Guitarist

Richard Barrett takes a look at two new Epiphones that come, arguably, closer than any Epiphone previously made to matching Gibson's own reissues of Les Pauls and 335s for tone, features and period-correct detail. Several times cheaper than the Gibson Custom guitars they take inspiration from, these new reissues also boast the classic Gibson 'open book' headstock shape – bringing them closer still to the 'full fat' Gibson experience, with USA-made pickups, electronic components and more besides. But has all this made them overpriced for modern Epiphones? And is it still worth holding out for the Gibson originals? Richard takes a deep dive into their features and sounds to find out.