Fender, Gibson, Epiphone, or PRS??? Which is the best value at $500-$1000?

[Elfunkenstein]

Re: Fender, Gibson, Epiphone, or PRS??? Which is the best value at $500-$1000?

I HATE Studio Les Pauls with a passion. I have never played one that I liked. It pisses me off because they always look so beautiful. I think that you'd be best with an Agile even though that's actually BELOW your price range. That or a PRS SE which is a fantastic deal. I played one a little while ago and it was incredible.

^^^agreed. I hated my MIM strat with its single coil glass shattering pickups, but the guitar resonated very, very well unplugged. I got some duncan hotrails and now I love the thing. I wish the frets were bigger but hey, that's what you get when you buy a Fender strat.

 

[Elfunkenstein]

Re: Fender, Gibson, Epiphone, or PRS??? Which is the best value at $500-$1000?

"Gibsons are kind of a rip off (cheap pots and bad wiring)?"

Who told you that? They obviously know squat

Gibsons are a huge ripoff especially right now. First of all, almost all of their "good" guitars are very expensive, and they're not good enough to justify the expense. Are they good guitars? Yes, the best guitar I have ever played was a $3000 gold top. Does that justify the price? Hell no. A friend of mine has an Epiphone Sheraton which he put 57 classics in. Darn thing sounds like an es 335. Right now especially, gibson is really selling their stock on name value alone. The wiring and set up jobs they're putting in their guitars right now are for the most part absolutely terrible. As far as I'm concerned, unless you're planning on spending a lot of money, I'd stay away from Gibson.

 

[uOpt]

Re: Fender, Gibson, Epiphone, or PRS??? Which is the best value at $500-$1000?

I HATE Studio Les Pauls with a passion. I have never played one that I liked. It pisses me off because they always look so beautiful.

So you found LP studios to be worse (sound-wise, play-wise) than -say- LP stds?

 

[ibanezrocks]

Re: Fender, Gibson, Epiphone, or PRS??? Which is the best value at $500-$1000?

Gibsons are a huge ripoff especially right now. First of all, almost all of their "good" guitars are very expensive, and they're not good enough to justify the expense. Are they good guitars? Yes, the best guitar I have ever played was a $3000 gold top. Does that justify the price? Hell no. A friend of mine has an Epiphone Sheraton which he put 57 classics in. Darn thing sounds like an es 335. Right now especially, gibson is really selling their stock on name value alone. The wiring and set up jobs they're putting in their guitars right now are for the most part absolutely terrible. As far as I'm concerned, unless you're planning on spending a lot of money, I'd stay away from Gibson.

Find a better guitar of similar construction, for $1000 or less, than Gibson's offerings in that range and I'd like to hear about it. Then check if whatever manufacturer that is has as many models competitively priced as Gibson does.

The fact is they offer affordable versions of classic guitars that many people aspire to own. They cut costs by skimping on the finish, as is the case with the faded series finishes and the lack of fretboard binding on those guitars. The overall quality is obviously decreased in other ways from the high-end Gibsons but you get what you pay for. I don't quite understand the complaint about the wiring, I've never played a Gibson in a store that had faulty wiring. As far as the setup goes I doubt you'll find a cheaper guitar that's set up any better and from what I've seen it usually depends on the store to ruin the guitars.

I'm not bashing Epiphone, they're good guitars for the money, but if you can afford a Gibson and want to get one then the difference in quality versus price is worth it to you. If the OP wants a Gibson (not that he has said he does) and there are options within his price range why should he settle?

 

[Scott_F]

Re: Fender, Gibson, Epiphone, or PRS??? Which is the best value at $500-$1000?

I'm guilty of it as are many of you. There are so many high priced guitars out there that 500-1000 seems almost like chump change in comparison. 635 bucks on a PRS SE is still a LOT of money. Ya know?

 

[tonefreak1527]

Re: Fender, Gibson, Epiphone, or PRS??? Which is the best value at $500-$1000?

http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/Epiphone-Les-Paul-Standard-Electric-Guitar?sku=518341 and put some blackouts in, $800 perfection

 

[uOpt]

Re: Fender, Gibson, Epiphone, or PRS??? Which is the best value at $500-$1000?

I'm guilty of it as are many of you. There are so many high priced guitars out there that 500-1000 seems almost like chump change in comparison. 635 bucks on a PRS SE is still a LOT of money. Ya know?

But they are $200-$250 used and there are no customizations anyway. Anyone buying a new one is insane. Except they want the best guitar for the money in guitar center or something.

 

[astrozombie]

Re: Fender, Gibson, Epiphone, or PRS??? Which is the best value at $500-$1000?

Check out Schecter also. I have three of them and they're all really good guitars, especially for their price range.

YES! at $999 you could get a schecter with tons of features.

 

[astrozombie]

Re: Fender, Gibson, Epiphone, or PRS??? Which is the best value at $500-$1000?

I can probably push $1000 at the very most.

So I'd like to know what would be a good quality electric guitar at these prices.

I'm looking at a couple of models:

Gibson Les Paul Studio Faded (Cherry)
Epiphone Les Paul Goldtop
Fender Tex Mex (Jimmie Vaughan)
Fender Highway One (HSS)
PRS SE models

The Epi LP Goldtop I can get for $300 with a used HSC. I've heard that American Strats and Gibsons are kind of a rip off (cheap pots and bad wiring)? Is this true?

I currently have a MIM Strat with upgraded pickups that I absolutely LOVE . I got it new in '03 before the MIM line went up in price (about $300). Being that I have a Strat, I'd rather look to an LP or PRS.

who are your favorite guitar players?

 

[Lucid_Lunatic]

Re: Fender, Gibson, Epiphone, or PRS??? Which is the best value at $500-$1000?

If you got a grand, hit CL and other classifieds. Buy a nice Gibson Studio for the $600 to $700 range, then use the other $300 to $400 for upgardes.

 

[Wonker]

Re: Fender, Gibson, Epiphone, or PRS??? Which is the best value at $500-$1000?

faded gibson rocks. I have a faded flying v, and it's awesome almost beyond words. The other faded gibsons i've tried have been similarly great.

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