Got it as a Christmas present in ‘96 in vintage sunburst.

I changed the tuning keys and the pups, but it never failed me. I played it until the cost of repair outweighed it’s value. A great guitar for the money!

[lfaf]

The best advice I could ever give anyone is the same as was given to me, when you first get a guitar its better to do a setup on it that includes shining the frets and of course changing the strings. Everyone seems to like there action a little different from one another, so that helps with that. These guitars sit in their boxes while being shipped by boat over the ocean and then sit in a warehouse until you buy them, so new strings and a good fret shining is always a must. When it comes to taking care of the fret ends, the minimum is usually done with nothing more than a cheap sanding block, that will knock out any fret sprout that may have happened. I would also say its best to let a guitar climatize in your house for a few days before setting it up as well. That way when you adjust the neck, it wont need to be done again in a few days.
You wouldn't expect a cheap guitar to come with great fret ends, but you do expect them to come level with one another. I don't have the tools to level frets and re-crown them, and I do not expect the average person ether.
Now when it comes to tuners, I grow tired of dirt cheap tuners that need to be replaced, seeing as you can buy a cheap set of locking tuners for very little money, I don't see why guitar manufactures think its okay to give you craptistic tuners. None the less, it is more often then not a cheap and easy fix to replace tuners, so that is just something that disappoints me about these guitars. So I would just replace them, though as a side note I had a Epiphone SG Special VE, for 5 years, and the tuners held out fine. The guitar worked great that last time I saw it, which was about two years ago. I have had no reports that the tuners need changed from the person who I gave it too, his kid wanted to learn to play the guitar, so I gave it too his father so that his father could be the cool dad.
Now, I would play this guitar all night long, its bridge pickup seemed to want to go even when on a clean channel, so maybe not the best pickup for someone who wants to play clean.. Then again lowering the pickup a little would likely fix that issue. I find that these specials sound a lot better if you tweak the height of the pickups, they are sometimes just a little too close to the strings and that causes them to break up a bit. Its the curse of the really hot pickup, if you want a hot pickup to sound good clean, you are forced to lower the pickup, or play with the volume knob at 8. ..

[theartoflivingoutloud]

Wow!!! I have that guitar same color. I’ve had it for almost a year. I’m inspired to pick it back up. I love how it feels.

[SoundAuthor]

I really appreciate that you also review entry level guitars and not just high end stuff like a lot of other guys do.

[DaMainDude]

I bought one of those as my first guitar something like 15 years ago. I upgraded the whole hardware and electronics for about €160 last year and now it is a completely adequate guitar -> the bare bones of the thing are quite good!

[kentac]

I am wanting to learn to play guitar and this seems like a good starter. For someone who is looking for their FIRST guitar and love the look and heritage of a Les Paul, this seems like a great buy.

[jts]

56 years ago this Xmas I got my first electric guitar: a Japanese-made Conrad Model 1245 that played like a cheese grater. At 13 years old I would have loved this guitar, and would have learned a lot faster with an instrument that I didn’t have to fight to play.

[stevecolledge]

My first guitar is an Epiphone Les Paul Junior. Our lass bought it for me from USA. £60. I've cut the headstock changed the tuners and put a dimarzio pickup on. Still using it. Always my go to guitar.

[michaelelliott]

I got a les paul special 2 a few years ago in a player pack. And after a basic setup and fret redress I still have it and play it to this day. Absolutely love it and have nothing bad to day about it whatsoever. I do agree with replacing the tuners as they are a little finicky to get used to but it's definitely a great first guitar for someone just starting out!