Alex Lifeson Epiphone LP Axcess

TimeBandit

TimeBandit

Inspired
I was a little late to the party and missed my chance to get one of these on release day. Now I'm on the waitlist until August :( Wondering if anybody grabbed one from the initial release and if they have any thoughts. Likes or dislikes.
 
I will be getting one - if nothing else because Alex is one of my fav guitarists. I'm not really in a hurry at this point - and kind of waiting out the first round since thats when quality issues typically arise. I wanted his Gibson model when it cam out a few years ago- but at like $5-6000 - it was too ridiculous of a price. And my understanding was that they were riddled with problems. I can do $900 ! I am curious as to where they are made though ?
 
I had a Lifeson Axcess and an R40 Axcess at one point. Very nice guitars. I got them both used at the time. I sold them both off last year. Both had issues in various areas which was pretty lousy considering how much these are new.

These new models are made in China. They sold out very quickly everywhere. For the price though, I bet with some cleanup of the frets they will probably be a great playing guitar.
 
I have had one of the Gibson ones on my someday list for a long time. It used to be there were a fair number of them on Reverb, but they sort of all vanished.

From what I've read, almost all of the Epi models them have a trem problem. Honestly, you're probably better off getting a later one. I know I'll pick one up later in the year. I think I might buy one of the Ghosthorse Explorers next.
 
rushfan said:
$900 and it includes a case! I ordered one.
Click to expand...

Did you get it?

I went on Sweetwater, and couldn't find it. I emailed my Sweetwater guy, and he said that it was a limited run thing, and they oversold it, and pulled it off the website. I could see ZZ and Musicians Friend still listing it as backordered. Just for shits, I put in an order at MF and figured worst case, nothing happens. That was yesterday. Today I get a shipping notification, and it'll be here tomorrow. So, we'll see what shows up. It was shipped from a Orange County GC store, so with my luck, it'll be some jacked up return.
 
Nothing for me yet. My Sweetwater guy told me they are backordered to August. They had a few dozen from the initial launch but they sold out early n the release day. Guess I'll just wait patiently until August.
 
Theres nothing that I can find that says its a limited run... I just think, like everything else on the planet right now, things are back logged...
 
Jimmytwotimes said:
Theres nothing that I can find that says its a limited run... I just think, like everything else on the planet right now, things are back logged...
Click to expand...
I read a lot of conflicting stuff online. I've seen some people saying that the whole run is cancelled and that's it. Others saying that there are plenty coming later, as there are 10s of thousands of backorders. It's hard to know what's up with it. I've read about tons of problems. Lots of electrical issues, piezo bridges not working, no output to one/both of the jacks, bridge running issues, etc. Maybe the QC is so bad that they had to cancel it for now and work out the issues.
 
Mine did show up today. Action is a little high on the low E, like some people have said, but when I brought it down, I did not have any noticeable trem problems like a lot of people. Both jacks seem to work. The case is basically a gig bag. Hard to believe Epiphone charges $100 for it separately. It does fit the guitar perfectly though. Mine had a Epiphone sticker in one bag, and the trem arm and a couple of allens just sort of wrapped up. No manual to explain the push/pulls, jacks, piezo.

Nice finish. Really needs a setup. I'll get into it more over the weekend.

20210702_183011.jpg
 
I've had my Eppi LIfeson now for a few weeks here's my assessment. I leave the somewhat subjective "... how does it sound?" to others with better sound input than my iPhone (Premier Guitar just put a review up too). Overall a lot of flexibility for $899. Split coils for both humbuckers and add in a piezo blend or separate output with the second jack.
While having all those sound options is great for gigs, the reality that my back will be able to hold out with a 10lb 3oz guitar all night is tentative at best. I was surprised with all the plastic in the rear and all the cavities cut, how heavy this guitar is.
The 12" radius feels very flat and feels more like 16" out of the box. I adjusted that with a little bit of edge rolling. The neck thickness is fair. Slightly more D shaped than C compared to my Gibson slim-taper. Not '57 baseball bat. I like the axcess heel.
Quality wise, this was actually my second. The first one came in completely damaged with a damaged bridge. It got impacted during shipment and the trem springs and sawdust were rattling around in the case. The trem bridge pins were bent completely forward and partial ripped out of the body due to impact.
This second one had a very loose trem arm mount so I had to open it up to tighten it back down to the bridge plate. The battery cavity is VERY tight. I had envision using some rechargeable 9V but most are a tiny bit fatter and will no way fit in that tiny cavity. It's very tight. So much for tolerances.

Other sniglets.. the fretboard was very dry so a bit of conditioning needed and of course a full setup - action was way too high. Again a bit surprised how dry it was considering they're fairly fresh off the production line but I guess its a long way from the China. I also think the piezo on/off is backwards (pulled up is off/down is on) but I guess that's the way Alex wanted it. I might reverse it at some point. Trem is a graphtech ghost floyd and a regular screw in floyd trem arm doesn't work 100%. It fits in fine and screws down but you can't tighten it enough to friction hold the trem arm in place. Just sort of swings in place loosely even when fully screwed in so don't misplace it.

Overall for $899, it's a good buy if you can find one of good quality and you want some flexibility. Just be mindful of the weight.
Epiphone Alex Lifeson 2021.JPG
 
Last edited:
CraigC said:
I've had my Eppi LIfeson now for a few weeks here's my assessment. I leave the somewhat subjective "... how does it sound?" to others with better sound input than my iPhone (Premier Guitar just put a review up too). Overall a lot of flexibility for $899. Split coils for both humbuckers and add in a piezo blend or separate output with the second jack.
While having all those sound options is great for gigs, the reality that my back will be able to hold out with a 10lb 3oz guitar all night is tentative at best. I was surprised with all the plastic in the rear and all the cavities cut, how heavy this guitar is.
The 12" radius feels very flat and feels more like 16" out of the box. I adjusted that with a little bit of edge rolling. The neck thickness is fair. Slightly more D shaped than C compared to my Gibson slim-taper. Not '57 baseball bat. I like the axcess heel.
Quality wise, this was actually my second. The first one came in completely damaged with a damaged bridge. It got impacted during shipment and the trem springs and sawdust were rattling around in the case. The trem bridge pins were bent completely forward and partial ripped out of the body due to impact.
This second one had a very loose trem arm mount so I had to open it up to tighten it back down to the bridge plate. The battery cavity is VERY tight. I had envision using some rechargeable 9V but most are a tiny bit fatter and will no way fit in that tiny cavity. It's very tight. So much for tolerances.

Other sniglets.. the fretboard was very dry so a bit of conditioning needed and of course a full setup - action was way too high. Again a bit surprised how dry it was considering they're fairly fresh off the production line but I guess its a long way from the China. I also think the piezo on/off is backwards (pulled up is off/down is on) but I guess that's the way Alex wanted it. I might reverse it at some point. Trem is a graphtech ghost floyd and a regular screw in floyd trem arm doesn't work 100%. It fits in fine and screws down but you can't tighten it enough to friction hold the trem arm in place. Just sort of swings in place loosely even when fully screwed in so don't misplace it.

Overall for $899, it's a good buy if you can find one of good quality and you want some flexibility. Just be mindful of the weight.
View attachment 86638
Click to expand...


Looks nice.
Did it ship in a case or a cardboard box?
 
scottp said:
Looks nice.
Did it ship in a case or a cardboard box?
Click to expand...

They come in soft molded case. I guess Epiphone calls is a "lite" case. It's not as protective as a hardcase, or top of the line gig bag, but it's better than the last couple of guitars I've bought that didn't come with anything. The soft case/guitar does come in a cardboard box.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom