Wife and I made the music shop rounds on Tuesday for a Les Paul Day. We hit 3 shops, a GC, SA and a privately owned shop. I don't want to make this a book (which I'll do, regardless) but I wanted to share my impressions. Opinions only of course.
I hadn't been playing for a while (on and off but mostly off since nerve damage from an injury in 1999/2000) and started back up maybe a year and a half ago so I hadn't made the music shop rounds for a long time to see what was out there. I played a bunch of Gibson and Epi LP's on Tuesday. I was impressed with the apparent quality of the Epi's. They look really nice, some of them downright beautiful. They play nice too but my general impressions were that they still aren't super consistent between different samples of the same models. That said, I don't think I played a bad one but some definitely felt and played better. A lot of that is set-up but not all of it. The Gibsons, to me, were still more consistent. That should be the case considering the prices but I know there has been some Gibson bashing. I don't think I would pay the current prices for a new Gibson LP, but they are still very nice guitars from what I saw. In the looks department though, the Epi's aren't a mile behind, that's for sure. Definitely not $2K+ difference in aesthetics. Really beautiful for not a lot of money. I don't think there was anything in their price range that I saw that had the Epi's beat in outward appearances. The Epi's aren't a mile behind in the playing department either but, my opinion only, they still aren't Gibsons. But I wont say that there is a 2K difference either, not for me anyway. Regardless, the Epi's are much better in all areas compared to the last time I remember looking at a bunch of them. If I were in the market for an affordable Les Paul type guitar, I would be proud to own an Epi. They are beautiful, solid guitars for not a lot of coin. I would still recommend playing a bunch, if possible, and hand pick a favorite. But if one cant do that, an internet purchase is probably more likely that not going to still get you a good guitar. Unless they culled out any bad ones at the stores (I doubt it), I didn't come across a "bad" one.
I can say the same thing about the Gibsons. I didn't play a "bad" one. The biggest disappointment to me that I could readily identify is that there wasn't enough attention paid to the fret ends on a couple of the guitars. They weren't razor sharp but they should have been better dressed. But I didn't have time to go over every inch of every guitar. I didn't study the binding or overall finish work. Definitely something I would do if I were to buy one. So, aside from noticing a few fret ends on a couple of them, nothing obvious stood out. My biggest issue is that I'm not in love with the 60's slim taper neck. Seems like most of the LP's, both Epi and Gibson, have this profile. The necks didn't feel exactly the same between Epis and Gibsons with that profile, but it still isn't my favorite. I could get used to it and would deal on an Epi, no problem, but I would be more selective if I were paying 2K plus for a Gibby. I don't have large hands but I still liked the chunky neck on the Traditional and If I had to buy a Gibson LP, it would probably be a Traditional, for the non-weight relieved body as well as the neck. I played a Les Paul Less Plus too which I liked the neck of, but didn't like the slimmer body.
Here's the biggest surprise ... a 2013 (maybe it was a 2014) Gibson Les Paul 70's tribute. That thin finish was a bad idea because there were a few left overs that had that finish, 2013 and 2014 LPM, LPJ, Tributes, and they all had edges down to the wood from customers handing the guitars on the racks. I think you could sneeze it off. But that 70's Tribute was near mint. That's because the owner (independent shop) was keeping it in the back. He's a friend, we've know each other going way back and he brought it out to let me play it. He stood there with a grin as I hacked my way through whatever I was playing and he wasn't grinning because of my sloppy playing. I don't know how these sub 1K models were received when they came out. I liked the neck (maple) on a dinged up LPJ or LPM that I played but other than that they were just ok. But that 70's Tribute, I absolutely loved the neck and it had the advantage of being set up but that was a f'n sweet playing guitar. Maybe a fluke but I was impressed. Not a huge fan of the Dirty Fingers (easy fix) but the sustain was awesome. He'd been contemplating taking it home but he offered to let me have it. I was window shopping, not looking to buy so it didn't come home with me but I'm thinking on it (I'm currently LP-less, I sold my Studio a couple years ago and my Standard a while back). He's still keeping it in the back room for now.
Sorry for the book. Wanted to share for anyone interested.
I hadn't been playing for a while (on and off but mostly off since nerve damage from an injury in 1999/2000) and started back up maybe a year and a half ago so I hadn't made the music shop rounds for a long time to see what was out there. I played a bunch of Gibson and Epi LP's on Tuesday. I was impressed with the apparent quality of the Epi's. They look really nice, some of them downright beautiful. They play nice too but my general impressions were that they still aren't super consistent between different samples of the same models. That said, I don't think I played a bad one but some definitely felt and played better. A lot of that is set-up but not all of it. The Gibsons, to me, were still more consistent. That should be the case considering the prices but I know there has been some Gibson bashing. I don't think I would pay the current prices for a new Gibson LP, but they are still very nice guitars from what I saw. In the looks department though, the Epi's aren't a mile behind, that's for sure. Definitely not $2K+ difference in aesthetics. Really beautiful for not a lot of money. I don't think there was anything in their price range that I saw that had the Epi's beat in outward appearances. The Epi's aren't a mile behind in the playing department either but, my opinion only, they still aren't Gibsons. But I wont say that there is a 2K difference either, not for me anyway. Regardless, the Epi's are much better in all areas compared to the last time I remember looking at a bunch of them. If I were in the market for an affordable Les Paul type guitar, I would be proud to own an Epi. They are beautiful, solid guitars for not a lot of coin. I would still recommend playing a bunch, if possible, and hand pick a favorite. But if one cant do that, an internet purchase is probably more likely that not going to still get you a good guitar. Unless they culled out any bad ones at the stores (I doubt it), I didn't come across a "bad" one.
I can say the same thing about the Gibsons. I didn't play a "bad" one. The biggest disappointment to me that I could readily identify is that there wasn't enough attention paid to the fret ends on a couple of the guitars. They weren't razor sharp but they should have been better dressed. But I didn't have time to go over every inch of every guitar. I didn't study the binding or overall finish work. Definitely something I would do if I were to buy one. So, aside from noticing a few fret ends on a couple of them, nothing obvious stood out. My biggest issue is that I'm not in love with the 60's slim taper neck. Seems like most of the LP's, both Epi and Gibson, have this profile. The necks didn't feel exactly the same between Epis and Gibsons with that profile, but it still isn't my favorite. I could get used to it and would deal on an Epi, no problem, but I would be more selective if I were paying 2K plus for a Gibby. I don't have large hands but I still liked the chunky neck on the Traditional and If I had to buy a Gibson LP, it would probably be a Traditional, for the non-weight relieved body as well as the neck. I played a Les Paul Less Plus too which I liked the neck of, but didn't like the slimmer body.
Here's the biggest surprise ... a 2013 (maybe it was a 2014) Gibson Les Paul 70's tribute. That thin finish was a bad idea because there were a few left overs that had that finish, 2013 and 2014 LPM, LPJ, Tributes, and they all had edges down to the wood from customers handing the guitars on the racks. I think you could sneeze it off. But that 70's Tribute was near mint. That's because the owner (independent shop) was keeping it in the back. He's a friend, we've know each other going way back and he brought it out to let me play it. He stood there with a grin as I hacked my way through whatever I was playing and he wasn't grinning because of my sloppy playing. I don't know how these sub 1K models were received when they came out. I liked the neck (maple) on a dinged up LPJ or LPM that I played but other than that they were just ok. But that 70's Tribute, I absolutely loved the neck and it had the advantage of being set up but that was a f'n sweet playing guitar. Maybe a fluke but I was impressed. Not a huge fan of the Dirty Fingers (easy fix) but the sustain was awesome. He'd been contemplating taking it home but he offered to let me have it. I was window shopping, not looking to buy so it didn't come home with me but I'm thinking on it (I'm currently LP-less, I sold my Studio a couple years ago and my Standard a while back). He's still keeping it in the back room for now.
Sorry for the book. Wanted to share for anyone interested.
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