Epiphone Les Paul Special I P90 for $129 new

Very tempted to buy another one of these.

Above is the Epiphone Les Paul Special I P90. Guitar Center recently had these at an almost fire sale price of $119 but are now selling it for $129, which is still an insanely good price considering it's normally $149.

Yes, I owned one of these before and I do regret parting with it. I loved the yellow, loved the tone, loved the fact it weighs next to nothing (easily 7 lbs or under), loved the simplicity of the instrument.

So why did I part with it? I was Jazzmaster-happy at the time. And right now I'm Stratocaster-happy, but I look at this Les Paul and think yeah, maybe I should get another one of these because it really is a decent guitar.

My main reason for buying one of these originally was for those sweet P90 pickups, and they're still as sweet as they ever were. If you've never owned a guitar with P90s in it before, this is the cheapest way to get it with a major guitar brand.

The only complaint I have about the guitar is that the tuners are really basic. But where tuning stability is concerned, this can be easily accommodated for by tying each string in a knot like this:

This works on basically any guitar tuner and increases tuning stability a great deal. Even on the cheapest of tuners, this prevents string slippage at the tuner post 100%. And since string slippage is the #1 problem with cheap tuners, using a simple knot (okay, it technically isn't a "knot" but you get the idea) cures that problem instantly.

And no, this does not make string installation any more or less difficult. Strings go on and off just as easy as if you didn't tie/knot them. It also does not damage your tuner posts at all, as tying strings doesn't leave score marks on the tuner posts or anything like that.

So yes, the TV Yellow Les Paul P90 is here again, cheap again, and I'm seriously considering ordering one. You should too.

By the way, this is almost the same price as when I bought one of these back in 2012. I'm pretty sure the price I paid back then was $119, so this guitar is almost the same price it was 8 years ago. Obviously, this won't last, go get one while you can.

Published 2020 Apr 9