Epiphone Les Paul Modern, Sparkling Burgundy

The Epiphone Les Paul Modern is part of Epiphone’s “Inspired by Gibson” collection of instruments. It features vintage-style appointments like a maple top, trapezoid inlays and a revamped headstock that more closely mirrors a classic Gibson. But this isn't a guitar that lives in the past—advanced electronics, weight-relieved body and a slim neck with a new heel contour make this Les Paul truly modern. It's an exception value for players who want a ‘Paul that can excel in any musical context.

Main Features

Mahogany body with Ultra Modern Weight Relief, bound maple top
Mahogany neck with asymmetrical Slim Taper profile, contoured heel, ebony fretboard
2 ProBucker humbucking pickups, dual coil split, phase control, treble bleed circuit
LockTone ABR bridge, stopbar tailpiece, Grover locking Rotomatic tuners, Graph Tech Nu Bone nut

Body Construction

Les Pauls and mahogany bodies go together like … Les Pauls and mahogany bodies. It's a classic combination, but a heavy one. To address this dilemma, Epiphone routes a series of holes into the Modern's body before attaching the maple top. This Ultra Modern Weight Relief design removes a substantial amount of mass, but keeps a solid center core. The result is a guitar that's less prone to feedback than a fully-chambered instrument, but still feels incredibly light on your shoulders.

A Fast Neck with New Heel Contour

The Modern’s mahogany neck has an asymmetrical slim taper profile. In a nutshell, the bass side of the neck is slightly rounder than the treble side, matching the natural contours of the human hand. It is exceedingly comfortable, especially for long sets. Flip the guitar over to see the contoured neck heel—it provides easy ergonomic access to the upper frets. The fretboard is beautiful dark ebony with 22 medium jumbo frets.

Les Paul Modern Advanced Electronics

Epiphone outfitted the Modern with ProBuckers that replicate the style and sound of vintage PAF pickups. In blind listening tests, even experts were unable to distinguish ProBuckers from originals made six decades earlier. The 'buckers can be individually coil split for single-coil sounds; a push/pull pot activates a phase control. Another modern update is a treble bleed circuit, which maintains the highs even when the volume is dialed down.

Classic Hardware

The LockTone ABR bridge and stopbar tailpiece are stalwart survivors of early Les Pauls. Solidly-built with no fuss-maintenance, they are nickel-plated, as are the Grover Rotomatic tuners. The tuners have tulip buttons plus an 18:1 ratio for precise tuning.

Additional specs on the Les Paul Modern trapezoid neck inlays, clear top hat knobs, 5-ply pickguard and the Epiphone headstock logo in mother of pearl.