byljer

Hi!

I'm wondering if anybody on the forum has had the chance to test the Epiphone LP Custom Plus (flame top)? How much do they differ in quality from a Gibson Les Paul Standard? Has anybody tried to compare them?

All help are welcome...

ZoomZilla

I don't think they differ much at all quality wise.

byljer

I tried one myself today (black, so I don't know what wood they've used for it...). I didn't try it with an amp, so I don't know about the sound, but I know that Epi uses weaker pu's. They also (usually) use cheaper electronics, and that affects the sound and how the volume/ tone (pots) work.

One thing I saw was how they had "glued in" the nut. While Gibson make room for the nut by carving out some of the woodwork, Epi just glue it right on top of the wood. It looks cheaper that way, and not as solid as a Gibson. Guess they have to save money somewhere to keep the guitars cheap.
There was some flaws, but I guess you get what you pay for.

The neck seemed fine, and was easy to play.

I wont sell my Gibson...to put it that way!

Anyone else?

Jamiee

I have a Epiphone Les Paul Standard due to a small budget. It's the higher end of the replica's I think, nowhere near close to Gibsons but for a Les Paul copy Epiphone aren't half bad
Hope this helps

byljer

Thank you

I also have a Epi ES335 dot. It's a good guitar, and sounds awsome with my Marshall 1987X. Very good value for the money! It has got some "flaws", but it's almost impossible to discover them at first sight. Otherwise, it sounds good, looks good, plays extremely good and...it's just a good guitar!

paul

im a wee bit late posting in this post but i have an epiphone l/p custom plus and i have a gibson l/p standard, the gibson is a 50s neck but feels more of less the same size as the epiphone, the gibson lookes nicer, both guitars play well, infact the neck on the epiphone is easyer to use as it doesnt get sticky like the gibson, unplugged the gibson sounds louder and better than the epiphone, through an amp the gibson sounds brighter and better, whether or not its £1000 better is another thing, my gibson has burstbucker pro pickups and the epiphone has alnico 2 pickups, it would be good to here how the 2 would sound with the same pickups but im not doing that

psphill27

I have both Epis and Gibsons. Differences is as stated above in the pickups and electronics. Also, the craftsmanship is better on the Gibson. with that being said...I have an Epi standard and I dropped a set of Zakk Wylde EMGs in it. Sound is killer, but still doesn't feel as good as my Gibsons.

If you're on a budget...go for it! You won't be sorry if you buy it. However, if you can afford a real Gibson...take the leap!

DaveAngel

To be totally honest with you, and you probably wont like this. I leart this the $$$ way.

I had a Epi les paul Custom, thought it was a good guitar. Played it, loved it. Until i played a few real gibsons \ PRS \ American Strats.

There is a certain quality about the main-line instuments that you cant get close to with epis\squires\ibanez etc.

I spent a fortune on new hardward, roller bridge, tuners, re-wire, pots, seymour duncans, in the end probably costing close to a Gibson LP standard, but at the end of the day, its an epi (and doesn't play as well).

IF you can afford it, buy a Gibson\fender\PRS, they wont loose much value and will be 10x better. the epi will drop to 30% of the sale value as soon as it leaves the store. If you cant afford it, go for a 2nd hand one. You may only save 20-30%, but there is the odd bargain out there (My JCM2000 TSL cost me £450)

One option, if you like the gibson tone, is a 2nd hand Gibson SG, seen some of them go for a song and will be a different league to a epiphone.

good luck.

Keefoman

+1

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Metallon

It's a pretty good guitar. The pick-ups are hot, but not as good as Gibson stock pick-ups (of course) and they're not as loud. They have some pretty nice sustain. They go out of tune every now and then, though. I originally bought mine to keep it as a practise guitar, but due to an incident, I made myselfd the owner of an ESP Ltd guitar (EC-400VF), and I prefer Eclipse's over Les Pauls anyway, so I'm selling it.

I don't know if it's just my guitar though, but the pick-ups... are not as loud as they should be.

Anyway, it's a good guitar for its price, but they're just... you know. Epiphones. I like guitars with good weight and solid build as well as decent hardware and such, and of course you don't get that with an Epiphone. But to me, the Gibson doesn't sound as many times better as it costs in comparison to the epiphone, but the feel of a Gibson LP is quite exceptional. I could go so fasr as to say that they feel better than ESP Eclipses, despite me preferring Eclipses overall.

steelhorse

Here's a nice one:

WASHBURN IDOL EVIL TWIN INDIGO EMG ZAKK WYLDE - eBay (item 170264476405 end time Sep-27-08 20:23:01 PDT)