I found the same thing about Gibsons. I wanted a Les Paul and had an el cheapo gibson (only $1700) in my hand and was sitting at the register messing with it and to my side was the Epi. I picked it up and messed with it for 5min....the difference was so slight...if any I could not justify the extra $1100 the Gibson was.
Been looking at guitars again. I've been thinking about maybe getting a Les Paul Standard to go with my Gibson Les Paul Jr BJA. Although one of the big complaints I've been hearing is with the channeling Gibson does on all the Standards now. Not to mention still asking $2800 for one. I also looked at the Epiphones. I noticed they have a 50th Anniversary that's supposed to be more like the '58-'60 Gibson. Solid body and the old Burstbucker pickups and the fat 50's neck. Seems like a better deal then to buy the Gibson Studio with the satin finish and the 490R and 498T Alnico 2's. Gibson also has the Studio 60's Tribute which has P90's and a plain top for $50 less then the Epi. I was looking at the Epiphone Standard Plus but the 50th looks more like what I'm after, otherwise, I'd save some and just get the Standard Plus. Think I should go for it?
I've got the satin finish Les Paul studio, and to me it's a really good value. If you try the Epi and feel it's a better deal, go for it, just realize that in the world of guitars Epiphone are never going to have the cache of a US made Les Paul. I've got a lovely '62 reissue strat in Lake Placid Blue that is going on 25 years old that I love to look at, but the action and the overall feel of my G&L Legacy makes it my go to electric. My Alvarez Yairi and MF90 are my unplugged toys. Now I just have to get back to playing them again. Too many hobbies!!
+1 on that. Up until recently I owned a '93 Gibson LP Studio (not Epi) that I paid $750 a few years ago. Nice player. I downsized my family of guitars and have centered on a Fender Custom Shop '64 Jazz Bass Relic, a Fender Roadworn '60s Telecaster and a Taylor 210E acoustic. Also have a Fender Deluxe Reverb reissue and two 1964 Gibson Falcon GA-19 RVTs for amps. Bass amp right now is a Line6 LowDown 150 but have owned G-K, Eden and SWR amps in the past. Been playing rock, blues and a bit of country-rock-blues for the last 31 years. Been in bands for about half of that.
Just saw this, by the way. I enjoyed it. Something seemed out of place, though: Jimmy Page, The Edge, and.... Jack White. I know they were trying to span the spectrum of styles, but.. Jack White? He is a better guitarist than I realized, but seems like they could have picked someone "bigger."
Ha! So many opinions about this movie. Although I love U2, I thought Edge was out of place. My suspicions were confirmed when the three of them were jamming at the end of the movie.
I've read the Studio is now chambered like the Standard. I looked at them before I bought my BJA Jr. I'm not really a fan of the Satin/Faded finish though. The Faded or Satin Studios are a good value at $799. The lacquered Studio is an additional $512. :eek1 But then you get the hardcase instead of the Gig Bag. Don't have room for more hardcases. I'm not worried about resale although from what I've seen the higher-end Epi's seem to hold their price just as well as the lower-end Gibson's (non Vintage). The solid body and fatter 50's neck is what intrigues me though. Oh and it comes in Cherry Burst.
I thought the Edge was actually a good fit. He's on the other end of the spectrum which is why he was there. Jack is more about the traditional and Jimmy kinda floats around in between.
When I told my brother (a life-long guitarist), he thought The Edge was out of place, too. I'm just a poser guitarist, so what do I know?
I've just started playing bass (Fender Deluxe Active Jazz Bass) and am shopping starter amps. I have an in with Line6 but am wide open. Sounds like you're playing the same stuff I like, but I'll add Jazz and Rock-a-Billy. What would you recommend, and no, I'm not willing to spend $1000 to start. Thanks, jdg {/hijack off} We now return you to your regularly scheduled thread
I've got a Guitar World in the stack somewhere here where they interviewed Jack and Jimmy together, and the article goes on about how they seem like father and son together. They've both been a little odd for their times and such. The Edge does seem like the odd man but they all three do decent together.
Yupp, the lighting is dim and the sound is thin, but hey, it's my daughter doing a performance last week... oh yeah, her own stuff... <iframe title="YouTube video player" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/77b1fWP37VU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> DW
Right on - although I've cleared out a bunch of stuff, I still have a Deluxe Active Jazz as well. Fine guitar, but redundant now with the CS Jazz. After owning a few of the +$1000 rigs over the years, I'd say you'd be really well off with the Line6 LowDown 150 and you could probably find one used for around $300 or so. I rehearse, record and gig in a three piece blues-rock band with this little guy and somehow it pulls it off. Price is right, it looks good and sounds good. Not all of the features are usable (synth bass) but for straight ahead rock/blues/jazz sounds, it's there. Another option could be the G-K MB series of small combos. Again, sub-$500 if you look. I also like the 1x12 kickback config of the LD150 - punchy like 2x10s yet not boomy like a 1x15. I had a hell of a time getting decent tone out of my Eden Traveller 330 (with D210XLT cab) and my Line6 kills that amp for tone believe it or not. If and when you're ready to "upgrade", you can always keep the Line6 for smaller gigs/home practice/etc.
I probably should have added that I bought the Les Paul faded studio from a pawn shop in Alpharetta Georgia for $600, and it came with a hard shell case, so I figure it won't be hard to get most of my money back if I sell it. I've also got a Fender GDec that I use for practice and a very clean silverface Princeton Reverb and I plug in when I want to get my surf vibe goin.
I hear that quite a bit, not only in the Gibson vs Epi, but in the Gretsch 5120 vs 6120. Now I know I am not a guitar player, just a student that can move between the major cords with out screwing up too much. But when I was looking at the Gretsch I touched both the 5120 and the 6120 keep in mind the price difference is in the THOUSANDS, more so then the gib vs the epi. And in just fretting the different cords listening to the sounds the guitar made on the same amp it was just not that different, it was no more easy to play felt no different to my newbe fingers. So I went with the 5120. I went over the same thing with the Gibson and the epi, I had the gibson in my hand and was sitting at the register messing with it, the credit card was out. On a whim I picked up the epi.....Same deal with the gretsch, I could not tell the difference. If my eyes where closed the only difference was the knobs....and a lot more ballance on the credit card. Perhaps I will change my mind when I can truly play the guitar....I don't know. But I will agree with you that the epi will never have the cache as a gibson...but I think that is because it costs so much more cash. I would love for someone to explain it to me with out getting into a bunch of subjective crap....the finish is so thick it kills the tone, cheaper woods, bla bla bla. I think that all might be true of a guitar that is not electric, but an electric guitar....I just do not hear the difference.
I'm going to chime in here. As a music store owner we come across guitars from a wide range of manufacturers. I make this piece of advice: Ignore the name on the headstock. Case in point: A few months ago a fellow was down on his luck and offered to sell me his Gibson '56 re-issue gold top LP. He had the original sales receipt and had paid $3200.00 new from an authorized dealer about 6 months prior. The guitar was in like new shape and we made a deal. As I'm replacing the strings and doing the wring-out that we do on all our guitars, I started to inspect this guitar very closely. I was not impressed. The output jack was put on crooked. There was noticeable filler around the headstock logo. There were noticeable masking tape lines on the side of the neck. An internal inspection showed some cold solder joints that while working, were pretty damned poor craftsmanship. In truth, I could grab any $350.00 and up guitar off my wall and the craftsmanship was heads above this $4k MSRP Gibson. So............. Ignore the brand on the headstock. Play it, feel it, listen to it, look at it. Let that be your guide. If you're wanting something to collect, OK. Look at the headstock. If you're wanting something to play......then play the damn guitar, no matter what brand is on it. And if you insist on buying "The Brand" then make sure and inspect it carefully. Spending thousands more on a guitar does not necessarily mean that its thousands of dollars better.
Thanks...it is very hard for someone that has zero music experence to go into a guitar store and get help....real help. You are a stranger in an unholy land. I decided I wanted to learn to play the guitar and went to three places. A large chain store that had hundreds of guitars hanging on the wall...but sales people I just did not get a good feeling about. A small store that had music so loud I could not hear myself think, tatted up sales kid, nice but when talking about guitars did not speak english. The last place a little mom and pop store (realy a husband and wife own the place and are both in their 50's) The guy spoke english, asked me questions....he learned my needs and wants and suggested products, he knew I wanted Gretsch (brian setzer, old time rock and roll) but suggested all kinds of different products Ibanez, epi dot...several to try, both friendly and in terms I could understand, answered all my stupid questions. I was happy I stuck with it it was hard to buy a guitar...I was so put off by the two bad experences i took me over a month to make the purchase.
Your appreciation of the holy grail called "tone" will continue to evolve as you evolve as a player. Tone is subjective at best, just as there is not a "best guitar". If it plays well and sounds good to you, it is. I owned a Gretsch 5120 for a couple of years. I liked it, but the neck didn't really work well for me and I sold it. I played my buddy's older Gretsch 6120 quite a few times over the years. Fit, finish, etc. for the both guitars was comparable. Biggest difference was the generic humbuckers in the 5120 taht didn't really give that "Great Gretsch Sound" (aka "twang"). The 6120, with it's TV Jones Filter 'Trons had that "sound". Another big difference is the quality of the Bigsby trem arm between the two. The 6120 felt and performed much better in that department, IMSO. Also, the neck on 5120 was scarf-jointed (common in Asian-made guitars). This could be a deal-breaker for someone looking for a solid neck. Thing to remember is that you can have a high-end dog or a low-end jem. You've gotta play a bunch to find the "good one". Price tag alone does not guarantee this. Last thing to consider is the resale value of a low-end vs. high-end. higher end will usually result in a higher resale value. But what value means to you and what value means to me could be two different things.
Thanks for the replies, lately I am so hungry for this guitar stuff it is not funny, and getting real, fact baised response is nice. Posting something like what I said on the gretsch or LP forum is going to start a sh*t storm. I know I have seen it and it always comes down to (feel) for lack of a better word. I have decided to look it as art. It is all up to you. I am up for paying big $$$ for a guitar, I enjoy it that much but I have learned that they are all very different, the learning what is a dog and what is a gem is what I am trying to find out....I am just so new at this and have no one to ask (aside of sales people and who can trust them). How do you tell one is a dog?
One of the reasons I don't own either a Strat or Les Paul is that I have not played one that I really liked the feel of. Sound, yes, feel, not so much, but I'm still looking and playing them every time I walk into a guitar store. The Gretsch on the other hand is easy for me. I love the feel and sound of the 6120 as well as the '62 6119HT (I had a 6119HT in '63 when it was still called the Tennessean). As has been said, the tone of the 6120 is just right for Setzer and Chet Atkins kinds of things as well as really sweet jazz. The tone you are looking for will pretty much dictate where you end up in your guitar purchases. I have a '63 Gibson Hummingbird (got it in '65) for that reason. The tone of that guitar was exactly what I was looking for and could not be found in any of the Martin line (or any other as far as that goes). I like stereo guitars for that same reason. I love the sound of an ES-345 stereo run through a pair of separated amps. Likewise the Ricki 360-12 has a sound that cannot be matched anywhere else. If I had the spare change I'd be in the market for the Gretsch G6120-CGP even though I've never heard one live. It's all in what you are looking for combined with what your budget or significant other will stand. Kind of like motorcycles As for telling what is a dog? Hmmm - well, buying a name brand from a reputable dealer is a good start - that way you should not have to worry about counterfeits. After that it really becomes a matter of personal taste. Without disassembling it to see if the solders are good, the workmanship is correct, etc., you're pretty much back to what feels good to you. Of course there are things like the strings should not buzz on the frets, no crackling or noise from the controls, good fit and finish, tremolo returns the strings to an in tune state upon release, proper intonation at the 12th fret, etc. Much of that should be corrected during initial setup by the dealer (if they actually do something other than take it out of the box and hand it to you). Most of the decision process you go through with buying a motorcycle works here as well. What do you want to do with it? A B.C.Rich is probably not your best bet for playing jazz or Rock-a-Billy just like a VFR is probably not your best choice for playing down in South America. After you have an idea what you want to play, go look and test them. Find one that fits your hands and sounds good to your ears. Don't buy something too cheap as it may not hold up well (warping neck, cheap electronics, etc.). In this respect it's not like your first bike. Yes, you will probably want to upgrade, but it's not something you plan on breaking (dropping) - it should work well for you and not need repair until you get tired of it. Oh yes, when trying out electric guitars, set the amp as neutral as possible and start off with the guitar the same way. Amps can greatly effect the sound. So unless you plan on buying that amp along with the guitar, don't make your choice of guitar based on how the amp makes it sound. jdg
