Epiphone Les Paul Standard
Epiphone Les Paul Standard electric guitar
Saturday, December 1, 2012
Electric guitar players generally fall into two camps: Fender and Gibson. I've always had a personal preference for Fender guitars, particularly Telecasters. But when I started playing with The Grape Ape Trust, and specifically with guitarist Bryan Baker, who straddles the Fender-Gibson fence, I began to take a second, closer look at Gibson and Epiphone guitars, and I liked what I saw. Once guitar legend Les Paul passed away in 2009, I decided it was time to start looking for a Les Paul model guitar, but it had to be the right Paul. After a couple years of searching, I finally ordered this purple-burst Epiphone Les Paul Standard, and I must admit it's a fine instrument.
Les Paul (b. Lester William Polsfuss, 1915-2009) was a musical pioneer in so many different ways: He not only had a unique playing style, later emulated by generations of rock guitarists, but he's also credited with inventing multitrack recording in the 1930s, and with designing one of the first solidbody electric guitars in the early 40s. He took his prototype, dubbed "The Log," to Gibson after World War II, but they had no interest in building a solidbody guitar until Fender's Telecaster became successful in the early 50s. At this point, Gibson approached Les for his input and endorsement on their own solidbody design, introduced in 1952.
The Epiphone Company was founded by Anastasios "Epi" Stathopoulos in 1873 in what was then the Ottoman Empire. Epi moved the company to Long Island in 1903, and it was later purchased in 1957 by the Chicago Musical Instrument Company, which also owns the Gibson, Kimball and Hammond brands. Epiphone had its own distinct products prior to the 1957 merger, but was quickly relegated to a budget-line status to Gibson. Most of Epiphone's current instruments are cosmetically identical to Gibson's, some with unique names (Epiphone Casino vs. Gibson ES-330), while others use the Epiphone logo and the Gibson model name, like my Epiphone Les Paul Standard.
The differences between the Fender Telecaster and the Gibson Les Paul were significant. The Tele had a flat slab body, where the Paul had a contoured archtop design. The Les Paul's body shape more closely resembled that of an acoustic guitar than did the Telecaster's. The Tele used single-coil pickups, while the Paul used dual-coil "humbucking" pickups. The Tele had a longer-scale, bolt-on neck, compared with the Paul's shorter-scale, set neck design.
The current Les Paul Standard is pretty much unchanged from the original Les Pauls of the 50s. The arched top, actually a maple laminate over the mahogany slab body, makes the body heavier so the strings sustain longer. The 3-position pickup switch is placed above the strings and out of the way of the player's right hand, making it less likely to be moved unintentionally (which happens to me a lot when I'm playing a Tele or a Strat).
The electronic wiring is accessed mainly through removable panels on the back of the guitar, making for a cleaner front design than on most "slab" guitars, and easier access than on most hollowbodies and semi-hollowbodies. The set neck doesn't work its way loose like a bolt-on neck might (although early Pauls had a tendency to break at the neck joint), and the shorter scale makes it easy to reach frets and to change hand positions quickly -- it's also great for players with small hands or short fingers.
The Les Paul Standard has an MSRP of $665, but can often be found for around $500. I picked mine up used through GuitarCenter.com (delivered to the West Des Moines location) for $399 plus tax and shipping. It's a beautiful purple sunburst (looks bluer in certain light or if I'm wearing a purple shirt), with nary a scratch -- truly a beautiful instrument. I added Schaller strap locks, a black nylon Epiphone-branded strap, and an Epiphone-branded hardshell case, all acquired at Professional Music in Clive.
There are over 20 variations in the current Les Paul line, some with flat tops, some with three pickups, some with "robotic" tuning and pickup systems. It can be genuinely baffling to look over all the models to decide which one is right for you. But the standard bearer is the aptly named Les Paul Standard, and this is the yardstick from which all the other models should be measured. Play it first before you start looking at all the variants, and you might find you'll finish right back where you started.
Photo by Donna Jo Wallace