Epiphone vs prs SE...

[Xcore]

I’m on the look out for a new guitar after coming back to playing after a 10 year hiatus.

Budgets Probly around 400 quid most likely second hand.

Anyone have any experience with these two?

Iv only had a little play on the full fat Gibson and prs models but never the budget line.

Epiphone build quality was iffy from what I remember with rumours of pressboard being used for the body’s, but I’m not sure how true that is.

Also how rife is fake guitars these days?

I havnt managed to get my hands on either yet as my local guitar shop is pretty far out as my local one only seems to stock crap like stagg/vintage etc.

Any other makes/models to look out for around budget? Tokai love rocks from memory played and sounded well but the chance of finding one local to try is slim!

Thanks in advance

[Herkybird]

Most of the fakes are the high end guitars - Gibson, PRS USA, Fender, etc. They don't tend to try and fake the Epiphone's, Squires and PRS SEs.

Haven't played an Epi in a long time but i do have a PRS Tremonti Custom SE and for the price its a great guitar. Only issue they seem to have is the Nuts are crap and most people replace them with a Graphtech. After that the tuners usually get changed out for some locking items. I got mine second hand and everything had been done, if your buying second hand i'd be surprised if the nut hadn't been changed already.

[Dave2P]

Xcore said:

Anyone have any experience with these two?

My son has a PRS SE (nice guitar, good VFM) and I have half a dozen Epiphones. You really need to find a few (of each) and see what you like.

Xcore said:

Epiphone build quality was iffy from what I remember

That's what I thought too, until I actually played a few. There are some ropy examples around, but recent Epiphones (especially from Epiphone's own factory in Qingdao, China) are very good and some are really excellent. Many of the Korean-made are great guitars and the small number of Japanese-made Epis are highly sought after.

Check the latest posts on the "show us your guitars" thread in this very parish - https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

Xcore said:

with rumours of pressboard being used for the body’s

That'll be the fakes... see below... Epiphone Les Pauls are very similar (in some cases almost identical) in construction to their Gibson counterparts; mahogany bodies, flame or birdseye maple caps, etc.

Herkybird said:

Most of the fakes are the high end guitars - Gibson, PRS USA, Fender, etc. They don't tend to try and fake the Epiphone's

Sadly this isn't the case. There are fake Epiphones around, for two simple reasons; it's much easier to fake an Epiphone, and it's easier to sell a fake Epi (Epiphone buyers are often first-time guitar buyers and/or much less cautious of fakes than a Gibson buyers).

See the excellent Fake Epiphone Thread at http://www.mylespaul.com/threads/the-fake-epiphone... for plenty of examples (and what to look for).

[Xcore]

Thanks for the reply guys, I’m tempted to pick up an epi as they seem to be around the £250 mark second hand and spend the left overs on a set up and maybe a set of burstbuckers/higher quality humbuckers.

Scales, chord shapes and basic riffs are coming back to me but remembering where the notes are is proving testing!

[anonymous-user]

Epiphone come at various price points up to and including being more expensive than some of the cheaper gibsons, but without paying for the name you can end up with a better guitar (inkess you compare with the ultimate gibsons of course)

If you're buying new make sure they include a setup don't pay for one afterwards

[Slushbox]

Bought a new Epi LP. Plustop Pro about four years ago. Chinese factory.

Was really nicely made and finished. Only downside was the heavy weight of the PlusTop.

Was down the local tip six months later and found a Hofner Les Paul with no strings and rusty pickups. Cost a fiver. The thinner neck and light weight suited me a lot better so I sold the Epi.

A lot of choice in LP's, Strats and Teles these days. :-)

Edited by Slushbox on Tuesday 7th August 10:10

[Sir Snaz]

£400 second hand will get you a Gibson (LP studio, Melody Maker, lower SG etc etc )

[cherryowen]

I bought a PRS Santana SE new back in 2003, and loved it. Nothing wrong with the build quality, looked good, with a perfectly acceptable sound expected of two proprietary humbuckers. I kept it until last year, as - in 2016 in a search to get a "Gilmour" tone - I bought an Ibanez SA360 with coil tapping on the bridge pickup.

I sold the PRS, as the range of tones available on the SA I found astonishing not to mention the better build quality. It looks fantastic as well.

Make of that what you will.

[robbocop33]

Sir Snaz said:

£400 second hand will get you a Gibson (LP studio, Melody Maker, lower SG etc etc )

Yep, bought a few Gibson les paul studios for that money, it's a buyer's market just now so you can weedle them out if you look hard enough.

[Xcore]

Played a epi lp standard yesterday, annoyingly I’m not a fan of the wide D neck profile, picked up a Mexican made fender which felt and played a lot nicer so on the look out for one!

[Turn7]

robbocop33 said:

Sir Snaz said:

£400 second hand will get you a Gibson (LP studio, Melody Maker, lower SG etc etc )

Yep, bought a few Gibson les paul studios for that money, it's a buyer's market just now so you can weedle them out if you look hard enough.

Dont ignore the LPJ Gibson either - same buckers as the studio but a 50's neck and plain finish.....

[gmaz]

cherryowen said:

I bought a PRS Santana SE new back in 2003, and loved it. Nothing wrong with the build quality, looked good, with a perfectly acceptable sound expected of two proprietary humbuckers. I kept it until last year, as - in 2016 in a search to get a "Gilmour" tone - I bought an Ibanez SA360 with coil tapping on the bridge pickup.

I sold the PRS, as the range of tones available on the SA I found astonishing not to mention the better build quality. It looks fantastic as well.

Make of that what you will.

S'funny. I bought a 2003 PRS Santana SE last year, with proprietary humbuckers and I love it.

It was bought off ebay from a guy in Swansea so maybe not you?

[Xcore]

cherryowen said:

I bought a PRS Santana SE new back in 2003, and loved it. Nothing wrong with the build quality, looked good, with a perfectly acceptable sound expected of two proprietary humbuckers. I kept it until last year, as - in 2016 in a search to get a "Gilmour" tone - I bought an Ibanez SA360 with coil tapping on the bridge pickup.

I sold the PRS, as the range of tones available on the SA I found astonishing not to mention the better build quality. It looks fantastic as well.

Make of that what you will.

Ibanez s series seems to be in budget and the coil tapping feature seems pretty smart!

[Soulginge]

Sir Snaz said:

£400 second hand will get you a Gibson (LP studio, Melody Maker, lower SG etc etc )

I bought a Gibson Faded Series SG Special for around that sort of cash and it's possibly more playable than my Les Paul Standard.

[cherryowen]

Xcore said:

cherryowen said:

I bought a PRS Santana SE new back in 2003, and loved it. Nothing wrong with the build quality, looked good, with a perfectly acceptable sound expected of two proprietary humbuckers. I kept it until last year, as - in 2016 in a search to get a "Gilmour" tone - I bought an Ibanez SA360 with coil tapping on the bridge pickup.

I sold the PRS, as the range of tones available on the SA I found astonishing not to mention the better build quality. It looks fantastic as well.

Make of that what you will.

Ibanez s series seems to be in budget and the coil tapping feature seems pretty smart!

It is a good addition, and although the SA won't get the real crunchy tones of a 2xHB pickup layout it does (playing with the tone control) get really nice Gilmour sounds and - oddly - very good jazz tones as well.