Gibson Les Pauls vs Epiphones

[Radius_Vector]

Hey fellas,

Well, a lot of people swear that Epiphone high end les pauls (SGD 1.4k+) are comparable, if not better than some of the entry level Gibson Les Pauls.

People also say that Gibson charges just for the brand name and stuff.

What do you think are the pros and cons of each brand?
A high end epi LP vs a Gibson LP standard.

And why is Gibson so much more expensive than Epi LPS of similar hardware? Is it just the brand name?

 

[I_M_Ken]

for std models gibson uses better wood, hardware, electronics, worksmanship and most importantly of all, very strict QC

plus the name helps of course...

kinda like Sony vs all them other electronics maker out there....Sony products suck, but yet they are more expensive than the rest

 

[gsonique]

what would you prefer ? :smt047

 

[BadgerS88]

I'd prefer Gibson cus of a few reasons,

- Brand name
- Character of its raw sound
- Signature humming sounds....

But i have a Epi LesPaul Custom cus Gibson to ex for me.

 

[Radius_Vector]

Thanks for the replies guys.

Goose, Im new to Les Pauls, being a strat user for quite some time now. Just thought Id get some opinion before embarking on buying one

Want to know if its really worth it shelling out the extra moolah for the Gibson.

 

[KennethC]

I_M_Ken, you mentioned Gibson LP standards underwent very high QC. What made you say that?

 

[gsonique]

What you can do is look for opportunities to try em both and see what rings your fancy.

I prefer Gibson just for that little bit of 'secrets' which are not incooperated to the Epi's !

Ther were ones rumours of rejected Gibson's being re-worked and sold as Epi's .... oh well just rumours i guess :lol:

 

[Shekoski]

Gibson has been having really bad issues regarding quality control recently while Epiphone is slightly improving.

+, In my opinion, Epiphone Elitist>Gibson Studio

 

[Radius_Vector]

Hmm.. yes Ive heard bad stories about some Gibson Studios of the recent times.

Goose, care to 'share' some of the 'secrets'?

And any shop that allows me to try a Gibson without committing to buy one?

I dont want to name the shop, but this was the encounter

Me: Can I try the Gibson LPS?
Salesman: Well, are you planning on buying one?
Me: Not really, I just want to compare
Salesman: Oh well, you can just try the epiphone LPs

Next min, I was out of the shop

 

[Shekoski]

Radius_Vector:
Wow...I've experienced worse though. :lol:

 

[gsonique]

secret :smt016

play em both.. NOT unplugged and listen ....

 

[edder]

Get a Heritage. :wink:

 

[I_M_Ken]

no matter how u look at it, the QC of Gibson is way higher than Epi (other than those MIJ models)
however thse days there are lots of fake Gibsons floating around.

so personally i'd buy an MIJ Epi LP with the gibson headstock shape.

I tried one of those at a friend's place, plays and feels like a real gibson evne thouh its Epi.

Epi's for me.

 

[Guest]

Secret, like secret tone-enhancing chambers?

 

[KennethC]

I'm still not sure we can qualify Gibson's QC as being "strict", considering the inconsistencies in quite a number of Gibby LPs in the market, and I'm referring to authentic makes.

Bro edder...i can't agree with you more. Get a Heritage LP. They make really good LPs. Radius, if you are interested, you can google on the history of the Heritage factory vs Gibson to find out more. Alternatively, you can search on SOFT and dig up my old sale thread for the Heritage LP custom, I put some info there as well.

 

[Radius_Vector]

Interesting stuff there. Just checked out the website as well.

Kenneth, Who deals heritage in Singapore?

 

[gsonique]

please share those inconsistencies !

Japanese guitars are great ...lately i had an oppertuanity to test both the famous F guitars from USA and Jap .... the USA ones had a certain ring that is not present in the Jap ones ....or maybe its my ears :lol:

 

[gsonique]

really gass'in for this here

 

[PatheinRaindropMoe]

power, silverburst. I also want!

 

[KennethC]

bro goose, those that I've encountered:
- shoddy binding work
- fingerboard inlays not smoothly done
- "screeching" when tuning up due to poorly cut nut
- fingerboard wood looked dry and parched (may be due to shop n enviro)
- uneven lacquer on neck

For a guitar of that price, I would hope for these (at least most of them) issues to not surface.

I've handled good sounding ones as well, of course. =) Thus my comment on inconsistency.