Trojon Posted February 13, 2009 Share Posted February 13, 2009 Epiphone can charge its consumers $649.00 for the Les Paul Standard Plus top? With all the talk of the declining quality coming out of china plus the fact that if we had to make one upgrade it would be the pickup swap and that costing somewhere around $100.00 for some decent pups. Then I go on Musicians Friend and see this http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/ESP-LTD-EC401VF-Electric-Guitar?sku=580200 . That model cost less, has a really nice set of pickups, and top to bottom their features are equal if not superior to Epiphone. You really wouldn't need to upgrade anything on it. The kicker here is the Sam Ash gear guide I got in the mail yesterday advertising that model for $539.00. Being completely honest which guitar of the 2 mentioned here would you spend your hard earned money in this day and age? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duane v Posted February 13, 2009 Share Posted February 13, 2009 neither I would save the extra $300 and get a Gibson Les Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
generation zero Posted February 13, 2009 Share Posted February 13, 2009 neither I would save the extra $300 and get a Gibson Les Paul Or $1500, as applicable. Although I don't want to reopen the "Epi Custom vs. Gibson Studio" thread again, by any means... LOL! I just don't think the faded Gibsons, which are the only Gibson Les Pauls I know of that you can get into for under a grand, are any more worth their price than the Epis are. I might pick up a Gibson Studio in white as a second Gibson, but if I was only going to have one, I would save for a standard or traditional. Or buy used... You can usually get a nice mid 70's standard, or custom even, for not much more than the price of a new Studio these days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tulsaslim Posted February 13, 2009 Share Posted February 13, 2009 Hoping this doesn't get nuked but if you really want bang for buck look at the Michael Kelly Patriots. I dare not say more but if you're smart you'll see for yourself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TWANG Posted February 13, 2009 Share Posted February 13, 2009 Part of the reason epiphone gets hit from all sides is that they sold so many guitars that people are happy with. Right now, it does seem like the competition is playing against that harder than ever. There are a lot of Agile/Schecter/ESP guitars out there, not including fakes!, that seem to be pushing especially hard right now, given the switch to chinese manufacture by epiphone. The thick finishes, typical electronic complaints, and seemingly staid model choices by comparison.. seem to be giving the edge to the competition. I don't envy Rosenberg. On the one hand you've got an economic downturn, coming right on the heels of a major change in manufacturing, A reputation built on traditional models, a new market which tends to look at both vintage and very different models with the same eye, and a lot of people going for the same customer. compensated nut, duncan pickups, and pretty much everything else being equal.. on top of a return policy.. That's going to be a hard argument to beat on reputation alone. TWANG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sexygibson Posted February 13, 2009 Share Posted February 13, 2009 Well, I have mentioned lately that after the last price increase that I don't see Epis as the bargain that they once were. I know the economy worldwide is tanking but I believe that for Epi to be successful that are going to have to find ways to build a better quality guitar at a better price point. And I will always believe that discontinuing the Elitist line was a hugh mistake, which was ultimately Gibsons decision, not Epi. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JefferySmith Posted February 13, 2009 Share Posted February 13, 2009 Well' date=' I have mentioned lately that after the last price increase that I don't see Epis as the bargain that they once were. I know the economy worldwide is tanking but I believe that for Epi to be successful that are going to have to find ways to build a better quality guitar at a better price point. And I will always believe that discontinuing the Elitist line was a hugh mistake, which was ultimately Gibsons decision, not Epi.[/quote'] If they were still made in the Samick or Unsung Korea factories, I would be willing to pay the increased price. But to pay more for a guitar whose quality seems to be going down, that's a hard pill to swallow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slogold Posted February 13, 2009 Share Posted February 13, 2009 neither I would save the extra $300 and get a Gibson Les Paul +1 No offense but I've seen a lot of people buying a cheaper guitar upgrading it to the max and comparing it to the real thing. What is the point, why not just buy a cheaper real thing w/ better parts and be happy with it for a while at least. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigtufguy Posted February 18, 2009 Share Posted February 18, 2009 Well' date=' I have mentioned lately that after the last price increase that I don't see Epis as the bargain that they once were. I know the economy worldwide is tanking but I believe that for Epi to be successful that are going to have to find ways to build a better quality guitar at a better price point. And I will always believe that discontinuing the Elitist line was a hugh mistake, which was ultimately Gibsons decision, not Epi.[/quote'] Amen to this. I may be in the market for a new guitar in the near future and it looks like it may NOT be an epi. I'm honestly looking at a few of the other brands mentioned here. I guess the "limited lifetime warranty" is attractive as opposed to the others that have one or two years. Just my $.02 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wrighty3693 Posted February 18, 2009 Share Posted February 18, 2009 Have you considered the fact that changing to Chinese productions means all the Quality Control that was in place needs to be ammended for faults at the Chinese plant. This also means that the Quality will eventually go back to how it was. As with any company the have rough patches when their protocol changes in some way. So don't discredit Epiphone at the moment they will end up back on top soon enough just be patient. Also the competition out there is fierce and always will be so just calm down. Yes ESP, Schecter and any other copy company are producing good guitars but they don't have the history or the Longevity so consider these. Wrighty2012 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron G Posted February 18, 2009 Share Posted February 18, 2009 Trojon, that ESP looks sweet and is yet another example of the plethora of Asian guitars directly competitive with Epiphone. The Agiles are even less expensive, like $400 models sporting ebony fingerboards, and real MOP and abalone inlays. You're smart to consider the alternatives. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thunderstruck507 Posted February 18, 2009 Share Posted February 18, 2009 used elitists have been turning up cheap on ebay... I have no interest in low end gibsons either. I like the faded standards (a lot actually), but that's as low as it goes for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JEPI Posted February 18, 2009 Share Posted February 18, 2009 Trojon' date=' that ESP looks sweet and is yet another example of the plethoraof Asian guitars directly competitive with Epiphone. The Agiles are even [i']less[/i] expensive, like $400 models sporting ebony fingerboards, and real MOP and abalone inlays. You're smart to consider the alternatives. Hey RonG.... Thought I'd go over to the other site EpiWiki and ended up in lala land. What is the website address? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron G Posted February 18, 2009 Share Posted February 18, 2009 Hey RonG.... Thought I'd go over to the other site EpiWiki and ended up in lala land. What is the website address? Link's in my sig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JEPI Posted February 18, 2009 Share Posted February 18, 2009 Link's in my sig lol......... I did that. I was wanting to go there from my address bar without having to come back to your link. Thanks..........J Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron G Posted February 18, 2009 Share Posted February 18, 2009 lol......... I did that. I was wanting to go there from my address bar without having to come back to your link.Thanks..........J Don't understand your dilemma but: http://epi.p3net.net/bbs/index.php Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JEPI Posted February 18, 2009 Share Posted February 18, 2009 Don't understand your dilemma but: http://epi.p3net.net/bbs/index.php Thanks Ron....... I'll copy and paste it....................J Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steven Lister Posted February 18, 2009 Share Posted February 18, 2009 + 1 for tremendous taste ...nothing more to explain. Hit every BLUE NOTE baaaby..., I'm going to play on:-" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bangbang Posted February 18, 2009 Share Posted February 18, 2009 I would get this instead. http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/Epiphone-SG-Custom-GX-with-Dirty-Fingers-Pickups-Electric-Guitar?sku=515619 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sinb Posted February 18, 2009 Share Posted February 18, 2009 Or $1500' date=' as applicable. Although I don't want to reopen the "Epi Custom vs. Gibson Studio" thread again, by any means... LOL! I just don't think the faded Gibsons, which are the only Gibson Les Pauls I know of that you can get into for under a grand, are any more worth their price than the Epis are. I might pick up a Gibson Studio in white as a second Gibson, but if I was only going to have one, I would save for a standard or traditional. Or buy used... You can usually get a nice mid 70's standard, or custom even, for not much more than the price of a new Studio these days.[/quote'] Hey! That was my thread! :D loli know what your saying though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
generation zero Posted February 18, 2009 Share Posted February 18, 2009 Hey! That was my thread! :) loli know what your saying though LOL... Nothing against you for starting that thread. I was just saying that the last time that was debated in a thread, a few members ended up getting banned. (Not that they didn't necessarily have it coming...) But yeah, I stand by my opinion that even a chinese made epi LP Standard or Custom is going to be a better guitar than the faded mahogany top Gibson LP studios. I haven't played the ones with the maple top... And I did get a chance to play a faded LP Standard that wasn't too bad... But the first thing I would have done to it if I bought it for the $1200 asking price would have been to spray a nice gloss finish on it. But the bottom end Gibson LPs in general, at least the ones that sit in the epi price range, just aren't all that great, IMO. Now, when you start talking about an actual Gibson Studio model, or the studio plus or whatever it's called, those are nice, arguably "better" than the top epi models... And once you get to the Standard and Traditional models, there's no question. At that point, it becomes more a question of "is it worth the price", which is just as much dependent on the player as it is the guitar. Sure, I would love to have a full size Chevy 1500 pickup, it's much nicer than my 4 cylinder S-10... But I didn't have 40,000 to spend on a truck, and all of my gear fits in the S-10. If I had had the 40k, I might have gotten the "better" truck, but my little guy does the job I need it to do, and I still have money for other things... Like overpriced Gibsons, LOL! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
floydpink7 Posted February 18, 2009 Share Posted February 18, 2009 Sinful Bane's Guitarsenal! I love that word! Guitarsenal... sounds like it should be copyrighted or something! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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