Epiphone Les Paul vs Gibson Les Paul studio

DrJazzTap

God knows why they just don't change the head stock . Seriously if tokai and Greco can use something more aesthetically pleasing, why can't the parent company? 
Although you could argue with the lower range of Gibson's being only a £150 off what's the point?

dern

If the Epi plays the way you want then get that and upgrade the bits you want to. I bought a studio and ended up having to upgrade the nut, the tuners and the pickups anyway.

Dominic

Gibson v Epi ?
The answer is to get a low end Japanese built Tokai of course
I would take £600 of secondhand Tokai over any Gibson Les Paul other than the heavyweight Historics

Mototech

I have a 2004 Epiphone Les Paul Studio, made in the Unsung factory in Korea, which I am informed by those in the know was the best factory. I was really lucky & got it, a  hard case & a little amp  for £80, fitted an Allparts wiring kit & a set of Irongear Blues Engine pickups & it sounds & plays great, all for less than £200.

professorben

Played lots of both, I'd say S/H Gibson over new Epi.
if you are spending the same money, the right name on the right headstock goes a long way.
of course a dog of a Gibson is not better than a gem of an Epi.

grungebob

siraxeman said:

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.

My 2016 Trad was a one piece body so there's some variations it seems. 

absolutpepper

I'd look second hand and in budget i'd go Orville first, then MIJ Tokai, then Gibson studio, then Edwards, then Epi.  A nice S/H Orville can be had in budget and you'd get something closer to a Gibson LP Standard/Custom than you would with the others.

sunshinewelly

the eiphone tribute plus range are amazing - just checked the price and wow they are now £599.

i bought one a couple of years ago for around £380 brand new.

USA hardware and a deep tenon neck

http://www.epiphone.com/Products/Les-Paul/Les-Paul-Tribute-Plus-Outfit.aspx

sunshinewelly

however the label does count for a lot as i sold both the tribute and a MIJ tokai and ended up with a gibson 

olafgarten

sunshinewelly said:

the eiphone tribute plus range are amazing - just checked the price and wow they are now £599.

i bought one a couple of years ago for around £380 brand new.

USA hardware and a deep tenon neck

http://www.epiphone.com/Products/Les-Paul/Les-Paul-Tribute-Plus-Outfit.aspx

They were £400 when I bought mine,  the day after it was £500. I can sell mine for a profit now. 

LooseMoose

For me, it's about the finish - the Epi's are mostly that HORRID plasticy poly finish that just feels cheap and nasty...even the cheapest Gibsons still FEEL 'right' to me.

thermionic

sunshinewelly said:

the eiphone tribute plus range are amazing - just checked the price and wow they are now £599.

i bought one a couple of years ago for around £380 brand new.

USA hardware and a deep tenon neck

http://www.epiphone.com/Products/Les-Paul/Les-Paul-Tribute-Plus-Outfit.aspx

The hardware is all far eastern, but they do have Gibson USA pickups and I think a USA toggle switch.

They've been £549 in most places until recently. You can find them at bargainous prices used - I got mine on ebay for £304. Hardly any bids because the starting bid was £280 and most people won't pay more than about £250 for a used Epi LP, not knowing there's almost £180-worth of pickups in these! Not to mention the hard case and slightly better construction (proper maple cap under the veneer).

Philly_Q

I have some Japanese Epiphones with the proper Gibson headstock shape and a "lacquer" finish (or at least top coat) which I like very much, but apart from those it would be Gibson every time for me.

I can't claim to have played loads of different Korean Epiphones, but those I have tried... I never like the neck shapes and I hate the thick poly finishes.  They're very well made but they just don't feel right.

midlifecrisis

I have a Gibson Les Paul studio raw power, which is a range they made a few years ago it has a maple neck Mable cap and body and so doesn't sound like a normal LP, it's brighter sounding and I love it, but if someone wanted a Les Paul sound then an episode may be closer

peteri

I think there are really two factors here:

Firstly - the name, it's a stupid idea - but as others have said, the name on the headstock matters to many people. Firstly resale on the Gibson will be higher, it just will. Also - when you sit there looking at the name, does it matter to you? Some will some won't.

Secondly the sound - I'm sure there are some really good Epi's out there, I've had two Les Paul Studios - a 90's non-chambered one and one of the modern faded ones. I now own and adore an early 70's Les Paul Custom. I've never owned an Epi, but I've played a few.

In my experience, all the Gibsons sounded like Les Pauls - my Custom is night and day the better the guitar, the modern faded studio was a good instrument - great for the money in fact and had many of the same attributes but just lacked overall resonance, excitement of playing, responsiveness etc. The 90's Studio, was the weaker of the three, it was a bit of a hammer guitar - did legs apart rock god amazingly well, but no subtlety at all.

When I was buying the Studio I tried a fair number of Epis and none of them came close - they looked great, but as others have said sounded generic. I'm sure better pickups would help, maybe even changing the bridge - but just not in the same ballpark for me.

I'm sure there are ones out there which buck this trend - but you're then counting on finding the 'golden guitar' whereas with a Gibson Studio - your chances of finding a reasonable one are better, and they're so easy to sell on for basically the same money if you change your mind.

Just my 2p worth - enjoy!

MattBanshee

I back-to-backed an Epiphone SG400 and a Gibson SG Special once, and the Epi blew the cheap Gibson out the water... Probably because there isn't the maple cap/veneer and density of wood that would cause such difference in a Les Paul.

p90fool

MattBanshee said:

I back-to-backed an Epiphone SG400 and a Gibson SG Special once, and the Epi blew the cheap Gibson out the water... Probably because there isn't the maple cap/veneer and density of wood that would cause such difference in a Les Paul.

I found the opposite, my SG400 was horrible-sounding, dead enough to start with, but using the controls made it ten times worse. I changed the pickups and the electrics but it still wouldn't come to life so I decided to strip the finish.

It was basically an almost damp-feeling kind of balsa wood with a bulletproof exoskeleton of lacquer and that's when the penny dropped - I was trying to get classic electric guitar tones out of something constructed on exactly the same principles as a Smartie.

That Gibson SG Special must have been broken.

57Deluxe

my student's Epi LP is a million miles away from my ebony-necked Gibson LP studio... sound, playability and quality of hardware