Epiphone Gibson Les Paul ES Hollow Body 1999 Dark Burst Rare Finish Solid

This is a very rare 1999 Epiphone Les Paul ES in dark sunburst finish from the sought after Korea plant of the 1990s.

I have a large collection of Gibson and Epiphone guitars - and this is by far the best Epiphone I've ever played. 

It rivals the Gibson Memphis ES Les Pauls (which I also love, own a few, and have one listed for sale) and in my opinion, is up to par with them. 

This is very different than the modern ES Les Pauls from either Epiphone or Gibson. First and foremost, the top and bottom are solid wood with the top having a veneer for the flame top. The modern Gibsons and Epiphone are made of 3-4 ply laminate wood. The modern ES Les Pauls have a center block that runs from the neck joint to the bottom strap peg. This one is different - this one has a solid piece of wood underneath the bridge and tailpiece ONLY. The rest of the interior of the body is hollow. The (mostly) solid top and bigger body cavity give it lush overtones when plugged in, akin to a jazz box. And when unplugged, you get a just-loud-enough for the couch mini acoustic. 

The ES Les Pauls are my favorite guitars next to ES-225's, and this is the only one I've seen in this stunning color in my many years of this hobby. The most common color (and in the catalog) is the cherry sunburst. They also offered a black version of the Custom, but that was a chambered body. To my knowledge, it was not hollow like this one.

This guitar has had parts upgraded (the original parts are included in the case). The pickups and wiring harness are the modern Epiphone Probuckers with coil tap. The bridge and tailpiece are from the modern Epiphone ES Les Pauls as well. The original wiring harness, bridge/tailpiece, and pickups are included in the case.

An Epiphone Les Paul pickguard was added (these did not come from the factory with pickguards). It also comes with a clean like-new Fender Deluxe Gig Bag

Condition: Overall very clean for a 20-year-old guitar. There is some scratches on the back of the body (see photo) and a few small scratches and tiny dings here and there that are hard to photograph (particularly on the side of the body). The gold hardware in the case shows moderate tarnishing and wear. The frets show very minimal wear and it plays fantastic with no issues. No buzzing. No dead notes. The neck is straight, with plenty of turns in either direction for the truss rod to go. Only 5lbs 14oz!

The neck profile on this is very 90's. It is a flat/skinny but wide neck with medium-jumbo frets. It's very comfortable and plays very fast - but also very comfortable for traditional chording. 

These go for more than the modern Epiphone ES Les Pauls, but that's for a reason. These are much rarer and have a very different construction. This one, in particular, is in a very rare dark burst finish that I haven't seen before on these. It was likely a very limited run for a specific dealer, or perhaps an international market (for example, in Japan they did a limited run of these in two-tone tobacco burst - which isn't as nice as this!) I also have a modern ES Les Paul listed for about half of this price is you're interested. 

The current price is firm, and it's pretty much what I put into it with the initial purchase, the upgraded electronics, case, and pro set up.