Epiphone Les Paul 1959 vs Greco 450 pt2: A Master Luthier's opinion of the Epi 59. 

Hey Mike, I know you saw my comment and I received your reply thanks.... but can't see it on your channel page at the moment, is there some weird RU-vid voodoo going on where they have randomly deleted it? I notice this seems to occur from time to time and its frustrating! In meantime I reiterate... great film! Cheers dude

I bought the 59 had it plek’d. It’s so nice this guitar. I was shocked at how nice it was. Cherry burst

Love my Epiphone Les Paul and my Viola bass , the quality tone and overall playability is outstanding

Nice to see Honest,Quality workmanship. Beautiful guitar, Sir

Good Lord that looks gorgeous!!! He did a great job. Greetings from Dallas Texas

For some reason RU-vid is not allowing me to see all comments being made. Thanks for replying and I'm hoping we can get the issue fixed.

Great video - thanks for sharing this upgrade story. 50s wiring is the future - ironically.

Fern is a great and very knowledgable guy!

I have the dark burst and was contemplating gloss polishing the top as well. I did a practice run on my Prophecy SG and am happy with it, this convinced me to strip her down and start polishing. Thanks for the inspiration!

all that work on a brand new EPi that's suppose to be the holy grail of epiphone at this price point IDK

As an owner of a tobacco burst version of the 59 epiphone, I would love to know how her polished up the finish like that, it looks amazing

Great video. I'm long-time user of the Katana system and love the results I get with it.

The luthier did a great job on your guitar. From the electronics to the neck setup. I know you will enjoy playing it more.👍

This is an outstanding, thorough look at the guitar with pretty much all the heads-up points covered. I personally really appreciate the look at how you tossed the satin finish. Wish Fern had gone more into detail since I'm going to take on that task on mine. Still, this proves it's worth the effort and risk.

Would have loved to hear his opinion about the maple cap on these.

I just got one and the frets are fine. My first two “Inspired by Gibson” Epiphones needed fret work, last two didn’t. Love the Katana fret leveling tool. I have one that the owner of the company gave me and it is an amazing tool.

Great video. Really enjoyed this. Well done.

That's a three piece neck my man. There's a scarf joint and a stacked heel. And just like your luthier said, it's a stronger design. These '59s are great guitars. I love mine!!!

I have a Prophecy and was considering picking up a 59 as well. The one thing I really am not a fan of is the satin finish on these guitars. To me, it makes it look like a cheap toy. I was already tossing up the idea of polishing my Prophecy. This video just confirmed that it's something I need to do ASAP. Looks great!

It's great to see such neat and meticulous work carried out on an inexpensive guitar. I hope that Fern was paid well. His services are worth far more than any Harley Benton or Epiphone upgrade.

Beautiful guitar sir. The 59 is definitely on my wish list

Nice video. Always enjoy seeing folks tweak to taste. And any time a tech is willing to spend time w/you & share thoughts & opinions is icing on the cake. Yum. That neck goes *under* front pickup in these. Another plus, Epiphone. Super value guitar that sounds absolutely fabulous. It delivers. Wish the frets were bigger, my only "dislike" after playing one at the store where I teach. Even so, no way would I did that axe or not recommend it. It's truly a great guitar. Thanks again for the cool video. Stay safe.

Thanks Mike i think I'm going to be get the 50s standard, i much prefer the gloss finish. I haven't done any soldering yet but I've bought the tools, I'll see what it comes like and take it from there.

The finish on these is made to resemble an aged '59 dude, now yours looks like every other heritage cherry Standard out there.

Greetings from Australia. I had a blast in Amsterdam, great folks.

Yes 👍🏼🎸🎸🙂🎸 greetings from Olympus Guitars.

I have a 59' Epi. reissue dark burst and I like the satin finish on it. There are so many gloss Epiphone's out there and I have a Custom pro in Ebony and a Honey burst Quilt top both gloss and Love em but it was nice to have a change with the 59'. The one here in the video did come out looking fantastic with it being buffed out though.

I think he found a good customer 😄

I’ve got the 59 standard outfit and I really like it ... but I don’t love the satin finish. You’ve inspired me to get it polished.

Great work and nice luthier. Your narration is clear and really well done. Thanks for sharing. In addition to my Gibsons, I got two of the new Epis and think they're excellent. A LP Custom and SG 60s (sent a red one back with a bad switch and a few dead spots and before even returning it, bought an 'in-stock' Pelham Blue one (I had just purchased a red Gibson '61 RI

here is a little piece of info on the muse models there is a mahogany veneer on the top of the maple top

I HAVE A EPIPHONE FIFTIES LES PAUL LEFT HANDED ITS. GREAT VERY STRONG PIC UPS I HAVE IT OVER FIFTEEN YEARS STILL SOUNDS AND LOOKS AWSUM 😊

Why to buy 59 Les Paul which originally had paper in oil caps and outstanding cts pots from factory and swap to ceramic caps and the same pots??? Absolute stupidity.

The shop I'm visiting today has four of the dark aged cherry bursts, and they do their own setup before putting them up for sale (no extra charge!): they do a fret level-crown-polish, file nut, adjust intonation, etc. There aren't many retail shops left that offer that kind of service anymore, so I feel good supporting one that does. I'm confused as to why you're doing the upgrades, considering how much they must have cost - I'm estimating $300-500USD for the work you had done, plus material cost (maybe more?)? It would have been interesting to hear a before/after video, but your opinion about any improvement in tone is even more valuable, since you can hear it much better, and I assume that will be the next video (hopefully)..? I'm curious about the neck feel, which is critical to me, so if I don't love the neck, one of them won't be coming home with me. I've always been a Les Paul Special fan, because the maple cap seems to make the notes sound harder and harsher, plus adding weight and cost too....but sometimes great sounding Les Paul Standards do sound enticing! The "mahogany" Epiphone uses is from Asia - not from Central/South America species (aka: Honduras mahogany), a cheaper and less desirable species. BUT, what really matters is the feel and the sound - if it feels and sounds good, I'll be bringing one home today. I'm guessing my Special will sound so much better I'll pass on Epiphone's 1959 Les Paul Standard, but if I do bring it home I'll edit my comment here and tell you about it. Cheers!

i have this guitar in same color and a 50's gold top. the 50's seems to play better but both are great. like the polishing on the 59

Great stuff! Thanks

My maple top under the flame veneer is a three piece though , you can see the vertical laminate lines on the bridge side of the bridge pickup cavity. Not complaining though , just an observation.

Really good video man ... really good ... Thank You !!!

I picked up one of these guitars in that same finish in March - and I love the thing. Mine still has the satin finish but I love the look of it polished, maybe I'll have that done on mine. My frets didn't need leveling but the truss rod needed adjustment, other than that, it was pretty good out of the box. It's my first Les Paul (I've played a Strat since 1974) and I didn't expect to like it as much as I do.

My 60s standard is two piece body I am in love with it . also its brand new my frets were level .

Looks good Mike, that baby is gonna serve you well, I knew it was a matter of time before you dug into it, when you mentioned it in a recent video I had a hunch we'd see something like this soon. It did not disappoint and that top pops now, say good bye to list price value, it is it's own beast at this point, LOL. Great video and happy jamming Friend. :)

So you replaced the electronics and didn’t bother to add copper foil or shielding paint while you did that? That would of made more of a difference, kinda strange how it looks like it originally doesnt have it Is it for the vintage tone?

Thanks for the heads up on the Lollar Pots. That might be my Epi's next upgrade.

The greatest sale in the world

You just glossed over the polish job on that guitar. I was wondering if that was even possible. What did your luthier use to get that polished finish

Great video! How much did this cost you in the end? 😬

Vettel left Formula 1 and became a luthier in the Netherlands.

Great video man I'm really interested in these 1959 models myself , I don't like the Satin, so good to see what a good buffing does, it also looks like he may have died your fingerboard, that didn't look like an Indian Laurel to me also looks like the back of the neck may have been shaved can you shed a little light on this please? Thanks the jaybirdI

Man what a great video, perfect balance between interesting questions and wise replies. How’s he polish the Les Paul so nice?

Like yourself i had my frets levelling done on my 59s Epiphone in dark aged. I didn’t go for the gloss finish on the front of your guitar it a looker just subscribed to your channel as well.🎼🎸🎵👍🏼😊

i just bought an epiphone 1959 special edition lemonburst for $859..... after watching this video i dont know if i just pony up the cash for a gibson or just swap the electronics and buy fret leveling tools myself.....

What did the luthier use to polish the top?

How did he polish it? Or was it stripped and glossed ?

Should have bought a used Epiphone 50s Standard and just had it gutted. When you bought the guitar, you paid for all the upgrades it had. For this money, you could have easily bought a Gibson. I don’t understand the thought process here. Beautiful guitar.

thinking of getting a 59 eppi and spraying it with nitro clear coat that looks awesome

Really sounds like since the "relaunch" of the Epiphone models they have had a lot of issues with frets. Not sure if it is because of rushing production, cutting costs (production/QC) or what, but they used to be known for good fret work at that price point and now it is something I see in every review.

If I went to a luthier and he ripped out my perfectly acceptable wiring because its "illegal" to have lead solder I'd have done my nut. The governments of Europe are happy for you to get poisoned in numerous ways with everyday products when it suits them but you can't have a guitar with lead solder in it. I think your luthier saw you coming. I'd love to know how much he added to the price of the affordable Epiphone. The other thing is you will never get that money back if you sell the guitar. I'm sure the neck work makes it lovely to play but I very much doubt that wiring makes any difference in a gig situation.

I would love to get that shine on mine.

Cool!

I don't understand what he's saying at 5:10 as to why he replaced all the pots and caps. Lead (which he pronounces "leed")? What cant be repaired?

Really disapointed to hear these need Fret Leveling. Nornally they at least level the frets on the imports from the factory but they still need to be dressed and polished. Maybe this is a isolated issue? My $500 Jackson adrian smith had leveled frets all i had to do was smooth the fret edges and polish them. this is a $800 guitar and needs a $150 leveling job out of the case???

Nice vid man. Is there a part 3 where we hear the axe sing?

How did he polish that!

Do you know if your luthier had to sand out the top before polishing, or if it was flat enough to go straight to buffing?

Why would you take a stoptail guitar with a separate bridge and string it like a wraparound? Seems pretty counterintuitive.

Is the headstock angle same as Gibson did epiphone fix that. How does it hold tune??? G string ???

7:45 "sound wise I leave it up to you because I don't hear a difference" That's why he replaced 4 perfectly ok CTS pots and two capacitors? Also have a look how he doesn't understand STARGROUNDING: you should bring all pot grounds to one central point, not connect one pot to the other with TWO solder joints on these. Oh yeah, he's mumbling some bullshit about lead (Pb - which he mispronounces as to rhyme with feed) in the solder as the reason for replacing all the electronics on you guitar? Also the Katana tool -- really strange, solving a problem that only this (master?) luthier has?

Hi!😃🖐

How did you get that polished finish? I want to do mine!

How did he polish it to make it shine like that on the front. That looks amazing!

That is not one piece neck. It has a scarf joint on the headstock.

nice upgrades!

Write us the full name of that KATANA strings on fret levelling tool, wooja, Mike?

Hi Mike. I think we might have the same name 😜 Can I ask how much you paid to have the satin finish buffed to gloss? I'm considering having a local luthier do the same thing to my '59 Epi and wanted something to compare his estimate to. Thanks! 🤘

that is a 3 piece neck...not a 1 pc. there is a neck scarf joint for the headstock...and a 3rd piece at the heel.

Regards Guys Nice Video. If you find a nice Epiphone its worth uprading with either Gibson 57s or Standard Hmbuckers , I have done Epiphone Explorer with 490s and its awesome , yet to change the pots to CTS with some nice russian treble bleeds.

These have an aged finish, not meant to be glossy.

After spending all the Money for the upgrades, Why not just Buy a Gibson?

How are you today? 🤔

Also there are not the same pickiups, your old ones were epiphone plug , not braided gibson

I have the ‘mazzel’ that i live in the neighbourhood with my e 59...

A good guitar, but Gibson is great. These are a alternative at best. The quality of the wood the scarf joint veneer and plastic finish is why it’s a 1/3 of price. You could buy a used studio for less and have the real thing.

Epiphone uses a mahogany substitute it's a mahagony like wood .

The Epiphone headstock angle is less than Gibsons, so in theory Gibson headstocks break more easily.

Are they 500K Pots?

Is 2 not “multiple” these days?! 😛 I get the point you’re trying to make that the mahogany body isn’t 3 or 4 pieces with a veneer over but bear in mind that traditional Les Pauls were made with a single piece mahogany back (only the maple top was two piece) and the Gibson Historics are still made that way, so this Epiphone is not as per the Gibson Historic specs. I don’t criticise them for that, it is a lot more expensive to use single pieces of mahogany and at this price point I wouldn’t expect them to be able to match the Gibson Custom Shop’s spec, but I am trying to explain why some people are still calling this a multi-piece body (which it is as it’s not a one piece).

I have that tool from Japan 😄

He was fleeced.

Wtf is up with that bridge pickup !!!! It's almost out of the pickup surround !!!

14:00 Happy with the work? You didn’t even plug it in. 😂😂🤦‍♂️. I’m sure you’ll now be able to pick it out of a line up, tonality wise. The dude did unnecessary work.

My brother hey you are black like me rock on

Lol he scammed u dude u coulda left the pots n shit alone u shoulda got a player strat or something from fender bro

So he’s not really a fan by the sounds of this.

Spends all that money on an epiphone and have to spend more , buy a gibson next time

Epiphone..the Gibson of broke ass guitar players 😁

In other words don't waste your money on Epiphone.