Yes, sorry I was really thinking about Megafrog's post saying " the models in your poll are purely for beginners, modders or someone who wants to destroy a cheap instrument" and "they are pretty chintzy guitars", which I would disagree with (no disrespect meant to Megafrog). The Epiphone Les Paul Special VE Vintage Edition in Vintage Worn Ebony with its new Worn, Vintage finishes, is powered by Open Coil Humbuckers and has a Poplar body. If you’ll allow me to go on one more personal tirade, I should say how eye opening, and strange this review has been for me.

Here’s a quick overview of how the Special VE compares to some similar guitars: Epiphone Les Paul Special Vintage Edition vs. These sounds can be easily adjusted using the 3-way pickup selector switch with master volume/tone control. Stylish and slick, this is a good looking guitar with great playability and a mean growl, courtesy of two open-coil humbucking pickups. The Les Paul Special VE features Epiphone’s world famous open-coil humbuckers with a warm 650R in the neck position and a slightly hotter 700T in the bridge or lead position. They are the sister company to Gibson who are the designers and makers of iconic guitars like the Les Paul, SG, V and Explorer.The single Player pack is still available, but now the amp has shrunk to nothing more than a toy for kids. If you are not adverse to going used, I would suggest a used Epiphone G400 paired with a used Fender Mustang I or II. Even though many companies design their guitars in the USA or Europe, the vast majority of instruments are actually manufactured in China, Mexico, Indonesia, Japan and Korea. The body of the Les Paul Special VE has been crafted from light Poplar and cut to the same, iconic Les Paul profile as all genuine Les Paul guitars, with the single cutaway design allowing for easy reach of the higher frets – perfect for solos.

Bolt-neck imported guitars like these or Squire are wonderful platforms for learning that craft without fretting about destroying a fine instrument. Controls include a 3-way pickup selector switch, a Master Volume, and a Master Tone control, each with traditional “Black Speed Knobs” pots with long lasting 500K potentiometers. The Epiphone Les Paul Special VE, seen here in a super sleek Vintage Worn Ebony, gives you fantastic Les Paul style with a worn finish and open coil humbuckers. I have been toying with the idea of getting a LP, to add some tonal variety to my playing, and this little beauty might just fit the bill.The Les Paul Special VE comes standard with the legendary Locktone™ Tune-o-matic bridge and Stopbar tailpiece for easy set up. You won't have the bragging rights, but you will have a useable guitar that sounds good and inspires practice. Being in the Fender camp for so long, I’ve almost scoffed at the TOM setup, but now I think it's great. First off, the models in your poll are purely for beginners, modders or someone who wants to destroy a cheap instrument.

Nothing in particular jumps out, but on a personal anecdote this is my first real experience with the Tune-o-matic style bridge and I have to say I’m impressed. Fixed or Hardtail bridges have great tuning stability and are easily retuned or drop tuned without affecting the remaining strings. My Special VE is one of the most affordable Epiphones around these days, which is obviously a big selling point.

Yeah, they’re not as bad as plastic tuners like you’d find on an actual toy guitar, but they are annoyingly loose. I spend my spare time exercising and hanging out with my wife and crazy dog (I guess that went the right way…).

At first glance we see it's a familiar, single-cutaway, Les Paul Special body with a TOM (Tune-o-matic) bridge, dual humbuckers, and 1 of 5 vintage worn finishes (walnut, ebony, cherry, vintage sunburst, or heritage cherry sunburst). I also read in some reviews that the strings needed to be substituted so I bought along with the guitar a set of Ernie Ball "Slinkys" .

I would really appreciate any feedback and opinions from anyone that may be able to offer some suggestions.