Oh, you know you will!
Have you tried an Epiphone Dot? I don’t know if the one I have is one in a million and I just got lucky, but it plays and sounds great and cost me under $400 with a hardshell case. Might be able to relieve your GAS cheap.
1)'91 Fender Strat Plus.
Fender Hot Rod Deluxe.
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Boss Super Chorus.
Boss Blues Driver. -
Would like to pick up a semi-hollow at some point. I used to have an Epiphone Joe Pass Emperor II and it was a pretty nice guitar for the price, but had to sell it a few years back(hard times). But that will just be something different to play; what I got is really all I need.
Epiphone makes good stuff. Every now and then you’ll come across a really bad one, but for the most part they are quality instruments. I’ve owned a couple and they were excellent guitars. I’ll probably never be able to plunk down $2000+ on a Gibson, but frankly I think at least $1000 of the price is the logo on the headstock.
Actually, from what I’ve learned from making my own guitars, $2000 isn’t totally unreasonable for a guitar with top of the line materials built by hand by a master luthier.
Now that’s usually not typically what you get when you buy a Gibson, Fender, even PRS. The materials are usually not handpicked and come from bulk bought stashes. Also, the guitars are made on assembly lines that make it really hard to say they’re made “by hand.” You do have exceptions with their custom shops that probably do things differently, but you pay out the nose for it…
I always thought Gibsons and American Fenders were overpriced for what they are. You can make a comparable guitar from parts for $500 - $700…
Come on! You can do it!
Not that Gibson doesn’t do quality work. If I had the money, I might be tempted to pick one up. However, for half to 1/4 the price, I honestly don’t feel like I’m getting that much less with Epiphone, is all I’m saying.
Try 1/5 or 1/6. Musician’s Friend has the bottom of the line Gibson ES-335 (satin finish, plain wood top) for $2,249. They have the Epiphone Dot at $399. There’s no way they can sell me a 335 based on the way my Dot plays and looks and sounds.
Ah yes - the ever-popular online topic: Gibson, their pricing and their inconsistent build quality. You have to sort through a few to find a special one - but when you do…
The Epi Dots I have played I think are great.
It’s funny. Gibson makes really good guitars. I don’t think I’ve ever played a full-price LP or ES-anything that wasn’t a really nice guitar. I have met a couple of great ones (a certain LP reissue comes to mind, owned by a doper 
), but most of the ones I have played are no better than their under $1,000 Epiphone counterparts. And the Epis I have played have all been well-made and sounded good.
Totally agree. As a rule, you have a play a bunch - and most are Good to Great, with some obvious dogs and/or some Good to Great but with quality issues like poorly finished frets or “orange peel” in the finish work. But…but - when you find a Special one, it’s a whole 'nother thing. That Les Paul I mention upthread in terms of GAS - I picked it off the wall like I have done dozens upon dozens of other recent LPs and it was just…whoa. Very similar to my Gracie/Les Paul - just immediate, clear feedback as I play which makes me pay attention to the guitar and my playing because when I line the two up better, the sonic reward is obvious. I love a guitar that trains me like that…to me, that is a Special guitar and is not something I come across much.
I have played a number of Great Epi’s but can’t recall a Special one. I have played a very few Special Gibsons…and own 2 of the electrics and 1 acoustic…
I’m not really a gear head. When I was actively gigging, my set up was pretty simple – just a Strat and a Marshall stack, along with a very basic pedal set up (Boss distortion, a wah pedal and an EQ pedal). I also played with a few Gibsons here and there (I’ve had an Epiphone, an SG and an Explorer), and an Ibanez or two. I basically wanted to be Hendrix. I never got into the MIDI stuff or anything, or had a ton of interest in gear. I just wanted to plug in and play as quickly as possible. I was always kind ofd irritated with guys who had to mess with their racks for 45 minutes before they could play. All I ever wanted was volume and distortion. I’d do the rest with my hands. I’ve always felt that too much reliance on the tech takes away from the artistry. In my opinion, it’s about the songwriting more than anything else, and a really good song should work with the lowest tech possible.
Did I just write that? This is exactly how I approach things, too. I will even play U2 stuff without the delay when we are practicing and I can’t be bothered to throw the stompbox into my quickie-bag. If I can’t sell the feel of the song with how I approach the rhythm playing dry, what is delay going to do but put lipstick on a pig?
You can play AC/DC songs on an accoustic and they sound good. That’s where I like to start with my own songwriting – on an accoustic. If they work on an accoustic, then I know they’re going to work when I plug in. It doesn’t always work the other way around. Something that sounds cool when played with all the effects on often sounds completely mundane without them.
It’s not that I think effects can never be cool, or that they can’t add color, but the song has to come first. They should enhance the song, not BE the song.
Agreed all around. I find that playing a song on acoustic is less forgiving, too. And it keeps my electric playing in better shape…
AHHHHHH-MENNNNNNN, sings the choir… 
Absolutely. Went through a period when I didn’t even own an amp(hard times; had to sell of a ton of gear including my amp, but held onto the Strat 'cuz it was my #1) and rocked the acoustic exclusively for almost a year. When I could finally afford to buy another amp I plugged in and I was suddenly an exponentially better player.
It’s not so much the price holding me back, it’s the fact that I have too many guitars now that don’t get played enough or at all. If my usual pattern held I would buy an ES-335 (or a clone), play the shit out of it for a while and then put it in the closet and go back to number one. If I was going to buy something 335-ish it would probably be a used USA Hamer. I can’t remember what they call theirs (Newport, Monaco ?). I have a USA Hamer now and I’m convinced they are every bit as good as a Gibson and they are way under priced on the resale market.
I’m just a hobbyist, don’t gig or anything so really I have more than I need now.
Hey man, I just gig in church and in prison, so I’m with you. But try a Dot, it may be a cheap way for you to get an ES-335 that you won’t have to feel guilty about.
I’m feeling like the Epiphone evangelist here, but they are nice guitars.
This isn’t possible.