MR marinara sauce Posted December 31, 2007 Report Share Posted December 31, 2007 What do you think about buying a top end Epiphone Les Paul and stripping the hardware; replacing everything (pickups with Duncans or EMG's, tuners with Gotoh or shcaller, pots, bridge, etc.)? How do you think that would compare to a Gibson Les Paul? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WezV Posted December 31, 2007 Report Share Posted December 31, 2007 its hard to know because Gibsons quality control varies quite a lot. if you start with a really nice sounding epiphone standard thats constructed almost the same way as a les paul then you might get something that sounds like a reasonable Gibson.... but it still wont be a patch on a nice example of a gibson... so in theory.. maybe, and i am sure there are lots of people that will justify the money they spent doing it that say it will work great!! the truth is gibson still use higher quality woods than epiphone and you cant change that by changing everything else. if you are after a good quaility gibson copy at a reasonable price it make more sense to start with something japanese built like an edwards, burny, orville by gibson or greco.. maybe an old tokai ... even a japanese epiphone. good examples of these can really give gibson a run for their money Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TemjinStrife Posted December 31, 2007 Report Share Posted December 31, 2007 I've played quite a few Gibsons and a TON of epiphones, and the QC on each is about the same... always try before you buy! If you can find an excellent sounding, feeling, and playing Epiphone LP and replace the important bits, though, I think you'll easily have something that is 99-100% of a good Gibson. Honestly, my Epi Korina Explorer smokes any real Gibson Explorer I've ever played... and it's totally stock. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitar2005 Posted December 31, 2007 Report Share Posted December 31, 2007 What do you think about buying a top end Epiphone Les Paul and stripping the hardware; replacing everything (pickups with Duncans or EMG's, tuners with Gotoh or shcaller, pots, bridge, etc.)? How do you think that would compare to a Gibson Les Paul? Well... they're not built the same way. For example, the Epiphones make use of a scarf joint at the neck to headstock transition. The Gibson guitars will make use of higher grade woods. The finish on a genuine Gibson is Nitrocellulose lacquer. The top may not be the proper thickness on the Epiphone etc. Not to say that the Epiphone won't sound good tough. The quality on the Epiphones is actually pretty good; it just won't be the same. Why not just buy a nice used Gibson? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickguard Posted January 1, 2008 Report Share Posted January 1, 2008 Why not just buy a nice used Gibson? No kidding...after all the work it would require to ''upgrade" an Epiphone, you'd already be in the price range of an LP Studio....and it would say "Gibson" on the headstock to boot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crafty Posted January 1, 2008 Report Share Posted January 1, 2008 The Epiphone Masterbuilt guitars made in Japan are great guitars and will get you 99% of the way to a Gibson standard, but the last 1% is too much for some people. If you're on an Epi budget and want the whole Gibson, buy a used one! FWIW, most Epi's are pretty nice guitars for the money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bear222 Posted January 1, 2008 Report Share Posted January 1, 2008 Hey Sauce, If you really wan't to get into this subject go to the Epiphone Forum, on Gibsons web, start a post with the Epi VS. Gibson heading and watch the fur fly!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toolfan88 Posted January 2, 2008 Report Share Posted January 2, 2008 just to add my two cents, i have an epiphone sg 310. put new hardware and pickups in it. it plays better then some gibsons i pick up. but iv also put money into a epiphone les paul, it just didnt play right. it hink its all the guitar. and i like korean made epiphones. iv seen alot of great korean made epiphones Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vanhorton Posted January 3, 2008 Report Share Posted January 3, 2008 i think the best thing to do is find your budget, go down to the store and play some guitars, just last week i was at guitar center and i picked up a epiphone sg and was messing around on it, it needed a good setup, but overall it was a nice guitar, then i picked up a gibson sg right next to it and wasn't very impressed , it too needed a good setup, but i dunno i just don't think it was much better compared to the epi, but with that said im sure there were plenty of gibsons there that would beat the pants off that epi. but my point is that you can find good epis and bad epis and good gibsons and bad gibsons and you really just need to try some out. or have you ever thought of an esp or ltd eclipse? the ltds are about 7-800 bucks and darn nice guitars, especially if you want emgs and such. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
White Summer Posted January 3, 2008 Report Share Posted January 3, 2008 (edited) i have an old Electra MPC that i got for $150. http://projectguitar.ibforums.com/index.ph...mp;#entry346198 It will put your custom USA 1957-re-issue-vos-masterbuilt-humbucking-tribucking-metamechanical-dish-washing-autotuning-self-playing les paul on a run for its money. Electras are one of the most underated guitars on this planet; I found that the rotary switch has all the perfect settings. Admittedly I cant find any mpc modules so I dont have any opinion on that. i think its the best les paul style guitar I have played, all the tone and "cool points" are the electra mpc lines. Not all are les paul styles, mine is the "Vulcan" (supposedly a mix between a tele and a paul, not really though), and i think there are some semi hollow mpcs. anyway, they are super cool, and if you dont have an effect in the slots, the switch acts like a kill switch. hella fun. you can get some more info about them at: http://www.rivercityamps.com/electra/ more specifically http://www.rivercityamps.com/electra/x330.php or http://www.rivercityamps.com/electra/x320.php there is a black one too, just mess around on the mpc models. edit: oh wait, i just saw the les paul section (donk!). tell me this isnt the sickest looking headstock ever. http://www.rivercityamps.com/electra/x240.php hope that helped? Edited November 21, 2010 by White Summer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coolio49085 Posted January 3, 2008 Report Share Posted January 3, 2008 You said to take a top end epiphone and upgrade the hardware. I believe the highest les paul is an elitist and you're going to be spending over a grand for one. So after the upgrades you are going to be looking at somewhere in the range of a gibson standard. The faded Les Pauls can be great, I have one, but, the consistency with the fadeds isn't there. If you want to change a everything on it and you want to go buy a paul, I recommend finding a decent quality faded. Also, if that doesn't satisfy you, I second whoever said to buy a used paul. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MR marinara sauce Posted January 3, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 3, 2008 oh, this was all out of curiosity. Im not a huge fan of les pauls. I was just curious as to what all of you thought. I was talking to a guitarist in another band who buys epi's and upgrades the **** out of them. he sais they play better and sound as good as his les paul (and his paul is sick as hell, i think its a supreme) i do like the esp eclipses however. they are sick. i have actually passed the les paul by on my last two guitar purchases though. i opted for a washburn HM-20 re-release (only 50 made) and a schecter c-1. personally, i like les pauls, but i dont think it is the greatest thing out there. there is much better IMO. like i said, i was just curious as to what all of you thought/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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