The Les Paul is an iconic guitar used by countless guitar heroes over the years, and this Epiphone Les Paul Custom in Ebony Black is a true warrior. This one was built in July 2001 at the highly regarded Samick factory in Korea. Early 2000s Korean-made Epiphones are legendary among players. Guitars built during this period in Korea represent the “golden era” of Epiphone production and are widely respected for their skilled construction, quality wood selection, and excellent craftsmanship. Many players praise their consistent build quality, resonance, components, and feel, giving these guitars a fierce reputation as serious value giants. When properly set up, these Korean Epiphones are absolute slayers that can comfortably rival far more expensive modern Gibsons in both playability and tone. This 25-year-old instrument, if it could speak, I am sure has some serious stories to tell.

When this guitar arrived at the workshop, it looked like it had gone 12 rounds with both Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua. While it was still standing, I wasn’t entirely sure how much more it had left in its legs! However, after some serious bench time, I affectionately nicknamed this guitar the 'War Beast'. It’s a bit like Thor’s hammer Mjölnir, a trusty weapon that needed to be reforged after plenty of battles, but is now fully ready for another lifetime of heavy playing.

Under the hood, it is loaded with an Epiphone 57CH humbucker in the neck and a HOTCH humbucker in the bridge, delivering that thick, resonant tone these Korean Customs are famous for. To ensure it performs flawlessly, I replaced the neck pickup volume pot, which had gone scratchy, as well as the pickup selector switch that was working intermittently. A brand new scratch plate was also fitted.

Condition-wise, this guitar has been played, enjoyed, and looks exactly as such. While I’ve done a proper job at cleaning and fixing it up, it is far from a pristine "case queen" but it is still great for all its years. Some areas have been sympathetically filled and made smooth to the touch to avoid further chipping or paintwork loss, but there is still plenty of other natural wear, such as surface marks, scratches, general rubbing, dings, and authentic pitting on the pickups and tarnishing of the originally gold hardware that gives it that overall authentic mojo.

Neck Structural & Cosmetic Full Disclosure: Upon arriving at the Sosbro Guitar Co. workshop, the guitar showed fingerboard lifting / separation from the nut to the 1st and 2nd fret seam, and a small gap when pressure was applied, this of course was accompanied by two finish cracks on either side of the nut. The neck and fingerboard wood itself was entirely solid with no breaks. As part of its full bench setup and repairs, the underside of the fretboard seam was injected with high-grade wood glue, clamped, and fully stabilized before being cosmetically tidied and polished smooth. It is now rock-solid, smooth underhand, and ready for many more years of heavy playing. I am so confident of the repair and that this won’t be a problem in the future that whilst I do not normally offer guarantees, in this instance, should the guitar neck fail in this specific area only, I will accept a return and provide a full refund up to 6 months from the date of purchase. Please note: This is subject to the guitar being returned to me with no signs of misuse; it must be in the exact same condition as when it was purchased, other than the mentioned area failing, with no signs of further damage. Should you want I can provide you with pictures of the repair process i.e. the neck area affected before and after the repairs.

As with all instruments that pass through my hands at Sosbro Guitar Co., this guitar has just undergone a thorough professional refurbishment and setup to ensure it arrives stage ready and plays to its best ability. Full setups in most shops are expensive, and because of the high cost of paying a guitar tech, very few new guitars off the shelf or even second-hand guitars ever get a proper going over before being sold. I have personally already done the hard work for you. During its service, I removed the old strings, cleaned the fretwire, polished the frets, cleaned and tested all the volume/tone pots, and polished the entire guitar. Finally, it was restrung with a fresh set of D’Addario XL Nickel Wound strings (9-42 gauge), tuned, and dialed in with a comfortable medium/low action that makes it an absolute joy to play.

No gig bag or hard case is included in the price, but as a specialist reseller, I have various suitable options available separately. I stock a number of brand-new big brand name bags and cases, as well as a few quality second-hand options. Just ask for details, and I’ll be happy to offer a discount when a case is purchased together with the guitar.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask.

Buy with confidence – Here are some of my latest customer feedback:

Other online store Item: Epiphone Les Paul Custom – Alpine White (2004, Unsung Factory Korea)

Brilliant seller! Ben was so friendly and helpful throughout, and the Epiphone Les Paul Custom arrived the very next day, exactly as described. He even included an extra pick, which was such a lovely touch, my son was absolutely over the moon! 🎸 Would definitely recommend Ben and wouldn’t hesitate to buy from him again. Thanks so much

Other online store Item: Epiphone Les Paul Standard – Black / Ebony (2016)

Top seller, couldn’t recommend this seller enough. Great communication and was packed so well. Thank you so much and hopefully purchase from You again. All the best

Other online store Item:  Epiphone Les Paul ES Hollow Body Cherry Sunburst 2002 (Saein factory, Korea)

Such a beautiful guitar and in immaculate condition for its age. Very pleased with this purchase. Seller communicated thoroughly throughout transaction. 100% would recommend.

Other online store Item: Epiphone Les Paul Standard Pro Honey Burst (2014) 50’s Wiring + Other Upgrades

I cannot recommend Ben highly enough for my beautiful new to me guitar tasteful upgrades and professional set up all delivered to me within 24hrs I will definitely be dealing with g with Ben again in the near future Absolute first class item service and advise

Other online store Item: Epiphone Les Paul Standard Pro Honey Burst (2014) Upgraded Pickups & Electronics 

Great experience with Ben from the beginning, description, photos and videos where spot on. Guitar arrived cleaned, serviced and set up perfectly. Communication was great, informed me of all shipping details. Postage through parcelforce so no bother there, our local lads are great and tracking is brilliant. Well packed in the big bubble wrap. Lastly, my new guitar is home and it is amazing, I will be keeping an eye on what Ben posts for sale as I would defo buy from him again & highly recommend!

Other online store Item: Epiphone Les Paul Custom Black 2005 Unsung, Korea Upgraded Seymour Duncan Pickup

Guitar arrived safe and very well packed. And exactly as described It’s in outstanding condition for its age and plays like a dream. Excellent communication and service from Ben. someone who takes pride in in what he does and goes all the way to make sure everything is at a high standard. I would not hesitate to buy from him again.

Other online store Item: Gibson 1959 Les Paul Reissue VOS – R9 Sunrise Tea Burst – 2007

Item exactly as described. Communication first class. Outstanding packaging and dispatch. 100% honest and trustworthy ebayer. AAA Service!

Reverb Item: Epiphone Les Paul Standard Pro Trans Blue Burst (2017) with Coil-Splitting

Great seller. Love the guitar, exactly as described. Great communication and super quick delivery.

Other online store Item: Epiphone Les Paul Standard 60’s (2023) "Inspired by Gibson" Iced Tea Burst & Gator GC ABS Gibson Les Paul Guitar Hard Case 

Really great experience with this seller. Great communication, guitar is so good and as stated into the description. Fast delivery and well packaged. Would highly recommend. Love my new guitar!

Other online store Item: Fender Eric Clapton ‘Blackie’ USA Stratocaster Fender Lace Sensor Pickups (1999)

Great many thanks 👍

Other online store Item: Epiphone Les Paul Standard – Cherry Sunburst (1997, Unsung Korea) with Hardcase

Very well looked after guitar and great value for money. It was in strong packaging and sent out straight away. The seller was helpful and communicated well.

Reverb Item: Epiphone Les Paul Standard 2010 - Black / Ebony

Very responsive and helpful. The item was delivered promptly despite Reverb suspending my brand new account, making it very difficult to communicate. My son now has the guitar he wanted for his 18th birthday and it sounds amazing.

Other online store Item: eBay Item: Epiphone Les Paul Standard 60’s (2022) Inspired by Gibson Iced Tea Burst – MINT

Purchased Epiphone les paul standard 60s, guitar exactly as described, it had been well looked after, the setup on the guitar was exactly how I like it nice low action, guitar was packaged really well and seller kept me informed after purchase, would highly recommend this seller.

Other online store Item: eBay Item: Epiphone Les Paul ES Hollow Body Cherry Sunburst 2001 (Unsung factory, Korea)

Beautiful instrument, exactly as described, and arrived very promptly and so well packed the set up and tuning was still spot on. Excellent communication from the vendor keeping apprised through as to what stage the packing and dispatch had reached.

Other online store Item: Epiphone Les Paul Standard 50s (Late 2019) “Inspired by Gibson” Vintage Sunburst

Excellent and trustworthy seller. Top tier communication and customer service. Speedy dispatch and delivery and safely packaged. Guitar looks and plays great. Delighted with purchase. Would buy from again.

Other online store Item: Epiphone Les Paul Traditional PRO-II – Sunburst (2016) with Active Circuit

Great condition, better than described. Well packaged and reasonable postage. Good communication. Perfect transaction.

Other online store Item: Gibson Premium Softcase Les Paul - SG – Black

Great guitar case, exactly as described and delivered the next day!! Thank you.

Other online store Item:

Les Paul 50’s style wiring harness upgrade - Best Components USA CTS/SoZo

Excellent item and very fast delivery , very pleased thanks. 5 STAR !!

Reverb Item: Epiphone Les Paul Custom Classic PRO 2014 Ebony / Black 2014 - Gibson USA Pickups

Absolutely perfect, seller extremely friendly and helpful - Rapid shipping and packaging was nothing short of perfect. If im ever in the market for another guitar I know what my first stop will be. Cannot recommend enough.

Other online store Item: Epiphone Les Paul Standard - Cherry Sunburst 2009 Unsung Factory & Gator Fitted Hardcase for Les Paul (024)

I’m very happy with this guitar. The whole transaction was smooth and the seller was a pleasure to deal with. Thanks very muchPerfect thank you very much just the job

Other online store Item: Marshall Lead 12 (Year: 1990). Sympathetically modified for an external speaker

Sounds ace

Other online store Item: Epiphone Les Paul Standard in Ebony (Black) 2012

Absolutely over the moon with my purchase. Very professional seller. Bought on Sunday arrived Tuesday with brilliant packaging too. Highly recommend this seller. Staying in touch ever step of the way too. Item as described and very good value for money. Many thanks Ben. Hope to do business again

Other online store Item: Epiphone Les Paul Standard in Cherry Sunburst 2005

Guitar has played absolutely excellently at past couple of gigs and looks stunning ! (Has received several compliments!) The seller was quick to dispatch the guitar and it was packaged perfectly, they also maintained thorough and transparent communication throughout the transaction and were kind enough to include a quality hard case for a great price, no complaints here +++

Other online store Item: Danelectro DC12 – 12 String Guitar Black with Cream body sides – c.1998 with Bag

Brilliant xxxxer, great item, great communication, fast dispatch and delivery.

Other online store Item: Fender USA Stratocaster 1987 in Olympic White Maple Fingerboard

First things first, excellent communication and quick turnaround. The packaging was A1 – absolutely first class. trust me, I can instantly tell when someone knows what they are doing. The guitar was exactly as described, absolutely spot on with axcellent photo's which really help. All in all, it’s been an absolute pleasure to deal with Sosbro and would 100% reccomend.

Other online store Item: Epiphone Les Paul Custom - Ebony Fingerboard (new spec) in Alpine White

Great seller, fast postage, item as described & great communication. Thank you

Other online store Item: Epiphone Les Paul Custom - Black - Ebony Fingerboard

Fantastic communication, speedy delivery. Thank you, son is very very happy!

Reverb Item: Marshall Lead 12 (MK1) - Modified to allow for an external cab to be connected

My Second purchase from this super shop! The amp arrived bang on time & well wrapped. A Very fast posting service indeed! It is in nice, clean & tidy condition & works very well. Overall a superbly pleasing & top quality Reverb shopping experience. Top marks.