antwhi2001

Epiphone custom shop = limited edition. There is no specific manufacturing department like Gibsons.

Love my 1978 L6-S Deluxe. Very slim fast neck, low flat frets. Light, comfortable, well balanced, 2 octave range, simple controls. My luthier tells me it's all Canadian rock maple (set neck and body) and way stronger than mahogany.

I'm proud to show my 2010 limited edition silverburst. It's the model with 490/498s, 60s neck, coil taps, ebony fretboard. I've made a few changes: 1. Extra humbucker. I've fitted a G+B alnico 5, which looks identical to Gibsons. Wired up as 3 vols, master tone. I fitted a DPTP switch to isolate the middle humbucker, but wiring has proved complicated - I'm beginning to doubt it can be done! 2. Removed pickup covers. Replaced selector switch with a Switchcraft with chrome tip. Sprayed rythm/treble ring silver and fitted black washer. 3. Removed pickguard. 4. Replaced pickup surrounds with chrome-plate metal versions. 5. Stetsbar Pro 2 trem in place of stopbar and tune-o-matic. 6. Locking Jin Ho 19:1 chrome tuners. 7. Straplocks fitted, Dunlop silver strap.

It reads very similar to a 67. The only difference in hardware is that it states Grover Kidney tuners, and the 67s had Kluson Deluxe. It may have a different neck profile; my 1991 '67RI has what I'd call a slim 60s neck, this may be slightly fatter, but from the description I don't think it can be much different.

Absolutely everything in or on the guitar is lower-spec than a USA Gibson. Fact. Wood, hardware, lacquer, electrics...everything. The Korean/Chinese/Indonesian Epis are effectively authorised lower-cost copies of Gibsons, designed to look the same, but they're not built the same. You have a Korean Samick build there, and I rate those as usually very good build quality. I've owned 3. You've also upgraded key components to Gibson-level spec. Through a good amp, yours will sound undistinguishable from a "real" USA Gibson, at a fraction of the price. If I were you I'd try a few USA Gibsons and compare the feel and the finish. Don't expect them to sound better. Only you know if they are worth the difference in price. If I were you, I'd hang on to the Epi and spend my money on something else - a different type of guitar, or a really good amp.

So what the f*** is wrong with a solid alder body? I paid good money for a solid alder strat body and got a great result with it. I wouldn't turn my nose up at a solid alder LP body. If you're going to buy an Asian guitar (of any brand) you're entering a lottery as far as wood quality goes. Quality is variable but value for money is generally good. Also, you can great a great guitar with a 3 piece body (if the wood is good) and a crap guitar with a 1 piece...if that 1 piece is crap. None of this is an exact science.

The guitar in my avatar is a Chinese Epi faked into a Gibby LP complete with mop logo inlay, embossed Gibson serial number etc. I bought it privately from a UK seller at a good price. So far I've handed it to 3 long-time Gibson Les Paul owners to try, all of them drooled over it and none of them spotted it was fake until I told them. I also used to gig with another Epi LP with a Gibson logo on it, and people used to compliment me on that great Gibson sound. With both guitars I enjoyed telling people they were actually Epis, and pointing out that you don't have to spend $2000 to get a good sound. I wouldn't buy from bazaar because their quality may be a complete lottery and disputes are hard to settle when the parties are on different continents. With an Epi you pretty much know what you're getting, and there's a warranty. I think the worst thing about those fake Gibsons is that in a few years' time there'll will be lots of second-hand ones in circulation, and people may be conned in private sales. Anyone seeing Gibson LPs being sold new from China at $300 ought to know they are fake. The same guitars may find there way onto the second-hand market in a few years in UK or USA with an asking price of $1500, and some people will be fooled.