Epiphone Les Paul (SOLD!!!)
I bought this guitar on ebay so that I could live with and learn about Les Pauls. I was really surprised at the quality of this instrument, especially the finish. The neck was very straight and responded to truss rod adjustments.
Close-up of the sunburst finish. I thought this was a really good looking Les Paul, myself. I was able to compare the pickups to a "real" Les Paul Standard and found these to be very hot. They weren't quite as clear as the real Paul, but given this guitar's price, they were surprisingly good. The only modification I made was to replace the pickup toggle switch (the tip was missing) and re-wire the pots so that each volume/tone was independent when the switch was in the middle. Middle switch position on this guitar was a very pleasant sound and it was cool to roll in as much neck or bridge as desired.
The guitar was marked "2nd" for some reason (something the ebay seller didn't disclose, of course...). The only thing I could find was a little red paint on the binding in one spot.
Epiphone headstock.
I owned this guitar for almost 2 years before I finally decided that the bridge spacing was a little too narrow for my Telecaster-ish tastes. I also had setup a Telecaster with a neck humbucker and decided that it was good enough for my "humbucker" sound. So, with some regrets, I sold this guitar. But it sure was a looker!