Epiphone Les Paul Standard Plus Top \Vs.\ Epiphone G400 Custom Les Paul

[epiphone--firebirdbass]

Hey,

I want to buy a new guitar and I narrowed it to these 2 guitars,

I play music like Guns N roses , Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin , etc basically rock,blues,soul,jazz etc

im a pretty heavy player ,,,

 

by the way do i need to make a set up on any of them , if so? would it be the pickups etc

 

which one is better for my style,

im looking to pay up to 600 dollars,

[Figstrum]

Welcome to the Epiphone forum,

 

IMHO, you should go to you local shop and play both of them. Believe me, you will know which one you like better. If I could make another suggestion, I would also look into the Epi LP standard plain top, it is the same thing as the plus top but much cheaper.

[AlanH]

Hey' date='

I want to buy a new guitar and I narrowed it to these 2 guitars,

I play music like Guns N roses , Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin , etc basically rock,blues,soul,jazz etc

im a pretty heavy player ,,,

 

by the way do i need to make a set up on any of them , if so? would it be the pickups etc

 

which one is better for my style,

im looking to pay up to 600 dollars,

 

[/quote']

 

Hi Omar,

 

Sounds like you've answered your own question with your username. The LP would probably suit most of the music you want to play. Les Pauls offer a creamy, fat tone with lots of sustain for that Page or Slash tone. However, SGs also offer excellent sustain from their mahogany body and set neck but they have more snap or attack than a LP and are also much lighter.

 

Anyway, some more information from you would also be useful. What gear do you currently have? Do you consider yourself a beginner, intermediate or advanced player? Will you play at home for your own pleasure or are you in a band? Might you want to play higher gain music as well (beyond GnR/Led Zep)? If you want to play higher gain music you may find the Epi LP pickups a little muddy, especially if you don't have a reasonable valve amp or an EQ pedal.

 

It seems you have around £400 to play with. If you're an intermediate sort of player and your amp is not that good then you should also factor a new amp in with your budget (with maybe a sale of your old one to part fund it). There are some very good 5W valve amps in the £150 - £200 price category and this would leave you with just enough money for a Les Paul Studio (just as good but without the bling) or an SG G400. If you can raise more funds from an amp sale then maybe you could stetch to a plain top as suggested above. I'm curious as to why you're considering the G400 custom. Will you really need the extra pickup? I'm guessing you like the two guitars you are thinking about for their looks (nothing wrong with that) but if you're on a budget you've also got to consider whether you prefer bling over other factors.

 

As far as set ups go, this is a personal preference. Typically, metal players like a low action with a straight neck and may have a less aggressive picking style. A blues or jazz player might prefer a slightly higher action with some relief in the neck to enable them to get more subtle tones through varied picking and strumming without having fret buzz showing through. Other set up factors include pickup height (personal choice by experimentation), intonation (which needs to be accurate) and string gauge.

 

Most Epiphones arrive from the factory with a good 'average' set up to suit most players. However, this is not always the case. Furthermore, sometimes the set up is messed up in the shop through the guitar being handled by customers/staff. A good shop should be able to help you with a set up but there is also an inexpensive book by Dan Erlewine (called How to make your electric guitar play great) which would take you through the process yourself. I've bought several guitars online and the have all come with good 'average' set ups (including my two Epis). I have nevertheless done some tweaking to suit my preferences but you do need to know a little bit before you start down that road.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Alan

[dfarrell]

I have one of each, so I 'll give you my 2 cents worth . . .

The G400/Les Paul custum is very light, and you get great upper neck fret access. I didn't like the stock way of wiring the pickups - the middle one is always "on" and it is hard to get a good biting tone out of it. I changed the wiring so the neck and bridge pick up are hooked up to the switch, and the middle pick up is hooked up to a push/pull pot so I can turn it on or off that way. They are also neck heavy. A big fat strap helps to keep the neck up when your standing up with it.

The Les Paul Standard + top is much heavier, and the upper fret access isn't as good. The thing I really like about it is this: When you are playing through an old Fender tube amp with no pedals it is way more responsive to your picking technique. I can bring from nice and crunchy (not heavey distortion, but 60's or 70's vintage tones) to nice and clean by how hard I play. The g400 isn't nearly as responsive that way.

I like them both, but if I just had one, it would be the Les Paul Standard.

Either way you go, plan on getting a good set up done to it. I also found that replacing the bridge with a Gotoh replacement helped both guitars with thier tuning stability.

[Muskank Sally]

I've owned both guitars.

The 'traditional' Les Paul is just better built.

It has such warmth and tone

Not taking anything away from the G-400 Custom...

but honestly it can be a tempermentally weather stricken, watch that neck in the cold of winter...

too many pickups for its own good that never really blend right, and just not really all that pretty when you've owned one for three years. I barely play mine anymore and can't seem to sell it for what I want so I think I'm trading it in for amp equipment.

 

I suggest you go with the Les Paul.

It will give you more satisfaction and Les headache than the G-400 Custom.

[epiphone--firebirdbass]

Thanks guys you helped alot, the thing is though I cant play the guitars myself since all the near guitar store only sell Squiers and beginner guitars , so I rely on your experiences, I think I would go with the les paul , and save up a little more for an amp,

 

then again I just discovered another guitar The Epiphone les paul black beauty 3 , I like the looks, and the extra pickup will help , what i really have my thoughts on is the hardware , which helps more with sustain and reliabilty and long lasting , The gold hardware or the chrome hardware

[AlanH]

Thanks guys you helped alot' date=' the thing is though I cant play the guitars myself since all the near guitar store only sell Squiers and beginner guitars , so I rely on your experiences, I think I would go with the les paul , and save up a little more for an amp,

 

then again I just discovered another guitar The Epiphone les paul black beauty 3 , I like the looks, and the extra pickup will help , what i really have my thoughts on is the hardware , which helps more with sustain and reliabilty and long lasting , The gold hardware or the chrome hardware[/quote']

 

I think a third pickup is more of a novelty item than of any additional 'help' and it would cost you more if you decided to upgrade at a later date. In any case, there is more than enough to worry about with a 2 volume, 2 tone, 2 pickup guitar.

 

See this thread if you're not convinced:

 

 

http://forums.epiphone.com/default.aspx?g=posts&t=13539

 

Also, the gold will fade as you say. Some like that, others don't.

 

Don't be tempted too much by the bling. Customs may look better on photos but, trust me, you will not be disappointed with the look of a Les Paul Standard Plus or a G-400 when you see one. Here's my LP with aftermarket Seymour Duncans fitted: