Epiphone Les Paul Custom 100th Anniversary

Epiphone celebrates the 100th birthday of Les Paul with the new Ltd Ed Les Paul Custom 100th Anniversary Outfit.

Epiphone Les Paul Custom 100th Anniversary Outfit

The most notable feature of this special run instrument is its gold plated hardware, other cosmetic appointments were also added along with a more versatile coil-split capable pickup


2015 is a special year for Gibson and Epiphone, with this year marking what would have been the 100th birthday of the iconic guitarist and inventor Les Paul. As such, Epiphone has come up with a limited edition version of the most popular signature guitar in the planet in honor of Les Paul’s contribution and success.

Epiphone and Les Paul have a long history, with Les being a regular visitor to Epi Stathopoulo’s factory in Manhattan. The story goes that this is the same factory where Les made the first prototypes of the “Les Paul” guitar, The Log. And Les continued to be a fan of Epiphone through out his long career.

Les Paul is quoted saying, “I knew Epi Stathopoulo and the Epiphone people very well and loved their instruments., Working on Sundays, I took a length of 4×4 Pine, put an Epiphone neck on it, wound a couple of homemade pickups, and mounted them on the wood. Then I added a bridge and Vibrola tailpiece, strung it up, and I had The Log. I was looking for volume, tone, and sustain that could be controlled, still chasing the idea that started with stretching a guitar string over a section of railroad rail.”

Since this guitar is a special tribute, Epiphone did not pull any punches when it comes to features. The Les Paul Custom 100th Anniversary Outfit comes with 24K gold plated hardware, abalone and pearloid inlay, and a Zirconium gemstone on the vintage style Epiphone logo. All of which translates into an elegant looking guitar that’s worthy of being a limited edition tribute to the late Les Paul.

The single cutaway body is crafted from mahogany, and comes in two versions – one with Cherry finish with mahogany veneer and a Natural finish version with a AAA flame maple veneer. The body is wrapped in 5-layer cream and black binding for the top and back.

The guitar’s mahogany neck features a ’60s Slim Taper D profile, glued to the body via a Mortise and Tenon neck joint. The rosewood fretboard follows traditional specs with a 12″ fingerboard radius, 24.75″ scale length, 1-11/16″ nut width and a total of 22 medium jumbo frets.

Cosmetic appointments on the neck include block & triangle inlays in abalone and pearloid and a 24K gold plated metal truss rod cover with “Les Paul 100th Anniversary” engraving. The traditional “Sloped Dovewing” headstock has the same 5 layer cream and black binding and features the original Epiphone vine inlay in pearloid, along with a ’40s era Epiphone logo. Wrapping up the cosmetic features is a Zirconium gemstone dotting the “I” on the logo.

The Epiphone Ltd. Ed. Les Paul Custom 100th Anniversary is equipped with two ProBucker pickups with coil-splitting, an affordable version of Gibson’s Burstbucker pickups.

The best thing about this limited edition guitar is its regular price point, having a list price of $1,332, and a retail price of just under $800. This is quite a deal for the features! For more information and the complete specifications, visit Epiphone.

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1 thought on “Epiphone Les Paul Custom 100th Anniversary”

  1. The Epiphone Ltd Ed Les Paul 100th Anniversary Model.
    Mark A.

    I would just like to congratulate Epiphone on the quality of sound and craftsmanship of the particular model I purchased around November 2018. The first release sold out in the US in 2015 but not living in the US put me at a great disadvantage. I wrote to the President of Epiphone US explaining I had placed my order with a Gibson/Epiphone retailer here in Australia and was told they had also placed orders for the same Model at Gibson/Epiphone in the US but were told they had sold out of that model in a matter of months of it being released. So after some continuos e-mailing between the US and myself they finally agreed to make another 500 on top of the initial 1,000 that was to be all that was made but there would be a waiting time for them and that only the first 500 orders would be released to those who had ordered them in 2015 (Nov.). Well, it was quite a wait, and again after many e-mails from the retailers who had them on order and me, they finally arrived in Australia around October 2018! After all the wait and finally getting to plug it in and play it, the sound was excellent and after a few hours of checking every detail, even with a magnifying glass, I could not find a fault with any of the working parts or craftmanship the “AAA” Flame Maple timber finish was a work of art incorporating all the accessorized pieces coated in 24K gold. I have to say I was also given an extra discount for the long wait.

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