Epiphone Les Paul Custom Quilt Review
My Verdict and Review Summary
I'm not used to the feel of a Les Paul and the weight of the body (even with the weight relief), so this was a little outside of my comfort zone. But playing lead on the Les Paul Custom Quilt felt great. It was quick, smooth, and technique (trills, bends, tremolo, etc.) came off with less resistance than I've had from other fretboards. Epiphone continues to impress me with how well they're able to replicate their Gibson counterparts, both in looks and tone quality.
BEST FOR: Classic rock, modern rock, metal, lead, rhythm -pretty much all of the above.
TONE
95
FEEL
85
FLEXIBILITY
95
PRICE/VALUE
85
- Gibson 490 and 498 pickups
- Grover tuners
- Quilted Maple top is a premium feature (on any guitar)
- Lead feels great
- Well adapted to lead and rhythm styles
- Can handle a very wide range of genres
- Aesthetically identical to the Gibson Custom
- If you're not used to a Les Paul, the weight of the body takes some getting used to.
- The price of Epiphone electrics has gone up a lot over the past decade.
Epiphone is one of those brands that you never worry about disappointing you. And while their prices have gone up over the past decade, that has been true of the guitar market at large. The quilted version of the Custom is still an exceptional value, because it's astounding how close it resembles the Gibson version of the Custom, right down to Gibson pickups (490 and 498), and the Mahogany/Maple tonewood combo. I don't play Les Pauls often, so this was a treat, and a lot of fun. Let's get into the full review.
Looks indistinguishable from the Gibson version.
Tone and Versitility
I've never been a fan of the "Epiphone is just as good as Gibson" mantra. Because I don't think that's true. A $6000 guitar is going to be objectively better than a $1200 guitar. But Epiphone has consistently been really good at not just replicating the looks of Gibsons, but also the sounds. In a blindfold test, I think it would legitimately tricky to tell the difference.
The Epiphone LP Custom is bright on the bridge pickup and then equally thick on the neck pickup, where the heavy Mahogany body really starts to take over.
But as you'd expect from a Les Paul, it's just incredibly versatile - equally strong on lead and rhythm.
You get clear distinction between the bridge and neck pickup, which provides strength on both the lead and rhythm side of the track.
I can see why these guitars have always been popular in such a wide range of genres over the years. From a stylistic perspective, it's very good at both a classic rock and modern heavy metal feel.
Very strong on both the rhythm and lead side.
Playing Feel
The neck plays fast and lead technique is especially satisfying. I'm not used to the weight balance on these guitars leaning so heavily towards the body, but that does allow the fretboard to sort of angle up, closer to your fretting hand even if you wear the guitar lower.
While it took me awhile to get used to that weight distribution, it wasn't prohibitive to any aspect of my playing.
If I had to choose, I'd say lead is more comfortable than rhythm, but the guitar handled both very well.
Cost and Overall Value
I don't love the price here, perhaps because I'm used to Epiphones being under $1000. But the fact you have a quilted top, Gibson pickups, Grover tuners, and an all-around pro-level guitar, it's still a fair asking price as $1300 (check below for updated pricing).
The problem is more so that a lot of things have gotten more expensive, and guitars across the board have gone up in recent years.
So yes, you'll pay more for an Epiphone Les Paul Custom then you used to, but you can't really blame Epiphone for that, especially when they've packed so much value into this particular model.
Current Epiphone Les Paul Custom Quilt Pricing from Sweetwater (includes multiple versions)
Prices updated from Sweetwater in real-time.
Review Summary
One more look.
I'm almost exclusively a modern rhythm guitar player, so I don't dabble much in the Les Paul realm. But despite being a little outside my comfort zone, the Les Paul Custom Quilt handled great for my playing style. I can see why it has been a mainstay in essentially every stage of rock's evolution.
And while it's not the caliber of instrument that you see in the Gibson version, it's absolutely a pro-level guitar, suited for the same playing styles and contexts.
If you have questions about my review or process, feel free to get in touch via the comments section below.
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Written by Bobby Kittleberger on Electrics & Reviews
Written by Bobby Kittleberger on Electrics & Reviews
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