Epiphone Slash Les Paul ProBuckers

As authentic clones, the pickups in these Epiphone signature guitars offer true Gibson tone

Last year, Gibson launched a new collection of Slash signature models, including the Slash Les Paul Standard, Slash ‘Victoria’ Les Paul Standard Goldtop and Slash J-45. Recently, sibling brand Epiphone followed suit, announcing the Guns N’ Roses guitar-hero’s full range as part of their Inspired by Gibson line-up. Sporting the same finish and model names as the Gibsons, these new Epiphone guitars are, in effect, clones. But how do they measure up in terms of sound? According to Gibson Brands’ Senior Product Development Engineer, Richard Akers, and Product Manager, Aljon Go, these Epiphone ProBucker pickups are more or less identical to the custom Burstbuckers found in the Gibson Slash Les Pauls.

“From the materials to the dimensions and all aspects of the build, we put a lot of effort into our ProBucker series pickups to really refine what was being done,” says Richard. “We’ve had the ProBuckers out for a little while now, and we’ve really gained traction in the market as far as the perception of what an Epiphone pickup is.