Epiphone guitars, who uses them?

wayneirie

I do and I'm probably going to put my U.S. strat up for trade to see if I can get one of the recent 62 sheratons in trade. I like the semi shape because I'm tall. My casino is a great guitar for me. The acoustics are good value for money as well.

57Deluxe

I had the Lucille BUT, although looked stunning, sounded somokey.,I  had to have 3 replacements under warranty for stupid issues from cracked inlays, to awful varitone wiring/tone and then its replacement wasn't wired for stereo and Gibson couldn't supply Anderton's tech with a crcuit diag to repair it... I waited 5 months and then demanded a refund... Spent some extra $£ for a Gibson 335 in a sweetner deal by way of apology. So, worked in my favour ultimately.

http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee301/snotmale/Things that make you go Ding/Lucilleangle1_zps6e961ab3.jpg

underdog

Rox;631387" said:

Some people sneer at Epis, but the quality runs the full range from bolt-on beginners stuff to some excellent Japanese stuff and everything inbetween.  They cater for all pockets.



The Squier brand seems to have had a reassessment over the last couple of years, but Epiphone haven't, which is a shame.  A lot of their new stuff is really rather good, especially at those prices.



Another confirmed Epi fan here. 

The big difference between squire and Epi, and I honestly think it's that squire has same headstock as fender where as Epi ones are nowhere near the Gibson shape and are in fact horrible.

Adam_MD

underdog;631453" said:

[quote="Rox;631387"]Some people sneer at Epis, but the quality runs the full range from bolt-on beginners stuff to some excellent Japanese stuff and everything inbetween.  They cater for all pockets.



The Squier brand seems to have had a reassessment over the last couple of years, but Epiphone haven't, which is a shame.  A lot of their new stuff is really rather good, especially at those prices.



Another confirmed Epi fan here. 

The big difference between squire and Epi, and I honestly think it's that squire has same headstock as fender where as Epi ones are nowhere near the Gibson shape and are in fact horrible.

[/quote]

Not all epiphones have that headstock

GazLion

Wulfhere;631148" said:

I've got an Epiphone Riviera and I've got a lot of experience with a Sheraton too. Both of the Korean era, both structurally very good, but I think the quality of the hardware is where they make some of the savings. In the case of my Riviera I changed the tuners for Grover rotomatics, the bridge for a slightly wider spaced Gotoh, new pickups from Mojo and completely new electronics. I do love my Riviera and it's completely eliminated any feelings I night have had about getting an ES-335/345/355. It sits quite happily with my USA Les Paul and Jaguar.

I've been looking at rivieras too. Did yours originally have the mini bumbuckers in it or p90's? I've heard that the standard mini humbuckers in these aren't very good, but are there many after market mini humbucker options available? I'd be interested in the p90 version, but I hate the look of 3 pickup guitars unless it's a Strat!

freakboy1610

I bought an Epiphone Casino from Peter Cooks with my first two pay packets in 1986 and I still have it. I wanted a Riviera but they were sold out and in those pre internet days I hadn't bothered to check before travelling up to London on the train. The money was burning a hole in my pocket and I returned with the Casino. Whilst it has nostalgic value to me it has never really been a great guitar. The buzzy rattly bridged plagued me for several years along with various vibration related noises that I never quite got to the bottom of. There's also a crack in the lacquer at the base of the headstock. Wouldn't buy another one!
:-w

Rox

To be honest, the sneering at the headstock baffles me as well.  It's an Epi headstock.  I don't see the big issue with it.  It's the basic shape of the Gibson one, but with the tips of the wings clipped.

And some have open book, some have a rounded top.

Not that the headstock really has any impact on the quality of the guitar overall.

olafgarten

GazLion said:

Wulfhere;631148" said:

I've got an Epiphone Riviera and I've got a lot of experience with a Sheraton too. Both of the Korean era, both structurally very good, but I think the quality of the hardware is where they make some of the savings. In the case of my Riviera I changed the tuners for Grover rotomatics, the bridge for a slightly wider spaced Gotoh, new pickups from Mojo and completely new electronics. I do love my Riviera and it's completely eliminated any feelings I night have had about getting an ES-335/345/355. It sits quite happily with my USA Les Paul and Jaguar.

I've been looking at rivieras too. Did yours originally have the mini bumbuckers in it or p90's? I've heard that the standard mini humbuckers in these aren't very good, but are there many after market mini humbucker options available? I'd be interested in the p90 version, but I hate the look of 3 pickup guitars unless it's a Strat!

I know Lollar and Seymour Duncan do mini humbuckers, if your lucky, you'll be able to get one from an 60's firebird, they had great pickups.

cruxiform

I have a Les Paul Standard which I bought new in 2002 for £350 and is my main guitar. I love playing it. The neck is perfect for my hands and sounds brilliant through my Marshall. Stays in tune too. The headstock doesn't bother me in the slightest.

underdog

Adam_MD;631456" said:

[quote="underdog;631453"][quote="Rox;631387"]Some people sneer at Epis, but the quality runs the full range from bolt-on beginners stuff to some excellent Japanese stuff and everything inbetween.  They cater for all pockets.



The Squier brand seems to have had a reassessment over the last couple of years, but Epiphone haven't, which is a shame.  A lot of their new stuff is really rather good, especially at those prices.



Another confirmed Epi fan here. 

The big difference between squire and Epi, and I honestly think it's that squire has same headstock as fender where as Epi ones are nowhere near the Gibson shape and are in fact horrible.

[/quote]

Not all epiphones have that headstock[/quote]

The vast majority of them do though, especially on the popular LP and SG range. It's a shame, even if they just made it smaller and neater it'd make a hell of a difference aesthetically.

underdog

Rox;631471" said:

To be honest, the sneering at the headstock baffles me as well.  It's an Epi headstock.  I don't see the big issue with it.  It's the basic shape of the Gibson one, but with the tips of the wings clipped.



And some have open book, some have a rounded top.



Not that the headstock really has any impact on the quality of the guitar overall.

I think you're misunderstanding how important it can be though, a squire Strat looks like a fender one, but an Epi LP is not like a Gibson one. It's also important from a branding point of view.

An Epi LP is a copy of a Gibson design there for it should have the Gibson headstock or something close to it, just for branding reasons. Do Epi carry any obvious Gibson branding these days?

GazLion

olafgarten;631480" said:

GazLion said:

Wulfhere;631148" said:I've got an Epiphone Riviera and I've got a lot of experience with a Sheraton too. Both of the Korean era, both structurally very good, but I think the quality of the hardware is where they make some of the savings. In the case of my Riviera I changed the tuners for Grover rotomatics, the bridge for a slightly wider spaced Gotoh, new pickups from Mojo and completely new electronics. I do love my Riviera and it's completely eliminated any feelings I night have had about getting an ES-335/345/355. It sits quite happily with my USA Les Paul and Jaguar.

I've been looking at rivieras too. Did yours originally have the mini bumbuckers in it or p90's? I've heard that the standard mini humbuckers in these aren't very good, but are there many after market mini humbucker options available? I'd be interested in the p90 version, but I hate the look of 3 pickup guitars unless it's a Strat!





I know Lollar and Seymour Duncan do mini humbuckers, if your lucky, you'll be able to get one from an 60's firebird, they had great pickups.

I've just been doing some googling and apparently mini humbuckers were based on the p90 template, so p90s should drop in perfectly. I'm quite keen on the idea of a 2 p90 pickup riviera

Philly_Q

I have some Japanese Epiphones, a Les Paul Standard, LP Special and a couple of LP Juniors.  They were made by FujiGen and are basically identical to Orville by Gibson - and very similar to the "Signature" LP copies which I know one or two people on here have owned.

They're excellent guitars, stock pickups aren't great but the workmanship is absolutely spot on and (apart from the Standard) they were ludicrously cheap.

I haven't been a big fan of any Korean Epis I've tried - they're decent guitars for the money but apart (of course) from the name on the headstock they're effectively a completely different brand from the MIJ models. 

And I have to agree about that Korean Epi headstock, it's just personal taste but I think it's hideous.  I've also got a totally irrational phobia of three-screw trussrod covers.

Rox

Philly_Q

Yep.  That. of course, is a Japanese Epiphone headstock with the Gibson open book shape.

Mine have the different logo which indicates they have "LQ" finishes:

 

underdog

Philly_Q;631511" said:

Yep.  That. of course, is a Japanese Epiphone headstock with the Gibson open book shape.Mine have the different logo which indicates they have "LQ" finishes:

 

See that looks great, but as said it's only on Jap Epiphones which are much more expensive and rare than what Epiphone are now.

thermionic

I bought a Sheraton in around 1990 that was a great guitar, excellent neck and frets on it and it played superbly without ever having to have a pro setup. I wasn't keen on the natural colour (semis have to be Cherry Red, if you're a Johnny Marr/Bernard Butler fan) so I sold it and bought a Dot. The Sheraton was solid but somewhat lifeless, the Dot was lighter and livelier (more resonant and prone to feedback - in a good way). The frets and electrics on the Dot were noticeably poorer. Both were Samick-made but 10 years apart, which is why I don't buy into the "Korean is better" myth.

I sold the Dot to buy a Les Paul after swapping pickups in a Chinese Epi LP for a friend's son. After a bit of research I realised the Tribute Plus (or variant, there's been a couple) was the one to get - slightly better construction and definitely better electrics than Standards. It sounds great and plays very well after a setup to cure a couple of high frets, but the multi-piece body and thick poly finish make me want to know what a Gibson would feel and sound like... For £300 (used but as new with a hard case) it was one of my guitar bargains.

I'd like to get another Sheraton some day though, many happy memories of that guitar.

Rox

But I don't mind this at all. 

underdog

Rox;631525" said:

But I don't mind this at all. 

Its the amount of unneeded wood, it's so big and ugly, and somewhat unnecessary.

And lack of Gibson branding, would a beginner or a new guy looking for their first decent guitar know Epi is Gibson? Where as a squire is obviously fender.

Rox

underdog said:

Rox;631525" said:

But I don't mind this at all. 

Its the amount of unneeded wood, it's so big and ugly, and somewhat unnecessary.

I don't get you.  In comparison to a Gibby, they're about the same size..?  It just has the end of the wings clipped.