Action How was the action out of the box? It was decent. The box it came in looked very old, but like it didn't take much of a beating. The guitar package itself though, and the guitar, both looked very sweet and fresh from the store. Quality Would you consider this product to be made well? How dependable? No. It fell apart at 4 months. Reliability How has it stood up over time? Very poorly. At first it was nice and fun with a solid tone, but after 4 months, it started falling apart from the inside. Overall Your general opinion of this product. Even though I took extreme care of it, and never dropped or scratched it once, it just stopped working after 4 months. After that, I took it to the Gibson store in Nashville, TN, and they opened it up to see what was wrong with it. They told me I had several pieces on the inside that were all messed up and some even missing. Playability and Feel How does it feel, Heavy, Fast, Chunky? How was the neck? Are the controls easy to get to while playing? Though had problems, it was light, and comfortable to hold. Very smooth neck, and the controls are nice and easy to control. Tone Bright and snappy? Dark and smooth? Were the pickups hot, mellow, thick, thin? The tone is very light, but comes in strong on an amp. Somewhat smooth. The 2 pickups are thin and give the guitar its strong tone. Finish How did the stain or paint job look? The paint job was awesome. As long as its taken care of the paint job will remain easy to clean, and always giving its beautiful look.

Quality Would you consider this product to be made well? How dependable? Very well made as far as I can tell. I have played it everyday since owning it and have had no problems with the quality of this guitar. Reliability How has it stood up over time? Very young guitar, time will tell. Overall Your general opinion of this product. Beautiful looking. Not too many complicated controls, good starting guitar, great price. Playability and Feel How does it feel, Heavy, Fast, Chunky? How was the neck? Are the controls easy to get to while playing? I think it may be a bit heavy but I have only held a Fender Strat once before and didn't play it. This guitar is heavier but I'm a big guy so no problem. Tone Bright and snappy? Dark and smooth? Were the pickups hot, mellow, thick, thin? Not even qualified to answer this question. Sorry, please read other reviews. Finish How did the stain or paint job look? Wow, Cherry Sunburst! Great. Action How was the action out of the box? Again, too new of a gutar player to know what to say here. I was able to tune it and play it the first day I unpacked it.

Quality Would you consider this product to be made well? How dependable? Very well made. This is a solid guitar. No let downs here. Reliability How has it stood up over time? Only owned the guitar for 4 months, but is a solid instrument. No issues so far! Overall Your general opinion of this product. Excellent overall guitar for the money. Bought it for my son, and I couldn't believe how closely it plays and sounds like my Gibson Les Paul. If you're looking for a great guitar, like the Les Paul look and feel, and don't care about not having the Gibson logo on your headstock, look no further! Playability and Feel How does it feel, Heavy, Fast, Chunky? How was the neck? Are the controls easy to get to while playing? Feels like a Les Paul. Neck is pretty fast, and great for a slide. Controls are right where you'd expect them to be within easy reach and without any guess work. Tone Bright and snappy? Dark and smooth? Were the pickups hot, mellow, thick, thin? Neck pickup is hot, while the bridge is dark and mellow. Great for all styles of music. Finish How did the stain or paint job look? Perfect! Absolutely beautiful. Action How was the action out of the box? The action was set very well... may need to tweak a little for your individual feel, but perfect for the majority of players.

Quality Would you consider this product to be made well? How dependable? A+ quality Reliability How has it stood up over time? Very reliable, no issues whatsoever. Overall Your general opinion of this product. I am a beginner (playing one month) and this guitar has been perfect for me to learn on. I bought the sunburst model, its beautiful. Straight out of the box it plays very well with some tuning. The strings are good enough to start with. I rate it 5 stars! Playability and Feel How does it feel, Heavy, Fast, Chunky? How was the neck? Are the controls easy to get to while playing? Very fast neck, can be very clean sounding and can get chunky as you want for that metal sound. Tone Bright and snappy? Dark and smooth? Were the pickups hot, mellow, thick, thin? Pickuos are hot enough to learn on. Finish How did the stain or paint job look? The sunburst finish is absolutely beautiful.

Quality Would you consider this product to be made well? How dependable? Very well made Overall Your general opinion of this product. Awesoem axe with killer sounds. I'm just an intemediate player and this blows me away. Playability and Feel How does it feel, Heavy, Fast, Chunky? How was the neck? Are the controls easy to get to while playing? You know your holding a quality guitar when you pick this up Tone Bright and snappy? Dark and smooth? Were the pickups hot, mellow, thick, thin? Swapped out humbuckers for EMG's Finish How did the stain or paint job look? Paint is Awesome Action How was the action out of the box? Best Ever....easy on the fingers and quick too !

Reliability How has it stood up over time? Only 1 month, but so far, so good. Overall Your general opinion of this product. Solid, well built and great sound. Playability and Feel How does it feel, Heavy, Fast, Chunky? How was the neck? Are the controls easy to get to while playing? I Love it. The feel is the same as a guitar 10X the price. Tone Bright and snappy? Dark and smooth? Were the pickups hot, mellow, thick, thin? Tone is great. Great sound from my Peavy Vyper amp. Finish How did the stain or paint job look? Finish is excellent. Especially for the price. Action How was the action out of the box? Excellent. lays well and stays in tune.

Quality Would you consider this product to be made well? How dependable? Reliability How has it stood up over time? A good quality wood. Overall Your general opinion of this product. This guitar really sounds and plays fantastic. Even under the melting Iraqi temperature it stayed in great conditions. Playability and Feel How does it feel, Heavy, Fast, Chunky? How was the neck? Are the controls easy to get to while playing? Tone Bright and snappy? Dark and smooth? Were the pickups hot, mellow, thick, thin? Finish How did the stain or paint job look? I own the Wine Red Color and it's just a beauty. Action How was the action out of the box? Initial set up was pretty good

Quality Would you consider this product to be made well? How dependable? If I did such things, I wouldn't hesitate to take my Special on a world tour... Reliability How has it stood up over time? I've had mine 8 years and it has held up like a tank. I've upgraded it some and now I wouldn't be afraid (or ashamed) to play her on any stage. I did have to change out the volume & tone pots and the 3-way switch eventually. Overall Your general opinion of this product. Overall, the Special II is a great beginner or back-up guitar as-is. Change the tuners, give her a good set-up, new strings, and maybe a Graphtech nut, and she's ready for any stage. Playability and Feel How does it feel, Heavy, Fast, Chunky? How was the neck? Are the controls easy to get to while playing? The older Special II's like mine are very heavy, around 9 pounds-so get STRAPLOCKS! The rosewood fretboard is smooth and fast, no sharp fret ends, etc. Controls are right where they need to be. Tone Bright and snappy? Dark and smooth? Were the pickups hot, mellow, thick, thin? See "Sound" above... Finish How did the stain or paint job look? These are quite plain-Jane, so don't expect an eye-popping masterpiece like a Gibson LP Custom...however, the paint and polyurethane finish on mine was flawless. (I got the white one) Action How was the action out of the box? This thing was made in China, and Epi quality control was a little lax, so I had to set up the action and intonation myself. You can expect to do this on most low-end guitars, though. The Tune0matic bridge and truss rod make this fairly easy.

Quality Would you consider this product to be made well? How dependable? great Reliability How has it stood up over time? very reliabel first got and didnt have to do a thing to except tune Overall Your general opinion of this product. I love it. It is great for begginers. never had to make big adjustments. Playability and Feel How does it feel, Heavy, Fast, Chunky? How was the neck? Are the controls easy to get to while playing? it was a little heavy at first but you will get use to it Tone Bright and snappy? Dark and smooth? Were the pickups hot, mellow, thick, thin? great Finish How did the stain or paint job look? great