Honestly, what the difference between Gibson and Epiphone?

[eakinj]

Honestly does it matter? If you find a guitar by any maker, from any country and feels good in your hands that you can get the tone and emotion out of it - buy it. brand names mean nothing. I like my Epi, it's sweet as can be, but if I suddenly ran into a boat load of cash I'm buying nothing but custom shop jacksons and gibsons. the epi will be played but probably not much

[MetalHeadMat]

Ya it's all up to personal opinion.

[Mr.Shreddy]

Ya it's all up to personal opinion.

Exactly. I think the Gibson's are built better. -But it's all about what moves YOU and it shouldn't be the the brand.

[MetalHeadMat]

/thread

[WarPig]

Honestly does it matter? If you find a guitar by any maker, from any country and feels good in your hands that you can get the tone and emotion out of it - buy it. brand names mean nothing. I like my Epi, it's sweet as can be, but if I suddenly ran into a boat load of cash I'm buying nothing but custom shop jacksons and gibsons. the epi will be played but probably not much

Amen.

[surfreak]

Okay, so Epiphone Les Paul bodies are made from mahogany. Gibson Les Paul bodies are made from "Honduran" mahogany (oooohhhh!!!!!).

So other than maybe some hardware differences, are Gibsons worth the 400% or higher price difference? Something in me says that the answer is no.

I would also apply the same question toward Fender and Squier. The Fender Strats seems to have thicker necks and are a tad heavier than their Squier counterparts, so that's probably a body wood difference.

I can notice the difference in Jacksons, but not in the others.

Discuss!

If you can't notice the difference between a Gibson Les Paul and an Epi Les Paul, then you're definitely better off with an Epi.

[Accept2]

The difference is when you buy a Gibson, youre paying for the guitar, when you buy an Epiphone, youre paying into Gibson's profits. Guitar companies have import lines to stay profitable. I would rather pay $2,000 for a guitar that cost $2,000 to produce then to pay $600 for a guitar that cost $50 to produce. The whole "bang for buck" arguemnt is ass backwards with most people. If they were the same price, you'd always take the Gibson, so there must be a difference.............

[SEEGERMANY]

I posted this a long time ago here at these forums and you might be able to find it with the search function, but I was at the Dallas Guitar Show and as I was strolling down an aisle, I saw an Epiphone dealer in a far corner. He was yapping on his cell phone, so I just started looking through his inventory.

The first thing I noticed were his EXTREMELY low prices and the majority of his Les Pauls were the higher end models. Now, I don't know about you guys, but when I pick up a guitar, its usually by the neck where it connects with the headstock. Every single guitar had a crack behind the nut.

When fruitloop got off the phone, I inquired about the broken guitars and he stated that it was a design flaw, that the necks were too thin and made from sub-par material. Once the guitars were strung to pitch, one good boink on the neck and they became a musical hand grenade. He also said that these guitars were not designed for heavy gauge strings such as .010 and .011.

The second thing I noticed was the overall width of the neck from about the first fret to the fifth. It felt extremely narrow, almost like a toy guitar. Actually, it felt more like a banjo neck than a guitar.

One thing about it, they sure are pretty. I'll be the first to admit, I love pretty guitars. But I also love quality, playability, and tone. Yes, Gibson has screwed the pooch over the years when it comes to quality control, but so has every company! If you like Epiphones, that's great. I'm not gonna sit here and knock your choice. At the same time, don't try blowing smoke up my ass and telling me that they're as good as comparable models of Gibsons. I've owned a buttload of LPs and I've played a bunch of Epiphone LPs. The only thing they have in common is their shape and they fucked that up with the Epi's godawful headstock!

[eakinj]

Just so there's no confusion (Because I think I'm confused) wasn't Epiphone an American company that Gibson bought? I know a lot of old Epiphones are highly valued. I know this has little to do with the current product, I'm just curious.

[Grandturk]

Just so there's no confusion (Because I think I'm confused) wasn't Epiphone an American company that Gibson bought? I know a lot of old Epiphones are highly valued. I know this has little to do with the current product, I'm just curious.

Yes - a long long long time ago.

[PowerTube]

If you can't notice the difference between a Gibson Les Paul and an Epi Les Paul, then you're definitely better off with an Epi.

But you're missing my point. I'm not saying that the Gibsons aren't better at all. I'm asking if you guys believe that the price difference is warranted. In other words, is a Gibson Les Paul Custom worth $3800.00 while the Epiphone version of the same guitar is selling for $699.00?

Yes, I can tell the difference. I just don't think I can tell a difference of $2100.00.

[PowerTube]

Just so there's no confusion (Because I think I'm confused) wasn't Epiphone an American company that Gibson bought? I know a lot of old Epiphones are highly valued. I know this has little to do with the current product, I'm just curious.

Yes. In fact, back in the 30's or 40's, whenever it was, Gibson started the slogan, "Only a Gibson is Good Enough."

Epiphone started an ad campaign with the phrase, "When 'good enough' isn't good enough." They were fierce competitors back then.

[Grandturk]

Yes. In fact, back in the 30's or 40's, whenever it was, Gibson started the slogan, "Only a Gibson is Good Enough."

Epiphone started an ad campaign with the phrase, "When 'good enough' isn't good enough." They were fierce competitors back then.

So, I guess Epiphone is going with "When 'good enough' is much too good."

[PowerTube]

So, I guess Epiphone is going with "When 'good enough' is much too good."

That was a different era. I would venture to say that the Epiphones were every bit as good back then.

[Grandturk]

That was a different era. I would venture to say that the Epiphones were every bit as good back then.

Well, you know what they say, if they were that good, they'd still be making them.