I really hope epiphone offers a stopbar variety of this guitar in the future! The Frets made this guitar a real winner ❓Private Help Sessions: troglysguitarshow.com/help-appraisals/ 👕 Merch: teespring.com/basic-logo-4245?pid=211 🎸New Guitar Day Program: troglysguitarshow.com/ngd/
I think you should do like 10 Floyd vids in a row to level up your exp and hopefully get comfortable with them. I want you to become dive bomb Trogly by 2022.
I'd have to get my bank account onto Red Sector A to get one, can't commit such Bravado and Roll the Bones with all else. Sad, cause I'd play it Closer to the Heart than most other guitars.
I love mine so much! Alex is my #1 guitar hero and to be able to have his signature model is really special. Epiphone knocked it out of the park on this one.
Alex Lifeson is a seriously underrated guitar player. He dominates the Hemispheres of the Limelight with the guitar. You don't get Something For Nothing and when you pick up one of these axes made from Trees it should put your in a Xanadu state. The Epiphone model won't leaving you feeling that your got Something for Nothing and nobody will play better than him from now till 2112. You can't pick up this type of guitar from the Garden and the only real Lessons here is many of us would want a Gibson for $2,000 instead of an Epiphone. Because the Distant Early Warning states most of us don't have Big Money, but you may need to Roll the Bones.
@@kirabarsmith9353 - Yes! 😄 One of my favourites on that album! I don't think I've actually ever heard the studio recording!? 'All The World's A Stage' is the oldest Rush album I own 🙂
Check these lyrics out. genius. "New World Man" He's a rebel and a runner, he's a signal turning green He's a restless young romantic wants to run the big machine He's got a problem with his poisons, but you know he'll find a cure He's cleaning up his systems, to keep his nature pure. Learning to match the beat of the Old World Man. Learning to catch the heat of the Third World Man He's got to make his own mistakes, and learn to mend the mess he makes He's old enough to know what's right, but young enough not to choose it He's noble enough to win the world, but weak enough to lose it He's a New World Man... He's a radio receiver, tuned to factories and farms He's a writer and a ranger and a young boy bearing arms He's got a problem with his power, with weapons on patrol He's got to walk a fine line, and keep his self-control Trying to save the day for the Old World Man. Trying to pave the way for the Third World Man He's not concerned with yesterday, he knows constant change is here today He's noble enough to know what's right, but weak enough not to choose it He's wise enough to win the world, but fool enough to lose it He's a New World Man...
So many concerts And Rush remains my absolute favorite band I’ve seen live. Seen em on mescaline (hallucinate)for presto tour. Blew my my mind. It seemed like a band from another world landed on stage and jammed.
Fantastic demo, Austin! Best one, so far. I noticed the split coils didn't hardly diminish the sound vs the regular split coils from other Epiphones. I have the Epi LP Plus Top Pro and the split coil sound gets much more quiet when compared to this axe...That 2nd input jack is what Alex calls his 'Life-O-Sound' input. The Piezo sounds awsum!
Oh I wish you would’ve plugged the second jack directly into your interface. That’s actually the main purpose of it. Either into an acoustic amp or straight into the front of house, that’s where you get the most direct and natural sound of the Piezo pick up
Hi Austin, 8:03 To accurately measure a resistance in a circuit you have to disconnect it from the circuit otherwise you're measuring the total resistance between the two probes... Yes, even if you connect them "directly" to the pickups' leads. With an active circuit, with relatively constant resistance reading at the output (probably a buffer with an output impedance close to a hot P.A.F), it actually might work measuring at the pickups' leads without disconnecting them (This is because the active circuit "separates" between its input & output). Hope this will help you next time you get a guitar with a complicated circuit and in general :) Cheers and thank you for all the videos, Dror
The scratchiness of the frets on so many epiphones is corrosion that happens from exposure to humidity in overseas shipping. It’s why doing final qc and setup after shipping is so important and why brands like LTD/schecter and prs se with dedicated set up departments tend to feel so much better than companies like epiphone that drop ship a lot of their stuff.
Regarding scratchy frets, I have an Epiphone Les Paul and it's true. I just bought a Schecter Banshee Mach 6FRS with stainless steel extra jumbo frets. It's so different it's the next level, bends are so smooth and easy, something I never gave a thought until I played it. Schecter guitars are three best value and quality. Try a stainless steel fret guitar, you'll love it!!
I bought one of the first Epiphone '59 RIs last year, and had the same experience with the frets, they're great, and with the Gibson burstbuckers, and hardshell case I am curious why you never documented that model. I paid $712.00 new, what a steal! Peace, Keith
I'm glad to hear the frets are nice on this one. I find more epiphone guitars have horrible fret work than ones with good fret work, which is such a shame because they are mostly good if they can just sort out the QA issues with frets.
Alex is the inspiration for my picking up the guitar...so I had to have one. I managed to get one of the launch first run ones. Sitting in my local music store awaiting my arrival. Thanx for the excellent insight to what looks like a stellar addition to my instrument family.
Yeah, not a Les Paul fan. My only Gibson is an SG standard from ‘93, and there’s hardly anything original on it 😂 (maybe the batwing guard and truss rod cover).
@@pbourque8564 lol yeah what gets me is a lot of times he literally whispers at the end of sentences ... So consequently I can't hear half of what he's saying so I close the video ...
I was waiting for this. As a lefty, we never see cool stuff like this. especially sucks when it’s the signature from my favorite guitar player ever. Thanks for letting me live vicariously trogly
Put the intention out into the Universe to be able to afford a custom-made lefty, and then dream about rocking out on it as if you already owned it! It's called the 'Law of Attraction' 🙂 And old Lerxst is one of *my* favourite guitarists, too! 😀
In other words, work some extra hours or 2nd job and save up. Regardless if it's in the stars for you to want it, you still gotta pay for it. Lol. Nothing wrong with dreaming, but it's not hanging from the moon. Lmao
Solid guitar. I ordered mine early and 3 of my friends as well , I own and have played many Epi's but this feels Like the real deal in your hands , especially the neck . Mine was delivered with a hole in the box I could of crawled into, I was expecting to have to send it back . All of my 3 friends who had them delivered had quality issues of some kind mostly minor but mine was perfect and no issues at all. I set up the Floyd , put 9 gauge on , lowered the action and its amazing.. Been waiting for your review on this fiddle , Great video and thanks for saving me the time of stripping it down and doing the work myself ..lol
Epiphone with an Axcess heel? That's seriously upping their game, for sure. I just picked up a 2017 Gibson LP Classic, and the heel was everything I hoped it would be. Glad Epiphone's getting in on the action.
Epiphones are always a winner in my eyes. Great for new players, and with only a BIT of modding it's basically a Gibson. Greetings and well wishes from Utah man!
Greetings from Nova Scotia Canada Trogly !!!! That graphtech Floyd is a piezo bridge and it’s something like 250$ USA from stewmac so it’s far more expensive than something like a Floyd Rose special or 1000 no doubt that Epiphone is getting some sort of super deal for bulk or the aftermarket ones are different than the OEM ones that are being used but according to the model number and a google search because I want a Floyd with a piezo built in on my guitar so my guess is that’s another reason why everyone is so excited about this guitar…. Amd because it’s such an expensive bridge could that neck be a cost savings measure to use up existing woods instead of using a brand new blank every time??? I’m not accusing anyone of shenanigans but rather wondering if that’s part of how it’s been kept to such a reasonable budget thanks for the video and keep up the good work…. Now it’s to convince my wife that I need a 3rd Les Paul…. Do you think the well it’s made by a different brand with different types of wood and lacquer so it’ll sound way different than anything else I own and it’s got equipment on it that does things that none of my others can do would work or should I hit her with the well I need another guitar to keep in D standard drop C tuning because none of my others are tuned to that amd every time I have to change tunings it takes battery power and takes a little bit of the service life away from the strings prematurely so I have to get this guitar and it will pay itself off in time just from the cost of batteries amd strings it will help us save up some money plus it’s an heirloom piece that our children will be able to grow up with and enjoy it and music with me that way…. What angle do you think would work??
I'd still love to see a review and demo of the 1959 Epiphone Les Paul. I have one in aged southern fade and I love it but I'd like to see a Trogly review of it!
One of the greatest live bands and one of the most underrated guitarists in history. Alex can hold his own with anyone. Nice guitar but it seems that I need an electrical engineering degree to dial in the tone I want. Great show Austin, keep up the great work 🎸
I was pretty lucky. Somebody sent one back to Thoman Switzerland because the trem fixing nut was rubbing on the internal wood. It was listed as B stock so Snapped it up for $750. Filed away the excess wood. Now it works fine. Sooooo Happy
A epiphone after a good setup and with good pickups is a great guitar. However, after all the rock legends, it’s hard to me to not wish a gibson always.
I think the reason why I look at an Epiphone and irk at the Gibson-inspired models is because Epiphone has such a rich history on its own. When I think of an Epiphone, I’m thinking Casino, Riviera…etc. Not to mention, there still a few cosmetic things about the Gibson-inspired Epi’s that I feel could still be worked on: the wider pickup rings (and by consequence, the ring cut-out of the pickguard) Epiphones have, the color of the pickup rings/pickguard. The truss rod cover bot being a two-screw bell, binding not going on the top of the body…etc. little things that would make them feel more… authentic. 😏
it can't be the best with such pickups - construction - trem i had a very bad Epiphone les Paul pro fx and with Gibson pickups, orange drop and more wiring the sounds was always bad and the guitar had a lot of problem : cheap trem, it was not made to last many years sometimes the string jumped out of the guitar! when I had my Lp floyd rose, I had no problem at all and a better clean tone and a real original floyd rose without any problem
The scarf joints at the headstock on Epiphone is a fairly new thing . I have a 2018 339 that also has it like that. I like it as it hides the joint and seems very efficient.
@@Krullmatic Something like the MusicNomad FRINE fret polishing kit. You have them with very fine multiple kinds of grit sandpaper too. Very fast with those fretboard protectors. I use something like that myself. Works great !
The trem is shifted towards the bottom of the guitar after you removed it for inspection . Use a flat screwdriver and center the bridge back up and you will probably get a little more room on the high e and the edge of the fretboard . You may already know this but I’ve heard you say you aren’t much of a Floyd guy .
Hey troggie! you mentioned you have issues with tuning floyds properly. This method is fool proof. I hope any other floyd users reading might get some benefit from this. 1: tune the guitar unlocked 2: make sure your action/float/neck relief/intonation is all set 3: lock the nut 4:(this is the part most people miss) do NOT just tune to pitch with the fine tuners and start playing. Try this method. -fine tune high E, wiggle the bar, check again -fine tune high B, wiggle the bar, check again, -continue this for all the strings. You may need to go back and forth a few times. -You will know you're done when the entire guitar is perfectly in tune AFTER you wiggle the bar. So play a chord, THEN wiggle the bar, THEN play the chord again and check the tuning. If the guitar is in tune post-final wiggle, the floyd will NOT go out of tune unless the humidity changes a lot. This works for me every single time. It also works on non locking systems. Only difference is you have to lubricate contact points instead of lock stuff down. Let me know how it goes! Same for anyone reading this who tried it.
What a cool guitar! Thank you for checking it out, Austin! 😀👍 There's just one thing I'm missing: The pickguard! LP's that do have a poker chip but no pickguard look kinda weird to me 🙂
For a while, they were terrible, just cheap low-quality versions of low-quality Gibsons. They've really stepped up their game innthe past few years, often surpassing the Gibson equivalent in quality.
@@porcelainthunder2213 Ehm... no! My Epiphone Explorer Korina from 2006, made in Unsung Korea feels, plays and sounds great! One of the nicest necks i have ever played! Same goes for my 2001 Epi SG G-320, also made in Korea. They " feel" better than my 2017 Epi LP 60's Tribute plus, which, although made in China, has Gibson Pickups and sounds amazing!
@@gearViewmirror those are still pretty new. I'm talking much older, like 80s and 90s where they were Gibson's equivalent of Squire hanging out at the bottom end of the market. Thats when they got the reputation for being kind of crappy.
I recently found one completely stripped of hardware (no clue why the seller did that, perhaps to sell parts - go figure) and I'm now building it back up. New Gotoh Floyd Rose trem and locknut, new Wilkinson tuners, and 2 Tesla pickups. Controls will be 3 push-pull types again to get all kinds of sonic options. It's a beauty!!!!!
Honestly, it's cool seeing some of the moves Gibson is making these days, but idk why in the hell a belly cut hasn't been a standard feature on LPs for decades now.
Each single piezo wire is in fact a shielded enamel coated wire . The shield being negative, the thin enamel coated wire being positive just like your thin wire earphone wires . The piezo will run to a buffering amp then blended from the pot into the main pick up wiring . The piezo buffer will have a little preset to adjust level of piezo output to match the output of the other pickups . I don't like trees either . I have an 80s Bill Lawrence pickup Gibson Studio Lite with a Steinberger trem which I picked up very cheap as the them was hanging out of the body . Fitted with Black Grovers as standard , odd because of the locking nut , Gibson just did it all wrong having to route away too much wood that the screws wouldn't hold for long . I remedied the problem by gluing in more wood and using 4 mm (M4) stainless threaded inserts and 4mm countersunk screws . Then set about making the trem system work by using PTFE washers to shim out the slop . The trem uses the same knife edge 2 post system , and these are known to bend . Mine weren't bent but were polished and received a hardcoat black PTFE based NiB impregnation coating . I didn't like the locking nut and chopped off truss rod cover so fitted a home made brass nut with the same PTFE NIB plasma finish far more slippery than graphite , so it's pretty slick and returns to tune consistently if used for sessions . It now has a Gibson full truss rod cover. Don't worry the single screw loop will break soon enough .The system now works great but doesn't get used . The guitar has the stacked humbuckers which are wider than Fender singles and the single /humbucker switch I believe the last pickups designed by Bill Lawrence . A great guitar for both Gibson and Fender/ P90 type tones depending on where you set the tone and switch , with a working Steinberger trem that would lift an engine out of a car, if needed . I keep it locked solid . I make a brass stop tail bridge which utilises these posts as slide and lock fittings and brass Fender block saddles so you can refit the original Floyd Rose system if you sell the guitar. Don't see many of these Lite Pros around now . It has to be a session musicians dream guitar , nice light resonant body with a lot of tone choices simply dialed in.
Kind of surprised they put such bright cream/white plastics on the back, would have gone for brown, it might make the back look less cluttered… slightly. 🤷♂️
Yes. Although it's only cosmetic and on the back, cheap looking cream plastic with no co-ordinated shapes and secured with silver screws really does look so wrong for a fair quality guitar ... Probably the best solution would have been timber covers stained to match, or at least a more similar coloured plastic ...
QC is everything. Epiphone is shaky at best. I had the Thayer Explorer. Looked great, yet it was a mess. I’ll never roll the dice on Epiphone again. If you want bang to you’re buck under a grand, buy a PRS.
Ordered one the morning they came out in June and got it just this week. Thankfully, there are no QC issues with mine and nothing falls off the high E string. I've already had offers to sell it at a substantial profit but that's a hard no. Pickups sound fine to me but can't rule out putting some Seymour Duncan 59's in there later. I can understand the bad taste for a Floyd Rose. I had a black Fender Strat with one and hated it. Got rid of it. All my guitars are hard tails. However, this one seems fine and I do like to use it in a subtle way, no dive bombs or anything crazy. I am a huge Rush fan and Alex Lifeson has greatly influenced me. This guitar plays great right out of the box but I will do a proper set up on it. BTW, I have Gibson Les Paul's that I've bought brand new that were nearly unplayable out of the box and needed a luthier to straighten them out. Just sayin. Love this channel! Love this guitar!
I'll be honest, I can't see much use for them unless you're gigging a lot and need to change battery all the time. I don't mind unscrewing 2 bits every now and then. Might just be me though.
One of the nicest non Gibson guitars you’ve demoed. I don’t have any Epiphones, but quite a few Gibson’s. May be time to pick one up. Great looking and great sounding guitar. Always liked Alex lifeson and Rush. Trogly, stop being a Floyd hater. Try to actually use it, you might like it. Floyd guitars have tuning stability that can’t be matched by hardtails. They’re a great system. And even if your not a big whammy user, just unscrew the bar and have unmatched tuning stability and comfort. The Floyd bridge is much easier to rest your palm on compared to a regular tune-o-matic. 👊🏻
In the early 1990s Fender MIJ offered photo-flamed tops on some of their guitars. The looked kind of fake but worse yet they don't age well at all. The finish for a photo-flame is typically very thick and over time they all seem to chip off in large pieces. Stay away from them.
A few days ago I picked up a case queen 2010 Epiphone Les Paul 50th Anniversary 1960 Standard V1 Heritage Cherry Sunburst with OHSC and wow!!! Those USA Burstbuckers, long neck tenon, solid maple top with an amazing flamed veneer, premium electronics/wiring, stamped SN. It's one of the best $500 I've spent, so glad no one picked it up while I debated on it! The neck is fat AF, but very comfortable to play on too!
Looks good, is that nitro or poly lacquer ? Doesnt look bad. Ill dig the SAME thing, bit, with regular tune o matlc, and keeping the access and belly cut.
I've always loved the idea of a Floyd on a Les Paul, and I've been watching these on Reverb. I was surprised at how much they went up in value. I'd probably pay about $1200 for one, but not $1600. lol! Or just wait for the next batch and get one at retail price.
I am a Gibson and ESP man myself. First guitar was Epiphone Les Paul special II and played an Epiphone SG as well. Not really an Epiphone fan, just can't for some reason. Been YEARS since I touched an Epi though. Gotta say they appear to have REALLY stepped it up. This is better then some Gibsons and at the price?
Mine had some QC issues. The backside of the trem arm (under the bridge) was rubbing on the body route opening. I had to sand that body route wider with dremel tool so that the trem does not touch the body. The pickups were rubbing up on the body and they would not set flat and perpendicular to the rings because the pickup ring placement was too close to one side on the route. I had to dowel and re drill the pickup ring mounting holes to center the pick in the body route. After that and a setup with 9's it was good. I got some great vintage tones from the pickups. Your not going to get serious modern metal tones. But these pickups do give great clarity.
Could you please do a review of the Bjorn Gelotte (from In Flames) Epiphone plz. I thinking of getting one and would love to see your opinion of them. Thanks.
@@shanewalton8888 ..... but this guitar had NO issues. The only problem I've seen with model is the very 1st batch where the trem route wasn't quite deep enough causing the Flovd to contact the body.
That Graph Tech Ghost bridge has the pickups in it and they retail for $346.00 so that right there is way more than the $100 you were thinking. They’re very high quality and this guitar is very well made and a great value as you can see just how expensive that Floyd is.
They put in scarf joints because it allows them to use less wood. I've read that a one piece Gibson neck uses about 4X the wood as one with scarf joints. They don't say on their site what the finish is. Which leads me to believe it's not lacquer. All of this reduces cost.
Nice to see an epiphone in here once and a while :) I just picked up a 2018 Standard Pro Plus top in blueberry burst with the Probuckers, and split coils. I love it! I am traditionally a drummer, but dabble in guitars.
Trogly - I have to say ditto - I broke down and paid a premium for one second hand (after waiting 6 months for a back order that I was told to expect in 'maybe' another 5 months). When I bought it I hadn't thought about receiving it in 21-12 . . . . but there ya go. It absolutely doesn't disappoint. The only thing I noticed is a very minor finishing blemish right below where the neck joins the body on the bottom side where the neck and body join - but you really have to be looking for it to see it - because really - you can't see it. Aside from the phenomenal sonic options - I swear - this neck plays itself - even compared to actual Fender USA Customs, Gibsons and Heritage guitars. I just got it so I'm looking forward to seeing the flame top move in real sunlight (it looks great under artificial light but I know it'll really come alive tomorrow in the actual sunlight.) . . . . One actual quality control issue I noticed. For me to engadge the Piezo - I have to have the push pull "down". If I want the Piezo off I have to pull out the bottom back pot - which - after re-watching this I notice works exactly like it should. I'm not sure if I should leave my pre-order in place or cancel it - if it ever actually comes given the next round of COVID / etc. I do know I will enjoy this 2112 Alex Lifeson Les Paul the rest of my days.
I was pleasantly surprised by the neck pickup, being ceramic, I assumed it would be muddy. If I could change the tap to parallel, I would love this setup.
Hey Trogly this seems like as good a place as any to ask about another signature guitar. Any chance if you getting one of the 100 Jerry Cantrell "wino" Les Paul's ? To demo and resell ?
Such a beautiful guitar(considering price), but that neck bothers me, as well as the finish is really just not good in quite a few places...I can ignore that for great playability. The neck tho...JB got a one piece neck, so I'm very surprised Alex didn't spec one, most wouldn't mind the extra $50 for the upgrade! if it were one piece, this might be one of the better guitars Epi ever made(in the Les Paul series), it might still be if that kind of thing doesn't bother you. At least it's not a FR Special, this one is much better imo. *edit* - I think I could live with that neck, it's not as bad as I thought, and it sounds better than any Epiphone I've heard, crisp, good tone with full range, and tons of options! I 100% agree btw, that neck to body contour is superior, and much more comfortable.
I love the look of lp style guitars. I love the sound of lp style guitars. I love the neck of lp style guitars.... But I hate the body of lp style guitars, so uncomfortable. But this one , with the heel carve and comfort cut, I'd definitely play
Even though it wasn’t an official Alex Lifeson model I do recall he was in an ad for a rather obscure Gibson ES-369 which is an oddity in itself from the Norlin era with a peg head that resembles a PRS. Ever thought about documenting one? I don’t believe they were big sellers at all so probably easier said than done to locate one.
I always loved the epi's, for the money, hard ta beat, I have an "L/P " white laquer, with gold hardware from 1993 when they were made in korea. It weighs in a 43 lbs.
it’s funny, i had the original epi les paul’s with the floyd (the pro fx) and replaced literally everything to replicate alex’s les paul, did the piezo wiring and drilled a jack hole, only for them to do this model less than a year later
