Question

[Alex Mogilny]

I have been fucking around on the guitar on and off for a few years and am just now getting somewhat serious with it.

My question is....should I upgrade guitar or amp first?

If I stick with it...I plan on upgarding the other in 6 months or so.

[jhale667]

I'd suggest upgrading the guitar first...otherwise you're just amplifying crap...

[Matt White]

Originally posted by Alex Mogilny
I have been fucking around on the guitar on and off for a few years and am just now getting somewhat serious with it.

My question is....should I upgrade guitar or amp first?

If I stick with it...I plan on upgarding the other in 6 months or so.

It's a matter of personal preference...I'd go with the guitar...
A better guitar would be easier to play & might inspire you to play more often......

A new amp is always cool too...a new sound might kick-start your playing......

[fe_lung]

Which one is crappier and which can you make do with longer? Also, what are you upgrading to?

[jhale667]

Originally posted by Matt White
.I'd go with the guitar...
A better guitar would be easier to play & might inspire you to play more often......

Exactly, exactly

[Alex Mogilny]

I have been thinking of moving up to the Epiphone E335 Copy.

I know that doesn't sound like much of an upgrade but I got one of those $250 guitar/amp packages a few years ago and wanted to move up into the $400 - $600 range.

I've tried out a few of the mexican strats and they sound too thin to me. I've messed with the epiphone les paul and the guy at the store said he would advise me to wait a couple of more years and buy a gibson les paul...but only if I get serious.

So...I 've been messing around at the store with several different guitars and amps and I love the tone and sound of the epiphone E335 running through this $600 Marshall amp combo (forget the model #). To me the sound is fantastic and the guitar feels and sounds great...to me anyways.

[Hardrock69]

Uhhh fuck that guy in the guitar store.

An Epiphone Les Paul is NO DIFFERENT than a Gibson...except for the fact it is made in Korea and has "Epiphone" on the headstock.

If you want a Les Paul, go ahead and get an Epi now if you want.

I mean, if you follow the guy's advice, why not wait until you can afford a Gibson ES335?


I have an Epi Korina V and an Epi Korina Explorer, and the quality is outstanding (except for the cheap piclups).

By all means, if an Epi ES335 is what you want, I have no doubt it will be a fine guitar.

[jhale667]

Originally posted by Hardrock69
Uhhh fuck that guy in the guitar store.

An Epiphone Les Paul is NO DIFFERENT than a Gibson...except for the fact it is made in Korea and has "Epiphone" on the headstock.

If you want a Les Paul, go ahead and get an Epi now if you want.

I mean, if you follow the guy's advice, why not wait until you can afford a Gibson ES335?



I have an Epi Korina V and an Epi Korina Explorer, and the quality is outstanding (except for the cheap piclups).

By all means, if an Epi ES335 is what you want, I have no doubt it will be a fine guitar.

While I agree the salesman was an idiot, are the Epi Les Pauls (and Es335s) not BOLT-ON necks? So no, they're not the same...but for the guy to suggest "keep playing that guitar you hate for a few more years"--- what a dummy. You should buy whatever you like.

[Take 'Em]

Alex,

Your a hockey player right? When you go to the pro shop and pick up the high-end CCM or Bauers that feel great on your feet, you don't compliment them with some $15 shitty stick from play it again sports, right?

Same goes for your guitar and amp. Try out a bunch of gear and spend the dough on the stuff that feels and sounds the best for your style of play.

Good luck.

[jackassrock]

Get the Epi.

Buy a new amp in 6 months. Then when you get some more cash upgrade the pickups in the guitar and get a new bone nut made for it. It will make the already fine playing Epiphone sound really sweet.

[ELVIS]

Originally posted by jhale667
the Epi Les Pauls (and Es335s) not BOLT-ON necks?

No, only the cheepest models...

[Hardrock69]

Right. The 500-600 dollar Epi Gibson knock offs usually have the set necks just like the Gibsons.

[jhale667]

Ah.

[doctor roth]

Hmmmmmm. hard to say, as has been said its all personal preference.


If the guitar sounds bad and has a neck like a tree trunk get a new axe.

If the guitar plays well but SOUNDS bad, you could consider buying a good quality pick up. This way you could praps afford an amp too !!!

I spose i depends on what stage of your playing you're at. If you wanna start jamming and have a 30 wat t amp, get a more powerful amp so you can be loud enough to compete with a drummer.

If the reson you want new equipment is that you're bored with the sounds your getting, the option that has not been talked about is a multi effects pedal. While I prefer a bunch of stomp boxes multi effects are a good intro to some of the types of sounds you can get. In my experience when i got all these sounds to play with i was inspired to play more.

Just my angle, make of it what you will

[Coyote]

Originally posted by Alex Mogilny
I have been thinking of moving up to the Epiphone E335 Copy.

I know that doesn't sound like much of an upgrade but I got one of those $250 guitar/amp packages a few years ago and wanted to move up into the $400 - $600 range.

I've tried out a few of the mexican strats and they sound too thin to me. I've messed with the epiphone les paul and the guy at the store said he would advise me to wait a couple of more years and buy a gibson les paul...but only if I get serious.

So...I 've been messing around at the store with several different guitars and amps and I love the tone and sound of the epiphone E335 running through this $600 Marshall amp combo (forget the model #). To me the sound is fantastic and the guitar feels and sounds great...to me anyways.

#1: Store clerks are bitter, failed musicians, who usually don't know the difference between a Les Paul Standard and a Les Paul Classic

#2: To paraphrase Frank Zappa: If a guitar says to you "take me, I'm yours", that's the guitar for you.

[sagebrush]

If your want a fat sounding guitar try out a jackson . And play the epi for a good bit at the store and if it fells good get it .

[Hardrock69]

Yeah drop a guitar on the floor.

And if it fells good, it just proves that gravity still works.

[Alex Mogilny]

I was at the Gibson Showcase store the other day at Opry Mills.

They have signs everywhere about if you damage a guitar...you buy it.

I'm afraid to even breathe on a guitar at that store....their prices are very high as well.

HR....where is the best place in the Nash to buy a new guitar??....I've only really looked at Guitar Center right of I-65.

[BrownSound1]

Hmmm...What brands do Corner Music carry? I know they have a lot of Fenders. Those guys are pretty cool. I like going to Rock Block too, but more for looking at boutique pedals, and they have a few amps that are ok. Guitar Center has tons of guitars that you can try out...but damn, you have to wade through people to get anywhere in there. Goddamn 100 Oaks Mall....I always hated that area.

[BrownSound1]

One other thing....a good guitar through a shitty amp sounds like shit.

A shitty guitar through a great amp sounds like shit.

Good guitar and good amp sound good.

The thing you have to remember is the amp is just as important to your tone as your guitar. It is the other half of the equation, and often the most overlooked. So many times I've seen guys spend money on expensive guitars only to play them through a freakin' Crate or cheap Peavey. The downside of getting good gear is the cost, obviously. Save up and get you a good guitar, but as soon as you get it, start saving for an amp.

Good things ain't cheap, and cheap things ain't good.

[Diamondjimi]

Originally posted by BrownSound1


Good things ain't cheap, and cheap things ain't good.

Amen !

[Nitro Express]

There's different grades of Epiphones. There's the Epiphone Elite Series which are made of better quality wood and a higher level of workmanship and many say are just as good as the Gibson equivalents.

Now Gibson makes a good guitar but their quality control can be hit and miss. I've seen Les Pauls with horibble fret and nut work and I've seen real beauties. Gibson charges dearly for it's name and to be honest, they charge too much for the hit and miss quality.

Epiphones can be hit and miss. The regular Epis with be made out of cheaper wood than an Elite Epiphone or Gibson. They will also have more glue joints in them. The switches, potentionmeters are very cheap and you are going to have to replace them. The pickups can be hit and miss. Some Epiphone pickups sound fine and others have to be replaced. Epiphones also have a thick polyesther finish as oppossed to real laccur or varnish.

I have a Epiphone SG Custom and a Les Paul standard. Both sound fine and the setup and fretwork were good for the price of the guitar. The pots are scratchy and the switches are tottal garbage. I've left the original pickups in.

You can do worse than an Epiphone. For the money, they are hard to beat. Sure they are cheaper wood and they have some construction shortcuts but if the guitar plays good and sounds good, it's going to hold up fine if you replace the cheap electronics because the switches and pots are real shitty ones.

I see no reason why a reworked Epiphone couldn't handle years of hard playing and if it gets broken or scratched up, hey, it beats having that happen to a $3000 Gibson. If you are going to play it, it's going to get dinged and beat up some. Why pay a ton of $$$$$$ for something that is going to be out in the battlefield?

[Nitro Express]

My first good guitar was a three pickup Les Paul Custom that I bought used in the early 80's. I wish I still had it. So I've played the real thing and a regular Epiphone is pretty close but of course that was just a killer Gibson LP.

That being said, I'm a Strat man now. I like the spongier 25.5 scale better than the shorter Gibson scale. I like a whammy bar. Strats are indestructable but if your Gibson falls hard the headstock has a bad tendancy to break off. See, they removed wood for the truss rod hole right were theres a ton of strain and it is suseptable to break. They sound great and look great but for me, a Strat is more comfortable.

In my oppinion, a good ash body and the right pickups will sound as good as anything. Put the right humbuckers in and it will sound thick as hell. I will never go back to the Gibsons. I like them but I've found my main squeeze.