Adam Jones unveils new Epiphone Les Paul signature – and it’s hauntingly beautiful
The guitar is fourth in a series of seven models for the Adam Jones Art Collection, and is limited to 800 units worldwide.
Credit: Epiphone
Back in December, Gibson finally announced a more affordable Epiphone version of Adam Jones’ signature Les Paul, but it came with a caveat: seven unique Epiphone versions would be produced – each adorned with custom artwork chosen by the Tool guitarist and limited to 800 units worldwide.
The guitars have arrived in relatively quick succession, with the third of the seven models landing back in April, coated with surrealist artwork by Julie Heffernan.
Now, the fourth instalment in the series has arrived, showcasing Heffernan’s artwork once again, this time, “Self-Portrait as Not Dead Yet”, a similar piece to that of the third model, but with its subject surrounded by flowers, peacock feathers and dead rabbits.
Beneath its fresh paint job, the guitar boasts the same specs as before, with a bound mahogany body with a maple top finished in Antique Silverburst, a three-piece maple neck with a custom profile built to Adam Jones’ specifications, and a 22-fret ebony fingerboard with a Graph Tech nut and 12” radius.
In terms of electronics, the guitar is fitted with a reverse-mounted Epiphone ProBucker Custom in the neck position, and a high-output Seymour Duncan Distortion in the bridge.
Elsewhere, it also features an Epiphone LockTone Tune-O-Matic bridge and Stop Bar tailpiece, vintage-style chrome tuners and PosiLock strap buttons.
While the visual centrepiece comes in the form of Julie Heffernan’s artwork on the back of the body, the guitar also sports a selection of other aesthetic appointments, including a commemorative cavity cover and rear headstock design.
Price-wise, the fourth iteration of the Adam Jones Art Collection Les Paul clocks in at $1,299, and is available to purchase from Epiphone.
Adam Jones ongoing relationship with Epiphone’s parent company Gibson began back in 2020, when Gibson launched the Adam Jones Signature Les Paul, a replica of Jones’ 1979 Antique Silverburst Les Paul Custom, his number-one with Tool for many years.
The guitar was in high demand from the off, with thieves even stealing a pallet of the guitars worth almost $95,000 from the back of a Sweetwater truck shortly after launch.