EpiNova95 Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 I am a proud owner of several Gibson and Epiphone guitars. I recently purchased an Epi Les Paul Tribute Plus to scratch my LP itch. I'm mainly an SG player and love my SG Standard, but can't see dropping the cash for a Gibson Les Paul. The Tribute Plus seemed ideal, with all the right specs. 57/57+ pickups, long neck tenon, maple cap, etc. Mine hasn't arrived yet so I went to a local store to play one. When I went to solo higher up the neck something felt off. After comparing it with some Gibsons in the store I saw why....the Epiphone neck heel sticks out more. It doesn't look like much, but there was no missing the difference in feel. The first pic is an Epiphone. The second is a Gibson (where you can see smoother transition into the neck heel, with less mass). So my question to Epiphone is.....why take a guitar that is known for limited upper fret access, and make it that much more difficult to play? Maybe overthinking this one but I'm pretty bummed with my purchase. TO me it seems like Epiphone missed the mark on a pretty basic design feature of the Les Paul....it genuinely impedes playability. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crust Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 Interesting observation. Maybe the Epiphone's need more wood in that area to keep the neck from breaking ? or, it's cheaper to not have to cut the neck heel as precisely as it is on the Gibson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Not-Too-Late Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 Maybe the Epiphone's need more wood in that area to keep the neck from breaking That's what I was thinking. Perhaps due to different types of woods used in the Epi model, they need to beef it up in that area. I'm probably wrong in this observation, but I'm sure that the types of woods used on the Epi are different than that of the Gibson, and not as strong. For me its not a deal breaker considering the HUGE difference in dollar cost out the door. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidblast Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 well that is quite a lot of difference from that comparison. my son has an Epi Lp, and for as many times that I've played (not many) I never noticed it, but yea, it would seem to definitely be a buzz kill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott0 Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 a little sandpaper will buff that down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wiggy Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 Seems odd to me as I compared the heel on mine with that as drawn on the Bartlett Les Paul plans (pretty much the definitive plans for building a vintage accurate Les Paul and a composite of measurements taken directly from a number of '59 Bursts) and there is virtually nothing in it - a couple of mm or so but that's all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rct Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 I used to have an early 90's Epiphone Les Paul that I would rehearse with, it had the same heel as my Gibson. rct Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capmaster Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 You made me curious, EpiNova, so I checked for that to be absolutely sure, and now I am - no difference. Not even the tiniest. My Epiphone Tribute LP 1960 Plus is just the same as my full depth Gibson LPs at the neck heel. I am curious what yours will be - keep us posted after arrival, please. And post some pics, too, they look great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomse Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 OMG I went home because i never notice any thing Differnt with the heels on my Les Pauls. They are for the most part the same . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EpiNova95 Posted May 8, 2014 Author Share Posted May 8, 2014 You guys have me hopeful this may be a variance amongst the different factories that make Epis. I'll know tomorrow when the guitar is delivered. It probably seems petty but to have my hand stop at the heel one fret earlier than expected was aggravating on the one I played. No reason for it that I can see. I'm not sure it's to bolster the wood....it's a different variety than Gibson's for sure but strong enough to hold the G400s together. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wiggy Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 You guys have me hopeful this may be a variance amongst the different factories that make Epis. I'll know tomorrow when the guitar is delivered. It probably seems petty but to have my hand stop at the heel one fret earlier than expected was aggravating on the one I played. No reason for it that I can see. I'm not sure it's to bolster the wood....it's a different variety than Gibson's for sure but strong enough to hold the G400s together. Nope, not likely to be any variation between Epi factories as specs have been pretty solid across them (and actually more vintage correct than Gibson on many occasions - same with the Dot vs 335). Gibson, on the other hand, have changed specs not just year on year but within year on Les Pauls and other models (not that there is anything wrong in that other than annoying purists but that's another discussion completely!) I know that Gibson have reduced the thickness of the heel at various points in the guitars history in an attempt to address the perceived access problem (the ultimate expression of this being the 'Axcess' model which had no heel at all) so the one you picked up may well be one of those. Also a number of Gibson LP's have a more radiused edge to the heel (no smaller but may give the impression of being so.) As to the strength of the wood, any difference between the two would be negligible and certainly wouldn't require an redesign of the heel. Finally, it would be useful if you could post decent sized pictures of both heels, taken from the side, as it really is impossible to make any reasonable comparison from the ones in your post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott0 Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 my 2013 Gibson LP Signature T and my 2008 Epiphone '56 LP reissue Gold Top have similar heels, no difference. here's a quick comparison of mine: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Marlowe Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 I am a proud owner of several Gibson and Epiphone guitars. I recently purchased an Epi Les Paul Tribute Plus to scratch my LP itch. I'm mainly an SG player and love my SG Standard, but can't see dropping the cash for a Gibson Les Paul. Are you absolutely certain the Epiphone is genuine? Just wondering. There's way more Epiphonies out there than you'd expect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crust Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 I looked at my 2014 Epiphone LP standard pro plus top and my 2013 Gibson LP special humbucker (pelham blue) and they both are as you describe. The Epiphone heel carve does not extend to the body as it does on the Gibson. The carve ends about a half inch from the adjoining edge of the body, as shown in the pictures. Interesting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crust Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 my 2013 Gibson LP Signature T and my 2008 Epiphone '56 LP reissue Gold Top have similar heels, no difference. here's a quick comparison of mine: those are the heel style he is complaining about, poor upper fret access as the heel carve does not extend all the way to the edge of the body. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott0 Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott0 Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 those are the heel style he is complaining about, poor upper fret access as the heel carve does not extend all the way to the edge of the body. I'm not too concerned about it, hadn't noticed until this thread. Nevertheless, they are the same. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crust Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 I'm not too concerned about it, hadn't noticed until this thread. me neither lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EpiNova95 Posted May 9, 2014 Author Share Posted May 9, 2014 I just used Google images to find the pics I posted. They aren't the best but there's more going on than camera angles, etc. I found this post from 2006 on another forum about Epi vs. Gibson LPs. The new ones have a slightly different design with a neck heel that sticks out way too far and makes upper fret access even harder than it normally is on LPs I'm a little envious of the guys who don't notice or whose guitars don't have it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wiggy Posted May 9, 2014 Share Posted May 9, 2014 I'm calling troll on this one. The OP is using random internet pictures (NOT of any specific guitars) and a single forum quote from 2006. Plus there is the veiled backhand comment ... 'I'm a little envious of the guys who don't notice or whose guitars don't have it...' Let's see clear SIDE BY SIDE comparison pictures of your guitar and the Gibson LP you are comparing with. Damn - I bit! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott0 Posted May 9, 2014 Share Posted May 9, 2014 those are the heel style he is complaining about, poor upper fret access as the heel carve does not extend all the way to the edge of the body. Actually, I just compared mine to this pic and the heel on both my goldtops is like the heel on the guitar on the right, the trimmer heel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EpiNova95 Posted May 9, 2014 Author Share Posted May 9, 2014 I'm calling troll on this one. Oh god, here we go ( I guess I bit too). I am not a troll. I'm not here to bash Epiphone or make snarky backhanded comments about people who play them (I own 3). The Epi I played was a new Tribute Plus at House of Guitars in Rochester NY. The Gibson was a Les Paul Traditional. I didn't have my phone/camera on me. I didn't post a direct link to the forum I mentioned because its HC and I didn't know if posting to other forums was kosher. YOU try using Google images to try finding clear, large pictures of an Epiphone and a Gibson Les Paul with the same side angle. It's not as easy as it sounds. After I pick up the guitar tomorrow I will take a good pic of the neck heel. Maybe I can snap a shot of a Gibson while I'm there (I'm picking it up my local store). From looking at lots of pics on Google, I can see the Epi heels have varied over the years, as have Gibsons. It's possible the current Epi follows a different spec, I don't know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EpiNova95 Posted May 9, 2014 Author Share Posted May 9, 2014 Scott0s picture is from the allegedly fake, made-up troll thread I mentioned a couple posts back. I saw the image and loaded the original page to see what was said about it. I didn't post the picture because I think the one on the left might be a fake. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott0 Posted May 9, 2014 Share Posted May 9, 2014 that's fine, nevertheless, my EPi neck heel and Gibson neck heel are identical and small. 1/2" at the peak. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
'Scales Posted May 9, 2014 Share Posted May 9, 2014 Welcome EpiNova - hope you manage to score one with the short heel. (though perhaps the short heel/no heel is the anomaly here and the extended heel is infact the standard model...) She ain't ever gonna be like an SG - but you know that already - still, better to avoid the nagging annoyance if possible! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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