BillyBlades Posted July 13, 2012 Share Posted July 13, 2012 Just wondering about quality here? I just bought my plustop pro n it looks great. Everything is in place n flawless. I just brought my ultra to my shop to compare and I was suprised at the "beauty" of the korean made ultra next tto the "plustop pro". The korean model with its quiltop and gold hardware is very striking visually . It makes my pluspro look kinda dull. The main things I notice when playing is the ultra's frets are silky smooth where the new pluspro I can feel a slight grittyness when bending on the light strings. Nothing you can "see" with the naked eye. Just feels more polished thann the new chinese model. Next is the looks,,, The ultra has a more expensive n quality look to it. Not just the gold hardware n beautiful maple quilt,,, I am talking primarily the neck. The fretboard looks alot nicer in the rosewood selection and the ultra's Epiphone name and the trapezoid inlays look better too. They look multidimentional and catch alot of light with that really nice abalone/pearly look where the chinese (new) guitar's fretboard looks dull in the wood and the inlays look like some sheap plastic that looks like they cut up a milk jug and used "that" for the name n inlays lol Milk jug vs pearl lol. Not really mad or anything,,,,just noticing differences . Even rho if I had it my way I woyld prefer the pearly look cause it looks so dam nice ; ) I think everything else is on par,,,,except for the looks which makes my new china made guitar look Less attractive. Its like seing a pretty girl,,, then in walks a "beautiful" girl. One is like Jennifer Aniston n the other is Angelina Jolie lol Why cant they all be like jolie lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vinlander Posted July 13, 2012 Share Posted July 13, 2012 I am not sure if we can generalize Korean vs Chinese for any given run. In my case I have an old Emperor Joe Pass from Samick Korea and the inlays are horrible cheap plastic while my 3 other Korean have Pearly ones... Maybe from one plant to another or from different series they choose whatever is gonna be less expensive or try to save money on some aspects. There is the same thing with wood used where some Epi Les Pauls seem to be made of better quality than others. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillyBlades Posted July 13, 2012 Author Share Posted July 13, 2012 Maybe the ultra was just special? Guitar center didnt have alot to choose from during their july4th sale. The salesmen didnt even know what probuckers were... I got the cheryburst pluspro n it looks great but my ultra spanks it in the looks dept and final finish on the frets. Usually I am a hands on guy that has to feel the guitar before I buy it. It felt great but the korean model is just much more "fine" looking. I love them all n never knew there were differences till I had them side by side. The inlays bug me the most and the fretjob. The ultra is just pure perfection,,, 10 /10 while the pluspro is 9/10... Still great tho. Epiphone kicks major A$$ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillyBlades Posted July 13, 2012 Author Share Posted July 13, 2012 I remember when I first saw the ultra,,, I couldnt leave the store without it . It was just so beautiful,,,and when I picked it up it played like a dream! It was instant! The plustop pro was bought because I wanted a full body (non chambored) lp with the new probuckers. I am totally happy with it but its still the honeymoon phase. The ultra looks like a 3000 dollar gibby and plays like one too. The plus pro looks n feels cheaper. The pickups are excellent. Just doesnt have that "super quality look" Just nitpicking. I just never realised there were differences. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jayyj Posted July 13, 2012 Share Posted July 13, 2012 If it's any consolation the inlays in my 1965 ES-330 are horrible plastic ones as well! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobinTheHood Posted July 13, 2012 Share Posted July 13, 2012 The fretboards and frets coming out of China do seem to be very different from the Korean or even the Indonesian guitars lately. It seems that I've been talking about this alot lately too. I'm not so thirlled with the fret work on the Chinese Epiphones personally. I can get over the differences in the rosewood, as it only requires a bit of smoothing...even though it will never look as nice and dark as the rosewood coming from Korea and Indonesia. But the frets seem to be a problem lately. Lots of talk about buzzing. One of the first things I did to my Chinese '61 SG Special P-90 was smooth the frets and board with a dremel and a buffer wheel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillyBlades Posted July 13, 2012 Author Share Posted July 13, 2012 If it's any consolation the inlays in my 1965 ES-330 are horrible plastic ones as well! ouch....i didnt know there even was a difference . and you'd think in a 65 model it would be like real pearl or abelone . i thought every gibson/EPI had the same stuff,,,just assembled overseas? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillyBlades Posted July 13, 2012 Author Share Posted July 13, 2012 The fretboards and frets coming out of China do seem to be very different from the Korean or even the Indonesian guitars lately. It seems that I've been talking about this alot lately too. I'm not so thirlled with the fret work on the Chinese Epiphones personally. I can get over the differences in the rosewood, as it only requires a bit of smoothing...even though it will never look as nice and dark as the rosewood coming from Korea and Indonesia. But the frets seem to be a problem lately. Lots of talk about buzzing. One of the first things I did to my Chinese '61 SG Special P-90 was smooth the frets and board with a dremel and a buffer wheel. HEY,,,THANKS! I GOT A DREMEL ! GREAT IDEA! I hear ya on the frets. Alot of people woulndt even notice that . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hawkfanatic Posted July 13, 2012 Share Posted July 13, 2012 It's not a matter of what country/factory makes better stuff. there are a trillion variables at work here, but the main thing to understand is china, korea, indonesia, any of them are CAPABLE of total quality. The degree of quality that comes out of them changes with what the company contracting them to build thier guitars requests as far as specs. If gibson were to go to any of them and request a batch of guitars at the absolute best quality they are capable of, they'd put themselves out of business because they'd be as good or better than gibsons own branded USA made stuff. And things change from moment to moment when it comes to imports. A epi will be of a certain quality one day, then specs are changed for market reasons and the same guitar is now much worse or better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordy01 Posted July 14, 2012 Share Posted July 14, 2012 I'm also wondering about production years. The Ultras were some of the last Epi guitars built in Korea. I have an Ultra 2 and it is really nice. Maybe it reflects that after a decade or more of building guitars, the Koreans were getting to be very good. The Chinese by comparison have only been building guitars for several years. And the Indonesians are way behind, as far as experience goes. Just musing.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillyBlades Posted July 14, 2012 Author Share Posted July 14, 2012 I recall hearing about the china guitars were worse when they first came out n now they are better. The ultra I have is the best lespaul I ever held,,,,even compared to some usa models. Might have had extra tlc in its build spec,,,i dont know. All I know is they are both great but the ultra is just more refined,,,more attention to detail n nicer looking in some areas but at the end of the day I cant complain because I am thankful to have such a value in these beautiful intruments! Epiphone sold me yrs ago. I am as loyal and love them as much as I hear Gibby owners love theirs! Maybe if Epiphone brings back the lush inlays n polish the frets,,, on every guitar. That would be heavenfor me ; ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordy01 Posted July 14, 2012 Share Posted July 14, 2012 Epi never stopped building guitars in Korea..... I stand corrected Pete. I wrongly assumed that they had moved entirely to China, and Indonesia. Can you fill me in as to which models are still built in Korea? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stumblinman Posted July 14, 2012 Share Posted July 14, 2012 I recall hearing about the china guitars were worse when they first came out n now they are better. The ultra I have is the best lespaul I ever held,,,,even compared to some usa models. Might have had extra tlc in its build spec,,,i dont know. All I know is they are both great but the ultra is just more refined,,,more attention to detail n nicer looking in some areas but at the end of the day I cant complain because I am thankful to have such a value in these beautiful intruments! Epiphone sold me yrs ago. I am as loyal and love them as much as I hear Gibby owners love theirs! Maybe if Epiphone brings back the lush inlays n polish the frets,,, on every guitar. That would be heavenfor me ; ) I have a Tribute Plus with amazing inlays.. an old friend came over the other day and played it, and was commenting on how three-dimensional they looked. I never pay attention to those, they are just markers when I'm too drunk to find where I am. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobinTheHood Posted July 14, 2012 Share Posted July 14, 2012 It's not a matter of what country/factory makes better stuff. there are a trillion variables at work here, but the main thing to understand is china, korea, indonesia, any of them are CAPABLE of total quality. The degree of quality that comes out of them changes with what the company contracting them to build thier guitars requests as far as specs. If gibson were to go to any of them and request a batch of guitars at the absolute best quality they are capable of, they'd put themselves out of business because they'd be as good or better than gibsons own branded USA made stuff. And things change from moment to moment when it comes to imports. A epi will be of a certain quality one day, then specs are changed for market reasons and the same guitar is now much worse or better. Oh, I agree to a point. Some of the Chinese guitars are great, if not perfect, and dont suffer from a lot of these problems. I have a Chinese PR4-E and the fingerboard and frets are great. No fret buzz, nice, dark board and all of that. No complaints at all. I didnt have to do anything to it at all. The fingerboard wood is what it is. Supplies vary over time and you will see guitars with fingerboards of varying appearances and grains. Though, these lighter boards with more grains and a rougher texture seem to be a bit more common right now. As far as the frets go, I think the Qingdao has a bit of catching up to do with their finishing. Like I've said in other threads and on other boards, my SG Special P90 is in need of a complete roll-off from 12-22. But I suppose that could also have to do with how the neck was set. If it were a bolt-neck guitar, I might have other options available other than a total fret taper on the upper register. Personally, to me it doesnt matter much because I can do all of the work myself - and enjoy it at that. I'm more concerned for the plug-and-play people that dont do their own mods and repairs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillyBlades Posted July 14, 2012 Author Share Posted July 14, 2012 Im going to do the dremel trick ! I can live with the milk jug inlays lol.. My ultra is just so freakin beautiful. The new plustop pro isnt really bad at all. Actually,,,no fret buzz,,,great pickups. I wish they did the transparent amber on these. The wine red was gorgeous in person and I was going to get that one but it had a "ding" on the 15th fret. : / Guitar center is really a joke too. They didnt know ANYTHING ! I ASKED THEM ABOUT THE NEW SERIES N THEY LOOKED AT ME N BROUGHT ME TO THE OLD ONES ON THE RACK LOL. They told me they didnt have any,,,so I went browsing while I was there,,, turned a corner n there was 4 of them on the floor. IF I WASNT GAS'N SO HARD I WOULDVE went to Bills music in md or ordered from Sweetwater. Guitar center had the sale tho. I really wanted a new Probucker guitar n I believe I bought the best one in the store that day : ) Before then,,, I didnt realize there were different countries or different factorys. I didnt know about Korea vs China. The differences are very minor. I am glad I went n got it personally because I like to feel the guitar n hear the wood before I purchase. The guitar has to like me lol. N vice versa ;nD Its like a ritual with me. Guitar center wanted to order the korina one for me but I was dying to try the probuckers. I love all of my Epiphones. The probuckers are pdg ! I bought another set of ebay for my other lp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobinTheHood Posted July 14, 2012 Share Posted July 14, 2012 Im going to do the dremel trick ! The dremel with a buffer wheel is great. I used it on my basses with already smooth fretboards and it made them very glassy and slick. It is a tad time consuming though, but the results are great. I'll probably have do do it again to the SG, as the grainy board requires a bit more attention than I put into it at the time. I just wanted to play the guitar more than anything. The best part is that you dont have to tape off the frets. You can polish and smooth them at the same time. Just be carefull how hard you push on the dremel. You will notice distinct marks that will have to be rebuffed to even them out if you push too hard or spend too much time in one area. I like to start with the smaller areas in the upper register to get a feel of how its going to go. Oh, and I dont use polishing compound. I havent tried it either, so I dont know what it will do aside from add more grit to the surface. Could be better or could be worse. I figured it was best to stay away from it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillyBlades Posted July 14, 2012 Author Share Posted July 14, 2012 The dremel with a buffer wheel is great. I used it on my basses with already smooth fretboards and it made them very glassy and slick. It is a tad time consuming though, but the results are great. I'll probably have do do it again to the SG, as the grainy board requires a bit more attention than I put into it at the time. I just wanted to play the guitar more than anything. The best part is that you dont have to tape off the frets. You can polish and smooth them at the same time. Just be carefull how hard you push on the dremel. You will notice distinct marks that will have to be rebuffed to even them out if you push too hard or spend too much time in one area. I like to start with the smaller areas in the upper register to get a feel of how its going to go. Oh, and I dont use polishing compound. I havent tried it either, so I dont know what it will do aside from add more grit to the surface. Could be better or could be worse. I figured it was best to stay away from it. ; ) yeah man,,, thanks again for the tip ! I am completely stupified I didnt think of that. I think I was just confused because I didnt realize THERE WERE DIFFERENCES. AFTER FEELING THE FRETS OF THE ULTRA I NEED THE PLUSPRO TO FEEL LIKE THAT! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gearhead Posted August 8, 2012 Share Posted August 8, 2012 BillyBlades I know what you're saying about those inlays, but remember, they aren't made of milk jugs. (sure looks like it sometimes tho! LOL) They're made from Mother Of Toilet Seat! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunderhorse71 Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 Anyone care to elaborate on what you do with the Dremel and polishing wheel? No compound at all just the wheel? Got any before and after pics? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobinTheHood Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 Anyone care to elaborate on what you do with the Dremel and polishing wheel? No compound at all just the wheel? Got any before and after pics? I've never used polishing compound. I just use a dry buffing wheel. Just lightly touch it to the board and move it back and forth in small strokes. You will see the difference immediately. Sorry, no pics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canadian_Charlie Posted August 14, 2012 Share Posted August 14, 2012 I have a 2008 Epi Les Paul Plus Top bought it new, never had a problem with it and it has an excellent finish on it. By the way its made in China Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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