Epiphone guitars, who uses them?

Heartfeltdawn

thermionic said:

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.

As a Dot geek to a whole new level, the best Korean ones piss all over the Chinese ones. Korean Peerless had the best finish, slightly smaller neck than the Samick. In 1999 there was a period when the Dots had no identifiable factory (very small period in 1999). The neck shape is different from any other Dot, right between the fat '59 necks and the 60's slim taper. Perfect for me. I ripped out the electrics on mine, rewired it, stuck a Stormy Monday at the bridge, Grover locking tuners, and it's been that way ever since. 

I love the headstock shape. Never understood the grousing about the headstock shape when there's ugly filth like those James Tyler guitars in existence that really need to be shouted at.  

Mick

Got two Epi's at the moment.  Love them both, although very different in sound.

A Prophecy Les Paul Custom Plus GX Heritage Cherry Sunburst, and a Les Paul Standard Plustop Pro. Trans Blue.

shaunm

I had a Korean Sheraton from 1993 and I have a 2008 model and the 2007 was better in every way.

I may have got lucky with my Sheraton 2007 as i have not played many semis that I have liked more.

underdog

Rox;632015" said:

@underdog - I do think there's a big difference between Epi and Squier - Epiphone is treated as a separate company by and large; it existed before Gibson bought it.



Squier was created specifically as a subsidiary to create cheaper Fender guitars.



What I was saying on the last page was that Squier have gone through a brand renaissance in the last few years, prices and appreciation of their new offerings are going up.  That's irrespective of the headstock shape - it's always been that way.  Early to mid 2000's and Squiers were at their lowest ebb, in my view.



So why isn't the raise in quality at Epiphone getting the same sort reception?  In my view, that has nothing to do with the headstock. 



Still, we'll have to agree to disagree on that one...

See, you are making it sound like I'm saying people don't buy Epiphone because the headstock is ugly, and I'm not but it is ugly. I'm saying there is no obvious link to gibson on the guitar, so quite a large part of their target market (beginners) could think it's like any other knock off like vintage or a chibson, so why wouldn't they buy a vintage or a stagg.

From a marketing stand point it's baffling to not have Epihpone by Gibson on the headstock it really is.

Then there's the headstock shape, they are identifiable to their brand, as proven by a number of manufacturers being able to trade mark their shape. So again we (as guitarists) are so use to seeing an LP with the open book headstock that anything is just wrong, and in a market with the buyers can the most picky buyers in the world, that's a big deal. Which again is baffling considering they could use the right ones.

I get Epiphone existed before being owned by Gibson but really how many people are left that actually remember them as a stand alone brand? And now they pretty much produce 90% Gibson clones, I'm fine with a Sheraton having whatever headstock as it is an Epi model, so there for can't look wrong.

As mentioned at the start I like Epiphones, owned quite a few, the LP tribute is outstanding, the SG I have I love, but for both of them I like them enough to ignore the headstock.

Also another factor in less popularity of Epi recently could be Gibson doing a good job at the low end of the US line. I mean I loved my tribute but for an extra £80 I could get New LPJ with Gibson on the (correct) headstock. Same with the SGJ they could be had for less than £400.

underdog

shaunm;632016" said:

So looking at this I am thinking that the LP 1960 tribute is the LP to buy?

Yes, excellent guitars. Or used a Gibson studio, LPJ, future tribute. It would be around or not far off the same money as the Epi is new if you're patient.

Duppy03

I had a natural finish Epi 335 for years, swapped out the pickups along the way for some Kent Armstrongs, sounded great. Played it, gigged it, recorded with it for a few years more. Never disappointed, became quite attached to it. I liked it so much that I thought I'd save up and buy a 'real' Gibson one. I had to sell my Epi as part of getting the money together. I finally got the Gibson Custom shop 335 and although it was nice I think I sold it after 6 months. That had major tuning issues, maybe because it was settling in or something. I had that Epi 335 for years and loved it, still miss it now. But I never give the Gibson a second thought.

Duppy03

I've always fancied a Nick Valensi Riveria too. Played one in a shop once, it was an excellent guitar.

Dalefty

I have a soft spot for the Epiphone Wildkats with the Bigsby, it's one of the few righty's that I will still play, there is just something about them that I love, I don't know if it's the look, the sound, the feel, or a combination of all three, but it is one of maybe 6 righty's that I still play. on a regular basis.


DaLefty

usedtobe

I've had a few. The pick of them, for me, was the EJ200 - really nice - not so keen on the electrics, though.. Just my view, though..

Grunfeld

Korean Sheraton with Stormy Mondays.  One of my favourite guitars, gigged most weeks recently.

Rox

usedtobe said:

I've had a few. The pick of them, for me, was the EJ200 - really nice - not so keen on the electrics, though.. Just my view, though..

Always fancied one of those... never had the chance to get one as yet...

breakstuff

shaunm said:

So looking at this I am thinking that the LP 1960 tribute is the LP to buy?

If you can get hold of one,go for it.

MattG

HAL9000 said:

Not me. However Paul Weller, Noel Gallagher, Gary Clark Jnr, The Edge, John Lennon, George Harrison, Keef, Dave Grohl, and Dave Davies have all sported Epiphone guitars so you're in good company.

Plus My Chemical Romance and Fall Out Boy of course, and there is no way that they are using them because they don't want to pay out for the US alternatives

thermionic

breakstuff said:

shaunm said:

So looking at this I am thinking that the LP 1960 tribute is the LP to buy?

If you can get hold of one,go for it.

I got mine for a good price on ebay because the starting bid was higher than what Epi LP Standards usually go for... Hence very few bidders interested from the start. I don't think many people realised that new, it's a £550 guitar and not a £300 guitar. The Gibson Classic '57 pickups alone would set you back £180 if you wanted to upgrade to those.

rlw

I've said it before but

unsungheroguitars.com

have a few nice Epis for sale

underdog

Thinking about what I said about lower price Gibson's that must have an impact on Epi sales. For me the Epi LP tribute is a hell of a guitar, but the new price of puts you into cheap Gibson territory, and the cheap Gibson's the last few years have been great.

In fact I paid less for my Gibson LPJ used than you can get a used Epi tribute for at the moment. Had Gibson not named the LPJ in such a way that people think it's a junior flat top rather than a cheap les Paul it'd have been far more popular. Same with the SGJ.

Rox

The comparative prices are where the Epis are at the higher end of their range, and Gibson are at the lower end of theirs.

Certainly when it comes to attention to detail and finishing, the Epis at that price are head and shoulders above.  The 60's Studio Trib I had was nice, but sharp fret ends and this overall vibe of not-quite-finished properly made it feel a little cheaper than it should have done.

I suppose the overlap is all cleverly done - do you want the features, or the name?  Now some of the high end Epis are shipping with Gibson pickups.

I don't think there's ever been such a good choice of brilliant quality guitars for such little money available.  I'd say for the money, a second hand G&L is hard to beat - Far East prices with USA hardware, electrics and pickups.  Astonishing value.

XWulfhere

rlw said:

I've said it before but

unsungheroguitars.com

have a few nice Epis for sale

Damn you I wished I'd not seen that!

rlw

Wulfhere;632397" said:

rlw said:

I've said it before but

unsungheroguitars.com

have a few nice Epis for sale





Damn you I wished I'd not seen that!

Good aren't they. Clive does a great job.

usedtobe

Rox said:

usedtobe said:

I've had a few. The pick of them, for me, was the EJ200 - really nice - not so keen on the electrics, though.. Just my view, though..

Always fancied one of those... never had the chance to get one as yet...

I don't rule out ever having another..!