How my Epiphone Les Paul (Made in Korea) compare to a high end Gibson Les Paul Custom Shop

[@dwstoeckel4740]

All the guitar talk was a nice way to spend my morning .. made me wanna close shop early and go play my epiphone😁👍🏻… thanks guys…

[@haroldbelfast]

I'm really enjoying your playing, tone, and presentation. New subscriber here, just wanted to give you some props for a job well done.

[@GUITARSGIZMOS]

Thanks for your kind words 😊 All the best!

[@standingbadger]

Really interesting video. Thank you. The Epi was the star for me - it had the nicest balance of sound for me of the three, and the best-looking. If you are looking for alternative pickups at a very reasonable cost to try, at some point, maybe consider Toneriders? I put a pair of these in a telecaster and was extremely pleased with the sound. I thought I would change them out for 'better' ones at some point but I could not justify spending more because I loved the sound of them so much. They have a good website. I think Speakon in Norway is a distributer for them.

[@derekclacton]

Tonerider absolutely make great pickups!

[@nickdestruct]

Makes me want to get a set of them 57s. Sounds sweet.

[@garypannone7755]

Oh Wow.. They all sound good and you guys both are good players. It is so surprising to me how all 3 guitars sounded totally different when played with a pick vs playing like you play with your fingers and thumb. The custom shop was phenomenal. Yours and the standard held there own compared to the custom shop. I liked the sound of all three and would not kick any of them to the curb. Great video and playing as usual.

[@victorramsey5575]

I have a 2002 Korean Epiphone LP Standard in blue/green burst. Its faded to a Blue/green/yellow burst. Very beautiful guitar, and still plays as good as the day it was new. Still one of my favorites, but it's HEAVY! I play my Jackson SL2 more, but its also getting heavy for me. Im an old man! lol

[@riadmiah3342]

I just picked up an Epiphone 2005 Les Paul and put some Seymour Duncan Antiquity pickups in them. It feels very much like my Gibson LP Standard that is a 2021. Blind folded I don't think I would be able to tell the feel of them apart. Both necks are shaped the same. The Antiquities are much mellower while the burstbucker are higher treble some refer to it as pokie. Great video.

[@blakespurlock5322]

I would highly highly suggest a pair of brandwound 59 PAF replicas and a 50s style wiring harness to take that MIK Epiphone over the edge. They are amazing vintage replicas for a great price.

[@eugenechek7288]

Amazing playing, as always👍

[@arildbjorland4548]

I have a Korean made Joe Perry Boneyard Spesial Edition from 2004 that had Gibson Burstbuckers 2&3 where the Burstbucker 2 in the neck is reverse wound so that middle pos of 3 way switch is out of phase. The body and neck is mahogany with a maple cap with a thick veneer of AAA grade book matched flame maple. Epiphone Les pauls are normally made of alder with the maple cap. This is a copy of a custom shop guitar made for Joe Perry as a Christmas present from his wife and the Boneyard logo is the name of Perry's Studio. This is a high end Epiphone that I’ve seen for sale on Reverb as high as 1300-1400$ But I won’t sell the guitar anyway I just checked out the guitar I knew was a great guitar and there is a good story about how I got it so cheap. But I think you would love to try out this special edition model of a Epiphone Les Paul. They retailed in Norway for 9999kr when a standard was around 4,500kr in 2004-2005.

[@jimroberts3009]

I've a1996 MIK Epiphone Les Paul, it looks and sounds awesome!!!

[@walkinginharmony]

Thank you both for the video. Well you just proved without a doubt "a great guitar is a great guitar" regardless of what it says on the headstock! Change the bridge for a nickel one and enjoy that Epi knowing it sounds fantastic! If Marcello was to decide to change pickups in the 58 I would recommend Seth Lovers....a bit more punch than the Antiquities but still clear. I love that your Subs are climbing too Thor, you deserve it.

[@marcellosguitarcorner4004]

Hallo there and thanks for the tip about the Seth Lover pickups in the 2008 LP. I had considered them as a replacement for the Burstbuckers Pro, but got a little scared by their high output. Cheers!

[@walkinginharmony]

Hi Marcello! I had antiquities in my 59 replica but they were a little too weak. The Seth's are not much higher in terms of power but they are fatter but with superb clarity. The top end is not brittle it's quite harmonic and the treble strings sing! Good luck, your guitar is beautiful.@@marcellosguitarcorner4004

[@GuitaristDanH]

I have an '03 Korean Epiphone Les Paul that I bought for $400 in 2003. I spent another $350 and completely rewired it with a Mojotone kit and dropped in a DiMarzio Super Distortion in the bridge with a PAF 36th Anniversary in the neck. It is an absolute tone monster. Now I have a guitar I spent $750 on that sounds like a professional instrument. I have a 2016 Gibson Les Paul Traditional and I like the Epi just as much. Those old Korean-made Epiphones are gems if you can find one. I definitely recommend upgrading the guts as well as the pickups.

[@aleksik4028]

Pretty sure mine does 😃 1992 Korean. Or at least compete well with standard Gibsons. Changed pickups, tuners, bridge and 50's wiring with new pots. Old Koreans have great body. Electronics and pickups not so good.

[@Someone-lc6dc]

I only have one question - do you do guitar lessons? :O

[@CJNOLAN1972]

I love my MIK Epi. Upgraded with Gibson PuP’s. Only guitar I like better is my Heritage which for all intents and purposes is an original LP. In my opinion only…

[@jaymax3201]

If you want a cheap and good Les Paul, go for Yamano era's Les Paul Studio, without weight relief, of course. Or the current Tokai LS, the latest without paying extra expensive money for the so-called Japan vintage. The most value for money is Tokai's latest LS, but it doesn't have fret edge binding and has a strange truss rod cover. The construction is tighter than Gibson and the sound is tighter and sharper, but with good sustain. If you have a chance, please try the current Tokai 200 class or higher. The best budget Epiphone is the Bonamassa Lazarus. No matter how cheap it is, I can't stand the torture the weird head of the Korean era.

[@tonybruce]

I have one of these which is how i ended up here - Does anyone know how to read the serial number - Gibson made epiphone serial - S6015600

[@vincespezzaferro429]

Your guitar was made at the Samick Plant, Korea on January, 1986,1996 or 2006 Production Number: 5600

[@jayseb]

I've played many models better than the "real thing" - I love my tobacco standard and even think it's better in some ways than my 59 custom shop.

[@mikeb5372]

Really? How foolish do you feel spending thousands of dollars for a guitar you like less than a guitar that can easily be bought for $400-$500?

[@gustavoreiche4763]

marcello didn't like to compare his R8 to an Epi... not happy at all!!

[@simonvanderheijden432]

RANT ALERT!! What used to be the "entry level" Gibsons (non Customshop) will be replaced with Epiphone and Gibson guitars will become even more expensive. Very clever marketing. Slowly the prices of the Epiphone guitars will rise to the level of what the "cheaper"(very relative term here) Gibsons use to cost. The prices of the normal (non customshop) Gibsons will rise to the level of what the customshop prices where a couple of years ago and the prices of the customshop guitars will go through the roof (if they didn't already). Like I said, very clever marketing. Gibson use to be a guitarcompany but now it has become a lifestyle brand. Everybody was so happy with new management a couple of years ago. Granted, 'ol Henry almost ran the company into the ground and something had to be done but this is getting ridiculous. My beef with Gibson is not about quality or the old "don't look at it or the headstock will snap" bs.. It's about being bamboozled by the company. They are ripping us off. The prices are souring but the guitars aren't really getting better. And I'm not jealous because I can't afford one.. I own about a dozen Gibson, 9 of them are Les Pauls (I LOVE!!!! Les Pauls) and 3 of those Les Pauls are customshop guitars and I've been playing Gibsons (very poorly I must admit) for most of adult life. But this just ain't funny anymore. My brother, who owns a 2019 Gibson Flying V, felt the need (for some reason) to buy an Epiphone Korina Flying V. And it's a piece of .... 1400 euro's he paid for it, it's firewood.. I think he paid 1600 euro's for his Gibson. WTF? Like the Les Paul in the video, I own a 90's Epiphone Explorer. vastly superior to the new Epiphones. And a LOT cheaper.. With that being said.. I love Gibson Les Pauls but I loath what the company has become. (just my opinion, probably not shared by the makers of this video.. 🤣🤣)

[@marcellosguitarcorner4004]

Hallo, I totally agree with you with the way Gibson is going. I bought my LP’s in 2009 and 2011 and then the Epiphones LP’s I tried were not that great.

[@mikmoody3907]

Already happening.