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EXPLAINED: Gibson custom - The Real Truth

My pick of the best new guitar gear launched this week – and the new drops you might have missed

My personal highlights from a week filled with Fenders, Epiphones, pedals and more. Have a highlight of your own? Let us know in the comments

Guitar World

“The ES-355 has always been a really special guitar for me – it’s got this incredible balance of elegance and power”: Epiphone and Alex Lifeson team up for an Inspired By Gibson Custom replica of the Rush guitarist’s iconic 1976 ES-355

Complete with Gibson T-Type humbuckers, gold hardware, a Varitone and an Alpine White finish, this replica 'Whitey' pays tribute to the guitar that's near ever-present in the Rush catalogue

MusicRadar

“I broke a string at a show. My brother was playing a V, and I had to take a solo, and he quickly gave me his guitar. That’s when I went, ‘Wow’”: Gibson Custom recreates Michael Schenker’s iconic 1971 Flying V

The German shredder’s instantly recognizable six-string has undergone 3D scans for this painstakingly accurate reissue – complete with war wounds and signature bite

Guitar World

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“We want to tell the handcrafted element of this; blood, sweat, and tears have gone into these guitars”: Gibson gives us a sneak preview of its 2026 guitars – including long-awaited signature models for two guitar legends

From ‘50s and ‘60s-inspired reissues to signature models for Mick Ronson, Michael Schenker, and Gary Clark Jr., it promises to be a big year for the historic firm

Guitar World

“The first thing that springs to mind is the value for money when compared with their Gibson forebears”: Epiphone Pre-War SJ-200 Rosewood Reissue, 1960 Hummingbird Reissue and 1963 Dove Reissue review

Following on from the superb Epiphone Inspired By Gibson Custom instruments that wowed us, we look at have three from asextet of new historic reissues. Expectations are high...

Guitar World

“A fresh chapter for Epiphone acoustics”: Gibson brings some of its most sought-after vintage gems to Epiphone’s Inspired by Custom range for the first time

Rare vintage models get an accessible relaunch, with pre-war reissues and thermally aged tops making up the drop

Guitar World

“This launch marks a fresh chapter for Epiphone acoustics, and we can’t wait for players to experience them”: Epiphone resurrects a 1963 Dove and five other classic acoustics with some help from the Gibson Custom Shop

Epiphone's partnership with the Gibson Custom Shop just gets better as it adds a Dove, a pair of Hummingbirds, two stunning SJ-200s and a Banner-era J-45 to its Inspired By Gibson Custom series

MusicRadar

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“Makes you forget the fact that one of these will cost you a fifth of what you’d pay for something with the Murphy Lab moniker”: Epiphone Inspired By Gibson Custom 1962 ES-335 Reissue review

Ted McCarty’s finest creation gets the Epiphone ‘Inspired By’ treatment. Featuring Gibson USA Custombuckers, real rosewood fingerboard and top-notch hardware, expectations are high

Guitar World

“If these ‘Inspired By Gibson Custom’ Epiphones aren’t on your radar yet, they should be”: Epiphone Inspired by Gibson Custom 1957 Les Paul Goldtop review

With a raft of recent high-spec reissue launches, is Epiphone now the home of affordable ‘vintage’ Gibsons? On paper, yes. But what about in the flesh?

MusicRadar

“A timely reminder of a true great. Will you sound like him when you plug it in? We wish”: Epiphone Jeff Beck 1954 Les Paul Oxblood review

Another fabled Les Paul joins ‘Greeny’ in Epiphone’s top-end lineup

Guitar World

Jeff Beck’s iconic Oxblood Les Paul made history as the most expensive LP to sell at auction – now it’s been revived as an Epiphone signature model

The legendary 1954 LP starred alongside Beck for much of his career and sold for more than $1 million at auction. Now, Epiphone has launched a $1,200 replica

Guitar World

“Looks, feels and sounds far more expensive than it actually is”: Epiphone Inspired by Gibson Custom 1960 Les Paul Special Double Cut Reissue TV Yellow review

The most affordable of the new Inspired by Gibson Custom models – but it could be a highlight of the range

MusicRadar

"It’s certainly worth considering against the start-point of the Gibson USA Les Paul range. The lines are getting blurred.": Epiphone Inspired by Gibson Custom 1959 Les Paul Standard Reissue review

Epiphone chases the flame of the world’s most coveted electric guitar

Guitar World

“Vintage looks and performance at an accessible price”: Epiphone expands its high-end Inspired by Gibson Custom Collection – and introduces a key upgrade to its 1959 Les Paul Standard reissue

Open book headstocks, Gibson USA pickups and a handful of sought-after upgrades headline the 2025 expansion pack

Guitar World

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Guitar World

“I must’ve played hundreds of Les Pauls, and I can safely say this is up there with the best sounding of them – it even gives my own Gibson Les Paul Standard a run for its money”: Epiphone Inspired by Gibson Custom 1957 Les Paul Goldtop review

Epiphone has struck gold with this ambitious recreation of a pivotal guitar in the Les Paul history books

MusicRadar

“If you’re all about getting as close as possible to period-correct as you can for this price point, then you won’t be disappointed here”: Epiphone Inspired By Gibson Custom 1960 Les Paul Standard Reissue review

We get hands-on with Epiphone’s ode to one of the most coveted Gibson guitars of all time

Guitar World

“A cult classic is reborn”: One of Gibson’s most obscure designs makes a comeback with the revival of the RD – and it's unlike any other Gibson Custom model around

Beloved by Dave Grohl and Ghost, the quirky build from 1977 has officially returned after its imminent arrival was teased earlier this year

Guitar World

“Top money buys forensically aged details and incredible craft, but you won’t necessarily hear £5k’s worth of difference in the sonic performance”: How close are Gibson's ’59 Burst replicas and their boutique rivals?

We put a Gibson Custom Shop Collector’s Edition ’59 Les Paul up against a Nik Huber Orca ’59 for the ultimate single-cut shootout

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Guitar World

“A player who took the instrument to places no-one else had ever gone before”: Epiphone’s Jimi Hendrix ‘Love Drops’ Flying V recreates the guitar great’s most psychedelic model

Hendrix used his hand-painted Love Drops V extensively in the late 1960s, and was rumored to have played it during the recording of Electric Ladyland

Guitar World

“Jeff was the ultimate ‘tinkerer’, always changing the look, feel and sound of his guitars”: Up close with the Gibson Custom Shop reissue of Jeff Beck’s ‘YardBurst’ 1959 Les Paul Standard

We take a closer look at another stunner from the Murphy Lab that celebrates a pivotal moment in rock history, and one of its greatest ever players

Guitar World

“Proper, grown-up tones that wouldn’t disappoint even the most critical ear”: Epiphone Inspired by Gibson Custom 1963 Les Paul SG Custom with Maestro Vibrola and 1959 ES-355 review

Epiphone’s collaborations with the Gibson Custom Shop continue unabated, this time with two of the latter’s most prized top-end models but built in Qingdao, China

Guitar World

“Full of history and stories from a pivotal era in British music”: Gibson honors Jeff Beck with a recreation of his historic 1959 ‘YardBurst’ Les Paul – before he gave it a radical makeover

Beck bought the original model – widely considered to be one of his most iconic instruments – when he replaced Eric Clapton in the Yardbirds, using it extensively both in the studio and on stage

MusicRadar

Gibson honours Jeff Beck with YardBurst 1959 Les Paul Standard

The Gibson Custom Shop model is revealed on the late guitar legend's birthday

Guitar World

“Vintage Firebird specifications at an accessible price”: Epiphone’s $1,799 Inspired by Gibson Custom 1963 Firebird V has landed – offering a high-spec take on Gibson’s first neck-through body build

The Chinese-made model also comes in a hardtail Firebird I variant and features Gibson’s USA Firebird mini-humbuckers and a faithful nine-ply mahogany/walnut neck-through construction

MusicRadar

“An authentic replica of the guitar designed by legendary automotive designer Ray Dietrich”: Meet the Epiphone and the Gibson Custom Shop’s latest collaboration, the 1963 Firebird I and V

Famously played by Johnny Winter, Eric Clapton and more, the Firebird remains a stunning bird, and this top-tier Epiphone model offers it with a vintage-style build and Gibson USA pickups

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