epiphone les pauls?

[pac112]

Re: epiphone les pauls?

Ah...good to know. Yamaha makes excellent guitars don't they? Just wondering though, what model Pacifica is it?

hello closed eye!

Its a Pacifca PAC 112. A beginner guitar , a good one for its price class though. It rocks with a JB in the bridge. Not really hot stuff compared to the guitars you guys/gals have.It would be better with another trem system / fixed bridge. But i wouldnt wanna throw in more money into it.

 

[Dooogz]

Re: epiphone les pauls?

Yes, epi's are fine, i took much chance by ordering a epi lp studio offa the internet, but it was a good price, now for £350 ($680) i have a epi lp , professionally set up and with duncans in it! I like the guitar, and my friends/ family think it feels pretty good, maybe i got lucky i dont know... but thumbs up for an epi here! Also look into the other midrange les paul makes, some of them are better quality for your money i have heard!

 

[pac112]

Re: epiphone les pauls?

hmm.. so are epi LP's worth getting or not?

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: epiphone les pauls?

Just worked on another Epi Les Paul Custom. These can be excellant guitars equal in tone and playability to many Gibson USA Les Pauls!

I did have to do a little fret leveling, recrown and polish to get it to play it's best but it was worth it.

I replaced all of the electronics including all of the pots and the switch. New Duncan Jazz neck and JB bridge pickups.

Changed the tone pots to push/pull pots so we can split either pickup and use it as a single coil.

Great guitar! No reservations at all about recommending one to anyone!

Lew

 

[JeffB]

Re: epiphone les pauls?

as a roundabout figure, how much would something like changing them out for all new electronics cost (parts and labor...) Not the pups..but switches, pots, wiring, etc...

 

[pac112]

Re: epiphone les pauls?

Lew,

since you have customizing experience with customs, wanna know if the gold hardware on the epi LP custom loses its "gold"-ness ie exposing the chrome finish after sometime.

 

[lex666]

Re: epiphone les pauls?

hmm.. so are epi LP's worth getting or not?

Yes!! As you can see from my sig, I like the Epi's. Sure, i would like to have a Gibson, but can't afford one. The Epi satisfies that craving for me totally. The look, feel and sound are pretty much the same for me. A friend of mine loaned me his '76 Gibson LP for about a month, and I still enjoyed playing my Epi more. For me, it doesn't matter what it says on the headstock, but how it feels and how it sounds.

The stock pups are still very good. I waited a long time until I was convinced by the users on this forum to try some SD pups. I'm very glad I did. I put in a C5b and 59n in one of my LP's and it was like day and nite. The SD pups really brought this guitar to life. I tried other SD pups in my other LP, JB, Jazz, Alnico II's, PG's, and they weren't the sound I was looking for so I went back to the C5 & 59 combo. The other pups weren't bad, just not the tone I want from my LP. My 3rd LP has stock pups. I use this as a back up. The stock pups aren't bad at all, but new pups do make a BIG difference.

The only other problem I've had with Epi's are the toggle switches. Some are not very reliable and most are very scratchy or noisy. But I've had this problem on other more expensive guitars, so this is not a problem exclusive to Epi LP's. Luckily, I've been able to repair the noise on my toggle swiches and have not had to replace them. They all work great now.

I've not no problem with pots, so I've nevery changed them. I'm no expert on wood, but don't count on them being solid mohogany or genuine maple caps. From what i hear the body is a combination of mahogany and alder and the top is a maple veneer. The sound however is classic LP tone and crunch and I'm willing to bet that no one can tell the difference between my Epi's and a Gibson LP. So IMHO yes, Epi's are great guitars and worth the price. As always, fully inspect your guitar and play it before you buy.

 

[theboatcandream]

Re: epiphone les pauls?

hmm.. so are epi LP's worth getting or not?

I think it comes down to the body wood. As long as you have a chunk of mahogany instead of alder or wood composite (and I've seen a few specials and studios which are particle board), then an Agile is still cheeper but Epiphones have the right feel. I can't comment on how Agile necks feel since I haven't played one. I want to, though...

 

[poopsmith921]

Re: epiphone les pauls?

i would suggest getting an agile. you can get an agile that comes with duncans (59 bridge, i think, not sure). Many of the lp copies come with bone nuts, and have better electronics than epiphones. A friend of mine bought a agile sg copy for 99 bucks from rondomusic.com. It came with grover tuners. i compared it to a g400, it was pretty much the same thing, except the pickups on the agile were better. Id get an agile and save a few hundred bucks

 

[St_Genesius]

Re: epiphone les pauls?

My tech, who just barely managed to keep from laughing in my face when I told him how impressed I was with my new Agile, actually commented specifically on how much he liked the neck when he gave it back to me after doing some work. It was only then that I told him how little it had cost. He nearly fainted. It's a chunkier neck than any of the Epi LP's I've played, but there are plenty of Epi LP models that I've never tried, so perhaps their thicker necks lay elsewhere. I'd call it a medium-depth U shaped (would that make it a D shape?) just a bit shy of qualifying for baseball bat status.

Other than the pickups, which are better than the ones that were in *my* old Epi, but still pretty two dimensional and flat, the only thing I feel the need to replace are the volume pots. They don't seem to have much effect until they're almost entirely off. The roll from 10 to 0 goes something like ON-ON-ON-ON-ON-ON-ON-ON-ON-on-off. I've got no idea why that might be, but that's what they do.

I can't comment on how Agile necks feel since I haven't played one. I want to, though...

 

[grams]

Re: epiphone les pauls?

Hi,

I bought two weeks ago an Epiphone LP Classic Plus and I'm very very happy with it.

I had an Ibanez RG[something] and a Universe for a while. But I had the feeling, that I was missing something. I went to a local guitarshop and played guitars for nearly 5 hours. I played almost every guitar they had in the shop: fenders, ibanez, epiphone, les Pauls, gibson, PRS, Jackson, OLP. After like 1 hour I realized, that the missing thing was the neck. The flat Ibanez neck didn't feel good compared to the nice thick necks. Unfortunately I didn't have enough money for the PRS or the Gibson (the '72 felt great).
They had like 10 different Epiphones there and every single guitar felt different (If you don't mind (or even like???) the body/look I can recommend the Bob Marley - it plays really good). My Epiphone was the heaviest (4.6kg) but I think that I can hear every gramm. 2-3 of them felt "strange", but most of them were ok - just give it a personal test.

The only thing, that worries me: the strings get a bit fast out of tune after bendings (putting graphite in the saddle didn't help) and the pup's sound too muddy and dark for my taste.
Last week I got a SD JB for bridge and it fits like hell. since I had a dimarzio AirNorton laying around I put htat in for neck: it's sounds better but way too bassy (ok, the arinorton pushes bass) and the presence is totally missing. So I haven't yet decided what pup to get: sh-1 or sh-2...

So the base (=body+neck) is definitely there and good if you buy an epiphone. you just might have to invest some of your earned money into new pup's and eventually into tuners as well (if you experience the same tuning problems as I do).

greetz
grams

PS: Sidenode: Any recommendations for my neck? maybe something totally different?

 

[flickoflash]

Re: epiphone les pauls?

I highly recommend the Epi 7 string. I have had 50's - present Gibsons & have sold them all but will not sell the 7 string.You can find great deals on them on ebay. I might add i am also a guitar designer & builder & the construction in on pare with the higher $$$ guitar so don't believe the hype if it ain't a "G" it's crap....P.s. I am in search of a pair of cream 7 string rings for a LP replica kimble10@msn.com :saeek:

 

[theboatcandream]

Re: epiphone les pauls?

I highly recommend the Epi 7 string. I have had 50's - present Gibsons & have sold them all but will not sell the 7 string.You can find great deals on them on ebay. I might add i am also a guitar designer & builder & the construction in on pare with the higher $$$ guitar so don't believe the hype if it ain't a "G" it's crap....P.s. I am in search of a pair of cream 7 string rings for a LP replica kimble10@msn.com :saeek:

I love my epiphone 7 string as well, but it has a maple neck and alder cap and poly finish and it started off with horrible pickups and post and a switch that died and a nut that cracked in half and the tailpiece and bridge could stand to be swapped out with aluminum ones but the tuners are good.

It's not crap, but it has its flaws.

 

[matrixman_397]

Re: epiphone les pauls?

Just worked on another Epi Les Paul Custom. These can be excellant guitars equal in tone and playability to many Gibson USA Les Pauls!

I did have to do a little fret leveling, recrown and polish to get it to play it's best but it was worth it.

I replaced all of the electronics including all of the pots and the switch. New Duncan Jazz neck and JB bridge pickups.

Changed the tone pots to push/pull pots so we can split either pickup and use it as a single coil.

Great guitar! No reservations at all about recommending one to anyone!

Lew

Hey i'v got a Epiphone Les Paul Custom and am upgrading it with cts pots, new switch, gold plated jack, silver wiring, bone nut and putting some Seymour Duncan Custom and Jazz pickups in. I'm getting it fully setup once installed.

Do the frets really need re-leveling, i'v never thought about anything else and what does a recrown and polish mean?

 

[matrixman_397]

Re: epiphone les pauls?

Lew,

since you have customizing experience with customs, wanna know if the gold hardware on the epi LP custom loses its "gold"-ness ie exposing the chrome finish after sometime.

I'v got a Custom, it really depends on the nature of your hands as in how much they sweat and how acidic it is and where you leave your guitar. In my case, my hands tend to sweat very little and dry most of the time as well me always putting my guitar back in its case after using it. All the gold hardware on my Epi Les Paul looks just like when i bought it over 1 year and 6 months ago. But i have heard the gold wearing in a matter of months from some reviews.

Oh and in answer to your intial question, i think epi les pauls are great, it plays really nice for me and thats stock. The pickups do sound a little muddy so i quick change of these will easily make it sing better, but since i bought the guitar to start off learning on that didn't bother me. I'm getting all the work as mentioned above installed in about a week and new setup and hoping it plays even better.

 

[nahfuten]

Re: epiphone les pauls?

Yeah, my Epi LP Zakk bullseye feels after a pickup upgrade like a real guitar.
Never regretted buying it.
With Epi you don't pay for the 'name' like Gibson, so it is real worth the money.
Prices may vary from shop to shop, so investigate it first.
My LP was 699 euro, but I saw it for 800 euro too!

I know this is a duncan forum, but what was wrong with the Hz-4's that came on the Zakk model???

 

[flickoflash]

Re: epiphone les pauls?

I love my epiphone 7 string as well, but it has a maple neck and alder cap and poly finish and it started off with horrible pickups and post and a switch that died and a nut that cracked in half and the tailpiece and bridge could stand to be swapped out with aluminum ones but the tuners are good.

It's not crap, but it has its flaws.

I don't feel mine is that bad but the replica will be to 50's specs & all the bells & whistles ( even aged) shoot me a email theboatcandream if your interested kimble10@msn.com


(* in need of a set of cream 7 string pickup rings)

 

[theodie]

Re: epiphone les pauls?

I think the Epi Les Paul Custom can be made into a totally professional guitar by installing new pickups and doing a little fret leveling, polishing and careful set up work. Lew

I have done the same thing Lew has suggested to you with my Epi LP. I agree with him!!! It is now a totally professional axe.

 

[theboatcandream]

Re: epiphone les pauls?

I don't feel mine is that bad but the replica will be to 50's specs & all the bells & whistles ( even aged) shoot me a email theboatcandream if your interested kimble10@msn.com


(* in need of a set of cream 7 string pickup rings)

Neat! However, I'm a poor college student right now. Maybe down the road. I'd definately enjoy seeing a gallery of what you come up with however.

Any chance of 7 string models with P90s? :-D

 

[casblah]

Re: epiphone les pauls?

I've got an Epi LP Standard. As mentioned, upgrade the pups, electronics, tuners, and the nut, and the axe takes on a whole new character.