Epiphone VS Gibson

[redsounds]

Was looking at getting a new guitar this year but honestly, am so torn between getting one of the Epiphone models or a Gibson Les Paul. So, we know that Epiphone are generally cheaper than Gibson, but I want to hear other experience about the quality and playability of these two brands.

 

[c_wester]

Get a Gibson and compare it to other Gibsons before.

 

[charliechitlins]

 

[jb_abides]

Wrong pub, to boot.

 

[redsounds]

Get a Gibson and compare it to other Gibsons before.

[ QUOTE="c_wester, post: 2927686, member: 2846"] Get a Gibson and compare it to other Gibsons before. [/QUOTE]

I will do that, thank you!

 

[charliechitlins]

I've had some Epiphones that were better than some Gibsons.
Play them and see what you think.
Without a hint of sarcasm...if you think an Epiphone you play is as good as a Gibson, buy it and save a lot of money.
Buy the one that makes you want to play.
The one that, if you don't get it out of your sight, you won't get anything done.
The one that says, "Run your fingers over my neck you great big guitar playing hunk of man."

 

[matt3310]

Seems like Epi of late has stepped up their quality a lot!

 

[Sgrady41]

I have an acoustic “inspired by gibson” EPI and it is really sweet. I have a gibson as well and it is amazing close. I don’t have a LP Epi but I also have a casino, pick ups were a little flat and swapped them out and the pots, caps etc. the quality and finish on it though is amazing and I like it better than the USA I played. Go play one, they are way better than 10 years ago.

 

[Triplet]

Much more of this type of discussion on that OTHER Les Paul forum...

 

[OLD GUITAR PLAYER]

I think in life, you get what you pay for...

If you can find an Epiphone with a good neck and decent frets, you can always upgrade the hardware, pickups and electronics.
It can be a cool looking affordable alternative to a Gibson LP, but there are a few functional trade-offs. Epiphones are Poly finished (not Nitro) and their maple caps are paper thin. They also use lower grade fingerboard woods, and body woods, and they use more affordable metric hardware. The electronics & pickups can be pretty sketchy compared to a real Gibson. But, if you can find a good one that plays well and sounds good, they look really nice.

I special ordered an Epiphone Les Paul Modern from Sam Ashe during the Pandemic (2021), and after waiting 8 long months it arrived unplayable, and un-plekable. Their tech spent 4 hours working on it, gave up and called me. The neck was twisted, and the frets were a mess, but it was beautiful to look at. I refused to accept it, and they put it in their back room (with 5 others from the same shipment) which all had neck issues (and which were being returned to Epiphone). The next day, I spent an additional $1000 with Sweetwater and selected (from a selection of 6 they had in stock) a Gibson Studio Les Paul Plus which was (and is) flawless, Factory Plekked, plays like butter, and is an amazing sounding guitar.

 

[Sgrady41]

I think in life, you get what you pay for...

If you can find an Epiphone with a good neck and decent frets, you can always upgrade the hardware, pickups and electronics.
It can be a decent affordable alternative to a Gibson LP, but there are a few trade-offs. Epiphones are Poly finished (not Nitro) and
their maple caps are paper thin. They also use lower grade fingerboard woods, and body woods, and they use affordable metric hardware. The electronics & pickups can be pretty sketchy especially compared to a real Gibson. But, if you can find a good one that plays well, they look really nice, and can always be upgraded.

I special ordered an Epiphone Les Paul Modern from Sam Ashe during the Pandemic (2021), and after waiting 8 long months it arrived unplayable, and un-plekable. Their tech spent 4 hours working on it, gave up and called me. The neck was twisted, and the frets were a mess, but it was beautiful to look at. I refused to accept it, and they put it in their back room (with 5 others from the same shipment) which all had neck issues (and which were being returned to Epiphone). The next day, I spent an additional $1000 with Sweetwater and selected (from a selection of 6 they had in stock) a Gibson Studio Les Paul Plus which was (and is) flawless, Factory Plekked, plays like butter, and is an amazing sounding guitar.

View attachment 22048

I think it also depends on which model you choose from Epiphone. I agree some are not in the same league.

 

[OLD GUITAR PLAYER]

I think it also depends on which model you choose from Epiphone. I agree some are not in the same league.

As I recall it was $800 with a hardshell case, one of their higher-end models.

 

[Sgrady41]

As I recall it was $800 with a hardshell case, one of their higher-end models.

I havent purchased one but have seen them, I did as I said buy a couple of them. The Casino I really enjoy. Agree sometimes the setup, is puzzling.

 

[lure555]

It sound like Epi has made some big strides with the Bonamassa guitars and the 1959, but I'll never get over when I worked at Manny's Music in Hollywood and the tuning peg simply fell off as I was attempting to tune an Epi 56 GT reissue. ?

 

[WillyW]

I wasn't a fan of the nasty epimophone hydrocephally headstock on any guitar but it was even worse on an SG or a lesser paul.

now that they have changed the headstock, they look much better.

 

[OLD GUITAR PLAYER]

I wasn't a fan of their old headstock design either.

 

[OLD GUITAR PLAYER]

I wasn't a fan of the nasty epimophone hydrocephally headstock on any guitar but it was even worse on an SG or a lesser paul.

now that they have changed the headstock, they look much better.

Tonewood matters peepholes!

BTW: In reference to "tonewood matters peepholes..."

When I worked with Leo Fender at G&L 1979-81, I specifically asked him how
important "tonewoods" were to sound (we had 3 working F-100 prototypes
Mahogony, Ash, and Alder). Honestly, he didn't think it made much difference.
He was much more interested in wood price, wood quality and availability.

Of course, there are legions of folk who will argue about this for the next
100 years, but I'm not one of them. Please, feel free to decide for yourself.

BTW: Forrest White felt the same way, and he was VP & the plant manager
from 1955-1965 at Pre-CBS Fender (and my best friend in the 1980's).

 

[Sgrady41]

I think the quality of the wood is key

 

[renderit]

If we all had keys made with equality our houses wood remain unopened...

 

[Sgrady41]

I wasn't a fan of their old headstock design either.

It takes some getting used too but I have grown to like it on my Casino