To those experienced with Les Pauls

[Lestat]

Hi, I´m deciding whether to get a used Gibson Les Paul standard, or a brand new Epiphone LP.



Subversion, or anyone wanna advise me what to look out for, etc? I´ve seen a ´92 LP Standard selling for around $1.8k... the Epi at half that price would seem a safer bet, and better looks... but i´m concerned with drop-off in sound quality or playability.



Another thing i´m concerned with is i´ve lost interest in playing before, haven´t played in 2 years, actually... so i don´t wanna waste too much money should i give up again, but a Gibson LP holds it´s value really well, right? anyone knows about the ´characteristics of the 92 Gib LP standard in particular, or a Y2K custom?

 

[subversion]

Dear brother vampire,



The ’92 LP is going at a reasonable price there, especially if it holds its original hardware & electronics. If any of these are replaced, then the ball’s in your court- ask for less. Do check for the following when buying a used LP:



*headstock- whether it’s broken before, look for cracks or refinish.

*neck warp- will cause buzzing. Bring along someone who can sight the neck for you.

*fret wear- play the guitar to see whether it’s buzzing in any parts of the neck. Be suspicious of very shiny frets- an indicator of excessive string bending that causes fretwear

*electronics- plug in the guitar & mess with the pickup switch & knobs, take note of any cracklings, stiff pots etc.



Yes, a Gibson LP holds its value well over time but it must also preserve its playability. The price will only appreciate if it holds a collector’s value eg. discontinued models/ ltd edition releases etc. An LP kept over time will not automatically merit a price appreciation, it’s a myth.



If you ever decide to get a fresh Epi LP, then it’s only gonna cost you much lesser.The catch is, it’s an Epi, an etirely different animal from the Gibson. Also, the resale value is decent but not as commanding as the Gibson.



If it boils down to the Gibson for you, then do justice to its tone by coupling it with a mid-priced amp. Good luck, tell us what it’s gonna be.

 

[Lestat]

I probably won´t decide so soon... maybe sit on this for a week or so more to see if there´re more used guitars i can look at.



yup, totally intending to get a mid-priced amp, in fact... fretting a bit also cos dunno what amp to get.



the Epi´s are like Gibson´s budget line, right? so aren´t they sort of designed to play/sound a little like the Gibsons for less? so how are they a different animal?



i guess if it´s the pickups, they can be changed later... but if the wood is far inferior in the epis, then maybe they´re not a very good buy since u gotta live with it.

 

[subversion]

Epiphone is under license to mimic the Gibsons but it’s limited to the looks IMO. I did mention in my post under Gear News 2004, of the LPs which bear the ‘Standard/ Custom’ tag, but fall short of the correct neck profiles. To many newcomers to the guitar arena, they are satiated by the Epis looks, tone is secondary until there comes a time when they realize that their Epis aren’t audibly similar to their peer’s Gibsons. So they’d start replacing electronic components to further enhance the tone which can amount to a substantial sum. Epi did a clever take on this situation by installing genuine Gibson humbuckers in the late ‘90s to draw more parallels to the Gibson counterpart. However, the Epi was conceived on a budget principle & the tone compromise is rather audible but not alarmingly different. Strip down an Epi’s body & you’d see that some of them are made from 5 pieces of wood, among other budget constructional considerations.



The same goes for Fender’s Squier & ESP’s LTD, among others. I’ve tried some Epis & Squiers lately & they are good in their own stead. That’s how I value guitars these days, the brand name comes last, I prioritize tone & playability.



Be sure to address your amp concerns here too, we’d spare you our 2cents worth… he he.

 

[Lestat]

hey, would you mind exchanging contacts to discuss these issues further?



my email is wbyeats@pacific.net.sg feel free to drop me a mail.

 

[JamesChia]

if you´re gonna get an epi, i´ll advise you to get a Japanese copy instead. Edwards make decent les paul copies. and they come stock with seymour duncan pickups too. and the best part is they are pretty affordable too. just my $0.02.

 

[Lestat]

thanks for the tip! are Edwards nice looking? =P and where can i get them?

 

[subversion]

Available at Davis but it’s a rare sight. I’d also wait for the PRS SE single cut to hit the market too if I’m in a position to get an LP type unit.

 

[Dawn]

Yo subversion,



The PRS SE Single-cut comes only with P90s eh? Otherwise u´d haf to opt for the Tremonti SE for normal humbuckers right?



Hmm, bout Epiphone Les Pauls... I find that the built is so-so. There are good ones out there but pretty hard to find. Cosmetic wise, the bindings n colourings are sometimes abit sloppy, you can see the wood-dye seeping into the bindings etc, thick layers of glue etc.



I feel it´s just paying more for the brand name "Epiphone". I agree, those Edwards seem like better built units and some of the higher range models are nitro finished. SD pick-ups. Check em out at Davis.



P.S: Epiphone Les Paul WARNING. The electronic parts all seem to give way. toggel switch, vol , tone pots etc all seem to get stiff. and input jack too.

Just my 2cents

I´m struggling to find CTS pots. anyone out there has some?

Cheers

 

[subversion]

Yup, the new SE by PRS will feature P-90s. If you aren’t in favour of these pickups, there are good after market P-90-sized humbucker replacements to choose from, namely:



*Seymour Duncan: STK P1, P-90 stacked humbucker.

*Dimarzio: DP 154, DLX Plus p-90 sized humbucker

DP 209, Super Distortion p-90 humbucker (new)







<font size=1>[ This message was edited by: subversion on 08-01-2004 16:40 ]</font>

 

[guanming]

yo dude,



I personally own a epiphone les paul.. it play great...



The PRS equip with p-90, wonder it sound like strat or no.. Single Coil..



Cheers

 

[Lestat]

hey thanks for all the replies so far! keep ´em coming.



i´ll try to check out all the suggestions given. not much rush to get a guitar, probably will be getting someone to restore my old one which i never liked much first...



altho i don´t wanna miss out on any fine individual specimens like the epis Subversion was talking about at swee lee cos i wait too long.

 

[subversion]

Definitely wouldn’t sound like a strat. In any case we’d do better to treat that SE as an individual unit rather than one which tries to out-strat or out-Les Paul its counterparts. Might grab one too…