What's the story with Epiphone?

Telegram Sam said:
A real SG is what, $700?

Amortize the difference in cost over the 20 years that you will play it.

Get a real one.
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meh ...... get a good Epi and the difference isn't that great.

I don't even agree that the p'ups always have to be replaced. I have two Epi Firebirds and swapped out the p'ups on one for some nice Seymour Duncans. The two guitars sound almost identical.
 
I would say go with the Epiphone.Get a higher end model and you probably wont even want to switch pickups.The low end Epi stuff is pretty weak IMHO.

I have an Epi LP DC with P90s and a Coronet.I switched out the pickups on the Coronet because they were terrible,the pickups on the LP are ordinary.
 
acidrock said:
I would say go with the Epiphone.Get a higher end model and you probably wont even want to switch pickups.The low end Epi stuff is pretty weak IMHO.

I have .
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that's the key. The lower priced Epis are super cheap and perform like it.
But the better Epis can be very nice.
I have an Epi Zak Wilde 'paul and it's a very nice guitar. A friend has a big money white Gibson custom that he's used for a few decades and he says the tweo play identically. Theyt sound quite a bit different 'cause the Epi has EMG passives in it but it's a higher end Epi and it's a very nice git.
 
Thax for all the advice, guys. A bonus reason for me to want an SG is that I'm lefty, so the double cutaway makes it just as easy to play the higher frets.

I used to work at a big music store here in Montreal. For a few years, I worked in the guitar accessories section, so I used to know all the pick-ups. Now, I can't remember anything about pick-ups. Hopefully, I won't have to swap them out if I buy a good Epi.

What's a P-90?
 
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RAMI said:
Thax for all the advice, guys. A bonus reasonf or me to want an SG is that I'm lefty, so the double cutaway makes it just as easy to play the higher frets.

I used to work at a big music store here in Montreal. Ror a few years, I worked in the guitar accessories section, so I used to know all the pick-ups. Now, I can't remember anything about pick-ups. Hopefully, I won't have to swap them out if I buy a good Epi.

What's a P-90?
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a large single coil ..... old timers like me (and possibly you) used to call them cobalt p'ups.
 
Lt. Bob said:
a large single coil ..... old timers like me (and possibly you) used to call them cobalt p'ups.
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Ah thanx. No, never heard of that. I thought all large pick-ups were humbuckers and some can be split into 2 single coils. Just learned something new. :)
 
Rami, knowing your sound, I think you would like P-90s. They're a little noisy, like all true single coils are, but man they bark and bite when you get after it. They're not as twangy and bright as a Fender or Tele single coil, but they're not as fat as a typical humbucker either. They fall neatly in between. I personally love them. I'm looking to potentially put a P-94 in my SG. The P-94 is a P-90 that fits in a humbucker slot.
 
Greg_L said:
That's kind of backwards though. The best thing about the Studio models is that they usually come with good 490R/498T Gibson pickups. It's the rest of the guitar that's iffy.
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Yeah, for harder rock those pickups are damn good. I picked up my LP studio for $500 because it had a ding on the top (which I fixed with a rattle can of black laquer and a bit of deft brushing laquer)
I put some SD 1959 humbucker in my LP studio (wanted a more classic vintage sound) and I put
The 490R/498T in a epi korina flying V I had. That V flat out rocked with those pups!
 
jimistone said:
Yeah, for harder rock those pickups are damn good. I picked up my LP studio for $500 because it had a ding on the top (which I fixed with a rattle can of black laquer and a bit of deft brushing laquer)
I put some SD 1959 humbucker in my LP studio (wanted a more classic vintage sound) and I put
The 490R/498T in a epi korina flying V I had. That V flat out rocked with those pups!
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Yeah they're a little hot for my tastes, but they do kick out some rock. I prefer more "medium" output humbuckers. The Burstbuckers in my LP was a big selling point for me.
 
I heard that the difference between Epis and Gibson is 3 things:


1). The name and shape of headstock

2). The pickups

3). The hardware (tuners and bridge).



Other than that, and where they were made, they are the same; the price difference is ridiculous and you could have a nice "Gibson" for much less.
 
I guess I'm the lone voice that says "get a Gibson". Whether it be a LP or SG. Heres my reasoning...
I will preference this by saying I haven't played any of the new epis because they don't interest me but I have played a shitload of the older ones.

First off you could probably get a used epi for $250 and a "studio" level Gibson LP or SG would probably run $700 ( give or take $100). The epi will need pickups ($200) probably a nice set of keys ($75) and their pots are notoriously scratchy so for examples sake ($20). You would have $545 sunk in the epi to bring it up to
snuff....and it will always be a $250 guitar

For $155 more you could have the $700 Gibson that will always be worth $700
 
CrowsofFritz said:
I heard that the difference between Epis and Gibson is 3 things:


1). The name and shape of headstock

2). The pickups

3). The hardware (tuners and bridge).



Other than that, and where they were made, they are the same; the price difference is ridiculous and you could have a nice "Gibson" for much less.
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There's more to it than that. For one the nuts and frets are better on a Gibson. Are Gibsons overpriced? Yeah probably. But they are typically much better looking, feeling, and sounding than an Epi.
 
Greg_L said:
There's more to it than that. For one the nuts and frets are better on a Gibson. Are Gibsons overpriced? Yeah probably. But they are typically much better looking, feeling, and sounding than an Epi.
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Really? I had an Epiphone Les Paul Plustop that I thought was much better than my friend's Gibson Studio. His frets sucked and his sound was incredibly thin. Maybe he got a dud? :confused:
 
CrowsofFritz said:
Really? I had an Epiphone Les Paul Plustop that I thought was much better than my friend's Gibson Studio. His frets sucked and his sound was incredibly thin. Maybe he got a dud? :confused:
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Maybe. I don't know. I'm not saying Gibsons are perfect. Maybe his Studio was a dud and your Epi was badass. It's entirely possible. The higher end Epis are nice, many Studios are not. If those are the choices, a high end Epi might be a better value than a Studio. For a few bucks more you can get a used mid level LP that blows both of them away. Same with SGs. Gibson Faded SGs go used for 400 bucks in many cases. That's a real Gibson SG for 400 dollars. They aint the prettiest SGs ever by far, but they're SGs. I'll take a used Faded model over the Epi version any day and the money will be about the same.

I look at it kind of like the modern small-watt Marshall amps vs their big brothers of yesteryear. Yeah, you can buy a new one-watt JCM-1 for 800 bucks, or you can buy a used real-deal bonafide JCM 800 for around a grand. I'll save a little more and buy the real JCM 800 thanks.
 
Im with Telegram Sam and Jimistone and anyone else who voted go with the Gibson,... bcuz..theres no second guessing in your mind, you've played long enough to appreciate it, and over a few years the difference is nothing.
thats my nickel.... if you were starting out or collecting a hundred different guitars maybe a EPI is fine, but you're kind of jonzing for one and the real deal will be worth the extra ben franklins.
although, on a recording no one will probably tell the difference.... whatever youre using now sounds great, but thats not the point.
 
it's always about what you really want when you're spending your own money.

I've had prolly 150 gits or more and some were the very best of the best with a couple that I wish I had so i could sell them and buy a house, ....and a car .......... and a boat!

At this point I don't really care that much.
I like all guitars for the most part and nowadays even the lower priced ones are pretty decent. Look at all the great gits Guitar fetish has for around 200 bucks.
Ultimately it's all what you do with it.

So get what makes you happy ..... if only a Gibson will do then by all means get one.
But I can do anything on a 400 dollar Epi that i can do on a 4000 dollar Gibby.

And spare me the arguments, I SAID if a Gibson is what you want get one. :cool:

I'm NOT saying it's silly to spend that much or that you should or shouldn't or anything like that.
Sometimes the joy of having an instrument that gets you excited can be a great motivator.

I'm just saying don't let others preferences guide your own too much.
 
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Once again, thanx for all the help and different perspectives. I really see both sides of the argument.

On the one hand, I'm not a guitar player in the sense that it's not my main instrument. I've only owned 2 guitars in my life and both of them were bought off friends that didn't play any more, so I just bought what was there from someone who just wanted to get rid of it. So, in that sense, I'd probably be happy with pretty much anything that sounded half-decent in a recording.

On the other hand, it's my "dream" guitar and I can see myself regretting that I didn't wait and buy the real thing that says "Gibson" on the headstock. Also, by the time I change pick-ups and other possible hardware, like Jimi mentioned, I might not have saved that much money.

I'll definitely look around and see what kind of deals there are. It's not a rush, so hopefully I won't do what I usually do with everything else in life and impulsively buy something on a whim just because it's there and it's shiny and red. :D
 
man ..... if it's your dream guitar that kinda changes things a bit.
I doubt very seriously that you ever 'dreamed' of having an Epiphone version of your dream guitar.

While I don't absolutely agree that the p'ups have to be changed in an Epi there's more to it than that.

For this you want to actually GET what you've been dreaming of having.
You want to be able to open that case and go, "oooh". My wife and I call it the 'ooh factor' and for the satisfaction of a dream the 'ooh factor' has to be there.

I think you can tell I'm way one the side of cheap stuff being plenty fine but in this case I'm gonna weigh in on you getting the real thing.
You simply won't satisfy your dream with anything else. You'll simply have an Epi and still be dreaming of the day when you get your dream ax.
 
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