charlie brown Posted December 23, 2008 Share Posted December 23, 2008 I can't believe, Epiphone STILL has "Slash" on their web-page. Did he ever PLAY and "Epiphone"...even his signature Epi, in concert or recordings? At the very least, John Lennon played his Casino for years, as did Paul, and to a lesser extent George. AND...Paul STILL uses his, and his Texan, too...in concert! They have (unwittingly, in the early days, at least) sold more Epi's than any other Artists combined, seems to me. So, why not John, Paul and George...or any of them individually, on the web page, for the next 4 months? ;>) OK, they built and launched Epiphone versions of Slash's Gibson LP's. We "get it!" But...that was awhile ago, now. Move on... And, by the way, this is NOT a bash "Slash" thing...I just don't get the (seemingly) unprecedented marketing, for someone that doesn't even play Epiphone...except IN promotional bits, for these guitars. CB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leicester35 Posted December 23, 2008 Share Posted December 23, 2008 I can't believe' date=' Epiphone STILL has "Slash" on theirweb-page. Did he ever PLAY and "Epiphone"...even his signature Epi, in concert or recordings? At the very least, John Lennon played his Casino for years, as did Paul, and to a lesser extent George. AND...Paul STILL uses his, and his Texan, too...in concert! They have (unwittingly, in the early days, at least) sold more Epi's than any other Artists combined, seems to me. So, why not John, Paul and George...or any of them individually, on the web page, for the next 4 months? ;>) OK, they built and launched Epiphone versions of Slash's Gibson LP's. We "get it!" But...that was awhile ago, now. Move on... And, by the way, this is NOT a bash "Slash" thing...I just don't get the (seemingly) unprecedented marketing, for someone that doesn't even play Epiphone...except IN promotional bits, for these guitars. CB[/quote'] Charlie, old chap... Calm down, or you'll end up with hypertension... Before Slash, the last 'face' on the Epiphone website was the excellent Mr Weller, a Casino man through-and-through: Maybe the site needs a 'real Epiphone players' section. You could go first..."Charlie from Kansas with his Riviera P-93." But after that I nominate Nelson. People will be falling over themselves to buy Epiphones that month... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duane v Posted December 23, 2008 Share Posted December 23, 2008 But after that I nominate Nelson. . cough* cough* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie brown Posted December 23, 2008 Author Share Posted December 23, 2008 Charlie' date=' old chap... Calm down, or you'll end up with hypertension... Before Slash, the last 'face' on the Epiphone website was the excellent Mr Weller, a Casino man through-and-through: [img']http://www.epiphone.com/images/N_paulwellerbbc2.jpg[/img] Maybe the site needs a 'real Epiphone players' section. You could go first..."Charlie from Kansas with his Riviera P-93." But after that I nominate Nelson. People will be falling over themselves to buy Epiphones that month... LOL! I'm cool/fine! Just a bit perplexed, at Epi's extended use of Slash's image. Seems the guitars themselves are pretty decent, so a decent "normal" length promo would have been all that was needed, and "word of mouth," and/or the raves for it, on this forum and others, would do the trick? But, maybe not?! I just think it's interesting, in a weird sort of way, I guess? Maybe they could at least change the image, one of him actually using the Epi LP, if nothing else? ;>) PLus, you can see Paul Weller, and his actual use of his Casino(s), on most of his videos, etc. So, that's Cool! Maybe they don't use the "Beatles" images, because of "cost," or they're so well known as Epi users, they don't feel they need to use that connection, anymore???? But, as every generation seems to "discover" The Beatles, on their own...seems like a good opportunity, to play up that connection, marketing wise. But, who knows? CB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leicester35 Posted December 23, 2008 Share Posted December 23, 2008 LOL! I'm cool/fine! Just a bit perplexed' date=' at Epi's [i']extended[/i] use of Slash's image. Seems the guitars themselves are pretty decent, so a decent "normal" length promo would have been all that was needed, and "word of mouth," and/or the raves for it, on this forum and others, would do the trick? But, maybe not?! I just think it's interesting, in a weird sort of way, I guess? Maybe they could at least change the image, one of him actually using the Epi LP, if nothing else? ;>) CB I hate to be cynical... but they probably gave Slash a whopping big cheque for the use of his image rights. Just getting their money's worth... He'll be gone from the site at the end of the contractual period... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marcelo1281734115 Posted December 23, 2008 Share Posted December 23, 2008 If it is not true about Slash, then it is "misleading advertising", correct? But, I bet they made him play an Epi at a live concert once, so they can use that to fall back on in case they get sued, lol. If I was Epiphone, I would be milking the fact that John, Paul and George played Epis, like Charlie suggested. I checked the 2008 Guiness Book of World Records and The Beatles are still the best selling group of all time. The problem with Epiphone is that it is owned by Gibson. If Epiphone was independent, they could make the world's best guitars if they wanted to and they would not have to worry about the politics or repercussions of making Gibson look bad. If Epiphone was independent, it would help destroy Gibson's "political" empire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IntelligentAl Posted December 23, 2008 Share Posted December 23, 2008 Ok, first of all let me just say that I am a huge fan of both Slash and the Beatles etc. But, Charlie, I totally agree with you. Every time I go on the Epi website I notice how Slash is still on there even this long after the last Slash LP was launched. Like I said, I think Slash is great, but it would make much more sense to have someone on there who does actually play Epiphones. Maybe they just haven't updated it in a while or something... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie brown Posted December 23, 2008 Author Share Posted December 23, 2008 Yeah, as I stated, I'm NOT trashing "Slash," at all. But I never remember Epiphone using ONE artist, much less just that same image, for MONTHS, on their web-page. A Month, yeah...but not several. Makes me wonder if the guitars just aren't selling in the (anticipated) numbers, they wanted, so they're keeping the promotion/advertising up, to try to help sales??? CB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duane v Posted December 23, 2008 Share Posted December 23, 2008 I'd rather see a big huge image of a re-release of the American made Epiphone Crestwood Deluxe when clicking on the Epiphone website. ..... I would over-ride my wife's decision making privileges on the above said guitar, and veto any of her arguments why I shouldn't buy one............... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leicester35 Posted December 23, 2008 Share Posted December 23, 2008 ...just someone different would be nice! And long before John Lennon acknowledged there were other possibilities beyond Rickenbackers, or Macca had laid down his bass for a minute... Dave Davies (all of 17 years of age), was playing his Epiphone Casino on stage with the Kinks: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitmore Willy Posted December 23, 2008 Share Posted December 23, 2008 I got to go with Leicester on this one. When the contract is up Slash will be replaced. Why him instead of someone else? Who Knows?.......But....... Since he has been there this long....Why don't they at least change that video? Better still....Give him a change of cloths.....Couldn't they at least put Merry Christmas on the bottoms of his tennies? Why not dress him like Santa for the holidays?......(SlashaClaus?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RSDx Posted December 23, 2008 Share Posted December 23, 2008 The problem with Epiphone is that it is owned by Gibson. If Epiphone was independent' date=' they could make the world's best guitars if they wanted to and they would not have to worry about the politics or repercussions of making Gibson look bad. If Epiphone was independent, it would help destroy Gibson's "political" empire. [/quote'] If Epiphone was independent, we'd likely be paying more for all things Epiphone, I'm sure (possibly a LOT more....)..... I have no problems with Epi as they stand now, thanks... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pohatu771 Posted December 23, 2008 Share Posted December 23, 2008 Why don't they at least change that video? Why not stop it from auto-playing? It seems like half of the sites I go to recently have a video that starts on it's own. There's one tab website that has a "lesson" for a completely different song playing all the way at the bottom of the page. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Notes_Norton Posted December 23, 2008 Share Posted December 23, 2008 Every ad I see for the Casino has the word Beatles on it, and I've seen ads for the Gibson ES-330 with the Beatles Sound in the ad, even though they played Casinos (So I guess that's the opposite of the Slash/Epi thing). And don't forget, we have a BB King Epi and he plays Gibson too. I wish they would change the contest because I'm not a great LP fan, and if I win it, I will surely trade it in on an SG. What bothers me most is the video that immediately starts playing when I go to the Epiphone home page. I don't mind the advertisement video, but I would prefer it if it stayed there silent, until I click the "play" arrow button. And yes, I'd like to see them advertise Wilshires or something else on the site. Insights and incites by Notes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taxman Posted December 23, 2008 Share Posted December 23, 2008 Makes me wonder if the guitars just aren't selling in the (anticipated) numbers' date=' they wanted, so they're keeping the promotion/advertising up, to try to help sales??? [/quote'] Could be just the opposite. Maybe the sales are fine and thus the promotion/advertising is working, so why change it? Come on, let's be real here. Slash to younger people looking for guitars means more than George Harrison or John or Paul. Older folks looking to buy an Epiphone will be doing it because of The Beatles and our knowledge of them playing Epis. We are already locked in. But do you really think a younger demographic will be spurred on to buy an Epi if they click on the sight and see Paul playing "Good Day Sunshine"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pohatu771 Posted December 23, 2008 Share Posted December 23, 2008 Every ad I see for the Casino has the word Beatles on it' date=' and I've seen ads for the Gibson ES-330 with the Beatles Sound in the ad, even though they played Casinos (So I guess that's the opposite of the Slash/Epi thing).[/quote']That bothers me too... the description for the ES-330 spends as much time talking about The Beatles and Sgt. Pepper as it does about the actual features of the guitar. Maybe Gibson should start making Casinos at Memphis, rather than the ES-330. Though then they probably wouldn't sell Beale St. Blue, which would be bad. If I ever stumble upon $2500, I'm ordering one in blue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nelson Posted December 23, 2008 Share Posted December 23, 2008 I hate to be cynical... but they probably gave Slash a whopping big cheque for the use of his image rights. Just getting their money's worth... He'll be gone from the site at the end of the contractual period... That's not cynical...that's probably spot-on accurate..they did their John Lennon exploitation and even their McCartney and Oasis exploitations and those endorsements either expired, became too expensive or weren't quite the cash cows Epiphone had hoped for....so they find yet another once-was/has-been/never heard of outside their home town name to pump up to sell their guitars...sometimes it works and sometime you get stuck for big money as it appears they have trying to use a name that really hasn't had any sustained major chart action in fifteen years and is more image than substance. Epiphone probably hooked into Slash at a time when the royalty checks from Guns And Roses were getting smaller and Slash's Marlboro habit was getting bigger so they got him relatively cheap. Slash probably saw it as a way to bridge his finances until his next big thing (Velvet Revolver) happened but that never really did so it would seem Slash is still milking the Epiphone cow and Epiphone is milking right back...Les Paul can tell you all about how to continue a career long after it ends with endorsements and Eddie Van Halen made it an art form...The problem is that kids and the terminally ignorant believe in the endorsements and so to a degree they do work and do sell some guitars...as you said, as soon the contract expires Slash will be off there like a prom dress and it'll be someone else's turn. Nelson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nelson Posted December 23, 2008 Share Posted December 23, 2008 cough* cough* Yeah, like they even considered you. Nelson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie brown Posted December 23, 2008 Author Share Posted December 23, 2008 Could be just the opposite. Maybe the sales are fine and thus the promotion/advertising is working' date=' so why change it? Come on, let's be real here. Slash to younger people looking for guitars means more than George Harrison or John or Paul. Older folks looking to buy an Epiphone will be doing it because of The Beatles and our knowledge of them playing Epis. We are already locked in. But do you really think a younger demographic will be spurred on to buy an Epi if they click on the sight and see Paul playing "Good Day Sunshine"?[/quote'] Yeah, I'm definitely "Old and Cranky," so that may be what it is? LOL! I don't think of "Slash" as the "younger generation," though...well, younger than me, but he's what...in his mid 40's? Maybe the type music he does, appeals to "the younger generation" more(???), but so does Beatles music, and a lot of other styles. Heck, they're mixing it ALL up, nowadays. And, yeah...I think a video, on the web page, of the "Rooftop Concert," or Paul playing "Good Day Sunshine," or maybe "Taxman," might sell a few Epi's, at that. So there! LOL! CB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nelson Posted December 23, 2008 Share Posted December 23, 2008 If it is not true about Slash' date=' then it is "misleading advertising", correct? But, I bet they made him play an Epi at a live concert once, so they can use that to fall back on in case they get sued, lol. If I was Epiphone, I would be milking the fact that John, Paul and George played Epis, like Charlie suggested. I checked the 2008 Guiness Book of World Records and The Beatles are still the best selling group of all time. The problem with Epiphone is that it is owned by Gibson. If Epiphone was independent, they could make the world's best guitars if they wanted to and they would not have to worry about the politics or repercussions of making Gibson look bad. If Epiphone was independent, it would help destroy Gibson's "political" empire. [/quote'] For one last time...the Epiphones that John, Paul (both Pauls), and Geroge played weren't remotely like or in any way related or connected to the product that Epiphone sells today...another thing...and this always makes me laugh...There is no "Epiphone" as anything more than a label Gibson uses to sell guitars they import...Epiphone isn't going to become independent or ever sell anything other than guitars Gibson specs out to a price point and some Asian factory then produces as cheaply as possible using the cheapest available materials and component parts they can find..then they slap the venerated Epiphone name on them and everyone magically believes these guitars have some connection to the past glories of the Epiphone company and the guitars become instantly elavated on the guitar food chain...uh huh...and be sure to put your tooth under your pillow tonight so the tooth fairy leaves you a dollar... Nelson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest alanhindle Posted December 23, 2008 Share Posted December 23, 2008 Could be just the opposite. Maybe the sales are fine and thus the promotion/advertising is working' date=' so why change it? Come on, let's be real here. Slash to younger people looking for guitars means more than George Harrison or John or Paul. Older folks looking to buy an Epiphone will be doing it because of The Beatles and our knowledge of them playing Epis. We are already locked in. But do you really think a younger demographic will be spurred on to buy an Epi if they click on the sight and see Paul playing "Good Day Sunshine"?[/quote'] I think you have it there Beatlenut. They're aiming to get the next generation of guitar players hooked on Epis and, looking at the extent of the collections of some of our senior members, that's a good long term business plan. For me, I find signature guitars a little bit tacky.... ....now let me get back to that Les Paul of mine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie brown Posted December 23, 2008 Author Share Posted December 23, 2008 For me' date=' I find signature guitars a little bit tacky.....[/quote'] Now THAT, I'll go along with! CB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest alanhindle Posted December 23, 2008 Share Posted December 23, 2008 For one last time...the Epiphones that John' date=' Paul (both Pauls), and Geroge played weren't remotely like or in any way related or connected to the product that Epiphone sells today...another thing...and this always makes me laugh...There is no "Epiphone" as anything more than a label Gibson uses to sell guitars they import...Epiphone isn't going to become independent or ever sell anything other than guitars Gibson specs out to a price point and some Asian factory then produces as cheaply as possible using the cheapest available materials and component parts they can find..then they slap the venerated Epiphone name on them and everyone magically believes these guitars have some connection to the past glories of the Epiphone company and the guitars become instantly elavated on the guitar food chain...uh huh...and be sure to put your tooth under your pillow tonight so the tooth fairy leaves you a dollar... Nelson[/quote'] Is it just me, or does anybody else give a toss? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nelson Posted December 23, 2008 Share Posted December 23, 2008 Is it just me' date=' or does anybody else give a toss?[/quote'] You mean give a toss as in caring about whether that which you believe has any validity or truth or that it's just another childish fantasy to help prop up the sh!t you own that you'd like to believe is something special...and you'd rather not know the truth or any of the background information because that spoils the day dream? Nelson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duane v Posted December 23, 2008 Share Posted December 23, 2008 For one last time...the Epiphones that John' date=' Paul (both Pauls), and Geroge played weren't remotely like or in any way related or connected to the product that Epiphone sells today...another thing...and this always makes me laugh...There is no "Epiphone" as anything more than a label Gibson uses to sell guitars they import...Epiphone isn't going to become independent or ever sell anything other than guitars Gibson specs out to a price point and some Asian factory then produces as cheaply as possible using the cheapest available materials and component parts they can find..then they slap the venerated Epiphone name on them and everyone magically believes these guitars have some connection to the past glories of the Epiphone company and the guitars become instantly elavated on the guitar food chain...uh huh...and be sure to put your tooth under your pillow tonight so the tooth fairy leaves you a dollar... Nelson[/quote'] Totally disagree It was because of opinions like the above, I never gave Epiphone a chance, (shame on me). ... During my time when I played the guitar professionally, I really missed out on having a nice Epi because of the low price, and the so-called quality stigma attached to that low price. It wasn't until recently when I played my pals JL Rev that I realized I missed the Epi boat all these years. Even my Luthier when he set up my JL Rev was astonished how well balanced the guitar was and put together. And rated it above all his Gibson 335's that he owns. I've played vintage Epi's and the new ones, and despite the geography where the new Epi's are made, they are without a doubt the best value for the money. I have a Gibson Les Paul Custom and SG, and since the arrival of my two Epi's, my Gibby's hardly get removed from their respective cases. IMO, it's pretty slanderous on your part to hint that Epi would use the cheapest materials/components available to build their guitars. And is very misleading to the musicians that own or plan to own a newer Epi. Based on your opinions of the current Epi instruments, you might consider moving on to another brand and discussion board. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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