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Epiphone Les Paul Special 2

 

Review of the Epiphone Les Paul Special 2 by The Man in the Jar

What can you get for £100?  How about a Les Paul?

Features of the Les Paul Special 2

Tuners - Covered tuners in chrome. To hit the price point this instrument does use budget-conscious components. But once the strings were properly stretched in and the windings on the capstans were properly seated, I found the tuners did a very good job of getting into tune and staying there.

Headstock - Traditional Epiphone "Dutch Gable" variant of the three-a-side headstock.

Nut - Black plastic nut abuts the fretboard. All slots are well-finished.

Neck - This was a real surprise on such a budget instrument. The bolt-on mahogany neck is very slim and comfortable with a generous width across the fretboard. This is a great combination for the beginner; it's comfortable to use for long periods but with enough room on the board to learn accurate fretting-finger action.

Fretboard - Very dark rosewood with traditional dot markers.

Frets - Medium-rounded frets.

Action - Another surprise is the low action straight from the box. This is a real bonus in such a low priced instrument.

Body - The laminated alder and maple body is a straightforward slab in a Les Paul shape. One thing your £100 won't buy is a carved top! Notwithstanding the woods used, the guitar is surprisingly heavy and this gives it a very "grown-up" feel on the strap.

Bridge - Standard Tune-o-matic and stoptail in chrome with individual adjustment for intonation and overall adjustment for string height. There must be a factory somewhere that churns out Trillions of these pucker little bridge assemblies every year!

Pickups - Two open-coil humbuckers sit in black surrounds.

Controls - Master volume and master tone with a three-way pickup selector that sits between them.

Strap-buttons - Medium buttons in the usual places.

Output Jack - Sits on the lower edge in a square plastic plate.

Finish - The ebony gloss finish on this model was very good throughout the guitar. As with all budget instruments you can find small cosmetic flaws if you break out your magnifying glass, but there was nothing that would make me put this guitar back on the shelf.

 

Sound of the Epiphone Les Paul Special 2

This instrument is equipped with good, solid, basic humbuckers that do the job that's expected of them. Rock and metal tones are all there to be found by flicking through the pickup selector; more aggressive highs from the bridge; darker, heavier tones from the neck and a very pleasing full mix from the combined setting.   

 

Overall Impressions of the Epiphone Les Paul Special 2

I've used the word "surprise" a few times in this review, and with good reason. For a £100 instrument made in China the quality and playability of this little guitar are excellent. I would not hesitate to recommend the Special 2 to any beginner guitarist who has aspirations to play rock or heavy metal. It's top value for money, delivers really well in all the important areas and has classic good looks.

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