Epiphone vs Gibson

[duhvoodooman]

The pick-up combo I have in mine is a Seymour-Duncan '59 in the neck (very warm tone, with just a tad bit o' bite), and a Pearly Gates in the bridge (a- how, how, how!) That combo fits the bill very nicely for playing a variety of material - Allman Bros., ZZ Top, Cream, Aerosmith, Zeppelin, etc.

Very interesting. I've read good things about the PG model at a couple of different places, and liked the demo clips on the Duncan website. That may be the way to go for me, along with a '59 at the neck. Thanks for the info!

 

[Slowhand]

Voodooman
I've got the JB/Jazz pup combo which I replaced from 59/59 because I felt that I needed a bit more 'bite' to my tone. If it's the beano album sound your after both sets will do this but I think the JB/Jazz has a little bit more aggression to them and that what i was after. I also wanted to coil split and the 59's are two wire and you need 4 wire to do this,then I went the whole hog and put in Jimmy page wiring.With Epi's it also a good idea to upgrade the tuners and I put in a Tone pros Bridge.
Graham

 

[guitaro]

Epiphone Elitist Les Paul Standard Plus Guitar

A couple of years ago, I began looking into getting one, and was STUNNED by how much the Gibson LP's went for. Since I'm strictly a guitar hobbyist who plays at home for my own enjoyment and relaxation (and have two kids to put through college in the next few years!), I just couldn't justify paying $2000 or more for a new LP Standard. I started to look around on eBay, but the news wasn't much better. The instruments that were in good shape were still going for much more than I was willing to pay, and the cheaper ones were all beat to ****, often needing extensive repairs. I was discouraged, to say the least.

Then I stumbled across the Epi Elitist LP Standard being sold by Musiciansfriend.com for a mere $700. Thinking this kind of price was way too good to be true, and that these must be some kind of cheap "knock-off" of the real thing, I began to read the customer reviews. But people who owned them RAVED about them. Again and again, I read similar comments about how these guitars were every bit as good as their Gibson brethren, but for a half to a third of the price. Often, these comments were from players who had owned both. Further research bore out these glowing reviews--I read excellent things about the quality and playability of the Epi Elitist LP's from a variety of sources. Though produced in Japan rather than Nashville, it appeared that these instruments were made from premium materials and components by master luthiers who took exceptional pride in their craft.

I bought mine in early December and have been absolutely thrilled with it. Not only is it a gorgeous guitar boasting flawless workmanship, but it plays like an absolute dream. About the only feature I'm not particularly impressed with are the pickups. Though these Elitist LP's use USA-produced humbuckers, I find their sound to be on the tame side. I'm leaning toward upgrading to the Seymour Duncan "Hot Rodded Humbucker" set, consisting of an SH-2n Jazz model at the neck and a high-output SH-4 JB model at the bridge. (Advice on this or other pup upgrade alternatives welcomed!)

So while I certainly don't consider myself an expert, I have been extremely pleased with my Epi Elitist LP Standard and consider them to be one of the finest values available in a high quality electric guitar. Unfortunately, Musiciansfriend doesn't carry them anymore, though they do have the Elitist LP Standard Plus, starting at $800.

Great review man, it made me to go and look at MusiciansFriend for one, but hei, this is $1,149. I guess you got a great deal then.

Epiphone Elitist Les Paul Standard Plus Guitar:

Sound of Epiphone Elitist Les Paul Standard Plus Electric Guitar
* the tone is great;
* the bridge P/U sounds a little harsh;
* crisp, clean, and brilliant, rich, smooth tone;
* the pickups aren't that great for heavy distortion, but sound really good for clean/blues/rock;
* the pick-ups are more than adequate, from sweet and clean to growling distortion (but not heavy);
* you can play classical or thrash metal, classic rock, blues;
* great sounds from Duane Allman slide, to greasy honky-tonk to ZZ Top-like pick harmonics to the tone Mark Knopfler used on "Brothers in Arms" and "on every street".

You may find interesting the following review on Epiphone Elitist Les Paul Standard Plus guitar :

• Pros of Epiphone Elitist Les Paul Standard Plus Electric Guitar
• Cons of Epiphone Elitist Les Paul Standard Plus Electric Guitar
• Suggestions for this Epiphone Guitar
• Features + Technical Specs

 

[Brian Krashpad]

Lots of good advice and comments here.

Oddly, I've never owned an Epi LP. I did own an Epi G400 SG for a short while. It was certainly gigworthy, though the pickups I found a little bland/biteless. Obviously I could have dropped different pickups in, but I'm not a modder. I sold it as redundant when an Agile P-90 Valkyrie II (their SG-inspired then-model) became available new on closeout for $99. I'd found the Epi G400 in a pawn shop for $175 US, and got that back on resale.

My first budget LP-type guitars were DeArmond M-series MIK models. Both were bought for around $200 US, one new and on used on consignment in a local mom&pop. I had an M-75 (solid agathis with arch maple cap, harp tailpiece) and an M-72 (chambered mahogany with flat maple top and straight peg tailpiece). They were too similar sounding (both having the same DeArmond made-in-USA Gold Tone HB pickups) to justify keeping them both, so I sold the M-75, which was heavier and not as pretty (the M-75 was ebony, the M-72 a burst). Here's a pic of the M-72:

Sadly, I'm selling that guitar as I need the bucks and now have some Gibson LP's, plus I can get a very similar tone from (yet) another DeArmond, my Jet Star (which looks very unlike an LP). But for someone looking for a budget Les Paul-type guitar, I would recommend considering a used DeArmond M-series, which are actually based on the old Guild Aristocrat/Bluesbird, rather than a Les Paul. Build quality is at least equal to non-MIJ Epi's, and you get a US-made PAF-style alnico-magnet pickup you will not have to replace.

I have two Gibson Les Pauls, both of which are humbucker (rather than P-90) models. Both were good deals on the local used market. I got a Gibson Les Paul Studio Doublecut for $525 US (w/hsc), and a Les Paul Classic w/ohsc for $725. These are my 2 most expensive guitars, and I'll probably not spend that much again on any guitar:

Since these are fairly different looking and have different pickups (490/498 "hot" alnico in Studio DC, hotter 496/500 ceramic in LP Classic), I can justify having the both of them. For more vintagey PAF sounds I can use my Jet Star (I don't play the M-72 since I'm selling her and don't want to get too attached), even though it does not look like an LP:

Speaking of sounding like an LP but not looking like one, I'll close with the last of my humbucker LP-type "family" (I'll leave my P-90 guitars for another thread), my Fernandes Ravelle Deluxe. I was very skeptical about paying what I did ($400 US, w/non-Fernandes gigbag) for a used (albeit pristine) MIC guitar, but this thing rocks!

These things come with Seymour Duncan Jazz/JB pickups stock (this is the non-Sustainer model Ravelle). I found mine tagged for $450 US in a local mom&pop and let it sit several months until my birhday came around, then went in, played it and bought it for 4 bills even. I've heard of others getting these used in the $300 US range, but feel mine was well worth the price I paid.