Review:Epiphone Les Paul Slash Signature

here's your weekly review.. copypasted as usual

Features: This guitar was made shortly after the Gibson Slash Signature model was made. There were only 75 of the Gibson ones made, and this is a Epiphone Limited Edition, so there's not alot of these around. I think this one was made somewhere between 1997-1999. This is almost exactly the same as the Gibson version, except instead of a hand painted snake, it is a decal, instead of a pearl snake coiling up the neck, it is trapazoid inlays, and in the place of a carved snake in the middle of the head, it is a small Slash siganture. But the pickups are the same, so you will get the same sound. It is equipped with 2 Alnico II humbuckers. Like the Gibson one, it has 22 frets, and like any standard les paul, has 2 volume knobs, 2 tone knobs, and a 3 way selecter Switch. Unfortunately the 3 way selector Switch is very loose, and can break very easily, which sucks. The body has a wonderful red flametop which looks spectacular. The tuners and bridge are black, instead of chrome or gold (which Gibson usually uses), so it is an interesting change. The neck is a very fast neck, which makes for great soloing. // 8

Sound: I am a rock guitarist, and this guitar delivers the sound you need to play rock. When I bought this, there were no pickup covers, so they are open coils, which means a raw-er sound. When you play through full guitar volume on the bridge humbucker with distortion, you get a sound that you would expect to hear from Slash. Think Welcome to the Jungle or the ending solo from November Rain. If you play through clean with full volume and tone on the neck humbucker, you get the exact sound from the beginning of Knockin On Heaven's Door. If you play with full volume and no tone, you get almost a spanish guitar sound. When played through distortion you get an awesome creamy tone. Very cool. I am playing this through a Peavey amp and a Digitech50 multi effects pedal. If I can get a Slash sound through these things, imagine the sound you can get from a Marshall stack. Exactly. This is an excellent sounding guitar, and is perfect for hard rock, and a little punk. // 10

Action, Fit & Finish: I got this guitar used, so I can't tell you what the factory set up was, but when I bought this, the action was still incredible. It is an incredibly fast neck, and has great frets. The finish is incredible looking, and this guitar has a beautiful red flametop. I think the exact color is called cranberry. Anyways. There are only 2 problems with this guitar I found. The 3 way selector Switch was very loose, and is now extremely loose after I was playing with it. The nut also isn't that wonderful. On the G and D strings it gets stuck on a pitch, then suddenly jumps up a few when I am tuning. But other than these minor defaults, this guitar is incredibly well built. // 8

Reliability & Durability: This guitar has very good reliabilty, and it is very durable. I've used this in a couple of live shows, and it has delivered well, getting a great sound, and a great tone for solos. I need to replace the pickup selector and the nut, but even with both of these in less then perfect shape, it still plays and sounds like a dream. The finish is very solid, and after months of getting scraped with my picks, looks like new. The strap button closest to the neck recently came out, and I need to get that repaired, but that happens with all of my guitars, so I'm not blaming that on the guitar. This is a very dependable guitar, and would use it on a gig with a short set-list without a backup. However, I would take a backup with me on a larger set list gig. So for reliability, durability, and dependability, the Slash Signature Les Paul is top notch. // 10

Impression: This is my favorite guitar that I own. It has an amazing look, and amazing sound. I love everything about it, and my favorite feature is definatly the sound and look of it. This is the best sounding of my other guitars. It isn't a common guitar, and is kind of rare, so if you ever come across one, I urge you to buy it. It is a wonderful hard rock/punk guitar, but I wouldn't suggest it for nu-metal. I read about this guitar before I knew there was one near where I lived, and when I saw it, I knew immediately that I had to get it, and I definitely don't regret it. // 10