Is Sweetwater being dishonest??? Epiphone Dove Studio inspired by Gibson trans ebony
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- Опубліковано 1 лип 2022
- A review, comparison, and details on the Epiphone inspired by Gibson Dove. A great guitar that isn't marketed very well on Sweetwater's website. What do you think of this guitar? Let me know in the comments!
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After extensive research, I recently bought an Epiphone “Inspired by Gibson” Hummingbird, antique cherry sunburst finish. This guitar is out of the Samick factory in Indonesia. An all solid wood guitar, with a lovely sound, and beautifully crafted. I checked out the “pro” and “studio” model specs, and there was no confusion as to what guitars were part solid and part laminate construction. The price differences also made this quite obvious.
Thanks for sharing your experience. It's definitely easier for those that are in the know about different guitar models. The confusion would come for someone newer to the guitar world.
I, too, have an Epiphone Hummingbird. My wife bought if for me because when, on a lark, we went to a a local guitar center and played a bunch of acoustics, it stood out for it's charm. Also, the sound was very focused and refined, right from the start, and sustains forever.
I've had it for 2 months now, and, after having put in a new saddle, experimented extensively with string gauges and tunings/pitches, plus adjusted the power points on the soundboard, the guitar wound up in a Db major tuning that sounds considerably better than it did when we first heard it, and, again, it was already good then.
Now the guitar is loud as hell, with a perfect balance between the strings, in addition to all the good it had right from the start.
It already sounded better, in the store, than other instrument 6-10 times it's cost, and now it is even better.
It's really criminal how good Epiphone makes these guitars, at such a low price.
When they introduced the “inspired line” the pro and studio just became studio. They are the same guitars. All guitar manufactures will say maple, mahogany or other wood back and sides. If it’s solid, they will say “solid maple” or “solid mahogany”. I agree it’s disingenuous, but you can’t really blame Sweetwater. They cut and paste from the Epiphone page. It’s a great guitar. I hope you do enjoy it.
Cool. You got an Epiphone that sounds the same as your Martin (from this end) but has a slightly brighter sound, IMO.
The Martin definitely sounds better in person to me but the Epiphone is a good guitar for sure.
This guitar is maple and that makes it great for electric live performances. I do not know why maple is so great for amplification but it is.
I believe the higher density creates less overtones for the pickups to handle. It’s a very controllable sound. I have a Taylor Koa AE that is similar in that regard.
It’s not as ‘pretty’ sounding unplugged, but easy to sing over and incredible for recording.
Probably because it's a very balanced sound. Alamo music pointed this out but it's actually more of a balance between treble and bass rather than the 'bright' sound most people associate maple with.
totally understand your gripes but it doesn't say "Inspired by Gibson" anywhere on that site. So it is not being advertised as part of the "Inspired by Gibson" line.
It's literally on the label, which is pictured on the site and it has the same newer headstock as the inspired by Gibson line. Sure they didn't say it anywhere on the site in the description but it's literally written on the guitar. Someone in a music store would see that. Can't really get much more advertising than that in my opinion
Yeah Luke is right it's advertised as it should be and the price points are a dead give away. No completely solid wood guitar sells for five hundred bucks. And as far as the the Pro Studio labels, the Pro was the version sold years ago and the current model is Studio which has the shorter headstock cause it's just cheaper to use the same necks that they're already building for the inspires line. Less wood-cheaper manufacturing cost. But if you're buying and Epi just know it ain't going to sound or look exactly like a Gibson. The Gibson dove and hummingbird are wider in all all aspects too
And the Inspired by Gibson sticker is just for a legal purpose I suppose. Epiphone was it's own company before Gibson bought it so Dove hummingbird j45..etc are all originally licensed to Gibson. But if it's The actual IBG line it's gonna have plastic tunning pegs and like I said they're wider than the Epiphones. Plus, it says on the truss rod cover that its Master Built or IBG
@@stormengine3261 I strongly disagree. The price point is only a "dead giveaway" to people that are really in the know on guitars. Is this guitar aimed at those people? Not necessarily. It's aimed at more beginner/entry level consumers. Maybe a consumer who's seen a video entitled "wow all solid wood on an Epiphone guitar? Epiphone inspired by Gibson collection!" And then they see this guitar and figure it also has solid wood. I think this guitar is badly misrepresented.
Luke is not 'right'. You agree with Luke.
@@stormengine3261 mines a november 2021 made and it still doesn't have the inspired by Gibson headstock
There is not enough difference in sound to justify paying extra for the Martin in my opinion.
I actually bought one of these, and found out some things about this. Epiphone has changed the actual naming convention of what was the "Pro" Series to the Studio series, and created the Inspired by Gibson Series to indicate the price profiles. The SweetWater exclusive Dove Studio is a laminate back and sides, but it is made in the same factory where the Inspired by Gibson Series is made; hence the headstock shape, and the internal sticker. While this is a "Studio" Series guitar, I find it has a better quality build than other guitars in the Studio Series, and has a better sound than the other Dove Pro or Studio models made in China and/or Indonesia.
Great info, thanks for sharing!
Thanks.. you did well by the public.
hi. i see that on the blade it is written Dove. But there is a difference between the epiphone Where and the Epiphone Where Pro? because I ordered a Dove Pro studio and I got a Dove like yours. Thank you
Thanks for this! I've been shopping for my first guitar and this was one of about five (under $600) that I've been considering. This is good to know. You still bought it so it's still a decent guitar, maybe just not exactly what it may be represented to be? Certainly not anything like the $1,200 Martin (man, that one sounds fantastic!)
No problem! Thanks for watching. Mine is actually for sale if you're interested in buying it. It's good, I just don't play it as much as the Martin.
facebook.com/marketplace/item/425548732614231/
Just bought one as a birthday gift to myself. Its obviously not like my j45 studio, or taylor acoustics. But for the price, damn its a nice guitar!
Agreed. I really enjoy this guitar for what it is.
@@falcongunner33 Also agreed! And the most important thing, its sure fun to play!
Very interesting, I have an Inspired by Gibson Hummingbird that I picked up at a pawn shop for $400 because they thought it was the Pro version, it sounds really nice but I'd love to pick one of these up for a comparison, just to see how close it sounds to the actual Inspired by Gibson line. Nice stuff! Love the finish, very unique.
Nice! That’s a great deal for that guitar. These are definitely fun as good value instruments.
@@falcongunner33 I imagine that'll also make it perfect for gigging! I play in alot of bars where I don't really want to take my more expensive guitars since they can get kind of rough, but these are affordable enough to risk and they still have that eye-catching appearance to help stand out!
Studio and pro are the same model, idk why they interchange the name. But they never made an inspired by gibson Dove. I'd assume making a bunch of guitars with solid flamed maple back and sides would get quite expensive to the point of no profits or possibly a loss at under $1,000.
I have an Epiphone Dove, it's definitely laminate maple. That does sound really misleading though
That’s not just Sweetwater. That’s the case with most sites. If the are obviously avoiding saying solid it’s 9 out of 10 a laminate/layered build.
The inspired by Gibson line all have the orange/red Gibson style label inside
This one literally says inspired by Gibson on its label
FYI- Studio is the updated name to the PRO series for 2022.
Otherwise, I do agree it is misleading, given that my Taylor Academy advertises its laminate sides. Not that it could hide it ha…the thing is literally a blank canvas. Sounds great, tho.
That's some great info! Glad to hear there is an explanation out there. Not sure why they would stray away from the pro name that everyone is used to. Thanks for your comment man!
I had a Martin MMV, I didn't like it. My cheaper Wasuburns and even my old Alvarez 5023, knock it out. So I sold it, now I have exclusively sub-$500 acoustics and I love them.
Right on man. I love my Martin 000X1 that I paid $200 for. A great guitar doesn't always have to be expensive
I personally bought the Hummingbird Trans Black off their website and knew exactly what I was purchasing, only thing is I didn't realize how shallow they really are. I have a couple fender dreadnoughts so I was assuming the depth of the Hummingbird Studio was at least close to five inches. It's not, they're like four or under and it effects the volume of an acoustic. So I'd say Sweetwater should list the dimensions on all their products not just certain ones. Plus my Epi had small fractures on the fretboard binding near the 15 -18 frets. Bad craftsmanship by indonesian factory tho not sweetwater. I guess you get what you paid. This goes for anyone. A descent guitar won't be cheap
Not true. You can get a lot of decent guitars for cheap, if you consider this $449 price point cheap.
Idk, I bought my violinburst dove from sweetwater and it's got no problems that I can see
I had an older studio version 3/4 size dept and the live sound is not suppose to be good but electronic wise is fantastic for recording.
To be fair it's not classed as inspired by, which are solid. Most companies just state the wood name if its laminate and solid if its solid
It’s on the sound hole label and most companies I see state laminate vs solid.
Getting a Dove or Hum asap. Need someone to write with.
Nice. Can't go wrong with either
Don't most of us go straight to the tech specs? Putting the main sales pitch/selling points at the top is not dishonest or unusual...
Who is most of us? Is that guitar geeks? Because I believed this was solid wood at first since it’s part of a line that has such a feature. Now imagine a beginner looking for a guitar, will they know to look for the spec sheet? The section that indicates maple back and sides is under “features”, I don’t consider that a sales pitch at all.
The price shows the difference.
I bought one of these and was pretty disappointed. In fact, I think I left a somewhat negative review on sweetwater. The tone of the guitar was boxy and constricted. About what you’d expect from an overbuilt, thickly finished guitar with laminate back and sides.
I can definitely see that. I didn't mind the tone of this one but it's definitely more akin to Epiphone's old acoustics instead of the new inspired by Gibson stuff. Thanks for watching!
Epiphone don't make bad guitars...laminate maple and solid spruce top should always produce a very sweet sound
This is a very good guitar. The issue for me is the way it’s listed
The fact that it said Studio or Dove in the same sentence with IBG is surely misleading. I know someone that bought one because of the IBG mention (even though it's nowhere on the guitar), which is OBVIOUSLY NOT IBG. While I'm sure it's not a bad sounding guitar, you are correct that the price is your first tip. The second tip is that the IBG lineup doesn't feature a Dove, or Studio. Great vid and great catch. You might want to email Sweetwater and let them know about this. When I found an incorrect spec on the Excellente, Gibson corrected it in an email to me and I then let Sweetwater know about it and they corrected it on their website.
Well said sir. I agree, I think that this guitar's specs are not presented clearly enough to your average customer. It does in fact have the IBG on the sticker in the sound hole. It's a fine guitar just misrepresented.
@@falcongunner33 Now that just blows my mind that it has IBG on the soundhole sticker, all the while not being solid wood back and sides. I didn't see that response coming. Wow! Afraid I'm now left speechless.
@@randysrhythm it's a bummer because it's a good guitar, just not on the level of the actual IBG
@@falcongunner33 well sir, due to those insights, I’m sub’d.
From my experience with every Epiphone masterbuilt series guitar, I would pass on any Epiphone solid wood acoustic. My experience was overbuilt lifeless guitars.
If it doesn’t say solid, it is not. Laminate are 3 ply pieces of wood glued together to make a ‘solid ‘piece. While the ply’s are then, it is still solid, it is not like a Swiss piece of cheese. All Solid wood guitars it seems are high maintenance. 90% of the sound is from the top. I’m purchasing a hummingbird studio. Solid spruce top with laminate mahogany back and sides. I debated buying the all solid IbG but again all solid , more maintenance. Some say the all solid projects the sound better, but I only want my sound leave the guitar and travel about 5 feet. The pick up the hummingbird studio ( formerly named pro ) is excellent and it will project far ,,,,,and even further depending on the volume of one’s acoustic amp. Cheers!
For me it's not about the advertisement of the laminate, it's about the inspired by Gibson collection that this guitar was placed in, a guitar where all other models have solid b+s
The Martin sounds soooo much better!
Agreed. It definitely should for the price difference!
Supposely epiphones r just cheap copies of gibson wich indicates the wording inspired and studio and pro is basically the same guitar otherwise the build and price would be different. The tag should not say pro but studio to my finding.
Pro and studio is the same
So the Gibson Les Paul studio can also be called the Gibson Les Paul Pro? No. It’s not clear enough what is what anymore.
Could’ve been worse. You could’ve bought a reissue Frontier and had a “friend of a musician” try the bait and switch sending you a cheap ass Epiphone in the Frontier box. And it was a bitch to repackage and eventually get my money back through their Indianmart phone service jabbering idiots. It’s why I don’t deal with friends of musicians or centers for guitar any longer.
Yikes that's no fun
Well if it dosent say solid. Its not. Same whit every other brand
Some brands do indicate laminate or solid. My problem is more with the fact that it’s branded with a line of guitars that is all solid wood.
@@falcongunner33 iam sorry but i dont see the problem.
@@michelweedfald1657 The guitar is branded an “inspired by Gibson” guitar. Previously those guitars only featured solid wood and were marketed as such. This being the case it would’ve been nice of Epiphone to specifically market this guitar as having laminate back and sides, since this is an entry level priced guitar. An unknowing consumer could pick this up and think it has solid back and sides because of the marketing/reviews behind the IBG line.
For someone that knows the guitar market, it would be pretty easy to tell that this is laminate but in my opinion, this guitar is very misleading.
Nowhere did Epiphone or Sweetwater say it an inspired by Gibson or masterbuilt model
It's not under the inspired by Gibson line. The dove at Sweetwater is just an exclusive and they have a hummingbird with the same finish and headstock. It's a pro/studio model with the Kalamazoo headstock. The dead giveaway is obviously that it's not double the price. It's just the headstock that throws you off but looks better in my honest opinion. The studio and pro are the same model. They were called pro before they made inspired by Gibson line. Then after they made the IBG line they changed the official name of the pro to studio. Obviously the IBG line is more pro level than than the laminate back and sides models. Typical pros/studios do have the longer headstock and thick gloss finish and laminates in the back and sides.
IBGs/masterbuilt Epiphones have a semigloss finish, Kalamazoo headstock and all solid. If it doesn't have all of those specs it a plain old epi.
It's all good but always go by the official specs.. .both the pro/studio and the IBG are made in the same Indonesian plant though. Which I believe is another difference for the official listing name going from pro to studio. To make it more confusing many the models of studio acoustics still say pro on the truss rod cover but are fact Indonesian and not Chinese. So maybe they are still using their stock of those truss rod covers. I'm not sure.
Alot of stuff going on there but I hope that helps yourself for any future Epiphone purchases and anyone else.
Thanks for watching the whole video. As I stated, the sticker that’s right inside the sound hole says it’s part of the inspired by Gibson line. I spoke on the price being less as a giveaway as well, but since the guitar says right there that it’s part of the IBG line, I feel it’s a very deceiving product.
I think anyone who has played enough to know, or care about, the difference between solid and laminate back and sides, would realize that $500 bucks doesn't buy a quality, solid wood guitar. I have been buying guitars from Sweetwater for several years, they have been terrific to deal with! I don't believe they are trying to mislead anyone on the guitars they sell.
Is this guitar marketed at someone who has been playing a while? Not really. It’s more of a beginner/intermediate priced instrument. The listing for the guitar can still be misleading without Sweetwater intending to do so, I’m not saying they’re a bad company.
Martin 000Jr-10; solid spruce top, solid sapele back & sides $549. Their SC-13e @ $1600 is a layered (cough) laminate.
It’s 450.00 it’s obviously laminate.
I addressed that in the video. Maybe to you, as someone who knows the market but not to the average shopper
Laminate back n sides daa
daa?
This is from the china factory. Nowhere near the quality of the IBG guitars
That’s not true. This guitar along with the rest of the IBG line are made in Indonesia.
ALL maple guitars are laminated. Maple is too hard a wood to bend enough or form in solid form at guitar body thickness.
Every Gibson ES335 series is Maple and is laminated. No way to form them otherwise. The Gibson Maple acoustics are laminated too.
The characteristics of the wood itself determine how it can be used. I used to build snowboards. Flexibility with strength was the key quality needed. Poplar and aspen worked well for that. Birch strips for hardness and compression where the metal inserts were located provided linear stiffness as well. All in the engineering.
This 100% false. There are maple acoustic guitars that are solid, unlaminated pieces.