Epiphone LP-100 Les Paul - Les Paul For The People

Despite clearly moving the boundaries of quality, Epiphone is still very much dedicated to delivering great entry level guitars. They are also the company you want to turn to if you need an affordable Les Paul. There are many guitars that fit this description, but one stands out. LP-100 comes across as a very well-rounded package and is by far one of the best beginner guitars out there. It's not the cheapest ax you can get, however the additional price is well worth the investment.

Body And Neck

A proper Les Paul needs to adhere to certain standards. Epiphone is well aware of that, so it's not all that surprising when they make an affordable version of this guitar using mahogany and a nice maple top. The finish on this particular one is Cherry Sunburst, although there are few more options available. The neck is also a mahogany piece, jointed to the guitar via the standard bolt-on solution. It comes with a nice rosewood fretboard, which is pretty basic but more than good enough.

Hardware

Keeping up with the Les Paul tradition, Epiphone outfitted the LP100 with a standard Tune-o-Matic bridge that comes with a stop piece. On the headstock, you can find a set of their die-cast tuning machines, which work pretty well. This guitar won't spontaneously drop out of tune, or require frequent intonation setups. Everything just works like it's meant to. Hardware comes in chrome, as one would expect, and gives the entire guitar a very refined look. Actually, if it was all about aesthetics, LP-100 would simply dominate its price range.

Electronics

Keeping up with the Les Paul tradition, Epiphone outfitted the LP100 with a standard Tune-o-Matic bridge that comes with a stop piece. On the headstock, you can find a set of their die-cast tuning machines, which work pretty well. This guitar won't spontaneously drop out of tune, or require frequent intonation setups. Everything just works like it's meant to. Hardware comes in chrome, as one would expect, and gives the entire guitar a very refined look. Actually, if it was all about aesthetics, LP-100 would simply dominate its price range.

Sound

When it comes to the sound you can expect from Epiphone LP-100, there are various subtleties worth mentioning. The guitar has the power and output to be used in a variety of music, but it also comes across as somewhat refined. In other words, those humbuckers are capable of giving you enough to work with if you want to play soft blues or similar. Distortion is handled quite nicely, and you can pump in a whole lot of gain before you start losing definition.

Conclusion

Many say that beginner guitars should be extremely affordable and just good enough to get the user going for a while. However, that isn't always true. Getting something like the Epiphone LP-100 might prove to be a better option since it is more than capable of keeping up with you as you evolve your skills. Considering its price, we'd say it's right there in the sweet spot in terms of value for the money. For more info about the LP100, click here. For more beginner electric guitars, click here.