Your expierence with Epi Guitars . . . . . .

W

[wakingeden]

New member
I'm on a low budget and 'am looking for a guitar or two to record with.
I've owned both a Epi acoustic and an Epi SG Bully, both were great guitars (catch)for the price. I know the motto goes "you get what you pay for" but with a few adjustments I think they play quit nicely. My philosophy has always been that it is more of how well you play than how expensive the equipment you have is. I've been playin for about six years and have played many guitars, Ive had a few problem with my Epi's i.e. scratchy pots, high action, but these were fixed realitivly cheap and with little pain.

List of guitars Ive been looking at:

Epiphone Les Paul Jr. Electric Guitar Player Pack(Ebony Chrome Hardware)
Im only interested in the guitar itself, single hummy . Without all the included crap it is the same price. I think it would be interesting to experiment with.
Price $99.99

Epiphone Limted Edition LP Special II Deluxe Electric Guitar
Looks fairly decent, dual hummys, gold hardware rosewood fretboard.
Price: $129.99

Epiphone Limited Edition Les Paul Special II Electric Guitar with Zebra Pickups(Vintage White)

Not much to say here, dual zebra hummys, black hardware, rosewood fretboard.
Price: 179.99

Im also looking at single PU options for around $200 and Im not to happy with the qaulity of Squier. Maybe its reputation around the music scene but to me comparing Epi's and Squiers are like night and day.
 
Having some experience with Epiphone myself, my rule of thumb would be:

- the higher-end Epi's are typically pretty good for the money.
- the lower-end Epi's are typically hit or miss....but, from what I've seen, typically "miss."

I have an Epi LP Standard and its a solid axe. My buddy, however, has an Epi LP Special and its essentially unplayable (setup/intonation issues aside, the tuners won't stay in tune and the PUPs sound questionable).

I wouldn't buy a lower-end Epi without playing it first....if you play it and like it, go for it....but if you buy online or mailorder, expect questionable quality.

Just my .02....
 
This will probably be of no use to you. I was going to recommend you get a squire till I read the end. When it comes to inexpensive guitars I don't really think you can beat them. What model do you have and what don't you like about it?

I've played a few epi guitars and never cared for them except for a certain ES325 clone .I had one of their electric mandolin's that looked quite nice and played decent but didn't sound that good especially when the bridge collasped.

I have a couple dozen stringed instruments: Fender MIA's, Martins, Gibson, Taylor but allways enjoy playing my squire strat and tele. I did do some mods on them the electronics are junk but for $150 you could put some decent pickups and electronics perhaps some tuners and have a fairly nice guitar.

Perhaps it's the humbucker that entices you to a LP, you could always get one for you squire. I don't even like the 490's that come standard on most
Gibson LP's so you know a epi is going to sound like be pure trash to my ears any way.
 
I'm going to echo Toad's comments. Play first...I wouldn't recommend puchasing on line. I've had really great experienes with my Epi's but while roaming the Guitar Center's, cruising the low cost models, some had been complete junk while others seem like tasty bargains.

I've got an LP Custom and an LP Limited which I couldn't be happier with.
 
Well Im going to take everyones advice and drive out to GC this weekend and play a few squier's/epi's. I have been looking at MIM Teles, Ive always had a love for them. But right now I have insurance/car payment/utilites/cell phone to pay so Im looking for something more affordable. I will defiantly grab a Squier Tele and see how it feels. I have alot of expierence in electronic component replacement so upgrading the electronics will not be a problem. What Im looking for is build quality and playability. By all means, keep the feedback coming!
 
my experience with the lower end epi's: crappy fretwork, sloppy neck pockets, mediocre hardware/electronics, crappy setup. you get what you pay for. no experience with the squiers.
 
I have a Squire tele and a couple of high end Epis. Quality is similar in both of them ...... cheesy electronics ..... fairly nice playing necks.
At those prices you're talking about bottom of the line gits so I really don't think brand's gonna be the way to decide. They're gonna be chinese made so the quality control is non-existant and you're gonna have to play before you buy to get one you like.
 
If you don't like Squiers because you think they have quality issues, then stay the frick away from bolt-on Epis. In my experience, it isn't until you hit set-neck territory that the Epis really shine. If you go from your $200 to $300 or keep an eye out for used in the $200 range, you can do a whole lot better. Sometimes those stupid cosmetic things that require attention to detail even on a budget guitar will force the factory to, well, pay attention to detail.

And not to be pushy, but plug in a Squier '51 if you get a chance. Or a couple. Find a nice example of one of those, and you'll have a great neck to play on.
 
With the squires compared to MIM and MIA you have the following differences:
Less weight can play all night.
Thinner body so a more compact fit.
Pickups are not that much worst than the MIM's but still not any good.
Neck comparable to the MIM but not finished very good will need a
little fret polishing and a file job on overhanging frets which the MIM
will probably need to but still be a little better .
It can't touch the MIA fret job and neck quality but still pretty nice once doctored up. I think you can put a set of SCNs or Vintage noiseless on your
Squire and end up with a better sound than you would with a std tele.
It might not feel or play as creamy but it will sound that way.
 
I have an Epi Junior and it sounds great but it is heavilly modified....The Bridge on the EPI Junior is really shitty so I removed it and threw in a cheap Fender style Bridge but the new brodge was too low for the neck so I had to sand down the heal of the neck so it sat perpendicular to the Bridge.....

I then added another Humbucker Pickup closer to the Neck, I just wired it in Paralell with the existing Pickup and this Brought out the sound of the Guitar ....

I then added active electronics to the Guitar which really brought out the presence of the guitar but I have to deal with installing new Batteries every 6 months or so.......

After installing the new bridge and snading the neck the guitars action was Much better and because the guitar is so light (about 5 LB) it makes the guitar really easy to play.....

I got this Guitar with a cheal 15w amp about 10 years ago for $149 CAN and it is the only 6 string I play now.....

You can also buy a DIY Guitar kit for under $100 (Telecaster or Strat Copy) for cheaper one or get a Gibson copy for about $150....I built my Bass from a Kit and it is a great sounding bass and was very easy to put together (This is way before I got into DIY electronics).......


Cheers
 
epi

i have a epi les paul deluxe ....... i bought it used for $250 ?? i think .... it is my main giging guitar ..... one of the few guitars i have never had to turn a single screw on
 
BrentDomann said:
And not to be pushy, but plug
Click to expand...

No need to call anyone names.

Let's face it, it's alot cheaper to make a fender-style guitar than a gibsoney one. So, at a given price, you have to figure there is a tiny bit more in the budget after meeting the MSRP for an extra thirty cents a day for the indonesian artisan.

If you are totally scraping the bottom of the barrel, you get some off brand SX or Agile or some crap like that that doesn't have to pay license for the design and logos. they might even have a few cents to kick in for a higher quality grade of banana-tree plywood bonded to the thinnest verneer of flamed maple you can train an eight year old to shave off a log.
 
I had a Epi LP Gothic Studio a few years ago. It played and sounded about the same as the Gibson LP Studio I had in the early 90's.
Nice guitar. My only complaint, and the reason I got rid of it, was that it had no whammy bar.
 
Wow, you like crappy guitars. Epiphones suck. I have one. It rarely stays in tune.

Truth be told, I think Yamaha makes extremely durable guitars and bases that stay in tune. Plus, they aren't much more expensive than cheap Epiphones. Every Yamaha I have can take a beating and stay in tune. Very cool.

Everything Yamaha makes is of good quality.
 
depends on which Epi. The higher end ones are fairly nice. I have a Zak Wilde LP that's a flat-out good guitar ...... I like it better than my beloved custom strat that's been my main ax for 25 years.
I also have the Epi Firebird that's pretty good though I did have to change all the crappy hardware on it.
I agree though , that a $250 paul with a bolt on neck is gonna be crap.
 
epi's suck ??

hey kavekong ...... maby you got a bad epi ??? mine stays in tune and has never given me any trouble ... i gig w/ it every weekend .. have been for 3 years ...... it seems to me you get out of your guitar what you put into it ... i always use quality strings. i keep it clean and in the case when i am not playing it ... i play hard but i dont abuse it ..
 
a friend loaned me his epiphone les paul copy for a year, (which he paid 200 for). i got to know it pretty well. it stayed in tune pretty well and it sounded alright, and it played well. i never had any problems with it.

but on the flip side, my friend Makisha has a epi les paul copy and it sucks ass. won't stay in tune, refuses to be set up properly, intonation is always out. the neck is so thick that it's hard to play.

i think the moral of the story is when searching for cheap guitars there is nothing like trying them out and finding the good apples in the barrel.
 
I love what Epiphone has done in the last 3 years, putting out some really nice guitars (and great amps!) that are affordable to the average musician. I recently bought an Epiphone Limited Edition Firebird Studio that is absolutely KILLER!

But their lower end stuff is still just that... lower end. Quality control and quality parts are always lacking on cheap guitars, no matter what brand you're talking about. But the best of the cheapies seems to be the Agile and SX guitars from Rondo Music.

www.rondomusic.com
 
I love everything about my Sheraton II except the toggle switch - the weight, feel, sound & look of the guitar are all excellent but the toggle often fails to select the bridge p/up. I'll have to get it seen to I suppose.
 
When it comes to buying cheap guitars just go to a store and play a bunch. Pick the one that sounds good and plays well. Then have them set it up. If they say it comes set up from the factory walk away. You basically get what you pay for. Now I have tried the Yamaha'a and some Peavey's and they play well for the money. As for the cheap Epi's I find them muddy and the Squire tend to fret out if you like your action low.:)
 
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