Only An Epiphone Is Good Enough

[jimtalkbox]

I've had several:

 

Epiphone Sorrento (late 90's version in Orange)

Epi Les Paul (Sunburst from the late 80's)

Epi SG Junior (Cherry with a P-90)

Epi G-400 (Alpine White)

 

All were good guitars, but only have the Sorrento still. I'll probably pick up an EJ-200 or some sort of J-45 style Epi at some point in the future. If they EVER make an SG Junior with the cool pickguard in PELHAM BLUE, I'd buy it in a heartbeat!

[Fuelish]

I have a '99 Epi AJ18SNA 'coustic and an '07 Epi LP Std +top .... both more than adequate for this long-time amateur. They are what they are and what one makes of 'em...

[cratz2]

 

I've had several: Epiphone Sorrento (late 90's version in Orange) Epi Les Paul (Sunburst from the late 80's) Epi SG Junior (Cherry with a P-90) Epi G-400 (Alpine White) All were good guitars, but only have the Sorrento still. I'll probably pick up an EJ-200 or some sort of J-45 style Epi at some point in the future. If they EVER make an SG Junior with the cool pickguard in PELHAM BLUE, I'd buy it in a heartbeat!

 

 

Yeah... a Jr in Pelham Blue with a cream pickguard and an even more cream pickup is a HOT look!

[MegaMustaine]

I owned an Epiphone Les Paul Flametop back when I first started playing. The guitar looked gorgeous! However the hardware and playability were less than stellar. Never really been down with them since.

[timmyfirst]

Epiphone do indeed make some great guitars. I've owned a whole heap of them in my time and they've always been solid workhorses!

 

I do really like the new Nighthawks, especially in the amber finish, i might grab one of those before i start recording this new album

[RaVenCAD]

I owned an Epiphone Les Paul Flametop back when I first started playing. The guitar looked gorgeous! However the hardware and playability were less than stellar. Never really been down with them since.

 

 

I feel you there. I had a Les Paul Classic flametop from about 1997 or so and it was a POS when it came to everything but looks. Over the years I've owned quite a few Epis, such as a Dot, a Flying V, Les Paul and one of those MIII things way back in the day. They all sucked. But, based on what I've seen recently, Epi might have turned the corner.

[GAS Man]

As I posted above, I've bought myself 12 Epi's and 2 for the boyz - but it seems like a lot of threads (not this one) talk about Epi's in comparison to Gibson. It's a bit of a no-brainer that Gibson would engineer in a bit of inferiority into the Epiphone copies of Gibson models to preserve the USA model lines market. Those threads are still maybe worthy in regards to how close one comes to the other with the basic upgrades. But I think the more interesting debate might be how Epi compares to other imports. I know there's some of that (Agile vs Epi) but I think the Epi

[Elias Graves]

Honestly, I think Epi does better than Squier, especially as of late. I picked an Epi up last weekend, and it was probably the best Epi I've ever held. They've really stepped it up a notch.

+1 Looking over an LP Traditional Pro the other day. Best Epi LP I've seen. The finish work was actually, like, thin and stuff. No more 1/4" of plastic look.

Was reading the interview with the American manager of the Qingdao plant. They've been doing some big time upgrades there and are really focusing on making Epis more "correct." In the past, when they contracted with an OEM builder, they basically put an Epi logo on whatever their 335 knockoff was and called it a Dot.
Little things I've seen is like the green tulip head tuner knobs on the new 339 or changing the cutaways on the Casino to be more accurate.

EG

[BryanMichael]

As I posted above, I've bought myself 12 Epi's and 2 for the boyz - but it seems like a lot of threads (not this one) talk about Epi's in comparison to Gibson. It's a bit of a no-brainer that Gibson would engineer in a bit of inferiority into the Epiphone copies of Gibson models to preserve the USA model lines market. Those threads are still maybe worthy in regards to how close one comes to the other with the basic upgrades. But I think the more interesting debate might be how Epi compares to other imports. I know there's some of that (Agile vs Epi) but I think the Epi

 

 

 

I agree with a lot of this. I've had some Epi's over the years and never found them to be the pieces of junk that some have claimed, but then again I had some of the nicer models in my possession and always found them to be more than decent instruments, especially for the price. But China has really upped the ante in the past decade. What you can get for around $200 is staggeringly good compared to the pawn shop planks I grew up with, and when you move up into the $500-800 range, I think you are really butting up against the supposed "tried and true" quality of the well known American builders. The materials might not be the same caliber, but overall, the playing experience and the sound of the instruments can be very, very good indeed.

[Roy Brooks]

I can has Epiphone.

[Karma1]

ES-295

[GAS Man]

But China has really upped the ante in the past decade. What you can get for around $200 is staggeringly good compared to the pawn shop planks I grew up with, and when you move up into the $500-800 range, I think you are really butting up against the supposed "tried and true" quality of the well known American builders.

I tend to agree with those comments as well. But I found it interesting that I was talking with the only Gibson Authorized Tech in my regional area about Epi Korea vs Epi China.

At one point I said I thought Epi's are getting better than they were say in the earlier/mid 90s and he seemed to concur. Then later I was specifically asking him about Epi Korean vs Epi Chinese and he contended the Korean mades were better because as he stated, Epiphone used well established Korean luthier companies (Sammick of course would be one) whereas he said the Chinese factories are built by Gibson from the ground up and don't hire luthiers.

Well, I think he has a point there, but with so much of it being CNC these days and with the assembly line process required, I'm not sure how significant that is. He also had some negative comment about what he's seen under the hood of MICs, but my personal experience has been that I like the newer ones a bit better. I could be FOS, he could be FOS, but like one of the comments above, the don't seem to have as much uber-thick poly on them as they used to either.

I think you probably can dispatch the Korean luthiers and still get a better product if Gibson has just spec'd the product a bit better. And unless I've drank the Kool-aid, I think maybe they have.

[w00dsy]

i was in my local shop yesterday and the dude i normally deal with said 'feel free to grab anything off the wall and have a play' so naturally i grabbed 2 Gibby LP's, both very nice. Then i grabbed a nice with Epi Custom and i was stunned at how close it was to the Gibsons. I wasn't plugged in so it was more of a feel thing but they have really upped their game lately. The main thing i find with the Gibsons is they feel tight, really well put together with no fret buzz, and the Epi gave the same feeling. It felt crafted, not assembled. I reckon with a change of some electronics you could easily have yourself a really nice keeper guitar. Maybe we have the PRS SE line to thank for helping get the import models to a much higher level than they were.

[GAS Man]

i was in my local shop yesterday and the dude i normally deal with said 'feel free to grab anything off the wall and have a play' so naturally i grabbed 2 Gibby LP's, both very nice. Then i grabbed a nice with Epi Custom and i was stunned at how close it was to the Gibsons. I wasn't plugged in so it was more of a feel thing but they have really upped their game lately. The main thing i find with the Gibsons is they feel tight, really well put together with no fret buzz, and the Epi gave the same feeling. It felt crafted, not assembled.

 

Reminds me of a similar experience I had recently at a music shop. I pulled an Epiphone Joe Pass off the wall. It was an immaculate previously owned MIK model. It felt great and sounded great acoustically. But then I plugged it in and it was a bit aggravating. I was thinking, "Damn Epiphone, there you go and build a sweet sounding jazz box for a great price but then have to go and f@#k it up with those muddy pickups". I probably would have thought about buying it and upgrading the p'ups to something like '57s, but they were asking $600 for it which would get me a brand new one. (So the only attraction would be if I wanted to buy into that "the MIKs were better" thinking). But it didn't last long on the wall.

 

I also have to restrain myself from buying guitars like that because bulky guitars don't fit my middle-aged semi-fat man lazy boy recliner playing style.

Proper position, hell, I don't have enough energy for that. I don't know about the rest of you, but many a night I wake up still in that chair snoozing with a guitar laying across my mid. Somehow going to bed playing and waking up with a guitar still on my lap around 12 or 1 hasn't done as much for me as it did for Jimmi.

 

 

[Spirithawk]

I'm pretty pleased with mine;
05 Standard Blueburst Plus Top

[V-8]

Only an Epiphone was good enough for Hendrix

 

 

A guitar used by Jimi Hendrix to compose several of his classic songs cost the rock legend just $22.50 when he bought it from a New York store in the 1960s. Hendrix enjoyed playing the instrument so much, he took it with him when he later moved to London.

 

Hendrix

[xStonr]

I'm quite pleased with the 2 I own.

[GAS Man]

I'm quite pleased with the 2 I own.

 

I find that to be a real tempting mod to do to my Wilshire, but does it hurt tossing out the coil split option on that guitar, or did you find another use for those push/pull pots?

 

 

 

This Worn '66 however is more fine as is. I like their mini-hums on this git.

 

 

My two peas in a pod pic

 

[Hardvalve]

I like the old USA made ones, and the MIJ models. I am seriously looking at an Epiphone Baritone Les Paul to see how I like Baritone guitars for metal. Cheap, and should be put together pretty well. Anybody own or try one?

[tvvoodoo]

I'm in the club, having trouble bonding, though it's a beautiful guitar.

 

 

And no, I did not light it on fire.

[GAS Man]

I'm in the club, having trouble bonding, though it's a beautiful guitar. And no, I did not light it on fire.

 

I've been very tempted by those guitars because, yes indeed, they are beautiful. But preferring to upgrade pickups on Epi, I figured that was 50% more pain. But it would be sweet if you put some '57s (BB1, BB1, BB2) or some Seth Lovers in there. Pretty much double your investment in that axe but I'd bet you'd bond then.

[xStonr]

I find that to be a real tempting mod to do to my Wilshire, but does it hurt tossing out the coil split option on that guitar, or did you find another use for those push/pull pots?

Coil splits? Push/pull knobs? Mine was the cheapy that didn't come with them.

[GAS Man]

Coil splits? Push/pull knobs? Mine was the cheapy that didn't come with them.

 

 

Hmm, that confuses me. I thought the only difference between your White Wilshire Pro Ltd Ed. and mine was the color. Yeah, on mine, you can see the paper rings around the neck and bridge volume control knobs, (which have since been removed) they are push pull pots for independent p'up splitting. Mine was a $199 cheapie too on a SDOTD. But I still think that for the price, the single coil GFS Surf 90s would be a welcome upgrade. Stock, I tend to prefer the Epi p'ups split.

[cratz2]

I think the Wilshire Pros added the push pull pots.

 

I'm sorta bummed that they don't offer the one with mini hums in, say, Pelham Blue. I'd be all over that.

 

I played several Wilshires and Wilshire Pros. One was a used white one with Minis and it played absolutely GREAT. The previous owner had either worked on it or had it worked on as it had very rolled edges and a totally pro setup. And Duncan pickups of some sort. But they were asking $350 for it used.

 

Definitely have the hots for something with mini hums... or at least one in the neck position. Might end up building a tele with an Antiquities Mini in the neck and a BG Phatty in the bridge.

[HeatherAnnePeel]

The thing about Epis (and Squiers), is that they generally offer a lot of bang for the buck. Of course, Gibsons and Fenders are made using better materials, parts and craftsmanship (no debating that here), but with a decent set-up, and a few tweaks/mods, if desired, an Epi is a great guitar. And an affordable one. I just think they have really gotten very good over the years - their versions of higher-priced Gibsons. I am not talking about the earlier Epi models, which were stellar in their own right, and now incredibly vintage. However, for working musicians on a budget, newer Epis represent a great value.