New IBG Epiphones - Get them before Eagle does

[la szum]

Huh? I wouldn't mind one of these. I've been chasing a TV Yellow DC Jr. for years, and
have never found the right deal to make me jump.

$999 USD.

 

[SillyOctpuss]

I thought they were using CTS pots on the IBG's now? Still, the prices are a bit steep.

They use CTS on the standard Epiphones too.

 

[SillyOctpuss]

Huh? I wouldn't mind one of these. I've been chasing a TV Yellow DC Jr. for years, and
have never found the right deal to make me jump.

$999 USD.

Yeah Epiphones one of the few makers to get one that's not crazy money. I always see single cut specials from the Japanese manufacturers and never see double cuts. The best value ones I've seen were the faded gibsons, I've seen those go for crazy low prices in the UK. Don't think any of the were tv yellow though.

 

[la szum]

Exactly! I've contacted a bunch of shops in Japan on my hunt. They are all like....

 

[la szum]

I do see the Gibson Fadeds in Brown, Blue, Black, and some kind of Red.... but want what I want.

I also can recall when you could get them for $500-$600. Now they are $1,000+

 

[SillyOctpuss]

I do see the Gibson Fadeds in Brown, Blue, Black, and some kind of Red.... but want what I want.

I also can recall when you could get them for $500-$600. Now they are $1,000+

Yeah a mate of mine bought a red one that was a bit battered for £400. It's a really cool guitar and sounds great. I was quite jealous when I found out how little he spent.

 

[Eagle]

In fairness the Tokais and Edwards are veneers at that price point too.

Different though. These are figured veneer on a thick plain top . This is ok really.

 

[Eagle]

Huh? I wouldn't mind one of these. I've been chasing a TV Yellow DC Jr. for years, and
have never found the right deal to make me jump.

$999 USD.

I turned down original ones for that price.

 

[la szum]

 

[Eagle]

The thing that bothers me about these is the wood and the shitty truss rod assembly they use means that no matter what you do to upgrade the rest they will never be like the Gibson.

 

[Eagle]

It was a while ago and nobody wanted them at the time.

 

[Jarick]

They've got the same pots as the standard 50s epiphone so you're paying £600 more for pickups, tone caps, a case and the gibson headstock. That's seriously steep. I'd rather buy the 50s and upgrade it myself. Most of the hardware is probably the same too and the wood stock will definitely be the same.

Custombuckers are $500 for a set and a hardshell case is $130 new, so you're technically saving money buying the IBG. But these guitars are not made for you or I or others who will buy a guitar and swap out parts. I'm the guy who bought the PRS S2 McCarty and within 12 hours had gutted and swapped out all the electronics and ran through three sets of PAF clones I had on hand lol.

I'm also not sure about the quality of the parts. I have a Joe Bonamassa 335 that has Burstbuckers with the upgraded CTS pots and Switchcraft switch, and I can say the taper of the pots isn't great and the switch feels a bit cheap compared to a Switchcraft after market replacement. I bought the JB model used mint so didn't take the full depreciation hit in large part because I didn't want to swap out pickups and electronics on a 335.

I'm not sure if all Epis are using CTS/Switchcraft or if there's different quality levels or what. I do think if Epiphone was putting higher quality components on $500 guitars they would be advertising that.

I assume still just veneers too like the $1500 greeny

Digging around on their website, they don't mention veneer at all and they claim AAA flame maple without reference to veneer. I would think they need to disclose that like PRS does on their SE's.

Looking at Sweetwater, the "AAA" tops are extremely blank and don't seem to have any depth. The satin finish looks cheap to me too. That's the bummer with Epiphones and other cheap guitars, the glossy poly can look like crap. Maybe someday they'll figure out how to do a thinner finish or something but that has to be part of the cost savings.

 

[SillyOctpuss]

Custombuckers are $500 for a set and a hardshell case is $130 new, so you're technically saving money buying the IBG. But these guitars are not made for you or I or others who will buy a guitar and swap out parts. I'm the guy who bought the PRS S2 McCarty and within 12 hours had gutted and swapped out all the electronics and ran through three sets of PAF clones I had on hand lol.

I'm also not sure about the quality of the parts. I have a Joe Bonamassa 335 that has Burstbuckers with the upgraded CTS pots and Switchcraft switch, and I can say the taper of the pots isn't great and the switch feels a bit cheap compared to a Switchcraft after market replacement. I bought the JB model used mint so didn't take the full depreciation hit in large part because I didn't want to swap out pickups and electronics on a 335.

I'm not sure if all Epis are using CTS/Switchcraft or if there's different quality levels or what. I do think if Epiphone was putting higher quality components on $500 guitars they would be advertising that.



Digging around on their website, they don't mention veneer at all and they claim AAA flame maple without reference to veneer. I would think they need to disclose that like PRS does on their SE's.

Looking at Sweetwater, the "AAA" tops are extremely blank and don't seem to have any depth. The satin finish looks cheap to me too. That's the bummer with Epiphones and other cheap guitars, the glossy poly can look like crap. Maybe someday they'll figure out how to do a thinner finish or something but that has to be part of the cost savings.

I'm not convinced the custombuckers they're selling at £519 a set are the same pickups they're fitting to Epiphones. To be honest I have no evidence for this apart from my general distrust of GIbsons marketing.

You do get different models of pot from CTS, I don't know about switchcraft though. I assume they would probably produce a different spec switch as an oem for a big enough order though.

The greeny is definitely a veneer

 

[spawnofthesith]

Custombuckers are $500 for a set and a hardshell case is $130 new, so you're technically saving money buying the IBG. But these guitars are not made for you or I or others who will buy a guitar and swap out parts. I'm the guy who bought the PRS S2 McCarty and within 12 hours had gutted and swapped out all the electronics and ran through three sets of PAF clones I had on hand lol.

I'm also not sure about the quality of the parts. I have a Joe Bonamassa 335 that has Burstbuckers with the upgraded CTS pots and Switchcraft switch, and I can say the taper of the pots isn't great and the switch feels a bit cheap compared to a Switchcraft after market replacement. I bought the JB model used mint so didn't take the full depreciation hit in large part because I didn't want to swap out pickups and electronics on a 335.

I'm not sure if all Epis are using CTS/Switchcraft or if there's different quality levels or what. I do think if Epiphone was putting higher quality components on $500 guitars they would be advertising that.



Digging around on their website, they don't mention veneer at all and they claim AAA flame maple without reference to veneer. I would think they need to disclose that like PRS does on their SE's.

Looking at Sweetwater, the "AAA" tops are extremely blank and don't seem to have any depth. The satin finish looks cheap to me too. That's the bummer with Epiphones and other cheap guitars, the glossy poly can look like crap. Maybe someday they'll figure out how to do a thinner finish or something but that has to be part of the cost savings.

Says "AAA Flame Maple Veneer" down in the specs

https://www.epiphone.com/en-US/p/El...qnm5F8a1dpQa3xLUmmLDIKbeCu9dVDCOVHGut7VjWEZSC

 

[la szum]

I had a Gibson Greeny Standard last year for about a month before returning it. It
was laughable at $3k. Utterly and completely laughable. Felt like an half made
guitar. And yes, I get it was trying to approximate a 75 year old guitar. Still.

 

[Eagle]

I'm not convinced the custombuckers they're selling at £519 a set are the same pickups they're fitting to Epiphones. To be honest I have no evidence for this apart from my general distrust of GIbsons marketing.

You do get different models of pot from CTS, I don't know about switchcraft though. I assume they would probably produce a different spec switch as an oem for a big enough order though.

The greeny is definitely a veneer

View attachment 42853

Greens isn’t a veneer. I have disassembled at least a dozen.

 

[la szum]

I think they are referring to the Epiphone, Andy.

 

[SillyOctpuss]

Greens isn’t a veneer. I have disassembled at least a dozen.

The epiphone Greeny not the Gibson

 

[Zodiac]

I do see the Gibson Fadeds in Brown, Blue, Black, and some kind of Red.... but want what I want.

I also can recall when you could get them for $500-$600. Now they are $1,000+

Gibson did do a faded doublecut in TV Yellow. Here's mine, a 2005, owned from new. It's a great guitar, though I say so myself.

 

[DrewJD82]

I can’t bitch about veneers considering my Orville has a piece of photo paper instead of a sheet of thin wood for a top.

As long as there’s a legit maple cap underneath it, IDGAF.

Oh….and as long as it’s not an Epiphone.