2003 Epiphone Japan Elite Les Paul Standard Plus (Faded Cherry Sunburst)

2003 Epiphone Japan Elite Les Paul Standard Plus (Faded Cherry Sunburst)Designed for professional musicians, the Epiphone Elite Series were made by the Fujigen factory in Japan during the 2000's and are some of the highest end Gibson authorised models ever made outside of the USA. Built with a solid mahogany body, book matched flame maple top, one piece mahogany neck and a 22 fret rosewood fingerboard, it weighs just under 4kg's. Loaded with USA made humbuckers (a 50SR and a 50ST) and Grover tuners, this one is all

loaded with Fernandes FGI active EMG style pickups

it appears all original except for the missing locking components on the nut

truss is functional and the neck is straight

Solid-body construction with new styling for better ergonomics and balance

Black finish with the famous Edwards "Lacquer Taste" nitro overcoat to give the guitar a satin nitro look and feel

Gibson's Les Paul designed for players

This one wears all the Gibson trimmings including an open-book headstock and split inlays

plays well

Very little information available on these but they commanded a higher RRP than the regular PT-9 version and were aimed at professional studio use rather than consumers

Weighs a hefty 4

This is the earlier model that was made in Japan (rather than Taiwan)

featuring a satin finish on the back for greater playing comfort and a heel-mount truss rod adjustment wheel for painless neck relief tweaks