Epiphone Alex Lifeson LP Axcess Standard Signature

The solid mahogany body with a Stratocaster-like cutaway on the top edge of the back for a more comfortable placement of the instrument on the player's body is complemented by a carved maple top covered with AAA flame-maple veneer. The mahogany neck, fitted with a Lifeson profile, is attached to the body through an ergonomically designed base glued to the carved part of the body (Axcess), which greatly facilitates access to the higher positions of the 12-inch radius Indian Laurel fingerboard, fitted with 22 medium jumbo frets. 

On the smaller and, above all, more attractive headstock we find the company's Deluxe tuning machines with plastic pegs, and the black double-layered truss rod cover bears Lifeson's signature. The strings are anchored in a Graph Tech Ghost double-locking vibrato, combined with Floyd Rose R4-type zero-fret locks, approximately 42.8mm wide, which are bolted to the fingerboard from the front.

The guitar uses an Epiphone ProBucker 3 humbucker pickup equipped with an Alnico II magnet and an Epiphone Ceramic Pro neck equivalent, whose coils are covered by a nickel plate. PAF-style magnetic pickups with four-coil wiring control separate volume controls with push/pull coil uncoupling, a three-position switch and a one tone pot. A fourth potentiometer with push/pull activation is used to adjust a second signal path based on Graph Tech's Ghost piezo sensors housed in the vibrato's bridge saddles. The given electronics solution is matched by a pair of outputs (magnet/piezo) and a 9V battery compartment on the back of the body.

The sonically flexible, modern Epiphone Alex Lifeson Les Paul Axcess Standard is offered in a subtle transparent Viceroy Brown finish. The official European price is under 900 euros, and includes a high-quality LP EpiLite hybrid case combining the features of a hard case and a padded gig bag.