What's the best Epi?

I'm not quite as adamant as the rest about knowing what kind of music you play, as epis are for the most part gibson designs which to me are all similar in tome. I'd probably tell you that you first have to decide hollow or solid, but beyond that i think for a solid epi theres not so much difference that you can actually say what the best is. But, then you run into subjectivity. There is no best.

however, we all wanna tell you what WE believe, and this is my choice....look at my username. [biggrin]

Seriously, the nighthawk custom reissue is not only what i consider the best, at least for a solid body, but i prefer it over any gibson too, and i mean even high end ! The reason is that my belief is that design trumps everything including build quality, parts/wood quality, and anything else. Design is 1st and foremost what determines a guitar's character. Of course the other things like parts and build quality CAN be a deal breaker even on a great design, but most guitars today are built well enough and with good enough quality that at worse they may benefit from some pickup or hardware changes. The nighthawk is easily past the point of build or parts quality entering the equation in a negative way. It's built beautifully and the parts sacrifice very little if at all and certainly don't compromise what makes it so great....the design. And thats what i'm trying to get to here...the design. And the design is why i consider it the best epi. For decades various companies have tried to design guitars that encompass the best of both fender and gibson, but they've all been failures. The nighthawk succeeded and in a huge way IMO. First, they took a gibson style design an added the following fender features to it....strat style hardtail, middle single coil p/u, and most importantly, a fender 25.5" scale length. I'm not sure why, but somehow they retained the total LP sort of tone while giving fender style in between tones that come very close, and not in a useless novelty way. In a mix they actually come tru with all the important fender like details almost better than a fender in some ways. The gibson tones are great, and i might even say the neck position gives an even better lead tone than any LP i've owned. Playing wise the neck is honestly one of the best necks i've ever played. In fact, maybe THE best except i've had so many guitars over 40 years i can't say for sure. I don't however recall having one this amazing. There is one thing i must mention thats less than perfect is to really get the tones to where they are i had to wire it a certain way, and i feel as tho it needs a change to really give up the fender tones. But i may be wrong and others may like it stock. Then again, i feel the same about most guitars when in stock form, if not to the same degree.

Anyways, it's just my opinion, but i consider the hawk the best epi by far, and it maybe be.....ohhhh, i almost cringe saying this because it sounds insane, but possibly the best electric i've ever owned or played ! And i've been a dedicated strat/fender man forever ! I own what i consider the best strat and best tele of my life right now after evolving to them over 4 decades. But i think the hawk can take them both on fairly easily. I'm actually shocked how good this guitar is and i swear to you, unless i decided to do it for the monetary value factor i wouldn't trade it for ANY gibson. If that doesn't tell you how incredible i think the NCR is, nothing will. It's the only guitar i feel i can call perfect, at least once wired up the way i did. But thats me.

Parabar, on 03 April 2012 - 01:10 PM, said:

It's kind of like asking "What's the best car?" Depends on how you intend to use it. Do you need room for passengers? How many? Do you plan to tow stuff or haul a lot of heavy gear? Will you be taking long trips where comfort is important, or is speed a bigger factor? How important are looks, and which designs do you find attractive?

I think you're on to something here. The Passenger Guitar. It has traditional Les Paul looks, but also seats 5 comfortably. The guitar features Epiphone's patented Locktone tailpiece and bridge, complimented by side-impact airbags. Alnico Classic humbuckers give that classic Les Paul tone, and a 3-tonne towing capacity. Medium-Jumbo nickel-steel frets and ebony fretboard combine with the extended wheelbase to guarantee smooth playing. In a modern spin, the guitar now features automatic tuning (and transmission.)

I think this could be a new market for Epiphone.

Actually I probably just blew the lid off Gibson's next headline product. :-k

Gibson Guitar Board: What's the best Epi? - Gibson Guitar Board