Before handing this attractive Epiphone over to its winner, after it was raffled off on ispmusica, we put the guitar through our test bench. Even though it’s headed for the hands of the lucky winner. That way, at least the rest of us can find out what the instrument offers, beyond the visual charm that nearly everyone who has seen it finds hard to resist. Congratulations to the lucky winner, and let’s get to work. What’s the Trans Blue all about?
The Origins
Epiphone is a company founded in 1928 whose name comes from the nickname of its then-president: “Epi,” Epaminondas Stathopoulo. It earned its greatest fame making archtop acoustic guitars, though some of its electric models (which it began making in the 1930s) are also especially sought after.
In 1957 Gibson acquired the brand, which then basically made semi-hollow electric guitars. Around 1970 Epiphone was used to house the manufacture of Asian-made guitars.
Musicians’ opinions vary. I remember that not long ago I was talking with the guitarist of a very well-known band. He told me he had more than a dozen Japanese and Chinese guitars, “second-tier brands” (compared with the pioneers), in his personal collection. He put special emphasis on their quality, arguing that in many cases he thought they were better than the old originals or other supposedly top-shelf American models.
Introduction
For many people today, the Epiphone brand is a real luxury. Given that the legendary Gibsons (I mean the USA Les Paul Standard, Gold Top, Custom, etc.) are almost out of reach for any cautious wallet, Epiphone presents itself as a seductive alternative at attainable prices. What’s more, for all of us who tinker with guitars at these prices, our guest today has become a “classic”; an irresistible temptation.
Undoubtedly, the weight of Gibson and its know-how has helped position Epiphone guitars at high levels of their price/quality “tier.” Let’s try the guitar and find out, in person and free of commercial influence, what it can do.
On the ISP Test Bench
Today we’re trying one of the little sisters of the Gibson Les Paul. It’s good to see companies concerned with covering the market segments consumers demand. In other words, Epiphone shows concern for achieving better prices. It builds more affordable guitars and strives to keep quality as close as possible to the originals.
Before trying the instrument, my mind inevitably went to the logical marketing strategy: using the design, look, and clout of Gibson USA to maximize sales of Epiphone China. I want to stress that, although this is logical, my impressions after playing the guitar came down clearly in favor of the quality of the instrument under test. And, therefore, in favor of Epiphone.
It seems that leveraging the company’s know-how, after all its historical experience, has not only helped it learn how to sell its guitars well. After the test, it’s clear to me that this experience also serves, or has served, to build good instruments, even while lowering the bar a bit compared to the great Gibsons.
Finish and Feel
The guitar is very good-looking. I found it super attractive. Aside from small construction nuances that seem to be present in the neck parts (compared with the original model), the finish is radically Les Paul.
Once in our hands, the guitar makes itself easy to “love.” I would have preferred the strings to sit a bit closer to the neck. I’d make a small adjustment or two if I were looking to make fast playing easier. Even so, I especially liked the guitar for other reasons in which it is stronger.
The Sound
I tried this Epiphone Les Paul through a tube amp with clean, crunch, and lead channels. I went through all three, also changing the pickup selector in each case. My intention was to learn how the instrument responds in the lows, mids, and highs, both clean and in raw, edgy rhythm playing or, of course, in all-out lead mode. Maximum gain.
Guess where it performed best? Exactly, in maximum-grit mode. But before dissecting the response in distortion, I want to highlight the excellence of the results in the other modes.
Running Through the Cleans
The clean sounds were the part I liked least, even so, I found a range wide enough to feel comfortable in any circumstance. Lots of power in the lows, versatility, and characteristic mids; acceptable highs.
Testing in Crunch Mode
I played some gritty, rhythmic blues, bordering on funk. Excellent. I know (or rather, I believe) that this is not the instrument’s strongest area. Even so, the results surprise me. I like it; it sounds good. Good versatility and a spectrum of professional sounds. I really wasn’t expecting that much.
In Extra-Heavy Format
I confess the guitar had already won me over in the tests so far. Though I would probably look to other brands for the sounds I usually seek in clean or crunch. If my budget only lets me opt for one guitar (which is quite logical), this one passes with flying colors overall, considering the price and if you’re into the “classic” vibe in design and sound.
Well, once we get to high gain, the guitar takes a serious step up. For me, this is its home turf. Why? The somewhat undefined, undistorted lows gain an impressive warmth and creamy quality here. The mids tear, and the high section is dense, punchy, rich. It gets my adrenaline going. I’m captivated by the harmonics across the entire range of the fretboard. What warmth. Now add the magnificent sustain of Les Pauls. The result is a comfort and richness of tones that makes this Epiphone an excellent guitar for heavyweight sounds. Seriously, it impressed me given its price.
Conclusions
I openly admit my surprise at the test results. I expected a budget version, a copy, a wannabe. But I was wrong. It’s obvious that a 3,000-euro Gibson beats it. Perhaps the most legitimate points to question in a 400-euro guitar are the future octave intonation drift (which I assume will vary over time as the woods settle) and how the strings sit relative to the fretboard (its feel). However, in sound, this instrument measures up. What’s more, it exceeds even the most demanding expectations. I recently tried guitars priced at triple this one. Well, I assure you I wouldn’t mind at all having this Epiphone in the collection, alongside the “expensive” ones. In fact, I would use it for some things, even with the others close at hand. For users with sad wallets (that is, almost all of us), or for those moving up from a learner’s guitar to a better one, this Epiphone Les Paul Trans Blue can be an excellent option. Especially if you’re after thick, feisty sounds in the traditional Gibson vein. But note, I believe a professional could use this guitar perfectly well in a variety of circumstances.
A pleasant surprise in the ISP tests with this blue seduction.
The winner of this Epiphone told us about his experience upon receiving it
I received it perfectly packed in its original cardboard box. When I opened it, I found a hard case shaped like the guitar’s body. I like that, since it makes it more manageable than the generic rectangular cases. The case has five latches that are very easy to open. Inside was (of course) the guitar (smile), and a compartment containing the case key and a guitar cable. At first I figured the key would be the typical brass one that you can’t use unless you accept the risk of it bending and never letting you open the case again (it has already happened to me). But despite looking like that, I tried to bend it with my fingers and couldn’t, so I might just dare to use it when I take the guitar out.
Besides the guitar, a small bag included a poster (Casino model on one side and a list of Epiphone products on the other) and a simple instruction manual (controls, basic setup...).
Okay, on to the guitar...
I’ll leave the cosmetic details for last. As a Les Paul imitation worthy of the name, the weight is considerable, especially if you’re used to the ash body of an Ibanez... The tuners are Grover, and after a few good shakes, I can attest that they hold the instrument’s tuning quite well.
The neck is rounded, which brought my personal prejudices about this type of neck to the surface. However, I adapted to it very quickly, and I found it a very comfortable neck. I haven’t measured it, but I think it’s slightly wider than the one on my Ibanez, which is interesting for me, since I tend to adapt better to wide necks. Although the guitar’s action isn’t “super low” (I mean, it was low, but not right on the frets), I was able to move around the whole neck with what is, for me, quite a bit of speed. The fretboard is rosewood, with diamond-shaped inlays marking the usual fret positions. About the neck, just two small gripes:
The 12th-fret marker doesn’t stand out from the others. It’s silly... I know it’s a typical Les Paul detail, but it’s a bit confusing for those of us used to the two little dots. This gripe becomes even more ridiculous when I mention that the two little dots can be seen on the edge of the neck. Anyway, it’s simply a matter of taste.
The neck-body joint. I know it tries to imitate the classic Les Paul Standard, and in fact I know this type of joint is the same one used on the 3000 € models. Still, I think they could follow other brands’ lead and make a more comfortable joint that would make it easier to reach the frets below the 18th (where neck and body meet). I suppose that, with this, the instrument wouldn’t lose its original character and would gain in comfort... I’m surprised that after so many years of making this model, not a single artist has asked for it...
On the plus side, besides what I said about comfort, I found no high frets or excess glue.
As for the body, I’ll just say it’s a good chunk of solid, decent wood. When I removed the screws from the covers over the cavities that hold the guitar’s controls, not a bit of dust came off. The questionable LP copy I own tended to shed little shavings every time I took out a screw. Fortunately, that wasn’t a very common maneuver...
I’ll also mention that the inside of the control cavities was painted, and the wires were tied with zip ties in the case of the tone and volume controls.
The hardware is typical LP: tune-o-matic bridge and plastic pickguard. As for setup, I only had to slightly adjust the intonation of the first string. The rest was perfect.
As for electronics, two Alnico humbuckers, each with a sticker praising the components they’re made with (and I have to say the praise is well deserved, as I’ll explain later...). Three-position switch (bridge pickup, neck, and both), and a volume and tone control for each pickup.
Now, regarding sound: unplugged, honestly, apart from the comfort of the neck, it offered no surprises. It seemed very decent, and at no point did I detect unwanted hardware vibrations or buzzing from fretting. The surprise came when I plugged it in. The guitar delivers a sound with a lot of body: it’s a thick sound, with lots of sustain, living up to that hunk of a body. Without distortion, the sound is fairly warm, and lets you credibly play jazz riffs. It’s a less “aggressive” sound than the DiMarzio Breeds on my Jem, and more in line with a jazz sound, and with clean, smooth tones in general. I thought that, for this reason, its response might be weak when it came to cranking things up, but nothing could be further from the truth: when it comes to distortion, it behaves like a champ and delivers a thick, well-defined sound. It has more than enough to play anything from mellow blues to the hardest-rocking hard rock piece. I think you could even dare to play metal with this guitar. At least, I can’t say it falls behind the sound of my Jem with high gain. Another thing I really liked about these pickups is how easy they make it to pull off harmonics with distorted sounds.
The only gripe I can make on the sonic side is that the tone controls don’t cause big changes in the tonality of the sound the instrument delivers. But well, I’m not going to complain... It’s just so I’m not constantly singing its praises.
And as the icing on the cake, I’ll mention the instrument’s aesthetics. I think it’s a gorgeous guitar. The entire instrument is bathed in an electric blue, which becomes transparent on the body top and lets you see the grain of the wood, which appears to be “flamed maple.” The neck binding, the pickguard, the switch, and the pickup rings are all in a cream tone. And the knobs are copper-colored. In short: gorgeous. I believe an instrument, first and foremost, must serve the purpose it was created for. But, in addition, to satisfy its owner it must be beautiful. And in this case, honestly, I think it exceeds my initial expectations.
Truthfully, if I had to recommend an LP copy in this price range to someone, I wouldn’t hesitate to name this guitar, because I think it’s worth it in every respect.
So, at the risk of being a pest, once again, thank you so much... If I was excited before about having won this guitar, now that I’ve tried it I’m beside myself with joy.
Rubén Dopico
