epiphone les paul standard

You can get the Epiphone Les Paul Standard Electric Guitar trans-amber and the black one at Musicians Friend for 599.00 and 499.00, respectively.

So buy the black one at MF and then go to the guitar shop, and get a bone nut put on it, if they do a good job on the acoustic. :)

i have epi les paul back beauty, it has three humbuckers, and this guitar
f##king rocks, imo epiphone makes a great guitar 8)

I have an Epi LP Classic that I absolutely love. Form, fit, and tone, it's virtually indistinguishable (in my opinion, let's not argue :D ) from a lower-end Gibson LP Studio. I played the hell out of both models in the store before finally deciding that the $400 price difference wasn't worth buying the Gibson at that point in time.

Epiphone does make a great guitar these days, and I think you'd be very happy with one. :)

But the lower end Gibbies are haphazard at best :D
Have a look at the Epiphone Elite or the Yamaha series or if you are brave enough Rondo music get good reviews here, if you must have an LP, before you decide.

If you just want something to fool around with, Godin and even Schecter make other types that are consistently better value for money imo.

I'm all about my Epi Custom.

I myself don't like the standard Epis LPs much. I mean, you buy a guitar for the tone, not looks, right? Then why would you ever buy an LP made of alder with a thin layer of mahony on top? There are plenty brands who make full mahony models for the same price (Dean, Yamaha, Rondo, Ibanez). Even more amazing since Epi is able to make full mahony SG guitars for less then the alder LPs...

In other words: Epiphone markets the shit out of their standard LPs without actually trying to make it sound like an LP. By downgrading the materials they try to stay out of the way of the more expensive Epi and lower class Gibsons. Not that the lower class Gibsons are actually much better then the better Epis...

Tip: Check out the Dean Evo serie. The models starting around 350 dollars (special, special select, exotic) are all mahony. Haven't seen the exotic yet but the special(select) are superbly finished guitars for a very low price. Quality-wise simply way beyond what Epi can offer in this pricerange.

:D
Now how could I forget Dean?

For a alder body with mahogany cap, the epis don't sound too bad, they are decent instruments. But I agree with Arjen, better buys exist.

I did a A/B test with a $1,600 Gibson. Yes, a difference, but no, not $900 worth. No Deans or that ones you get from Rondo arround here. I do love my Ibanezes. Have two of them and thought about a third, but in the end I liked the feel of the Epi.

I myself don't like the standard Epis LPs much. I mean, you buy a guitar for the tone, not looks, right? Then why would you ever buy an LP made of alder with a thin layer of mahony on top? There are plenty brands who make full mahony models for the same price (Dean, Yamaha, Rondo, Ibanez). Even more amazing since Epi is able to make full mahony SG guitars for less then the alder LPs....

I would extend your argument to "You buy a guitar for the tone, right? Then put the materials and looks judgements on hold. Start here: Listen to it. Feel it. Check the design and workmanship. If you like all of that, then deal with looks and materials." Mahogany is not the only tonewood around, and it is pretty loosely defined in lower end models anyway -- lots of so-called mahoganies out there.

Greg: ofcourse, there are a billion different woods. But when you buy an LP, you expect the warm and fat tones of a LP. Alder wouldn't be my first choice for that...

Greg: ofcourse, there are a billion different woods. But when you buy an LP, you expect the warm and fat tones of a LP. Alder wouldn't be my first choice for that...

But how much of that is actually due to a mahogany body? There are other significant factors: neck materials, body mass, pup design, bridge/tailpiece design. I know there are many fans of mahogany and mahogany w/ maple cap, but esp. in a lower cost guitar, my guess would be the pups, string anchoring and simple mass dominate the timbral character. I happen to own a very unusual Strat-type: a G&L S-500 with a mahogany body. It is not a mellow, fat sounding guitar. It sounds like a Strat.

True, true. But let me put it like this: can you name me ONE aspect where the Epi LP Std is of higher quality then, say, the Dean Evo Special Select? I am not saying the Epi LP std is a bad guitar by any means, but you have to admit that it simply doesn't offer the maximum value for money. It does offer the 'epiphone by Gibson' logo and is appearance-wise closest to a Gibson, but for the rest?

I'm not arguing for or against Epi, Arjen, but addressing the mahogany versus alder point you raised. I'm somewhat neutral on Epiphone -- though if pushed, I prefer their unique guitars over their Gibby copies (Elitists excepted). Were I to consider a LP copy, my first choices based on quality would be LTD/ESP and maybe Hamer's Asian line. No experience with or opinion on Dean except to note that the company's chief (Dean Z, IIRC) seems to believe strongly in "sex sells" marketing. That's not a necessarily a terrible thing -- at least he's up front about it, but it usually is not the strategy of a manufacturer touting quality.

I love the technical discussion on this topic. I don't dive into things lik that, so it's great having you guys around.

That all got me thinking, and this is now way off. You guys mentioned Deans and a couple others for good low-cost LP alternatives. Any ideas for the same in the Strat world?