My first new Epiphone. Mind blown

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BRENTrocks

BRENTrocks

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I’m a huge Alice In Chains and Jerry Cantrell fan.

I REALLY wanted one of the Gibson JC CS “WINO” LPCs. BUT with a $9000 price tag, that pretty much put me out of the hunt.

Then they announced a Epiphone version of the WINO. I decided to give one a try. It arrived today.

I bought this used, although it still had the factory plastic still on the pickups and pickguard. Not a scratch on it. So it’s basically new.

Out of the box, the setup was horrible. So I did a complete setup on it and I was VERY SURPRISED with how low I could get the action. Plays extremely well!!

Does Epiphone PLEK?

Anyway….so then the tone test. It’s sounds great, I think. For a LPC that is under 8 lbs, I think it sounds damm good. These sell for $850 new. I got this one for $650…with a JC hard case.

I did not have very high expectations for this guitar. I figured I was gonna have to gut the electronics, level a bunch of frets….. Epiphone is doing an exceptional job with their guitars.

Anyone else had a similar experience with new Epis?


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Awesome Brent!

It must be very-good if it can impress a high-end dude like you man. :rock:
 
Sweet guitar and my man definitely did it right getting the gold hardware. Congratulations.
 
That is a really positive turn and awesome if Epiphone continues making solid gear. I could see myself getting one down the road if it stays in tune, sounds great, etc.
 
romanianreaper said:
That is a really positive turn and awesome if Epiphone continues making solid gear. I could see myself getting one down the road if it stays in tune, sounds great, etc.
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The guitars are very nice but the prices are getting accordingly steep. Why should I consider Epiphone if I can get an Edwards, Greco, or Tokai for the same money? There are quite a few 1k+ priced Epi's out there now. That's a lotta damn money for an chinese guitar. I wouldn't make it a hard no but I definitely would be considering other options.
 
Congrats! That's a really fantastic-looking guitars! What are the pickups like?

Both or my Epis had a bad fretjob from the factory, but other than that, they were solid. Also, the Locktone bridge isn't amazing.

They're great guitars, agreed. But at the price point the higher end ones are going for, they also have a lot of strong competitors!
 
VonBonfire said:
The guitars are very nice but the prices are getting accordingly steep. Why should I consider Epiphone if I can get an Edwards, Greco, or Tokai for the same money? There are quite a few 1k+ priced Epi's out there now. That's a lotta damn money for an chinese guitar. I wouldn't make it a hard no but I definitely would be considering other options.
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This.

Good condition used Grecos can still be had for less than a new Epi. My latest one is a 1980, EG550, not chambered and was 525 shipped.
100% made in Japan, too.
 
I’ve watched a few blindfolded test where guys can’t tell a new epi from the real thing, of course no one believes it cause it’s on YouTube but I’m not surprised this thing rips, nice score
 
RaceU4her said:
I’ve watched a few blindfolded test where guys can’t tell a new epi from the real thing, of course no one believes it cause it’s on YouTube but I’m not surprised this thing rips, nice score
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off topic-I played a real legit 1959 flametop.....it felt a lot different than any R8,R9 and R0 that I've owned or played....and I've had a bunch. And my Greco JS feels as good as my old R7...or any of the other customs I've owned. I'm not as big a brand snob as I used to be. If epiphone has finally stepped their game up-and it looks like they have-then heck yea...I can definitely see this happening.
 
I bought one of the new Epi Customs with the intention of swapping all the hardware for chrome and installing Blackouts. It sounded pretty good stock, and the hardware and electronics were really nice.
 
JackBootedThug said:
off topic-I played a real legit 1959 flametop.....it felt a lot different than any R8,R9 and R0 that I've owned or played....and I've had a bunch. And my Greco JS feels as good as my old R7...or any of the other customs I've owned. I'm not as big a brand snob as I used to be. If epiphone has finally stepped their game up-and it looks like they have-then heck yea...I can definitely see this happening.
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i found this one interesting

 
Absolutely stunning quality for an epiphone.

Just to share the GAS here’s my 1976 LPC Norlin era Maple neck Jerry Cantrell spec Gibson.

498 in the bridge and a magnet swapped A5 496 in the neck. I swapped the pole pieces to silver. Jumbo stainless frets and a bone nut.

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JackBootedThug said:
off topic-I played a real legit 1959 flametop.....it felt a lot different than any R8,R9 and R0 that I've owned or played....and I've had a bunch. And my Greco JS feels as good as my old R7...or any of the other customs I've owned. I'm not as big a brand snob as I used to be. If epiphone has finally stepped their game up-and it looks like they have-then heck yea...I can definitely see this happening.
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I went to B3 vintage guitar show earlier this month in PA and there were two 1959 Les Paul’s. One valued at 300k and another at 600k. Not a single person would let anyone even play one unplugged. They’re literally collector pieces only and not tools like they’re intended. Kinda sad actually - why the fuck would I care about a 600k guitar if it’s just furniture now and not considered to be a guitar anymore?
 
The day I bought that 50th anni model for 11k was the day I played it. Me and the owner were just shooting the shit about them when he said I have one of mine right here...you wanna play it? He pulled it right out and handed it to me and walked off. No strap....plugged it into a rec....The body felt different. Thicker with sharper angles. Neck felt slightly longer also. Tuners were the old garbage tuners....but gatdam it was amazing. SDMF38 can attest to this guitar and a few others also probably....
 
RaceU4her said:
I’ve watched a few blindfolded test where guys can’t tell a new epi from the real thing, of course no one believes it cause it’s on YouTube but I’m not surprised this thing rips, nice score
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Oh, you can tell. They're not the same. But that doesn't make them bad by any means.

Last year, I bought a LPC and a 1959. Both were good. The LPC actually sounded pretty good and took pickup swaps well, but the frets started to lift off the edges of the fretboard. I took it in to the store I bought it from expecting for them to repair it, but they instead offered a refund because I guess it was still within warranty. I took it and got a cheapie Gibson with that.

I will say, I don't regret it, but the Epi did have a much nicer neck (it's their 60's slim taper which IMO is a bit more D-shaped than the actual Gibson 60's on Gibson USA's).

I kept the 1959 for a while, but never really bonded with it. I wish it was the 1959 that I had to take in rather than the Custom. The Custom sounded nicer, had a nicer neck profile, and it wasn't fucking piss yellow in the center.
 
I went to gc and played several a couple weeks ago. They ones around the $800 new mark were fantastic. Epiphones used to feel I don't know.. kinda lite or like a toy. Compared to a gibson that felt like you are holding a piece of wooden furniture. The couple I played recently had that feel to them
 
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