New IBG Epiphones - Get them before Eagle does

[Eagle]

I battled internal demons for a while before grabbing my nx6 prog. I do still think theyre vastly overpriced given country of origin, but doesn’t change the fact that they’re amazing guitars and the only way to “get a strandberg” is to get a Strandberg

The endurneck is indeed awesome

Mine isn’t veneer;

Fit and finish is flawless and is cost half of what a Suhr pro series would. How is that over priced when you consider the materials mine is and the electrics are exactly the same as my Suhr Modern.
I know the ones you get now are cheaper materials but the price difference is even more with Suhr and all the price increases over the last few years.

 

[HotRats]

They are going to need to rival Edward’s and Tokai or there is no point and they won’t get close. They are going to sell on the headstock shape.

I bet the vast majority of potential buyers out there don't even know that Tokai or Edwards exists.

 

[Eagle]

I bet the vast majority of potential buyers out there don't even know that Tokai or Edwards exists.

Edwards yes but not Tokai.

 

[DrewJD82]

Edwards yes but not Tokai.

Depends on if they use the internet or not. I've yet to show my Edwards to anyone in person that's been aware they're even a thing.

 

[SillyOctpuss]

Depends on if they use the internet or not. I've yet to show my Edwards to anyone in person that's been aware they're even a thing.

I'm assuming they have greater brand awareness outside of the US. There are Tokai dealers all over the UK and Europe. They're a lot more expensive to buy in the UK vs importing yourself but it's not hard to find stores who sell them.

 

[DrewJD82]

I'm assuming they have greater brand awareness outside of the US. There are Tokai dealers all over the UK and Europe. They're a lot more expensive to buy in the UK vs importing yourself but it's not hard to find stores who sell them.

Tokai is definitely more well-known, but until maybe 5 years ago I thought they only made knock-off junk. I think I first saw them in a Fender book about Strats. But the Burny/Greco/lawsuit stuff from Japan tends to be stuff ya only find if you're looking for them or digging into other avenues to snag a LP.

 

[Eagle]

Tokai is definitely more well-known, but until maybe 5 years ago I thought they only made knock-off junk. I think I first saw them in a Fender book about Strats. But the Burny/Greco/lawsuit stuff from Japan tends to be stuff ya only find if you're looking for them or digging into other avenues to snag a LP.

You need to know what you are looking at too because some are garbage.

 

[SillyOctpuss]

Tokai is definitely more well-known, but until maybe 5 years ago I thought they only made knock-off junk. I think I first saw them in a Fender book about Strats. But the Burny/Greco/lawsuit stuff from Japan tends to be stuff ya only find if you're looking for them or digging into other avenues to snag a LP.

You'll find Tokai in most dealers who don't stock gibson in the UK. There's a lot less places selling Edwards though.

 

[BahamaDada]

I just want to say...

I am not that old, but even I can remember when a plain stock Gibson Studio was sub 1k. Sometimes even as low as 700ish on a blowout here in Germany. Crazy. I can't vouch for the quality of those Gibsons, but at least they were Gibsons.

 

[SillyOctpuss]

I just want to say...

I am not that old, but even I can remember when a plain stock Gibson Studio was sub 1k. Sometimes even as low as 700ish on a blowout here in Germany. Crazy. I can't vouch for the quality of those Gibsons, but at least they were Gibsons.

Black les Paul standards were regularly £999 in the UK when I started playing around '94. Any other colour was about £1200 approx from memory.

 

[bigmenace]

Yikes, just big yikes..
My most expensive Epiphone is ~1,1k but that's a 7-string so somewhat can be justified I guess.
I get it, gear prices have exploded in the last couple of years but Epi is still an Epi. And I'm a big fan of these..

 

[spawnofthesith]

Mine isn’t veneer;
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View attachment 42888View attachment 42889
Fit and finish is flawless and is cost half of what a Suhr pro series would. How is that over priced when you consider the materials mine is and the electrics are exactly the same as my Suhr Modern.
I know the ones you get now are cheaper materials but the price difference is even more with Suhr and all the price increases over the last few years.

I realize that there's some more expensive materials being used than the typical cortek guitar, but not to the point where I'm remotely convinced that $2400 is anything more than a hiked up price to pay "the strandberg tax". I'm not hating on Strandberg or Indonesia (even though it sounds like I might be lol) my strandberg is one of my favorite guitars. Still doesn't change the fact that they push the limits on reasonable pricing to overhead ratio on a lot of their models in my opinion

 

[HotRats]

I just want to say...

I am not that old, but even I can remember when a plain stock Gibson Studio was sub 1k. Sometimes even as low as 700ish on a blowout here in Germany. Crazy. I can't vouch for the quality of those Gibsons, but at least they were Gibsons.

In 2017 I've bought a brand new 2016T Les Paul standard for 1.514€.

In 2013 bought a b-stock black studio from Thomann was sub 900€.

Custom shop historic Les Pauls are >1000 more than the last time I've bought one, in 2020

 

[mbenigni]

I just don't get the appeal of a $1300 epiphone.

Unless it's a used Byrdland?

Oh, but those are $3K now.

 

[Eagle]

Unless it's a used Byrdland?

Oh, but those are $3K now.

There’s an Epiphone Byrdland??? That sounds like a potential ( certain) car crash. Thankfully I been spared that horrific prospect so far.

 

[mbenigni]

There’s an Epiphone Byrdland??? That sounds like a potential ( certain) car crash. Thankfully I been spared that horrific prospect so far.

Yes, and they were never cheap to begin with. But we're talking about an MIJ Elitist here. The one I played was lovely (granted I'm no authority on jazzboxes), and I regret not buying it for $1200 when I had the chance (circa 2010).

 

[SillyOctpuss]

Yes, and they were never cheap to begin with. But we're talking about an MIJ Elitist here. The one I played was lovely (granted I'm no authority on jazzboxes), and I regret not buying it for $1200 when I had the chance (circa 2010).

I think those were made by Terada and the elitist LPs were Fujigen

 

[mbenigni]

I think those were made by Terada and the elitist LPs were Fujigen

Yep, Google agrees with you. And it looks like I may have misspoken re: "Elitist" vs. "Elite"? I'm learning as I go here.

 

[metropolis_4]

Welcome to the new world of guitar prices. We have several standard production Fenders over $3k now and MIM Fenders hitting $1600.

I bought an EBMM Majesty for $2k brand new about 6 years ago, today the Sterling Majesty is $1599.

The days of thinking of import guitars as cheap versions of the “real thing” are over. The industry is moving towards the imports being the standard and the American made versions being the upscale luxury versions

 

[Jarick]

I just want to say...

I am not that old, but even I can remember when a plain stock Gibson Studio was sub 1k. Sometimes even as low as 700ish on a blowout here in Germany. Crazy. I can't vouch for the quality of those Gibsons, but at least they were Gibsons.

Yeah that's the old world. New world guitars cost twice as much, and may very well cost 50-100 percent more in a few years.

I will say the fit and finish of my Gibson Tribute, which I bought for just about $1000 pre-Covid, was excellent. No frills. I think the current Studios that have proper finishes and binding on the neck are really good USA made guitars, but $1800 is a chunk of change. And again I can't stand the Slim Taper.

But if we're ripping Epiphone for charging $600 for Custombuckers, a HSC, and a proper headstock, let's talk about the difference between a Studio and Standard. From what I can tell you're paying $800-1000 more to get body binding, MOP inlays, and a little nicer top?

PRS S2 is in the same boat too, what used to be a pretty good value S2 Custom 24 at $1500 is now close to $2500. At least now it comes with USA pickups though. I still can't believe I got my S2 McCarty 594 mint last year for $1100 with HSC.