Epiphone Les Paul Standard PlusTop Pro

Been a while since we posted anything on here. I was having all kinds of fun with my Gretsch 5120 mod project, and recently I started looking at Les Pauls again.

I had a 90's Gibson Les Paul Studio years ago, but had to sell it and have regretted it ever since. It was ebony, with the 490/498 pickups that I never changed even though they were a bit fuzzy. I bought it used and it already had Sperzel locking tuners and was set up for Schaller straplocks. Loved the feel, sound was good, but not great.

In the years since I hemmed and hawed about getting another Les Paul, and Honeyburst was the finish I was drooling over the most (Gold top being #2). I couldn't justify the $2400 price tag for a Gibson (we are cheap here in Guitar-DNA land), and finally I decided to pull the trigger on an Epiphone Les Paul Standard PlusTop Pro.

I've always looked at Epi's as guitars that were a good foundation, but in dire need of upgrades; they've been renowned for lifeless pickups, budget hardware, and just a not-good guitar right out of the box. It should be mentioned that we never believed in that line about Epiphone guitars being made "from scrap wood left over from the Gibsons". I had considered other guitars in the same price range (still looking to GFS' Xavier guitars as a backup). I tried an Epi Lester at the local Guitar Barn, and it had a Honeyburst finish that put the Gibson version to shame, and a AAA flame maple top. It felt spectacular when I strapped it on; better than the first generation Gibson SG Special Faded I've been using lately, and I decided to buy it. The sound wasn't great, but the amp I was playing it through had everything to do with that. The tag said "Epiphone Les Paul Standard PlusTop Pro" which meant nothing to me. Gibson loves sticking guitars with fancy names.

I assumed I'd have to do some upgrades, but upon further inspection I was more than pleasantly surprised. First we'll do a comparison of the body to the Gibson equivalent. The AAA flame maple top the Epi has is actually nicer than the Gibson model which boasts a AA flame maple top. The Gibson "Honeyburst" is seemingly darker, almost to the point of an Antiqueburst... which never thrilled me. The finish quality is every bit as good as the Gibson, and the frets feel great. What Gibson is saying is their newer standards are lighter, which worries us. If I wanted a chambered guitar, I'd get a Gretsch. As far as weight goes on a guitar, we expect Les Pauls to be heavy; they're not Parker Fly guitars.

Both guitars have push-pull volume pots for coil tapping, presumably the Gibson will have better pots, but we tend to leave stock pots alone on Gibson style guitars until we have issues, so I'll leave those alone for the time being. Also the Epiphone Les Paul Standard PlusTop Pro has a system with clips on the pots, so changing them would involve swapping the entire assembly.

The Gibson Les Paul Standard is said to have BurstBucker Pro pickups; not the BurstBucker 2 and 3 which we prefer, so this seemed a bit of a let down. Apparently the Epiphone Les Paul Standard PlusTop Pro has what are called ProBucker 2 and 3 pickups, which are apparently an overseas-made version of the BurstBucker 2 and 3, with the correct materials. They aren't nearly as lifeless as the Epi pickups we loath, and are actually quite pleasant sounding, not far off from BB's 2 and 3, and clearer than the Gibson 490/498's we've had. I was going to swap the ProBuckers out for some GFS (Alnico II neck, and VEH bridge), but the ProBuckers are gonna stay in this guitar for a while. I might consider swapping them for a set of Duncans down the road (JB/Jazz combo), but not any time soon.

I've been really getting into upgraded hardware lately, and I was looking at upgrades for this Epiphone Les Paul Standard PlusTop Pro as well. The tuners are actually Grovers which are nice; but I've got a set of direct fit Grover Locking Tuners coming (almost all the guitars we own have locking tuners). The Gibson version has those self tuning tuners, which we still can't fathom, AND are meant to look like the Kluson style tuners which we never liked due to looks and poor experience with them (had the back cover break off of one on the aforementioned SG Special Faded making the tuner useless, and replaced those tuners with Grovers). Straplocks are a given; gonna go with Dunlops as I've been doing with all my guitars lately. I wanted to try a locking bridge and tailpiece like a TonePro setup, but upon further inspection, the Epiphone Les Paul Standard PlusTop Pro has its own locking bridge and tailpiece that seem to use a C-clip system, so that's taken care of. The Gibson equivalent still has the standard non-locking pieces for a comparison.

For the Grover locking tuners and Dunlop strap buttons (didn't need more locks) I went to eBay. Guitar Barn didn't have any budget Musician's Gear cases in stock at the local store (Guitar Center never stocks them in their stores), so I bought one through Amazon. 

We've said for years that the overseas guitars have gotten quite good, and the fact that Gibson has released a "budget" guitar that surpasses their $2400 version is a testament to that. We recommend checking out the Epiphone Les Paul Standard PlusTop Pro if you're looking for a Les Paul that doesn't break the bank and is usable right out of the box. It should be noted there are some other knock-offs that are great like the LTD EC's and the Xavier XV500 is stellar as well, but when is comes to looks, an Epiphone is the closest to a Gibson Les Paul with correct inlays and body contours. The price tag is a little higher than than the others, but the upgrades justify the cost ($499 street).