If you decided to play professionally, would you buy a Gibson?

[byrds1965]

Have thought about it too like most of you guys. I did and do play for money now and then so that counts as professional right? I would play for free though........ well maybe not if I could just do it for a living. Would I buy Gibsons? Of course and anything else that I wanted. I would have the room full of guitars like Petty.

 

I have never felt like I had to play Gibsons and the Beatles played what ever they felt like and everybody years later is still following them. In college I played what I had. When I play now I just try to rotate though my gear. Back in college our drummer sprayed beer all over the stage one night and hit my 335 copy I still own and still has the satins in the finish. Can't get them out. Was pissed then but reminds me of that night everytime I see them. I have worn through the finish on my Ric 350-6 where my arm sits. I would have Ric build me a 360-12 with a 21 fret neck so I didn't have to take my 67 out. Other than that I would try to play them all at some point.

 

Mainly I find myself playing what ever is new to me at the time. The excitment of some new or different sound/look.

[Recycled Rocker]

This is why I like reading peoples replies, it really shows diversity amoungst this group. 30 years ago I played a Ibanez on stage with a Marshall 1/2 stack, it was a great set up, so if I where to do it now I would have my Epi's I really like them. I've tried the Gibsons and I can't see the extra money, may be my ears are going . That's if I was still playing professionally and earning enough to support myself.

 

If you make it big then you could play what ever took your fancy and feels good, as if it is lousy to play you would not feel comfortable playing, I would think anyway.

 

my 0.97 worth

 

Cheers blokes

 

RR

[pohatu771]

The thing about stage vs. studio/home guitars puzzles me... Paul McCartney goes on stage with his 1962 Casino, which is like a piece of history. He brings his 1957 left-handed Les Paul on stage. Now, maybe he has some sort of magic case that eliminates any chance of damage, but it doesn't seem like he'd be bringing them out. If it was just a standard $3000 Gibson, I'd understand- he can certainly afford to buy a new one, but these are historical guitars. He may be able to buy another 1962 Casino, but it wouldn't be the one that John Lennon sat on the couch and played before Paul could even re-string it. He could probably buy another 1957 left-handed Les Paul, but it wouldn't be the one that Les Paul himself gave him.

 

Maybe we get too attached to our guitars, while the big-name professionals see them as tools. Other than Ringo, of course, because he has a few famous guitars locked up in his closet.

[CodeMonk]

The thing about stage vs. studio/home guitars puzzles me... Paul McCartney goes on stage with his 1962 Casino' date=' which is like a piece of history. He brings his 1957 left-handed Les Paul on stage. Now, maybe he has some sort of magic case that eliminates any chance of damage, but it doesn't seem like he'd be bringing them out. If it was just a standard $3000 Gibson, I'd understand- he can certainly afford to buy a new one, but these are historical guitars. He may be able to buy another 1962 Casino, but it wouldn't be the one that John Lennon sat on the couch and played before Paul could even re-string it. He could probably buy another 1957 left-handed Les Paul, but it wouldn't be the one that Les Paul himself gave him.

 

Maybe we get too attached to our guitars, while the big-name professionals see them as tools. Other than Ringo, of course, because he has a few famous guitars locked up in his closet.[/quote']

 

Maybe off topic but I bet Paul puts those inside 3 different cases, one inside the other type thing.

Probably needs four roadies or a fork lift to carry it away

 

And as I said before, play what feels good. If its a $300 G400 or a $5000 LP Custom (of course in my case at least, I wouldn't take the damn thing off even if I had to go to the bathroom).

[Steven Lister]

Gibson Shmibson (...see prior thread)

 

Every performance I cover my headstock logo(s) with black tape...,

...not because I'm ashamed of my instruments (of course, bandmates know what I have, i.e. no pretensions)

...but because it's my private protest against an over-comercialized, all-hype-no-substance world.

 

If you own it, you must have good reason for doing so (whatever it is). PLAY THE DAMN THING already!

One of mine is a Korean made 'junker' --- I think the body was some kind of chemistry experiment --- but it sounds terrific so it's a player.

 

We are artists, not billboards, and frankly a lot less competition over who's guitar brand has the bigger d*ck and more concentration on our art is something else the world really needs now.

 

Hit every BLUE NOTE baaaby..., I'm going to play on:-"

[SkEpTiKaL]

Yes, I would use a Gibson.

[snookelputz]

I might try to buy 50 each of the remaining Elitist models so that as I cart one of each of them around the world with me, I can have an immediate replacement FEDEX'd out of stock on hand, rather than trying to find a replacement for one when I needed it.

[Ricochet]

Every performance I cover my headstock logo(s) with black tape...' date='

...not because I'm ashamed of my instruments (of course, bandmates know what I have, i.e. no pretensions)

...but because it's my private [u']protest against an over-comercialized, all-hype-no-substance world[/u].

 

Funny...I did that too! I even had a fase were I removed all my clothings labels...regardless of brand or price.

[iansmitchell]

I'd probably get a fender jaguar.

Just because I have nothing like it.

Since there IS nothing like it.

[Dave]

IF playing professionally meant doing 200-250 gigs a year to promote the new CD, and I had instrument techs and roadies and security people guarding the stage, I wouldn't worry about theft so much. Even so, I'd play whatever sounded and felt best to me and the type of music I was doing. I'd spend the money on tube amps and lots of effects instead of having just a couple of effects pedals and a $400 hybrid.

 

When I played semi-pro, I went through several 4x12 tube amps and finally settled on a Peavey Musician 4x12. I played a Gibson SG and a Fender USA strat (which I still have). I wish I had kept the SG, also. Back during those days, I felt no allegiance to what I played, other than the sound and playability. I traded in one for the other and didn't see any sense in keeping the one I replaced.

 

My cousin won the Guitar Player Magazine "guitar player of the year" award back in the early '90s. He was given several Gibson and Epiphone guitars as part of the award and was signed by a label to produce a CD and tour to promote it. What does he play? He plays an Epi LP custom heritage cherry sunburst that has been through the Gibson custom shop several times. We share a common great grandfather who reportedly was one of those people who never had lessons, but could hear a song and sit down and play it on the guitar or piano from memory.

 

I think that there is a lot of artist promotion prevalent in determining what the artist plays. If you knew the background and the deals that go on in the industry, it would make sense. And then, there are artists who just insist on playing the instrument that they like.

[layboomo]

One thing this thread is kida overlooking is the used market vs new........I have only bought 1 Gibson brand new in my entire musical life and that was only a $700 faded SG,but I've owned a bunch of Gibby's. Yeah I think the prices of alot of their new stuff are rediculous and Epi's certainly have the appeal there.But(big but here for me)if it comes down to a nice used Gibby or a brand new Epi for similar money....I'm goin' with the used Gibby or Hamer or whatever. Hamer is a great example right now on the used market. You can get an american made Hamer special (around 81' vintage) for $600-$800 in very good shape and they are better guitars than most Gibby and Epi Les Pauls by a mile.

[Henry Mars]

At one time it would have been the Gibson hands down. I played a Gretsch CHet Atkins Tennesean as my main axe for most of my life and loved the thing, it is just worn out from 40+ years of playing it.

I need another axe and I gravitate to the ES335 style. After playing the Elitist Dot I see no reason to by an ES335. The Dot is a little different with the finish etc., but sounds and plays as well as the ES335. The only thing I might do is upgrade the pick ups.

[carverman]

Back in my "band" days' date=' I never left my guitar out of my sight.

 

but on the topic of inflated Gibsons, Guitar World recently compared the Gibson Les Paul reissue with the PRS Singlecut. And the Gibson was like $8,500. I thought the Gretsch Penguin was the most overpriced guitar, but I was wrong.

And now that you have me ranting, is there a [u']really[/u] short scale electric guitar out there other than the Rickenbacker 325? The raison-d'etre of that guitar is its preposterously short scale (like 20"). Why doesn't Epiphone make one for 1/3 the price? They could make one in Korea for 1/6 the price.

 

I can't comment on PRS, because I don't have one and they are essentially modelled after the Gibson, as Paul Reed

Smith got a fair amount of mentoring from Ted McCarty (who had left Gibson and headed Bigsby in those years),

but from the brief time I had one to play, it was very nice..but NOT a Gibson! As far as the Gr*tsch Penguin

(other than the rather bizarre name), it is essentially a copy/clone/whatever of a LP in white with the typical

Gretsch control layout..innovation?...hardly! According to my book, (Gibson Guitars, Ted McCarty's Golden era),

when Ted McCarty, then CEO of Gibson was looking for ideas to compete with Leo Fender, Gretsch advised

him to stay out of that market, and stick to hollow bodies.....interesting that with the successful promotion of

the LP and SG, Gretsch started to market the Penguin. Differences are little other than the scale 24.6 vs 24.75

but they both have 22 frets. Now here's the interesting part..the penguin sells for around $2800...but so do

a lot of Gibson LPs. Which one would most chose?

 

I don't know enough about John Lennon to state here exactly why he preferred the Epi Casino to the equivalent

Gibson model, but perhaps supply had something to do with it in those days. I remember back in '66/67 that if you wanted a Gibson electric (or even some acoustics models like the Dove, Hummingbird or SJ200), you placed your deposit and waited a year or more. That may have some bearing on looking for alternatives as well as satisfying the desire for experimenting with different guitar sounds.

 

As far as very short scale guitars (20.5 inches or 3/4 size for junior players), AFAIK, Gibson only make one,

the Byrdland, which was based on Billy Byrd and Hank Garland's suggestions at 23.5 scale. I believe that Epiphone

also makes a version of it (or did). The main problem with the short scale (less than 24.75) is that the strings

are under less tension and don't vibrate as much, so that (in essence) imparts less energy to the top so you are not going

to get the same tone as in the bigger models, but it satisfys the small finger chord spreads.

( Electrics may not have that problem.) Open or drop tuning could be another problem.

[matiac]

Yes.

[RotcanX]

If I was playing pro I'd be playing one of my Gibsons or else one of my Elitists. However nothing would stop me from dragging out the Epi Explorer just for the panty-loosening effect.

[layboomo]

If I was playing pro I'd be playing one of my Gibsons or else one of my Elitists. However nothing would stop me from dragging out the Epi Explorer just for the panty-loosening effect.

 

Your panty's get loose when you play your Explorer??? Maybe you need to relocate the strap button....sorry but you set yourself up for that one......

[Notes_Norton]

I DO play professionally, and make the majority of my income gigging.

 

I bring my Epiphone Casino on stage and leave my Gibson ES-330 at home.

 

Why?

 

I double on sax, flute, wind synth, guitar, vocals and sometimes keyboards on stage. Switching instruments quickly is an accident waiting to happen. I'd rather have the accident happen on the Epi than the Gibson.

 

I've been gigging many years, and my philosophy has changed as I matured.

 

When I was younger, it was nothing but top-of-the-line instruments. I was proud to have a Selmer Mark VI sax (the holy grail of saxophones) and later an H.Couf Superba (IMHO an even better horn). Then something interesting happened. Saxophones need an overhaul every few years. Overhauling means replacing the pads, springs, and re-lacquering the brass. Well due to environmental regulations, they no longer lacquer horns in about 47 US States so in order to have a shiny horn, I would have to send it to Indiana and be without my horn for about 3-4 months. The price of an overhaul and re-lacquer is about the price of a second-tier saxophone (equivalent to an Epi guitar in quality). So I figured, why be without a horn for a quarter of a year, when I can buy a second-tier horn for the same price, and it would essentially be disposable?

 

So I bought a second-tier sax, (Ida Marie Grassi Prestige) and found it to be about 90% of the top-of-the-line sax for about a third of the price. So I now play second-tier saxophones.

 

When I was younger, I took pride in my instrument, as a badge of my professionalism and perhaps sub-consciously a badge of my competence as a musician.

 

I am very confident and comfortable with my playing abilities. I know there are many sax players and many more guitar players who are better than I am. I also know I am better than the majority of players. This is not to brag, but a simple fact because I do this full-time I have more time to practice and improve my skills. Plus I do have some talent. When I was in school, I sat first-chair in the all-state band each and every year (which is doubly hard for a tenor player, because the alto sax player gets it by default).

 

So I do not need to show the world by the name on my instrument that I am a decent player. I show them with the notes I play on the instrument.

 

OK, after all of that. IF I hit the big-time (unlikely at my age - although it did almost happen once) and money became no object and IF Gibson decided to re-issue an ES-330, I just might go Gibson. Why? I like the shorter Gibson headstock better (see pix below). To me the Epi headstock is too long. If it was adorned with the vine like the Sherry, the length would make sense to me.

 

But that admittedly is a trivial matter.

 

Overly-posted-picture-follows (I really need to take some new ones)

 

 

Insights and incites by Notes

[TheX]

If playing professionally meant also having the budget to do as I pleased then 99% of my Epiphones would be replaced with Gibby's without so much as a second thought.

[Goldie]

I play semi-pro, I own a couple Gibsons, an Ibanez, a Squire, and an Epi. With high quality pickups, the Epi hangs right in there with any guitar I've ever played. The other great thing about an Epi, is that if it gets beaten, broken, or stolen, you're not out several thousand dollars.

[Just Strum]

I DO

 

Overly-posted-picture-follows (I really need to take some new ones)

 

 

Insights and incites by Notes

 

Impossible' date=' but new ones would also be welcomed - I love those gutiars.[/b']

[JefferySmith]

This convinces me that Gibson and Epiphone definitely have their own niches and Gibson need not worry about Epiphone sales encroaching on Gibson sales. The results here do surprise me. Of course, I should have prefaced the question by saying that you aren't necessarily rolling in $$$$. If I were rolling in $$$$, I'd probably buy a Gibson even if I weren't turning professional. ](*,)/

[charlie brown]

Well, in the past I've always bought Epiphones, that were true Epiphone models. If they were

Epiphone versions, of Gibson models, I saved and bought the Gibson. Hey, I'm "Weird"

that way! But, in all candor and fairness, I think Epi's are great guitars, and with some

mild mods, to one's own spec's, they are totally professional grade instruments. Especially,

the "Elitist" models. So, I'm not quite as "prescious" about it, anymore. It's the player,

after all, not what's on the headstock.

 

CB

[eor]

i don't see current production gibsons bringing much more to the table than an elitist, if anything. i might be inclined to say that in many cases, the elitists are better. so yup, i'd keep playing the epis. besides, i've never been the kind of guy to play the headstock. i'll play my current sherry anywhere, anytime and not think twice.

 

that said, i've seen some prejudice to "low end" gear from others, both live and in the studio. and some times, i've done it, too.

[bluelake07]

As has been said earlier, for use in the studio I would definitely use a Gibson. When the sax player takes out their Selmer Mark VI and the bass player takes out their Alembic, the perception is that you're not "running with the big dogs" if you don't have what is considered a professional-quality instrument no matter how modified your Epi is or how good it sounds. For the stage, if Gibson was giving me guitars I'd play one; if not, I'd play whatever I feel like playing.

[JefferySmith]

i don't see current production gibsons bringing much more to the table than an elitist' date=' if anything. i might be inclined to say that in many cases, the elitists are better. so yup, i'd keep playing the epis. besides, i've never been the kind of guy to play the headstock. i'll play my current sherry anywhere, anytime and not think twice.

 

that said, i've seen some prejudice to "low end" gear from others, both live and in the studio. and some times, i've done it, too.[/quote']

Hey, if pros are playing with Danelectros, the Epiphone headstock is a status symbol.