GEAR REVIEW
FEATURES
The Les Paul Standard PlusTop PRO has similar features as a Gibson Les Paul including a 24.75 ” scale neck , pair of humbucker pickups with dedicated volume and tone for each , three-way toggle switch , and cream-colored binding around the body and neck . Bonus : the dual-purpose volume knobs are push / pull and serve as coil splits for each pickup , which provide immediate access to single coil tones previously unavailable on a Les Paul . This feature alone just upped the ante in my book for versatility ! With the addition of single-coil pickup splits this guitar can easily handle all blues , rock , and metal situations . Grover 14:1 ratio tuners and a locking Tune-o-matic bridge system ensure the guitar will stay in tune and withstand grueling demands of studio and gigging musicians . The composite mahogany body and neck make the guitar slightly lighter , which is a welcoming feature considering one of the most common complaints from Les Paul players is the weight . I dug the feel of the set neck , which had the profile of an early ’ 60s-style Gibson Les Paul with well-dressed , medium size frets . Several eyecatching finishes are offered and each enhances the beauty of the AAA flame maple top underneath . Modern rockers and head bangers might favor the Trans Blue and Wine Red , while blues and rock purists will appreciate the Honey Burst , Vintage Sunburst , and Heritage Cherry Sunburst .
Vintage-sounding ProBucker 2 and 3 pickups are mounted at the neck and bridge positions respectively and both use Alnico II magnets , which are commonplace in old-school PAF humbuckers . The pickups responded well with a clean tone ; and the single coil option closely replicated the funky tone of P-90s . The neck pickup sounds especially good for jazzy chords and changes , but in my opinion the pickups sounded best when teamed with varying levels of distortion . Try dashing a bit of overdrive for bluesy chording and soloing , or beef it up with serious gain for Metallica-style riffing . Any way you want it this guitar can deliver . ■
VERDICT
The Les Paul Standard PlusTop PRO is a great choice for beginner to intermediate players , or pros in search of a guitar that looks and sounds awesome yet can leave it unattended on the bandstand during set breaks . You won ’ t find a better and more versatile guitar for the money . My only regret is that they didn ’ t come out with this Les Paul Standard replica when I was a kid . Kudos to Epiphone for keeping the flame burning ( pun intended )!
JUNE / JULY DIGITAL EDITION 63