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

Got another affordable guitar review for you guys! It's the Epiphone Les Paul Special! Enjoy :) Guitar link - imp.i114863.net/GjELbr

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.

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!

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

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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!

Over the years I've had about 10 of these special ii's. I've got 4 left that get played constantly. The others paid a bill or two. Overall, I'd pick these up to play around the house and onstage and leave my standard in the case (it only comes out for special occasions). The older models actually were made of mahogany from southeast asia. Heavy and sustain for days. The newer ones i believe are basswood or something similar. Light stuff but good for metal. I think they changed to the lighter woods around 2005 or so. All mine were pre-2003. The electronics are basically the same and durable. I've only replaced one pickup but it was dead when I bought the guitar. I'd have to say they're good enough for home and stage and only with plenty of gain in the studio. Like the squire teles, these things are the best bang for the buck. Great review as always, Darrell. Keep on rockin!

Really dig that colour. It’s a pretty nice budget instrument. I can’t complain about the stuff epiphone is putting out now, I bought a LP Modern a few months back and just love it. Couldn’t justify the Gibson price for my first LP but the Epi Modern scratches that itch and does it very well!

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!

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.

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. ..

Wow I was surprised! Tone -wise I agree! Kinda the best of both worlds. Good value for beginners or possibly? Intermediates. Tuners change eventually down the road. May be fine in the meantime. Really good price and weight for beginners!

Darrell, those harmonics at 6:02 are gorgeous !!! You could make a broomstick strung with a rubber band sound good !!!

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!

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.

I have one of these with the p-90 style pick ups. (Cost $129.99 U.S.) The planets must have been aligned when they made it because it really plays and sounds well. Great go to when I do not want to bang up my more expensive guitars

I bought one of these years ago when the 1st special came out. It is a really good guitar to learn on. I eventually changed the pickups to a Seymour Duncan '59 in the neck and a DiMarzio super distortion in the bridge. New pots and frets polished and grover tuners & it plays & sounds great!

I bought my dad this guitar for his birthday. His has a dark rosewood fretboard. It's plenty good for an intermediate player.

Thanks for reviewing this one! This was my first ever electric about 15 years ago. Mine was all black, and the fret ends were like razor blades. I didnt know about filing frets back then so I put a dab of superglue on both sides of each fret end and let it dry, smoothed them out perfectly haha! Other than that it was a great guitar, great tone, a little heavy but alot of fun.

It was in January 1968 that my mother brought home a second-hand classical acoustic guitar and gave it to me, saying that she thought I might like it. So, here I am, 50+ years later still trying to figure the thing out. The Big Hurdle for me was after playing a long time the doctors told me I had Parkinson's, so I figured that was that. Then...I had seen something about how Michael J. Fox was still playing, so I said, "Well, if he can do it..." So I got a few things and started playing again. Clapton I ain't (and never was!), and that there were challenges is an understatement. Still are. Having played previously I got some cool stuff in my head, but getting it across to my fingers is something else again. To be able to continue to play is amazing; do I wish I was better at it? Of course. Will I get better at it? Over time possibly but not likely. Which is okay too, we all plateau eventually but with me, likely sooner than later. One of these days I hope to have an all white Strat (very classy looking to me) and then look out! Haha! One final hopeful note. The neurologist says he now feels I have "complex Parkinsonsisms" which translates to having the signs and symptoms of Parkinson's disease (involuntary movements, difficulties speaking, thinking, etc.) without "full blown" Parkinson's. So time will tell, guys. Happy New Year and God bless!

I'd say pretty good guitar for an entry level instrument. When I was a kid (the 70/s) it was either a Les Paul or nothing. Of course there were Jr's and other brands but nothing like this which in 1970 dollars would be $40. So all in all for a beginner or a starving artist great axe.

I never cared for the Specials as I thought they looked really cheap, even for Epiphone ( I love Epiphone's higher end stuff though), but honestly the finish on this one is gorgeous and the potted pickups definitely interested me. I may have to pick one of these up someday.

Honestly, this is not what I expected. On guitars on this end of the price scale (especially from big name manufacturers) the sound from the pickups is usually pretty poor but I would not be rushing off to the shops for replacements in this case (even if the bridge pickup was a bit quacky for my tastes). It looks like the best upgrades for this would probably be new tuners, a higher quality nut and a bit of work with a set of fret files. I was expecting it to be a bolt on as Epiphone has been doing that on its lowest end models for many years now but the decent application of shielding paint and alpha pot was a pleasant surprise.

I started on one of these almost 15 years ago now. I thought it was a great starter guitar and used it at church for years. However, I think there are soooo many more options now. Not sure I would recommend it anymore given how much better Squier has gotten since then. It does look awesome, so if you are starting out and think it looks cool, then you’d be more inclined to pick it up! It’s definitely good enough for a first

Darrell once again proving that the player makes the biggest difference. Great sound and style for the price Now on to the upgrades!

I bought one of these on a whim and it was like $159 USA because I had a little store credit and I love it. It's so easy to play. The frets were gritty but after a few months of play they've been smoothed out. The pickups aren't great but hey, the price was. The tuning keys are a little stiff maybe some lube would smooth them out. Out of the the other three guitars I own I always come back to this one because it is just so easy on my hands.

I wouldn't mind seeing this vs the ESP LTD E10 and the Jackson JS22 Monarck - all affordable, bolt-on single cuts with a few on-brand features. I think these 2 are a bit more modern - with comfort and access carves etc but in the same vein as the Epiphone.

That looks like a very good starter guitar. I think it looks pretty good, I think doing a couple of things like wrapping the strings over the stop piece and changing the tuners would make this thing really playable. I started with a flat top les paul. But mine had the combo bridge and this one has the tunomatic style which I really prefer for intonation.

That was my first guitar about 15 years ago, I still have it, in red wine color, whatever it was called. Changed pickups and tuners, the thing plays better than a lot of the Gibson's I tried through the years, the only thing from the factory letting it down is the tuners, change only them it's actually enough for it to be good

Fantastic demo, Darrell! I love that 'blue burst'!...I have the 2014 Wine Red LP Special II and wouldn't trade it for anything because of the great pups and the feel. No rough edges on the frets and stays in tune really well with the same tuners. Don't mind a bit with the bolt-on neck. The guitar is comfy, balanced, light-weight and plays so well...If you wanna great go-to, in-your-face-pups, don't-mind-scratches-or-dings axe, this is for any guitar player, especially if you have a low budget. Just to measure my liking of this axe, I gave my Epi LP Plus Top Pro-Cherry Sunburst (with Probuckers 2 & 3 pups) to my stepson instead of giving him my LP Special II.

Like how Darrell takes the time to review these less expensive guitars. Have a 2014 Les Paul Special II and a 2013 SG Special that I bought used recently. Love them both. Been a Fender/Squier devotee but for some reason decided to try something different. Now I'm an Epiphone devotee as well.

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.

I've played a Les Paul Special for about 15 years. It was my first guitar, that I bought without knowing anything about what to get. I've never been quite happy with it, but at the same time I've grown so used to it that I'm not really comfortable playing anything else. It's a love/hate relationship for sure.

Love that soft jazz sound you played. (Just learning) I don’t know how to adjust knobs & stuff to get more like that sound. No matter what I do it has hard rock sound. I’m brand new. Just learning scales & cords. I put it back in the box & didn’t touch it for awhile because of sound.

That color would be my preference if I were interested in this guitar. And yes, I asked, I think I would recommend it for a beginner and at the same time volunteer to set it up for them when it arrived and at the same time teach them how to do a simple set-up so they don't have to learn by the "School of Hard Knocks" like I did. Having started playing in 1962 (through the school of self-teaching) I'm a fan of clean tones. Not really interested in anything to do with Distortion, Gain, or Overdrive, so I think that pretty well covers why I would recommend this guitar for a beginner. (Besides, having taught guitar for 10 years in the late 69's & 70's, until marriage and wife / family demands forced me into other pursuits, I am a firm believer that beginners need to learn with Clean Tone, or acoustics. Once they have the basics, then they can pursue the whole Distortion, Gain, Overdrive world on their own.)

I’ve had this exact guitar for almost 10 years and it’s still good, great first guitar and still holds it tune

This honestly seems like a great upgrade platform. Put in some nice Dimazrios and locking tuners, maybe a new bridge, and you got a beyond solid guitar

Had one of these, was the first guitar I bought with my own money. Was pretty decent playing guitar. I loaded an active pickup in it and rocked out with it for several years. Ended up selling it to a buddy. Was a good little guitar.

The bolt-on neck is a great design choice for a budget Les Paul. When the neck breaks, as they do on Les Pauls, it's a lot cheaper and faster to replace the neck than to have a luthier repair the break. Replacing the broken neck would also be a good time to upgrade the tuning machines.

Found this guitar at a Pawn Shop near me. Played it for a bit and I love it. While it’s cheap I found to be very fun and comfortable to play. I plan on going back tomorrow and checking to make sure it works with an amp before I get it.

My first electric guitar was an Epiphone les Paul special 2. The finish was a black sunburst, and it came with a cheap amp and a few other accessories. The sound was decent; however, the playability was not always the best. The third string would always come out of tune no matter how much you would try to break in the strings. When I started playing guitar as a beginner, I enjoyed it, but as I got more experience and improved my skill, I started to hate it. It is good for a beginner in the art of guitar.

I have the black Epiphone Les Paul Special ii. After a year of having it, I tossed some 57 Classic pickups in it I won dirt cheap on Ebay, and did some other small and cheap upgrades. I love it so much. Couple years later I still play it more than my PRS.

I gotta say with the little bit of work on the frets with a fret eraser and a new set of machines, you can't go wrong. It sounded great. Fender has no problems with bolt on necks. A bolt on neck is a versatile benefit you don't get with a set neck or a neck through guitar. The reason the tailpiece and bridge are looking so good in relation to the body is, they set the neck angle to get it that way by shimming the neck. You look good at $1-4K les pauls one tailpiece is real close to the body the other the tailpiece is a 1/4 inch above the body with the bridge in the same condition. Because of neck angle difference between the 2.

This was my first electric. I got it a year ago for Christmas and I’ve gone through the motions with it. I just recently put new tuners and strings on it and it is working infinitely better. You could listen to your strings fall out of tune when you did anything heavier like I do. I play a lot of Metallica, Megadeath, and metal covers, and it sounds phenomenal running through my Boss Katana. I do agree that the clean sounds are a little gritty, but it gets the job done. I think the next thing to do is to replace the pots because they are getting a bit crunchy, but beyond that, great guitar and a wonderful introduction to this world.

I have bought about half a dozen of those things for modding purposes. They are a solid guitar. Any of the negatives you mentioned could be corrected with some time and work. Not too tough. I've always liked the basic playability and sound of those, even with the bolt-on neck. Yes, the tuning machines are not very good, but very easily replaced, as is the nut. Go for it.

Wine red Epiphone special 2 with zebra pickups was my first guitar ever, got it 2nd hand from a friend. 2006 was a new year with a great new hobby!

Expensive guitars are appreciated by other guitarists. The listening public doesn't care what you play as long as you play it well. Truth is, if you did a blind hearing test with the Les Paul Special next to a Les Paul Standard, very few people could pick out the expensive guitar. With that said, I have about $10,000 of guitars on the wall and always open to adding more.

I have a Epi Les Paul Special Custom Shop that I paid $99 for. It plays like a magnificent dream. I swapped out the pups and electronics, and it’s now my go-to practice axe. I love it.

I picked up a special 2 used last summer and although I haven't put any time into it yet I did play it initially and impressed with the quality for the $..hot pickups for sure

I have the 2011 cherry sun burst version of this one , my very first electrical guitar , such a joy to go back and play on it sometimes

To me this is a good bang for your buck. Great guitar for starting out. Hell, I just got the Dean Exile multi-scale and had to completely rework a guitar at a $2600 price point.

I own 2 of these of which I use more than my other Gibsons and Fenders. They are lite and really sound good when you really lay into it. For the money you can't beat it!

Hi Darrell, merry Christmas....is that a bit late? Mmmm well merry Christmas anyway. That looks amazing and sounds amazing

I used to have one of these that I bought for use as a travel guitar. It's servicable in that role, though the clean sound from the pickups is less than satisfying. The tuners are pot-metal garbage, with a TON of backlash. However, after replacing the nut with a black Graphtech, it would stay in tune. Just keep it lubed and remember to ALWAYS tune UP to the note. Your review is prettty much spot on. Long term, the fret wire is relatively soft, and will show wear sooner. But, for it's intended use, it's ok.

Thanks for continue showing cheap guitars, that's my budget and I can get a better idea of which ones to discard and which ones to try.

One of these was my Christmas present when I was 13. It was my favorite guitar, I played the hell out of it and even played rocksmith 2014 on the pc to test tones. When I moved, I had to leave it behind, a buddy of mine has it now and he loves it. Still works well after 13 years of playing.

Wow, that's a steal. I've used a lot of crappy guitars in my time but this looks like it would rock with just some minor adjustments if any! Also looks like an awesome project guitar, I'd love to buy one just to do some crazy mods!

For a beginner, after a setup this guitar sounds like a dream and plays like a dream. A tip: ALWAYS setup your new guitar even if it´s a Gibson (YES, EXPENSIVE ONES TOO) and after that, at least one time a year and your guitar will fell like new all the time.

With very, very little modding, you can make those guitars pretty amazing.

I have the 2013 edition of this guitar, same finish too. The fretboard on this one looks brighter to me, but maybe that's just because of all the use. Tuning machines also look different. The finish also looks duller to me but it might be the lighting. Sounds pretty much the same though. It sounds great in a mix. Also holds tune very well. Only thing I've changed is the nut because the original one snapped when 15 year old me tried to put 12 gauge strings on it lol. I've never had any electronic issues with it and still plays great. I highly recommend this guitar if you're looking for a great budget guitar.

That was surprising! Looks like good value for the money and sounded surprising when clean. Great student guitar or certainly a great project instrument!

I have the same guitar in Transparent black and it's worth every penny. I got mine for $260 Canadian (normally goes for $300 Cad) I plan on upgrading eventually but it's great for the price so I'm happy with it. Few issues that it has is mine takes a while for the bridge pickup to turn on when I switch pickups (could be a wiring issue) The metal frets have noticeable wear on them from the strings but it still plays well after owning it over a year. Hopefully this is informative for anyone considering this guitar

That Epiphone vs a Firefly would be great! Another I’d love to see is a comparison between the 335 models

Came here for the gear review.....loving your riffs from 6:30-7:45 mark Thanks for both!

My first Les Paul back in 2001. These little beasts are worth more than they cost.

The choices young guitarists have in the 21 century is amazing, in 1970 I started my guitar experience at the age of 12, my first electric was an “Audition” from the Sears and Roebuck catalog, a cheap Japanese Strat copy with crappy feed back screeching single coils an action that would have been 10mm off the fret board, slipping tuners etc etc. The only concession it came with a great 60 watt piggy back amp that was actually pretty well built and had a great range of tonal capabilities. I used that amp for 10 years in several bands. Great demo, so many choices and budget friendly ranges with the quality to be enviable of for such inexpensive guitars…..

Impressive for the money. I would love to see how it compares with generic guitars in this price range.Thanx for the review :-)

Darrell Braun the No. 1 RU-vid channel for great guitar reviews. Love you enthusiasm, format, and presentation.

This was my first guitar that my dad got me for Christmas and I'm still playing strong 15 years later. A really important model to me that shaped me as a guitarist.

I've gotten that exact model and color and is still one of my favorites!!

Daryl, I for one would love to see you compare the special-II to the Firefly Les Paul. Both are about $200, but the glued in neck vs the bolt on would interesting. Thanks for all your work.

I’ve got a 10yr old one. Sunburst. Mahogany neck and body. Rosewood board for sure. Goes well and hasn’t had issues. Doesn’t get used much now but I still play it occasionally.

Great video as always Darell! I’d love to see you do a comparison on upgrading it with maybe $100-150 or buy the next model up to determine if this guitar is worth upgrading or abandoning. Rock on.

I had this guitar in white, I was pretty much happy with it, but I'm more the strat guy. Is a good purchase to play at home or for small gigs.

Hi Darrell! Hope that you had a merry Christmas! Thanks for the new video.

For $200 US, the tones, setup, and electronics are above par. This is a surprisingly well-made instrument. You slayed those licks btw!

You should compare it to the Donner DLP, it's very similarly priced and I think it could be an honest competitor

I have a Les Paul Special that I got in Fall 2020. Got a full set up and fret job. Mine was in Vintage Sunburst.

I just bought the blue top for $199 on sale (12/2023). Unboxed it, tuned it, annotation was slightly off on the top 3 high strings - not a problem, plugged it in and jammed with it. The pickups 700T neck & 650R bridge measured 8.69k and 15.73k, respectively. I'll probably end up swapping them out. It's a good guitar to experiment with and take out to places so you don't have to keep an eye on it at all times.

I'd love to see a "shoot-out" between the Epi and a Firefly equivalent. Both ...guitar type ... and equally priced!

I found a black one of these all beat up in a pawn shop 11 years ago for $89 CAD. “Punching above its weight,” is an understatement. I still have it, it’s just completely disassembled in a box waiting to become the mod project it deserves to be 😂

My experience with low end Epiphone has been similar. Decent look and fair sound for the price but fret ends are savage. Havent found a low-end Epi yet that didnt need fret work. Resale is also awful - if you are looking at a starter in Epi, at least look at the more expensive models ($400+ range) so that you wont be unhappy keeping it when you move on to something else.

That middle pickup is just delicious !

Thank you for this review. Darrell. I've been contemplating this model as a good starter guitar for my 12 yr old boy. It sounded better than what was expecting. 👍🏻

My Special II is 16 years old (maybe more since it was 2nd hand when I bought in Ireland). I bought since then 3 Gibson, but from time to time I still play my Epiphone Special II and I still love it.

My older son has a Special-I (interestingly, it has "Gibson" embossed on the truss rod cover). I've got it stashed at our house while he's serving in the Army. Having played it a few times, I advised him, "Do _not_ sell that guitar -- it punches way above its weight." We'll keep it for him as long as need be.

I used to have the all black special II my very first electric guitar my mother got me when I was 12 I believe. Bought he whole kit with an amp and everything. I enjoyed playing it back then

Thanx Darrell for all the Guitars you checked out for us. Have a great and safe New year!

Hey at least it's easy to replace the neck when you replace the tuners ... and unlike someone else's guitar review about a " light " guitar who mentioned light about 5 times but never weighed it, thanks for actually taking the time to weigh it !

When you're talking about things like the frets and showing the close-up photos, you should also show an example of a well-done fret job so that we can compare them visually.

The 'entry level' Epiphones are superb quality & great value, I just got a Les Paul studio LT, OK it's a bolt on neck, but very solidly built & it plays & sounds great!

We don't have any guitar shops nearby so I ordered one of these in trans blue from Best Buy to try out a Les Paul. I am SO GLAD for your review and am looking forward to its arrival! My other guitar atm is a HSS Bullet Squier and I wanted to try a Les Paul but was worried about the heaviness and this sounds PERFECT!