May 2011 \ Reviews \ Electrics \ Epiphone Joe Bonamassa Les Paul Goldtop Electric Guitar Review

Epiphone Joe Bonamassa Les Paul Goldtop Electric Guitar Review

Adam Perlmutter

For those with thinner billfolds, Epiphone has released a special version of Gibson’s Bonamassa model—retailing for less than a fifth of the price and limited to 1,000 instruments.
Premier Guitar May 2011
(2 of 2)


The Joe Bonamassa Signature Les Paul features aesthetic departures from a traditional goldtop that include black pickup rings and pickguard, and a black painted back rather than the traditional natural mahogany.

No Bones About the Sound
To test the guitar, I used a Fender Pro Junior amplifier and, in certain contexts, a Freyette S.A.S. distortion pedal. With this streamlined setup the Bonamassa sounded great, and it’s unlikely that a blindfolded listener would be able to identify it as a $700 import.

Overall, I find the combination of Gibson’s 1 and 2 Burstbuckers seen in the Historic Les Pauls to be a little smoother than the 2 and 3 package, but the latter really shone in the context of the Bonamassa model. On the neck pickup, it was easy to get a sustaining violin-like tone for blues-rock riffing and soloing. With the tone and volume rolled back, the pickup sounded just warm enough for jazz and worked nicely for some single-note bebop lines as well as some Wes Montgomery–style octaves and chord melodies. In a completely different direction, I was able to get a massive metal sound with an ample amount of clarity by tuning the guitar to drop D and dialing in a crushing amount of distortion on pedal, even with the Junior, a super compact amp.

When played in tandem, the neck pickup took a little of the edge off its bridge-position mate but didn’t blunt the attack. This was my favorite setting; it delivered excellent rhythm and lead tones

The bridge pickup had a nice bite and none of the muddiness sometimes associated with humbuckers. While slightly edgy on account of its higher output, it accurately reported every little detail and worked equally well for a cutting solo in A minor pentatonic, a bit of Brian Setzer–approved soloing, and some crunchy rhythm work in both standard and open G tunings. It sounded great for some slide playing in the latter, though the action was of course a bit low.

When played in tandem, the neck pickup took a little of the edge off its bridge-position mate but didn’t blunt the attack. This was my favorite setting; it delivered excellent rhythm and lead tones and, with adjustments on the S.A.S. pedal, proved impartial to genre.


The Verdict
Epiphone’s limited-edition Joe Bonamassa Les Paul is a smart, affordable guitar that borrows certain features—like a long neck tenon joint and Burstbucker pickups—from its more costly Gibson counterparts. It retails for a fraction of the price of a top-of-the-line Les Paul from Gibson’s Custom Shop but plays and sounds superb. And, given the guitar’s scarcity, it would make an excellent investment for the diehard Bonamassa fan. But whether you’re as Bonamassa loyalist or fan of great affordable Les Pauls, you should plan on moving fast if you’re interested. 1,000 guitars this good, this inexpensive, won’t last very long.
Buy if...
You want a nice Les Paul but can’t afford a USA or Historic model, or if you’re way into Joe Bonamassa.
Skip if...
you only play American-made guitars or you’ve got a stable of Historic Les Pauls.
Rating...


Street $699 (with hardshell case) - Epiphone - epiphone.com

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Comments

 (16 comments) display by
UsernameComment
Bert vd Sanden
on 04/16/2013 		Purchased mine one week ago. Great sounding guitar with excellent playability. Great value for money.
helvis
on 04/15/2013 		the wait is no longer there gone a be a second quantite made of that amazing guitar.
Tommy
on 09/06/2012 		Hello, I purchased the J.B. les paul and was extremely impressed will all functions of the guitar, have owned many guitars and have played many guitars however epiphone has done a lot for working musicians especially their wallets and this guitar will make a believer out the most hard core gibson fanactics, yes it was made in china take the sticker off swallow your pride and place some blues.Thank you Epiphone for making it possible to own such a great guitar without morgaging your house.
Dave
on 04/19/2012 		I to have just purchased one of these and spent a long time playing it against a Gibson before making a choice. For me it was a no brainer. I have a '66 335 that i am scared of gigging/losing and so i wanted something i don't have to worry too much about that will do the job. This guitar is for the money fantastic, and not that much different from a Gibbo. Sure if you want a Gibson headstock pay the extra money but this Epi is great at a third of the price. Who's laughing now?
George
on 02/19/2012 		the guitar is decent, but I won't buy it due to it being made in China and due to the quality control in general on epiphones made in China, if you look at the recent volume in factory refurbished, factory used, or ones stamped 2nd from china, there's a reason, inferior quality, I would buy a Japanese or Korean one first before one made in China, gibson has gone way too overboard on their prices in general so a lot of people look at the epiphones as a solution, we need to start making more guitars in America and making them affordable, our economy is in the gutter for a reason and China's getting rich because of it.
Johnny Part 4
on 12/27/2011 		Apparently the comments have a max length, so I guess I need to split my post up into chunks. Start from my first comment and work your way up. In summary: I am completed impressed with this Epiphone LP and still would be if it was twice the price. Get your hands on one and play it. Forget that it says Epiphone and that the head stock profile is slightly variant from a USA Gibson. If you have an issue with it being manufactured in China, explain that to your wife and your wallet and good luck with that. I'm sold on this guitar and I think you will too.
Johnny Part 3
on 12/27/2011 		Apparently the comments have a max length, so I guess I need to split my post up into chunks. Start from my first comment and work your way up. Playability: Well, how does it sound? In a word, like butter. This guitar has all the sound and spirit of my plek'd Nashville Les Paul. You have no reason to trust me, but trust me, this thing is a beast. The neck - this is a chunky, D profile neck, non-tapered. Some have referred to it as a baseball bat. Yup, it's chunky. The neck on my Epi SG is very similar, so I'm used to that profile. As well, my LP Traditional has a hefty neck profile, so I'm used to that as well. My suggestion is to try to play something similar to get a feel for it. Either you like or at least can deal with it or you don't dig it. I happen to dig it. Sound: It's really all about the sound, right? The genuine Gibson Burstbucker pickups sound fabulous. Roll back the volume pots and they clean up very nicely with no cliff drop-off in volume along the entire range of volume all the down to 2. One thing the description doesn't mention (I think) is that this guitar is equipped with knob pointers all 4 pots. I like that too, +1. This pickup combination is very well balanced and pickups are hot. I find myself rolling back the volume a tad to about 8 or 9 until I find the sweet spot. They are also fairly bright in comparison to the Classic '57s in my LP Traditional, so I also roll back a tad on the tone pots. I play though 3 primary amp rigs - Fender Blues Deluxe Reissue tweed, an Egnater Rebel 20 into a custom Geezer 2x12 cab with Celestion G12M greenbacks as well as virtual many virtual rigs VSTi within Guitar Rig 5.
Johnny Part 2
on 12/27/2011 		Apparently the comments have a max length, so I guess I need to split my post up into chunks. Start from my first comment and work your way up. Another flaw, there are some light, and I mean light, gouges in the rosewood just below the 6th string and the 1st string at the first fret. Looks like the strings might have been rubbing against the rosewood pretty hard, maybe during transit from China? I don't know how it happened, but it exists. I might be able to lightly sand them out or just let them be. It's doesn't affect playability and it's strictly a visual thing, although no one else would be able to see it unless they inspect the surface of the fret board at an angle to the light. Okay, so those are the ONLY two flaws I could detect. The rest of the fit and finish is absolutely outstanding. The binding is excellent. The fret work is outstanding. The finish is flawless (except for what I mentioned). No paint bubbles, pits or anything except glassy gold top goodness. The hue of the gold top is just what I like too. It's not the greenish-hue gold top that I've seen on some other Epiphones or even the "Midas" Gibson SG that I've seen in the stores.
Johnny
on 12/27/2011 		Okay, let's get this out of the way - this is a great value and a great sounding and playing guitar, especially at this price point. If you're hung up on having "Gibson" inlayed on the head stock, I encourage you to read on. For my comparison, I have a 2010 genuine USA Nashville made Gibson Les Paul Traditional cherry burst - $2300 buck-a-roonies. The Gibson is equipped with Classic '57 pickup in the neck and Classic '57 plus at the bridge. The USA Nashville Gibson LP is everything I thought/wanted it to be and it sounds and play amazingly good. After everything I read and heard about this Epiphone Les Paul, I was hoping to not be disappointed. I did not have an opportunity to play one at a retail store, so I bought on faith alone. I was not disappointed in the least. I also have an Epiphone G-400 Limited 1966 SG that I call the "$350 wonder guitar", so again, I was hoped that this Epi LP would deliver the goods, given it was twice the price of the Epi SG. Genre: I mostly play classic rock, blues and rockabilly - Zeppelin, AC/DC, Yes, Setzer, SRV. Why I bought it: I've been heavily into Joe Bonamassa over the last year, so when I saw this guitar, I really wanted the Gibson Joe Bonamassa Les Paul Studio, but had a hard time justifying the $1500 ticket, however the electronics on this Epiphone are THE SAME as the USA made models. Out of the case: Setup was great straight out of the case, which btw, is better in my opinion than the Gibson case I got along with the Traditional, so +1. Upon receiving the guitar, I scrutinized every visual detail before even plugging it in. There are a couple problems that I should mention in all fairness. There is some light feathering along the paint line edge of the gold top. It's not obvious and you absolutely can't see it unless you're really looking for it, but it's there, -1. Another flaw, there are some light, and I mean light, gouges in the rosewood just below the 6th string and the 1st string at the first f
Brian
on 05/18/2011 		I did purchase one from Guitar Center then had buyers remorse with buying a chinese made guitar for almost $700.00. I then called Guitar Center to cancel the order because I found a Hamer USA Monaco Elite all Mahogany guitar for roughly 150 more. Its a shame that people do not get with it and understand American Made Quality like Hamer and Carvin due to the lack of advertisement since our so called guitar heros do not endorse these brands.



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