Look Past The Logo

This is a tricky article to write. I've been meaning to write a new lesson for some time now but all these interesting ideas for useful stuff keep popping into my head. The latest came to me as I was diligently searching for a new guitar.

I'm a Gibson fan. There's just something about those guitars that I love. The shape of the neck, the shorter scale, the angle of the headstock, and so much more. A few years back I sold a very nice Les Paul Double Cut in order to pay some bills. Soon after I sold my trusty Swamp Ash Explorer Studio. I'm sure a lot of us have been there at some point. Needless to say, I don't regret it. But I do miss the guitars quite a bit. I've been playing a rather nice Fender Telecaster Special Edition since then. While this guitar is quite good, I don't like it as much as my old Gibsons.

Well, here I am searching for a new Gibson. My first one cost me $800, but I now have $1,200 to spend on one. I want a Les Paul, so I figured that with $1,200 I would need to either get a Les Paul Studio or some wreck Les Paul Custom with a broken headstock and a back that's gone from rash to cancer.

After much deliberation I thought I had finally decided on a Studio in Alpine White with Gold hardware. Not a Standard with a silky binding or a Custom, but a "meat and potatoes" Gibson in every sense of the word. My only dilemma, I thought, was whether I should buy it online to save a few bucks or go to the nearest shop (same company probably anyway) and try out a few. A few stories of "dogs" had me worried about buying a lower-end Gibson online. That's when my dilemma only got worse: It came in the form of an Epiphone Elitist Les Paul.

When I first saw it, I was just about to dismiss it in a split second. I was like, "No, I'm not going to buy a freaking Epiphone." But something caught my eye. First of all, it said "Made in Japan". Now, I must be honest, I do admire the Japanese quite a bloody bit. The cars for one thing. Oh! ...and the techy stuff. But while half the world is focused on American made guitars, the Japanese are coming out with some really awesome stuff. After that, I saw the reviews - 5 stars all over the place! Ok, I might as well read on I thought. Now, for fear of this article sounding like a cheap endorsed advertisement, I'm not going to go in detail as to what makes this guitar great. But I do have to point out one very important thing... The claims are that you can get a guitar that's just as good as an American made Les Paul Custom for the price of a Les Paul Studio. Now that to me is something!

Now, earlier I said my dilemma got worse. Basically, I need to learn to look past the logo. I need to be able to forget about the stupid logo on the headstock and think about what really matters: What am I getting for my money? Today, we are bombarded with publicity and people are programmed to buy accordingly. I haven't fully decided yet which way I'm going to go yet. In fact, I haven't fully decided the relevance of this article. But one thing I do know: All of us reading this have been in more or less the same position before. Whether it be with a guitar, an effects pedal or whatever. So I guess it's relevant after all.

Comments

[garboozled]

I agreed with you right up to the end. You cannot go cheap on an effects pedal.

[sTx]

Neither on amps.

[Morning Star]

I don't think he's talking about going cheap (having $1200 to spend on a guitar is certainly not 'going cheap' to me). He's talking about not pre-judging a brand because it's not cool or has produced some bad stuff in the past. Judge each case on its own merits and I agree totally although it's still hard not to fall into that trap sometimes.

[troyponce]

The irony of the article being that he only mentions ever owning Gibson and Fender made instruments and sticks with the former in the end. For $1200 there are some damn nice Schecters on the market which will leave money stil in your pocket, or you could get a mid/low range PRS, or you could custom order a Carvin and still be in the same general price range. I agree with the spirit of the article, but not the implementation the author describes.

[dale-banez]

troyponce wrote:

The irony of the article being that he only mentions ever owning Gibson and Fender made instruments and sticks with the former in the end. For $1200 there are some damn nice Schecters on the market which will leave money stil in your pocket, or you could get a mid/low range PRS, or you could custom order a Carvin and still be in the same general price range. I agree with the spirit of the article, but not the implementation the author describes.

+1 on the Carvin there

[Gus Pablo]

I play a bootleg LP by some company called Brownsville. It's the only brownsville I've ever seen, but I got it for 300 and it plays beautiful. Goes to show, hm?

[dnamra13]

i only have to say that you have to try out and read the specs of every guitar or whatever to make you opinion.

[latinosuperstud]

i agree completely with the support for mij and mik guitars... MIA just adds to the price tag, not necessarily the quality

[warlockking]

My local small music store sells mainly lower priced guitars. It carries a brand few have probably heard of called Copely. This is an amazing brand. I go in there and play one of them, an SG every day at lunch from school, the owner doesn't mind me doing so. Well just this week he got in a consignment GIBSON SG. I played it as soon as i saw it and was suprised and dissapointed. A 600 dollar Gibson SG did not play as well as the 250 dollar Copley. Another time, a friend brought over his Steve Vai JEM, the pink one. of course he let me play it. I didn't really notice a whole lot of difference other than the floating trem from my 150 dollar warlock, actually in many ways i like the warlock better. I can deffinetly relate to what the author is saying because of experiences like this.

[HavokStrife]

I had the same problem in the form of a Gibson Explorer and a Jackson KV2.

I got the Gibson.

Money ruled me. I gotta say I am really pleased though.

[qotsa1998]

Good article. There are alot of off-brand guitars (anything on Rondomusic.com for example) that are much cheaper than the guitars they copy, yet have about the same quality and different/better features. Where else are you gonna find a Les Paul with a near-uniform neck profile other than a custom job?

[RedMoonMan]

you can go cheap on amps and pedals if you but custom amps and pedal from local shops, and they often sound 20 times better in my opinion.

[COBHC728]

troyponce wrote:

The irony of the article being that he only mentions ever owning Gibson and Fender made instruments and sticks with the former in the end. For $1200 there are some damn nice Schecters on the market which will leave money stil in your pocket, or you could get a mid/low range PRS, or you could custom order a Carvin and still be in the same general price range. I agree with the spirit of the article, but not the implementation the author describes.

+2 for the schecter

[Cannibalkyle16]

COBHC728 wrote:

troyponce wrote:

The irony of the article being that he only mentions ever owning Gibson and Fender made instruments and sticks with the former in the end. For $1200 there are some damn nice Schecters on the market which will leave money stil in your pocket, or you could get a mid/low range PRS, or you could custom order a Carvin and still be in the same general price range. I agree with the spirit of the article, but not the implementation the author describes.


+2 for the schecter

+3 for schecter

[Vette1]

I read an article in guitar world a few months back that compared the epiphone and the gibson les paul. One for $400-600 and the other for $1500-2000. The hardware was a wash. The differences was in the quality of the wood / and bonding and how the Gibson put out better sustain because of it. But I acquired a new found respect for the Ephiphone. Go for it.

[Vette1]

The Gibson studio in Alpine White and gold hardware sounds great also. I heard it at guitar center thru the pedal test stand I was thinking of buying one but face the same dilema.

[-Rane-]

guitarguy2007 wrote:

YA I THOUGHT IT WAS FUNNY HOW IT WAS CALLED LOOKING PAST THE LOGO AND YOUR LOOKING FOR ONLY GIBSON OR EPY. I DO AGREE WITH THE PRINCIPLE OF THE ARTICLE 100% THOUGH. I'D LOOK AT SOME OTHER SINGLE CUTS AND SEE IF THERE IS BETTER VALUE FOR PRICE THAN THAT EPY (MORE THAN LIKELY IS). GOOD ARTICLE.

What's with the caps lock?

[bjodne]

the Gibson LP Studio's are freaking great! I bought a Black w/ Gold Hardware bout half a year back and man they can't be compared to the Epipone Studio. It's just the tone and the feel of the entire guitar, I'm not saying that the Epiphone ones are shite but they simply don't match up to a Made in U.S.A Gibson Les Paul Studio...

Don't really see the relevance of my post to this article but just thought I'd shout it out there ;P

[jesseOsauchelli]

ya ive bin down that road but now i have a custom epiphone les paul

[fitzyfantastic]

My Hondo is amazing. I think that's all I need to say.

[dylanfromearth]

every guitarist should carve thier guitar from a solid tree limb that was struck by lightning and wrestle a mad horse to get the hair for the strings

[axe_man]

yer your so right it's not just the guitar industry it's everywhere. Ask someone what mp3 they have the biggest percentage will say an ipod because they're cool they're not necessarily the best but people want them.

i have a sort same problem but with certain shapes...ex

[restless_thrash]

-Rane- wrote:

guitarguy2007 wrote:

YA I THOUGHT IT WAS FUNNY HOW IT WAS CALLED LOOKING PAST THE LOGO AND YOUR LOOKING FOR ONLY GIBSON OR EPY. I DO AGREE WITH THE PRINCIPLE OF THE ARTICLE 100% THOUGH. I'D LOOK AT SOME OTHER SINGLE CUTS AND SEE IF THERE IS BETTER VALUE FOR PRICE THAN THAT EPY (MORE THAN LIKELY IS). GOOD ARTICLE.


What's with the caps lock?

Cruise control for cool.

[mdawg24]

dylanfromearth wrote:

every guitarist should carve thier guitar from a solid tree limb that was struck by lightning and wrestle a mad horse to get the hair for the strings

That's what I did, it seems to be working out pretty well.

Lol seriously though, I agree. I have a friend that's a really good guitarist, and whenever I ask him if something is a good deal, he says, "If you like it, yes." I don't have any one off guitars, but I've played some pretty nice ones.
There really was supposed to be a point to my rant, but I guess it didn't really work out

[jarett]

thats exactly kinda what ive been trying to tell quiet a few people if your supper desperet to have a gibson just sand off the headstock and repant it then you can put a gibson logo on it.

[WishfulShredder]

err with the "japanese quality" issue
people realized that they were making awesome stuff back in the 80's
why do you think ibanez and tokai got sued?

I also think that china will be the next country to exude quality. I recently played some blueridge acoustics and they sounded amazing.

[secondsfromheav]

Gus Pablo wrote:

thats funny one of my first guitars was a brownsville es-335 semi-hollow remake. i love it to, plays almost as nicely as the gibson, put pickups are quite up to par. i think i pai 399 for mine or something

I play a bootleg LP by some company called Brownsville. It's the only brownsville I've ever seen, but I got it for 300 and it plays beautiful. Goes to show, hm?

[giginthesky]

One thing nobody mentioned is a Gibson will keep its value longer than an Epiphone will. On a Gibson the price goes up and on an Epi it goes down pr stays the same. But it really is all up to the buyer. I'm still saving for a Paul Allender PRS, so go for what you want, cause if you get anything else you'll always wonder "What if?"

[rokknrollldude]

Mex fenders get put down by american fender owners, but fix the pickups and they are almost the same damn thing for half the price

[rokknrollldude]

sry for double post, but reverend makes AWESOME guitars for around a price of 500 bucks each

[Vette1]

I'm going to do what dylanfromearth says and cut down my own tree for the wood. problem is, I want the tree that eary model Les Paul that now goes for $200,000 came from. As far as the Strings? Use my girlfriends hair from

[mp3stalin]

Vette1 wrote:

I'm going to do what dylanfromearth says and cut down my own tree for the wood. problem is, I want the tree that eary model Les Paul that now goes for $200,000 came from. As far as the Strings? Use my girlfriends hair from

i LOL'd. hard.

[cheapr2keepr]

I'm gonna have the mighty Thor cut me a neck from the same wood that he used for his hammer - he's a close friend, and owes me a favor for when I saved him from an a$$-kicking back in grade school. Then I will have the strings spun by old mythological Greek hags in the pits of Hades.

I have an old Strat knockoff I got over 20 years ago. I just replaced the neck with an Eden I bought from China, and a new bridge for

[cheapr2keepr]

(cont^)

[cheapr2keepr]

cont^

[sim_1113]

i own a $430 Ibanez RG4EXQM1 that i got from guitar center, and i've played it against over $4000 Les Paul Customs and its beat them all over the place as far as distorion and harmonics.

(I have not modified the ibanez in any way) However, i do have to say that the LPs had a little bit better clean sound.

You can always get new pickups. But I can hang with that for a $3570 price difference.

[Lukeydoodly]

I dont care if i like a certain guitar make or not.

I like the GUITAR. Not the company.

[Hp312]

At the end of the day, whats wrong with epiphone, I've got a standard Les Paul, and I've never had problems with it, good article, but too constricted, just Fender or Gibson, what about all the other companies out there?

[E-dogg66]

I love my Epiphone gold top les paul, My buddy has a Gibson and when we get together, you can't tell the difference by the sound, They both sound great!!!

[kevlarmusicmojo]

ehh but i really do think epiphone is crap to gibson haha. on the other hand, i agree in most other cases.

[cashewchaching]

great stuff man, but, nobody will really listen. they'll still be drooling over everything that says Gibson on the headstock, regardless of it's tone.

[Skater901]

troyponce wrote:

The irony of the article being that he only mentions ever owning Gibson and Fender made instruments and sticks with the former in the end. For $1200 there are some damn nice Schecters on the market which will leave money stil in your pocket, or you could get a mid/low range PRS, or you could custom order a Carvin and still be in the same general price range. I agree with the spirit of the article, but not the implementation the author describes.

I think the thing you have to realise is that he says he's a Gibson fan, because he loves the body, the neck, the feel, the cut, ect. ect. So he doesn't just love Gibsons for the brand, he loves them for the guitars themselves.

Good article, I agree. Sometimes we get so focused on the logo that we forget to evaluate the actual item. I have a cheap imitation Les Paul and to my ears it sounds fine. Although, to be honest, I don't have the best ears around.

[Vette1]

Or you could save$25K and get that Eddie Vanhalen replica of his orginal (remember eruption solo) red/black striped Kramer "frankenstein" guitar. No kidding, that's what they want for an exact replica piece of __t. Better hurry cause they only made 300 of them. Rusted pickups, cigarett burns and all. Saw it in guitar world.

[Vette1]

I'll take a gibson Jimmy Page Les paul ltd edition that (if you give it to me)and appreciate it for it's look & feel. I can't play it well enought to bring out the sound difference, but vicariosly I will be the man - legend in my own mind. Can't do that with an epiphone. But I aint putting epiphone down.

[Emenius Sleepus]

troyponce wrote:

The irony of the article being that he only mentions ever owning Gibson and Fender made instruments and sticks with the former in the end. For $1200 there are some damn nice Schecters on the market which will leave money stil in your pocket, or you could get a mid/low range PRS, or you could custom order a Carvin and still be in the same general price range. I agree with the spirit of the article, but not the implementation the author describes.

it's not really the point of the article though, it's about not making decisions about a guitar based on a brand. It could be applied to any manufacturer

[geluidsterroris]

I do go cheap on effects. I built a fuzz pedal myself sounds just like the dallas arbiter

[TheZookeeper]

Ummm... I do believe your sound is more to do with your amp than your guitar.
Buy a guitar that feels comfortable and splash out on a great amp and some effects if need be.
A Squier can sound pretty good when its put through the right amp.

[alex lifeson7]

im not understanding why people are telling this guy to buy a shcecter. Schecter makes a great guitar, but if this guy is playing les pauls and telecasters, he probly isnt gonna want a schecter, since les pauls/telecasters are (GENERALLY) made for different music styles.
as to the intent of this article, yeah, definitely a good idea to look past the brand. I have heard it so many times, that a 1200 dollar epiphone is better then a 1200 dollar gibson. I own an epiphone SG that cost me 450, and im really happy with it.

[the boogieman]

i thought it was common knowledge to get the best bang for your buck and look past logos???

lawl

[Harjibaby]

my Shine tele kicks the ass of every fender tele i've ever played... love that thing to bits

[sim_1113]

gibson and fender have some guitars that are over $2000 and dont even have any good features on them. your just paying that much for the gibson/fender name. Both brands make some beautiful sounding guitars, but you could generally get a much better guitar for half the price with another brand...

But, thats not necesarily what hes talkin about in the article.

[americablanco]

Its people like you that don't help the American economy. BUY AMERICAN! (the OLD Wal-Mart way)

[Sanitarium91]

If you like the guitar alot and it's twice as cheap as the Fender/Gibson etc., then buy it. A friend of mine is completely obsessed with the logo, and I think it's ridiculous.

[Vette1]

I've learned in life that - if you didn't know the price and had to choose between A & B, FOR THE MOST PART, the one you think is better in quality, looks, craftsmanship etc.. COST THE MOST. Whether it's guitars, cars, clothes, hookers or whatever. So you set your price and get the best value for it.

[Vette1]

So, for a $1,000, it comes to the top model of the low end or the bottom model at the high end. That is where the logo junkies prefer to go. But in the end, good quality for fair price for both.

[Ibanez Junkie]

Exactly. I sing the praises of Ibanez, because to me everything else just feels like a normal guitar, but I used to have an Explorer that I loved dearly. I have played non Ibanez guitar that I like a lot.

[lewis_grey]

giginthesky wrote:

One thing nobody mentioned is a Gibson will keep its value longer than an Epiphone will. On a Gibson the price goes up and on an Epi it goes down pr stays the same. But it really is all up to the buyer. I'm still saving for a Paul Allender PRS, so go for what you want, cause if you get anything else you'll always wonder "What if?"

What you say is right, I think that you should always look at your dream guitar and then save up as long as you have to because generally once you have it your set for life.

[SL!!!]

dnamra13 wrote:

i only have to say that you have to try out and read the specs of every guitar or whatever to make you opinion.

Yeah, this is really all the article needed to say. One sentence, and that could have been the article, haha, really that's all you need to say about this subject and it's right. Look for a guitar you like the looks of, read up on the specs and try it out. That's it.

[SL!!!]

Sanitarium91 wrote:

If you like the guitar alot and it's twice as cheap as the Fender/Gibson etc., then buy it. A friend of mine is completely obsessed with the logo, and I think it's ridiculous.

Situations like that are partly true, but a quality instrument does denote a certain price range because the materials and craftsmanship that give beautiful tone/looks/clarity etc. do cost money.

[Scum-bag Carrol]

+1

[CobenBlack]

Vette1 wrote:

I read an article in guitar world a few months back that compared the epiphone and the gibson les paul. One for $400-600 and the other for $1500-2000. The hardware was a wash. The differences was in the quality of the wood / and bonding and how the Gibson put out better sustain because of it. But I acquired a new found respect for the Ephiphone. Go for it.

to be fair though, the les paul could sustain a lot more as well, ie. neck thru, or hardmounted pickups, etc. but i agree, nothing better than the little guitar that cud.

Checked.

[lockless7x]

dylanfromearth wrote:

every guitarist should carve thier guitar from a solid tree limb that was struck by lightning and wrestle a mad horse to get the hair for the strings

completly agree

[ibanez87]

Yes, don't be immediately turned away by the brand.

[teleblaster]

if it were my money, i'd get the mij epiphone!

[ShredderOmega]

I agree with the point, but as yet I'm unable to find a guitar I enjoy playing that isn't an ESP/Ltd... I've found many others that look awesome though, Halo guitars for a start (though I've never managed to play one...)

[jetfuel495]

I'd rather have a high end Epiphone than a low end Gibson.

Of course, I'd take a Schecter Hellraiser over either of them.

[Set-Abominae]

jetfuel495 wrote:

I'd rather have a high end Epiphone than a low end Gibson.

Of course, I'd take a Schecter Hellraiser over either of them.

This man speaks the truth. $900 for mine and it's never let me down.

[H, Omitted]

WishfulShredder wrote:

err with the "japanese quality" issue
people realized that they were making awesome stuff back in the 80's
why do you think ibanez and tokai got sued?

I also think that china will be the next country to exude quality. I recently played some blueridge acoustics and they sounded amazing.

I have a guitar that was MIC, and it sounds good

[ChazBcWarlock]

i agree, i havea jackson ke3 and it is awesome, i played the jackson rr24 and it didnt sound as good as the ke 3 did, im thinkin of getting a epiphone when i get the cash

[the boogieman]

WishfulShredder wrote:

err with the "japanese quality" issue
people realized that they were making awesome stuff back in the 80's
why do you think ibanez and tokai got sued?

+1

and especially considering the quality control problems of american guitars recently, japanese made axes are surpassing them, imo

korean made guitars are also getting good

[Xeus]

anyone think there might be some gibson subterfuge here? :p

[theguitarfarmer]

dylanfromearth wrote:

every guitarist should carve thier guitar from a solid tree limb that was struck by lightning and wrestle a mad horse to get the hair for the strings

lol, no i really did laugh out loud.

[psychokiller99]

i'm not gonna dismiss the fact that there are probably a lot of well made guitars that are affordable and sound good, but ppl there's a reason why expensive guitars like Gibson's and Fender's are sought after classics. i sat in a GC and played a very nice ESP through a marshall. not a bad sound. but it felt like a toy and it's clean tone was okay. then i grabbed a 2000 dollar gibson les paul classic. there's really no comparison. the LP has all the balls, the tone, it's solid, heavy...anyways, i'm not gonna advertise here, but my point is that even though they are expensive, guitars like that are worth the money. maybe not to some of us cuz we're not professional musicians, but to someone who plays music for a living, i can definitely see it as being a worthwhile investment. in the end, if i had the money i would gladly drop it on a high end LP or telecaster. (but i think i set my limit to about 3 grand lol).

[Underjoggle]

I quite like obscure brands.
Josh Homme plays them all the time, and he's kickass.

[CaRveItiNbass]

theres very little difference usually. with esp and ltd, the alexi from esp is like 4 grand, and the highest quality version from ltd is 1 grand. whats difference? the paint jobs and the tuners. thats it. what the hell, man.

[Underjoggle]

Gus Pablo wrote:

I play a bootleg LP by some company called Brownsville. It's the only brownsville I've ever seen, but I got it for 300 and it plays beautiful. Goes to show, hm?

I've got a Brownsville SG knockoff. Not bad at all.
I probably shouldn't have spilled chicken soup on it, though.

[phillyguitar]

dylanfromearth wrote:

every guitarist should carve thier guitar from a solid tree limb that was struck by lightning and wrestle a mad horse to get the hair for the strings

lol

[maidenpriest69]

AGILE GUITARS!!!!! alll the way

[duke2446]

you buy something good and it lasts you a lifetime you buy a piece of shit and your gonna keep buying one for ever, yeah Gibson are more expensive but they hold their value and people make them last alot longer to

[axejam123]

I totally understand this guy. As much as I would LOVE to have a Gibson LP Classic Goldtop (oooooh baby), I'm more than satisfied with my Epi LP Standard Plus. This thing goes new for 500, i bought it used with Seymour Duncans installed for 400. Ive now had it for 4 years, and it has never failed me. No parts replaced, no upkeep except for strings and intonation, and it always sounds good.

However, Squier is crap. Thats one logo I'll never get past. In that realm, it's gotta be a Fender.

[djjiles]

This is very true! Just never ever buy a Sammick guitar...lol

They aren't bad for beginners though.

[JayRich]

i find it all depends on how a guitar is setup. forget what make it is unless its got shit wood and shit electronics thats a different story. I usually have a chance to play a $2000 PRS whenever i want but i stick to my $300 squier jagmaster because i prefer how its setup (its more metal setup, straighter neck etc...)

[Shread_6009]

one thing is that, especially with hand made guitars, some guitars of the exact same brand and model can have an incredibaly different sound. thats why some artists have guitars like B.B. Kings Lucille, or Randy Rhoads polka dot flying V, so it proves its not just brands, each individual guitar has a distinct sound.

[ceilinginmotion]

You know whats funny. I would much rather keep the Fender telecaster SE than either one of those. But hey I guess thats just me. Maybe I can have yur old one lol.

[nedthehead]

The fact of the matter is you payed $1200 for an Epiphone. I'd demand my money back, and if you like the guitar, go buy it (the Epiphone) for a LOT cheaper and save your money. You really did get conned, because as great as the guitar is, it will never knowingly sell for $1200

[Gorre]

Cannibalkyle16 wrote:

COBHC728 wrote:

troyponce wrote:

The irony of the article being that he only mentions ever owning Gibson and Fender made instruments and sticks with the former in the end. For $1200 there are some damn nice Schecters on the market which will leave money stil in your pocket, or you could get a mid/low range PRS, or you could custom order a Carvin and still be in the same general price range. I agree with the spirit of the article, but not the implementation the author describes.


+2 for the schecter

+3 for schecter

+500 for schecter

[nightraven]

ceilinginmotion wrote:

You know whats funny. I would much rather keep the Fender telecaster SE than either one of those. But hey I guess thats just me. Maybe I can have yur old one lol.

+1, i'll trade my epiphone sg for a telecaster :p

[alexelworthy]

talking of schecters
does anyone know anyone that sells them in uk
i hate buying off the internet

[twat]

Haha. I bought a Farida Strat rip for £100 and it is awesome.

[twat]

Forget that. Sod it all and buy a manson.

[gnome_hovel7]

Epiphone Les Paul Customs are pretty nice, and you could always switch out the hardware for gibson parts to improve playability. It's resale value will never be the same, but because of what you've been saying, monetary value isn't as important as function. I'll bet that if you bought an inexpensive guitar like that, you wouldn't be tempted to sell it because you wouldn't get as much money as you should for such an amazing instrument.

[ceilinginmotion]

nightraven wrote:

ceilinginmotion wrote:

You know whats funny. I would much rather keep the Fender telecaster SE than either one of those. But hey I guess thats just me. Maybe I can have yur old one lol.
+1, i'll trade my epiphone sg for a telecaster :p

Lol I have an Epiphone SG too

[MacD44]

BC Rich is a notorious brand for people only looking at the logo and whatnot. Sure, the guitars may look awesome, but a lot of them don't play as well as other brands.

checked.

[LosBastardos]

Yamaha E-1006GC. Bought it at a samm's club. plays better than any standard strat or squier i've heard.

BC Rich isn't any worse than any other metal brand. Sure, the warlocks are crap, but i havn't met an assassin or a mockingbird that wasn't shredworthy.

[Necronomicon]

this should be a forum post not an article.

[Guitar Sushi]

Buy a Jackson, or a Dean. Who needs the crap Gibson churns out.

[ilikebass]

The author of this article needs to go buy a Schecter Hellraiser.

[Axe_Burner]

I've owned a Brawley Threat 224 for several years now. It's one of the best-playing guitars I've ever seen, and it only cost me $350. I like the way it sounds and feels way better than the Gibsons and PRS's I compared it to. I'd love to pick up a new guitar, but nothing feels as good as, or resonates like my Threat. Labels really don't matter, what matters is what feels and sounds good, be that a Gibson, Schecter, Dean, Brawley or whatever!

[Sunburst459]

djjiles, I agree with you about Sammick, except for the Avion AV6 LTD (set neck, mahogany Les Paul look-a-like with a spalted maple laminate on top)that I have. It may need better pickups, but it blows the Epiphones that I have tried out of the water. Mind you, this guitar's MSRP was $1000.00, I got it for half price from a small shop that was trying to clear out the shelves for some Schecters. If I had a Marshal, It would so much better though...

[Sunburst459]

Correction: It would sound so much better.

[Matt_1213]

Don't forget the Aussie made Col Clarke guitars; anyone who's ever played one will understand what i mean. They are, in a word, sublime, and usually about half the price of the Gibson/Fender equivalent while beating them hands down.

[Triumph2002]

I would agree, that sometimes you do get a decent guitar cheap, I own a korean Ibanez and after replacing the bridge pick up with a modified Seymour Duncan Invader it improved 300 percent. But normally I buy U.S.A. made guitars and amps. That money is somebody's salary in this country. Buy made in America if you can, if you can't put some american made pick ups on it.

[ThunderbirdGirl]

Alright, I'll say from the start that I'm a bass player, so I'm probably way out of line even posting here. But anyway, I have an Epiphone Thunderbird V. I bought it a Guitar Center for $199.00 on sale. I had previously played the Gibson Thunderbird V's. I have never been one to prefer a guitar over another just because of brand, and true to many of the other posts here, the Epiphone came out on top. The neck, the frets, the body-to-neck weight balance, everything. The low B even felt more natural. I do know that Epi's are 'just knock offs of Gibsons', but I am (#1) too cheap to buy a Gibson, and (#2) a better person than to buy a bad guitar for more $$$ than a cheap guitar with better sound and feel for less. (And I agree with the Japan thing. Mine was actually manufactured in China and is built well enough to stand up to my playing. That's really saying something.)

And to the guy who said the thing about carving it from a tree and wrestling a horse for strings: You are my hero if you did that.

[steven_mcc3]

look i dont know if this will help u or not but u can go to www.musiciansfriend.com or www.zzounds.com and check them out(les paul or epiphones) but also check out some hamers(www.hamerguitars.com) some of them look like les pauls amd they sound really good. i went to a local music shop in Danville, Virginiaand tried them out. u might like them u might not.

[_jokerman_]

CAN cheap out on amps, just meet someone who makes them. the best amps ever made have probably never had a brand name of them and were made in some geezers shed.

[Notoriousdoc]

£99 Yamaha Pacifica > every fender strat I've played

[bazman13]

i tryed 2300 bucks of gibson sg and 2600 bucks worth of fender strat (thats in nz bucks by the way, so all you yanks can half it and thats almost the us dollar) and i was not incredibly impressed, then i tryed 1600 worth of schecter and I was blown away. coil taps, proper duncan pickups, soild as a rock. it kicks ass

[strat0blaster]

Cannibalkyle16 wrote:

COBHC728 wrote:

troyponce wrote:

The irony of the article being that he only mentions ever owning Gibson and Fender made instruments and sticks with the former in the end. For $1200 there are some damn nice Schecters on the market which will leave money stil in your pocket, or you could get a mid/low range PRS, or you could custom order a Carvin and still be in the same general price range. I agree with the spirit of the article, but not the implementation the author describes.


+2 for the schecter


+3 for schecter

+4 for Schecter. I love those guitars. Gonna get a new one pretty soon here. Sold my old one a couple years back and miss the hell out of it.

Do love my strat, though.

[dickie_kak]

Good article.

[allstar340]

strat0blaster wrote:

Cannibalkyle16 wrote:

COBHC728 wrote:

troyponce wrote:

The irony of the article being that he only mentions ever owning Gibson and Fender made instruments and sticks with the former in the end. For $1200 there are some damn nice Schecters on the market which will leave money stil in your pocket, or you could get a mid/low range PRS, or you could custom order a Carvin and still be in the same general price range. I agree with the spirit of the article, but not the implementation the author describes.


+2 for the schecter


+3 for schecter


+4 for Schecter. I love those guitars. Gonna get a new one pretty soon here. Sold my old one a couple years back and miss the hell out of it.

Do love my strat, though.

im getting a schecter c-1 classic for my b-day, like 16 days from now
amzing guitar

[korn_dawg]

sTx wrote:

Neither on amps.

Except when it comes to some Marshals.. they can be very overpriced.. especially when compared to a Line 6

[Free to Guitar]

While the idea is a good one and the content isn't bad, per se, I don't think this deserved to be an article. The whole thing could be summed up in one or two sentences. A list of alternative brands that imitate X or Y guitar style would have helped pad the article quite a bit.

As for cheaper guitars, I suppose I'll have to be the snob, because I've never liked any guitar that didn't have a 4 digit price tag(the only exception being a Schecter, actually). They've either got a finish and shape that only a metalhead could love(black with a heaping side of black), they are barely playable, or the pickups sound like a live kitten being pureed. Which is a shame, because my pocketbook can't quite come up to post.

[Bodom69]

Gus Pablo wrote:

I play a bootleg LP by some company called Brownsville. It's the only brownsville I've ever seen, but I got it for 300 and it plays beautiful. Goes to show, hm?

Im sorry but bootleg is just too low of a jump. Epiphones and LTDs are one thing but never bootleg. its just unprofessional.

[JXjizo]

dylanfromearth wrote:

every guitarist should carve thier guitar from a solid tree limb that was struck by lightning and wrestle a mad horse to get the hair for the strings

all guitarists should eat horrific lots of pie too