Let's Talk: Epiphone ($159-$499)

[@sighswoons]

My first "real" guitar was a epiphone les paul custom that I bought for 600 bucks. It's still my go-to axe even with my fenders lol

[@Metal-lz8td]

Just to note, when you rhetorically posed the question of whether or not there's a tonal difference between Les Paul or Strat style guitars, the answer is yes, regardless of wood or construction type or anything like that. The reason is the difference in scale length and string tension.

[@barbershoppodcast]

I own a studio and have a dozen assorted quality electrics and recently purchased the Alex Lifeson Custom Access - by Epiphone..... and it's a wonderful, quality instrument in every way, worth the 1800 Canadian bucks it cost me. Also, the ES-295 I've had for 20+ years remains excellent and has doubled in value. Cheap guitars - even Squiers - do not tend to appreciate like a Fender, Gibson, or other top-tier brands. Epiphones of certain quality, the ones you haven't touched on here, do.

[@SapulpaGuitarAcademy]

Thanks for watching and the feedback. Funny enough, a couple of students are convincing me to record Part 2 of this Epiphone video discussing models above $500. Should be fun.

[@MuscleCarLover]

I feel that I need to make a correction. The large pickguard SG was from 1966 to about 1972. The SG started with the small guard in 1961 and went back into production like that from the mid 70s

[@SapulpaGuitarAcademy]

Thanks for the feedback! Thanks for watching and I appreciate the information.

[@MuscleCarLover]

@@SapulpaGuitarAcademy Happy to help where I can

[@OddMusician]

Fyi Gibson 490s have alnicos and ceramics. Irrc 490r/490t are alnico 2, 498t is alnico 5, 496r/500t are ceramic

[@SapulpaGuitarAcademy]

Thanks for that clarification! I should've looked into that distinction a bit more before making this video. Thanks for watching and the feedback!

[@markpell8979]

I have a few 'nice' guitars in the LP and Tele/Strat categories but also several of the 'affordable' range of Epiphone and Squier and have apparenty had great luck so far getting good ones. Generally, they are good value for dollar. They may need attention to a couple details such as fret ends or nut slots, and the setup is not always correct out of the box with the normal issues being truss rod adjustment, action and possibly intonation. So these issues can be problematic to beginners or folks who are not experienced with guitar setup or otherwise mechanically-inclined, and hope their guitar will play ok out of the box. If that's you or a budding beginner who you're buying for, get a setup and string change done asap on a new 'affordable' guitar. But to be fair this can be true of more expensive name-brand guitars too. I can do all those fixes and setup things for myself and I enjoy that so it's not a problem for me. On the starter Epis with the one-piece wraparound 'lightning bolt' bridge, as well as on some similarly-equipped upline models of Gibson and Epi, the intonation can't be adjusted string-by-string but the standard stagger pattern on the saddles of these basic bridges works well with string sets in the .009-.046 guages. Ernie Ball Slinky 10-42 and Hybrid Slinky 9-46 work fine with me. Incidentally I'd gig tonight with any of my 'affordable' (cheap) Epis or Squiers, and one of my LP Specials with stock humbuckers and one-piece bridge plays and sounds as good as any guitar I own. I hope somebody finds this info and my testimonial helpful.

[@SapulpaGuitarAcademy]

Mark, thanks for that awesome feedback and advice regarding string gauges on the wraparound bridges. I do agree on the "gig-ability"...if that's word, of today's affordable gear, especially coming out of Squier and Epiphone. I think I mentioned on the Squier video that I have gigged the Classic Vibe Strat and Tele with no issues in the past, although those are on the higher end of the Squier line. I've had a few people ask me to follow this up with another video covering the higher end of Epiphone so their may be a sequel coming soon.

[@markpell8979]

@@SapulpaGuitarAcademy Thanks for these fair and honest discussions and for taking time to reply to me personally. That means a lot and I'm subscribing to your channel because of it.

[@bradleythompson5737]

I would love to know your take on PRS SE line guitars.

[@SapulpaGuitarAcademy]

That's an interesting idea. The SE line seems to be pretty popular, and I have played a few. Thanks!

[@johnthemachine]

The new high end epiphones are essentially Gibsons with a different headstock, they’ve never been as well built as they are now. Would also like to point out that bolt on necks are absolutely the superior option on assembly line budget guitars. You want the easy/low budget adjustability a bolt-on gives you at that price point.

[@SapulpaGuitarAcademy]

Great point about the bolt on necks being a cost savings feature for the factory. What's crazy is that I'm now seeing brands on Amazon...want to say Eart guitars... offer set neck guitars just under $400. Thanks for watching, and I appreciate the feedback!

[@PhillipHolt-f9r]

Epiphone and Gibson bodies are too bulky and heavy for a screw on neck.

[@PhillipHolt-f9r]

Epiphone is still a foreign country made guitar cheaply made with labor and parts.

[@paulshipley5669]

Casino is not semi-hollow, fully hollow. 😘

[@SapulpaGuitarAcademy]

I noticed that when editing, too. I should've added a note on the video. Nice catch, and thanks for watching!

[@villageidiot9867]

At the price of Squire and Epiphone now there are way better choices in their price ranges. I have 2 Epiphone Les Pauls that I got new for great prices about 7 years ago. I wouldn't pay current prices for the same models now.

[@SapulpaGuitarAcademy]

Squier and Epiphone both have models starting in the sub $200 category, but with Epiphone especially you can see that they are focusing more on the higher end models like the infamous $1,500 Greenie. However, with Gibson's starting at $1,599 it creates a big product gap if they top out Epiphone at $500 and continuing to raise the price of the US made guitars, as they do, it creates an even bigger gap. If you go on Sweetwater and look at the product offering on electric guitars in the $750-$1,500 range, it's huge, yet Epiphone has one of the smaller offerings compared to Fender, Schecter, ESP, Jackson(Fender) and Reverend. I imagine they want to have a larger offering in this price range and they don't want to do it with the Gibson name. Thanks for watching and appreciate the feedback!

[@SEEKPRODUCTIONS100]

The melody maker well setup is pretty solid. I have one and like it a lot.

[@SapulpaGuitarAcademy]

That's great to hear! I'm seeing more reviews where people are buying them and upgrading them as project guitars. I may be tempted to check one out myself at that price.

[@SEEKPRODUCTIONS100]

@@SapulpaGuitarAcademy I've been playing guitar since about 14-15 years old I'm not the best but I haven't put it down for well over 2 months now. My wife and I both work but with kids and bills, that's the only thing I could afford.... Well.... I did trade a few things for it so yeah. lol!

[@jfiery]

Excellent breakdown. I've never understood why they don't put mini himbuckers in the power players. It would fit the proportions better in my opinion.

[@SapulpaGuitarAcademy]

That would be a cool feature, and they would probably sell a few more as it would give customers a chance to check out the mini humbuckers in an affordable guitar. Thanks for watching!

[@jfiery]

@@SapulpaGuitarAcademy subbed too and have been looking at your older videos. Sometimes the algorithm is good.

[@SapulpaGuitarAcademy]

@jfiery Appreciate the sub, and more videos are on the way! Thanks!

[@thomaswyatt199]

Ibanez GRGR131EX best affordable guitar out there pickups are ok but playability is very good and it feels amazing.

[@SapulpaGuitarAcademy]

Thanks for the comment, and thanks for watching! I'm putting together an Ibanez video like this Epiphone one coming up soon, and I was looking at those.

[@designbyjohnperez]

Seeing the photos of the actual guitar on Sweetwater is nice, and I'm sure that it helps lower returns. Ibanez, Donner, and Yamaha videos would be a good to see in the future... does Harley Benton ship to the States, or are they primary for the UK?

[@SapulpaGuitarAcademy]

You can get Harley Benton through Thomann Music in Germany, and they will ship to the US via UPS. I've done it a couple of times, and it was a pretty fast turnaround from what I recall. The shipping is pretty pricey, but if you can order multiple guitars or products, the shipping does get a little reasonable. Thanks for watching.

[@villageidiot9867]

HB shipping is ridiculous to the states now. I was looking to get a HB 1x12 V30 and shipping was between $60-80 and it changed daily. Thought it might be just because it was before Christmas but that wasn't the case. Found what looks like the exact same cabinet on Amazon branded as Stage Right for $200 free shipping.I think with a couple of discounts I paid $190 out the door. Looks to be the exact same cab. Looked into buying an unloaded cab and the shipping was actually a few dollars more than the box itself. Kinda turned me off to Thomann for the U.S.

[@SapulpaGuitarAcademy]

Yeah, I don't think Thomann and Harley Benton in general are quite the deal for us in the states as they are for folks in the EU. Like you mentioned, there are plenty of good alternatives here in the states without dealing with international shipping charges. Plus, heaven help you if you need to make a return to Thomann.

[@jessehutchings]

​​@@SapulpaGuitarAcademy I'd love to see a Yamaha video, too. Really only because my first guitar was a budget bundle 2002 Yamaha strat and I actually enjoyed playing it a lot

[@13soulz]

Great reviews! I picked up the slash Epiphone without the amp and this guitar is fun! Well built sounds great too and even has an onboard tuner on the pickup 🫠 the sustain is forever! I’ve been playing since I was 16 I’m 62 now 🥶 so I’ve had a few guitars 🎸 Anyways just wanted to put that out there, it’s a great guitar for the price 🤙🏾

[@harbonip]

Wow , nice video . As a beginner, and low on funds . What do you think of Harley Benton guitars ? I been looking at there double cut SG style, the DC-600 . Your opinion with be greatly appreciated .😎👍🏽

[@SapulpaGuitarAcademy]

I've owned a couple of Harley Bentons and I've fixed a few others for students. I think if you're in Europe or somewhere with reasonable shipping from Thomann, I think they are a good value. I think if you're in the states the higher shipping via UPS international and Thomann's less than stellar customer service in regards to US returns makes them a tougher sell. I also don't think most of the really inexpensive Harley Bentons make a great first guitar, as they usually show up in pretty rough condition. By that I mean, the fretboard will be extremely dry, the strings will be practically rusted, the tuners will be awful, and the action will probably be atrocious. As someone who works on my own guitars, this isn't an issue for me, but if that's your first guitar and you don't know anyone else who plays that could be discouraging. Even worse, the first time buyer takes it to a shop and gets a quote for $150-200 for a guitar they maybe dropped $2-300 on. That all being said, they do make for good platforms to learn how to work on guitars. If you're handy with tools or you want a guitar to learn on, these would be an excellent place to start. That was probably a longer response than you wanted, but hopefully that helps. I may do a Harley Benton video in the future to discuss this more in depth.

[@harbonip]

@SapulpaGuitarAcademy no, I'm glad you replied back . Thanks. I'm in Germany, so shipping is free . The only problem is setup if I need it. The music stores in Kiel are snobs. They don't like to work on any equipment that wasn't purchased in their stores .

[@SapulpaGuitarAcademy]

@harbonip I would highly recommend learning how to set up guitars yourself. It doesn't take much skill, just some time and patience. It used to scare me too, but once I started doing it, I realized how easy it was to do, just a little time intensive.

[@OakCityGamers]

Isn’t a. Slash Les Paul a double signature model.? I mean I used to say I don’t play players models. Then I got a Les Paul. One day I’ll get an ESP and go back to saying I don’t play artist models. lol!

[@SapulpaGuitarAcademy]

Very true! It's a double signature model! I would love to have a nice ESP as well. Thanks for watching!

[@OakCityGamers]

Ok. 6 degrees. The Greeny. It’s a Les Paul, and Peter green, a Gary Moore, and a Kirk Hammet signature model. lol. Four signature sounds in one guitar. Lots of history on that hunk of table Gibson made in 1959.

[@OakCityGamers]

I subscribed.

[@SapulpaGuitarAcademy]

@OakCityGamers Thanks! I really appreciate it! Crazy to think that Epiphone has a $1,500 Greeny, and they just unveiled a Dave Grohl Epiphone Trini Lopez that will probably fetch a similar price. Talk about your double signatures.

[@OakCityGamers]

@@SapulpaGuitarAcademy I’m gonna look into it. lol. Yeah what a thing now.

[@GuitarsZnuff]

Nice work!

[@SapulpaGuitarAcademy]

Thanks!