I just got my Epiphone inspired by Gibson Black Beauty and couldn’t be happier with its weight, and feel of the neck. Fit, finish, and overall quality is awesome sauce. Plugged into my Tone King Imperial and was floored by its tone. My Sweetwater rep gave me a nice 10 percent discount which sweetened the deal. I love it and is fast becoming my new workhouse!!!
I have the Epiphone and it is a great guitar.. I tried the Gibson at the store and it played and sounded much the same... I do tend to prefer the Poly finish because I tend to wear the gibson nitro down in no time at all and then it gets all patchy and looks a mess.. At least that's what happens to me... Great review thanks.
The pickups are the same, but they are not the same in relation to position between the bridge and the 22nd fret. You should notice also that the pickguards will not fit on each other correctly. Look close at the fretboard by the 22nd fret. Notice there is more fretboard on the Gibson? That neck pup is not in the same position....now look at each bridge pups.....see the difference there?
My experience with the AJ sigs from Epiphone, is that they're still using the nut from the standards on the customs. This is totally wrong, as everyone knows the customs have the slim taper neck, which is thinner. This puts both the E strings right on the edges of the fretboard. If you install the proper nut on the Epiphone, it will play perfectly. Both my custom art and non art versions have this upgrade. As does my LP Prophecy, its just the black version. Part # 6060 from Graphtech, which is a Tusq XL nut. Peace!
Interesting. The Adam Jones is a custom but a different neck profile than the inspired by Gibson custom epi les Paul I think. I have the non art version of Adam Jones les Paul and the IGC epi les Paul custom. I'll compare them after work today and see if they use the same nut
Hi. What model of Jerry Cantrell did you have? I want to buy one, Wino model, I'm interested what problems has guitar like that, frets sharpnes or high string action. Thanks.
My Epiphone Peter Frampton Black Beauty arrives on Thursday and I'm so excited. I was a Fender fan boy and brand only fan boy. Well now I only buy Epiphone everything. I have 23 guitars and now I have 5 Epiphone's. The rest are Fender, Gibson, Ibanez and Jackson.
i hear often the epi is better. and i believe it. ive watched plenty of close up videos, and its not always the case, but mostly the case in that, the gibson is 3K, and you see alot of the steps are rushed. the care and attention to detail and "craftsmanship" that the brand leans on so heavily, is just not there. they pride themselves and sell themselves on the craftmanship that took place 60,70,80 years ago that was by hand. now its about numbers,and money. and ive seen plenty of sloppywork on limited edition releases that are like 6000$. wether its dulled tooling in the routing and cavitys, or chatter tooling marks(again from probably worn out or cheaper tools that should be replaces sooner, as well as cranked up speeds on cnc machines) its just a slap in the face to people who pay even 20 grand for a limited top tier release, and you see inconsistent binding. or poor rushed fret work, or even just lack of polish on frets. when you spend that much, every detail should have been gone through over and over and over.the problem now is that most ppl who are buying guitars, are tinkerers, so when you spend 2500$ on a gibson sg, they figure theyll let youdo the extra attention to detail work that they should be doing. its really sad. you even see some of the newer rosewood in some cases just looks terrible, which sucks because all these brands spent 20 years putting rosewood on terrible guitars that where 100$ and now even at 1700$, epiphone is refusing to do rosewood. so now they die their laurel fret wood, and you can see it when you take a brand new guitar and use a harsher cleaning chemical and see it on the rag when you wipe it.i havent even watched the video yet, but id bet an epiphone les paul custom, that the attention to detail and the time taken makes for a better instrument and the gibson is just sloppier.it comes down to time vs money,which of course our getting more time in china or indonesia or korea or vietnam. where something is made no longer matters,and hasnt for a long time now, its about how its made
The “holes” in the Epiphone and the “darker” sound of the Gibson is likely due to the string height since you mentioned the Epiphone has higher action. When strings are farther from the pickup it lessens the output and changes the tonal quality. Same exact pickups, same exact pots, same distance from the bridge to pickup with same scale length should be exact same sound if the distance between the pickups and the strings is also exactly the same.
Cool video, thanks for the thorough comparison. Are you sure the Gibson is long neck tenon, though? Not sure if the non-reissues have that (this is regular custom right?). Also, it seems the epi has got the epiphone more shallow headstock angle? Which of course could be a good thing technically.
The difference will be close to unnoticeable on new guitars- especially if they have the exact same pickups. When you will see the 5x difference is in how long these last and how easy/difficult they are to maintain. The Gibson is built to last for generations. The Epiphone cuts quality in every single place that’s not exactly the same part as the Gibson- cheaper screws, cheaper wood, not dried completely so the neck I’ll warp more easily over time as the seasons change. The nut, bridge, frets, and tuners will wear out faster. (Although “inspired by” Epiphones do have high quality tuners)
Of course the Gibson sounds incredible but for five times the price of the Epiphone it should in my opinion the reason the Epiphone sounds is louder acoustically is because the string height is higher allowing for a wider range for the strings to oscillate they both sound great though excellent video well done
There some obvious differencies, the first two you can see also in the video: the angle of the headstock is different ( when you hold the guitars on the floor) the body binding is on the Gibson thicker and more white, the Epi has a weaker, thinner binding the body on the Epi is thinner I do not know, why Epiphone did not do the same angle, the same thick white binding and why the body is thinner, as they claim this is built after the Gibson …
No comparison between the two Gibson is a quality guitar built by only one Luther but the Epiphone is beter built than a Chibson even if you change the hardware the wood isn't of quality materials if you cant afford a Gibson the Epiphone is the way to go and these are not black beauties only a three pickup guitar is called a black beauty.
I personally dont think a tube screamer would be necessary for this demonstration. I felt the tube screamer took away the natural/organic and clarity of the custom tone especially in high gain. There was a lot of feedback in the background. Also the strings should've been broken into instead to constantly tuning both guitars during the demonstration. Appreciate though the effort and time you put into this video and giving the viewer your opinion of these two beautiful guitars. Thanks
The tube screamer was for the metal fans because there are many! But yeah, it takes some magic away. The feedback in the background is due to the electricity at my place. Thanks
Play it, it’s meant to be played, if I owned the first burst ever made I’d play the s**t out of it, same as if I owned an F1 or F40, I’d drive the s**t out of them as intended.
I just got my Epiphone inspired by Gibson Black Beauty and couldn’t be happier with its weight, and feel of the neck. Fit, finish, and overall quality is awesome sauce. Plugged into my Tone King Imperial and was floored by its tone. My Sweetwater rep gave me a nice 10 percent discount which sweetened the deal. I love it and is fast becoming my new workhouse!!!
Maybe i'm a strange guy but i like the Tone on the Epiphone more.
Nice, thorough comparison. Really enjoyed the review. Thanks.
Thanks man! Cheers
Well. I just watched this. This video inspired me to go buy this epiphone guitar. On my way to the store now. Thanks.
I have the Epiphone and it is a great guitar.. I tried the Gibson at the store and it played and sounded much the same... I do tend to prefer the Poly finish because I tend to wear the gibson nitro down in no time at all and then it gets all patchy and looks a mess.. At least that's what happens to me... Great review thanks.
Thanks :)
The pickups are the same, but they are not the same in relation to position between the bridge and the 22nd fret. You should notice also that the pickguards will not fit on each other correctly. Look close at the fretboard by the 22nd fret. Notice there is more fretboard on the Gibson? That neck pup is not in the same position....now look at each bridge pups.....see the difference there?
My experience with the AJ sigs from Epiphone, is that they're still using the nut from the standards on the customs. This is totally wrong, as everyone knows the customs have the slim taper neck, which is thinner. This puts both the E strings right on the edges of the fretboard. If you install the proper nut on the Epiphone, it will play perfectly. Both my custom art and non art versions have this upgrade. As does my LP Prophecy, its just the black version. Part # 6060 from Graphtech, which is a Tusq XL nut. Peace!
Interesting. The Adam Jones is a custom but a different neck profile than the inspired by Gibson custom epi les Paul I think. I have the non art version of Adam Jones les Paul and the IGC epi les Paul custom. I'll compare them after work today and see if they use the same nut
I've played both as well. I slightly prefer the Gibson. However, for what it is, the Epiphone is very good.
Plz tell me, honestly, what do you prefer > the Gib? Thx.
I prefer Gibson, but I hate the price.
@@bryancollins6796; Indeed, that hurt$.
They both sound great. Apples and oranges, tbh. I'd really like to hear both and add that Edwards back there to hear the differences and similarities.
What’s the actual difference in body thickness?
Hi. What model of Jerry Cantrell did you have? I want to buy one, Wino model, I'm interested what problems has guitar like that, frets sharpnes or high string action. Thanks.
The Wino model. On my guitar the fret job could b better. But it’s playable. Jus a few minor things that could be better.
One is a real Gibson Les Paul Custom and one is a fake Gibson Les Paul Custom. It's that simple.
Nice demo and playing, when it comes to guitars I just go by whatever one feels and sounds good, It's got to inspire me to play more.
Many thanks! Cheers
Put some Seymour Duncan 59's in the Epiphone and it will be one hell of a rock monster.
I was actually thinking about that.
My Epiphone Peter Frampton Black Beauty arrives on Thursday and I'm so excited. I was a Fender fan boy and brand only fan boy. Well now I only buy Epiphone everything.
I have 23 guitars and now I have 5 Epiphone's. The rest are Fender, Gibson, Ibanez and Jackson.
i hear often the epi is better. and i believe it. ive watched plenty of close up videos, and its not always the case, but mostly the case in that, the gibson is 3K, and you see alot of the steps are rushed. the care and attention to detail and "craftsmanship" that the brand leans on so heavily, is just not there. they pride themselves and sell themselves on the craftmanship that took place 60,70,80 years ago that was by hand. now its about numbers,and money. and ive seen plenty of sloppywork on limited edition releases that are like 6000$. wether its dulled tooling in the routing and cavitys, or chatter tooling marks(again from probably worn out or cheaper tools that should be replaces sooner, as well as cranked up speeds on cnc machines) its just a slap in the face to people who pay even 20 grand for a limited top tier release, and you see inconsistent binding. or poor rushed fret work, or even just lack of polish on frets. when you spend that much, every detail should have been gone through over and over and over.the problem now is that most ppl who are buying guitars, are tinkerers, so when you spend 2500$ on a gibson sg, they figure theyll let youdo the extra attention to detail work that they should be doing. its really sad. you even see some of the newer rosewood in some cases just looks terrible, which sucks because all these brands spent 20 years putting rosewood on terrible guitars that where 100$ and now even at 1700$, epiphone is refusing to do rosewood. so now they die their laurel fret wood, and you can see it when you take a brand new guitar and use a harsher cleaning chemical and see it on the rag when you wipe it.i havent even watched the video yet, but id bet an epiphone les paul custom, that the attention to detail and the time taken makes for a better instrument and the gibson is just sloppier.it comes down to time vs money,which of course our getting more time in china or indonesia or korea or vietnam. where something is made no longer matters,and hasnt for a long time now, its about how its made
The “holes” in the Epiphone and the “darker” sound of the Gibson is likely due to the string height since you mentioned the Epiphone has higher action.
When strings are farther from the pickup it lessens the output and changes the tonal quality.
Same exact pickups, same exact pots, same distance from the bridge to pickup with same scale length should be exact same sound if the distance between the pickups and the strings is also exactly the same.
Cool video, thanks for the thorough comparison. Are you sure the Gibson is long neck tenon, though? Not sure if the non-reissues have that (this is regular custom right?). Also, it seems the epi has got the epiphone more shallow headstock angle? Which of course could be a good thing technically.
Thanks! Mine is long neck tenon. Cheers
Muchas gracias por el vídeo, me ha gustado mucho. Gracias.
Gracias :)
The difference will be close to unnoticeable on new guitars- especially if they have the exact same pickups.
When you will see the 5x difference is in how long these last and how easy/difficult they are to maintain.
The Gibson is built to last for generations.
The Epiphone cuts quality in every single place that’s not exactly the same part as the Gibson- cheaper screws, cheaper wood, not dried completely so the neck I’ll warp more easily over time as the seasons change. The nut, bridge, frets, and tuners will wear out faster. (Although “inspired by” Epiphones do have high quality tuners)
And so the moral of the story, is to get the Edwards and be just as happy. Peace!
Imperceptible look and feel differences but perceptible price differences, for me.
Thanks for sharing.
Thanks
Of course the Gibson sounds incredible but for five times the price of the Epiphone it should in my opinion the reason the Epiphone sounds is louder acoustically is because the string height is higher allowing for a wider range for the strings to oscillate they both sound great though excellent video well done
There some obvious differencies, the first two you can see also in the video:
the angle of the headstock is different ( when you hold the guitars on the floor)
the body binding is on the Gibson thicker and more white, the Epi has a weaker, thinner binding
the body on the Epi is thinner
I do not know, why Epiphone did not do the same angle, the same thick white binding and why the body is thinner, as they claim this is built after the Gibson …
Gracias por el video amigo 💪🏻
Thanks :)
without having guitar in the hand it is difficult only by ear , I would say impossible
Yeah!
There both excellent i gig with the ephiphone i keep the gibby home
👍
I give it to Epiphone. The Gibson is in no way worth $5000 more.
Gibson would be better surely better pickups🎸
Same pickups.
They use the same pickups and electronics. The difference is finish that's it.
😂
Excellent review. I'm glad you were honest.
Thanks man :)
No comparison between the two Gibson is a quality guitar built by only one Luther but the Epiphone is beter built than a Chibson even if you change the hardware the wood isn't of quality materials if you cant afford a Gibson the Epiphone is the way to go and these are not black beauties only a three pickup guitar is called a black beauty.
I personally dont think a tube screamer would be necessary for this demonstration. I felt the tube screamer took away the natural/organic and clarity of the custom tone especially in high gain. There was a lot of feedback in the background. Also the strings should've been broken into instead to constantly tuning both guitars during the demonstration. Appreciate though the effort and time you put into this video and giving the viewer your opinion of these two beautiful guitars. Thanks
The tube screamer was for the metal fans because there are many! But yeah, it takes some magic away. The feedback in the background is due to the electricity at my place. Thanks
they both look the same
Play it, it’s meant to be played, if I owned the first burst ever made I’d play the s**t out of it, same as if I owned an F1 or F40, I’d drive the s**t out of them as intended.