JERRY CANTRELL LES PAUL CUSTOM PROPHECY
however, is the arrival of its
companion 24-fret Custom Prophecy
tted with Fishman Fluence pickups,
given that the Alice In Chains guitarist
isn’t known for using Fishmans and
has generally stuck with 22-fret
instruments through his career,
including the G&L Rampages he’s
used extensively alongside his Les
Pauls. However, with two voicings for
each humbucker as well as split coil
modes, it’s clearly going to be able to
cover a lot of tonal ground, as well as
two whole octaves across the neck.
DOWN IN A WHOLE / RED GIANT
Straight out of the (man in the) box,
the new Wino model looks and feels
like the closest the budget brand have
come to a ‘real’ Les Paul Custom in
quite some time. The neck prole is
slightly thicker than your typical
Epiphone, though it’s still very
user-friendly and every bit a ‘fretless
wonder’, as these guitars were
lovingly nicknamed early on. Going
head-to-head with our own 2004
Gibson Custom, there’s very little
dierence tonally (as much as it
pains us to admit, barely any, in fact!).
The Dark Wine Red nish and gold
hardware marry gracefully, with
Cantrell’s name along the truss rod
cover and his JJ logo, which some
may recognise from his signature
Friedman heads, on the back of the
headstock. When plugged into our
British valve amp’s clean channel, the
neck Alnico Classic PRO humbucker
sounds rich and full-bodied, with
bell-like chimes that can be
accentuated further by icking onto
the middle position of the pickup
selector. On the distorted channel,
the 98T PRO bridge humbucker
sounds cutting and articulate, packing
a little extra snarl thanks to its
exposed coils. Arriving already tuned
half a step down, it’s a guitar that
comfortably nails the tones all the way
from Alice In Chains’ 1990 Facelift
debut right through to latest release
Rainier Fog, as well as any of Cantrell’s
solo endeavours. Drop-D (or in this
case Drop-C#) ris like We Die Young,
Dam That River and Stone feel
particularly responsive here too,
striking a perfect balance between
low-end punch and searing high-end
attack, with notes that well and truly
pop out when switching over to leads.
Turn down the volume controls and
you’ll easily nd some tasty blues
tones too, and there’s plenty of fun to
be had using the neck pickup with the
tone completely o, as you’d expect
from traditional singlecuts of this ilk.
In that regard, it’s every bit as classic
as it looks.
SLUDGE FACTORY / FACELIFT
The Custom Prophecy is a
considerably lighter instrument, with
an ultra modern weight relief in place
of the Wino’s nine-hole drilling.
Other interesting features include the
all-new Circle In Diamond custom
inlays, which add to its aesthetic
allure, as well as two extra frets and
the inclusion of Fishman Fluence
pickups. Which, by the way, react
faster with more compression and
snap than the medium-output
humbuckers found on its companion,
as to be expected from an active set.
There are three voicings per pickup–
hot, vintage and single-coil – making
this one of the most sonically diverse
Les Pauls ever to go into production,
and while the single-coil tones can’t
quite compare to, say, plugging in an
old Strat, they certainly carry enough
bite to get you close enough for live
performances. With the right kind of
compression and EQ treatment, these
tones could also work as a faux piezo
through a clean channel, which is
handy if you’re combining electric and
acoustic layers like Cantrell and his
cohorts have done over the years. It
would be fair to say the bridge pickup
on the hot voicing might be a little
scooped and overkill for some of the
tones Cantrell is known for and it’s
the vintage mode that gets us closer to
the sounds on the records, but that’s
precisely what makes this signature
such a good all-rounder. It covers a lot
of bases well, especially for those in
need of a singlecut that’s deceptively
lightweight and comfortable. These
bells and whistles do come at a price,
however, this signature retailing for
£300 more than its companion. It’s
not exactly the same kind of guitar you
see Cantrell playing himself, but then
again it doesn’t necessarily need to be.
If anything, that’s what makes it such
an intriguing proposition...
THE NEW ‘WINO’ MODEL LOOKS AND FEELS LIKE THE CLOSEST
EPIPHONE HAVE COME TO A ‘REAL’ LES PAUL CUSTOM IN YEARS...
TOTAL GUITAR AUGUST 2022
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TGR360.gear_test.indd 90TGR360.gear_test.indd 90 15/06/2022 22:2415/06/2022 22:24