The Ultra-III is a real Les Paul electric guitar that also has the ability to sound acoustic, and is the only electric guitar with Shadow’s built-in tuner, NanoMag and A/B switch.
Nashville, TN (September 15, 2011) -- Building on the success of the most notable guitar body in music, Epiphone is taking its classic Les Paul design and raising the bar with the launch the brand’s most technologically advanced guitar ever – the Les Paul Ultra-III. The Ultra-III, which fuses the classic look, design and shape of a classic Les Paul with the latest in new guitar technology, is packed with modern features while maintaining the traditional appeal that guitarists love. The Ultra-III is a real Les Paul electric guitar that also has the ability to sound acoustic, and is the only electric guitar with Shadow’s built-in tuner, NanoMag and A/B switch. Offered in four colors, Faded Cherryburst, Midnight Ebony, Vintage Sunburst and Midnight Sapphire, the new Les Paul Ultra-III is available beginning in September 2011 at authorized Epiphone retailers worldwide for the U.S. MSRP of $1332.
Built discretely into the bridge pickup mounting ring is a full-function, chromatic tuner, which immediately mutes the sound or activates the tuner simply by pushing the ON/OFF button. Eleven color-coded LED’s identify the note as well as whether it’s sharp, flat or in-tune. Also, to allow quick and seamless changes between each pickup system, the Ultra-III’s NanoMag Volume knob now doubles as an A/B switch. Two additional LED’s on the pickup mounting ring provide a visual indicator of which pickup system is active.
The Ultra-III features three different outputs. By using the standard ¼” MONO output, both the Humbuckers and NanoMag are mixed into one signal, so when you plug another ¼” cable into its STEREO output, the Humbuckers are routed through one cable and the NanaMag the other. In this way, you can send the Humbuckers to your favorite guitar amp and the NanoMag to the PA or an acoustic guitar amp. Using the A/B switch, you can now change “on-the-fly” between the two outputs.
Using the third output, which is a USB cable (included), you can plug directly into your computer and use guitar applications such as Native Instruments GuitarRig 4LE (software included) to play your guitar through a variety of simulated amplifiers and effects and listen through your computer speakers or headphones.
At the heart of the new Ultra-III are two pickup systems. Powering the first are Epiphone’s new ProBucker humbucking pickups, and with authentic 18% nickel silver base and cover, Elektrisola wire, accurate bobbin, slugs and screws and sand-casted Alnico-II magnets, they replicate that classic “Patent Applied For” airy tone that defined rock and roll. The second system features Shadow™ Germany’s patented NanoMag pickup embedded discretely at the end of the fingerboard. Featuring three samarium cobalt magnets, an air coil and active electronics, this low-impedance pickup captures all the subtle body acoustics and string harmonics.
While the Ultra-III is packed with technology, it still maintains the same basic specifications that has made the Epiphone Les Paul the choice of so many guitarists, including a solid Mahogany body with glued-in Mahogany neck and comfortable SlimTaper neck profile, a flame Maple veneer top and Rosewood fingerboard. The result is a guitar with that classic Les Paul tone and sustain. It is also equipped with Epiphone’s patent-applied-for LockTone locking tune-o-matic bridge and stop-bar tailpiece for increased sustain and string changing ease, as well as quality Grover 16:1 machine heads for tuning accuracy and stability.
For more information:
Epiphone
Watch a video demoof the Ultra-III onEpiphone's YouTube channel.
Source: Press Release
