New Epiphone owner (Maybe)

[miketmbt]

Hello,

 

I am shopping for my first Epiphone Les Paul. Ive seen reviews ranging from "its just as good or better than a gibson" to "it falls apart and the frets pop out"

I think I am looking for the Standard with black finish. Are there any years that were better than others or and year range I should stay away from or should I just buy a brand new one?

 

Thank you.

[brianh]

Since you're in LV, you could go talk to MIDIman56 (Jim) at the Guitar Center on the west side in Summerlin.

 

He's a long time member here and will give you the straight dope.

[AlanH]

Well the LPs coming out of China are very nice IMO. Provided you like black, the black LP Standard is actually one of the best value LPs Epi do. You get all the trimmings over and above a studio such as neck binding and a thicker, more carved top etc. but you're not paying over the odds for just a burst or a flamed burst veneer on the top.

 

You will obviously get answers biased towards Epi over Gibson on this forum but here's my take. There are good and bad guitars made by Gibson and Epi, although many people say that the QC at Epi is more consistent. As for comparisons, I've had my Epi LP standard up against a Gibby studio and the unplugged tone of my Epi was far superior in fatness and sustain (all LPs are very variable here due to luck of the draw on the pieces of wood used.) By just upgrading a few components (mostly pickups and perhaps pots and caps and nut) you can get pretty much the same tone with either guitar. With the Gibson, a lot of that cost is for the name on the headstock and the multiple layers of nitrocellulose lacquer which take a long time to dry between coats. However, there is no doubt that the Gibson has an overall high quality feel to it in terms of woods, craftsmanship and hardware. Only you can say whether the significantly higher price of the 'real deal' is worth it by going out and trying them. Unless you earn a living by playing guitar there is probably no justification in getting the Gibson. Even so, there are still a number of pros who use Epis.

 

If Mr Spock had enough money to buy a Gibson LP he would probably get the Epiphone version, make a few upgrades, buy a decent valve amp and play the hell out of it back on Vulcan. He would rest safe in the knowledge that most potential Vulcan mates in the audience would not even notice the name on the headstock. However, us humans happen to be illogical!

[miketmbt]

Well. I ended up buying a new Epiphone Les Paul Studio. It has a light clear wood finish. I tried a few different standards and studios and I couldn't really tell much of a difference. It seemed like every guitar I tried had high action. Is that how they are set up in the factory? I would like to lower the action on mine a little but im a bit scared as ive never messed with truss rod or anything before.

[animalfarm]

Since you're in LV' date=' you could go talk to MIDIman56 (Jim) at the Guitar Center on the west side in Summerlin.

 

He's a long time member here and will give you the straight dope.[/quote']

 

I agree!!!!! What a novel idea!

[The.Traffic.Lights]

Well. I ended up buying a new Epiphone Les Paul Studio. It has a light clear wood finish. I tried a few different standards and studios and I couldn't really tell much of a difference. It seemed like every guitar I tried had high action. Is that how they are set up in the factory? I would like to lower the action on mine a little but im a bit scared as ive never messed with truss rod or anything before.

Try lowering the tune-o-matic. I had mine set up low, with a bit of fret buzz here and there, which, for me personally, was quite fine. Maybe Thomann.de had something to do with the set-up, but I doubt it.

[brianh]

I would like to lower the action on mine a little but im a bit scared as ive never messed with truss rod or anything before.

Here's a setup tutorial on guess what - a black Les Paul: http://www.gibson.com/en-us/Support/TechSupport/Repair%20Columns/Basic-Guitar-Setup/

 

Other useful stuff here: http://forums.epiphone.com/default.aspx?g=posts&t=14775