Tried a few more Les Pauls today

[åron]

Well, I've been looking for many years and I haven't found a Epi or Studio Paul that beats my first Standard. I'd play it a lot more if it wasn't as heavy as it is. I've found plenty of good Gibsons and plenty of bad, too. Maybe it's time to indulge the GAS for one of the Burny LP's. I've heard good things about the quality.

[Gartron]

I'm surprised at the amount of shit that LP's get hurled at them recently, I bought my first in 93 , played everyone in the shop (studios, standards and customs..and also *shudder* a couple of Lp lights) in all sorts of finishes and ended up with a 91 ebony standard that I absolutley love, wasn't the fanciest by a long shot (plenty of sunbursts and customs) but it had the mojo.

Recently I have played a 59 reissue, horrifically expensive (I think it was about £3000) but was an amazing player, yet it seems everytime an LP thread pops up shitty QC and crap set ups seem to dominate the thread.

Either I have very low standards or Gibson is sending it's best guitars abroad!!!.

[Robert Burns]

Here's what I tried out...

Gibson Les Paul Custom (black)
Gibson Les Paul Standard, Premium Plus (cherry burst)
Gibson Les Paul Standard (iced tea or honey burst...couldn't tell which)
Epi Les Paul Custom (cherry burst)
Epi Les Paul Ultra (cherry burst)
Epi Les Paul Standard (black)

I liked every one of the Epis better than the Gibbys. They had significantly better and more consistent build quality, and just sounded better. I was shocked. Epi is pretty much building a better product. The only exception was the LP custom, which I would say was - at best - on par with the better Epis.

Anyone else feel this way?

**** Gee, this sounds like my post from 3 months ago! I too..am very
impressed with Epi..over 90% of the Gibsons ive tried.

[Neoclasiccl]

I have played tons of LP's and honestly I can't stand em. Whats with them going out of tune constantly. I have tried nut sauce and other nut prep stuff and they still go out. My cousin just bought a standard and he doesn't play it out with his band because it goes out of tune all the time. Is there something I am missing. Do you need to swap out the factory tuners??

[Gartron]

. Is there something I am missing. Do you need to swap out the factory tuners??

I put a set of sperzels on mine and it's rock solid, to be fair I didn't have much of an issue with tuning, I mainly did it as I swapped all the hardware to black, however I was blown away with how good they are and I put them on all my guitars that don't have a locking nut (not to mention string changing is a breeze!!)

[satch0922]

I love my Les Pauls and to be honest, I have never played a real Les Paul that I did not like. Maybe because the ones I have owned or played were set up correctly. This does make a huge difference on ANY brand.

If you judge any guitar by pulling it off the wall at The Guitar Center, your wasting you time.

[shreddermon]

I would guess, simply from knowing several of the guitars that you have, that you had all of the controls wide open and went for a hard rock/metal tone right out of the gate. Les Pauls will certainly do this, but to truly appreciate one there is so much more to it...

...Bengal also got at a huge issue that I had as a Gibson dealer...shitty set-ups.

So your assumption about my guitar evaluating skills is based on stereo-typing me as a meat-headed, metal head because I own several Charvel and Jackson guitars? I do nothing but go straight for the wide-open gain setting, and wouldn't know a subtle classic-rock or clean tone if it struck me in my caveman-like protuding forehead with a frozen mullet? ...You say that like it's a bad thing! :ROTF:

And you'd be very wrong in your guesses about me, too.

Also, none of the guitars I tried had a shitty set-up. They were all pretty good, in fact. Reasonable action, very good intonation, etc.

[Shawn Lutz]

first thing I check for, and it doesnt matter what type of guitar it is , is playability, feel and tone (how the notes ring out, sustain) of the instrument unplugged. 98% of of the time I can tell a dud w/o having to plug it in to an amp....ymmv

[shreddermon]

That's exactly what I do, too, Shawn.

The vast majority of guitars that sound or play crappy unplugged, are even worse when amplified. Sure, there are exceptions. But not very often.

[JetFixxxer]

first thing I check for, and it doesnt matter what type of guitar it is , is playability, feel and tone (how the notes ring out, sustain) of the instrument unplugged. 98% of of the time I can tell a dud w/o having to plug it in to an amp....ymmv

+1

In my opinion I feel that a lot of people who say Epiphone, Squires, and all over inexpensive guitars aren't as good as the more expensive guitars. Just are trying to justify spending 5000.00 vs. 500.00, and the 500.00 sounds and plays better (not true all the time)...and that a lot of people think that expensive means better... again just my opinion. I know that the Expensive guitar's have better quality control, hardware, and highly quality of wood.

Look at my signature.. I'm on the side of inexpensive...

Same with pickups. I would wager that if unbranded these pickups and put them against inexpensive pups that a lot of people couldn't tell the different (I know there are different tones etc.). The power of suggestion plays a roll in making something good and something else no good.

Relatively speaking

[Budman68]

yes! the ones with the dots and binding! now those were kickass guitars. imo, les pauls need binding! my stepdad had one of the first editions. i used to sneak it into my room and play it. ahhhhh, good times.

sully

sully, I'd love to see a pic of that one as I only remember the early studios having dots and no binding. I'm with you though, Les Pauls should have binding but I really do love my 90 alpine white with ebony board!

[Rupe]

So your assumption about my guitar evaluating skills is based on stereo-typing me as a meat-headed, metal head because I own several Charvel and Jackson guitars? I do nothing but go straight for the wide-open gain setting, and wouldn't know a subtle classic-rock or clean tone if it struck me in my caveman-like protuding forehead with a frozen mullet? ...You say that like it's a bad thing! :ROTF:

And you'd be very wrong in your guesses about me, too.

Also, none of the guitars I tried had a shitty set-up. They were all pretty good, in fact. Reasonable action, very good intonation, etc.

That was good

Can you get a bit more specific then as to the differences that you saw between the brands? I honestly don't understand how a seasoned player could prefer Epiphone carte blanche over Gibson when comparing many of them.

[siggy14]

my assumption is he is playing them unplugged first and noticing that the LP's dont sound as bright as the EPI's, that is because a true LP will be warm and thick and unplugged it will not be bright.

i am also guessing that he does probaly like the over all feel of the EPI's better and possibly the higher output pickups that usually come on the EPI's. If i remember right alot of the newer EPI's are coming with a maple neck.

Honestly I have had more Gibsons then you can imagine, right now I have.
1968 Tri Burst custom
2006 Studio in white
1988 Les Paul Custom lite with Floyd
2000 Les Paul Gothic (just picked it up)

All are great sounding guitars and I wouldnt know what to live without. The gothic I might not be keeping, not because I dont want it, but because I originaly got it for a friend because I got it real cheap and he needed a nice priced guitar. But if he doesnt want it, then I am keeping it.

[shreddermon]

I wouldn't say it was carte blanche. But, of the guitars I tried, the Epis were the clear winner.

- Finish quality. The Gibson finishes were cheesy. Orange peel, clearcoat ghosting by the nut & binding. Heck, one of them had "patched" binding that was obviously a cheesy attempt to disguise a factory flaw. The Epis had none of the above. And quite frankly, their flame-tops had a much more lively 3D life to them - both figuring and colors.

- Tuning stability. Except for the LP Custom, all of the Gibbys just SUCKED at tuning stability. They'd go out of tune with just one or two string bends. Lots of "pinging" when using the tuners. Obvious string bindage at the nut/headstock. All of the Epis had better-quality Grover tuners, and had very solid tuning stability. No pinging, just solid.

- Playability & Tone. The Gibbys were just lifeless. Their attack & sustain felt muffled, like there was a piece of cloth under the bridge muting the strings or something. This was absolutely my biggest turn-off with the Gibsons. There's just no excuse for that in a quality TOM guitar. The LP Standard was flat-out pathetic. The pickups in the Epis seemed less clear voiced than the Gibbys, but they were still very good.

- Materials. The LP Custom was the obvious exception here. Ebony & real MOP. The body & neck had superior tone - I'd guess better quality mahogany here. All of the others had rosewood & MOTS inlays. The rosewood in the Epis was lighter, but had a tighter grain and felt better. The MOTS in all was cheesy, but at least it seemed a little more "life-like" on the Epis. It certainly seemed to be a better grade of plastoid than Gibsons. The mahogany body on the EPi Ultra was gorgeous - and a 2 piece.

...I could go on, but you get the gist...

[Tashtego]

I have no opinion on Epiphones, I've only noodled on one in a store for minute unplugged. I will say my 2005 custom is every bit as nice as my SLATQH in build quality, fret work, finish, etc. I only play two guitars, and I switch off just about every day between these two. I did have to try out about 7 or 8 before I found the LPC I bought. The others weren't turds, just not right for me for one reason or another (well, there was one turd at a GC ) I did have to go through a sticky neck phase that passed within 6 months. I did have to do a little nut work and I still put graphite on the grooves every so often, I should really break out the files and open up the G channel a little. I don't fault gibby for this since I think they come with 9's and I changed up to 10's. The tone and feel of the LPC is very special. If you get that with Epiphones too then they are truly a great deal.