Slash fans will have a new guitar to drool over this October as Epiphone and Slash announced on Monday an “Appetite” Les Paul. I chatted with Slash a little bit about the guitar and the role he played in getting it made. The guitar is based on the Gibson USA and Gibson Custom Shop models of the same name. The “Appetite” Les Paul is obviously referencing Slash’s first album with Guns ‘N Roses, “Appetite for Destruction.”

“I had to approve this model a couple of weeks ago,” Slash told The Loop during an interview on Monday. “There’s hardly any difference in this guitar and the USA and Custom model. The major difference is in the headstock.”

Being a famous guitarist, Slash could just allow Gibson to make the guitars and release them without any interaction at all. But that’s not the way he does things. Slash was involved every step of the way in making sure the guitar met his standards.

“I’m very specific about every piece of hardware on this guitar, from the wood down to the wiring,” said Slash.

While pricing for this model hasn’t been released yet, Epiphone’s typically sell for less than their Gibson counterparts. The Gibson models currently go for between $4,000 and $12,000. Giving users a quality guitar and the right price was what this model was all about.

“It’s way more of a quality instrument to call it a beginner guitar,” said Slash.

Of course, being a longtime Gibson user, Slash made his latest album using his collection of Les Paul guitars. The album he said was made by “just doing my thing.”

“I hadn’t anticipated how well the album was going to do,” said Slash. “It was very gratifying when it was so well received when it came out.”

While Slash said that he used a friend’s Pro Tools rig to record some demos for the album, when it came time to record, he went old school. The entire album was recorded on two-inch tape, something that is almost unheard of these days.

Slash said he likes the way the drums and guitar sound on tape rather than digital. Whatever he used, it’s a killer album.