Epiphone has teamed up with Rush legend Alex Lifeson for a new signature guitar – the drop-dead-gorgeous Les Paul Custom Axcess.
It’s Lifeson’s second signature Epiphone Axcess following the release of 2021’s Les Paul Standard Axcess, which arrived with all the aesthetic hallmarks of a regular Les Paul Standard – Burst-esque Viceroy Brown finish included – save a few notable tweaks: namely, the appointment of a Floyd Rose tremolo.
It comes as no surprise that the Floyd Rose returns for the suave Les Paul Custom Axcess, which ups the cosmetic ante with gold hardware and an ultra-elegant Ruby finish.
Available in both right-hand and left-hand iterations, the latest Axcess features a spec sheet that remains mostly faithful to the previous model. A mahogany body and neck return, though the former now flashes an AAAA quilt maple veneer.
A 12”-radius ebony fingerboard topped with block inlays and 22 medium jumbo frets joins the party, with the Custom Axcess once again making use of a heavily sculpted neck joint to promote ultimate upper fret access.
Elsewhere, Ceramic Pro neck and Probucker 3 bridge humbuckers are responsible for tones, and can be sculpted via a standard Les Paul control layout comprising two volume and two tone pots.
Some extra sonic versatility is also added thanks to push/pull pots on three of those parameters, which access coil-split (both volume) and phase (neck tone) modes. A three-way switch also makes the cut.
Of course, it’s the Gold Floyd Rose 1000 Series tremolo that really steals the headline here, with the hardware department also making room for a locking nut, Grover Rotomatic tuners, and Black Top Hat control knobs.
One thing that appears to be absent on the Custom, though, is the secondary output Piezo jack that could be found on the Standard model. Here, it’s just good ol’ fashion 1/4" action.
When the original Epiphone Axcess arrived, Lifeson told Guitar World how it was his intention to “create something that was an instrument I would want to buy and own and play.”
“I didn’t want to just get my name plastered on a guitar model and then sell it based on that,” he said of his collaboration with Epiphone. “My biggest concern was, can we get Custom Shop quality, but in a guitar that costs quite a bit less? And I think we did it.”
The Les Paul Custom Axcess is available now for $1,299.
Head over to Epiphone for more information.
