Gibson LP Studio or EPIPHONE LP CUSTOM EB?

[ZIII]

Hey there,

 

I've read some topics about the same question, and the results and answers have been from one side to another. And then again, I've checked some reviews about them both, and many people say that the Epi's only difference is that they might not stay in tune as good as Gibsons. I'm sure there are more differences, since the price is so different.

 

But in fact, I'm a pretty new guitarist around here and have played for about 4-5 years. Right now I'm using an ESP LTD EX400, and have never played any Gibson or Epiphone. Also there are no shops in my country that sells them, so I'm not able to try them and must go for an online shop.

 

Lately I read something about Epiphone Elitist guitars. In what ways are they better than regular Epi Custom?

 

Which guitar would you recommend me to buy, the Gibson or Epiphone, when my budget is around £750-£800? Again, I have played for only about 4-5 years comparing to most of yours ... 15 years? So would I even notice the difference between the two of these?

 

Thanks for any response,

Oliver

[sjtalon]

"Epi might not stay in tune as well as a Gibson" ?

 

Wow that's desperate ! Must have come from one of those purists. Gibson my have higher quality tuners BUT I had a Made in China Epi LP ( not an Elitist) and had NO problems.

 

 

 

 

The Elitists are very highly rated guitars of very good quality. They are not a Gibson, but GM makes a Cadillac and a Chev and who's to say one is BETTER than the other. Different.......NICER.....prestige.... but better ????

 

Talking difference only, I would say in tone there would be, for various reasons ( different pickups). But they would each sound wonderful in their own way. They put some nice USA pups in Elitists.

 

If by saying your 4-5 years of playing means your not the greatest, I can really relate to that, I've been playing for 53+ years and can say my talent is about a 4 on a scale of 1-10 O:)/ But I LOVE it and have 9 guitars and my "top" one is a Gibson Les Paul Studio. So regarless of one's talant, you deseve it !! I've seen some guys in Cadillacs that can't drive worth a #*&@

 

To answer the question, IMHO for what you can spend, I would consider the Elitist but you should be able to get a Gibson Les Paul Studio as well ( for that $$). I'm not saying because it's a REAL GIBSON it's better, just that for that much money I would rather have a Gibson in my hands than a Epiphone, just because a Gibson is..........well a GIBSON, just as a FENDER is a Fender. It's a brand thing only.

 

And don't let anyone tell you a Studio isn't a "real" Les Paul. Other than some binding and eye candy there is NO DIFFERENCE to the others

 

Good luck !

[stevezapp]

Go and play both of them.

 

Then choose which one you prefer.

[pokpak17]

Both guitars have different sound and feeling. I would try both and choose what I like the best as Stevezapp mentions.

I don't mind about the headstock does say "Epi", as long as the sould is right to me I'll go for it.

[ZIII]

I've seen some guys in Cadillacs that can't drive worth a #*&@

 

Haha' date=' thats nicely compared :D . Well yeah, I've watched some vids on YouTube and exactly, some people play an Epi extremely nicely, with a great tone etc. The others play Gibson like ... yeah, a guy who can't drive a Cadillac :)

 

 

just because a Gibson is..........well a GIBSON, just as a FENDER is a Fender. It's a brand thing only.

 

Yeah, well .. but paying 3x more money for a brand .. I don't know

 

 

Go and play both of them.

 

I don't have any shop in my town that sells Gibson or Epiphone, in fact I think there isn't one in the whole country ;(

 

 

Anyways great thanks to you all, but I think I'm still going for the Epiphone right now, maybe in the future I'll get me a Gibson .

 

Oliver

[crossroadsnyc]

Hi ZIII,

 

welcome to the forum.

 

Sorry about the answers you've received thus far, as it appears a couple forum members didn't read your question in it's entirety...I understand that in your country, neither are available to try out first, and that you will be making a choice based somewhat on the responses you receive here.

 

To give you a bit of background on playing length (not that it really matters), I've been playing seriously for 24 years now, and have owned several models of the Gibson LP. As a matter of fact, I also owned an Epiphone LP Standard a number of years ago that was given to me for free. I point this out so that you don't walk off thinking this is a forum where people are too tied into Gibson and won't give you open minded advice. I've played both...I've owned both. As a matter of fact, I've even played the Epiphone Elitist that you inquired about (a friend of mine had one but sold it after about a year of ownership...and yes, he sold it so he could purchase a Gibson).

 

If making the choice between a Gibson and Epiphone, my honest belief is that you are better off going with the Gibson. For the budget you have set, you could get a very nice Gibson Les Paul Studio. While the Studio doesn't have the flamed top, body/neck binding, etc., when compared to the LP Standard (or the Elitist for that matter), it's still a proper LP that was made here in the United States, rather than with slave labor in China. It's also a much nicer guitar in so far that the construction, wood, electronics, etc., are all first rate, whereas the Chinese made Epiphone uses inferior woods, electronics, construction methods, workmanship, and again...it's made from the use of slave labor (yes, it's a big deal).

 

To that end, there is really nothing "wrong" with the Epiphone, but for the same price I believe the Gibson is just a far superior instrument. My honest belief is that the ONLY benefit you will find with the Epiphone Elitist over the Gibson LP Studio is that of a flamed top...but I don't think purchasing an inferior guitar is worth having a flamed top (particularly when it's not the same as a Gibson flamed top...they do it WAY on the cheap with Epiphone).

 

Ok, I just woke up not too long ago so I'm sure I'm missing out on a lot of other things I'd like to point out, but hopefully this will give you a little background/opinion. Of course this is just my opinion and I'm sure others will have other opinions as well.

 

One last thing I will point out - and I do so because you said you have never played a LP - is that should you decide you don't like the LP down the road, the resale value of the Gibson is much stronger than the resale value of an Epiphone...you wouldn't lose that much money overall w/the Gibson in the long run, whereas the Epiphone is a lot like a car...once you take it off the lot, the value drops considerably.

 

I'll chime in more if I think of anything after I wake up a bit (still on first cup of coffee here...).

[sjtalon]

Good points cross road for only one cup 'o Joe

 

>Yeah, well .. but paying 3x more money for a brand .. I don't know<

 

When you asked about Elitist and Gibson and mentioned your budget, I thought you should be able to get a Les Paul Studio for that.

 

I think you can buy a Studio for LESS than a Elitist.

 

 

Also a Epiphone LP Custom is just a LP with fancy binding and gold hardware. ( Ebony or Alpine White). I had a Custom, and a plain LP ( for re-sale) and you couldn't tell the difference in tone/sound. Same pups and everything. The custom just looks better ( and it is very nice).

 

An Elitist (vs. reg EPI) I'm sure would have better quality control, better neck selection, and USA pups, &c.

 

Oh I forgot...I always wanted to have a chance to say this:

 

What a stupid marketing name...........ELITIST

 

 

And the regular Epis are very nice guitars for the money. The ONLY reason I sold the one I had (Plain Top) was because I got a SUPER deal on a Studio from MF.

 

Buy a nice used one so you don't loose the money off the top ( let the other guy) and then you can AT least break even when you can sell it and buy something else.

 

Good discussion.

[BigKahune]

if you haven't ever played a LP/knockoff, you should do you have to in order to check one out, hands on - the neck joint is going to be a lot different from what you're used to.