Epiphone Les Paul Standard HS, 1993 - used

This used Paula is a real gem! Finished in Heritage Cherry with a Flamed Maple Top, it looks almost as if it just left the factory – even after more than 30 years. Incredibly well cared for, barely played, and always treated with great care. I’m the second owner: before me, it spent 30 years with its original owner and was apparently played mainly at home. You can tell immediately – there are only minimal signs of use. The neck has two tiny pressure marks about the size of a pinhead.

We gave the frets a light level and dress, performed a complete setup, and also fitted a bone nut. It now plays beautifully smooth and effortless.

What makes this one especially interesting is the Long Tenon Neck, a feature otherwise mainly associated with the Czech-made Epis. However, the truss rod nut on this guitar is metric, whereas the Czech-made models use a Gibson-style imperial nut. The pots are also Made in Japan. To me, it looks as though parts from Epiphone’s Japanese Elite production may have been used on this model.

The neck is pleasantly slim – almost like a modern C profile – and feels fantastic in the hand. It sounds exactly the way a Paula should: fat, warm, with great sustain and a singing quality that immediately puts a smile on your face.

The original bridge pickup has a slight tendency to feed back at very high volume levels. Depending on how the guitar is going to be used, replacing it could be an option – but we deliberately chose to keep the original pickups installed.