Epiphone Les Paul

L

lilray99

New member
I am renting a left handed epiphone les paul model.
It sells for $650 Canadian.

Should I grab it?

-Bird's eye Sunburst body
-Rosewood Neck

Does any one know the difference between Epiphone models & Gibson Models?
 
epiphone vs gibson

well... im no expert but from what ive been told. epiphone guitars dont use a solid chunk of wood for the body like a gibson does, that might make a difference in the tone and sustain. i dont know about the quality of the wood they use though.

they also use lower quality electronics and pickups and the tuners might need an upgrade as well.

some ppl think an epiphone sounds just as good as a gibson and the gibson is just charging extra for their name recognition , so thats up to u to find out.


epiphone is made overseas by some asian people who will work for peanuts but will turn out some decent guitars occasionally.

thats all i know, good luck.
 
I'm assuming it is a G-400 model. That guitar can be had for under $400 US (New). If you get a chance, check out both the Custom and Elite series models as a comparison to the G-400. I have both and have been very pleased.
 
It all depends on what you want and can afford. Bucks buy a better product as a general rule.

If you can tell the difference in the neck between a Gibson and an Epiphone, maybe its time to move into a higher end axe. But if you can't, stay with the lower end stuff. You can always change the electronics if you want.
 
I have a friend who has a gibson melody maker SG 1968. I hate it, wont stay in tune and the neck has a bad feel...BUT, I have played Epies that sound/play great. So the moral is...even some Caddilacs break down and need towed by a ford. If it sounds good..then thats the one!! go play a bunch...When i bought my strat..I played every Strat in the store that day. I ended up with a mexican...I just liked the way it played.
 
I've got an Epiphone Les Paul Custom.. love it. It weighs a ton, but you get used to it.. nice fat sound.
 
gibson

I played both Epi and Gibsons. The difference is huge. I you search around, you might get a Gibson Les Paul in $1100-1200 range. You won't regret it. I like the very old Epiphone acoustics, when they used solid wood. Their newer guitars are not very well built and they're not cheap either. I play now a 93 Gibson LP standard, after years of looking around. The only alternatives to LPs are the very old Ibanez "law suit" LesPauls of 70s or Yamaha SG2000. Those guitars are built by premium solid woods.
 
lilray99 said:
I am renting a left handed epiphone les paul model.
It sells for $650 Canadian.

Should I grab it?

-Bird's eye Sunburst body
-Rosewood Neck

Does any one know the difference between Epiphone models & Gibson Models?
Click to expand...

Unless you're playing gigs for decent money and are picky about every little nuance of your tone, the Epi Les Paul is a pretty darned good guitar for the money.

Yes, there are some significant differences between an Epiphone and a Gibson Les Paul. But don't spend the extra chunk of cash on a Gibson unless you can justify the cost. The real ones are very pricey and I don't think they're worth it for the average musician. Besides, you can swap out the pups on an Epi and get it to sound pretty darned close to a real one anyway. ;)

I'd get the Epiphone and put the money you saved towards a good amp.
 
If you like the guitar, then buy it. But don't buy it because it is a "Les Paul." Fuck what anyone says--If you like it and you think it is worth the money, then buy it.

Personally, I don't see the point of this thread.
 
I've owned a couple of Epi LPs and they're pretty decent - you *must* check it out in person, though, quality control is kind of spotty for Epi axes in my experience and one may be brilliant while the next is pathetic!

Other than that, I agree with the previous poster - if it sounds good and feels good, buy it, forget the name! Unless you're intending on collecting and not playing.. lol! God help me, I played a cheap-o Ibanez Jet King in my local Guitar Center a couple of days ago and loved it (going to get one next Payday, hell, they're cheap). Every guitar is different, use your hands eyes and ears! :O
 
"Personally, I don't see the point of this thread."

I see the point of this thread, he said "should I grab it"....talking about the ephiphone. He is wondering if his money would be better spent on a gibson or if an epi is "just as good"

Im in sales so heres my 2 cents:

1st of all...how long will he use the guitar?
everyone knows that a good guitar should last at least 25 years...alot of gibsons older than that are still being played hard.

so, with that in mind, a total investment for a really nice Gibson Les Paul would be in the neighborhood of $2000.

$2000 over the course of 25 years works out to be
$6.60 per month....thats what it cost you to own a Les Paul

you can get a nice Epiphone for $700...but
a pickup upgrade will sureley come...$200
the pots will probably need replacing twice as fast as the better Gibson ones...$100
you will surely want the better keys that stay in tune.....$65

so your total investment would be aproxx. $1150

so, given that you get 25 years out of the Epiphone ...it would cost you $3.83 a month to own one.

$6.60 a month to own the Gibson, $3.83 to own the Epi...thats a difference of $2.77...so literally its $2.77 a month that your deicision is riding on isn't it

the question is this: Isn't it true that if you buy the Gibson, you will have the guitar that you WANT.........not the one you have to settle for?

actually,its you own personal pride of owning a Gibson Les Paul thats in question here isn't it?

Is it worth $2.77..........your pride?

take that into consideration along with this.....in 25 years your Gibson Les Paul (according to past appreciation records) will be worth considerably more than your initial $2000 investment.

on the other hand, the Epiphone that you invested $1150 bucks in....will still be a $650 guitar (if your lucky)

Does that answer your question?
good, I know you'll be glad we took the time to weigh the facts before making a decision to invest in the marvalous Gibson made Les Paul guitar.

do you want one of our professionals to set it up to your specifications or would you rather take care of that yourself?


:)
 
Jimistone, amen to that brother.
I am with you all the way.
The older your gibson gets the more valuable it will be.
 
That's true but although it's nice to break it down into how many bucks a month it comes to if you keep the axe for 25 years......you have to come up with it all at once. some people can't do that.

Epi's are definitely a lesser quality guitar than Gibson but they aren't bad. They have their place and even though I have some expensive guitars.....I also have an EPI and a Squire too!
 
you also may want to consider that the toggle switch in the epis are noisy. i don't know how important that is to anyone else, but to me it's important and i don't know if just changing the switch would fix it. it may, but i dunno you may have to have it rewired.

and i also think that 200 bucks is a low estimate for pickups unless you put them in yourself.

i think a gibson standard is what i woudl go for in your situationeven if i had to wait a bit and save......unless they are willing to make you a killer deal considering that you've been renting it.

some stores that still have the black standard models from before they changed to burst buckers in the standards(i believe the 2001's and 2002's still had 490r and 498 t's in em) are selling em for like 1600 bucks. you may still even be able to talk them down a bit too.

but like has been said. go in and actually compare it to some gibson les pauls.......a/b them and if you think the epi wins or you are happy with it, then get it.
 
I'd just like to chime in to say that I've messed around on Epi Les Pauls, and they aren't bad guitars. But I'm currently borrowing a '70s Gibson Les Paul Custom, and maaaaaan oooooh maaaaan. It's my dream guitar. Everything on it just rules. There is an ENORMOUS difference between the Epi and Gibson models.
 
"That's true but although it's nice to break it down into how many bucks a month it comes to if you keep the axe for 25 years......you have to come up with it all at once. some people can't do that."


Don't get me wrong, if its $399 guitar or nothing....because $300 is in the absolute high end of your total guitar budget, you are in the Epi neighborhood and I say get one. If you can afford a BRAND NEW Epiphone...then you are in the used gibson neighborhood.

I would rather have 1 used gibson than 2 brand new epiphones....Thats my personal opinion.

I bought a used Gibson SG for $400 last year (in real good shape)
I could have owned a brand new Epiphone SG for that amount, but I thought the Gibson was a wiser buy....and I liked it better than the brand new Epiphones.

In 1976 I bought a used 1966 strat for $150
if we look at the "cost" of owning that '66 strat its low.

$150 divided by 27 years is $5.55 a year
thats 46 cents a month....to own a really nice Fender strat.

Im confident I could get my $150 back out of it.

I could have gotten a brand new Japan strat copy at the time for $150....I Wanted a Fender!

I thought maybe the late '60's strats would appreciate like the 50's era strats at the time had done.... I was right

I will say this. Even in 1976 $150 for a late 60's strat was a very good deal.

Deals are out there....if you look hard enough.
 
Well, I'm not disagreeing with you really.......no doubt a Gibson is superior and yes, I'd as soon have a used Gibson as a new EPI.

At $600......if I had to have a new guitar.....then there's other brands I'd as soon have rather than a copy.
But, of course, ultimately it's all in the eyes of the beholder.

Personally, I'm a custom built guy. By far, the best guitar I have or have ever had is one that I built. I wouldn't sell it for anything.......well, it would take a hell of a lot........maybe $20,000 or so before I'd sell it.
 
Re: Re: Epiphone Les Paul

Buck62 said:
I'd get the Epiphone and put the money you saved towards a good amp.
Click to expand...

Very good advise......get an epi and a marshall tube. You will have a kick ass setup then. You can always get a gison later.
 
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