Real deal vs Cheap imitation

Well, actually epiphone is generally the squier of gibson. Try a real gibson LP or a american series strat :wink: it'll knock your socks off.

I can't say investing in a busted guitar is the greatest idea, although I know Nick does some of this from time to time in acoutics...but thats more of a diamond in the rough thing. I used to play an epiphone LP and while it was decent for the $$, it was nothing great or rare. I fyou want an epiphone, save up and buy a good one. How broken is it?

Matt

You should definetly buy it. You will notice a huge difference between a squier and an epiphone, different pickups, woods and scale lengths as well as almost everything in general, but those would be the biggest influences on the tone and feel. I can't tell you if the epi will be a better guitar but for £30 its worth trying... sure you didn't mean £300? Anyways, the older jap squiers are great and probably better than a haggard epi in pure build quality, but then personal taste comes into play and its completely up in the air.

Nearly any somewhat functional guitar is worth atleast £30. Once you get it fixed up you'll be able to get pretty much every solid-body electric sound out there with those 2 guitars. And if it turns out that you don't like the epi you could always sell it for more.

Well, actually epiphone is generally the squier of gibson.

Yep, so its probably not the quality thats affecting it, because Epiphone and squier(actually most budget instruments) are made in Korea, China, Indeoniesisa, or somewhere around there. Judging solely on your screenname(Nirvana, duh), and sig.(Better shred than dead), I think you liked the humbucker pickups in the epiphone. Nearly every Epiphone model has humbuckers in it, and a humbucker(think Jimmy Page, Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath, most metal groups, etc.P gives a more growly, throaty sound than a single coil (in a Squier) does. A single coil sounds sort of bell like (Think Hendrix, Clapton, SRV, etc.). I say no, save up for something that youre actually gonna like. If its really busted, then it'll be hard to fix probably(at least by you), and it still maybe wont sound right. I say save up for a at least decent guitar with humbuckers and enjoy it. :)

dude, there is no comparison, the epi lp will blow a squier away, ask anybody that has both, im not in the league with alot of my gn bros, but i have both, and never play my squier anymore.

even if you buy the epi cheap, you're always going to spend alot mroe to fix it, not for the parts in general, but if you take it to someone, you're going to have to pay for labor also. so you should save for the better guitar, you get a better package which (hopefully) won't need any tweaking so soon

Amp has a much greater affect on your tone then you would think. It's the majority of your tone actually. You said that you played it on a "really nice amp" Try playing it on the same amp that you play your squire on.

Amp has a much greater affect on your tone then you would think. It's the majority of your tone actually. You said that you played it on a "really nice amp" Try playing it on the same amp that you play your squire on.

Or take your Squier to the shop and play it into the "really nice amp"

Epiphones may be the budget Gibsons, but they are still on another level up from Squiers.

I think alot of these people are making arbitrary judgements. The truth is, quality control on both the Epiphone line and the Squire line is horrible. Sometimes you get lucky. My bud's got a Squire that is AMAZING, and here I am sitting with a US Strat. Likewise, I've played some HORRIBLE Squires, and some HORRIBLE Epiphones. Really, if you didn't notice a problem with your guitar before, it's probably a great guitar.

What you need to do is try your Squire through the same amp you played that Epi through. An amp makes the biggest difference in tone, next to pickups and strings. Now the Epiphone will sound different beucase it's got humbuckers...but still, you shoudl try your Squire through that amp before making any judgement calls.

So what is wrong with this Epiphone that the guy will sell it for so cheap? You might spend more fixing it up than you'd think...

Or take your Squier to the shop and play it into the "really nice amp"
There ya go.

My Epi Les Paul Classic is virtually indistinguishable, tone-wise, from my buddy's Gibson LP Studio. I also bought the Epi after playing it side-by-side with a 'proper' Gibson. For the $400 price difference, the tone difference was truly negligible.

I'm not a virtuoso by any means, but I know what I like, and I like the cheaper guitar with the same sound. :)

i've played millions of Epi Les Paul and some of them are amoung the worst guitars ever. the ones i came across were just pure crap. Anybody who talks about them coming near to a les paul is just crazy. Maybe the new les paul todays but then they are just glorified Epi. Try out a les paul when they were hand made. Makes the ones of today look like kids toys. The Squier Strats are a funny area too, the Affinity series from the 80s have some real gems in. I have one and it plays amazing, nicer than most real Strats but then again that may jus be a fluke!

What exactly is wrong with your friends broken guitar? You could be talking hundreds to get it fixed if its a pickup problem.

Oooohhh, ahhh, I'm a crazy boy!!!!

I wouldn't compare my Epi to a classic 60's LP by any stretch...but next to a current Gibson Studio, it's nearly the same axe.

Unless I'm tone-deaf, which I'm pretty sure I'm not.

Why not do it right and compare a late 50's Epi to a late 50's Gibson?