Is this CHEAP Epiphone with P-90s worth it? [guitar review and demo]

[@ArtOfShredYT]

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[@davidsharp3110]

I bought one, I upgraded the tuners and replaced the funky thing with a Graphtech nut. Yes, it has a bolt on neck but so does Fender. HAHAHA. It is now perfect. I'm not spending anymore funds to Epiphone/Gibson Corporation. They are taking everyone along for the financial rip off ride. Been there once, never again. My Epi P90 is a wonderful guitar. Epiphone made a great Chinese manufactured guitar. It's a keeper for life. Mine has the best mahogany body ever known to man. The resonance is so fine. I love it. Thank you.

[@ArtOfShredYT]

Good upgrades! Thanks for sharing and watching 🤘

[@josephballerini3730]

Yes, replacing nut is must. Tuners are good to change but not a must. The resonance of the body is really great.

[@KevinTheMetalhead]

It actually has a basswood body apparently

[@davidsharp3110]

@@KevinTheMetalhead No, the body is mahogany. Epiphone used that for the P90 model. I checked with Epiphone Nashville and they confirmed this for me in 2023. It's no longer available. Basswood for all the other Epiphone E1s and related models.

[@bluwng]

How much did your guitar weigh? Thanks

[@csumme7]

I feel the same way as I do with Fender Squire. They are great for beginners to get into playing. They also have a sound all their own and many musicians around the world use them as one of their guitars regularly. When I started playing an affordable guitar was a JC Penny special. You haven't heard a bad guitar until you have tried playing a JC Penny Special.

[@ArtOfShredYT]

Haha, I would love to try a JC Penny Special!

[@user-lf3kr1nq2d]

OMG. That sounds like... if Walmart started their own brand! lol!

[@djlehara]

that tone you got right at 8:07-8:12 is EXACTLY why I bought mine.

[@michaelthomas9991]

Those P90’s really have a different texture than humbucker pickups. When you kick in the full distortion they sound like they’re about to tear sh*t up, like Billy Corgan’s guitar on the Pumpkins song “Tales of a Scorched earth”. Very nice review!

[@ArtOfShredYT]

Thank you! Yeah, the P90s on this guitar are surprisingly nice. Definitely a different bite than humbuckers

[@thebenefactor6744]

Truth. Leslie West just had that bulldozer tone with them. LP specials just have that in between sonic niche; thicker body than an SG special for more girth but without that extra zingy sting of a maple cap on an original p90 LP.

[@DazedxHipster]

It’s an excellent modding platform. Love the worn feel, especially after a good polish. Cheers!

[@kennethm.380]

This thing has sustainnnnnnn. Man! Amazing and fun guitar. I have guitars costing 10x this one but I still reach for this one often! You can’t go wrong with this. I do have upgraded no name locking tuners.

[@ArtOfShredYT]

Yeah it's a good one! 🤘

[@JunkboxAmps]

Just picked up one of these up off marketplace for $125. Came with the player pack amp and gig bag. So far so good. Probably will eventually upgrade some of the parts.

[@ArtOfShredYT]

Nice deal! I was just playing this yesterday and I still really dig how it sounds.

[@Alpha_WK]

Hi Art O’Shred! I enjoy your videos. Comprehensive, unbiased, dry humah, and you know how to play guitar. The only thing missing is dancing girls. Please refer to “ Hello Goodbye” video. 🎼☮️❤️

[@ArtOfShredYT]

thank you 🤘

[@djlehara]

Dude! LOL I just bought one 2 months ago. Same color, and did the same....lemon oil to the neck, quick adjust of the neck, change the strings and BOOM! Noisy goodness with a large slide and big stubby bass pick.

[@ArtOfShredYT]

I finally sold this one on Saturday.

[@unplannedbirthofanidea4340]

Enjoyed the review, didn't pull the trigger when you sent out the email and now I am kicking myself.

[@ArtOfShredYT]

Thank you! It's on sale for $159 right now which is a good price. If you can wait I suspect it'll get cheaper again though

[@ArtOfShredYT]

It's on sale for $143.10 at MF right now

[@Joe-mz6dc]

Played one of those recently. It is GOOD.

[@baycman]

Truly Awsome guitars as is… that being said I did two significant mods… I removed the switch in favor of a vol vol tone setup… much more useful! The second more resent mod was to swap the neck p90 with a mexi-fender tele neck pickup…the fender now sports the Epo’s neck p90… both hybrids are great sounding variations of a theme…. Agreed the tuners should be updated on mine and defiantly the nut both yet to be completed; the nut works but tends to grab strings which only makes the cheap tuners work harder and cheaper lol… never the less truly awesome less than 200$ guitar without any mods!!!… I like to mod stuff so it’s a great platform for exploring options on a budget….

[@cvp1969]

I bought one used for $80.. ended up putting $180 of work into it. Proper nut. And the bridge was pulling forward noticeably. About a month after I got it back- the bridge started pulling forward again. I’m not sinking any more money into it. I’m a guitarist secondarily. But, this has actually become my primary guitar for jam sessions. I have jammed with others 2x with this axe and it’s good for what it is. It sounds pretty good and others are impressed. Of course, a good overdrive pedal with subtle drive and amp helps a lot!

[@ArtOfShredYT]

Thanks for sharing your experience with this guitar. The bridge pulling forward is perplexing

[@MrPDTaylor]

Unplugged, the body (and neck) rings like a bell.

[@bushcry1]

Agreed. I have this one.

[@MrBritrider]

Yeah man great cheapo Les Paul. I got one when they first came out and have had fun upgrading with “better” parts like Pigtail wrap bridge, electrics out of a Gibson Jr., custom pick guard, different knobs, bone nut, different truss rod plate, changed headstock design, polished the body to a gloss and new Gibson tuning machines. All were used parts so kept $ to a minimum. I love this guitar and I have american guitars from Gibson and Fender.

[@ArtOfShredYT]

Nice work on the upgrades! It really is a fun guitar and a bit of a sleeper I don't see too many folks talking about.

[@VictorOGzz]

Sounds like a fun project, considering this as something to tinker with

[@Electric.Flamingo]

What an absolute player this guitar is! It's always best to go with the P90s, but who am I to say? :P

[@ArtOfShredYT]

😂 can't go wrong with P90s!

[@jimcamp2423]

This was a 1st guitar for me, a 2017 bought in 2019 and on sale as new, it was $ 129.99 before taxes. Can't find fault with it beyond the Lightning bar doesn't lend itself for a Bigsby B50/500 addition. The lowest of action for a set up & the tuners & bridge are fine for staying in tune & intonation. Add a pickguard and that makes it look less plain. That said there is so much territory the guitar covers. I must admit I wanted a Squier Strat or Tele instead, the LP beat out what I was picking from at Guitar Center. I did eventually get a Strat & Tele, the Epiphone LP Special I P90 still edges the Squier Strat & Monoprice Tele I ended up with. They're all fine guitars, but playing solo around the house, the LP is the better of the 3. In a mix, these guitars serve a role just the same, it's a preference really as to which I would play before the other based upon the set list.

[@ArtOfShredYT]

Thanks for sharing! Yeah, it's a really good guitar, particularly for the price. I'm not a huge fan of the bridge either, but not because it doesn't work with a Bigsby mod. These cheap compensated wraparound bridges just aren't my favorite.

[@jimcamp2423]

@@ArtOfShredYT Get the string action set low for a set up, the Lightning bar to me was a breeze to set up & intonate. The post height for string action & pickup height, the 2 grub screws for the Lightning bar to intonate for the high & low E strings, the rest of the strings in between are a function of the intonated saddle line, it's pretty much dialed in for a set of 10-46's that usually are string set with a 24.75 scale LP. Mine stays intonated & very little out of tune over days & weeks. It's almost Telecaster-like legend for always being in tune. Even if the strings do drift out of tune, as long as the whole set is off same number of cents, without a tuning app, clip on or pedal, I can work with that.

[@markpell8979]

These bone stock P90s are plenty good enough, right? What fun guitars and dirt cheap. I don't see how they do it. I'm sure they send out some stinkers but all my Epis have been very good or excellent. With a little work they can be verrry nice. So much fun to play. The P90 Special I is the unmuffled motocross dirt bike of electric guitars. I'm gonna play mine today, already have actually!

[@ArtOfShredYT]

Yeah I'm a fan! The way they do it, unfortunately, is with sweat shop labor + CNCs. Every Epi I've received has had good quality control. Their consistency is pretty impressive

[@bushcry1]

Hmmm.. Did you play it clean? It gives very good overdrive and distortion tones as heard by bands from the 90s. I liked it with chorus so I should do the same to mine🎸

[@ArtOfShredYT]

Were there no clean sounds in this demo? I don't want to watch it again haha. In any case, it sounds good clean!

[@MrPDTaylor]

Totally worth it.

[@ArtOfShredYT]

Agreed

[@steevebouchard8927]

Is drop A possible on this guitar if yes what string should i put in and what other modification i would need to do ?

[@ArtOfShredYT]

I don't see why that wouldn't be possible but the most fun part of modding is figuring out the details

[@user-lf3kr1nq2d]

That Epiphone sounds pretty versatile to me. I threw in my lot with beginner Squier telecaster, and that's all I can afford for now -- although I have felt myself starting to catch a bit of Guitar Aquisition Syndrome. (How did you get the sound at 8:00?)

[@ArtOfShredYT]

Yup it's versatile! But really any guitar with EQ and effects can be versatile. As for that sound it's one of the ones in the Positive Grid Tone Cloud for Spark amps. I believe that particular one might be my preset Country Road KG, but I am not 100% sure.

[@user-lf3kr1nq2d]

@@ArtOfShredYT Thanks!

[@cvp1969]

These guitars are going for outrageous prices on the used market now. Has it been discontinued?

[@ArtOfShredYT]

Looks like maybe it was discontinued or maybe just temporarily unavailable. Tough to say with the guitar center exclusive guitars

[@MayorGoldieWilson825]

I just copped a P 90 Special for 100 bucks on FB marketplace. Kid preferred his blues on his Fender and i like stoner metal.

[@MayorGoldieWilson825]

​@@ArtOfShredYTgot the cherry red

[@ArtOfShredYT]

@@MayorGoldieWilson825 nice find!

[@Highly-High9696]

I’ve got myself a red cherry one myself. Going to have to look into it as it doesn’t stay in tune. But pickups sound amazing. Any amplifier recommendations? I’ve thought about an Orange bc of the p90’s myself

[@startreker8591]

He is so empathetic about “cheap” description…cheap is relative even “expensive” is….su imo

[@ArtOfShredYT]

If you say so

[@bluwng]

I was considering a Slick double cut Gibson copy with a P90. I am try this one.

[@ArtOfShredYT]

Sweet, let me know what you think

[@bluesguy875]

Does it hum??

[@ArtOfShredYT]

Yup, all P90s do

[@bluesguy875]

I want to know like how bad

[@TheRealDealBobbySteele]

Brown mustard isn’t as yellow as my super very very yellow melody maker e1 of 1000 kindergarteners yellow sun ☀️ drawings

[@ArtOfShredYT]

☀️😎🤣🤘 (I think I prefer the brown mustard!)

[@TheRealDealBobbySteele]

@@ArtOfShredYT 🤣🤣

[@Luke-Emmanuel]

would love a cheap guitar with a c shaped neck... sigh

[@ArtOfShredYT]

so it goes sometimes

[@bluwng]

You got some good rockin tones out of it.

[@ArtOfShredYT]

Thank you! It's a fun one