Following last year's launch of the Gibson Slash Collection signature guitars, sibling brand Epiphone has recently unveiled their own equivalent models as part of their Inspired by Gibson line-up. Sporting the same finish and model names as the Gibsons these new Epiphone Les Pauls are are effectively clones. But how do they measure up? According to Gibson Brands’ Senior Product Development Engineer, Richard Akers, and Product Manager, Aljon Go, they are virtually identical.

How have the Epiphone Slash models been able to achieve such a close likeness to the Gibson equivalents?

Aljon Go: Product Development now services every brand together. So, we have people from the Gibson side and the Custom Shop side and the acoustic side, and the Epiphone side (myself and Richard Akers). We’re a big think tank. Richard is like the Swiss Army knife of the team. He’s a rare breed because he’s got so much knowledge of how things have been done over time. He’s worked at Gibson for many years.

Richard Akers: I’m trying to bring the technical side to the table, but with the love and passion of being a player. Marrying those two together is what’s been very helpful for me over the years. My background is electrical engineering, so I’ve got that piece. But it all started from a love of playing guitar as a kid. That’s what drove me to it. I’ve been with Gibson now for 28 years.