Epiphone Zakk

Review by David L Murphy:

I purchased this guitar over a year ago from Musicians Friend and was extremely pleased. This guitar allows for blazing hot leads and has low action and a fast neck. Only difference between the Epi model and the Gibson version is cost and the passive pickups. I rate this model 4 stars only because it does not come with standard 81/85 pickups that are found in other guitars that cost almost the same. Other than that, I am extremely happy with the craftsmanship and playability of this awesome axe.

Review by Vestige:

This guitar is great. I own 7 guitars now, and this is the best sounding guitar out of all of them. Of course I did end up buying the emg 81/85 active pickups, and they sound so much better. They cost [...] bucks, and can be a pain installing yourself, but it is quite worth it. Now keep in mindh, that doesnt mean these pickups are horrible. It all depends on what your user preference is, because the pickups that come with it are passive pickups (which do not require a 9v battery), and these pickups also cost [...] bucks, which is what the active ones cost. If you do choose to buy this guitar and swap out the pickups for emg active pickups, keep in mind you're going to have to switch out the pots, and re-wire it. So it's not a plug and play kind of replacement. Just a heads up. Thee pickups are wired to be replaced, but not with active pickups, since active pickups require wiring for the battery, and different pots than passive pickups do. A guitar shop is pretty cheap to have these installed. But like I said, the stock passive pickups sounded phenomenal also.

This is a very nice, very solid guitar. Has a lot of weight to it, and its a lot thicker than a fender, by about three times. The action is decent, although the best action that I have ever found is on a dean. Now this guitar has a very nice warm sound (even with the stock pickups) and a nice warm, clear tone to it. Tuned down it is the chunkiest sounding guitar I own. And to answer peoples questions on the color of the guitar, it is actually a yellowish ebony color. This is to purposely have an aged ebony look to look just like Zakk Wylde's guitar, because throug hthe years, Zakk's guitars have aged, and his white ebony color has turned yellowish. The Gibson custom Zakk Wylde, on the other hand, comes as ebony white, just as Zakk's did when he first got it. I myself love the color of this guitar, and they did a very good job of the aged coloring. It does not look dirty at all, or too yellow. It looks just as intended,and honestly I do like the coloring better on this than the pure white on the Gibson (I have seen both).

The neck is a set neck, so it's not some junky bolt on neck. Thus, having a set neck, you do get better sustain, better tone, and better playability. The neck is a lot thicker than a dean or a fender or washburn, etc. It has a great feel to it, but just takes some getting used to if youre use to a thinner neck. Also the fretboard is 22 frets, and they are not jumbo frets, just in case you wondered. I have used all sorts of strings on this guitar, from 42 to 70 for the heaviest string. All sets have sounded great. I also do string my strings in backwards just as Zakk recommends, not because I am a diehard Zakk Wylde fan, but because I thought I would give it a shot, and have since done it for about 6 years now. It really does help from breakage. I would also recommend a straplock system for this guitar, because it really is a heavy guitar, adn the last thing you want to do is to have it keep slipping out of your guitar strap and falling to the ground getting damaged. Also, make sure to buy a nice hardshell les paul case for it, whether it be by epiphone, or gator, etc.

All in all, out of the 7 guitars that I have, yes of course each individual one has their own ups and downs, but in general, THIS is the guitar that I go home and pick up EVERY SINGLE DAY, and THIS is the guitar that suits myself and my style the most, due to its looks, its warmth and tone, its playability, its sound, and its feel. I most definitely plan on buying one more in the near future, just to have set with different strings and tuning. If I have missed anything, or if you have any questions, please feel free to ask.