When An HC'er Says, "My $99.00 Epi SG Special Plays Better Than Any Gibson"....

[sfarfsky]

in my opinion, If someone says their 99 buck Epi plays better than any Gibson, they are setting gibson as the mark to beat (which makes me prouder to own my gibson) people dont buy economy cars, and after finding that they are peppier than expected, say "wow, this thing will outrun a honda accord!!" i would more expect a proud owner to say its faster than a freakin svo stang!! (false of course)

 

OT but a lot of the new economy cars are faster than an SVO stang. Also, an SVO Stang isn't as fast as a new Accord. A lot of the new family cars are pretty fast.

 

carry on

[riffy]

 

My first reaction is "He's 16-25, makes somewhere near minimum wage and has always wanted a Gibson" Just being honest..

 

 

 

Maybe not as well. I can do a pretty mean setup on a guitar. If it

is a quality guitar no matter the price, I can make it play excellent.

 

Just being honest as well.

 

Gary

[BoneNut]

When An HC'er Says, "My $99.00 Epi SG Special Plays Better Than Any Gibson".... ....what do you think?:poke: My bad......"just as good as any Gibson"......

 

 

Don't know about SGs. I don't care for them so have never bought one but I've owned a couple of others that could compare.

 

Gibson Studio LP vs. Epi LE Les Paul Standard Plus

Beautiful, wine red, anniversary Studio, with a ebony board and a set of Gibson 57 and 57 Plus pups. Once dialed in, a wonderful, smooth playing guitar, with a huge powerful sound.

 

The Epi was upgraded with Tone Pros, tuners, RS wiring kit, nut and a set of 57s, just like the Studio. It played like the proverbial "buttah" and it too had that huge sound.

 

Honestly? The guitars were completely interchangeable. If someone would play them behind a curtain, through the same amp, on the same setting, you couldn't distinguish between them. Both felt great to play and both were gorgeous. I sold both since I was still learning what style guitar I preferred and it turned out I'm not a LP guy. If I would have been forced to keep only one of those, I would have chosen the Gibby Studio. Why? Considering that both guitars were so evenly matched, just because of the brand. Gibson is considered a high end brand and pride of ownership would have influenced my decision.

 

 

Gibson CS-356 semihollow vs. Epiphone Sheraton

The 356 was a flat out, incredibly beautiful guitar. Highly flamed top, ebony board a set of 57s... and the most {censored}ed up neck I've ever played. I was living out of the country and was forced to buy on the Web from a very highly regarded dealer. The neck was warped and a bit twisted.

 

Several luthiers went over it, some of the twist was taken out, a special nut was cut and although the guitar was vastly improved, the problem not being noticeable at all when playing above the third fret, it couldn't be corrected completely.

 

When I sold it, I told the buyer all about the problem and he bought it anyway. Guess why... because it was a Custom Shop Gibson and those were very hard to come by in that country!

 

The basic black Sheraton was understated compare to the Gibby. It too was modded... tuners, brass nut, pots, caps, wiring, finish and Tone Pros. I tried many pickups on that Sherry, finally preferring and ending up with the first set of Pure 90s Bryan ever sold.

 

That Sherry out played the 356 in every way. Out played every 335 I ever tried too. I was willing to spend up to $3000 for the right 335 if I ever found one I liked more then the Sheraton but I never did. Only years later did I find a better semihollow, a Yamaha SA2200 that finally took the Sheraton's' place in my little stable and that I still own.

 

 

So yeah, I think it's possible to find a mid priced (don't know about a $99) guitar that with the proper upgrades and work, can be "just as good as any Gibson", possibly even better. In reality, it just comes down to the individual guitar and I have to confess I do believe it the player that makes the difference, not the guitar.

[Cassette]

The Mountain Goats were on a late night show (Fallon I believe), and the guitarist was playing a faded Epi Dot (the $250 ones) that looked to have stock pickups. The band sounded great because John Darnielle's songs rule

[flyinbryan]

OT but a lot of the new economy cars are faster than an SVO stang. Also, an SVO Stang isn't as fast as a new Accord. A lot of the new family cars are pretty fast. carry on

 

 

did i say svo? cuz i meant gt (or something.)

[Jkater]

... the guitarist was playing a faded Epi Dot (the $250 ones) that looked to have stock pickups ...

 

 

Gee, man, you have good eyes. How did you find out? :poke:

[ILikeGuitar]

Because the original quote was bizarre. Look at the passion of the responses. We're on page 7 already.

 

 

What do you think about the quote..?

[Steadfastly]

There's no way a $100.00 dollar guitar is as good as "Gibson" or any other high end guitar. However, manufacturing methods have been vastly improved over that last number of years and in some countries, labour is very inexpensive. So to discount a $300-400.00 guitar to a "name brand" guitar is not out of the realm of possibility and is becoming more likely these days.

[diceman1000]

7 pages:eek:

[pekelnik]

Look at the passion of the responses. We're on page 7 already.

 

 

You might not know it, but by this you confirmed that your activity is "trolling". This is the exact definition of the term.

[Annoying Twit]

Personally I think it's what you're used to. When I played some Gibsons, USA Fenders, and high end ESPs, I could feel that they're better than what I have. But not enough to want me to (yet?) drop the significant amount of moolah required to buy one. But I could very easily imagine that someone who is used, day-in day-out, to playing the high end stuff, might really dislike playing something cheaper. As they're used to the more refined instrument. And I could imagine how someone used to the higher end instrument might consider the cheaper or midrange instrument "unplayable rubbish", while someone used to the cheaper instrument might find it very nice to play.

Anyone agree? Last time I posted this opinion, no-one did.

[Elias Graves]

What I have learned here over the years.... Agile is superior to Epiphone, Epiphone is equal to Gibson, Gibson is terrible, Agile is superior to Gibson. Gibson sucks. Edwards pwns all, except for Gibson custom shop. Gibson custom shop sucks. Agile is similar to Edwards, both of which are superior to Epiphone, as Epiphone sucks. Gibson could make guitars like Agile or Edwards, but they treat their workers poorly. A gibson might contain as many as 80 pieces of wood glued together. Agile and Edwards are both superior to Epiphone, which is equal to Gibson, whose guitars suck. Agile, Edwards and Epi make guitars that, when blindfolded, could not be distinguished from a Gibson. Gibsons suck. Sx is better than squier, and squier is a good a US fenders. MIM fender is often as good as american fenders, except for the custom shop. The current squiers are on par with the fender custom shop. MIM fenders are equal to american fenders and inferior to squiers, which are the same as US fenders. MIM fenders suck.

 

 

So you HAVE been paying attention!

 

EG

[jelloman]

Personally I think it's what you're used to. When I played some Gibsons, USA Fenders, and high end ESPs, I could feel that they're better than what I have. But not enough to want me to (yet?) drop the significant amount of moolah required to buy one. But I could very easily imagine that someone who is used, day-in day-out, to playing the high end stuff, might really dislike playing something cheaper. As they're used to the more refined instrument. And I could imagine how someone used to the higher end instrument might consider the cheaper or midrange instrument "unplayable rubbish", while someone used to the cheaper instrument might find it very nice to play. Anyone agree? Last time I posted this opinion, no-one did.

...well...I don't DISAGREE with you...

[pekelnik]

Personally I think it's what you're used to. When I played some Gibsons, USA Fenders, and high end ESPs, I could feel that they're better than what I have. But not enough to want me to (yet?) drop the significant amount of moolah required to buy one. But I could very easily imagine that someone who is used, day-in day-out, to playing the high end stuff, might really dislike playing something cheaper. As they're used to the more refined instrument. And I could imagine how someone used to the higher end instrument might consider the cheaper or midrange instrument "unplayable rubbish", while someone used to the cheaper instrument might find it very nice to play. Anyone agree? Last time I posted this opinion, no-one did.

 

 

No, I don't really agree. I did not play hundreds of guitars in my life, maybe 50. There certainly is some correlation between good and bad and expensive and cheap, but it is not a very strong one. I have seen gibsons which had warped necks, american fenders whose strings went almost off the fretboard, yet my late 90s squier affinity strat had no issues at all. Sure, the pickups sucked and I dislike the thin neck, don't need super-low action, hate the radius and vintage sized frets. However all but the pickups are simply design decisions, not QC problems. It beats the strat I played in the store where the low E went off the fretboard for sure. And when I was buying the guitar in '00 or so, I knew literally nothing about electric guitars, having played exclusively classical up to that point, I don't remember picking it out of many either.

 

Before you jump at me that I'm am in this thread to confirm that my cheap guitars are as good as the expensive ones- the 2 guitars I have now (I technically own more) are both US made, a Fender and a Gibson. Both are simply exactly what I wanted in features and looks. Third one is on the way and will cost me about 1500$ and hours of work.

 

I buy guitars I like and I do not feel any need whatsoever to berate other people's gear because they have a different logo on the headstock. For me a guitar is a sum of (for me) desirable and undesirable features, not a status symbol. In fact I recently started to dislike the fact that it says "Gibson USA" on my SG case... Could be a bit more discreet.

[Elias Graves]

Hmm. Decisions, decisions.

EG

[Guitzilla]

I evaluate that persons future posts by it. If someone is saying something that sounds irrational to me, I then add it to their file in my head. Yes, I'll admit that I'm judgmental. There are a few people on here that every time I see them post, I shake my head.

[Belva]

Maybe not as well. I can do a pretty mean setup on a guitar. If it is a quality guitar no matter the price, I can make it play excellent. Just being honest as well. Gary

 

I've done work on the "better" guitars and found they usually take less work to get right. For one thing they have a bone nut already and the frets are closer to right. But they still need work. If I spend more than a grand on a guitar it better be right from the start. Otherwise WTF are you paying for? A name? Fook that!

[thisgoesto11]

I like how everybody pretty much ignores the actual thread title and jumps into the never ending "zomg!!@ cheap vs. bouteek fight on HCEG!!!". Epiphone better Gibson something something!!!!

[ashasha]

i never said that one could not detect the difference... and you, me, and everyone else on this board knows that PRS is in it's own league... and you are right, there is no way that a $99 guitar off of a best buy shelf is as good as $2000 guitar off of a m&p shop shelf... but you get above the $300 dollar mark and the differences are miniscule...

 

 

I agree that the comparison between money and discernable difference isn't proportionate. The 10-20% increase in measurable quality is probably not worth the 600-2000% increase in price. That doesn't mean that it doesn't exist.

 

But that isn't the topic here, it's the idea that a $99 guitar is better than a $2000 one....period. Not for the money, not close, not a better value. That's what pisses me off about this argument week in and week out.

 

 

The only good thing about this thread is that it won't make it over to the new forum.

[ieso]

The only good thing about this thread is that it won't make it over to the new forum.

I think that was the point

[Steadfastly]

Because the original quote was bizarre. Look at the passion of the responses. We're on page 7 already.

 

 

Really on page 7? You must have very short pages on your computer. Mine shows only page 2. I don't remember ever picking an option for how long a page is but perhaps I've forgotten?

[BlackCat]

....what do you think?:poke: My bad......"just as good as any Gibson"......

 

 

I take it with several grains of salt.

[jrockbridge]

 

I hear that Epiphone Dots are really bad ass, comparable to es-335's sometimes. I know Sheraton's can certainly hold their own. I've played all three. They're all nice, I prefer the Gibson's though. That doesn't mean the epi's are bad though.

 

 

I've played a lot of Epi Dots. I really like them! I think they can sound great! Some are better than others. But, I've NEVER played a Dot that FELT as good as a Gibson 335. I haven't played as many 335's as I have Dots though.

 

Maybe, a great Dot is comparable to a lousy example of a 335. Maybe, a lot of people can't feel the difference. I've never owned either guitar and have only played them at friends houses or in stores, so my experience is not ownership experience. Maybe, my experience is not representative of what's typical.

 

I believe that it's possible to find a cheaper alternative to a 335 that's as good or better. Maybe, there's a Heritage or Edwards produced that matches or even surpasses a 335. If there is a Dot that qualifies, it must be a rare example.

[dimmypage]

The same ole {censored} from B Breaker what a f$#%n ass:thu:

[Preacher]

You might not know it, but by this you confirmed that your activity is "trolling". This is the exact definition of the term.

Bingo.