Ultra
This electric guitar has a series of modifications to the classic design of this instrument aimed at making it more comfortable to play. It has acoustic chambers in the mahogany body that reduce the weight of the guitar down to 5.5 lbs. The neck has been slightly reduced in thickness and so has the nut in width. The back of the body even has a belly rest in the style of a Stratocaster.
Another feature of this guitar is the satin finish on the back of the neck. This is not my personal favorite but a lot of players do like this kind of feel on the neck.The maple top of the Ultra features a quilted top and all the hardware, including the Grover tuners, is gold plated.
This guitar feels a lot easier to play than the Standard Plus, and the sound has a sort of semi acoustic tone that is very unique. When this electric guitar came out it was promoted by Heart guitarist Nancy Wilson. This lead many players to believe that this was a signature instrument.
After a while Epiphone stopped featuring ads or any form of marketing with Ms. Wilson and the Les Paul Ultra. But at a VH1 tribute show where Alice in Chains and Gretchen Wilson give a monster performance of Barracuda you can see one of the rare occasions where Nancy Wilson is actually playing this guitar live.
Ultra II
Following on the popularity of the first one Epiphone released the Ultra II. This guitar differs from the original by featuring an acoustic pickup in combination with the electric sound. There's a pair of output jacks for stereo or mono operation.
With 2 cables you can access the acoustic signal produced by a pick up located right after the last fret. This acoustic pickup is powered by a D battery installed in a clip in the middle of the controls cavity and has its own preamp to dial gain, bass and treble for the acoustic signal.
For more reviews of the different Epiphone Les Paul electric guitars please visit my Squidoo page --> Epiphone LP Reviews
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