Epiphone Les Paul Ukulele

This instrument looks absolutely stunning and sounds beautiful, and for the price, I can not resist getting it. Any of you folks have one?

http://www.zzounds.com/item--EPIEULP?siid=110081

I actually just traded one with a small amp for a Flea. Not because I didn't like it, they're great, I'm just not a performer so no need for an electric. Beautifully finished and sounds really nice plugged in. Well worth the price.

I say go for it!

I use my Epiphone Les Paul in my band (so pluggen in with effects) and absolutely love it. They are great value for money.

I played one in a store. I thought it was awfully neck-heavy.

Hmmm ..neck heavy ..hang on ..okay ..just picked it up and had a little play....Possibly...it is heavier than a conventional uke......it does not project as loudly acoustically because it has a fairly shallow body ....but I like it...it's got a jokey sort of look ...especially if you put the scratch guard on and if you happen to have an ES 175 stand them next to each other....amplified ...super .......

Actually because of the weight it tends to not squirm about ....

Jordan Steel said:

Any of you folks have one?

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I have one. I like it a lot. At one point I replaced the stock pickup with a Mi-Si, but did not hear a significant improvement in tone (especially since I have a few external preamps to choose from) so I took out the Mi-Si and put back the original passive pickup and it works fine.

Some have said that it does not project or is not as loud as other ukes, but I find that this can be mitigated or enhanced by the strings you use. I've tried over a dozen sets on it. Right now I have the Living Water re-entrant 'soprano' set on it, and it's just fine. For me, these are 'the strings' for this uke.

I also picked up a case for it that fits like a glove. It is a hardshell (NOT hard FOAM, but wood covered with vinyl and brass-colored metal latches) 'Musicians Gear' brand case that was on sale at Musicians Friend for like $27 at the time, so a no-brainer to me. With this case, it's like a full miniature of my Les Paul guitar.

I just wish they would make a tenor version, as I'm mostly a tenor player now.

Also, be careful not to over-tension your strings or tune it much higher than A-D-F#-B, since I am seeing a ton of these for sale as 'fixers' on guitarhuggers.com with the bridge ripped off over tha past 6 months for ~$50 or so.

I have the cherry sunburst, use it alone or just with a stack of mini marshalls that I got mostly as a joke. It's a lot if fun.

I, also, have one. I really like it. The sturdy design and built quality is amazing at the price point. I upgraded the gig bag. The worst thing I can say about the package is the gigbag. It's not very good. Since I up graded the gigbag, I tend to use it as a travel uke!

A little hint, since it's built like an electric guitar...You can use of those old tricks to adjust the auction! I shimmed the neck. It helped a lot.

I almost bought one, but decided not to. I don't play amplified enough to justify the cost considering the lack of sound unplugged.

I figured that the only way I'd ever be able to afford a real Les Paul was to buy one of these.

I actually bought two, but sold one to another UU member who was looking for one. I'm glad it is getting played.

I don't play mine very often, but when I do, i enjoy the heck out of it.

I have the tobacco burst I got new for $97 and some change at Musician's Friend a few years ago and also got a Musician's Gear hard shell case on sale. I still need to install a bone nut and saddle and new strings, but I think they are an amazing deal. Intend on installing Aquila low g unless someone has had a bad experience with them. Was thinking of Fremont Blacklines, but after Booli's comments about too much tension, not sure. I understand they are much higher tension than most strings.

Yukon Cornelius said:

I almost bought one, but decided not to. I don't play amplified enough to justify the cost considering the lack of sound unplugged.

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One thing to consider that is that if you are looking to record yourself, this uke is a great starting point since you dont have to worry about a preamp, it's battery etc, nor a microphone, just get any kind of computer audio interface and a guitar cable, and then you are all set.

Just plug it in and hit record. Cant be simpler than that.

I used mine in several videos I did for the seasons contests (season #102-'So Lonely' and season #105-'Set Them Free'), which you can see here:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwaMhRGUpTLisg-8zo9xunSe3CfIU8nE6

I have a different recording setup currently, but that's another topic.

PhilUSAFRet said:

Was thinking of Fremont Blacklines, but after Booli's comments about too much tension, not sure. I understand they are much higher tension than most strings.

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Fremont has both a 'medium' tension sets and 'hard' tension sets, you might be ok with the 'medium' tension set, maybe even tune DOWN to Bb at first just to see how it feels.

I tried the Aquila REDS, both with their own low g, and with the Fremont Soloist wound polished low G, and they sounded fine (if not a bit quieter than the Martin M600 and quieter than Worth Browns BM), but had much lower tension than either of these. Plugged in and for recording it does not matter so much, but if you are in a group jam, I think you will struggle to be heard acoustically with Aquila REDS, but they sound very sharp, yet sweet, and very 'classic' uke like in a more Roy Smeck way (on the Epi LP), but with a bit more sustain...

I have replaced both the nut and saddle with micarta on mine, and as such have the action very low (you can almost just breathe on it to fret the 1st position chords), and lower tensioned strings tend to slap the fretboard when you fingerpick, but I have the 'soprano' set (for slightly higher tension than the 'concert' set) of Living Waters, re-entrant, and I feel that the Living Waters bring out overtones and harmonics that are simply not present with any of the other sets of strings that I have tried.

For me, on this instrument 'the strings of forever' are these Living Waters, but tuned down to Bb to balance the tension to get it just right. I did try the concert set, but in C6 tuning they were too floppy and in D6 tuning they felt dangerously tight (like to pull off the bridge). Thus the soprano set tuned in Bb.

I loved the Living Waters on all instruments that I tried them on, but I just wish the price was a little lower, when compared to the Fremont, Oasis, Worths or Martin M6x0 strings where you effectively can get 2 sets of strings for ~$10-12.

Living Waters sure transformed my son's solid mahogany Bushman Jenny concert from "meh" to "wow"

As always, thanks for your insights Booli

Heavy for a ukulele but fantastic and they seem like alot of fun. Great price, installing a pickup costs more for ukuleles (depending on the installer and pickup).

I keep himming and hawwing over buying one

I bought for travelling since I can easily unfold the neck and fit it in a carry-on. It looks great, sounds pretty good to me once you change the strings. I now have kala reds in low G but will try Booli's Advice. Well worth the price.


Yes, I did remove the white plastic with a hair dryer
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