Epiphone Rebuilds the Prophecy Series: First Victory, 27" Les Paul Baritone, Custom Fishman Fluence

Epiphone just did something it has not done in a long time with its heavy-guitar line: it tore the Prophecy Series down and built it again. Announced October 28, 2026, the new Prophecy family is five instruments — Victory FR, Les Paul Baritone, Les Paul, SG and Flying V — sharing one performance platform of thermally aged maple necks, compound-radius ebony boards, 24 stainless frets and custom-voiced Fishman Fluence pickups. Street price on Epiphone.com is $1,499 for each Obsidian Storm Satin listing, Protector Ultralite case included.

Two of those five are firsts for the brand. The Victory FR is Epiphone's first production Victory. The Les Paul Baritone stretches to a 27-inch scale and, per Epiphone Marketing Manager Lewis McKinney III, is the first Epiphone baritone Les Paul in more than twenty years. If you play modern metal, hardcore, drop-tuned rock or anything that needs a fast neck and flexible active electronics without jumping to boutique money, this is the Epiphone announcement to read carefully.

What Epiphone Announced

The official Gibson Gazette piece, "Fulfill the Prophecy: Epiphone's heavy flagship, rebuilt," frames the launch as a complete overhaul of a line that first appeared in 2008. Aljon Go, Epiphone Product Development Manager, put the brief this way:

"The Prophecy Series is built for players who expect more from their instruments. 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."

Lewis McKinney III added the scene angle:

"Heavy music comes in more than one shape, and the players pushing it forward aren't coming from just one scene. 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."

On the baritone specifically, McKinney told Guitar World: "A lot of what we do starts with listening to players. The baritone Les Paul is something we've heard requested repeatedly. We're excited that players who've been asking for its return can finally get their hands on one. It's been over twenty years."

The Shared Prophecy Platform

Every Prophecy in this rebuild sits on the same core:

• Neck: thermally aged, graphite-reinforced one-piece maple, satin finish, HyperGlide (product copy: Hyperglide) profile
• Fretboard: bound ebony, 10"–14" compound radius
• Frets: 24 stainless steel
• Pickups: custom Fishman Fluence set developed for Prophecy, three voices via push/pull controls
• Mounting: DAPS (Dual-Axis Pickup Stabilization) — Epiphone's body-anchored system with no conventional mounting rings
• Hardware language: black / black-nickel aesthetic, locking Grover tuners
• Case: Protector Ultralite included
• Veneer: highly figured flamed maple across the line

Go told Guitar World that he and Senior Product Development Engineer Richard Akers "really wanted to create the most comfortable and fastest-playing guitar neck we've ever offered," and that HyperGlide "is based on a performance-oriented D shape" with a satin back "so it feels incredibly smooth and effortless when you play."

The compound radius is the practical counterpart to that claim: rounder near the nut for chords, flatter as you climb for bends and shredding. Stainless frets are the wear-and-polish play for players who live on the upper frets and in drop tunings. Graphite reinforcement is Epiphone's answer to seasonal neck movement when the guitar spends more time in vans than climate-controlled rooms.

Scale length is part of the platform story too. Most of the range runs a 25.5-inch scale — longer than a classic Gibson 24.75" — which Epiphone says keeps lower tunings tighter. The Baritone goes further to 27 inches.

Fishman Fluence and DAPS: Three Voices, No Rings

The electronics are the headline for a lot of players who have already lived with Fluence pickups in other brands. Epiphone's Prophecy set is custom-voiced for this series, not a catalog Fluence drop-in. Official materials list three voices:

1. High-output modern active humbucker tones 2. Vintage-inspired Patent Applied For–style humbucker character 3. Clear single-coil–style chime / articulation

On the Les Paul and Baritone product pages, Epiphone clarifies the control logic a little further: individual volume controls handle coil splits, while the tone controls select pickup voicing. The Victory copy describes three voices via push/pull master volume and tone. Either way, the pitch is the same — one guitar that can do modern rhythm aggression, warmer vintage-leaning leads and clearer single-coil textures without a soldering iron.

Go's line to Guitar World is the cleanest summary of the intent: "For us, it wasn't about creating pickups that only do one thing well. We wanted a pickup system that lets players move between styles and applications without compromise."

DAPS — Dual-Axis Pickup Stabilization — is Epiphone's mounting story. The pickups are body-anchored with stabilization wings and machined pockets so they stay parallel to the strings while still allowing height adjustment. Conventional plastic rings are gone. GuitarRadar also refers to an Epiphone "Direct-Attachment Pickup System"; Epiphone's own Gazette copy uses the DAPS name. Treat DAPS as the official term unless Epiphone publishes a different marketing label on the product cards.

Model by Model

Prophecy Victory FR

This is the showpiece for players who want a Floyd and an aggressive silhouette. Mahogany Victory body, highly flamed maple veneer, Explorer-style multi-ply-bound headstock, 25.5" scale, Floyd Rose 1000 Series locking tremolo, Floyd Rose R3 locking nut, locking Grover Mini Rotomatics. Finishes: Obsidian Storm Satin and Aqua Smoke Satin. Inlays are black mother-of-pearl dots.

Epiphone's product copy sells the Victory as "Victory performance without compromise" and leans hard on tremolo stability for "how enthusiastically you work the bar." If your reference points are Jackson, Charvel or an Ibanez with a double-locking trem, this is the Prophecy aimed at you.

Prophecy Les Paul Baritone

Ultra Modern weight-relieved mahogany body, maple cap, flamed maple veneer, Modern Contoured Heel, rear belly carve, 27" scale, factory .012–.060 strings set up for baritone tunings such as B to B. Bridge: LockTone Modern. Tailpiece: through-body, Frequensator-inspired. Nut: Graph Tech. Tuners: locking Grover Rotomatics. Finish at launch: Obsidian Storm Satin. Neck profile on the Baritone product page is specifically called Hyperglide B. Inlays are black mother-of-pearl blocks, with a Custom split-diamond headstock inlay.

Epiphone's own copy is unusually clear about the musical job: the 27" scale and heavy gauges are meant to fill the gap between bass and standard guitar while keeping familiar chord shapes. For players writing in B standard, drop A or neighboring baritone territory, that is the whole point of buying a purpose-built instrument instead of flogging a 24.75" Les Paul into submission.

Prophecy Les Paul

Same Ultra Modern weight-relieved mahogany / maple / flame veneer recipe as the Baritone, same contoured heel and belly carve, but at 25.5" with a standard Prophecy Hyperglide neck. LockTone Modern bridge, through-body Frequensator-inspired tailpiece, Graph Tech nut, locking Grover Rotomatics. Finishes: Obsidian Storm Satin, Forest Phantom Satin, Crimson Fog Satin.

This is the "modern Les Paul" play — longer scale than a traditional Les Paul for drop-tuned tension, weight relief and upper-fret access without abandoning the single-cut outline.

Prophecy SG

SG Modern mahogany body with maple cap and flamed veneer, 25.5" scale, same neck / board / Fluence platform. Hardware matches the hardtail Prophecy recipe: LockTone Modern bridge, through-body Frequensator-inspired tailpiece, Graph Tech nut and locking Grover Rotomatics (per Epiphone’s SG product copy). Finishes: Obsidian Storm Satin, Crimson Fog Satin. Epiphone pitches it as the lightweight, ergonomic option in the family — the one you grab when the Victory's mass and the Les Paul's footprint feel like too much stage furniture.

Prophecy Flying V

Flying V silhouette with flamed maple veneer and multi-ply binding, 25.5" scale, LockTone Modern bridge, through-body tailpiece, Graph Tech nut, locking Grover Rotomatics. Finishes: Obsidian Storm Satin, Orchid Bloom Satin.

Specs at a Glance

All five: HyperGlide maple neck with graphite rods, bound ebony 10"–14" board, 24 stainless frets, custom Fishman Fluence, DAPS mounting, Protector Ultralite case.

Prophecy History: Why This Rebuild Matters

Prophecy has been Epiphone's performance / metal flagship language since 2008. Earlier Prophecy guitars already chased speed necks, high-output electronics and aggressive finishes; what is new in 2026 is how thoroughly Epiphone standardized a modern platform across five shapes, including two formats the brand had not offered (Victory) or had not offered in decades (Les Paul baritone).

Guitar World places the launch in the same "hot streak" as Epiphone's recent Futura work — another sign that Epiphone's Modern Collection is where the company is spending engineering attention, not only finishing tricks. The pricing is the other half of the story. At $1,499 with a case, Prophecy is not competing with sub-$500 import shredders. It is aiming at players comparing mid-tier Ibanez Prestige-adjacent street prices, Jackson Pro / USA Select alternatives, Schecter USA-adjacent specs and even used higher-end instruments — the same neighborhood Guitar World flagged when it said Prophecy should "compete with other big-brand metal guitars in a market currently dominated by the likes of Ibanez and Jackson."

That is also why it sits next to recent TGP coverage of PRS Tekton and the Jackson Phil Collen PC1-E: different price bands, same conversation about what a "modern performance" guitar is supposed to be in 2026.

Who It's For (and Who Should Look Elsewhere)

Strong fit

• Modern metal, metalcore, hardcore and drop-tuned rock players who want Fluence flexibility without a custom shop bill
• Players who specifically want a Floyd Rose Victory or a 27" Les Paul baritone from a major brand
• Gigging players who value stainless frets, locking tuners and a included hard case at this price
• Modelers and high-gain amp users who like switching between modern, vintage and single-coil voices on one instrument

Weaker fit

• Pure vintage Les Paul / SG tone chasers who want a 24.75" scale, open PAF-style passive set and nitro romance — Prophecy is not pretending to be that guitar
• Players who need a seven- or eight-string; this launch is six-string only
• Budget shoppers under $800 — look at Epiphone's lower lines or used market instead

If your daily driver is a digital rig — Helix, Quad Cortex, Tonex, Neural plugins — the Fluence multi-voice approach is especially interesting, for the same reason we keep covering tools like the Zoom Neurig and Line 6 Helix Stadium Native: modern guitar tone is often a system, and pickups that can get out of the way (or lean in) matter.

TGP Lessons, powered by Guitar Tricks (affiliate link, clearly labeled) > A fast compound-radius neck only helps if your fretting hand can keep up. If you want structured practice for alternate picking and upper-fret accuracy, start with our free First Riffs lesson, then try Guitar Tricks' 14-day free trial for guided metal and rock courses. Disclosure: TGP earns a commission if you sign up through this link, at no extra cost to you.

How Prophecy Compares

Prophecy is not trying to beat Tekton at USA custom-shop adjacency. It is trying to put Fluence, stainless, a compound ebony board and serious hardware into recognizable Epiphone / Gibson silhouettes at a price a working player can justify.

Pricing, Availability and Apparel

• Price: $1,499 USD each on Epiphone.com for the Obsidian Storm Satin listings we checked via Gibson product JSON (price field `149900` cents). Guitar World also reported pricing "around $1,499 each."
• Included: Protector Ultralite case
• Where: Authorized Epiphone dealers, Gibson Garage locations, Epiphone.com (per Gibson Gazette)
• Stock tags on launch-day product JSON showed U.S. / U.K. / Europe in-stock flags for several SKUs — treat live inventory as dealer-dependent
• Apparel: "Fulfill the Prophecy" hoodie and tee exclusive to Epiphone.com (apparel prices not listed in the Gazette piece)

Thomann was already listing at least one Prophecy Les Paul finish in the European market around launch (example street price seen lower than $1,499 USD equivalent — regional pricing differs).

FAQ

Is this a new Prophecy or a finish refresh? A ground-up rebuild. Shared neck platform, Fluence set, DAPS mounting, stainless frets and two brand-first models.

Does every model have a Floyd Rose? No. Only the Victory FR. The Les Paul, Les Paul Baritone, SG and Flying V use LockTone Modern bridges with through-body, Frequensator-inspired tailpieces (per Epiphone product copy).

Are the Fluence pickups passive or active? Fishman Fluence is an active multi-voice system. Epiphone describes modern high-output active humbucker tones among the three voices. Check Epiphone’s owner materials for battery access and runtime on these specific installs.

Is left-handed available? Not listed in the launch materials we reviewed.

What about seven-strings? Not part of this announcement.

The Bottom Line

Epiphone did not sprinkle satin finishes on last year's Prophecy and call it a day. It standardized a modern performance platform — HyperGlide neck, compound ebony board, stainless frets, custom Fluence, DAPS — and used that platform to deliver a first Victory and a long-requested Les Paul baritone alongside refreshed Les Paul, SG and Flying V models, all at $1,499 with a case. For TGP readers watching the mid-priced metal / modern guitar market, this is one of the more consequential Epiphone launches in years.

We'll update with hands-on notes once a sample lands. Until then, the Gibson Gazette post, Epiphone product pages and the official Prophecy film above are the primary sources.

Discuss it in Guitar Talk, or start with the Gibson Gear Guide Prophecy overview if you want a model-by-model walk-through from Gibson's own channel.