Epiphone Les Paul ES Pro Vs Florentine: Which Is Better? (2023 Edition)

If you’re interested in learning more about the Epiphone Les Paul ES Pro vs Florentine guitars and how they compare, this is the post for you!

Epiphone Les Paul ES Pro

What’s very exciting about Les Paul ES Pro is that it’s a semi-hollow-body guitar that retains some features of a solid-body Les Paul. But in its essence, it’s a semi-hollow guitar.

Firstly, it has that archtop kind of construction. The top wood is flamed maple and it comes with a regular center block. Meanwhile, the sides and the back are laminated maple. This is what you’ll also find on your regular Gibson and Epiphone semi-hollow guitars.

Of course, this also comes with F-shaped holes. You aren’t exactly used to seeing these on a Les Paul. However, they really put their twist on the instrument’s design. But other than that, you have almost identical Les Paul body dimensions.

Along with this comes a classic 1960s-style SlimTaper D-profile mahogany neck. On top of it is a rosewood fingerboard with a 12-inch radius.

On the body edges, you can find simple yet stylish binding. There’s also binding on the fretboard, as well as trapezoid inlays.

This LP is equipped with two ProBucker humbuckers. These are somewhat similar to Gibson’s Burstbuckers. I’d say that they’re not completely there, although they’re decent. They’re accompanied by your regular 4-knob and one 3-way switch configuration. However, there’s also the coil-tap option which adds some sonic versatility to it.

While this is not a high-end guitar, it is a pretty awesome cheaper alternative. If you were to swap the pickups and pots, you’d pretty much get an entry-level Gibson.

But what’s really awesome is that you get a guitar in the style of ES-335 just with a Les Paul body shape. There’s the centerblock construction with a maple body. This also affects the guitar’s sonic output to some extent.

Epiphone Les Paul Florentine Pro

Les Paul Florentine Pro is another one of Epiphone’s oddballs. It’s yet another Les Paul with a semi-hollow body design. But there’s one important difference.

Glancing over the instrument, you could be tricked into thinking that this is the same model. Well, apart from its different finish options. There’s even the same SlimTaper 1960s-style D profile mahogany neck. And there’s even the same 12-inch fretboard radius.

The similarities continue with the instrument’s binding. It’s all 1-ply cream binding, both on the body edges and the fretboard. There’s also the stylish choice of trapezoid inlays on a rosewood fingerboard. It’s what you see on your average Gibsons as well.

However, what’s unusual is the body design. We’re all familiar with the semi-hollow formation, just like the one with the ES Pro model. However, this is a hollowed-out mahogany body. There’s no centerblock construction with a maple top, back, and sides. Technically, you could even refer to it as a chambered rather than a semi-hollow guitar.

But other than that, we have a pretty much regular Les Paul. There’s the set-in neck, tune-o-matic bridge, and a pair of ProBucker humbuckers. We also have standard controls, along with a push-pull tone knob for coil-tapping.

As for the body’s impact on the tone, you can expect it to sound like a chambered Les Paul. It still retains its main mahogany construction, as well as set-in mahogany neck.

When originally sold, these guitars weren’t that expensive. You can still find them used online. And they seem to keep their value pretty well.

Epiphone Les Paul ES Pro Vs Florentine: What’s the Difference and Which Is Better?

Once in a while, Epiphone likes to release special-edition guitars. Something that’s not their ordinary stuff. And although they’re not as high-end as Gibson stuff, they are pretty great. All this goes for both LP ES Pro and LP Florentine Pro.

What I’d also like to add is that both of these guitars are somewhat bold experiments. I say this because they’re not exactly Epiphone’s standard stuff. And they’re certainly not your regular Les Paul guitars.

With that out of the way, let’s address the main difference. Well, it’s technically the sole difference. Les Paul ES Pro has the same construction as an ES-335 or any of its Epiphone alternatives: a maple center block with a solid maple top along with plywood maple back and sides.

The Les Paul Florentine Pro model comes with an all-mahogany body. This is one solid chunk of mahogany that’s been hollowed out. Another difference is that the F-shaped soundholes on the Florentine don’t come with the binding.

Other than that, the rest of the features are the same. I’m just not completely certain about all of the body dimensions. However, these guitars feel roughly the same in your hands.

If we’re talking about sonic differences, I’d say that Les Paul Florentine Pro is closer to regular solid-body Gibsons. Meanwhile, the ES Pro will sound slightly brighter and will be more in the vein of semi-hollow guitars.

Which One Should I Get?

The choice between these two is a completely personal matter. As I’ve already mentioned, they are both great guitars. In my opinion, they both outperform their price tags. But if you feel like getting a semi-hollow-body guitar, get the Les Paul ES Pro. If you want a more special kind of guitar, the Florentine LP is a better choice. But you can’t go wrong with either.

The issue that I have with both, however, is that there are discontinued models. And from what I’ve found, it’s not that easy to find them.  

Conclusion

I hope this article has helped you think through which guitar to get.

And if you want to read more about electric guitar comparisons on this blog, then check out:

• Fender American Special vs Standard

Lastly, feel free to leave a message in the comments below if you have questions about this or another guitar-related topic!