majo Posted May 4, 2009 Share Posted May 4, 2009 Anybody knows? It's really hard to find any relevant info on this anywhere on the net. For example, is there more than one producer of these guitars? I noticed that on some pictures of the BB the tone and volume knobs differ from others, but the rest seems like the same. What would you buy if you had the choice? Thanks, Mattias Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Summerisle Posted May 4, 2009 Share Posted May 4, 2009 Welcome to the forum Mattias! As far as I know, these are both great guitars. Seeing you ask, "What would you buy if you had the choice?" - I'll tell you honestly....I think any Gibson / Epiphone that has 3 pick-ups has 1 pick-up too many, (this is especially true of SG Customs). So, personally I'd buy a Les Paul Custom in Alpine White, ...rather than a Black Beauty, But at the end of the day, they're both great guitars and I'm sure you'll be delighted with whichever one you choose. Just be sure to buy from an authorized Epiphone dealer if you are buying a new guitar. Thomann is a good online dealer, which serves Europe (including Scandinavia): http://www.thomann.de/ Do not buy a "new" Epiphone off e-bay...there are a lot of fakes out there (and counterfeiters seem to like making fake Customs.) The only way you can be sure your new Epiphone is the real deal, is to buy from an authorized Epiphone dealer. Good luck with your purchase! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Figstrum Posted May 4, 2009 Share Posted May 4, 2009 Steps: 1. Go to store 2. Plug into a good amp 3. strum each one ...... several times 4. the answer will reveal itself It all revolves around the style, and tone you are looking for. Either one is a good guitar, they just have different sound. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
majo Posted May 4, 2009 Author Share Posted May 4, 2009 Thanks for the answer! A new one is too expensive but I thought an used one would be great as well. Yes, on ebay there is a lot of Custom's, both new and used. You say that there is a lot of fakes, how do you spot them among the real ones? Bought everything else I needed from Thomann (Amp, case, etc etc.), and they seems great! But for the guitar, I'm going for e-bay. But as you said, it's very important to know what you are buying. Thanks again :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Summerisle Posted May 4, 2009 Share Posted May 4, 2009 Thanks for the answer!A new one is too expensive but I thought an used one would be great as well. Yes' date=' on ebay there is a lot of Custom's, both new and used. You say that there is a lot of fakes, how do you spot them among the real ones? Bought everything else I needed from Thomann (Amp, case, etc etc.), and they seems great! But for the guitar, I'm going for e-bay. But as you said, it's very important to know what you are buying. Thanks again :-)[/quote'] Honest people sell used guitars on e-bay all the time, and that's cool. You can pick up a bargain! The ones you must avoid are people selling "brand new" Epiphones (normally shipping direct from China). Gibson & Epiphone are quite jealous of their distribution network (ask any small, independent guitar store)...And Gibson & Epiphone do not sell new guitars through dubious e-bay sellers at heavily reduced prices. So any e-bay auction that says stuff like, "Beautiful brand new 100% genuine Epiphone, shipped direct from Epiphone, etc. etc." is a fake. If you do see an auction for a used Les Paul Custom, why don't you post the link here? There are many knowledgable members who will tell you if the guitar is genuine (provided the seller posts photos...and if the seller does not post photos or will not send photos on request, then you probably don't want to buy the guitar anyway...) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
majo Posted May 4, 2009 Author Share Posted May 4, 2009 What about this one? http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=320366114854 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Axe2Grind123 Posted May 4, 2009 Share Posted May 4, 2009 Dude, it says New Epiphone Les Paul Custom . . . brand new (boxed with original epiphone cardboard) The ones you must avoid are people selling "brand new" Epiphones (normally shipping direct from China). This is bugging me too: 14 days Money back warranty Do they mean guarantee? Is this using clever semantics to got one over on you? Something smells fishy here . . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Summerisle Posted May 4, 2009 Share Posted May 4, 2009 Dude' date=' it says [b']New [/b]Epiphone Les Paul Custom . . . brand new (boxed with original epiphone cardboard) This is bugging me too: 14 days Money back warranty Do they mean guarantee? Is this using clever semantics to got one over on you? Something smells fishy here . . . The trouble with these kind of sellers really, is this. He's offering a Les Paul Custom for £299. GAK (a big UK Epiphone dealer) want £469 for the same guitar. See: http://www.guitarampkeyboard.com/en/epiphone-les-paul-custom/863 Now, GAK aren't a small dealer. They've got a lot of buying power, and you can bet they are getting their guitars from Epiphone at the best possible price. Yet some unknown e-bay dealer can beat their price by £170? How does he do it? Maybe it's magic...or something... To my mind, a safer option if you want a new guitar on this kind of budget would be to forsake the Custom, and just buy a Standard from GAK for £349. At least you know you're getting the real deal! http://www.guitarampkeyboard.com/en/epiphone-les-paul-standard/870 To be fair, though, Mattias said he was looking for a used Custom. Because I'm bored at work (for once), I did a quick search of the UK ebay site: How's this grab you? You could always ask him to send you more photos: Link to Epiphone Les Paul Custom auction By the way, as a point of interest, I also saw a 1990 Greco being sold on UK e-bay with a buy it now price of £375. I think some members here have good things to say about these guitars? Link to Greco Les Paul auction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
majo Posted May 4, 2009 Author Share Posted May 4, 2009 Am I too naive if I suggest that this dealer could have bought up a part of an liquidated music shop? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Summerisle Posted May 4, 2009 Share Posted May 4, 2009 Am I too naive if I suggest that this dealer could have bought up a part of an liquidated music shop? No' date=' that's a perfectly reasonable possibility. But he maintains a reasonably sized inventory, consistently, and over a period of time. Must be a lot of music shops going into liquidation (again, quite possible, given the times). I only gave you a word of warning, because we seem to get at least one thread a week here where a new guy suddenly posts a message to the effect: "Help, I bought an Epiphone (usually a Les Paul) brand new from an online dealer on e-bay, and I think it's a fake." After making inquires at an Epiphone dealer or through Gibson's Customer Service, the person often comes back and says: "Sh*t, it IS a fake." And we all offer commiserations, and remind him of Epiphone's policy: Only new Epiphones bought through authorized Epiphone dealers can be certified as genuine Epiphones. Trawl through the old threads at this forum if you like, and you'll find a myriad of examples. Here's a nice example: http://forums.epiphone.com/Default.aspx?g=posts&t=10020 Also see the "Counterfeit guitar" warning at Epiphone's website. As someone said in another thread recently, [i']Caveat Emptor[/i] ("Let the buyer beware.") At the end of the day, it's your choice where you buy your Epiphone. Good luck with your purchase, whatever that may be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pohatu771 Posted May 4, 2009 Share Posted May 4, 2009 The guitar posted is also obviously black, in the photos. It is advertised as an Alpine White model. Unless my monitor is inverting colours, and only in a Les Paul-shaped spot that moves when I scroll, that's not the guitar the buyer will receive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
majo Posted May 4, 2009 Author Share Posted May 4, 2009 Actually, you folks scared the s**t out of me, so I decided to go for an Epiphone Les Paul Standard at Thomann instead =D>/ http://www.thomann.de/gb/epiphone_les_paul_standard.htm Too much sleepless nights trying to find used and new ones on e-bay, really. Thank you all very much for the very valuable input!! Mattias Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clarkuss Posted May 4, 2009 Share Posted May 4, 2009 I wouldn't buy a single *new* Epi Les Paul on ebay.co.uk. Its infiltrated with fakes now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Summerisle Posted May 4, 2009 Share Posted May 4, 2009 I decided to go for an Epiphone Les Paul Standard at Thomann instead http://www.thomann.de/gb/epiphone_les_paul_standard.htm Too much sleepless nights trying to find used and new ones on e-bay' date=' really. Thank you all very much for the very valuable input!! Mattias[/quote'] Congratulations on your purchase, Mattias. I'm sure you'll be delighted with your new guitar. Please post pictures here when you can! By the way, what kind of amp will you be putting your Les Paul through? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
majo Posted May 5, 2009 Author Share Posted May 5, 2009 A Fender Frontman 25 R. This was really hard to decide at first, because in this price range the reviews are not only about roses, you know. But this one, and I suppose it's a bit about watts, had quite good reviews from enough of reviewers. There will be better ones but it's much easier to switch my first amp than guitar I guess :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Summerisle Posted May 6, 2009 Share Posted May 6, 2009 A Fender Frontman 25 R.This was really hard to decide at first' date=' because in this price range the reviews are not only about roses, you know. But this one, and I suppose it's a bit about watts, had quite good reviews from enough of reviewers. There will be better ones but it's much easier to switch my first amp than guitar I guess :-) [/quote'] I think you are absolutely right. You were wise to spend most of your budget on the guitar, you can always upgrade to a better amp later. That said, there's nothing wrong with the Fender Frontman 25R. Good little practice amp, and having the reverb makes a ton of difference. I used to have a Fender Champion 110 (another small, solid-state Fender amp), and even used it for small, coffee-shop type gigs for a while. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dcooper830 Posted May 6, 2009 Share Posted May 6, 2009 All I have to say is......... I had an Epiphone Black Beauty. It was an AWESOME guitar!!!! Stupidly ...... I sold it cause I was wanting $$$ to fund the purchase of a Gibson Les Paul. Now I miss the Black Beauty TERRIBLY!! And I wish I had it back. :- It was truly an AWESOME guitar in every way!! I should have never sold it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swoop Posted May 6, 2009 Share Posted May 6, 2009 A Fender Frontman 25 R.This was really hard to decide at first' date=' because in this price range the reviews are not only about roses, you know. But this one, and I suppose it's a bit about watts, had quite good reviews from enough of reviewers. There will be better ones but it's much easier to switch my first amp than guitar I guess :-) [/quote'] I can tell you now, I think you'll be very happy with the 25R. I have one myself, and I love it. For a relatively cheap, solid state amp, it sounds fantastic. In my opinion, it sounds equal, or even better than a tube amp of a similar wattage and size, which is much more expensive than the solid state 25R. It really is a good amp. It certainly suits me well anyway, it's not so small that it's pathetic, but it's no Marshall stack either so it doesn't blow my house down. The controls are simple and easy to use. You can quite easily find settings that you like. And it has that classic Fender Reverb, which is part of why such an inexpensive, solid state amp can achieve such a good sound. Someday I'll probably get a tube amp, a Fender, or a nice looking Epiphone tube amp. But I'll still keep the little 25R and I'm sure I'll still use it plenty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
majo Posted May 12, 2009 Author Share Posted May 12, 2009 The Frontman is great! Also bought a Boss GT-6 multi effect and I love it already! Late nights I use my new Sennheiser HD 200 and I can really recommend them. Very light and fits perfectly closed around the ears. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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