The Delta Snake Review: Musical Gear Review & Article Archive: Review: 2006 Epiphone LesPaul 100

2006 Epiphone Les Paul 100

Note: This model has continued to change since 2006, so regard this piece as a vintage review.

The Epiphone Les Paul 100 is the lowest priced model of this line. As such, it features such economies as a bolt-on neck, no binding, thinner neck, body made of cheaper woods, less expensive tuners, hardware and pickups. In return, you get an attractive Les Paul copy in the 250.00 range with some definite virtues.

On the plus side, it's a good looking guitar, as nice as some of the more expensive models. Also, it still features separate volume and tone control for each pickup with a decent amount of taper (in other words, useful) and a three-position switch. The chromed hardware looks good and shows no sign of tarnishing easily. The open double coil humbuckers with the creme brackets add vintage vibe to the package.

The profile is similar to the Les Paul Special, which makes it slenderer and most importantly, much lighter. The bolt-on neck, made of mohogany, might be a bit thin for some tastes (except for SG users), but it makes for a fine playing neck for my smaller hands.

This moves us into the aesthetics. This is a slim, attractive guitar, and both of the standard finishes are fine. The sunburst, with the alder top and mohogany bottom, is more beautiful than web site pictures show. The Ebony model is even more so, although buyers should note that this model has a 100% alder body with the standard mohogany neck.

At the moment, however, I kept the stock pickups, so I can give you an idea of what it will be like if bought new. I should note that my comments also will cover the sunburst model with the mohogany/alder body.

Like many Epiphones, the humbuckers sound a bit thin, although nothing that a decent amp or effect boxes couldn't fix. The front pickup has a pleasant chimey sound on full treble, and the tone control works well enough that the sound can be adjusted without just going from bright to muddy. There's a hint of the Fender sound in the chime too, which might work for some.

The bridge humbucker isn't bad. Avoid the temptation to raise it up to make it “hotter” as its sound is better than a lot of more expensive middle range guitars I've played. The middle position is surprisingly good.

Of course, we are talking about an entry level guitar, and it'll probably be played in the most fun way with the gain way up. In that case, the humbuckers will do fine for most styles of rock, short of extreme shred or very smooth jazz. I can add it has a great retro blues sound (much of the old blues were played on cheap electrics).

As far as the vintage sunburst, the guitar has some important differences. I obtained one (for a project I'm working on) that was an older one from the Korean era, with a large neckplate announcing that fact.

The finish is actually darker than in the pictures. The red is actually more of a burgundy, and the yellow a lot more like a golden hue. In other words, it's quite the beauty. From the back, it's a familiar dark red, the kind one saw on old Gibson SG's. A friend of mine who owns a Gibson classic Gold Top looked at it and thought it was one of the nicest looking guitars he'd seen.

The most important difference is that these sunburst guitars are mahogany with an alder cap. With the thin body and neck, you get a guitar that has less bite than the Ebony finished model made with an alder but more warmth. Close your eyes, and you'd swear you were playing a guitar that's more related to an SG or LP Special than a Les Paul. Which makes sense, as it's construction is really that of a special except for the neck.

Discussing a bolt-on neck would only come up on a Gibson or Epiphone review, given the tradition and the entrenched belief of the superior tone, resonance, and sustain (and let's face it, looks) of a set neck. In this case, you can notice a difference from a more expensive Les Paul, but I'm not sure it's just not a case of not having the traditional maple cap and higher quality pickups.

Fenders have used bolt-on necks from the beginning, and no one complains about sound or sustain problems. In the case of the 100, the sustain seems comparable to a telecaster with a humbucker.

The Les Paul 100 is an interesting guitar, given that the rest of the model line more closely duplicates the Gibson Les Paul line. Due to cost saving measures, we have a Les Paul that is like the faded Studio, but is actually in many ways, a much nicer looking guitar if one can see past the supposed verities of set necks and back stretching weight.

Epiphone has provided the beginner with a decent entry-level guitar that makes the player feel like he or she has a nice looking one with a classic shape. Add to that the better ergomonics of a lighter guitar, and you have a perfect beginner's guitar.

I would recommend getting one of the translucent finished guitars. A mohogany guitar complements the stock pickups better, and the extra warmth and fullness of tone will make those early attempts at sounding like Jimmy Page that much easier. The Ebony model isn't bad, but the marriage of alder and mohogany isn't as successful with the bolted neck. You'll be less likely to feel that a pickup upgrade is needed early on with the sunburst, and that's an important consideration.

In the case of players like me, I'd rather take this unpolished gem, and upgrade than to pay more and get a guitar that simply looks more like a standard Les Paul (and all that extra weight). At this low price, all things are possible with these guitars.

- Al Handa

2006

Note: This review first appeared on the ePinions.com site in 2013. This and other reviews were short takes that accompanied the link to a business that sold the guitar. As a rule, the guitar had to be at least examined and played by the reviewer (and ideally owned). In my case, a severe case of GAS made it possible to have at least owned the reviewed instrument for a short while. I'm reprinting these as having another source on a guitar never hurts, even if the reviews aren't definitive. Other than minor corrections, these short takes are unchanged from the original text. I figure that it might be helpful to keep the older perspective.

The Quitturz by Al Handa