Rinooo Posted October 5, 2011 Share Posted October 5, 2011 Hello everyone, I have been playing with electric guitar on and off for around 3 years ago learning from YouTube. I started with one of those beginner packs (no brand). I enjoy rock/metal music (ex. Gun and roses, ozzy and metallic), I like players like Randy rhoads and slash. Usually, when I have the time, I would search up tabs on some solos and just learn the solos. Recently, I got a bit more time so am planning to upgrade my guitar. So far, I have considered the following guitars, Les Paul standard plain top Epiphone SG G400 Wash burn xm pro2 Ibanez rga42 My budget is around 600 usd... Could anyone please give me some advice as to which guitar to go for or any other suggestions? Also, my amp right now is a laney lx12( power consumption 20w, output power rating 10w, TEC tube emulating technology?) I hope that's the info I need to give. Lastly, as I'm currently in Asia, Will the LPs I get here be Korea or china produced and will that affect the quality? Thanks a bunch for all your time! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianh Posted October 5, 2011 Share Posted October 5, 2011 Welcome aboard Rinooo, good choice coming here - lots of good folks and good advice. I'm not a metal fanatic so I'll let some of the others here comment on your guitar choice, but here is a recent post about a $600 Epiphone LP that might be useful: http://forum.gibson.com/index.php?/topic/74616-ravings-of-a-crazy-old-man/ Cheers, Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xaj Posted October 5, 2011 Share Posted October 5, 2011 Welcome to the forum Rinooo. I may be able to help but as with everything else, it'll come down to personal preference. I'd say go for the Les Paul but not the plain top. The LP Prophecy will offer so much more for what you are looking for. These guitars have upgraded electronics and pickups which would be better postioned for metal. In the case of the Prophecy LPs, one has Gibson Dirty Fingers pickups (until the new one hits the stores) and EMG 85/81 (active). Both will do quite nicely, but if you are into Slash and RR I'd go for the Prophecy LP GX with the Dirty Fingers pickups. They are hot pickups and through a good amp it'll sound killer. If you opt for the EX, the EMGs are very cool for metal but they clean up nicely. Do bear in mind that you may find some EX and GX out there still, though they have been discontinued. However, you will eventually need to consider your amp, whether it cooresponds to what you are looking for sound-wise. Laney do some pretty good amps but I am not familiar with their Tube emulating technology. If you are happy, that's all that matters. The Prophecy LPs I mentioned have been discontinued, much to many people's disapointment as they were simply brilliant, especially the GX. However, the new line has its appeal as well. The new GX will have Gibson's 490R and 498T pickups which will perform very well for the type of music you want to play. As a final note, the Tribute, 1960 and 1959 LPs are simply brilliant as per Brian's link. If you are looking for that classic LP tone, with Gibson electronics and pickups, at a fraction of the price of a Gibson LP R8, R9 or R0, then these are it. So, go out there, play some guitars, check them all out and then buy the one that better adjusts to you. Best of luck and hope this helped. Cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigneil Posted October 5, 2011 Share Posted October 5, 2011 Play every guitar in the store .... in fact, play every guitar you can possibly get you hands on before deciding. I can honestly say from experience that Epiphone guitars are great value for the money. I have an Epi LP and G400 and I love to play the hell outa them. I also hold the Ibanez guitars in high regard, great necks for shred, and own a SZR 720BB. the mexican strats are great value for money too, I have had 2 in my time one of which was a fatstrat (with humbucker) and Floyd rose tremolo system. few months back I played a guitar at my local guitar store, called a Cort. very affordable and what a player, low action, no buz, coil splitting switch, goegeous finnish. However I am totally biased and think you should buy the Epi' LP because if you don't the gods of rock 'n' roll will not look favourably upon you. lol good luck choosing an axe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xaj Posted October 5, 2011 Share Posted October 5, 2011 However I am totally biased and think you should buy the Epi' LP because if you don't the gods of rock 'n' roll will not look favourably upon you. lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rinooo Posted October 6, 2011 Author Share Posted October 6, 2011 First of all thank you brianh,xaj and bigneil for your quick replies! They were very helpful and I have taken a look at those guitars suggested by xaj at the stores here. I'm currently in hong kong and I think I only trust buying these guitars at big authentic stores since I read about all these fake epiphones everywhere.. Unfortunately, the prophency or tribute is much more than my budget here since they jack up the price a lot (although I'm not sure why since they make it in china?) the LP standard plain and that Washburn xm with emg pickups are already around 600+ usd here at these stores :(. The prophecy ex has one on display and it's ~1100! I checked amazon and eBay, their shipping is only within the states. I don't plan to go back to the states anytime soon as my jobs here. So will the epiphone standard plain be my best choice at the moment or should I consider another 'equivalent' option/brand? Thanks a bunch again guys! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanMak3103 Posted October 6, 2011 Share Posted October 6, 2011 First of all thank you brianh,xaj and bigneil for your quick replies! They were very helpful and I have taken a look at those guitars suggested by xaj at the stores here. I'm currently in hong kong and I think I only trust buying these guitars at big authentic stores since I read about all these fake epiphones everywhere.. Unfortunately, the prophency or tribute is much more than my budget here since they jack up the price a lot (although I'm not sure why since they make it in china?) the LP standard plain and that Washburn xm with emg pickups are already around 600+ usd here at these stores :(. The prophecy ex has one on display and it's ~1100! I checked amazon and eBay, their shipping is only within the states. I don't plan to go back to the states anytime soon as my jobs here. So will the epiphone standard plain be my best choice at the moment or should I consider another 'equivalent' option/brand? Thanks a bunch again guys! Welcome to the forum, I'm a recently joined member, too! I have had the similar experience as yours, as I've only recently got my git. At first, everything looks nice & attractive, as that's how they sell things! I also came to the forum to ask for everyone's opinion (seems to be the trends for ALL Newbies)! However, it really gets down to what style of guitar outlooks you like, what pups sound best in your ears, and what plays comfortably in your hands. Some might sound good on paper, but plays/sounds bad in your hands/ears. I did have a few choices at first, but I knew I was a LP guy from the beginning, so my options were the LP standards, customs, Ultra, etc. Yet, in the end, after trying a few, I've decided to go for the LP Tribute 1960, as it sounds better with the Gibson 57' Classic IMHO, and it came with a hard case. So after the long boring story, it really comes down to your personally choice, which guitar would you like to keep playing in your hands, and you'll really regret if you didn't buy it, then that's the one you're looking for. Hope my opinions aren't too long for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xaj Posted October 6, 2011 Share Posted October 6, 2011 First of all thank you brianh,xaj and bigneil for your quick replies! They were very helpful and I have taken a look at those guitars suggested by xaj at the stores here. I'm currently in hong kong and I think I only trust buying these guitars at big authentic stores since I read about all these fake epiphones everywhere.. Unfortunately, the prophency or tribute is much more than my budget here since they jack up the price a lot (although I'm not sure why since they make it in china?) the LP standard plain and that Washburn xm with emg pickups are already around 600+ usd here at these stores :(. The prophecy ex has one on display and it's ~1100! I checked amazon and eBay, their shipping is only within the states. I don't plan to go back to the states anytime soon as my jobs here. So will the epiphone standard plain be my best choice at the moment or should I consider another 'equivalent' option/brand? Thanks a bunch again guys! That is very expensive. Certainly the US comes much cheaper than that. I can only say that, yes, the LP Standard will do nicely, especially for the Slash stuff. I think that, from all the guitars you have mentioned, the LP will do the trick. By the way, did you see these prices at Tom Lee Music? It seems that it is recommended by most people in Hong Kong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rinooo Posted October 9, 2011 Author Share Posted October 9, 2011 No, unfortunately Tom Lee carries the Ibanez and LTD lines in Hong Kong and Parson Musics carries the Epiphone and Washburn lines in Hong Kong. Since they make it exclusive that way, they are allowed to jack up the prices as much as they want I guess... Actually, maybe I might consider getting the guitars that you have recommended shipped over by Musician's Friend website, they can ship internationally for 2nd hand guitars and the price is so much cheaper! By the way, how did you hear about Tom Lee in Hong Kong? Is there a Hong Kong guitar forum somewhere? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xaj Posted October 9, 2011 Share Posted October 9, 2011 I don't know if there's a forum but I have a friend who lives in Hong Kong and, though he is not interested at all in guitars, I asked him whether he knew of a place in Hong Kong with good prices for guitars. He then asked a colleague of his and then came back to me. Anyway, your approach through MF should be good. There are other members on here that do the same. And the guitars would be within your budget. Good luck, mate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete B Posted October 9, 2011 Share Posted October 9, 2011 Les Paul & Epiphone SG G400. I own both and they are fantastic guitars But, that Cort that Neil posted looks really good omg GAS attack! It's the wood finish that does it for me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milod Posted October 10, 2011 Share Posted October 10, 2011 Neil's advice is good. I'm not an LP fan, but my "baby" brother recently got a high end Epi LP that he absolutely fell in love with. He's a bit under 40 and had done the wild-shape thing when younger, but told me the new Epi is the first guitar he's had that helped him play instead of making him really work at it. How much better than that can you get? To me it's about playability since so much of the tone comes from amp and effects anyway. I really like the Epi necks myself. Play a batch; when a guitar of a certain type feels "right," that's it. m Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EpiEric Posted October 10, 2011 Share Posted October 10, 2011 Few months back I played a guitar at my local guitar store, called a Cort. very affordable and what a player, low action, no buz, coil splitting switch, goegeous finnish. Cort are one of the largest manufacturers of guitars in the world. They're probably best known for the guitars they manufacture for brands that are a little better known in the U.S., but their own models are very nice, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blueman335 Posted October 10, 2011 Share Posted October 10, 2011 I can honestly say from experience that Epiphone guitars are great value for the money. I have an Epi LP and G400 and I love to play the hell outa them. However I am totally biased and think you should buy the Epi' LP. +1. I've got a few Epi LP's and love them. Great guitar value, well-made. They always seem to sound good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amx05462 Posted October 12, 2011 Share Posted October 12, 2011 personally i prefer the sg over the les paul. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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