In my case, it would be a case of *ADDING* the pickguard. I prefer the look of a LP with the pickguard (provided it aesthetically matches the rest of the guitar).
The Epiphones always get talked up. Spend the extra on the Gibson Standard, if you can. The differences are obvious and greater than portrayed in reviews.
@@asdlkfjawoeijfldkf Nonsense. The Epiphone ‘59 is more “Gibson” than some Gibsons..Gibson USA BurstBucker™ 2 & 3 humbucking pickups, Switchcraft® selector switch and output jack, CTS® pots, 50s era wiring, Mallory™ capacitors. It blows Gibson Tributes out of the water. Your are too antiquated.
@PhillipMcKnight had said way back in the day about the Gibson Epiphone comparison, that the Epis are simply winning because you shouldn't have to try to tell the difference between these two guitars at these price points; it should have been obvious, and I agree with him... Spotting the Epi from the Gibson should have been a piece of cake and yet it isn't...
Which maybe why I have 2 Epiphone Les Pauls & still have change out of £1,000. They play great, feel great & I could keep buying 2 or 3 more varients before hitting the Gibson proce tag for just 1. I am also trying to tell my wife it is better value, but I think that she maybe at the point now where she wants less guitars in the house. We are running out of wall & floor space!
In the past 10-15 years the quality of import guitars has gone way up. Everything done with CNC, the use of better electronics, better quality control. I started playing in ‘97 and back then there was a huge difference between a Korean, Chinese, Mexican and a USA/Japan guitar. Today you get the Gibson because you want the real deal and you’re willing to pay for it. And because of the headstock lol.
All the LPs sound great, each with their own particularities. The Slash Goldtop has a lot of bite btw. But what an amp, omg!! Really enjoyed the challenge, thanks Lee & Pete!
Blindfold and shootout episodes are the best. More entertaining and better help me select gear. Than you for all the great videos this year and happy holidays.
1 & 3 sounded wayyy more Slash than the Slash signature! That's crazy. Hand on heart, I can say the first one absolutely blew the Slash out of the water.
I listening for those alnico 2 pickups he is known for using. I was listening blindly and thought “number two sounds so much different from the others”. And then once I saw which ones were which, I was sitting there in awe how 1 and three sounded much more like slash
@@bradyoswald2668 yeah I though 1 had that really hot, brash tone I’d associate with Slash despite the fact the amp is probably doing most of the work here. 1 sounded great though compared to 2 which I though sounded pretty damp ... I’d buy 1 and take the pickup covers off and save myself a few bucks! I doubt that 50s neck would be fast enough for Slash though, I think the original Slash prehistoric gold top had a black back and neck too.
@@balke7935 I imagine they referenced the guitar from Godfather Theme. I can’t recall if that guitar had a black back though. I wanna say it did though. But not only does the pickups really have an effect on tone, but that amazing AFD 100 amp is AMAZING! And with your eyes closed... you would think that guitar one is literally slash playing.
@@valendis yeah they all sound the same at first except the slash Victoria in my opinion. But in a weird way, I thought that the Victoria didn’t sound like slash at all 😂
#1 for me too. Seems it was a clear winner in 'best sounding' guitar. Ahh, got an email from you guys today. Ditto+ coming in New Year now. Looking forward to messing around with it!
The only one I got right was 50s standard. My main guitar is a 2019 Blueberry Burst Traditional that uses Burstbucker 1 and 2 (neck and bridge respectively) and I play through a Marshall DSL so they sounded familiar.
I got Slash's guitar right, and the standard Les Paul right. But I confused Pete's and the Epiphone. That's got to say something good about those Epiphones!
Love my appetite burst. I have to say they sound much better in person, the 50’s sounded much better here. But in fairness it can be down to the mix setup too.
The first Gibson sounds phenomenal. What an amazing guitar. Epiphone also better than expected but I can head that the bridge pickup probably would hurt my ears on high notes. After years of sounding dull, Epiphones now sound super trebly but at less you can rectify that somewhat
I have the epiphone 50's goldtop, i absolutely love it! One day in maybe 150 years i can afford a gibson LP lol. But cannot knock the epiphone at all. You guys proved that! amazing video guys thanks (Y)
20:09 I agree with Pete. The Epiphone may be a hair thinner sounding than its Gibson counterpart, but I couldn't justify the price difference. Great video gents!
I'll take the Epiphone. Inexpensive and almost as good... just a bit of a treble turn down on the amp and you are there... for me at least, and you don't have the panic attacks at the price or live in fear of chipping the finish.
I probably would have had no chance of picking out the Slash model from all 4 if I was blindfolded, but I think I could have done it if it was just the first 2. The Slash model sounded a little brighter to me.
I congratulate you on your fine choice and will add a simple 'Try out the DRS2 before you commit'. This comes from someone who gigs the DRS2 for two years now (obviously a lot less in the past year ) and who picked it out of bunch of more expensive Martins. A small bonus is that it looks like a Martin Dreadnought, not like a 1:1 copy of a Taylor - which does not have to be a bad thing if you're into that as I use a Taylor for the cutaway as well when playing up the dusty end ( Sweet Child o' Mine comes to mind or rockabilly stuff with the solo in the Em blues scale - which is basically all of them ;PPP ). Have fun with whatever you buy - just do yourself a favor and try out the DRS2 as well.
@@TheGrandmaMoses Thank you, the drs2 looks like it has what I'm looking for (mainly fingerstyle without being liability on strumming). Im considering the sc13e mainly for the upper fret access. I'll defininately try both.
@@owenpigeontop5683 Don't thank me, just try both and pick what you like. The dreadnought sounds like a dreadnought, so you will like it, I'm quite sure.
great challenge! I loved it, and I was eager to hear a comparison between the slash and the 50s standard. But I gotta, I thought that the EQ on the amp was slightly too trebly. Anyway, great stuff
I have a Epiphone Les Paul TV Special with Bolt-on neck and it is a great guitar!..They are making almost comparable guitars to Gibson!...great video guys!
The only one I could really hear is the Epiphone - the upper mid tonality on the G string and above is noticeably more shrill than all three of the others. And overall, I also preferred the 50's LP (#1) because there is something slightly chunkier about the lower string pick strikes.
Unfortunately for a buyer of affordable guitars like me, the only one that stood out to me was the Epiphone. I thought it sounded a bit muffled and less brilliant, and perhaps a little less dynamic.
Funny story: shopping in a grocery store during Christmas time a few years ago and the typical annoying Christmas music was on. About halfway through the trip, "Welcome to the Jungle" starts playing over the speakers. So now it's one of my favorite Christmas songs.
The Slash and the Epiphone sounded better than the other 2, which I think comes down to the pickups. Slash sounded best by a bit, really impressed with the Epiphone actually. I never met a post 80's Gibson that couldn't be a little better with some Duncans, Dimarzios or so on.
Hola amigos, excelente su canal y muy entretenido, quería preguntar cual es el motivo por el cual casi nunca incluyen las Traditional en los review o comparativas. Son malas ? Son menos importantes por algún motivo ? Saludos desde Chile !!
I played along using my 3M worktunes headset... I thought #2 sounded better by that magical 5~10%. I was pleased with the outcome. Lee isn't quite the GnR fanboy that I am. I think Slash is my top 3 GOAT guitarists. I thought the dynamic range of #2 had a voicing that really sang the Slash licks like an angel
I'm pretty sure the early-90s Les Paul Classics were supplied with 490 and 498 pickups--not '57 Classics--because it was a nod to the 1960 Les Paul. They all sound great, but that LP Std sounds fantastic.
As someone who didn't like Les Pauls, and was a Stratocaster player through and through, who one day bought on a whim a Gibson Les Paul (2013 Slash Rosso Corsa), that it is because the Les Paul is a badass guitar. Barely played anything else since I got it.
In terms of tone, what I PREFERRED were, in order, Pete's Goldtop, The Epiphone, the Gibson 50s Standard, Gibson Slash Goldtop. The Slash had was more "harsh" and lacking in bottom end, which probably works fine for a lead guitarist. Pete's checked all the boxes. The Epiphone with those ProBuckers holds its own. If I could get past the inevitable QC issues, chunkier neck, and poly finish, I'd go for the Epiphone and save myself a significant (massive) amount of coin, especially what it would cost for a fret and neck dress. Even a pickup swap for genuine Gibsons would bring you in under the mark of the Gibsons. Luckily, Lee didn't do the finish smell test. Those ProBuckers are really solid in their own right, though, and make a pickup swap a lower priority than the Classic Alnico II Pros of recent years.
You should have unknowingly slipped a Slash Performance Pack Epiphone in Lee's hands lol.
Ahhh we missed a trick there! 😉
I’ll give you a clue, it’s the only one with no scratch plate 😂
Next time... We need to remember to take the scratch plates off! 😂
@@andertons tbf the captain didn’t touch the plate :D
😅
In my case, it would be a case of *ADDING* the pickguard. I prefer the look of a LP with the pickguard (provided it aesthetically matches the rest of the guitar).
@GRÖBNÖB the Troll #2 That would be the benefit scroungers solution
The real star here is that amp ☠
Tried not looking, all I managed to find is that that Marshall sounds immense
It's always fun when the Marshall comes out to play! 🤘
They all sound pretty damn similar down to the epiphone (a good thing). But yeah, I agree. That Marshall is gnarly.
The Epiphones always get talked up. Spend the extra on the Gibson Standard, if you can. The differences are obvious and greater than portrayed in reviews.
The amplification is the most important part of the sonic chain after all.
@@asdlkfjawoeijfldkf Nonsense. The Epiphone ‘59 is more “Gibson” than some Gibsons..Gibson USA BurstBucker™ 2 & 3 humbucking pickups, Switchcraft® selector switch and output jack, CTS® pots, 50s era wiring, Mallory™ capacitors. It blows Gibson Tributes out of the water. Your are too antiquated.
the epiphone sounded awesome
The goldtop one I have is the best Les Paul I have ever played.
Totally agree with Pete, no need to swap pickups on that Epiphone, they've just nailed it! 😍
“I can categorically tell you, I haven’t got a scooby doo”
Indeed! Lee has or had a shar pei.
2:01 Gibson Standard 50's, 2:15 neck pickup
2:54 Gibson Slash Victoria, 3:12 neck pickup
3:56 Gibson Classic 1994, 4:22 neck pickup
4:59 Epiphone Std 50's, 5:19 neck pickup
The Marshall AFD 100 made of all these guitars sound incredible. One of the best amps Marshall have ever made!
What I got from this is that 'beauty is in the eye of the beholder' and a talented player can make any half way decent instrument sound good.
@PhillipMcKnight had said way back in the day about the Gibson Epiphone comparison, that the Epis are simply winning because you shouldn't have to try to tell the difference between these two guitars at these price points; it should have been obvious, and I agree with him... Spotting the Epi from the Gibson should have been a piece of cake and yet it isn't...
thats a great point
Which maybe why I have 2 Epiphone Les Pauls & still have change out of £1,000. They play great, feel great & I could keep buying 2 or 3 more varients before hitting the Gibson proce tag for just 1. I am also trying to tell my wife it is better value, but I think that she maybe at the point now where she wants less guitars in the house. We are running out of wall & floor space!
In the past 10-15 years the quality of import guitars has gone way up. Everything done with CNC, the use of better electronics, better quality control.
I started playing in ‘97 and back then there was a huge difference between a Korean, Chinese, Mexican and a USA/Japan guitar.
Today you get the Gibson because you want the real deal and you’re willing to pay for it. And because of the headstock lol.
@@lecorsaire2283 to me the shape of the headstock is a big deal, not so much the gibson stamp, so tokai gets it for me
And I think the only difference is due to the pickups. Put the same pups in Epi & I'm sure you couldn't tell a difference.
The Slash model did sound the most like that classic Appetite tone to me, but Pete's was definitely my favourite!
either Petes or the 50s for me
All the LPs sound great, each with their own particularities. The Slash Goldtop has a lot of bite btw. But what an amp, omg!! Really enjoyed the challenge, thanks Lee & Pete!
It's always fun to get the Marshall out from the backline & crank it up!
Thanks for tuning in Jorge 🤘
@@andertons what Marshall was that?
The Marshall slash AFD
@@andertons huge fan of the channel and Andertons team. Happy Holidays to the entire crew, wishing a healthy and fun 2021!
I got the 50's gold top myself for more than half a year now and it feels so good to play it.
joey what pickups do you have in your 50's goldtop?
@@donthewatcher8835 Burstbuckers 1 & 2
Me too.. :)
Blindfold and shootout episodes are the best. More entertaining and better help me select gear. Than you for all the great videos this year and happy holidays.
1 & 3 sounded wayyy more Slash than the Slash signature! That's crazy. Hand on heart, I can say the first one absolutely blew the Slash out of the water.
I listening for those alnico 2 pickups he is known for using. I was listening blindly and thought “number two sounds so much different from the others”. And then once I saw which ones were which, I was sitting there in awe how 1 and three sounded much more like slash
@@bradyoswald2668 yeah I though 1 had that really hot, brash tone I’d associate with Slash despite the fact the amp is probably doing most of the work here. 1 sounded great though compared to 2 which I though sounded pretty damp ... I’d buy 1 and take the pickup covers off and save myself a few bucks! I doubt that 50s neck would be fast enough for Slash though, I think the original Slash prehistoric gold top had a black back and neck too.
@@balke7935 I imagine they referenced the guitar from Godfather Theme. I can’t recall if that guitar had a black back though. I wanna say it did though. But not only does the pickups really have an effect on tone, but that amazing AFD 100 amp is AMAZING! And with your eyes closed... you would think that guitar one is literally slash playing.
I agree I was convinced number 3 was the one!
@@valendis yeah they all sound the same at first except the slash Victoria in my opinion. But in a weird way, I thought that the Victoria didn’t sound like slash at all 😂
I've had my 50's standard goldtop for a little over a year and it just keeps getting better. The new era Gibsons are all they should be!
That’s the funniest thing with Pete grabbing the headstock and turning lee
I bet Chappers would have gotten it right, he's the king of the Blindfold Challenge
He would know because the Slash's one doesn't have the same smell
Who?
I'm sure you have, but have you seen the blindfold super strat challenge?? That was is insane. He knows what everything is.
If there’s one takeaway it’s that 1 sounded phenomenal
Sorry but that first Gibson sounds looooooovely compared to the slash model.
I concur. JC and the Gibson guys are really doing a great job in comparison to previous years.
I also agree. For me, the first Gibson owned this show totaly.
They all sound better than the Slash... in my worthless opinion;) But yes! The first Gibson Standard is phenomenal!
Those 'Slashbucker' pickups are pants.
I do also like the Epi more than the Slash
ok. I'm sold on the Standard 50's gold top. That sounds amazing!!!
Sound wise I actually loved the Epi neck pickups the best! Also man alive that amps sounds delightful.. perfect 👌
Thanks for leaving a comment & tuning in! 🤘
#1 for me too. Seems it was a clear winner in 'best sounding' guitar.
Ahh, got an email from you guys today. Ditto+ coming in New Year now. Looking forward to messing around with it!
Pretty cool! I would like to see the Gibson Les Paul Tribute Goldtop in this test too!
We could try that next time along with some P90 models as well? 🤘
I had this on in the background and when Pete played his own guitar I was like: "that's the Slash one".
So the only way he knew the epiphone was because of the finish of the top that he was touching
That’s a good look for epiphone
The only one I got right was 50s standard. My main guitar is a 2019 Blueberry Burst Traditional that uses Burstbucker 1 and 2 (neck and bridge respectively) and I play through a Marshall DSL so they sounded familiar.
Can never have enough goldtops in your life
I would've love to see Pete playing welcome to the jungle :))
All sounded great through that amp..
It's one incredible amp! 🤘
@@andertons Please test out different guitars strat , tele , prs , on this amp..
Goes to show how good the Epiphone is.
totally what I was thinking!
I have a 2019 Epiphone Les Paul Standard Pro and it’s a solid rock machine... sounds and plays great.
@@JMac. I have a 2019 Epi LP as well and it kills!
@@kravitz1999 nice! They are making some damn fine instruments.
They must've improved in recent years because my older Epiphone LP is a piece a junk lol. It never gets picked up anymore
I got Slash's guitar right, and the standard Les Paul right. But I confused Pete's and the Epiphone. That's got to say something good about those Epiphones!
I have one and I concur - it's awesome
Same. Wasn't sure... 1 and 2 are obvious.
Pete plays with so much personality. I could listen to him all day.
I think Pete's sounded the best but, the Epi surprised me, if someone is into Goldtops and on a budget they couldn't go wrong.
Got one of appetite burst from you guys - literally built a whole UA-cam channel off of it. Playing slash licks- absolutely amazing guitar.
the 1 guitar might've sounded fuller because when 2,3,4 were being played , 1 was dead shot in front of the cab
Would love to see a video where you go through which mics you use on amps, and how different mics sound
my god these all sound so so good
That first LP sounds so good and great clarity with that Marshall amp
Wow I just realized how great of a job Gibson did with Slash's tone on the victoria
I think the Marshall had a little to do with it.
Pete should have gotten a wah pedal just to make it more interesting.
The standard 50s sounds great!
Man, I am so surprised. Am I the only one who was surprised by the sound of the Victoria and thought it was the best?
This is the first challenge yet where the right answer completely stood out to me. Pete's goldtop sounds so good though.
I'd happily spend money on that first LP, sounds lovely. On the neck pickup especially.
Today, I feel the Gibson price is more for Nostalgia then for quality
You aren’t wrong.
Tried listening without looking and Pete's was my favourite. Great vid as always!
Anderton's needs to put a store in smack dab in the middle of Music City - Nashville, TN. You guys would crush it here!
The cracks on Pete's guitar add some serious character. I actually like it that way.
What this showed me really is the Epi sounded better than all except number 1. Wow.
Andertons great video as always. But u guys gotta get Marshall to do a studio slash 20. I'll preorder 2 right now. Take my money, please!
Just realized half way through they threw an epiphone in there lol.
Pete,s guitar was the sweetest sounding to me. I bought a slash November burst from his collection this year and love it
Love my appetite burst. I have to say they sound much better in person, the 50’s sounded much better here. But in fairness it can be down to the mix setup too.
The Epi on the neck pickup sounded killer. I preferred it over the 50's Gibson because it had some strat or p90 vibe.
I also preferred the epi over the 50s
The first Gibson sounds phenomenal. What an amazing guitar.
Epiphone also better than expected but I can head that the bridge pickup probably would hurt my ears on high notes. After years of sounding dull, Epiphones now sound super trebly but at less you can rectify that somewhat
I have the epiphone 50's goldtop, i absolutely love it! One day in maybe 150 years i can afford a gibson LP lol. But cannot knock the epiphone at all. You guys proved that! amazing video guys thanks (Y)
20:09 I agree with Pete. The Epiphone may be a hair thinner sounding than its Gibson counterpart, but I couldn't justify the price difference. Great video gents!
I'll take the Epiphone. Inexpensive and almost as good... just a bit of a treble turn down on the amp and you are there... for me at least, and you don't have the panic attacks at the price or live in fear of chipping the finish.
Epiphone gang back at it in the comments section 😁 Epi ftw
Me too
Few months back I had the mightiest epi of them all all delivered
Epiphone 1959 standard
Its the amp making them all sound very good.
All sounded great!
I ♥️ Goldtops. Mine is a Standard '50's with P-90's. I closed my eyes and thought it was #1 or #4. Shows what I know.
I probably would have had no chance of picking out the Slash model from all 4 if I was blindfolded, but I think I could have done it if it was just the first 2. The Slash model sounded a little brighter to me.
Hey guys! I I plan on saving up to buy a martin sc13e from you guys
They're one great acoustic... Good luck on the saving! 🤘
I congratulate you on your fine choice and will add a simple 'Try out the DRS2 before you commit'. This comes from someone who gigs the DRS2 for two years now (obviously a lot less in the past year ) and who picked it out of bunch of more expensive Martins.
A small bonus is that it looks like a Martin Dreadnought, not like a 1:1 copy of a Taylor - which does not have to be a bad thing if you're into that as I use a Taylor for the cutaway as well when playing up the dusty end ( Sweet Child o' Mine comes to mind or rockabilly stuff with the solo in the Em blues scale - which is basically all of them ;PPP ).
Have fun with whatever you buy - just do yourself a favor and try out the DRS2 as well.
@@TheGrandmaMoses Thank you, the drs2 looks like it has what I'm looking for (mainly fingerstyle without being liability on strumming). Im considering the sc13e mainly for the upper fret access. I'll defininately try both.
@@owenpigeontop5683 Don't thank me, just try both and pick what you like. The dreadnought sounds like a dreadnought, so you will like it, I'm quite sure.
Slash's les paul is SO bright! I probably won't guess it was actually les paul guitar. But anyway cool
You have 100 tube screamers but not a tuner?? Hahah. Love it. Great vids my man.. 🤘🏼
great challenge! I loved it, and I was eager to hear a comparison between the slash and the 50s standard. But I gotta, I thought that the EQ on the amp was slightly too trebly. Anyway, great stuff
The bridge pickups sounded really ice picky so it has to be the amount of treble
Another fantastic video!
Love Lee's blue hoodie, is that for sale???
I have a Epiphone Les Paul TV Special with Bolt-on neck and it is a great guitar!..They are making almost comparable guitars to Gibson!...great video guys!
You guys need to get ahold of the Heritage guitars and do this kind of comparison.
All sounded great, i preferred Pete’s classic, and thr slash one, but that Epi sounds awesome!,,
The only one I could really hear is the Epiphone - the upper mid tonality on the G string and above is noticeably more shrill than all three of the others. And overall, I also preferred the 50's LP (#1) because there is something slightly chunkier about the lower string pick strikes.
Great to see Pete & great to know just upgrade the neck pickup in the Epi- it's never been a better time to know a guitar tech/craftsman.
That epiphone sounds amazing 👏
That amp is a beast!! All very close, to my ears anyway.
That's an honest assessment. Thank you.
Unfortunately for a buyer of affordable guitars like me, the only one that stood out to me was the Epiphone. I thought it sounded a bit muffled and less brilliant, and perhaps a little less dynamic.
That amp is so rock n roll that everyone within a 10km just inexplicably threw up devil horns
The real hero of this video is that incredible sounding amp!
If I lived in England, I'd be at Anderton's way too often. Guildford- Land of Bruce Foxton!!!
Just dont drive, the store only has 4, yes 4 parking spaces 😅
Funny story: shopping in a grocery store during Christmas time a few years ago and the typical annoying Christmas music was on. About halfway through the trip, "Welcome to the Jungle" starts playing over the speakers. So now it's one of my favorite Christmas songs.
Hi, that's just a story.
@@artiefufkin3292 Merry Christmas to you, too!
The Slash and the Epiphone sounded better than the other 2, which I think comes down to the pickups. Slash sounded best by a bit, really impressed with the Epiphone actually. I never met a post 80's Gibson that couldn't be a little better with some Duncans, Dimarzios or so on.
Y'all Crack me up! Beautiful Les Paul Guitars!
I’d be interested to know what they feel and play like, that’s what separates guitars. It’s not the sound.
Couldn’t agree more, it a coin flip trying to differentiate the sound between guitars like this
Hola amigos, excelente su canal y muy entretenido, quería preguntar cual es el motivo por el cual casi nunca incluyen las Traditional en los review o comparativas.
Son malas ?
Son menos importantes por algún motivo ?
Saludos desde Chile !!
That LP Classic would be coming home with me.........good GOD.
Definitely invest in some hair bands for 2021 - that string noise from behind the nut really started to grate after 30 mins 😬
I played along using my 3M worktunes headset... I thought #2 sounded better by that magical 5~10%. I was pleased with the outcome. Lee isn't quite the GnR fanboy that I am. I think Slash is my top 3 GOAT guitarists. I thought the dynamic range of #2 had a voicing that really sang the Slash licks like an angel
Anything would sound killer through that Amp..
100w Marshall with a 4x12 cab... What more could you want! 😉
And a partridge in a pear tree
@@andertons earplugs probably. Tinnitus train leaving the station.
@@andertons Agree
🐈
Is that thing in the back corner with the numbers on it a decibel meter?
I'm pretty sure the early-90s Les Paul Classics were supplied with 490 and 498 pickups--not '57 Classics--because it was a nod to the 1960 Les Paul. They all sound great, but that LP Std sounds fantastic.
As someone who didn't like Les Pauls, and was a Stratocaster player through and through, who one day bought on a whim a Gibson Les Paul (2013 Slash Rosso Corsa), that it is because the Les Paul is a badass guitar. Barely played anything else since I got it.
Should have thrown in the Gibson Tribute gold top into the mix. I think that’s the real winner
Epiphone has really stepped up their game. You could really upgrade the pickups and run this test again. See if Lee could pick out the Epiphone.
Best blindfold yet
In Australia the Slash models retail for around $5,500. Nice guitar, but an extortionate premium.
That amp sounds great.
Goldtops are still my favorite Les Paul finish of all time, even more so than Bursts
Everyone needs a Goldtop! 🤘
I give the Cherry Sunburst the slight edge, but honestly it's so close the only proper decision is to get one of each, lol.
Wonder what new blindfold challenges we wil get in 2021!
In terms of tone, what I PREFERRED were, in order, Pete's Goldtop, The Epiphone, the Gibson 50s Standard, Gibson Slash Goldtop. The Slash had was more "harsh" and lacking in bottom end, which probably works fine for a lead guitarist. Pete's checked all the boxes. The Epiphone with those ProBuckers holds its own. If I could get past the inevitable QC issues, chunkier neck, and poly finish, I'd go for the Epiphone and save myself a significant (massive) amount of coin, especially what it would cost for a fret and neck dress. Even a pickup swap for genuine Gibsons would bring you in under the mark of the Gibsons. Luckily, Lee didn't do the finish smell test. Those ProBuckers are really solid in their own right, though, and make a pickup swap a lower priority than the Classic Alnico II Pros of recent years.