Debut gig

[merciful-evans]

My Casino Coupe will have its debut gig this Sunday 20th Sept 2015.

 

Not only will this be the first time I've gigged this guitar. It's also the debut gig of the band itself!

 

I have recently joined them following the departure of their guitarist who has gone pro (on a cruise ship). So far I've only had 3 rehearsals with them (I have one more this evening).

 

The guitar is unmodified and I've only had it for 3 weeks. I have chosen it (out of 4 others) mostly on the basis of its sound being best suited to the material, which is mostly jazz (but with some 'pop' tunes also).

 

I will take my Gibson ES-339 as backup, because its the same shape and scale as the Epi. If I use the Gibson at all, it will be the first gig for that guitar too (had that for 18 weeks). If this were a rock gig, it would be the Gibson I would use with the Coupe as backup. Again, its all about the 'appropriate' sound.

 

Its been a lot of work learning the jazz stuff (masses of chords ) & its been a big challenge to take this on, but I'm looking forward to it.

[jdgm]

Where is this gig?

Perhaps I can come......

 

(though I may forget [flapper])

[merciful-evans]

Where is this gig?

Perhaps I can come......

 

(though I may forget [flapper])

 

The Cart & Horses

London rd

Kingsworthy

Winchester

so23 7qn

Hants

 

9.15 - 11.ish

 

another band (styled on 'Gerry Mulligan') is on from 7.30

[pdawg]

Hmmm. That's a long way from Texas. I probably won't make it. Good luck and have fun!

[Steve112]

Sounds like great fun! Good luck on the gig, it sounds as though you've done your homework. What is your perception of differences when alternating from Gibson to Epiphone and back? Not tone, as we appreciate P90s versus Hummers, but playability, feel or other qualitative features, thanks. I've owned both older Gibsons and newer Epiphones so I'm always curious to hear other opinions and evaluations on these particular instruments.

[merciful-evans]

OK the debut gig was last night.

 

The band did well and everybody turned in a performance (as opposed to just 'playing'). It was enjoyable.

 

Personally:

 

I lost the guitar signal midway through Stone Cold Sober. It was an intermittent fault and I don’t know the cause! My Instrument leads are old. Maybe one of those?. I use 4 together though, and at £20 quid each it could prove expensive.

 

 

 

I have to improve my understanding of some of the jazz tunes. I’m still relying on intuition here & there.

 

The gig:

 

The Casino Coupe did well overall. It did great for all the jazz tunes. However, when I went to use a bluesier tone, I had to abandon that due to feedback.

 

 

 

I was surprised because

 

1/ that tone was not all that gainy. -just a little more bite.

 

2/ We were playing at quite low volume. The brass were playing without mics.

 

 

Just goes to confirm the limits of a hollowbody guitar. I suppose. I may have to reconsider using that guitar or carry two. I am not going to stuff it full of foam for a couple of pop tunes.

[merciful-evans]

Sounds like great fun! Good luck on the gig, it sounds as though you've done your homework. What is your perception of differences when alternating from Gibson to Epiphone and back? Not tone, as we appreciate P90s versus Hummers, but playability, feel or other qualitative features, thanks. I've owned both older Gibsons and newer Epiphones so I'm always curious to hear other opinions and evaluations on these particular instruments.

 

What you are asking is essentially the perceived difference between Gibson & Epiphone.

 

Its difficult because other than looks, there is no similarity between them.

For example, the Gibson neck feels a bit nicer. But nearly all Gibsons have mahogany necks & rosewood fingerboards. My Gibson doesn't, but my Epiphone does. This just means that I prefer a maple neck to a mahogany one.

 

The playability is slightly better on my Gibson than on my Epiphone. I stress 'my' because I have played others that are not as good. The other Gibson ES-339s in the shop where I bought mine didn't handle particularly well.

 

I have also played the Casino equivalent, the Gibson ES-390. I might have bought it, but that one had a serious manufacturing fault. Despite that, it felt lovely to handle.

 

The Coupe doesn't 'feel' quite as nice as either the ES-390 nor my ES-339 and the truth is I am not sure why. I suspect it may be psychological. I feel more inclined to trust the Gibson's Grover tuners. Though both can be troublesome to tune due to the string paths on those headstock designs. Tradition or not, I wish they would change them.

 

In fact, some of the Epiphone's finish is actually better than that of the Gibson. The profile of the head scroll is rough machined on the ES-339 and it can be felt as well as seen through the paint & nitro.

 

The quality of the joinery of the bodies seem exactly the same. Both are very well finished. There are features on each that I prefer over the other. I have more confidence in the Gibson hardware, but obviously, those things can be changed.

 

To summarise, I have a small preference for the Gibson handling and feel.

[kidblast]

good news on the gig, bummer you lost your signal not too much of a distraction huh?

 

 

I am not going to stuff it full of foam for a couple of pop tunes.

 

yea, you will HATE it and IME, it wont help much.

 

 

Idealistically, one guitar should be all we need, but, some of these hollow bodies can feed back pretty quick, here's where perhaps upgraded pickups (or pot the stock pickups) might help. On the other hand I have a Swingster Royal, all stock, and I can get it pretty loud before I start having trouble.

 

but hey, take a few guitars along anyway, just to have a some sort of variety, and of course, in the odd chance ya break a string (which I have not for many years) but ya never know. backups are good!

[merciful-evans]

good news on the gig, bummer you lost your signal not too much of a distraction huh?

 

 

 

 

yea, you will HATE it and IME, it wont help much.

 

 

Idealistically, one guitar should be all we need, but, some of these hollow bodies can feed back pretty quick, here's where perhaps upgraded pickups (or pot the stock pickups) might help. On the other hand I have a Swingster Royal, all stock, and I can get it pretty loud before I start having trouble.

 

but hey, take a few guitars along anyway, just to have a some sort of variety, and of course, in the odd chance ya break a string (which I have not for many years) but ya never know. backups are good!

 

Well the Epi pickups are double wax potted, so I dont think I can improve anything pickup-wise. I hear that Kent Armstrong use the same sort of process, and if its good enough for them...

 

I did have the ES-339 along for backup, but regained the signal after about a minute of desperate cable fumbling. I am pretty certain its not the guitar. But I carry a lot of gear anyway, I dont like to carry 2 guitars especially if I have to leave one in the car as I did on Sunday. With 7 bandmembers in a skittle ally there is not enough room to swing a Wildkat!

 

Do the pickups on the Swingster Royal sit above the soundbox or set into it? Its a smart looking instrument.

[Steve112]

What you are asking is essentially the perceived difference between Gibson & Epiphone.

 

Its difficult because other than looks, there is no similarity between them.

For example, the Gibson neck feels a bit nicer. But nearly all Gibsons have mahogany necks & rosewood fingerboards. My Gibson doesn't, but my Epiphone does. This just means that I prefer a maple neck to a mahogany one.

 

The playability is slightly better on my Gibson than on my Epiphone. I stress 'my' because I have played others that are not as good. The other Gibson ES-339s in the shop where I bought mine didn't handle particularly well.

 

I have also played the Casino equivalent, the Gibson ES-390. I might have bought it, but that one had a serious manufacturing fault. Despite that, it felt lovely to handle.

 

The Coupe doesn't 'feel' quite as nice as either the ES-390 nor my ES-339 and the truth is I am not sure why. I suspect it may be psychological. I feel more inclined to trust the Gibson's Grover tuners. Though both can be troublesome to tune due to the string paths on those headstock designs. Tradition or not, I wish they would change them.

 

In fact, some of the Epiphone's finish is actually better than that of the Gibson. The profile of the head scroll is rough machined on the ES-339 and it can be felt as well as seen through the paint & nitro.

 

The quality of the joinery of the bodies seem exactly the same. Both are very well finished. There are features on each that I prefer over the other. I have more confidence in the Gibson hardware, but obviously, those things can be changed.

 

To summarise, I have a small preference for the Gibson handling and feel.

Thanks for the concise reply, merciful-evans. I concur that there is no real equivalence between an Epiphone and a Gibson, although a good example of an Epi can be setup to play very well, as I've discovered from both my Dot and my Epi ES339. (A pity that the trussrod was defective in the 339 though).

 

I was at the music shop yesterday checking out the new Gibson lineup and saw an SG that had one of the worst finishes I've ever seen. Had grain lines showing through the nitro and the surface of the body had uneven sanding and leveling, it looked just plain substandard. In contrast, the Epi SG beside it with the poly or urethane looked comparably flawless.

 

There's little doubt that Epiphone makes an excellent guitar at their price points, but IMO if one's personal standard in guitars has included a Gibson or two, there will in most cases be a favorable gut feeling for the Gibson guitars and their (usually top quality) finish and material, quality of joinery, playability and better hardware and electronics.

 

Whether the enormous price difference for a relatively small improvement (the law of diminishing returns) is justifiable remains a question that each guitarist has to decide.