Gibson vs Epiphone blindfold challenge

[Dave F]

I have a personal issue with demos. Even with my guitars, they sound different being played on my lap than if some across from me were playing it. Since I no longer play out, my main concerns would be on my lap. I’ve tried buying based on how they sound with someone else demoing it but ones purchased via that method didn’t hang around too long. 

[Paul14]

2 hours ago, cunningham26 said:

 

The thing is that people shop with their eyes as much as their ears. If I was on that budget and able to get something that looked 100% like the guitar that my music heroes play and sounded decent enough, i'd rather that than something that sounded better with no distinguishable character

They only look like the guitars your music heroes play. That’s the only resemblance. To me the Epi J-200 is a complete waste of money. The only thing it has going for itself is bling. The tone sucks in my opinion. No way I would pay $900 for that thing. Personally I wouldn’t be interested in the others either. Epiphone makes some very nice masterbuit s. To me, they are better guitars for less money. That’s just me

[cunningham26]

4 minutes ago, Paul14 said:

They only look like the guitars your music heroes play. That’s the only resemblance. To me the Epi J-200 is a complete waste of money. The only thing it has going for itself is bling. The tone sucks in my opinion. No way I would pay $900 for that thing. Personally I wouldn’t be interested in the others either. Epiphone makes some very nice masterbuit s. To me, they are better guitars for less money. That’s just me

 

i think us enthusiasts definitely have that perspective, but the majority of Epi shoppers are probably in the camp of buying something within their budget that looks the part and sounds good enough. Everything these days are good enough to be gigable and prob be fine on some recording demos etc. Now more than ever it's a fantasy for most people with a modest budget (stretching to $900 from the EJs that were around $500) to hear "just save up for the real thing!" that is 5x the cost. My first acoustic was an epi hummingbird that totally did the job especially after a couple hundred hours of play time. Did it sound like a perfectly miked j200 in a studio? Nope. Did it make acoustic guitar sounds that 99% of listeners would say sounds like an acoustic guitar? Sure did. With the solid spruce top it even had a decent thump. 

I've been really lucky to score a couple Gibsons including my j45 for under $1000 and yea they sound better and im prob fortunate enough that i won't have to go back now that i've heard the dulcet tones of Gibson, but im not quick to forget the times when scratching $400 together was a big thing for a hobby, and how to my ears at that time the epi sounded beautiful.

[kelly campbell]

1 hour ago, Sgt. Pepper said:

None of the guitar stores around where I live carry Gibson (except GC, which is 45 mins away in Virginia Beach and over an hour away in Richmond), and they one will have a J-45 and may be a H-Bird and a J-15.

I am fortunate to live 50  miles from Sweetwater, Sam Ash and GC...so between the three I can usually find some of the Gibson's but still during this pandemic it has been screwed up because of supply chain issues.

[Paul14]

2 minutes ago, cunningham26 said:

 

i think us enthusiasts definitely have that perspective, but the majority of Epi shoppers are probably in the camp of buying something within their budget that looks the part and sounds good enough. Everything these days are good enough to be gigable and prob be fine on some recording demos etc. Now more than ever it's a fantasy for most people with a modest budget (stretching to $900 from the EJs that were around $500) to hear "just save up for the real thing!" that is 5x the cost. My first acoustic was an epi hummingbird that totally did the job especially after a couple hundred hours of play time. Did it sound like a perfectly miked j200 in a studio? Nope. Did it make acoustic guitar sounds that 99% of listeners would say sounds like an acoustic guitar? Sure did. With the solid spruce top it even had a decent thump. 

I've been really lucky to score a couple Gibsons including my j45 for under $1000 and yea they sound better and im prob fortunate enough that i won't have to go back now that i've heard the dulcet tones of Gibson, but im not quick to forget the times when scratching $400 together was a big thing for a hobby, and how to my ears at that time the epi sounded beautiful.

I had a few  Epiphones too. Still have an EL-00. Had a Dove, which was nice, but I sold it when I was able to get a real one. Had a couple Masterbuits, that I no longer have.  I live on a fixed income. It’s hard enough to feed myself, much less buy guitars. Believe me, I know what it is to budget. Only way I could buy any guitar these days would be to sell one, that I don’t want to sell. 

[Brucebubs]

6 hours ago, fortyearspickn said:

Holding bridge pins aside, shouldn't you take out that Planet Waves Tone Enhancer donut thingy in your Epiphone  to make the comparison more comparable? 

It was in the guitar when I bought it and I'm pretty sure I'd bust it trying to take it out - it 's gone quite hard - guitar sounds good so I've just left it in - does it work? Can't tell you!

[MissouriPicker]

Nothing wrong with Epiphones.  I’ve owned an EJ200, an Epi Bird, and a Masterbilt J45.  Nice guitars if your budget points that direction, but they are not Gibsons.  They just aren’t!

[RBSinTo]

18 hours ago, cunningham26 said:

 

The thing is that people shop with their eyes as much as their ears. If I was on that budget and able to get something that looked 100% like the guitar that my music heroes play and sounded decent enough, i'd rather that than something that sounded better with no distinguishable character

cunningham26, 

I completely disagree. 

In the best of all possible worlds one's guitar/car/camera/whatever would not only perform its function really well, but also be as aesthetically pleasing as one could wish for.

However, in the real world this isn't always the case, and often for any number of reasons, compromises must be made. 

In my opinion, if it is not possible to have both criterion, then it is more important that an item be as functional as possible rather than pretty.

And rather than purchase a lower priced guitar that has appointments that mimic those of a vastly better sounding instrument, I'd prefer that the time and expense in producing the look-alike be used to make a plainer looking, but better sounding guitar. 

RBSinTo

 

 

 

[fortyearspickn]

4 hours ago, RBSinTo said:

I completely disagree. 

 

Cunningham26 - I think what RBSINTO meant to say was:  

  "My experience is different. "

[RBSinTo]

1 hour ago, fortyearspickn said:

 

Cunningham26 - I think what RBSINTO meant to say was:  

  "My experience is different. "

fortyyearspickn,

Thank you, but, I have no need for a translator or spokesperson.

What I said was that I disagreed with his opinion, and then stated mine.

RBSinTo

 

 

[cunningham26]

People buy for different reasons and there's a reason why some love their boring looking but reliable Taylors and Seagulls and some others chose gibson-looking, epi-sounding boxes. i respect the former but totally understand the latter too

[Paul14]

17 minutes ago, cunningham26 said:

People buy for different reasons and there's a reason why some love their boring looking but reliable Taylors and Seagulls and some others chose gibson-looking, epi-sounding boxes. i respect the former but totally understand the latter too

I have both , boring, & blingy fortunately the blingy ones are real, not cheap imitations.

to each their own.  

[Lars68]

For a lot of people, buying a guitar for thousands of dollars is not possible. It simply becomes a question of making responsible choices in life. One of these Epis could very well be such a choice.

For me, the Epis are everything I would really need to make music and record songs. Having a Gibson to do it, is really  a luxury. Compared to a Gibson, an Epi would give up tradition, heritage, prestige, connection to favorite ariststs, and 10% tone. Life could be worse...

Lars

[Paul14]

 

[Jinder]

I see what Epiphone are doing here...they're selling aspiration. The new "IBG" range are mid priced, at the upper end of affordable for the average hobbyist/coffee house/pub/semi pro player, all solid wood, and look like the guitars our heroes played. 

Who among us, before owning a Gibson, wouldn't have wanted to bang out Honky Tonk Women on the Bird, pick some Townes on the J200 or get the flatpick chops out on It Ain't Me, Babe with the J45 in their lap? 

Aspiration is a beautiful thing, and selling it is akin to selling a dream. It's a valuable commodity.

Currently, as things stand pricing wise, a new Gibson SJ200, J45 or Hummingbird are well out of the reach, price wise, of the average gigging/working musician. I've been fortunate over my career to have a few cuts from other artists, film cuts and a couple of major label deals, along with publishing deals and stuff, and have invested any spare income from that in guitars. If I was still earning my living 100% from playing pub gigs, restaurants and functions, as I was when I was in my early 20s, owning a Gibson would be a pipedream, but the new "Inspired by Gibson" Epiphones would be right in my wheelhouse. 

Therein lays the next rung on the ladder of aspiration...our theoretical gigging hero, slogging up and down the motorways and by-ways for a few years with his IBG machine in hand, starts releasing some music and gets lucky with a cut, or a viral video, or a song that gets picked up by a publisher. NOW, the aspirant can finally afford the Gibson version of the guitar his followers have been watching him play for years, the guitar that's on the cover of his album and has been with him whilst he put down all the miles and paid his dues. All that working and diligence and patience has paid off, and the Gibson is the glittering prize at the end of the rainbow. 

Either that or he buys a Taylor 🤣