Epiphone has officially brought back the Prophecy Series and gave its metal guitar range an high-performance upgrade in the process.
Across the board, the 2026 lineup features stainless steel frets, Fishman Fluence humbuckers that were custom-voiced for the series, thermally aged, one-piece maple necks with graphite reinforcement and a speedy Hyperglide profile, and there is this new DAPS (Dual-Axis Pickup Stabilization) fitting that anchors the pickups to the body and always for super-precise height adjustments.
The Prophecy Series is also much expanded from before. This time around we have a 27” scale Les Paul Baritone, and a Floyd-equipped Victory double-cut joins the SG, Les Paul and Flying V.
These all have the 10” to 14” compound radius ebony fingerboard, and are replete with details that will cause Epiphone/Gibson purists to wince: 24 jumbo frets? A 25.5” scale length on the SG, Les Paul and Flying V? Weight relieved bodies with aggressive contouring? Black hardware? Check, check, and check. But then these are built to shred.
“The Prophecy Series is built for players who expect more from their instruments,” says Aljon Go, Epiphone’s product development manager. “By pairing our iconic designs with modern performance features like custom-voiced Fishman Fluence pickups, Hyperglide necks, and stainless-steel frets, we’ve built a lineup that’s fast, versatile, reliable, and built for today’s players. Every detail was engineered to help musicians focus less on their gear and more on their performance.”
The aesthetic is suitably metal. All come with solid mahogany bodies painted black and topped with a figured maple veneer and translucent satin finish. We’re talking Flying Vs in Orchid Bloom purple burst and the über-dark burst Obsidian Storm. The Les Paul comes also comes in Forest Phantom Satin.
Everywhere you look there’s something, y’know, contemporary. There are Posi-Lok strap buttons, locking Grover Rotomatics. Both the baritone and standard scale Les Pauls have the LockTone Tune-O-Matic but that’s string through via two offset groups of three body-mounted ferrules.
And the spec? Well, there’s no question, it’s pro. You get the multi-voiced capability from the Fishman Fluence humbuckers (you’ll need a 9V battery for these electric guitars) that offers a high-output modern voicing, a vintage PAF-style ‘bucker and quote/unquote optimised single-coil-inspired clarity. The tone controls select the voicing, while the individual volume controls activate the coil-tap for each pickup.
“Heavy music comes in more than one shape, and the players pushing it forward aren’t coming from just one scene,” Lewis McKinney III, marketing manager, Epiphone. “The rebuilt Prophecy Series gives guitarists across metal, hardcore, and beyond an instrument they can count on gig after gig, with the range to turn the sound in their heads into something you can feel in the room.”
These are priced at the upper end of the Epiphone price range – £1,249/$1,499 – but that price includes a Protector Ultralite guitar case. There is also something bougie and Gibson Custom about these designs, what with their multi-ply binding, split-diamond headstock inlays and black mother of pearl block inlays on the fingerboards.
But let’s not get carried away with all this finery. A Prophecy Les Paul is way more Hammer Smashed Face than Sweet Child O’ Mine, and if that sounds good to you, then you can check them out at Epiphone.
