Epiphone Inspired by Gibson Custom Shop

[BoringPostcards]

I sadly like the SG custom. Please, someone do not let me buy it. I still don’t think I could rock one and be satisfied at the end of the day knowing it still doesn’t say Gibson on the headstock. Especially if I ended up paying close to 2k after taxes are factored in. You can buy used and really nice Gibson SGs all day for these prices. Not customs, but a grand more give or take would put you in used Gibson SG custom territory.

What puts me off about 3-pickup customs, which could work as a way to stop yourself buying one - it worked for me - is that during vigorous strumming it's really easy to snag the plectrum on the middle pickup. I do a lot of fast strumming (think flamenco rasgueado but pick not fingers, usually) and alternate picking - not just for surf which I'm getting back into, but for solos as well. Middle pickup gets in the way, usually when least expected.

Can confirm. I had an Epi SG Custom way back in the day, and I would always strike the middle pickup. I got used to it, but it was annoying. The pickup ring got scratched up by it, as well as the pickup itself, along the edge.

[stevejamsecono]

I'm personally indifferent to this news. If I was going to buy a guitar brand new I highly doubt I'd be giving my money to Gibson or Epiphone in general just based on general disinterest and the fact that I think I could get more for my money elsewhere. If I was buying used, I'd just stick with my Yamahas or another MIJ brand.

I dunno. I think 'Play Authentic' is gonna haunt them to the grave at this point. 'You can't afford us' is way less compelling of an argument than what Fender seems to be making which is "Let's get good stuff in the hands of young players."

[sal paradise]

Have you seen the price of Fenders these days?

[Jonesie]

Have you seen the price of Fenders these days?

AmPro JM for $1899 new
Les Paul Standard is $2999 new.

That's a pretty huge gap.

[GreenKnee]

They would sell so many of all of these of they were more reasonably priced.

This stunning Gibson is £1389 brand new. Less than these Epiphones!?

I'm probably going to buy this actually, it's a stunner and right up my street. Can see these being £2k in the next couple of years.

[Larry Mal]

AmPro JM for $1899 new
Les Paul Standard is $2999 new.

That's a pretty huge gap.

Yeah. I don't like this whatsoever.

It seems clear that Gibson has decided it's most profitable to move Epiphone up in price and quality and price Gibson out of reach for most actual guitar players.

I've been saying for some time that Fender seems to want to just move manufacture out of the States altogether, but it seems like Gibson is fine with Epiphone being the bulk of sales and money and Gibson being some kind of aspirational thing.

I guess I'm glad I bought all the guitars I'm likely to buy.

[sal paradise]

It’s a 44% gap.

10 years ago it was $1000 to $1500. Pretty much the same.

[MattK]

Hm, I think someone who’s price sensitive would do the calculation the other way round - if I offered you two things at $200 and $220 you’d say one was 10% more than the other, right? In those terms the LP is 58% more than the JM.
There’s also the perception of how versatile it would be - I don’t see many LPs outside of a heavy rock context whereas JMs seem to be everywhere.
Can’t say I’ve ever been tempted by a Gibson other than a Firebird maybe, but I’ve owned two Epiphones and would buy another. (cough, Firebird, cough)

[sal paradise]

My point was that Gibson have been more expensive Fender for decades. The price difference is the same as it was 10 years ago. Both companies are pushing up their prices at a similar rate.

[MattK]

Ah yeah, quite right of course. It's interesting that Gibson always seem on the edge of collapse and Fender seem fairly steady - maybe the margin on a cheaper Fender is greater than that on a more expensive Gibson, after all the modular construction was designed to scale inexpensively.
The massive range of pickups and configurations in high quality Squiers make the low end of the market a complete no-brainer for someone on a budget. Looking at that Epiphone FB I see nothing below $A1000, but I could buy a Classic Vibe or Paranormal Squier of equal or greater quality for $A600-700, and there are dozens of options vs maybe 6-10 for the Epis.

[Larry Mal]

Ah yeah, quite right of course. It's interesting that Gibson always seem on the edge of collapse and Fender seem fairly steady - maybe the margin on a cheaper Fender is greater than that on a more expensive Gibson, after all the modular construction was designed to scale inexpensively.

Nah, Gibson is doing great. They entered bankruptcy after a bunch of dumb investments dragged the whole enterprise down, but the Gibson guitar making business was and is strong .

To be honest with you, focusing on Epiphone probably makes sense, but I don't really like the repositioning of Gibson.

I wonder about these guitars... a while back I played some inspired by Gibson Epiphone acoustics and was hoping to like them, but found them not to sound very good compared to the Gibson acoustics I own.

[Unicorn Warrior]

They would sell so many of all of these of they were more reasonably priced.

This stunning Gibson is £1389 brand new. Less than these Epiphones!?

I'm probably going to buy this actually, it's a stunner and right up my street. Can see these being £2k in the next couple of years.

You’ve now given me unnecessary GAS for this thing. I had one just like it in the faded Pelham blue. It was an awesome guitar. Probably should’ve kept it

[crazyzeke]

Can confirm. I had an Epi SG Custom way back in the day, and I would always strike the middle pickup. I got used to it, but it was annoying. The pickup ring got scratched up by it, as well as the pickup itself, along the edge.

Haha I feel better knowing I'm not the only one with the problem. Same thing can happen with a regular SSS Strat but a lot less often. My main thing with the Strat used to be hitting the volume pot although I'd guess my technique has improved since then.

Shame though, triple humbuckers look and sound great, just ask Peter Frampton among others (although I believe his is a Custom conversion, Standard when stock).

Have you seen the price of Fenders these days?

Some great ones are gettable for under £1,000 new and used. My Meteora was £729 new from GAK in 2022 (it was a "return" as it had a couple of tiny little chips, so small they did point them out when I did a demo but I would struggle to remember where they are now) and when I went to Anderton's last week there was one Jag and a bunch of Jazzmasters, not to mention Teles and Strat under four figures, so I'd say Gibson still wins in terms of high prices.

Nah, Gibson is doing great. They entered bankruptcy after a bunch of dumb investments dragged the whole enterprise down, but the Gibson guitar making business was and is strong.

I think the current owners are righting the ship fairly well - I'll be taking a look at The Gibson Centre at some point when I'm next in London. There's been a bit of image and brand rehaibilation which is good, more competition benefits everyone.

Although me personally, I've owned about four Gibsons are this point, liked 'em all, but nothing beats an offset so I wouldn't be tempted back even for a nice Hummingbird acoustic because I know I could get something just as good, new or used, for about half the price.

[andy_tchp]

It's an interesting turn from Epiphone.

I bought one of the cheap, cheap 'Les Paul Muse' models that were released a little while back (Mike's original thread). It's great in pretty much every way so you'd hope the much more expensive line will be excellent.

[Chippertheripper]

Man…I still miss mikes presence here quite a bit.
The special had kind of a weird flat neck I wasn’t too hot on. The classic and the new standards with the rounded c are much better in that dept.