Epiphone Les Paul Special II: Rockabilly Treatment

by Javi
(Simi Valley, CA, USA)

Lori & friends

My setup includes my Epiphone Les Paul Special II named Lori, with Gibson LP knobs, removed "TREBLE/RHYTHM" decal and a Fender Vintage Tweed strap with Dunlop Dual Design strap locks. On the bottom are my two pedals: a Boss FBM-1 '59 Fender Bassman and an Ibanez DE7 Echo/Delay. The amplifier is a Fender Blues Jr. NOS tube amp.

I use Fender Thin picks, since they feel better when I'm playing. I currently have D'Addario ProSteel strings on there. Very bright tone, but the wound strings are a bit "grabby" on the fingers for my taste. I'm trying out new strings still, my favs are still Ernie Ball Super Slinky Pure Nickel. I've still to try Gibson Vintage Reissue Pure Nickel, so we'll see.

This setup gives a nice "Scotty Moore"-ish type sound when I have the Echo/Delay Pedal off (think "Good Rockin' Tonight". With the Delay on, I can pull off "Mystery Train" quite well. I know it sounds nowhere near a LP Goldtop, but close enough for the price of the guitar.

At the end of the year, I want to get a Gretsch G5129 Electromatic with the DeArmond single coil p/ups. This will give me that raw Rockabilly tone I'm looking for. Once I get that, I'll install some Gibson '57 Classic Humbuckers in Lori and keep the nickel covers on. For now, this setup sounds great (ask my neighbors :) )

I mainly play Rockabilly & 50's rock & roll and occasionally will dip into classic rock and punk (easy & fun to wail some Ramone's tunes at full volume and full gain, but I don't do that after 10:00 pm, my neighbors would lynch me). I'll post future setups. My ideal collection for the future is my current axe, Gretsch G5129, American Deluxe Telecaster & a Gibson Les Paul Goldtop.