NGD Epiphone Les Paul Ultra II

[jgcable]

I gotta say.... this is a pretty nice guitar. Its mohagony, it has a beautiful burst cherry flame maple top, it has a chambered body so its 2lbs lighter than a standard LP, it has gold hardware, alnico classic humbuckers, grover tuners and a very very slick NanoMag piezo acoustic pickup that is neatly hidden in the "22" fret. It plays fantastic, very well balanced and the acoustic feature is cool too. It has 2 volumes, 1 master tone and the other tone is a blend knob between the humbuckers and the piezo. It has gain, bass and treble controls recessed into the back cavity cover. It has 2 output jacks. One is a stereo/mono sum for both the piezo and the humbuckers. The other is a dedicated mono out for the piezo so it can be routed direct to the board or an acoustic amp.
Fit an finish is absolutely outstanding. Now.. the bad parts (which aren't that bad)
Rhythm/Treble switch is junk. I wouldn't gig with it. I will be replacing it with a quality pickup selector switch. The dual output jack plate is plastic. Because its over 2" long with 2 jacks in it its very easily broken. Mine is cracked. I have a new one on the way and I will be reinforcing it when it comes in. Also, the guitar isn't as tight and focused as a typical LP because of the chambered (almost semi-hollow) body. Its warm and almost acoustic sounding. I think the Alnico Classic humbuckers were the wrong choice for this guitar. This guitar needs higher gain pickups that are brighter. I would think a nice set of JB's would wake this sucker up nice. Anyway, if you want to see what one looks like just google it. They only made them for a few years and only in 2 colors so its very easy to find.

[Hellbat]

I tried one of these at a local dealer and found the neck shape wasn't to my liking. Cool guitars though.

[jgcable]

Oh yea, another minor gripe.... the volume and tone controls are all circuit board mounted which to me (old school Johnny) isn't that cool.
They are circuit board mounted because of the blend control for the nanomag piezo and the humbuckers. One the good side.. the circuit board is thick with heavy traces.
Another plus... the top on this guitar is beautiful and the neck is a factory satin finish. Its a little thinner than a standard LP but the fretboard width feels like a standard LP to me. Balance is good too. Its not neck heavy even though I read a few reviews where people said it was. It doesn't do the headstock dive at all.

[jgcable]

I tried one of these at a local dealer and found the neck shape wasn't to my liking. Cool guitars though.

Me too. I play mainly Ibanez RG's so I am used to a thin flat neck. This neck profile wouldn't be my first or second choice but I was looking for a cool affordable LP for open mic nights where classic rock is the most popular music played. I already have a very cool super nice 57 Fender Strat Reissue in Sonic Blue that is my favorite guitar. Its loaded with YJM's and HS3's. I would play it in Fools Faith but I need a double locking trem for that band. I gotta give players alot of credit who shred on a LP. Its almost a handicap to me when compared to my Ibanez RG's!!!

[RacerX]

Here's a pic, ya lazy fuck!

[straycat]

I tried one when they came out and really liked the whole idea.Nice guitar!!

[MetalHeadMat]

Wow, that's insane. Didn't think such a thing existed. Congrats!

[jgcable]

Here's a pic, ya lazy fuck!

Hey,,, that looks just like my guitar! Thanks bro. JG

[jgcable]

Wow, that's insane. Didn't think such a thing existed. Congrats!

Its very cool going from electric to acoustic by just turning a knob. Its also cool having both blended together. You can do all that with just 1 standard cord. You could get crazy with 2 cords or a stereo cord.

[horns666]

ABSOLUTELY!!!!! But I bought a new tobacco standard (awesome top) back in '98. The only thing I had to do was install a pair of classic 57s. That was a killer playin' tone machine!!! Man, I'm SORRY I got rid of it ..simply because it said Epi on the headstock. That was hands down the BEST LP I've ever played before or since.

I just had that stupid mental bias that it wasn't a real LP..when in all actually it was. All the Gibby specs. The only drawback was the stock pups.

Congrats..that's an awesome guitar!

[Ward]

Very nice, and the Nanomag piezo thing is very interesting...

[P I K A]

Does it stay in tune well?

[jgcable]

Does it stay in tune well?

It has Grovers on it. It stays in tune great.

[jgcable]

ABSOLUTELY!!!!! But I bought a new tobacco standard (awesome top) back in '98. The only thing I had to do was install a pair of classic 57s. That was a killer playin' tone machine!!! Man, I'm SORRY I got rid of it ..simply because it said Epi on the headstock. That was hands down the BEST LP I've ever played before or since.

I just had that stupid mental bias that it wasn't a real LP..when in all actually it was. All the Gibby specs. The only drawback was the stock pups.

Congrats..that's an awesome guitar!

Hey Bill, I had that Epi bias too. I wouldn't play an Epi. It had to say Gibson on the headstock. I have noticed over the last 10 or so years at least that many pro's are playing Epi's live. These are players who could play anything they want. The name on the headstock doesn't mean squat to me anymore. If the guitar plays good and sounds good I'm into it.

[Robert Hendrix]

From what I've seen/heard the ultras are nice guitars. I love the quilt top, but hate the cherry sunburst only option, just WAAAAAY too traditional for me finish wise.
I must say, as much as I've been jonesin for a les paul lately, I've checked out a few Epis that were pretty impressive. The one thing that keeps me from pulling the trigger is the name.. Does that make me a snob?