Neck Give on Epiphones

[bluesstringer]

As usual, these discussionas are pointless. Everyone has preferences for many disserent reasons but I have never heard of a brand being disliked because of neck bending. Necks having some give is a great advantage to some players when it comes to vibrato as are different bridges, tremelos/# of springs, string guage, etc. I have never heard anyone assert that it is a measurement of quality.

 

I have representatives of all the brands mentioned but have to admit that, as much as I love my other guitars, my usual "go to" guitar has been and will always be a Strat, closely followed by my Sheraton.

[Big Norm]

Eric Clapton plays Fender....Carlos Santana plays PRS....Jimmy Page plays Gibson....another one plays Washburn..and so on... Play whatever you wanted, but it's not cause of the brand of the guitar if you are good or not... They're all good, depending in what hands they are...or all bad for the same reason... Comparing guitars by who mades them is too large...Fender have their lines, from crap to heaven...so have Gibson, PRS or any other brands. When you evaluate a brand that have guitar from $99.00 to $10000 and more... what to say more...

Choose the one you want, and let the others do the same. Toyota Yaris or Ferrari will brings you from A to B... at difference price and speed..LOllll...they are doing the same job..in a lot of different ways.

[Ricochet]

Well' date=' mahogany is a bit less rigid than rock maple, so it's possible that Epis and Gibsons will experience more 'flex' than a Fender. However the Fender necks are also longer so some of that gets cancelled out. And anyway... what was his [i']point[/i]? The flexibility of a mahogany neck doesn't seem to have stopped anybody from doing great things with these guitars over the past 60 years.

 

True that. I suppose it also depends on the neck inset. SG necks have a tendency to be a bit more flex compared to a LP.

[Dave]

HATE is a strong word' date=' I mean i dislike most Fender Tones, or

maybe i just hate hearing how GREAT Fender is day by day from my

co-worker and that it's the ONLY brand worth anything. His point was

that there's just too much Give in the Epi necks and that you'd never

get that from a Fender.

 

I just thought i'd get an AMEN from y'all that, yeah, there's give

in ANY guitar not just Epiphones and it doesn't necessarily mean that the

guitar isn't a good solid guitar.[/quote']

 

Most quality guitars played through the right amp sound great. The one you mentioned is an icon used by lots of players, just like the Les Paul. You can't argue with thousands of people's preferences, but you can say "it's not for me." As for me, I like and own both and I like the sound of single coils as well as humbuckers.

 

As was said previously, any wooden neck will bend slightly. I'm sure you've seen guys in concerts hit a note and shake the guitar by the neck to get a little vibrato (and succeed).

[RotcanX]

I'm not sure which is the dumber argument: Gibson vs Fender or Gibson vs Epiphone. As far as I'm concerned, replace the 'vs' with 'and' and you're already a lot wiser.

[dubstar]

I have always thought they were assembly-line tools that all looked exactly the same. Interchangeable parts. But I cannot discount their impact on the music world.

 

that was kind of the point, no?

[RobinTheHood]

I have always thought they were assembly-line tools that all looked exactly the same. Interchangeable parts. But I cannot discount their impact on the music world.

 

Just as much as any other popular guitar, I suppose. I'm not saying its the be-all end-all to the guitar world, or that its my favorite guitar, ever. But I like it a lot more than I thought I would.

[mozahlee]

Vibrato is fine, My co-worker's point was more along the lines of

"Even though Epiphones are set necks, they still phase a lot because

of the neck joint not being solid...You'd never get that from a Fender

and they're Bolt Ons!!"... That's what he was saying, that the necks

aren't solid and even if you lean on it a little bit, it'll go out of tune for

a sec.

 

I disagreed with him. My response was that ALL Guitars have some play, even

the mighty FENDER. He Swears by them and would NEVER touch an Epi.

I've tried Fenders and they'll do the same thing. I don't knock Fender, To each his

own. I've just never played a Fender that i REALLY liked except a MIM Tele once.

And even that thing had terrible intonation and wouldn't stay in tune. But there

was a nice tone in there somewhere that i heard. Just not my bag.

[JefferySmith]

 

Just as much as any other popular guitar' date=' I suppose. I'm not saying its the be-all end-all to the guitar world, or that its my favorite guitar, ever. But I like it a lot more than I thought I would.[/quote']

There is certainly something to be said for even consistency. I have a strat and a jaguar, and both are gems. As for those who say that "hate" their sound, I hear the same thing said about lenses and film developer. Truth be told, I'm not sure I could identify a guitar based on its sound. Too many intangibles (strings, switches, amplifier, place where string is plucked). I've never found myself listening to Clapton, the early Ventures, Hendrix, or Harrison and saying to myself "I hate that sound". The sheer number of questions on forums such as this one saying "which guitar was used on.........." tells me that many of us cannot determine which guitar was used for which song. I would have never dreamed that "I Feel Fine" was done on a Gibson electric flattop guitar (and I'm still skeptical)

[RobinTheHood]

There is certainly something to be said for even consistency. I have a strat and a jaguar' date=' and both are gems. As for those who say that "hate" their sound, I hear the same thing said about lenses and film developer. Truth be told, I'm not sure I could identify a guitar based on its sound. Too many intangibles (strings, switches, amplifier, place where string is plucked). I've never found myself listening to Clapton, the early Ventures, Hendrix, or Harrison and saying to myself "I hate that sound". The sheer number of questions on forums such as this one saying "which guitar was used on.........." tells me that many of us cannot determine which guitar was used for which song. I would have never dreamed that "I Feel Fine" was done on a Gibson electric flattop guitar (and I'm [u']still[/u] skeptical) ;)

 

I like the sound of my fender quite a bit. Its live and bright with some nice twang to it. But I couldnt tell you who plays what type of guitar by listening to a track. For instance, i was flipping through the TV channels looking for something to watch, when I came across a fairly recent Motley Crue live performance. Being that I love train wrecks, I watch for a few minutes. The riff was pretty rock & roll and fairly crunchy. When they panned in on Mick Mars, he was playing no other than a Fender SSS strat. I would have never guessed he could get that mean crunch from an SSS strat.

[RobinTheHood]

Vibrato is fine' date=' My co-worker's point was more along the lines of

"Even though Epiphones are set necks, they still phase a lot because

of the neck joint not being solid...You'd never get that from a Fender

and they're Bolt Ons!!"... That's what he was saying, that the necks

aren't solid and even if you lean on it a little bit, it'll go out of tune for

a sec.

 

[/quote']

 

I would think that any bolt on would have less give in the neck. But I'm pretty guitar tech illiterate, so I could be mistaken.

[Dr. Killmore]

 

I like the sound of my fender quite a bit. Its live and bright with some nice twang to it. But I couldnt tell you who plays what type of guitar by listening to a track. For instance' date=' i was flipping through the TV channels looking for something to watch, when I came across a fairly recent Motley Crue live performance. Being that I love train wrecks, I watch for a few minutes. The riff was pretty rock & roll and fairly crunchy. When they panned in on Mick Mars, he was playing no other than a Fender SSS strat. I would have never guessed he could get that mean crunch from an SSS strat. [/quote']

 

Yeah, you can get some pretty good rock/metal sounds out of stock Strats and Teles. I some times tune my MIM Standard Telecaster down a whole step and play high gain with the mid range scooped. It is a little noisey when left idle, but man, I get some sick sounds out of the thing. Playing in the neck position I get thick Sabbathy tone that will rattle your fillings loose. In bridge position I get really peircing lead tone. Granted, single coils make noise, but who the hell can tell when you're playing full throtle?

 

As for "neck give". Explain to your co-worker a little thing called SUSTAIN. A set neck makes a big difference in that department. Also, if a guitar neck was totaly rigid, it would be more likely to break under stress. Things that dont bend break. You can also bring up acoustic guitars to him. What does he think of acoustics with bolt on necks. That might send his dumb theory right down the toilet.

[RobinTheHood]

Acoustic bolt on neck! LOL! I'd love to see that.

 

I usually play in humbucking mode becuase the noise drives me crazy. But single mode produces some really nice tones...I may give it a whirl. I dont think i'm eliglible to get heavy sounds out of my strat due to the amp I play through. Its fender and sounds better clean or slightly dirty. Full distortion just sounds messy on it. Maybe I could try hooking up a distortion pedal to it?

 

Anyway, I bounce back and forth between the strat and the Epi depending on my mood. I cant say I like one better than the other. They both have qualities I like and dislike equally. And the neck bend...pretty standard on both. I'm harder on the right hand than the left, so I'm not bothered by any neck bend...and its usually on purpose if it happens.

[Ron G]

Acoustic bolt on neck! LOL! I'd love to see that

 

They exist. Even some highly-regarded Taylor acoustics are bolt-on.

[RobinTheHood]

I had a feeling someone was going to say that.

 

I'd still love to see one. I cant even imagine how they are constructed.

[Ron G]

I had a feeling someone was going to say that.

 

I'd still love to see one. I cant even imagine how they are constructed.

 

Here's a Taylor video showing their construction CLICK

 

BTW: I don't like Taylors

[snookelputz]

Of course there's neck give. Its a loaded lever. The load is string tension, and the fulcrum is the neck joint; and yes, the bolt-on neck does the same thing, but because of the bolts it flexes farther back on the neck. Means you can't twist the neck as easily, or to as great an extent. Both of them break, even if the bolt-on may take a little more physical punishment.

 

If you really want to see a flexible neck, play any bolt-on where the bolts are slightly stripped out.

[JefferySmith]

 

They exist. Even some highly-regarded Taylor acoustics are bolt-on.

How about those tub-shaped acoustics with the graphite body (or whatever the hell it is). The name escapes me.

[RobinTheHood]

How about those tub-shaped acoustics with the graphite body (or whatever the hell it is). The name escapes me.

 

Ovations?

[RobinTheHood]

 

Here's a Taylor video showing their construction CLICK

 

BTW: I don't like Taylors

 

That was totally not what I expected. I'm not sure what I expected.

 

Pretty cool though. You'd never know it was a bolt on.

[mozahlee]

o.k. well, ya know, i've heard John 5 from Rob Zombie's band

and his Telecaster was big and beefy. But then again he's got

crazy pick-ups in it and pedals so it's hard to say how much 'real' tone

is coming out.

 

I'll take Zakk Wylde's sound over his, processed or not. I like to think

it's the fact that Zakk plays Les Pauls that his sound is so monstrous.

[Dr. Killmore]

Epiphone acoustics from the 70's had bolt on necks as well.

[JefferySmith]

 

Ovations?

That's it!

[BSAKing]

Any guitar make/brand has its strengths and weaknesses and it is all very subjective. I have had Fender, Epis and Gibsons for years and I like them all depending on what it is I am plunking at at the moment.

 

Now on the amp front I LOVE Fender for that surf type of thing (did I hear yecccch in the background!? lol), but I also have some smaller Marshalls, Parks and Epis as well...

 

Sort of surprised to hear of any guitarist that will flat right not have anything to do with a variety of brands.... preferences - sure, but there again - depending on what you are up to at the moment.:)

[JefferySmith]

Any guitar make/brand has its strengths and weaknesses and it is all very subjective. I have had Fender' date=' Epis and Gibsons for years and I like them all depending on what it is I am plunking at at the moment.

 

Now on the amp front I LOVE Fender for that surf type of thing (did I hear yecccch in the background!? lol), but I also have some smaller Marshalls, Parks and Epis as well...

 

Sort of surprised to hear of any guitarist that will flat right not have anything to do with a variety of brands.... preferences - sure, but there again - depending on what you are up to at the moment.:) [/quote']

 

I was sort of surprised to read that Clapton and Lennon had such large collections of guitars. After seeing Lennon use the same Rickenbacker forever I got the false impression that he was focusing so much on music he didn't even look at different guitars. And Harrison seemed to play whatever you put in his hands. I knew that Clapton jumped from Gibson to Fender time and again, but in his autobiography he talks about auctioning his guitars, and he had a ton of them!