InsideMan Posted March 21, 2009 Share Posted March 21, 2009 Just a observation don't want to offend anyone.Why are some folks buying a Epi's and modding it to death and comparing the sounds to Gibson. Why not just get a real Gibson' date=' the one you can afford comfortably. What is the point...really? JMHO.[/quote'] You've got to find something to do before you die. ;-) And CB, stop knocking the poly. I like it--for what it is. I used to leave my Gibson out and my wife was always knocking it over (maybe something psychological there--). But my Epiphone plays great, I can mod it however I want without worrying about "ruining it's resale value", and I don't worry about ruining the finish. Its the poly that, in part, makes the Epi affordable. Finishing is one of the most manual labor-intensive parts of guitar manufacturing. The poly is easier to apply and more forgiving, so it brings the price of the guitar down. (The same reasoning allows the "faded" finishes to make the Gibbies cheaper.) Cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Summerisle Posted March 21, 2009 Share Posted March 21, 2009 But my Epiphone plays great' date=' I can mod it however I want without worrying about "ruining it's resale value", and I don't worry about ruining the finish. Its the poly that, in part, makes the Epi affordable. Finishing is one of the most manual labor-intensive parts of guitar manufacturing. The poly is easier to apply and more forgiving, so it brings the price of the guitar down. (The same reasoning allows the "faded" finishes to make the Gibbies cheaper.) Cheers.[/quote'] Poly done right is fine - it's durable, doesn't wear through, and is resistant to sweat - perfect for a gigging guitar. Notice I said, "done right." By this I mean, properly applied (as with the Elitists and Korean Sheratons I have seen, not the "dipped in clear plastic" finish that seems to prevail on all too many Epis these days...) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie brown Posted March 21, 2009 Share Posted March 21, 2009 Hey, whatever floats your boat! I prefer Nitro, that's all. Don't mind Poly, though...IF it's done well and lightly! CB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JefferySmith Posted March 21, 2009 Share Posted March 21, 2009 I don't mind poly on a guitar that was painted (like ebony or white). But there seems to be a compulsion to lay it on so thick! Perhaps it is because the poly is more viscous than lacquer. I suspect it's because they can do it thick and have to use fewer coats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fenrirlupus Posted March 21, 2009 Share Posted March 21, 2009 They BOTH suck...buy a Strat! Somebody just shoot me pleeeze! ... and what, people in the squire forum say epiphone sucks? i suppose you could get an american fender cheaper than an american gibson, but... i like humbuckers... and hollow-ness... solid-body guitars are overrated. f holes for the win! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
floydpink7 Posted March 21, 2009 Share Posted March 21, 2009 I remember on the Blue LP topic, someone posted a blue les paul with a bigsby that apparently plays pretty nice. I thought it looked great. Although, I just looked at the pictures and didn't know it was actually an Agile guitar. You see, it doesn't matter who makes the guitar. If it plays nice, looks good and you have an attachment to the instrument, it can be the best instrument in the world no matter what company made it. Of course you can argue that Gibson is better, but does it make a good guitar player? No. Untill those robot guitars play for you, theres no point in arguing about which company is better. Especially two as similar as Epiphone and Gibson. I could have bought a Squire just as easy as I could have bought an Epiphone.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gashole Posted March 21, 2009 Share Posted March 21, 2009 Just a observation don't want to offend anyone.Why are some folks buying a Epi's and modding it to death and comparing the sounds to Gibson. Why not just get a real Gibson' date=' the one you can afford comfortably. What is the point...really? JMHO.[/quote'] For myself, regarding my Sheraton purchase and subsequent modding, it's because I wanted a ES 335 but couldn't even consider it due to price. So I bought a Sheraton and had modded it to be electronically equal (really superior in this case) to a Gibson ES 335. Had a few other things changed too (added a bone nut, heavier selector switch)...at any rate, I saved more than a thousand dollars going this route and nearly 3 years later the guitar is a keeper. I've played it back to back on seperate occasions with a current 335 and a vintage one. I will grant you the 2 Gibsons "feel" better physically. They just do. Tough to describe. But my Sherry sounds as good or better, and it's perfectly set up; so I'm not having to fight it in the least to get it to do what I want. She plays easy. The 2 Gibson 335's are Filet Mingon and the Sherry is now a Porterhouse. The 2 335 players did NOT scoff at my Sherry after playing it. Though, prior to that there was an aura of...humoring me about them...(one of the owners is is a good friend too) They were both very impressed with the sound though. The guy w/ the new axe wants to put Pearly Gates into his 335 now! So I guess what I'm saying that I did it because I couldn't afford the Gibson I wanted "comfortably" so I had to go about it another way to get the guitar I so desired. I do have 3 other Gibsons too-I'm not above buying a Gibson guitar at all. They just keep pricing them out of my reach. Now I have 2 Epiphones too...direct results of the drastically increased prices in Gibsons. Unjustifiable increases. When a guitar player of 24 years experience can honestly say he likes a 499.00 STOCK Epiphone Wildkat better than a 2,500.00 Gibson Les Paul then the worm has turned...those prices are just insane. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duane v Posted March 21, 2009 Share Posted March 21, 2009 Great response Gashole=d> I recently purchased an $800 Gibson LP Jr, and constructed my own JL Junior for 1/3 the price of a used authentic JL Jr. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steven Lister Posted March 22, 2009 Share Posted March 22, 2009 The thread title brought to mind the sky-high prices for new as well as those vintage LP ballpark prices like these: '52 to '53 Goldtops with Trapeze: $12k to $15k '54 to '55 Goldtops with Stop Tail: $25k to $40k '55 to '56 Goldtops with ABR-1: $50k up '57-'58 Goldtops with PAFs: $100k up '54 to '56 Customs with Alnico: $25 to 40k '57 to '58 Customs with PAFs: $70 to 100k (higher if two pickups) '58 to '60 Bursts: $150k to well over $300k depending on flame, color, condition, etc. etc. ...to which "too much appreciation" is like saying the Pacific Ocean is damp. Quality? Gibson has produced its fair share of crap over the years and anyone who is buying a headstock label may soon discover that all is not holy in Gibsonland. Hit every BLUE NOTE baaaby..., I'm going to play on:-" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Zeplin Posted March 22, 2009 Share Posted March 22, 2009 Why does everyone here say "My Epiphones knowhere near as good as my Gibson" it's starting to wear a little thin. Gibson make some good guitars yes but this is an EPIPHONE FORUM! If you love Gibsons so much go to that forum. By the way i've played alot of Gibsons and my Epiphone is brilliant compared to them. Just stop and think please! Maybe because it's true! I have both and the Epis do not even come close. Also it seems that the Epi owners are always the first to bring up the comparison about how their Epis are "as good as a Gibson", rarely the other way around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AS90 Posted March 22, 2009 Share Posted March 22, 2009 Both my Gibsons are now sold, they are better guitars than any Epi, I just dont need them. My Elitist Sheri is an amazing guitar and is 90% as good as a Gibson 335 and it will be my #1 for a long time (plus I only paid $600 as a UFIX). So the question is what do I replace the Gibson SGs with? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bender 4 Life Posted March 22, 2009 Share Posted March 22, 2009 Sometimes I feel like i'm beatin' a dead horse, and I don't know why you keep bringing me dowwwwwn ! I own both.......and as far as tone, and sound quality.......they're pretty evenly matched. My Epis ALL sound almost identical to my old GLP, which has vintage p'ups in it. (My Epi LP '98 actually has a sharper, clearer sound) NONE of them will "cut through" like my Flying V with 496R/500T p'ups. And my Sheraton II has a "sweet singing" tone, that none of the others can match. Granted, Gibson does use more expensive parts in the building process, and most of those parts are higher quality. BUT, concidering the discounts that both get for buying parts in bulk, I still believe that the main reason for such a LARGE price gap is the difference in an American worker having to have $20 + per hr. and an Asian worker getting at BEST $20 a DAY........in China, probably $20 a WEEK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carverman Posted March 22, 2009 Share Posted March 22, 2009 Sometimes I feel like i'm beatin' a dead horse' date=' and I don't know why you keep bringing me dowwwwwn ! I own both.......and as far as tone, and sound quality.......they're pretty evenly matched. My Epis ALL sound almost identical to my old GLP, which has vintage p'ups in it. (My Epi LP '98 actually has a sharper, clearer sound) NONE of them will "cut through" like my Flying V with 496R/500T p'ups. And my Sheraton II has a "sweet singing" tone, that none of the others can match. [/quote'] The Sheraton is a basically a Gibson 335 with a sunburst finish. Put in a set of Gibson Classic 57s and Kluson tuners and you have a 335, with Epiphone on the headstock. Granted, Gibson does use more expensive parts in the building process, and most of those parts are higher quality. BUT, concidering the discounts that both get for buying parts in bulk, I still believe that the main reason for such a LARGE price gap is the difference in an American worker having to have $20 + per hr. and an Asian worker getting at BEST $20 a DAY........in China, probably $20 a WEEK. Don't forget that Gibson also uses better woods/plywoods as well. Yes, the big difference is the labour content..union wages, benefits, pensions...something that the Chinese worker doesn't get. All of this, plus factory operating costs, local taxes, and of course profit for a non-public company is reflected in the final price paid on each Gibson. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Summerisle Posted March 22, 2009 Share Posted March 22, 2009 For a long time Fender circumvented this endless, needless argument by basically sticking "Fender" on anything that you'd be interested in owning, thereby creating a huge Fender range starting at a MIM Standard and leading all the way to a Fender Custom Shop. Squiers were crap. But out of interest I picked up one of the Squier Classic Vibe Telecasters in a store recently and discovered...it's a hell of a lot better than the Standard Mexican Tele...so go figure. Who cares what it says on the headstock, provided that you like the guitar? wrighty - find something else to talk about, please... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carverman Posted March 22, 2009 Share Posted March 22, 2009 Poly done right is fine - it's durable' date=' doesn't wear through, and is resistant to sweat - perfect for a gigging guitar. Notice I said, "done right." By this I mean, properly applied (as with the Elitists and Korean Sheratons I have seen, [b']not[/b] the "dipped in clear plastic" finish that seems to prevail on all too many Epis these days...) I have used polyurethane on my 3 homemade LP types. The poly applied carefully and properly in very thin layers, wet sanded in between coats is pretty much equivalent to nitro with two big differences..1) it doesn't smell up the house, 2) it's doesn't have explosive vapours or chemicals that can damage your lungs (without wearing a chemical mask), 3) it's environmentally friendly 4) it's stable and doesn't check with age, 5) it's more resistant to scratches and light knocks/dents Yes..the big difference how the finish is applied. I have a MIK LP Custom that is basically "dipped in plastic"..acoustically it's what I would call "tone dead". The Broadway and Joe Pass have poly finish, but being acoustic, they sound fine to my old ears. Maybe not as sweet or clear as that Gibson ES-175, L5 or '67 Johnny Smith (L5) model that I had a chance to try, but they still sound pretty good. I also have a semi-custom Takamine Hirade Classic that is poly finished and has the sweetest tone that I have ever heard from a classic guitar, and I've owned a few in my day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pohatu771 Posted March 22, 2009 Share Posted March 22, 2009 Svet...who wants to play an instrument that sounds like "My Dog Has Fleas" when tuning it/ I never understood that tuning method... why can't you assign any other four words to the pitches? I believe I wrote a paper to that effect during my senior year of high school, actually. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevin134 Posted March 22, 2009 Share Posted March 22, 2009 I hate these posts. If I could afford to spend a few thousand on a Guitar I'd have a Gibson Black Beauty instead of a Epi even if the two sounded exactly the same. I have no problems with Epiphone's, and can see myself buying more in the future even if the day comes I can afford a expensive Gibson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carverman Posted March 22, 2009 Share Posted March 22, 2009 I never understood that tuning method... why can't you assign any other four words to the pitches? I believe I wrote a paper to that effect during my senior year of high school' date=' actually.[/quote'] well actually you can assign different words to the 4 notes (GCEA) and use those as memory aids in pitch tuning, when no other tuners are around. here's a modern way of tuning if you have a laptop handy with your UKE. http://www.get-tuned.com/ukulele_tuner.php here's a site that has more on "my dog has fleas" http://www.ukeschool.com/ukulele/tuning/my_dog_has_fleas.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AS90 Posted March 22, 2009 Share Posted March 22, 2009 For a long time Fender circumvented this endless' date=' needless argument by basically sticking "Fender" on anything that you'd be interested in owning, thereby creating a huge Fender range starting at a MIM Standard and leading all the way to a Fender Custom Shop. Squiers were crap. But out of interest I picked up one of the Squier Classic Vibe Telecasters in a store recently and discovered...it's a hell of a lot better than the Standard Mexican Tele...so go figure. Who cares what it says on the headstock, provided that you like the guitar? wrighty - find something else to talk about, please...[/quote'] I hear ya! The Classic Vibe Tele is amazing!! Its 10 times better than the MIM Fender and just as good as the Highway one, actually its better because the neck is nicer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rowdy27 Posted March 22, 2009 Share Posted March 22, 2009 The Classic Vibe Tele is a joke! You guys could argue over the color of a Dollar bill! Sheeeesshhhh! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Summerisle Posted March 22, 2009 Share Posted March 22, 2009 The Classic Vibe Tele is a joke! What's so funny about it? Oh, I know...it's because I like the stock Epi pick-ups in my G-400 which, as I recall, means that I need to learn to play guitar (according to your arguments in another thread) - so I guess I'm still having *** and elbow location issues here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rowdy27 Posted March 22, 2009 Share Posted March 22, 2009 The gutz in it. I have one & it doesn't compare to my Mexican Tele. The neck is too thin as well. I just tune it to open-E for slide work. YMMV.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rowdy27 Posted March 22, 2009 Share Posted March 22, 2009 FWIW..Gibson charges way too much for their product..but they are the cream of the sound! I dig PRS & Jackson too. All in all, we have an incredible array of Quality Guitars to choose from these days. I hope we all win a lottery someday! Cheers.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lpdeluxe Posted March 22, 2009 Share Posted March 22, 2009 Hmmm...four pages so far... ...and I read every page. I need to get a life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JefferySmith Posted March 22, 2009 Share Posted March 22, 2009 Hmmm...four pages so far... ...and I read every page. I need to get a life. This proves that space is indeed circular. It just seems to happen much faster on this forum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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