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Better then Gibson?


BowerR64

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When you think about string pull do you feel the Epiphone has a benefit being a slightly thinner headstock it doesnt put the strings at as much of a bind then the wider Gibson headstock?

 

Also why im here is there a special thread for Epiphone LP special users?

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When you think about string pull do you feel the Epiphone has a benefit being a slightly thinner headstock it doesnt put the strings at as much of a bind then the wider Gibson headstock?

 

Also why im here is there a special thread for Epiphone LP special users?

No and No.

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When you think about string pull do you feel the Epiphone has a benefit being a slightly thinner headstock it doesnt put the strings at as much of a bind then the wider Gibson headstock?

 

 

As good as Epi's are - and I am the first to say they are very good - they are simply not "better than" Gibson's. Chalk and cheese.

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I don't think it really makes a diff (headstock size)

 

headstocks on the archtops and Sheraton's are much bigger than the gibby usa headstocks

 

I like my epi's have some nice ones IMO the gibby's are superior to them however

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I have a Gibson studio and an EPI custom pro, ide put the EPI up against the studio any day.

 

The studio is a worn cherry which i love the looks of it. The EPI has a fit and finish that i feel has WAY more work and time put into it. They both are very solid the EPI seems to have better sustain and much better action.

 

I found an almost identical EPI studio on GC used section i should be getting it any day ill compare em.

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I have a Gibson studio and an EPI custom pro, ide put the EPI up against the studio any day.

 

The studio is a worn cherry which i love the looks of it. The EPI has a fit and finish that i feel has WAY more work and time put into it. They both are very solid the EPI seems to have better sustain and much better action.

 

I found an almost identical EPI studio on GC used section i should be getting it any day ill compare em.

 

Yeah the finish on the worn cherry Gibson LP studio takes significantly less time than a standard LP complete. That helps keep the cost down on that particular guitar, so you would be correct about the finish. The action can be fixed with a simple set up.

 

I would say that the high end epiphones would be about on par with the low end gibsons in general.

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I'd say angle is a bigger factor than headstock size. (Now, if I could only work a G string reference in there, I'd have a TRIPLE entendre!)

 

No, I don't think all Epiphones are better than Gibsons. Not even most. To my ear, some are, though. That's from 30+ years of playing guitar.

 

The key to finding an on-par Epi is experience and trying out several.

 

IMHO.

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I'd agree that most Epiphones are competent at what we have associated with Gibson guitars for the past 50 years or so, but that a Gibson will always capture that Gibson sound better. If you're not worried about trying to capture the sound of a record made in 1969, though, then there are other areas where an Epi will be as good as or better than a Gibson. Just like how you wouldn't make a wedding ring out of beef or a meal out of solid gold, it's all about how well your tools are suited for the way you're using them.

 

I had some time to kill Friday so I went down to the local Guitar Center. The "Platinum Room" was empty so I sat myself down on a couch between a Fender Deluxe Reverb '68 RI and a Vox AC30. I thought, "Hey, they've got some loose Les Pauls...let's do a shootout!" Over the next hour, I jammed on a Gibson Les Paul Traditional in honeyburst, a Standard with a very ostentatious sunburst flame, a P90-equipped Tribute, a couple Epiphones (zebro humbucker Epi LP Traditional and Epi LP Custom).

 

Out of the bunch, they all sounded alright on the DRRI though I preferred the P90 Gibson Tribute and the Epis over the humbucker-equipped Gibsons. On the AC30, again I liked the P90 Gibson and the humbucker-equipped Epis, but had a very hard time coaxing a satisfying tone out of the Gibson Traditional or the Gibson Les Paul Standard.

 

My verdict? Gibsons tend to have a bit more low end to them than an Epiphone. (And more heft in the neck). I'm an '80s/New Wave kind of player though - I'm all about cleans, chorus and flange, I don't like a fat low end, and I love slim necks. I appreciate the finish on the P90 Tribute, but the most comfortable and most pleasing sound (especially clean) came from the Epi LP Custom. The clean just sounded...cleaner. It was friendlier to my flanger.

 

Granted, somebody else could take those same guitars and try to play a bunch of Zeppelin riffs through a Marshall head and they're going to come to a VERY different conclusion than I did. Different person, different task, different tools, different results.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Well they are a better bang for the buck. Used the EPIs cant be beat, ofcorse we all want the Gibson name on the headstock but so far ive bought 4 EPIs now and im just shocked how they can build such a nice piece of wood at this price.

 

I put a set of duncan SH-6s in the Gibson and im more happy with it now, the better studio EPI i have i put in a set of HB103 duncan designed and again ide put that guitar up against the Gibson studio as well. It has a slightly beefier neck it almost feels D shaped compared

 

I didnt realize when i got the Gibson that it has "weight relief" under the cap of the face. IMO it robbed some of the sustain from it compared to the heavier solid EPIs specially the custom, that is one heavy chunck of wood!

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The studio is a worn cherry which i love the looks of it. The EPI has a fit and finish that i feel has WAY more work and time put into it. T

 

 

Yeah the finish on the worn cherry Gibson LP studio takes significantly less time than a standard LP complete. That helps keep the cost down on that particular guitar, so you would be correct about the finish.

The poly on the Epi takes a lot less time and expense than does the Nitro of the Gibson.

 

Poly can be pretty much sprayed in one shot, and laid on thick, which you can't do with the nitro Gibson uses.

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An Epi is like a Karmann Ghia; it's the poor mans Porsche.

If you have an Epi made with good wood, with some work, you can really improve them. For the most part, Gibsons are made with better materials, electronics, and they spend more time on the details that relate to action and playability(set-up). Like all makes, some are exceptional, and others are dogs. The older Gibsons, with the fret nibs on the neck binding, have a feel that is unbeatable. See my other post on my Regent to see what all it took to make it more comfortable and playable.

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If an Epiphone is one you can afford, and will play a lot, and a Gibson isn't...then yeah, the Epiphone is "better,"

at least in your circumstance(s). But, if you're comparing say a Les Paul Standard (Epi) vs. a Les Paul Standard

Gibson...the Gibson (IMHO) is far superior. Although, as noted previously, the quality gap has narrowed significantly,

especially in the last several years. And, you can thank Gibson Corporate, for that! Blind folded, I doubt too many

people could tell the difference, these days, between a Gibson, and equivalent Epiphone, sound wise. Epi's are awesome

guitars...especially at their price point! But, would I trade, or sell my Gibson's, to get equivalent Epi's....NO WAY!

I do, however, have a AIUSA Sheraton, that is every bit the guitar, any of my Gibson's are, both in construction-fit &

finish, and tone woods, as well as outstanding sound quality.

 

So, in many ways, it's (more realistically) really a "case by case" basis, depending on budget, and/or actual need.

 

IMHO, as always.

 

CB

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I've had a sheraton pro II since last november..

 

from day one, I thought it was an excellent value, plays really good the new pro bucker pickups are really nice sounding, the rest of the hard ware seems to me to be really solid. After some setup time, getting her dialed in, it plays just about every bit as good as any of other guitars (5 USA gibbies in the herd)... I'm into it for around $800 w/the case.

 

A buddy has a 59 reissue 335, (his wife bought it for him for his b-day a few years ago, dropped $6k on it) While it's very nice, I don't know if it's $5,000 dollars nicer than the Sherry.

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A guitar doesn't have to be better than something else to be a great guitar.

 

A lot of people feel a need to think that an Epiphone has to be better than a Gibson or a lot of others things to justify it being a good, or even great guitar. But it doesn't.

 

Nothing says you have to like what's better to like it more either. Having to say that your likes or dislikes are solely and completely based on better or not as good isn't what liking or loving a guitar is about.

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Yeah, I have a Danelectro 12-string "semi," that I bought on a whim, and because it

was on a "Stupid Deal of the Day" with MF. Turned out to be nicely made/finished,

and...REALLY FUN, to play. Will I give up my Ric's? Hell No! But, the little "Dano"

is truly a lot of fun, and sounds great! Lot's of "Jangle!" I may look into getting

some more "tapered" pots, for it...since it tends change tone, only at the extreme

ends, of the turn, instead of more gradually. But, that's not a big deal, to do.

Even thinking about getting a Dano '59, "just for fun," too. We'll see??? :rolleyes:[biggrin]

 

 

CB

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It can be seen as coincidence, but my lowest and highest priced instruments of mine are Les Paul guitars, with four more in between them two. As you may expect, the cheapest one is an Epiphone, in my case their top-of-the-line 1960 Tribute Plus Outfit model. All the others are Gibsons, one solid USA Traditional, two USA Standards, one Custom Shop Standard, and finally my Custom Shop Alex Lifeson Les Paul Axcess that ironically has a laminated fretboard.

 

Coincidentally just the Epiphone Tribute and the Alex Lifeson Axcess have the series/parallel coils options in common, and except for being solid and sharing the body shape everything is different with them two. It may seem like heresy, but from a player's view I don't rate one better than the other, just different. The Gibson costed eight times the price for being different, not for being better. In particular the piezo Floyd Rose system is a feature I like very much. Like all the other guitars of mine, every Les Paul, the Epiphone as well as the five Gibsons, have something special I like and can't get from any other regardless of brand or model.

 

The Epiphone 60's D shape neck is just different, too. I wouldn't call it better or worse than the 60's Slim Taper, 50's rounded or Axcess shape Gibson necks. I made all of them mine through setup like I did with various other Gibson, Fender or Ibanez necks, too.

 

Nitro finishes are much more elaborate. Especially glossy ones on bound guitars take a fair multiple of time and manpower. A nitro-finished guitar made in China would cost dearly, too. I doubt that anybody would want to pay big money for a multi-piece, veneered Epiphone Tribute Les Paul just to get a nitro finish. So the poly finish is a point one will have to live with. Anyway, every finish chemistry has its advances and shortcomings, and some properties can be seen either way.

 

Lots of things are a matter of taste. I think both Gibson and Epiphone make guitars for discerning players. It's their business to meet likes and demands.

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Can this thread title please be referred to the Grammar Police?

 

Seriously, I don't see the need to compare an Epiphone with the equivalent Gibson. They are each what they are; some like, some don't; some can afford some cannot. Whatever you've got just pick it up and play the bejesus outta it. Way, way better approach I reckon rather than concerning oneself if it is or if it is not, better or worse than some other guitar make.

 

My grammar is sh%t too.

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