AlanH

. The End .

I think the OP would call 10 pages and counting "a result".

I own three Gibson's which I've had from new, all mail ordered unseen- an '07 SG Special Faded, an '11 LP '50s Tribute HB and a '14 LP Signature. All have been flawless, resonant and play fantastically well.

I'll second that one!

To recover the losses from the 2015s, 2014s etc????? I got my new 2014 Signature for about 70% of the advertised prices of these 2016 Studios. It's much higher spec'd with binding, AA top and '57 classics too. PS. I don't mind the min-eTune and the various limited edition appointments on my 2014 so I'm very much a winner...

A bit like this SG.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFPOlVsSJbw&feature=youtu.be

My concern doesn't necessarily relate to country of manufacture, although Quingdao will undoubtedly have improved areas such as fit, finish and quality control as it established itself. Instead I'm more interested in the quality of woods used in manufacture. It seems that with every commodity/goods item you buy that the quality has cheapened over the years in order to keep costs low while prices rise. I'm sure that guitars are not exempt from such practice so I worry about this whatever the brand. I think that, as consumers, we only have ourselves to blame sometimes because we often insist that we must have rosewood and mahogany, and will settle for nothing else. I have to say, I'd rather have a superb piece of alternative wood that does the same job than I would a cheap cut of rosewood. Gibson were forced down this route because of the federal seizures of rosewood blanks and players certainly seem satisfied with the alternatives on offer. I think that Epi should similarly investigate alternative woods as a way of maintaining quality and also assuring ecological sustainability. That, coupled with the QC in Quingdao, could make for a winning formula.

10:00 on this clip explains it all perfectly.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BwsDJoMJJls "........if I could just reverse the polarity" They obviously have a super energy reverse polarizer in Nashville too!

Does this mean that hell has frozen over, then?

Aksak, stunning grain on that top and the honeyburst edge looks warm and deep! That dark back looks killer against the honeyburst too. Alan

Nice top on your brown faded. Looks almost spalted. Give those pups time - experiment with amp/effects settings. All Gibson pickups are good.

Looks cool with those mods!

Here's my Studio 50's Tribute humbucker model:

Epi LP Customs are notorious for fakes/back door seconds. On yours, I'm not sure about the different font sizes with the serial number..... Was this sold as 'brand new' by an Ebay or Amazon third party? If so, an '08 year of manufacture sold 'as new' is suspicious. If bought second-hand from a private seller, can they confirm (with a receipt) that it was purchased from an authorised Gibson Epi dealer? If the answer to either of these questions is "No" you may have a problem. Alan

The 490 has more mid range and also more top end 'bite' which is what makes it great for rock. However, it's still a PAF so has it that vintage tone. Like the '57 Classic it is wax potted to eliminate squeal but it has the added advantage of having 4 conductor wires (on those purchased for aftermarket use) enabing alternative wiring options. 498s, I believe, have an alnico V magnets so are 'hotter' than 490s which have alnico II magnets. Nevertheless. IMO, 490s take high gain amp/effect settings very well..............I much prefer them to 498s which I think are a bit 'muddy'. Alan

Well I'm currently admiring Egnator amps such as the Rebel or the Tweaker. Plenty of knobs and switches to fiddle with and super basic valve sounds. The Rebel 30 combo, in particular, looks to have about everything you'd want from an amp for both home and gigging duties.