First Look

Gibson’s leading man unleashes an arsenal of affordable signatures

Some combinations in life just work, and one of the greatest pairings in rock history is Saul Hudson and his Gibson guitars. Of course, we can’t all stretch to a USA model, so the man in the hat’s latest guitar releases are aimed squarely at the more affordable end of the market. The Epiphone Slash Collection is a sevenstrong line-up comprising five versions of the Slash Les Paul Standard and two versions of the slash J-45.

Both the LPS and acoustics are based around the same respective themes. In the case of the Les Paul that’s a classic mahogany body, capped with handcarved maple; a mahogany neck and 24.75” Indian laurel fingerboard; Epiphone Custom Probucker humbuckers (controlled by 2x volume/2x tone and featuring CTS pots with Orange Drop capacitors). Other appointments include a Graph Tech nut, Epiphone Locktone Tune-o-matic bridge and tailpiece, and Slash’s signature on the truss rod cover/‘skully’ logo on the back of the headstock.

The Epiphone Slash Les Paul Standard is available in five different finishes: Anaconda Burst, Vermillion Burst, November Burst, Appetite Burst and Gold.

Meanwhile, Slash’s take on the classic J-45 comes packing an all-solid construction, with a Sitka spruce top and mahogany back and sides. Like the Les Paul, the neck is made up of mahogany - carved to the same Slash Custom Rounded C-shape profile - withan Indian Laurel fingerboard set at the same 24.75” scale length, making this the perfect ‘electric playerfriendly’ acoustic. Slash has chosen an LR Baggs VTC under-saddle pickup/preamp system, with the controls mounted within the soundhole, and of course, the guitar features Slash’s signature, Skully logo. It’s available in two finishes: Vermillion Burst and November Burst.

The Epiphone Slash Collection is available now, with each guitar supplied in a hardcase, priced at £899.