I've been playing over 50 years and play both guitar and bass. I am a home recording enthusiast

Gospel & Contemporary Christian (under the name of MusicMan4Jesus), and Rock & Pop music (under the name of "Mr Versatility") -

As I unwrapped her, I had one of my tube amps warming up (in this case, the Vox Night Train NT15C). Even with the factory strings, this girl can sing. The tone from the Seymour Duncan JB’s is incredible. She does have her own voice when compared to the Tribute Plus’ Gibson USA 57 Classics. Both are perfect for blues, blues based rock and hard rock tones. The volume and tone knobs are very smooth and responsive, as well.

She is built to rock (all night and everyday…sorry, couldn’t help myself). The most stand out feature, besides the finish, are the pick ups. What a great choice Tommy made when suggesting the Seymour Duncan JB’s for this model. The pick ups alone are worth the price of admission! One of the extra goodies you get is a “inspired by” Tommy Thayer guitar strap. I was prepared for a cheap, vinyl strap, but this one is a real good quality leather strap. I was genuinely impressed with it and will be using it, as well. And the white hard shell case with plush black lining is very unique. You don’t see too many white Epiphone Les Paul cases around, kids. Odds are, you’ll be the only one at the gig with one. And the signed COA is actually signed by Mr. Thayer. Not just a printed copy of his signature. I really thought that was an extra nice touch. Thanks Tommy!

She feels like an ol’ friend already, and I’ve just had her just a few days now. Even unplugged you can hear how well this guitar rings like a bell. The neck is real comfortable and the frets are smooth. Grover tuning machines on her, so no worries keeping her in tune.

Really top notch! Like I mentioned, my other Epiphone Les Paul is the Tribute Plus. That is one hell of a guitar, so the bar is set very high. I was not sure is another could hold it’s own, but, this baby does. I would put the build quality of the White Lightning as being equal to that of the Tribute Plus. I go over every guitar I buy with a fine tooth comb. I literally put on magnifying eye glasses to inspect them once I get them. She is flawless!

Thanks to zZounds, I got mine at a steal. I won’t say how much of a savings I got, but I encourage anyone interested in getting any gear to shop around online. If you see a better deal on it else where from an authorized dealer, let the folks at zZounds know. They really will beat the price, in fact, they will more than likely better the price. But even at it’s current advertised price, this is an incredible deal. Keep in mind: there are only one thousand of these made. What a great feeling it is owning one of these few ever to be made models. Plus you’re getting a sold, quality hard case, leather strap and COA for the price of most guitars alone!

I’ve only reached out to Gibson/Epiphone in the past with questions about a particular model I was interested in at the time. The responded quickly and were helpful. Outside of that, I’ve not had to ever contact them with regards to any manufacture issues. As for as the good folks at zZounds, I can not sing their praises enough! Always great customer service and incredible deals. I won’t even say what an incredible deal they helped me get on my White Lightning, but you’d be a fool to go anyplace else, kids.

Without a doubt, the “Wow!” factor on this one is the finish. I was not prepared for what awaited me as I opened the case for the first time. THIS GUITAR IS SPARKLY! A few reviews mention “a few blue flecks”. No, sorry, it’s super sparkly, kids. I can not stress this enough! I have not seen any online photos that properly show the finish accurately. I had read a few reviews where it’s mentioned that this model has a few blue specks in the finish. I was literally shock when I opened the case to see what looked like Tinker Bell had zapped it with her magic wand. You know those fancy Christmas cards you get with the sparkles on the images of snow? Like that kind of sparkle. So be prepared, is all. The first Tommy Thayer model, The Spaceman, was a black back with a silver sparkle top. This one isn’t that kind of sparkle (or for you older pickers out there, like Buck Owen’s and Don Rich’s sparkly Telecasters). These sparkles are slightly more subtle, but very noticeable, nonetheless. They are not just blue sparkles, either. It’s more like the effect a pearl white paint job picks up various color spectrums. Blue and bluish green are most predominate, yet other colors are noticed. Since I was not prepared for this, I was really taken aback at first. I wasn’t sure I’d was going to keep her. Put, once over my shock, I started to get into it more. Hell, it is a KISS guitar, after all. Why be subtle, after all?

Musician/Songwriter/Recording Artist/Guitar Addict

Blues, blues based rock, traditional R&B, hard rock, and more!

40 year player

Classic Rock, Blues, Country

Been playing off and on for 25 years. Got really serious about two years ago and have not quit.

Anything from rock to Christian to metal.

45 years playing guitar

Rock, progressive rock

guitarist for 13 years on and off stage.

Metal, neoclassical, hard rock, grunge, all types.

Been playing 40 years off and on, less as I grew older and took on more hobbies

rock, love the blues, play mostly acoustic accompanied by mandolin

been playing in bands for 30 years

good old fashioned rock and roll

Played alto sax for four years as a kid, until I picked up guitar at around 16, Have played every since some off, but most on.

Mostly blues, rock/metal

Playing semi-professional for about 30 years both country and rock.

rock, country, and blues

Been playing almost 40 years. Professional

Rock and Metal