Members Eye_Of_The_Liger Posted November 8, 2006 Members Share Posted November 8, 2006 In other words, what do I have to do to an Epiphone LP to bring it up to the same quality as a good Gibson LP? I ask because I found an Epiphone LP Baritone that looks really bad-ass. I've been GASin' for a baritone, but haven't found one for anything less than a grand that I really like (except for maybe the Ibanez Mike Mushok sig model). If this Epi LP Bari sounds anywhere near as good as it looks, then I think my search might be over. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Hudman Posted November 8, 2006 Members Share Posted November 8, 2006 The difference is apprx. $1000.00. That and higher quality wood, better pickups, top of the line hardware and superior craftmanship. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members chevette Posted November 8, 2006 Members Share Posted November 8, 2006 to make it just as good, you might need to do a pickup swap, and a tuner swap. The quality of the electrical components is a question of what you're willing to go about fixing, and the difference in wood quality is negligible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members HMKRich Posted November 8, 2006 Members Share Posted November 8, 2006 It will never be a Gibson, but if you swap the pups and tuners, it'll get you close. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Alchemist Posted November 8, 2006 Members Share Posted November 8, 2006 Scrap the body, rebuild it with better wood. Refinish the new plank of wood with thin nitro finish. Swap out the pickups, the hardware, the tuners, the quality of fretwire on the neck (dont know if this applies to all years, but I have quite a few friends with EPI's and the frets are just worn out after 2-3 years of light use, while my Gibsons, and others I have seen used have barely any wear after heavy use). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members C-4 Posted November 8, 2006 Members Share Posted November 8, 2006 The reason the frets wear out so fast is due to less quality fretwire that is softer, among other things. That is my biggest complaint with Korean and Chinese guitars.I, for one, would be willing to pay more for a Korean or Chinese guitar if they installed high quality fretwire on them at the factory. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Alchemist Posted November 8, 2006 Members Share Posted November 8, 2006 Originally posted by C-4 The reason the frets wear out so fast is due to less quality fretwire that is softer, among other things. That is my biggest complaint with Korean and Chinese guitars.I, for one, would be willing to pay more for a Korean or Chinese guitar if they installed high quality fretwire on them at the factory. That is my biggest problem with my Ibanez Artstar, and other MIK's I have owned and still own, sounds and plays GREAT. BUT I played it the least of all my guitars, and it has the most fretwear:freak: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members almightycrunch Posted November 8, 2006 Members Share Posted November 8, 2006 I was told that Epiphone glues a bunch of pieces of wood together for their bodies instead of one slab with a cap glued to it, whether that is true or not I dont know, but if it is, glue is not a very good tone transfer material, and no matter how much real Gibson hardware and pickups you put on it, you arent going to fix that aspect of it. Although, on another note, my drummer said his Dad was an Epiphone dealer quite a few years back, and said that when they inspect the les pauls at Gibson, if they find faults or dont quite meet the Gibson criteria, that they toss them in the Epiphone bin for finishing. Dont know if thats true or not either, cuz then they would have to reshape the headstock for Epi status. Who knows??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Eye_Of_The_Liger Posted November 9, 2006 Author Members Share Posted November 9, 2006 I'm sure it won't be exactly as good as a Gibson, I'm just trying to find out if I can improve the quality of an Epi LP enough to where it would be worth the time and money (assuming I was even dissatisfied with the pickups, hardware, or whatever in the first place), especially that one I saw on eBay. I could be wrong, but that looks like some quality workmanship right there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members chevette Posted November 9, 2006 Members Share Posted November 9, 2006 Originally posted by Eye_Of_The_Liger I'm sure it won't be exactly as good as a Gibson, I'm just trying to find out if I can improve the quality of an Epi LP enough to where it would be worth the time and money (assuming I was even dissatisfied with the pickups, hardware, or whatever in the first place), especially that one I saw on eBay. I could be wrong, but that looks like some quality workmanship right there. go for it... it can't be that bad. It partly depends on the model of epiphone too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Steverino Posted November 9, 2006 Members Share Posted November 9, 2006 After all that, you'll still be looking at that ugly Epi headstock. But tastes vary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members atrox Posted November 9, 2006 Members Share Posted November 9, 2006 Originally posted by Steverino After all that, you'll still be looking at that ugly Epi headstock. But tastes vary. But you can change that!!!! The evolution of my Epi Goldtop new (look at all that cheap chrome... yuck) After new Schaller Nashville Bridge, Graphtec saddles, Graphtec nut, All new electronics and wiring & Gibson P-90's installed After routing for humbuckers (P-90's werent doing it for me) (temporary pickups in there) After pickguard reshape, Freatboard dyed, New Gibson PAF's installed, Tone-pro tailpiece installed, head re-shape & new 2 screw truss rod cover shaped Best part is, the only thing that cost me anything was time, The bridge and the tailpiece. Everything else I had lying around the shop. i got the guitar at cost too. Edit: I'm not trying to pass this off as a Gibson either. The headstock on an Epi can never be shaped into a Gibson headstock without first adding wood & doweling and redrilling the tuner holes, then cutting to shape. This guitar will either keep it's blank headstock or get my logo put on there. I have not decided. Either way, I have no plans to get rid of it anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members _pete_ Posted November 9, 2006 Members Share Posted November 9, 2006 Originally posted by almightycrunch when they inspect the les pauls at Gibson, if they find faults or dont quite meet the Gibson criteria, that they toss them in the Epiphone bin for finishing. Dont know if thats true or not either, cuz then they would have to reshape the headstock for Epi status. Who knows??? I doubt they would ship them from Nashville to Korea to be finished as Epi's. Epi's get a bad rap but they really don't deserve it. There are a lot of bogus stories about the construction that have no basis in fact. To get the best from an Epi LP: 1. Do a good setup. The factory setup blows. A few adjustments will really make a lot of difference. 2. Stock tuners are fine. The Grovers or the Kluson type both hold tune and work smoothly. Nothig wrong with either. 3. The 3 way toggle is known to be problematic. Replace with Switchcraft for $15. 4. Pickups. The stock HB's are fairly lifeless. Replace with your choice of aftermarket pickups. 5. Pots and wiring. Can all be replaced with top quality CTS for under $50. Some people say they hear a difference, some say they don't. This one is up to you. 6. Bridge. The stock bridge is a cheap pot metal TOM knockoff. Replace with Gibson, Gotoh, or Tone Pros Nashville style bridge for better tone transfer from the body. The post holes may have to be doweled and redrilled. Not a hard job if you're handy. 7. Buy an Elitist and keep it stock. With those mods you'll have a very good LP copy. As good as Gibson? No, but the average person won't really hear a difference an you'll save a lot of money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members atrox Posted November 9, 2006 Members Share Posted November 9, 2006 I doubt they would ship them from Nashville to Korea to be finished as Epi's. Not a chance in hell would they do that. My good friend Jim worked the Gibson Custom Shop for a few years. You'd be suprised what they put their name on... AND THAT'S THE CUSTOM SHOP!!! Gibson is a great company and has great guitars, but they, like every other mass market guitar company, are a company that makes money. They let things slide. Installing a new headstock or new neck, much less shipping out to China would not be cost efficient Epi's get a bad rap but they really don't deserve it. There are a lot of bogus stories about the construction that have no basis in fact. True To get the best from an Epi LP: 1. Do a good setup. The factory setup blows. A few adjustments will really make a lot of difference. The first thing you should do on any guitar really. I found most Epi's I played to be pretty awfully set up off the shelf though. 2. Stock tuners are fine. The Grovers or the Kluson type both hold tune and work smoothly. Nothig wrong with either. I agree. The only stock thing left on my Epi is the tuners. they are great 3. The 3 way toggle is known to be problematic. Replace with Switchcraft for $15. Same for all the electronics. if you need to change just one thing, make it all the pots and switches.. and even the wiring. 4. Pickups. The stock HB's are fairly lifeless. Replace with your choice of aftermarket pickups. Some of the stock Epi PU's, I really like. Some are garbage. I like the ones that come stock on most Epi SG's. 5. Pots and wiring. Can all be replaced with top quality CTS for under $50. Some people say they hear a difference, some say they don't. This one is up to you. You can hear a difference, but mostly on a clean signal. the main issue is quaility. 6. Bridge. The stock bridge is a cheap pot metal TOM knockoff. Replace with Gibson, Gotoh, or Tone Pros Nashville style bridge for better tone transfer from the body. The post holes may have to be doweled and redrilled. Not a hard job if you're handy. First thing I did on my Epi actually. It required doweling and drilling, but well worth it and it's an easy job. the bridge and tailpiece made the biggest sound difference (other than my pickup swap) out of all my mods 7. Buy an Elitist and keep it stock. or yeah.... do that.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dcooper830 Posted November 9, 2006 Members Share Posted November 9, 2006 I really don't have anything of value to add as far as the topic is concerned..... cause I haven't A/B'd a Gibson and Epiphone LP back to back.. But I did want to show off my Epi LP collection These axes are all stock and they are quite good!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Pepi Posted November 9, 2006 Members Share Posted November 9, 2006 Difference ??? Uh, the headstock Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Steverino Posted November 9, 2006 Members Share Posted November 9, 2006 Originally posted by atrox But you can change that!!!! . Damn good job too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members studdhuss Posted November 9, 2006 Members Share Posted November 9, 2006 I have an Epiphone SG Custom. What it really needed it seemed was the good to go Gibson TP-6 tailpiece. Slight tuning troubles it seemed. I actually went further upon asking around. The bridge was really a bad one-cheap and loose. I replace it with a Gotoh, wider spacing for saddle adjustment and just needed a post hole drill to fit. Great looking too. Exactly like the Gibson model. To top it off I had Sperzel locking tuners added to the mix to keep it all tight. Not that the Grovers were bad necessarily, but front to back I wanted it as tight as Floyd Rose '88 without a locking nut.(I had an '88 Fender strat decked out with the Floyd Rose and the locking nut and all that) This guitar is every bit the beast it should be. I feel like I'm playing a $3600 Gibson. It really is sweet now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members atrox Posted November 9, 2006 Members Share Posted November 9, 2006 Originally posted by Steverino . Damn good job too. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members paulintheuk Posted November 9, 2006 Members Share Posted November 9, 2006 I agree that a decent set-up, new switches/pots and a set of BKs would make a huge improvement... But you've got to ask yourself whether the basic instrument is worth that lay-out to you. Is it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Chairborne Posted November 9, 2006 Members Share Posted November 9, 2006 As everyone knows on this board, people rag wholesale on Gibbo and God knows their company seems run by idiots. But their guitars as a rule are very nice and I wouldn't want the Epi cheapie version unless I couldn't afford the real deal. - Proud owner of a LP Standard, LP Studio, SG Jr., SG Special, Explorer and even a Corvus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members studdhuss Posted November 9, 2006 Members Share Posted November 9, 2006 Originally posted by Chairborne I wouldn't want the Epi cheapie version unless I couldn't afford the real deal. I hear Ya!!That's exactly why I bought the Epi. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members atrox Posted November 9, 2006 Members Share Posted November 9, 2006 Originally posted by Chairborne As everyone knows on this board, people rag wholesale on Gibbo and God knows their company seems run by idiots. But their guitars as a rule are very nice and I wouldn't want the Epi cheapie version unless I couldn't afford the real deal.- Proud owner of a LP Standard, LP Studio, SG Jr., SG Special, Explorer and even a Corvus. Affording it is one thing. Willing to pay it is something completely different. many Epi's are actually built pretty well, just have some easily swappable parts that are cheap. i wouldn't call the guitars as a whole, "cheapie" though. They do certainly lack some of the quality materials that gibson uses, It's just that those better materials don't come even close to adding up to the final price difference. I see what you are saying though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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