the "why did you buy an Epiphone instead of...?" thread

[outforblood]

My answer is simple. Budget. I think my Epi Sg sounds pretty good for what it is. Now if I had the loot...

[bluesman345]

Back in the 70's, I owned 4 Gibson's over the years. At the time, the most I paid was $550 for one. If I had the "loot" today, I'm not sure that I would buy a Gibson at 5x the price of the Epiphone version, when the Epi (modded, of course) suits me just fine.

[Musicfox]

I wanted a humbucker equipped guitar and our small town local shop could take lay-away money over time as I am a terrible money saver. The 3 brands they carry worth buying are Epiphone, G&L and BC Rich. Until I lucked upon internet ads for the Dot Studio and finally the Dot did I decide to buy my second ever Epiphone a shiny Black Dot. It was the lay-away plan that drew me to these brands but it was the looks of quality I was seeing in other Epiphones. Our store has a brand new Epiphone Korina flying V that's been in the store 2 years marked down to $425 Canadian. I might pick it up soon too. I am Very happy with my Epiphone.

[Guest]

I am really into blues and the iconic image of a bluesman for me...(IMHO) is John Lee Hooker with an Epiphone. My dream guitar a 1960 Epiphone Zephyr with New York Mini Humbuckers like the one Hooker played in the 60's.

 

I have two Epi's and pick up a third tomorrow, all second hand, good solid Samick built examples, the plan is simple given my budget (which if you include my 1959 Levin acoustic would have well covered a pretty decent Gibby 335), modify these slowly over the next year. These guitars which cost me a lot less than buying new, so I will always put the difference I saved and a little more in modifications, new assemblies and pickups for each guitar.

 

My 1997 Joe Pass Emperor with Mean 90's and new assembly (Joe Pass to buy new in Sweden $1,110, bought mine for $555.... so I have a modification budget for this guitar of around $500 that gets me a great guitar)

 

My 1989 Sheraton which eventually will have with a pair of handwound PAF clones and new assembly (I have found a guy who has quoted me $280 for a set of handwound PAF clones Alnico 5 magnets single conductor braided shield wire Neck 7.0K, Bridge 7.9K and new assembly, that aint a fortune will do for a birthday gift from the wife :-) and should be a great mod in the future) (Sheraton to buy new in Sweden $1,127, bought mine for $555.... so I have a modification budget for this guitar of around $450 that gets me a great guitar)

My 1987 Sheraton which eventually will have a pair of Lollar Firebirds (IMHO based on research the closest I can find to NY minis for tone) and new assembly (mods on this for the future but that is my goal) (Sheraton to buy new in Sweden $1,127, bought mine for $375.... so I have a modification budget for this guitar of around $600 that gets me a great guitar)

Then I have 3 great guitars with top quality electrics and pickups for only what 3 new stock Epiphones would have cost....:-

 

These guitars will give me all I would ever want.....would I give up my Emperor, Levin, and Two Sherris's for a Gibson..........NO, might treat myself to a Gibson, or a vintage Epi Zephyr before I kick the bucket but the Epi's and the Levin are here for the duration as long as they are playing sweetly

[Chris the Gent]

A few things for me,

 

of course budget has to come into it, but.....

 

for me it was artists that I admire use Epi's, The Beatles, Oasis, Paul Weller etc etc,

 

I know that they'll use Gibbys aswell, but lets face it, if Epi's are good enough for Paul McCartney, they're good enough for me,

 

-Chris.

[copperhead]

I'am playin my budget card on this one, I have 2 very fine instruments, cost of two set up's, 2 hard shell cases,and a decent amp! "Priceless".

[Parabar]

It can be summed up in one word: Value. The place where price, tone, playability, looks, and build quality intersect. My first Epiphone was my Joe Pass Emperor. I checked out quite a few archtop jazz boxes, and the only guitars that outperformed it were SO much more expensive as to be out of consideration. All of my Epiphones play and sound great, and they allow me to express my musical ideas and inspire me to explore new ones without sending me to the poorhouse.

[bluelake07]

Because the Casino is made by Epiphone and The Beatles used it (I know the MIK isn't exactly like theirs). Yes, there is the Gibson ES-330, but they are hard to find in a lefty and when I saw a new MIK Natural on Ebay I bought it. I was looking for a light electric due to worry about back strain which I'd had a problem with. I'm pleased with my purchase.

[jonnyg]

I bought my '83 Riviera as a backup for my early 60's 335 as I couldn't afford another Gibson. Turned out to be a great buy and I ended up preferring it to the 335. In fairness I don't think it was quite up to the construction quality of the Gibson, some of the "fit and finish detail" wasn't quite as good, but the sound and playability was at least as good and it's still my "go to" guitar today. Aside from strings and different control knobs (my preference) it's entirely stock and has cost me nothing in 27 years.

 

My Chet Atkins (SST??) was a substitute for a Godin that I couldn't afford. That turned out to be less than I'd hoped for but it was less than a third of the price of the Godin.

 

My Wilshire, well there's no other make with that shape and spec to compare it to as far as I can see.

 

On the reverse side of the argument, I bought a Vintage brand Les Paul in preference to an Epiphone as, to my ears, the Vintage had the edge in the tone department and it really is very nicely made. Ugly headstock though.

[cosmitron]

my very first Epiphone : After years of shred learning I've stopped. Bored. I went back to guitars ten years ago. Back then the only guitar I needed was a Les Paul. I went to the guitar shop, and I've been offered 2 brands for same budget: Tokai, and Epiphone.

Took a black Les Paul Epiphone MIK (samick made), because the seller told me they were more reliable. (HAHAHAHA)

So: Budget restriction + Reputation + Guitar Shop seller average advices.

 

my second one: 10 years after, 35 guitars (including Gibson), 4 bands, and lots of gigs later, and a little more of knowledge about what I need as sound, balance, mojo and look, a severe GAS attack made me buy the Wilshire 1967. And now, I'm also waiting for the delivery of a 64 Coronet. - plugging the vintage Wilshire in the Vox AC30 and/or the Cornford Roadhouse 30 was a Life changing experience.

So: MOJO + personal preference knowledge + less money restriction + history

 

Ten years after it's the complete opposite reasons that made me get an epiphone. :-

[JohnMcClane5000]

Definitely MOJO. (Something that no SQUIER GUITAR has...)

[Notes_Norton]

I have a Gibson ES-330 that has turned into a collector's item.

 

When I decided to get serious about guitar and play on stage, I didn't want to bring the 330 because as a multi-instrumentalist who sometimes needs to switch instruments in a hurry, I didn't want to take the chance of putting chips in the finish (sax, guitar, wind synth, flute, vocals, percussion controller and sometimes keyboards).

 

At the time, Gibson had not re-issued the 330. If it had, I probably would have spent 2,000 on it. But since there were no 330s around, and the Casino is close to the same guitar (upper fret access isn't as good) I bought a used MIK Casino. And I'm glad I did.

 

The Casino is a quality guitar. Not quite as nice as the 330 (MOT inlays, etc.) but it has the pups replaced with Duncans, and the result is that it actually sounds a little better than the Gibson plugged in.

 

It's a lot of guitar for the money.

 

Insights and incites by Notes

[jonnyg]

Definitely MOJO. (Something that no SQUIER GUITAR has...)

I think that's a little unfair. I was very impressed with the Squier Classic Vibe 50's Strat. Better than some of the Fender's at more than twice the price IMO.

[Dave]

The Epis are great values. I tried out an offshore PRS LP type guitar yesterday at a local music store and the guitar was beautiful, well made, but kind of ho hum in playability and tone. The owner agreed that a pickup change would benefit the guitar as opposed to the $2800 PRS models.

 

Both my Epis are great in terms of playability, but it's still a mystery why pickups are so difficult to build. I replaced the pups in my LP Custom with SD Pearly Gates, but the P90's in my 56 Goldtop re-issue are great. Good magnets, accurate winding equipment, a little care in assembly would seem to be all it takes to make a good pickup. After all, pickups are not rocket science, IMHO. I know that attention to detail goes a long way in producing a quality product, but modern machinery should be able to create a useable pickup provided the components are up to spec. Maybe it's the cheap magnets and variability between one magnetic pole piece and the next that makes a difference.

 

Anyone care to comment?

[RSDx]

I think that's a little unfair. I was very impressed with the Squier Classic Vibe 50's Strat. Better than some of the Fender's at more than twice the price IMO.

I agree .... Squier suffers from the same stigma as Epiphone in some respects ... "copies" of the "real thing," MIC .... whatever. I not too long back tried out a Squier Vintage Modified Thinline Tele, and was actually quite impressed, considering it's a fair amount less expensive than my Epi LP Std was.....if they had had it in shoreline gold, might've been an impulse buy that day (the black did nothing for me, but played really nice, for a demo guitar off the wall in a small shop).

[lonesomeagle1]

Bought the first Epi for my daughter. A LP Special for her to fool with. The second for my son. An SG Special. Actually these 2 guitars, although VERY inexpensive, show pretty good quality throughout. They gave a reasonable tone and were very playable especially for a beginner. Between my son and I , we now own 7 Epi's.

 

So in a word I guess it would be Value.

[RobinTheHood]

My budget always dictates how much I can spend on a guitar, but the Epis always find me. I've never gone into a guitar store and said "I think I'll buy an Epiphone today". But they are always the highest quality in the price range and just feel right in my hands.

[HarpBoy]

Definitely MOJO. (Something that no SQUIER GUITAR has...)

 

Gotta challenge you on this one. The Squier '51 is one of the sweetest little guitars money used to be able to buy. I went hunting for one of these to find out what the fuss was all about. What a terrific guitar. Squier '51 is spelled M.O.J.O.

 

Anyway, back to the regularly scheduled, um, thread.

 

Cheers

[vomer]

My EA250 was a gift, but my Sheraton was bought when I was on a long trip in the States. I'd spent weeks looking for a strat and couldn't find a good one apart from Custom Shop, and in Guitar Center in Hollywood, a sales assistant just randomly handed me the Sheri. It immediately felt right.

[Lord Summerisle]

On the reverse side of the argument' date=' I bought a Vintage brand Les Paul in preference to an Epiphone as, to my ears, the Vintage had the edge in the tone department and it really is very nicely made.[/quote']

 

Is it one of these (Vintage AV1) ?

 

I was very tempted by one of those myself, a while back.

 

Excellent guitars.

 

[rafaelh]

Why I bought an Epiphone? Cause I wanted the Turquoise Casino and only offered by Epi.

[deflepfan]

I'm a sap . . . and economics.

 

I fell in love with the Gibson Les Pauls I was seeing back in the '80's when I worked in the biz. I just love the single cut style of them. As owning a Gibson would be out of the question, the logical choice for me was Epiphone as it is own by Gibson. I'm sappy like that and I felt I was remaining 'faithful' to the original by going with Epiphone, as opposed to another maker of the single cut style.

 

I'm so over the sappy, puppy dog faithfulness. Kind of. But, I have learned to love Epi's as its own entity.

 

And I really want an Ultra II!

Sheila

[jonnyg]

Is it one of these (Vintage AV1) ?

 

I was very tempted by one of those myself' date=' a while back.

 

Excellent guitars.

 

[img']http://www.gmm.com.pl/duze_zdjecia/Vintage_av1_hcb_advance.jpg[/img]

 

 

No, I bought the Vintage V100CS which was the lowest priced Les Paul type with a fixed neck. I wanted to try out a few mods (my first attempt) and I didn't want it to cost too much for the basic guitar. The V100 was £180.00 (US approx $290.00) and the AVI was £220.00 (US approx $350). I have tried the AV1 and it is a lot of guitar for the money and is better than the V100 but I felt that the V100 was better than the equivalent Epi. Just my own preference/opinion though.

[animalfarm]

In my Pre-Navy days. I owned 2 Gibby LPs, a Gibby "The Paul",

and a variety of other gits and amps. Had to sell before entering

service in "Uncle Sam's Canoe Club" as I had NO trustworthy place

to keep said gear for 6 years. I had purchased these NEW back when

a Gibby LP cost 700 - 900 USD.

 

Post-Navy days: When the need to play struck again, I looked at

prices for Gibbys, changed my underwear, and began looking for

alternatives. Found EPIs. Hmmmm. Well constructed, great prices,

just needed a pickup upgrade to "help" bring the sound up to the

standard I had experienced with Gibs. An EXCELLENT guitar for any

player until the "need" to mod strikes - no shame in a STOCK epi.

A great git player will play great on a GIB or EPI, and a crappy git

player will play just as crappy on either, also.

 

Sure, there is a "mystique" about owning a GIB, but an EPI will get you

from point A to point B just as well, and for a more affordable price.

It is an EXCELLENT stand-alone brand. NO REGRETS. Heresy in the GIB

world, I know...

 

Still wish I had my "The Paul", but back in those days "we" were trading

guitars like baseball cards. Ahhhhhh, hindsight.....

[outforblood]

It can be summed up in one word: Value. The place where price' date=' tone, playability, looks, and build quality intersect. My first Epiphone was my Joe Pass Emperor. I checked out quite a few archtop jazz boxes, and the only guitars that outperformed it were SO much more expensive as to be out of consideration. All of my Epiphones play and sound great, and they allow me to express my musical ideas and inspire me to explore new ones without sending me to the poorhouse.[/quote']

I hear you. My first semi-hollow was a Dot Studio...played awesome sounded good stock. The only disappointment was that the black finish on the bridge wore off in a week exposing some mystery alloy/metal beneath it. I had a Gibson SG a few years ago that took me 6 months to save for, loved that guitar. One unfortunate day after a show my band played at some bar, I had the SG packed up and ready to go in the case and all...then someone bumped into my amp where the SG resting against, and it fell over in it's case...I thought it was no big deal, it's in the case. I got home took it out for cleaning and noticed the headstock has broken off at the truss rod.( A Gibson tradition) This never happened with an MIK Epi SG that I had before the Gibson. I've thrown that Epi hard on the ground...spilt beer and spit all over it...fell off of amps numerous times...stepped on it... but it survived for 7 years of abuse until I sold it. If I happen to break my Epi I won't be out of +1000.00 not even half of that.