Gibson or Feline that is the question!

drphibes

I think this is a question that is going to be a tricky one to answer! My guitar hero as a kid was Steve Jones and that cream colured Les Paul Custom is something that really appeals to me. What does not appeal to me is the countless tales of horrendous quality control and the need to go through a rack of Gibsons in the hope that you might find a good one. I owned a Gibson Signature T around 5 years ago and never really bonded with it so off it went to a new owner. I recently bought a Feline Cub and it really is a cracking guitar, well made and sounds great so common sense should say go and get a Feline LP type and you know you are getting a well built guitar ? However will that Gibson itch never go away ?

Anybody else been in a similar situation ?

Cheers

HAL9000

Clearly, buy the Gibson to scratch the itch, realise you’re not really bonding with it, then sell it and buy the Feline. Simples.

TTony

HAL9000 said:

Clearly, buy the Gibson to scratch the itch, realise you’re not really bonding with it, then sell it 

He's already done that, so ...

HAL9000 said:

buy the Feline. 

 

fastonebaz

My Feline is way way better then my Gibsons.

darthed1981

Gibson make guitars as lifestyle accessories and to pay down corporate debt... Feline do because they love making guitars.

chrisj1602

Personally, I’ve not had a bad Gibson and I haven’t had to try racks of them either. I’ve had three CS Customs and they were all fantastic.

Never played a Feline, and they look awesome, but if you want a Gibson Les Paul Custom…

S56035

I know exactly what you mean.  Every time anyone posts pictures of a Feline they look awesome and opinions seem universally positive.  I have an Eastman SB59 and it's awesome but it's still not a Gibson.  That particular itch has been helpfully eased by the cost now though but if I came in 5K I'd be looking straight at the Murphy Lab stuff.

angusfan123

I sold my Gibson I had for 25 odd years and bought a Feline. I am never selling the Feline. Fabulous guitar.

SlopeSoarer

A Les Paul alike (no matter how good) can never be a Gibson Les Paul. That will matter to some and not to others. I'd say because you are asking the question, it matters to you!

duotone

It’s kind of sad that if I was looking for a HH guitar now, I would probably avoid Gibson & look instead to PRS, Eastman etc.

DartmoorHedgehog

That's a difficult one. I'm far too much of a miser to be having to make that choice, but I think if it were me there would be two answers:
If I was looking to get a posh LP style guitar I'd be looking at Feline.
But if I wanted to channel Steve Jones I think it might have to be Gibson.

Iamnobody

DartmoorHedgehog said:

That's a difficult one. I'm far too much of a miser to be having to make that choice, but I think if it were me there would be two answers:
If I was looking to get a posh LP style guitar I'd be looking at Feline.
But if I wanted to channel Steve Jones I think it might have to be Gibson.

I think my thought process would reach the same conclusion. Particularly if you are lusting after a specific guitar and already have 1 Feline. 

Find the middle ground though and get your new Gibson set up by Feline to play optimally! 

gumbothewiddler

There are times when only the correct name on the headstock/ headstock shape will do.

However, I’m sure the feline will be a very fine instrument and lots of people would choose one. Nonetheless, if you’re after the gear of your guitar hero then you’re going to have to pay up for the Gibson. 

fretfinder

chrisj1602 said:

Personally, I’ve not had a bad Gibson and I haven’t had to try racks of them either. I’ve had three CS Customs and they were all fantastic.

Never played a Feline, and they look awesome, but if you want a Gibson Les Paul Custom…

This. I’ve had at least 20 Gibsons over the years and never experienced these terrible quality control issues that so many people (possibly not Gibson owners?) go on about online. I’ve never played a Feline but if you want a proper Gibson Les Paul then, as others have said, nothing else will do. 

monquixote

I've played a few Felines including some Les Paul shaped ones and they were better than any Gibson I have ever played. 

You will also either be able to get exactly what you want (if you go new) or get a very good bargain (if you go secondhand). 

In some cases you just want a "Fender" / "Gibson" whatever because you just do in the same way that a better watch than a Rolex still isn't a Rolex if that's what you are into.

Stevepage

I’d choose Feline over Gibson if I could afford it. Never played a bad one and everyone I’ve played, I’ve wanted bad but my finances haven’t been able to stretch that far for one unfortunately.

drphibes

Thanks guys for the input. I think in my heart of hearts the urge for a Gibson would probably linger for ever more if I opted for something different. I think the fact that the Feline Cub I bought just before christmas is so nice it put my guitar buying compass out of tune !

ALR

I stand to be corrected but don’t Feline custom make their guitars? I’m sure he’d make you a fine white one just like a custom but with his headstock instead if that’s what you specified when ordering it?

I’ve fantasised about seeing if he would do a semi hollow/florentine style for me in silver sparkle. One day…

webrthomson

I'm lucky enough to own a number of Feline guitars, many of which I’ve custom ordered, and their quality is simply amazing. I also own some Gibsons Les Pauls, mainly Norlin era ones as they are the same age as me!

My Felines get played and my Gibsons don’t is the honest truth, eventually I’ll overcome the emotional connection with the Gibsons and they will get sold but I doubt the Felines will.

If you need to scratch the Gibson itch I say go for it, it may do the business for you, and if not you can always sell it and buy a Feline

Jonathangus

Don't think Jon does custom orders any more.

CHRISB50

Jonathangus said:

Don't think Jon does custom orders any more.

He does according to the website

https://felineguitars.com/pages/custom-guitar-easy-payment-plan