Epiphones Popularity

[Just Strum]

I was watching bits of a show on VH1 about Indie bands (while flipping back to watching my Cavs dismantle yet another team). Anyway, I noticed that there were a lot of Epi's being used by various bands. Has anyone else noticed this?

[JefferySmith]

I've always been astounded that they weren't more popular. The stigma of being the "poor man's Gibson" goes back to the 60's, but if I were a fledgling guitar player who wasn't hung up on name recognition, I'd go to an Epiphone first. For me, it's the most bang for the buck out there for my kind of music (but the Korean PRS's are up there too for those who prefer long scale).

[MarxBros]

I've always been astounded that they weren't more popular. The stigma of being the "poor man's Gibson" goes back to the 60's' date=' but if I were a fledgling guitar player who wasn't hung up on name recognition, I'd go to an Epiphone first. For me, it's the most bang for the buck out there for my kind of music (but the Korean PRS's are up there too for those who prefer long scale).[/quote']The problem is for a real working musican the frets wear so fast on these cheap import guitars it's not even funny. I've seen folks wear em down in lesss than 6 months of heavy gigging. Not to mention the stock selector and pots going bad fast with heavy use.

[BlueLesPaul2006]

I still think that an Epiphone is better bang for the buck. If you buy a Gibson you will not want to mod it as fast as an Epi. I like being able to add things to my guitars and mod them the way I want. the Epi gives me a great guitar with enough money in my pocket to mod it to my style. However, I would love to have a Gibson Les Paul Supreme. Looking forward to the future when I am a big time rock star I will still show my Epiphone love. :D/

[MarxBros]

I still think that an Epiphone is better bang for the buck. If you buy a Gibson you will not want to mod it as fast as an Epi. I like being able to add things to my guitars and mod them the way I want. the Epi gives me a great guitar with enough money in my pocket to mod it to my style. However' date=' I would love to have a Gibson Les Paul Supreme. Looking forward to the future when I am a big time rock star I will still show my Epiphone love. :D/ [/quote']Want to bet, most folks are changing pups and stuff the first couple of weeks with thier Gibsons. I have. It's all a matter of how much money you have. Gibsons are not cheap, bnut that does not mean buyers will not mod them.

[BlueLesPaul2006]

Want to bet' date=' most folks are changing pups and stuff the first couple of weeks with thier Gibsons. I have. It's all a matter of how much money you have. Gibsons are not cheap, bnut that does not mean buyers will not mod them.[/quote']

 

Oh no doubt people will mod their Gibson's but when you are in college as I am now or in the Army as I was before modding an Epiphone is a better way to go. So yeah it does matter about the amount of money you have.

[kevin134]

the economy sucks right now,if you have a grand in your pocket you can buy a epiphone(except elitist) and mod the crap outta it and maybe still have cash left over, try that with a gibson and you can maybe do that to a melody maker(not the Joan sig model). Do some change out hardware and stuff on their gibby's? Sure, just not as many apt to do that as those that buy a epi

[MarxBros]

the economy sucks right now' date='if you have a grand in your pocket you can buy a epiphone(except elitist) and mod the crap outta it and maybe still have cash left over, try that with a gibson and you can maybe do that to a melody maker(not the Joan sig model). Do some change out hardware and stuff on their gibby's? Sure, just not as many apt to do that as those that buy a epi[/quote']Economy don't mean a hoot. More than a few folks are still living it up with expensive champagne and crazy parties. Even in the great depression a select group of folks were living it up while a lot of others suffered. Nothing new there. Point being, folks are still buying Gibsons in this economy and modding em..

[charlie brown]

Oh...I don't know...I have lots of Gibsons, and I still like my Epiphones...I've never actually thought of them,

as a "poor man's Gibson," even IN the '60's. I just liked how they looked, and sounded....period! Still do...

Of course, all my Epi's are Thin line archtops, except the MIJ '61 SG. So, I'm not that familiar with the solid

body models...AKA "Gibson Clones." They've always looked nice, though...especially for the price!

 

CB

[MarxBros]

Oh...I don't know...I have lots of Gibsons' date=' and I still like my Epiphones...I've never actually thought of them,

as a "poor man's Gibson," even IN the '60's. I just liked how they looked, and sounded....period! Still do...

Of course, all my Epi's are Thin line archtops, except the MIJ '61 SG. So, I'm not that familiar with the solid

body models...AKA "Gibson Clones." They've always looked nice, though...especially for the price!

 

CB[/quote']Real Epi's and the cheap crappy latter imports bear no connection. Real Epis rock. The imports are just one of many cheap copies all the same stuff. Tens of thousands of sub par guitrars.

[BlueLesPaul2006]

Real Epi's and the cheap crappy latter imports bear no connection. Real Epis rock. The imports are just one of many cheap copies all the same stuff. Tens of thousands of sub par guitrars.

what years are you talking about for the Epi's? real epi's= ? and crappy imports= ?

[TWANG]

First off, my sheri is 15 years old and the frets have held up beautifully.

I gave it one very light level and crown. and that was like.. two years ago.

Also, the quality of the frets on all my epis seems to me to be no less than others at all.

 

I've got .011's on my epi lp and I play the crap out of that thing daily. and it's wearing just fine.

 

I also disagree about epis being a poor mans anything.. while it's true I think the new chinese finishes aren't quite as good as epis used to be,

it's about the only thing different I can spot of any consequence. And many of them look just fine.

 

sub par is nonsense as regards both my chinese lp and my korean sheri.

sound, look, playability.. they stand right up.

 

I've been playing a long time. I've played a lot of guitars of different brands. And I hate to mention that because it's sort of an ego statement..

any idiot might be an idiot all his life, after all.. but I gotta throw it out and say on all the stages I've been on either of my epis would

stand right up with anything else out there, regardless of it's price.

 

I've heard crappy guitars made of the finest woods.. I've heard mediocre guitars that cost an arm and a leg..

and if I had to compare epis overall production over the last fifteen years or so.. not even mentioning the japanes epis, or the

elites, I have to say, you're wrong.

 

I don't believe any gibson is getting more tone or sustain than my lp is getting.

I don't believe any 335 is outdoing my sheri in anyway.. both of these being subjective, of course, as is easily evident as we look around at

pro players choices of any brand or type.

 

 

Wood choices to me are largely this or that.. I've heard outright dogs, set up well and played by good players.. from gibson and fender

and other companys charging a lot more and claiming premium wood choices.

I've owned laminated acoustics that had tone to die for.. maybe not quite the acoustic volume of a solid top.

 

I've held guitars of premium quality woods that weighed a ton, and others of the same brand and model that seemed very light by comparison, and I can't tell you that it makes any difference except in the particular guitar.

 

I'm not a rich man, but I do have about twenty guitars here.. and probably nearly twice that in my past.

sub par and poor mans are not terms I'd use to describe any epis save the low end models... and my epi lp being a studio breaks even that

rule.

 

It's not the first time I've heard you knock the epis this way, marx.. and I wonder that you even can own one with that view.

 

There is, to my mind, no way a band successful enough to be touring and doing letterman, leno, obrien, et al.. would settle for a poor mans sub par guitar.. even if he had a fave gibbo those guys make enough money easily to buy a spare.

Yet you see them year after year holding thier epis.. often with another band member using his gibson..

how do you account for that? poor taste? no ears? no fingers?

or perhaps, a more balanced ego on top of taste ear and finger?

 

Not being an epi dealer, I've got no personal interest in this.

I can pick up my more expensive guitars anytime.. yet I consistently go to my epis.

 

 

I don't recall epis being called a poor mans gibson in the sixties. less money though.

still more than fender was getting on most models.

and most of us kids had stuff like melody makers or jazzmasters... not many had les pauls or anything as expensive as rics or

casinos for quite a while.

we lusted for them, though. I can promise you that.

TWANG

[MarxBros]

what years are you talking about for the Epi's? real epi's= ? and crappy imports= ?

Any "Epi" that is an import is not an Epi in heart, it just has the name. Epi's ended when Gibson bought them out. All these cheap imports are no different than the Samick's who plant many were made in or all the other cheap import companies that were paid to throw the Epi name on their stuff. And the new China ones, they are toys at best. A name on a headstock does not make the brand, sorry.

[BlueLesPaul2006]

Any "Epi" that is an import is not an Epi in heart' date=' it just has the name. Epi's ended when Gibson bought them out. All these cheap imports are no different than the Samick's who plant many were made in or all the other cheap import companies that were paid to throw the Epi name on their stuff. And the new China ones, they are toys at best. A name on a headstock does not make the brand, sorry.[/quote']

I have not had the chance to play a pre Gibson epi so I have nothing to compare it with. I do know through reading that Epi was Gibsons rival before they bought them. I bet it is hard to find a really old Epi.

[MarxBros]

 

I've been playing a long time. I've played a lot of guitar. but I gotta throw it out and say on all the stages I've been on either of my epis would

stand right up with anything else out there' date=' regardless of it's price.

TWANG

[/quote']Your multitude of words is a joke at best, but the foolishness of this pretty well sums it up. You have no clue.

[Ron G]

Mark, how and why did this go so far off topic? Come back - the water's better over there.

[Medic24]

Over twenty years have past since I made a livng playing on stage. I only play 2-3 hours a day, a good 5 days a week, I can't detect any unusual wearing of the frets on my Epi's. I think my guitar's get played a bit, but then again, it's not "hard gigging".

[ButchCassidy]

Marx, your words, IMO, are foolish. If you want to call experienced guitar players who have been there and done that foolish, you should do it elsewhere. Everyone here is nice for the most part and we try not to talk out of our a**. The same could not be said of you.

 

I, and I assume most of the people on this forum, think your "fret wearing" theory is ridiculous. It's not like you're pressing the frets harder when you're doing a show... and if you practice 2+ hours a day it's easy to see right through your statement.

[ButchCassidy]

And you're basically saying that because a guitar is made across seas the materials are weaker???

[Dave]

If you play hard every day and play in the same key and bend and vibrato the same notes over and over, you will see fret wear in the form of a visible low spot where you abuse it the most. My USA Strat got that way on the 3rd string 7th fret and 14th fret over a period of years after being played in several keys when I was playing several nights a week. A light fret dressing fixed it. Even before the fret dressing, it was still very playable.

 

If you are that hard on your Epi, install some stainless steel fret wire and keep on trucking. MY Epis get to go out and play and my Gibson and my Fender stay home. Why? Because I have modded the LP Custom Flametop to the point where it's noticeably better. My Goldtop was good to go right out of the box after a light fret dressing. Epis, even the China made ones, are great guitars. If they weren't, I would own something else and wouldn't be posting here.

 

Nuff said.

[ButchCassidy]

Yeah. 6 months though?

[WyldeEye]

i play 3 prestige ibanez's, an Epi ZW and a 1979 b.c. rich mocking USA Hand made. i also have had several cheaper guitars from ibanez and various companies.

 

there is a big difference in the quality of the Japan made ibanez(s), The USA Mock, and the korean china or Indonesian made guitars.

 

...aside from the use of metal cavity plates, plenty of shield paint, Hand polished fret work. precision craftsmanship (even in the wiring), and TOP shelf hardware (including electrics), on the Japan mades...

 

when I just unplug all and hold the guitar in my hands and pluck some open strings, i can really feel the difference in the way the guitar resonates in my hands and fingers as opposed to (most) cheap guitars. I have read many sites and possible causes are :

 

crap hardware ( if it even slightly rattles internally, you may not detect it but its adding a slight overtone to your strings vibration)...now multiply this by all the tuners, pots, bridge + trem bar , mounts, jack. etc...

 

inferior or mis handled- stored woods: hardware can be changed, wood cant. if it's painted solid, be suspect.

 

Loose neck joints (BIG culprit on cheapo's.) set and thru's obviously exempt.

 

even the resonating frequencies of the neck and body can be sort of mismatched....

 

ok so you get the point....a guitar can feel like a Unified instrument, producing a clear articulate tone right at the string or it can sound like an assembly of parts that add all sorts of conflicting distorted overtones to the string vibrations, and of course to the amp.

 

to get a feel for this, just go to your local music store and ask the salesman to help you by grabbing you a few of the 2500.00+ Gibson custom shop Lp's.....Close your eyes, then just pluck the low E and feel the way it vibrates in your hands...it'll feel warm and unified....grab a few nice ones and feel how they all have that same "one-piece feel" to them.

that warm one piece tone also goes straight to the amp.

 

then go pick up the cheapo's that they leave on the floor stands.....preferably bolt on neck of some sort.

 

 

uh huh.

[carverman]

Economy don't mean a hoot. More than a few folks are still living it up with expensive champagne and crazy parties. Even in the great depression a select group of folks were living it up while a lot of others suffered. Nothing new there. Point being' date=' folks are still buying Gibsons in this economy and modding em..[/quote']

 

Yup, and they are driving big fancy gas guzzlin' cars...because when you got the bucks..you't don't care about

little things like the economy...life is short..so as long as there's lots of cash in your pockets, it's business as

usual.

Now back to the obligatory guitar content... Epiphones have always been perceived as a cheaper alternative

to a Gibson. I used to work for an Epiphone dealer in the late 60s..and we had to do a lot of selling and

in some cases (carry the sale on a store sponsored finance deal), with the musicians to get them to actually

take one out of the store...and this was with a long wait period for a Gibson.

 

Some of the problems were to do with the "naming of the model" rather than the guitar tone/quality

...like the Texan vs the J45/J50. Musicians would come into the store, try them out, tell us they sounded

"very nice" and then walk out still looking for a comparable Gibson model.

 

We could have sold the Excellente (top of the line dreadnought) which was probably better than the SJ200 in some respects, but these were very rare coming out of the factory, so you had to settle for other models.

The Troubador (silkn'steel) didn't sell very well.

[cookieman15061]

Your multitude of words is a joke at best' date=' but the foolishness of this pretty well sums it up. You have no clue.[/quote']

Who better to be an expert on jokes?

[Just Strum]

Mark' date=' how and why did this go so far off topic? Come back - the water's better over there.[/quote']

 

Ron,

 

I read my post four times to see where I mentioned "Gibson", "better bang for the buck", "mod", "China", "Korea", "Ibanez" and/or...

 

All I was doing was pointing out that I noticed an abnormal amount of Epi's on the show I happened to be watching. I wasn't trying to say that Epi's are as good as brand y or x, just that there were a lot of Epi's.

 

The "right" or "best" guitar is in the hands or eyes of the beholder.

 

The best guitar is subjective.

 

A good guitarist can make a bad guitar sound pretty good.

 

I have Epi's, a Fender and a Washburn - why? Because I could afford them and they meet my needs.

 

I don't have an ES335. why? Because I can't afford one and I cannot justify the cost based on my talent level.

 

A good Callaway driver won't make me a better golfer, a Gibson ES335 won't make me a better skilled guitarist.

 

 

So BACK TO TOPIC

 

Has anyone else noticed that Indie bands seem to be or were playing Epi's?