Epiphone’s Les Paul Player Pack Review
If your teen is planning to take up electric guitars and has been bugging you for one this Christmas, there’s no other electric guitar starter kit better than Epiphone’s Les Paul Player Pack. It’s a ready-to-play set that includes a genuine Les Paul Special-II LTD electric guitar with an Epiphone guitar strap, a 10-watt Epiphone “Electar” guitar amp, two classic humbucker pickups, clip-on headstock chromatic tuner, and accessories (cables, gig bag, and more).
Les Paul Special-II LTD electric guitar
Epiphone’s entry-level, licensed Les Paul electric guitar is as affordable as it gets, which affects the construction completely. They’re made either in China or Indonesia, but no obvious differences (except for the colors of wood used) when it comes to playing the guitar. This electric guitar looks like a Les Paul design with the iconic signature of the man himself on the headstock… but much simpler compared to higher-end Les Pauls. Epiphone opted for mahogany for the body and neck, then rosewood for the fretboard with very-basic dotted inlays. You can choose from ebony, vintage sunburst or heritage cherry sunburst finishing without huge price difference.
Don’t expect high-end hardware with Epiphone’s Les Paul electric guitar, but it is equipped with a standard Tune-o-Matic bridge and a set of die-cast tuners that lets you play with ideal intonation, buzz-free tone and tuning retention thanks to the two open-coil humbuckers. It perfectly handles distortion, which is ideal for those who want to focus on metal or rock genres.
Epiphone “Electar” guitar amp
The Les Paul Special-II LTD electric guitar comes with Epiphone’s Electar 10-watt amp with a 6-inch speaker. It features an open-back cabinet and easy-to-control bass, treble, volume and other controls. It’s equipped with a headphone jack and a unique clean/overdrive button that allows you to play a variety of styles in one guitar.
Accessories & Free Guitar Lessons
This electric guitar starter kit includes a clip-on, easy-to-read, fully adjustable chromatic tuner, which provides a straightforward way of fine tuning adjustments as you play.
Beginners would benefit from eMedia’s intro-to-guitar lessons included in the set. This set of instructional videos teaches rock to folk, blues, country, metal, and other genres. It’s not included as a CD, but as downloadable software that features useful tools like Finger Tracker, Note Tracker, progress tracker, and speed-adjustable tracks that you can keep up as you learn.
Pros and Cons
It’s not fair to compare this electric guitar starter kit with other Les Paul guitars. You can nitpick on the smallest of details about the guitar, but at the end of the day, it would all boil down to how well the guitar could handle music.
Pros
- Playable out of the box (includes everything you need to start playing)
- Value for money Les Paul electric guitar
- Epiphone Amp, tuner and a ton of accessories included
- Useful eMedia electric guitar online lessons
- Solid construction (even if the guitar was made from China/Indonesia)
- Very affordable
Cons
- Not comparable to higher-priced Les Paul guitars
- Comes with light, bendy strings (require truss rod adjustment for heavier strings)
Verdict
You’d be amazed that for an electric guitar kit priced below $200, you’ll receive a gorgeously-design, solidly-built guitar along with an amp, tuner, and tons of accessories. Plus, unlike the old “entry-level guitars” that look and feel super-cheap with plastic materials and subpar hardware, Epiphone’s Les Paul is true, blue authentic guitar that you can play around with any kind of genre. This set is exceptional for a Christmas gift for teens, or adults planning to get back to playing guitars during downtime.
Epiphone is a trusted instrument brand, which is why it isn’t surprising that it was given license to create the Les Paul electric guitar. Design-wise, the guitar gives homage to Les Paul with its outline, but the buck stops there. The great thing is that Epiphone knows what it’s doing – they’ve been in the instrument-making industry since 1873, so expect a fully-functional electric guitar that can withstand riffs and musical abuse from beginners and pros alike.
