Epiphone Les Paul vs Gibson Les Paul studio

shaunm

So, which do people prefer. I know Epi's have the wrong name and headstock but instrument vs instrument there seems to be little in it to me. 

Second hand the Gibson Studios are coming up under comfortably under £500 at times. Of course that's still a few hundred more than a second hand Epi. 

I know the correct answer is play them both and pick the one you like but that aside.

So what are your thoughts, which would you go for?

p90fool

Pickups and hardware can be changed, but one of them is mahogany and the other is "mahogany". 

shaunm

Which is which?

markv

I did a back-to-back comparison of new examples of each a few years ago when I was in the market for such a thing - top of the range Epiphone LP vs Gibson LP Studio. At the the time they were a few hundred apart. The Epiphone had all the bling, while the Studio looked somewhat plain and, if I'm honest, a little odd without the binding. However, the Gibson sounded like a much better guitar to me.

p90fool

shaunm said:

Which is which?

To be fair, some Epiphones seem to be made from decent wood, but some are made from some horrible kind of chewy stuff which is both dense and soggy feeling, and no amount of pickup swapping can bring them to life. 

You need to assess individual guitars on their own merits, but if I was buying online I'd expect the Gibson to be far more likely to have the potential to be a professional sounding guitar. 

My personal experience is that every time I've compared a beautiful, glossy flame topped Epiphone with a dowdy-looking budget Gibson, the Gibson has effortlessly sounded like the real thing and the Epiphone has just been a little generic sounding.  

markslade07

I've had my Epi Les Paul for (I think) over 15 years. I bought a Gibson 60s Tribute thingy...not my cup of tea and felt a bit toy like. Flogged it, but will never sell my Epi. My two'penneth worth. 

Im sure there are some good and some bad of each though

ennspek

There is some overlap. Play them basicqlly, that age old answer.
Generally speaking personally I'd go for the Gibson.

thermionic

The Epiphones that have a proper maple cap stand a better chance of sounding like a good Les Paul imho. I think the ones that only have a veneer can sound dull or muffled in comparison. You can pick up one of these (like the 1960 Tribute Plus) for around £300 including a hard case.

They're multi-piece bodies with a veneer front and back, and like @p90fool I don't believe they're mahogany in the strictest sense of the word, but I guess the biggest difference is that the thick poly finish can feel dead and plasticky. Although I notice the Gibson Studios are also multi-piece backs.

Dave_Mc

Are the cheaper gibsons proper mahogany in the proper sense of the word? Don't get me wrong, I strongly suspect they're better wood than the epis, but I'm not sure they're the south/central american variety of mahogany either, or are they?

siraxeman

thermionic said:

The Epiphones that have a proper maple cap stand a better chance of sounding like a good Les Paul imho. I think the ones that only have a veneer can sound dull or muffled in comparison. You can pick up one of these (like the 1960 Tribute Plus) for around £300 including a hard case.

They're multi-piece bodies with a veneer front and back, and like @p90fool I don't believe they're mahogany in the strictest sense of the word, but I guess the biggest difference is that the thick poly finish can feel dead and plasticky. Although I notice the Gibson Studios are also multi-piece backs.

Standard and Trads are usually 2 piece bodies to...have been for years!! But still better quality all round.

siraxeman

...that said I've heard a few Epi LPs gigged and through a dirty Marshall no bugger would ever be able to say its a cheapo guitar blindfolded...and I own a Gibson and had a few. The only Epi I've owned was an Elite a few years ago - that was a very close race with my 2004 Standard I had at the same time.

p90fool

Not everyone plays through dirty Marshalls though, some of us are looking for more than a plank of balsa with an EMG nailed to it. 

RandallFlagg

If it's something you care about it will be a  poly finish on the Epiphones.

will you constantly be looking at the headstock and wishing you had a Gibson? I know I would.

I had a Les Paul Studio a few years ago and put some Lollar Imperials in it and it sounded much better to me, more vintage and was a fine sounding and playing guitar.

WezV

I have a 96 epi which has been heavily modded over the years and that got close to a proper Les Paul.  Never felt like one though, although it's probably going to get a refinish in the next year or so which will sort that

Voxman

If you want a guitar that sounds and feels like the 'real thing' then go for the LP Studio. If you're more interested in looks/bling then you might like the Epi - these still sound good and play well, but there is a difference - partly woods, but the LP Studio p/ups and hardware is simply better and it will just sound fuller, richer, more dynamic and overall feel like a better quality guitar.  Resale wise, you'll generally be better off with the LP Studio too.  And, as illogical as it may seem, the fact the LP Studio has the proper shaped headstock and Gibson logo can surprisingly psychologically add to a buyers playing pleasure, ego, and how they feel about their purchase - call it street cred, snob value or whatever, but it's very often true.  

stonevibe

It's got to be judged on an individual guitar basis. As both have good and bad instruments in their ranges, but personally I have found that Epiphone can often be finished to a higher standard than the regular USA built Gibson guitars. It's hand finishing versus on the US built guitars though, so allow for errors.

Doesn't mean that they will sound any better though.

jellybelly

My ex had an epi standard I played acoustically all the time. Doesn't hold a candle to my 2012 studio faded and the electronics and pickups were rubbish. You can probably get a real Gibson for £400 used - some aren't great but the good ones are genuinely good guitars for the money, regardless of what's on the headstock. 

Rocker

Around 1998/99 I went looking for a 'good' guitar.  Namely a Gibson Les Paul.  I spent Saturday after Saturday trying Gibsons in Dublin, I must have tried out most that were in the city at that time, but only one, a Classic, got close to my idea of how a guitar should sound/feel.  I felt a bit underwhelmed by Gibson, a feeling that included the Classic.

Considered flying  to Manchester or London to see what was there.

Once, for amusement, I picked up an Epi LP that was on the 'guitars you can try' rack.  It had a few minor scratch marks but it felt pretty good.  Plugged in it was not too bad, the more I played it the more convinced I felt that I should buy it.  The shop assistant wanted to get a new boxed Epi for me as the guitar I had in my hand was 'demo stock'.  He was surprised when I said that I wanted to buy the demo guitar, in the end I got €50 off the marked price.

Since then I have fitted S. D. pickups, new decent  quality machines, got the guitar professionally setup and this year I fitted a Switchcraft selector switch.  And I removed the scratchplate.

The guitar is still an Epi.  I would have bought a Gibson if any Gibson I tried out felt as good as the Epi in my hand.  Gibsons failed in that regard.  The day it was setup, the tech plugged it into a Marshall head and a 4 * 12 cab.  I was at the far end of the shop and one of a group of young lads said "Fucking hell, that is some sound.  And it is an Epi"  I still have it and it is not going anywhere!

Adding up the cost of the Epi, the pickups and other upgrades brings me into the lower reaches of Gibson.  A Gibson would be worth more if I sold it on but I bought the Epi to play it.  It took a lot of time and effort to get a Les Paul guitar that I actually liked.  Just goes to show that you should always try before you buy.  If you must have the Gibson name on the headstock, be prepared to try out lots before purchasing.

pintspiller

I took a guitar student I had 20 years ago to help her buy a guitar. She wanted a LP with a budget of £250, so we tried Epiphones. She ended up picking these lovely looking one £100 over budget that mummy paid for straight away, whereas I chose a regular sunburnt one (all-be-it with MDF body or whatever), that was the best sounding and playing within budget.

If it sounds good and feels good - buy it! If the Epi is good, then it's good. Same with the Gibson. Depends on your budget. Try out used items too. Used guitars hold value - unless you were stung initially.

Don't forget that a lot of people like the old plastic guitars. Just because it is not real-woods does not automatically mean it is bad either.   

usedtobe

I've had all sorts. A good guitar is a good guitar, whatever the brand. My mate had a nice epiphone a lp classic, I think. Some of the ones I had, lower down the range, maybe, were pretty bad, and put me off the brand, to a degree. I've been through a lot of guitars, and I've had loads at any given time. I've slimmed down to a few guitars that I'm really happy with, that I intend to grow old with. I've ended up with 3 gibsons, and a couple of parts casters. Each to their own, I guess. One slight regret is the sg I let go. I'd maybe have that back. But I'm happy with what I've got!

p90fool

pintspiller said:

Don't forget that a lot of people like the old plastic guitars. Just because it is not real-woods does not automatically mean it is bad either.   

Absolutely, I love all sorts of cheap, quirky guitars but the point remains that if you want something which sounds like a proper Les Paul then it needs to be made out of the right stuff. 

I'm not a guitar snob, but if you're after a specific classic sound then you can't ignore the construction elements which go to make up that sound. 

FWIW, my favourite Epiphone is the old Les Paul Special II, bolt on neck, cheap ceramic humbuckers and God knows what kind of wood. 
It sounds nothing like any Gibson ever made, but it's an absolute rock 'n' roll machine.