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epiphone for country

ericlees

By ericlees
in Epiphone Electrics

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midiman56

midiman56

Posted
Posted

That's a great question, Eric!

 

It's funny how certain guitars get pigeon-holed as only being appropriate for certain kinds of music. Personally, I find the Les Paul to be one of, if not the most versatile of all guitars. It can scream, moan and rock, it can produce smooth, warm jazz and blues tones ... but can it play "country"?

 

Have a look at the gear page from one of the biggest country artists (as well as a highly respected guitarist), Keith Urban:

 

http://www.keithurban.net/gear.html

 

As you can see, Keith plays a wide variety of instruments ... and both the Les Paul and the SG are represented in the mix!

 

One of the hallmarks of the country "sound" is ... TWANG! That's one of the reasons you find so much Fender (especially Telecasters) use among country players. I would make the following suggestions:

 

1. Play what feels right in your hands! This is far and away the most important aspect of picking out a guitar.

2. Try out some Les Pauls with coil-splitting. That is, the ability to split the humbuckers to act as single coils.

 

I have three guitars, two Les Pauls (one Gibson and one Epiphone) and an SG (Epiphone) that have this feature and you will be amazed at how "tele-like" these guitars sound in the single-coil position! If you are on a tight budget, I'd suggest you have a try on the Epiphone Les Paul Traditional Pro ... a really great $500 axe with many of the same features as my Gibson at about a quarter of the price! Talk about a "one-guitar-does-it-all" solution!

 

Finally, a lot of the country "traditionalists" will tell you that only a Telecaster will do as far as electric country guitars go. Just remember, that these "traditionalists" don't exactly like the current crop of country artists either. Country has changed quite a bit and has become much more main stream ... as a result, almost anything goes!

 

Good luck and keep us posted on your journey!

 

Jim

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jonnyg

jonnyg

Posted
Posted

+1 to what Midi said. It's far more important to play something that feels right to you, you can get pretty much the same sound from any guitar with a few amp/pickup settings. I don't recall seeing Chet Atkins with a Tele (someone here will prove me wrong) but I think most people would consider Chet "country" and Les Paul started out as Rhubarb Red!! I can get pretty close to a Tele sound with my Wilshire but then I've used a Riviera for country stuff as well.

 

Finally' date=' a lot of the country "traditionalists" will tell you that only a Telecaster will do as far as electric country guitars go. Just remember, that these "traditionalists" don't exactly like the current crop of country artists either.[/quote']

That's a perfect summation of what we have in England. If Hank or Jim Reeves didn't do it, it ain't country. Buck Owens has only just stopped being "radical". Same with most jazz places. If it ain't got a banjo plunking away, it ain't jazz.

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charlie brown

charlie brown

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Posted

Kind of echoing what Midi-man said..."Country" (or any other genre) is more about technique, and style,

than any particular guitar. Telecasters are notorious, for their "Twang," but they can be "heavy sounding

a Hell," too. (Led Zeppelin's 1st album, is a perfect example...all Telecaster). I've heard excellent "Country"

played on everything, from Danelectro 59's, to Gibson L-5's. It was always the "player," not the guitar, that made

it sound the way it did. Good "clean" amp, too...at least, until they got into the "New Country," (Country Rock)

distortion, stuff. Now, even those kinds "Country" players are using Marshall (or Boutique) 1/2 stacks! (Smile)

So...as has been mentioned...find the particular guitar, that suits you to a tee...and let 'er Rip (or Twang), as

the case may be. ;>)

 

CB

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tommyb

tommyb

Posted
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I think most people would consider Chet "country"

 

You're right but Chet himself always considered himself a guitarist...he really liked jazz alot and played lots of old standards as only he could do. He played a Gretsch hollow body with a Bigsby vibrato and made anything he played sound like silk.

 

But if he were alive today and making records I'll bet he would adapt...the guy was a genius and probably could get any tone he wanted to get out of most any instrument.

 

It seems to me with the availablity of all kinds of electronic effects you could get most any tone, including a country "twang" out of almost any guitar.

 

I DO agree with the versatilty of the LP style with just the regular humbuckers, however.

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ericlees

ericlees

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and yeah i know the sound comes from the guitar player and not the gear...but damn i love the twang!

 

 

BY the way...what do i need for coil splitting on my lp? surfing through the seymour duncan web i found different wiring schemes but there are so many option like split, parallel, and other stuff...so..which scheme do i need?

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Guest CheapShoes

Guest CheapShoes

Posted
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Err... I guess I'm the odd-man out in the thread, but in no-way does a split humbucker sound like a maple-neck Tele. A Tele is a Tele, and you ain't going there with no LP. If that's really your thing (think Paisley or Haggard) save your money swapping pups and spend it on a maple-neck Tele (a used Mex-made is just fine). Yes, you can do Country on a Epi LP, and pertty darn good country - especially with a bit of compression, but make no mistake: it's not a Tele any more than it's a Strat. Solution is get one of each! I suggest go to a major Guitar store and check a bunch of them out a decide if that's really for you as a Tele is a diffrent beast to play.

CS

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