Learning to play guitar is tough, and having small hands can make it even harder. Epiphone has launched the Power Players Collection to help young players take their important first steps to stardom using quality built 3/4-sized guitars.
When a friend's young daughter wanted to jam with me, I bought her a budget reduced-size Les Paul lookalike to better fit her small frame and small hands. It worked well for a while, but then crapped out so we could only play our scales and chords acoustically. You get what you pay for, I guess.
With the Power Players Collection, Epiphone is aiming to target future fretboard masters with 3/4+ instruments inspired by iconic Gibson guitars in a package that's built to last.
"The Epiphone Power Players Les Paul and SG are designed to be the solution for beginning youth musicians, parents, and music teachers to kickstart a guitar playing journey – the first forever guitar!" said Krista Gilley, Director of Brands at Gibson. "The challenge was to solve for the earliest stage of playing – Epiphone’s First Stage – by building confidence for youth players with a product that is tailored to them in size and playability, while offering the thrill of playing the same iconic Gibson guitar body shapes they recognize their favorite artists play on the biggest stages around the world.
"Next, we solved the need for a high-quality and reliable beginning guitar that parents can trust in and provided a solution for music teachers to offer an accessible Gibson Brands guitar to support their lessons and product recommendations. From the Gibson Labs, we are excited to introduce the Epiphone Power Players Collection to solve an array of needs in the market and inspire young guitarists everywhere."
The Power Players Les Paul and SG guitars have a slightly smaller body than the Gibson originals they're based on, which should make them a less intimidating prospect for newbies while also shedding some weight for long-haul noodling when strapped.
The key specs for both models are pretty much the same, each featuring a mahogany body and bolt-on neck. That slim taper D-profile, 22.73-inch (577.34-mm) scale neck is topped by an Indian Laurel fingerboard rocking pearloid inlays and 22 frets. The nut width is 1.614 in (41 mm) and the material is white plastic.
The Joe Bonamassa or Steph Paynes of tomorrow can tap into the legendary Gibson tones courtesy of Epiphone 650R (neck) and 700T (bridge) ceramic humbuckers, selected by a three-way toggle and controlled by gold top hat knobs on the Les Paul and black beauties on the SG. Each model sports 3x3 nickel-plated tuners and a wrap-around Lightning Bar bridge.
Though designed as learner guitars for younger players, Epiphone is also pitching these shapely rockers as trusty travel companions for more seasoned pickers. Available in Lava Red, Dark Matter Ebony and Ice Blue, the Power Players guitars are available now for US$279 apiece, and each is supplied with a fabric gig bag, guitar strap, picks and instrument cable. The video below has more.
Product page: Power Players Collection