Epiphone guitars, who uses them?

badlydrawnbanjo

Weller currently rocking his casino on the BBC red button.

TheOtherDennis

I have an Epi 335 Dot in cherry red that I bought in 2002 second hand for £250. It has always been a fabulous player, especially since I had it set up by Rob Williams. I (well, Paul Arrowsmith, actually) changed the pick ups for Gibson 57 reissues, but while the neck sounds ace, the bridge not so much.

However, I have to say that the headstock is an absolute whopper. Truly hyaowge. Makes no difference whatsoever to the tunability or playability or sound or anything at all. But it is fugly.

As for the quality overall, it's perfectly good and for 250 quid pretty excellent. However, I have been able to make a direct comparison to two other Gibson 335s, and there was a massive difference. The pickguard on my Epi is a flimsy, thin affair that doesn't feel solidly attached, whereas the Gibson pickguard was much more solid and didn't flex at all. The woods were better (the central block in the Epi appears to be a bit of pine you'd find on the shelf at B&Q, whereas the Gibson one had a much higher quality looking piece of wood), and so on.

Now, was the Gibson one worth an extra £1700? That is a very different matter and depends entirely on how much you value that extra £1700, but there's no doubting whatsoever that both Gibbos were of much higher quality than my Epi.

Still happy with my Epi, mind.

Heartfeltdawn

underdog said:

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.

If they started doing Epi LPs with the open book headstock, then it'd give consumers one less reason to buy a more expensive Gibson. It's all about protecting potential sales of a higher cost product. Use the Epi as the appetiser for the main course Gibson.  

underdog

Heartfeltdawn;633287" said:

underdog said: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.










If they started doing Epi LPs with the open book headstock, then it'd give consumers one less reason to buy a more expensive Gibson. It's all about protecting potential sales of a higher cost product. Use the Epi as the appetiser for the main course Gibson.  

I don't buy that, fender and squire have no issue.

Lewligan

I have an Epi Goldtop Les Paul.

Made in the late 90s in one of the Korean plants.

Quite weighty, but not a back breaker.

Crackin' little player to be fair.

I whipped the original pickups out because they sounded dogshit.

Stuck some relatively cheap Dragonfire White Pearl H90s in it that I ordered from the States, and it sounds quality now.

Very clear sounding pickups but with plenty of punch.. surprisingly good considering they're cheap.

Can't fault the build quality, and it has a really nice rosewood board.

Very smooth and dark, no nasty grain..

I'd certainly play it live without hesitation. Looks and sounds the part.

hotpot

I have a mid 90's Sheraton II, absolutely fabulous instrument.

Rocker

I have an Epi LP. Decent guitar. Never hugged it and it is not for sale. Most of my guitars are keepers. It make little or no difference if name players use Epis or not. Owning a type of guitar does not make me a member of a club. The only problem is getting time to play it.

Rox

Rocker said:

Never hugged it

You monster.  Just show it a little love, dammit!!

tbm

I've a 2012 Korean Casino. It's a great guitar. It has always played really well, but a few of the components on it (tuning pegs, pickups) were sh*te, so I changed them. I've gigged it loads. But here's the thing, I like the idea that its not a copy of, or a cheaper version of, a Gibson guitar, and I suppose that means something to me. (yeah i know the 330 but if anything thats the less well known cousin).

The headstock that seems to offend some folk looks absolutely right on a Casino, but it does look a bit odd on a Dot, and the snob in me wouldn't be that keen on getting a Epi Les Paul with the normal epi headstock.

Basher

I have a 97 Peerless Casino and, contrary to received wisdom, in it's stock state it was a complete f***ing dog.

I've had to swap all the hardware and electrics on it at least once and it still sounds a bit dull. This wouldn't be such a problem with a Les Paul where you can choose from loads of after-market pickups at all price points and install them relatively easily. The Casino features P90s with non standard polepiece spacing (narrower at the neck) and different heights (lower neck pickup, taller bridge pickup) and so replacements are few and far between. 

I've played a few modern Chinese ones that, stock, were better sounding, and more playable guitars.

Agree with @tbm that there's something cool about the Casino being an original design, rather than a copy. They look great and, providing you get a decent one, are amazingly pleasant to play.

Rox

On reflection, I don't think I've ever had a bad Epi.

I had an Epi SG, a Honeyburst LP, a Jeff Beck Oxblood LP, and I currently have Epi SG Pelham and an MIJ Epi Custom LP.

They were (are) all absolutely solid performers.  The cream of the crop being the Oxblood and the Custom.

Conversely, I had a modern Tokai LP, and it was... really, really awkward.  No other way to describe it.  All of the Epis have been better than that Tokai.  In fact, I also played a Tokai Firebird - and that was truly the worst modern guitar I've ever played.  Ugh.

stimpsonslostson

I had a Gold Sparkle Limited edition Epiphone LP for a while, it was nice, but a bit "too much" for me. It did look AMAZING when a spotlight hit it.

http://www.gitarrenfundgrube.de/gitarren/epiphone-lespaul-gold-q.jpg

Robb Flynn of MachineHead regularly plays an Epiphone Flying V, I think its a baritone.

ESBlonde

I have an electro acoustic Epiphone PR350-S (proper shaped headstock) from the 1990's that is a really nice acoustic and half decent plugged in sound. Fret ends needed fettling and the action was a little high for my taste but the instrument has served me well for over 20 years as my occasional acoustic guitar.

Bought my oldest lad an Epi 56 Goldtop and again once set up was very playable and sounded very nice, lots of body to the tone and nice sustain. I would have had no problem gigging it had I the need.

You need to look at them carefully and they usually benefit from a proper setup but represent good value for money.

Dave_Vader

My friend Rich gave me his old 99 korean SG about 4 years ago.

 I had never played an SG I liked, but I love this one.

So much so that I had to strip it back to wood, Danish oil it and stick a set of Di marzios from an old 80s hondo in.

Now I really can't stop playing it, it is proper luvverly (and it says Gibson on the TRC)

johnswiss

I used to have an epiphone 'custom shop' es135. The build of that guitar was pretty good and it played nicely, just let down by the pups and the unreliable electrics really. Good value though imo.

Rox

Dave_Vader said:

My friend Rich gave me his old 99 korean SG about 4 years ago.

 I had never played an SG I liked, but I love this one.

So much so that I had to strip it back to wood, Danish oil it and stick a set of Di marzios from an old 80s hondo in.

Now I really can't stop playing it, it is proper luvverly (and it says Gibson on the TRC)

It's got 1970's retro vibe written all over it... 

samzadgan

Ive had/have epiphones and never found them to be anything but good guitars.

LP ZW, which was really nice; sold it because i was over EMG's and that paint job

LPC cherry burst: korean one from early 2000's played like a dream and sounded great too.

Flying V - jeff waters; played really well and after some electronics adjustments sounded great too. It had a plastic fretboard which was actually really nice

The only one i have now is a LPC silverburst which ive converted into a gibson silverburst from the last 70's...it needed new pickups and a fret job...but my god its a great guitar.

I think if you find a good one, they are as good as any guitar cheap or expensive.

Pyroman

  I own two:

A Les Paul Traditional Plus Top Pro; and

A Wildkat.

  Both are very nice, well built guitars.  Both also sound really great, and give me something different from my main guitars.  Of the two, I like the Wildkat the best- P90's are kinda my thing, and this guitar is just fun to play!  It did have an annoying tendency for the E and A strings to go out of tune when using the Bigsby, but a bit of graphite in the nut slots helped that.  (common problem with this model, and this was a recommended fix, before I went for a new nut)

  The LP, not so much.  It's a great guitar and all, and it's friggin beautiful- but I simply cannot stand that silly Les Paul heel design.  Jeez- can you put any MORE wood in my way??  To be fair, I started on Strat type guitars, and my number one and two are a Jazzmaster and an SG with p90's.  Absolutely nothing like a Les.   But, I DO now have an LP, if I get the hankering.  Very hard to beat the quality of this instrument- at roughly 1/4 the price of an LP Traditional pro II. ( what I was looking at when I found this one!)

  So, I give two thumbs up for Epiphone.  Quality guitars at a price that won't cost you a kidney.  Like EVERY other brand, just avoid the low, low end guitars, if you don't want to deal with wtf??? type issues.  I try out EVERY guitar before I shell out, so perhaps I have better experiences than those who need to order them in, sight unseen.  If I don't like it, it doesn't feel right, or I find major issues, I forget it and move on.

dogload

Basher said:

I have a 97 Peerless Casino and, contrary to received wisdom, in it's stock state it was a complete f***ing dog.

I've had to swap all the hardware and electrics on it at least once and it still sounds a bit dull. This wouldn't be such a problem with a Les Paul where you can choose from loads of after-market pickups at all price points and install them relatively easily. The Casino features P90s with non standard polepiece spacing (narrower at the neck) and different heights (lower neck pickup, taller bridge pickup) and so replacements are few and far between. 

That's interesting (to me, at least) as my Peerless Songbird initially sounded like it was covered in a warm, damp towel. I popped in some regular. bog-standard Epi Casino pickups off Ebay and it immediately sounded superb. 

Dave_Vader

Rox said:

Dave_Vader said:

My friend Rich gave me his old 99 korean SG about 4 years ago.

 I had never played an SG I liked, but I love this one.

So much so that I had to strip it back to wood, Danish oil it and stick a set of Di marzios from an old 80s hondo in.

Now I really can't stop playing it, it is proper luvverly (and it says Gibson on the TRC)

It's got 1970's retro vibe written all over it... 

Thanks Rox, I always wanted to like SGs, cos of 70s Zappa and the baby snakes SG. Probably why I had to strip it and get it closer.