Honestly, what the difference between Gibson and Epiphone?

[hippietim]

Now let's make it even more combativ....um....interesting. Take a top of the line Epi, like the Zakk Wylde Les Paul, and compare it to a Les Paul Studio Series. Is the LP Studio worth $500-$600 more than the Wylde?

I suspect not. Again, I'm not trashing Gibson, but in playing them both on quite a few occasions I'm just not seeing what would justify such a price inequity.

Ha! Perfect! I owned both at exactly the same time a couple years ago.





At the time I bought these, I believe an Epi Zakk was about $749 and the Studio was $999.

The Zakk wasn't even close to being as good a guitar. Every bit of hardware and electronics was cheap as shit. The neck was uncomfortably sharp on the fingerboard edges. The guitar felt cheap. It sounded terrible. The Les Paul Studio was fantastic - great neck, nice thick tone, very solid feel, much better fit and finish.

No contest.

Next...

[Model1VH2]

Epiphone LP's have "multi-piece" bodys, cheaper wiring and electronics, cheaper hardware, and they're built overseas which significantly cuts the cost of labor.

IMO, a Gibson is a wiser investment, but with decent electronics and a decent setup, the Epiphones have the potential to be really nice players.

[hippietim]

The majority of Epi's I've played have blown the Gibby's of the same model out of the water.

I hear this sort of thing a lot so every so often I go give Epiphones another shot and they always suck donkey balls. So if you would, please name the models you've compared so I can try a good Epiphone (and don't say "Les Paul", be specific).

I've owned several Epiphones and at least a dozen Gibsons and the Epiphones were a joke by comparison. Not even close.

I've played a ton of Epiphones at various stores and they aren't even "good for the money" - other than the $299 ES-335 copy which they have at GC, a couple of those have actually been worth the asking price but they still don't hold a candle to a Gibson.

This reminds me of the guys on the Telecaster board talking about how their Chinese Squiers smoke a Fender USA Custom Shop.

Having said that, the other guitar player in our band has a very cool Epiphone LP double cut. It has a great neck, resonates well, and has a nice thick tone. Oh, it's made in the USA too. They did a bunch of USA Epiphones in the 80's - very cool stuff.

[PowerTube]

Now let's make it even more combativ....um....interesting. Take a top of the line Epi, like the Zakk Wylde Les Paul, and compare it to a Les Paul Studio Series. Is the LP Studio worth $500-$600 more than the Wylde?

I suspect not. Again, I'm not trashing Gibson, but in playing them both on quite a few occasions I'm just not seeing what would justify such a price inequity.

[Axewielder]

There's a whole bunch of bullshit being spread in this thread.

These brand comparison threads always end in "My [Brand X guitar] rulez and your [Brand Y guitar] droolz"!!!

[Mr.Shreddy]

The majority of Epi's I've played have blown the Gibby's of the same model out of the water.

Bullshit. My Gibson SG Standard will BLOW AWAY any Epiphone version. I've done so multiple times.

[Soap]

Doesn't R Kelly play an Epiphone?

I agree seegermany.

[SEEGERMANY]

There's a whole bunch of bullshit being spread in this thread.

[Robert Burns]

IMO...the Zakk Epi's...are at least 2/3rds the quality of a $2.5K midpriced
USA LP. SO then either the Epi's should cost $1400.00 or the USA LP
should cost $1400.00! :-))

[MetalHeadMat]

As soon as someone hands me a decent Epiphone guitar it becomes a worthy comparison.

The majority of Epi's I've played have blown the Gibby's of the same model out of the water.

[hippietim]

As soon as someone hands me a decent Epiphone guitar it becomes a worthy comparison.

[Flatpicker]

From what I understand, Epiphone also don't use solid mahogany either. And the core is usually alder (this may have changed but I know it's how it was on a lot of their les pauls for a lot of years) I have one of the "Guitar of the month" Epiphone Les Paul Custom "ltd" guitars and it kicks serious ass. I don't have my les paul custom anymore to compare it against but it's a great feeling and playing guitar.

That changed in 05 I believe. Now they are solid, but multi-piece.

[eakinj]

From what I understand, Epiphone also don't use solid mahogany either. And the core is usually alder (this may have changed but I know it's how it was on a lot of their les pauls for a lot of years) I have one of the "Guitar of the month" Epiphone Les Paul Custom "ltd" guitars and it kicks serious ass. I don't have my les paul custom anymore to compare it against but it's a great feeling and playing guitar.

[Larz]

The Epi bullseyes were so good that Zakk Wylde decided to keep them all.

[Flatpicker]

Don't get me wrong; I'm not trashing Gibson in any way. I'm also not asking if Gibsons are worth their price tags. I'm just asking if the difference is really warranted.

In all honestly? No, the differences aren't really warranted anymore. A CNC machine dosen't have a nationality and the rest is detail work.

I wonder if someone used asian labor and CNC machines then plekked the necks and fretwork, would we know the difference?

That being said, I'm a sucker for a good USA guitar and will pay more for the locale.
But, I have my fair share of imports that I was able to set up to my liking.