Epiphone Les Paul Ultra II

Now comes the equally kilo-conscious Epiphone Ultra II, which takes the Les Paul into new territory by adding pseudo-acoustic sounds to the model's established aural armoury. However, rather than follow the usual piezo-equipped-bridge route, this hybrid instead employs a magnetic pickup mounted in the end of the fingerboard, while the circuitry cleverly maintains an equally unobtrusive profile. In all other respects, this Chinese-made addition to the Epiphone range retains the construction and cosmetic features of its earlier Ultra stablemate.

The maple neck employs a broad, but shallow cross-section, with the translucent satin cherry finish providing a sleek playing surface and contrasting the high-gloss body. Boasting neatly inlaid classic crown position markers, the bound rosewood fingerboard is shallow-radiused and similarly smooth, as are 22 medium-gauge frets, all neatly fitted and fettled. The nut is equally impressive in terms of slot spacing and depth, contributing to an almost effortless playability that's more than might be expected at this price point.

Body construction employs the classic mahogany-with-maple-top combination, and the top is faced with an ultra-figured, quilted, two-piece veneer of the same timber. Single-layer cream binding emphasises the classic single-cutaway shape and separates the front's Faded Cherry Burst from the see-through cherry-finished mahogany employed elsewhere. The top is reasonably arched, adding to overall depth in typical fashion, but, as on the Ultra, the slab-body back features significant waist contouring that increases creature comforts and shaves a few ounces off the weight. At 3.5kg, the latter is certainly less chiropractic-prone than many Les Pauls, with the internal chambers making a major difference.

The twin humbuckers are of the Alnico Classic Plus variety, complete with gold-plated metal covers. Their plastic surrounds are the correct type, ensuring pickup angle exactly matches the corresponding string slope. The vintage cream theme extends to the other plastic parts, namely the neatly fitted pickguard and the traditional, albeit anachronistic, rhythm/treble pickup selector mounting ring.

Further evidence of the additional electronics can be found on the body back, as the rear cavity cover has been cleverly utilised to accommodate and access the 9V battery necessary for the NanoMag pickup circuitry, plus a trio of relevant controls. This threesome comprises Treble, Bass and Gain, each equipped with a small knob and sufficiently recessed to hopefully prevent accidental alterations. However, the pots turn easily and it might be prudent to put tape over them after tweaking to taste.

Twin jacks on an enlarged, side-mounted, cream plastic plate offer another clue to the Ultra II's enhanced abilities. One socket blends the signals from both pickup systems for mono operation, while stereo-style separation is achieved by using the suitably labelled, individual outputs to feed appropriate amplification. Contrasting all these innovative extras, the Tune-o-matic bridge and bar-type tailpiece conform strictly to convention, offering all the usual adjustments in time-tested manner.

This means the end results aren't the most typical Les Paul Standard tones, perhaps heading more in a mini-humbucker direction, but the neck pickup isn't short on plummy depth, while the bridge position brings in plenty of expected extra punch and bite. Increasing the gain makes things go suitably gritty and raunchy, allowing the Ultra II to rock in the manner that Gibson never intended for their original creation way back in the '50s.

Back under clean living conditions, the mono jack allows the NanoMag pickup to be added to the humbuckers, or, with these turned down, it can be heard in isolation. Through a normal electric guitar amp, the latter sound won't fool anyone into thinking you've suddenly switched to a fully-fledged acoustic, but it does have a stringy nature that's far from artificial and is actually very nice in its own right.

There's an impressive absence of any extraneous physical noises and, naturally, none of that dreaded piezo quack. The sound is smooth, but open and can be shaped to suit via the three dedicated controls round the back, either for more authentic results or a better blend with the humbuckers. Even with treble full up there's no brittle harshness, while bass is more than ample, as is the gain content.

Combining both systems delivers a whole new dimension of sounds that I'm sure the man himself would appreciate. All are ideally suited to a wide variety of clean playing styles, making this one of the most versatile Les Pauls around. Of course, connecting to separate, more suitable amplification greatly enhances the Ultra II's abilities in terms of aural accuracy.

Dual performance status is achieved via a very different method: one that's unobtrusive, easy to use, pleasingly free from performance problems and capable of excellent results, both live and in the studio. Packaging this into a well made, smart-looking, good-sounding and very playable Les Paul provides a very appealing combination, especially when the competitive price is taken into consideration.

As yet, there's no Gibson equivalent, so the Epiphone Ultra II could be the ideal choice for anyone wanting a Les Paul that successfully offers something different without breaking the bank.  0