Frets and scale length make a big difference in your playing style. So how many frets are on a Les Paul Epiphone? The answer is almost always 22 frets. This is due to Epiphone being modeled after Gibson guitars.
How Many Frets Are On A Les Paul Epiphone? And Why?
Les Paul models are known for having 22 frets. This is the same whether we are talking about the Epiphone Les Paul, or it’s big brother Gibson. This comes from the history of the electric guitar, and the heritage.
Both the SG and Les Paul both use 22 frets, in fact. Although Epiphone (and Gibson’s) SG guitars are quite a bit lighter.
Early electric guitars used 22 frets as a standard due to the scale length of most guitars. These days, many guitars have 24 frets and a much longer scale length. This gives you a slightly higher range and more space to play on the fretboard.
Traditional 22 frets and 24.75 Scale length: Gibson and Epiphone alike are known for making “classic” instruments. This means that over the years, the specs and features have rarely changed since their inception in the 1950’s.
The first Les Paul models in production used this shorter scale and 22 frets. It is pretty cool that the Les Paul remains popular “as is”. Epiphone builds all of their guitars to Gibson specification to this day and it remains one of the most popular guitars on the planet!
While 24 fret guitars dominate the metal market, many professional players still use 22 fret guitars. Take a look at Slash or Zakk Wylde! They both shred with 22 fret guitars, on their Les Paul models.
So how many frets are on a Les Paul Epiphone? Always 22, due to the fact that they still follows historically accurate blueprints for their guitars! Playing a Les Paul is a lot like playing a piece of history.
So while 24 fret guitars are popular, I don’t think we will ever see 22 fret guitars go away. Epiphone Les Paul models are played by guitarists in every genre of music, in every style.
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