epiphone les paul??? good/bad??

[sdavis80]

Just wondering if anyone here has one that could recommend or discourage me in any way from getting one? I have played a gibson custom and a gibson studio and they were both great and since there are no shops here for me to go play one then I figured this would be the next best thing. Sad to say I have never played an epiphone.

[JACKSONFREAK]

Re: epiphone les paul??? good/bad??

I've got one and I love it. It's a great guitar for the money. They just need a little bit of tweaking and some noew electronics and they are all good.
Gil

[hippietim]

Re: epiphone les paul??? good/bad??

I'm not much of an Epiphone fan. They are decent guitars for the money. But by the time you get the electronics swapped (and usually a couple other parts as well) you are into the used Gibson range and that seems like a better route to me.

In the "for the money" category, there are many other better offerings out there from the myriad of other Korean brands (Agile, Jay Turser, etc.) - they all have similar issues - poor electronics, cheap tale pieces, or something else. But they're typically as good as Epiphones for much less money.

Here's a good deal on an ESP style Les Paul copy:

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[Black Mariah]

Re: epiphone les paul??? good/bad??

Epiphone makes some good stuff. It's nowhere near as bad as people claim it to be. I have a feeling that most that slag Epi's are hardcore Gibson freaks that are just sad the Epi factory can dress frets properly and the Gibson crew couldn't do it to save their lives. [img]graemlins/poke.gif[/img]

But I digress. Gibson has pulled their head out of their ass on a lot of things. Despite the lack of features, I'd go for one of their faded LP Studios over an Epiphone. The finish is nice, the fretwork is good (yeah, I just said they couldn't do fretwork. So what?), the pickups are killer... hell, it's a Gibson Les Paul. For $650 or so. And it doesn't suck.

[skarhead]

Re: epiphone les paul??? good/bad??

i have played an sg faded , not really my thing :S

if you can get an Czech epiphone they are supposed to be very good,

replacing pickups , maybe tuning keys is a way to go.

[sdavis80]

Re: epiphone les paul??? good/bad??

Kind of what I would expect for the money. I appreciate the responses. The hardware is an issue but what about the neck???? Is it as comfortable as a Gibson or not even in the ballpark? Upgrades that cost 50 to 100 bucks every now and again is a feasible thing for me but having the money all at once for a Gibson is just not happening for me.

[JACKSONFREAK]

Re: epiphone les paul??? good/bad??

A Czhech Epiphone? Since whne are Epi's made in the Czhech republic? They're made in Korea and Japan. The Japanese Elites are awsome but are getting close to USA Gibson prices. But then they are pretty much the same thing made with Gibson parts and electronics just assembled over seas.
The new Epi Stds are sweet and dont sound too bad put of the box. Eventually a pup swap may be needed as I said b4 but play one and see what you think.
Gil

[charvelguy]

Re: epiphone les paul??? good/bad??

Usually EPI pickups just need a wax pot job and their fine.
I have two Epi's, a Les Paul and a AlleyKat. They both have decent pickups. The Alleykat has a 57 humbucker and a deluxe Mini New Yorker.

I myself, prefer mij imports over Epi's. If you want a true Les Paul, but a step up from an Epiphone, buy an mid 80's early 90's Orville. I just am not big on Epiphone headstocks, but the necks feel and play well, and usually the body finish is nice as most other Korean makes like ESP.

[Jeremy]

Re: epiphone les paul??? good/bad??

I have an epi les paul. The only things you need to do are chuck away the pickups and machine heads. Then buy some proper pickups and a set of schaller machine heads and your sorted.

The epiphone ones kept pulling out of tune every every time i did a string bend.