I don't think that's true. As far as I know, the factory that makes Epis only makrs Epis. The P4M guitars are made by the same company that makes Bad Cat guitars.
Thank you for this very detailed and thorough review . This is the best one that I have seen on RU-vid yet . For the price of the Gibson it should be immaculate in every area. The lack of pore filling may be acceptable on Gibson's cheaper studio line guitars but to not pore fill on a guitar that costs that much is inexcusable. Epiphone's QC has been suffering as of late. I bought one of their bases and it was unplayable out of the box in fact it was so bad that I almost sent it back. But it was the cherry finish which was unavailable at that time and since I have everything I need to do fretwork or whatever I decided to go ahead and put it on my bench and correct all the stuff that was wrong with it. In the end it turned out okay but it needed a lot of work to get it to where it would be dependable and playable. If anyone who didn't know how to work on their own instruments were to buy one of those there's no way they would have been able to get it even anywhere close to being a playable instrument. As far as the Chibson Not that long ago a Chinese guitar was junk but they are actually getting very good at making guitars. I have seen some Chinese made guitars that were very good quality. They played excellently right out of the box and looked great. Most of the time as you're pointing out here they need the hardware replaced. But normally the bones are good.
I agree $1,400 for an Epiphone. I would take that 1400 and buy a brand new Edwards...I promise you it would be a better quality instrument that you'd get from Gibson for about 1/3rd of the price. Gibson and Fender doesn't really appreciate though
Probably not. There are already videos from guys that are much better players than I am. I'd hoped to have a friend play some stuff, but we haven't been able to get to it.
I stated right in the video that it was a Lazarus that I converted into a Greeny prior to Epiphone producing the Greeny, but it's the exact same body made in the exact same factory, so all of the quality control concerns are valid.
Well I got a LP Chibson a les Paul custom, it stays in tune, it is pretty close to a real LP, and for a trade? It’s not a bad guitar at all but that has been my experience
The gibson necks are just a little fat for my small hands. The epiphone turned into a mod platform as well, interesting. I have a 2005 epiphone LP standard. It is a pretty guitar but sounds weak. The neck isn't as chunky as the gibson 60s slim taper. I didn't know this. When I went to upgrade to a gibson, I couldn't find a neck I liked and the store had so many to pull off the wall. I thought I was leaving the store with a guitar that day. At least I still had the money in my pocket. I was considering a chibson because it could be possible to ask for a custom neck profile. I would be interested if there is a tonal consideration to be made, such that, nothing will ever sound as good as a gibson, even with all the same gibson branded hardware. I know my 2005 epi isn't worth moding. So now I wonder if a chibson is right for me. Epiphone came out with a Matt Heafy Les Paul with a fantastic neck carve. I just don't know if the quality of the instrument makes it worth it?
@@IracesGarage I very much appreciate the recommend. 60s slim taper on Gibson is too chunky for my little hands. I have a Schecter solo ii blackjack that the neck is just small enough. It's still a little chunky, but not uncomfortably so, like Gibson. If Gibson ever intentionally makes a fast neck, moving towards Ibanez wizard necks, I will own one.
So basically, the diference between the real gibson, the epiphone and the chibson is generally speaking just the hardware? Im thinkng about buying a chibson greeny relic from ebay and replace all the hardware for quality one, and a pair of greeny buckers, that way ill have a gibson sounding guitar for 1/5 of the price and most people wont even notice its a replica
No. It's through "Polaris 4 Music". They're on Facebook but mostly just provide links to their Discord group. Their Discord group is where they provide links to order.
Wow! What a great review! Easily the best, most comprehensive comparison video on RU-vid. Looking forward to more great reviews. Keep up the good work!
So….. i never watched this until the end. But…. I got to a point where i thought “ So if the staff in the Chibson factory went to work at the Epiphone & Gibson factory, between them all they would knock the ball out of the park “
So if tonewood isnt a thing and all three of these guitars basically being exactly the same as far as "just any old wood construction" then just pickups would make all three sound identical? What's the difference if you can drop pickups in a $300 guitar and nobody can tell the difference?
Obviously that will be debated until the end of time, but in my experience, the differences are subtle, if audible at all most of the time. I had a Vintage brand Greeny V100PGM that I loved the sound of, but I didn't get along with the skinny neck. I bought the Lazarus and bought an identical set of Wilkinson WVC pickups for it. Once I got the pickup heights dialed absolutely identical (I used calipers to measure), I couldn't tell the difference. Unplugged those 2 guitars sounded completely different, but once I dialed in the pickups and plugged in, they sounded identical. Recently I swapped in a set of D'urbano Supernatural pickups into the Chibson, and not surprisingly, it sounds very similar to the Epiphone now.
@@IracesGarage Cool! Would you mind giving me a hint how to get one? I can't find anything other than a website that doesn't have that guitar posted on it
Chibson and epiphone are made on the same block. If you spent the 1,300 that peppy costs for the guitar, you'll get 10 times better than the Epiphone or Gibson for that matter. I have Chibson on mine by request and I am proud of it. Awesome guitar for 250.00 nothing compares. Labor practice is subspect, and I never want this mistaken for a junky Gibson, I have fixed to many and I should be thankful, but not for my dollar.
I am a 70 year old man who played rock music in bars on the east coast for better than 40 years. I've owned many Gibson Les Pauls over the years having lived through the era when you could pick up a used Gibson Les Paul for $400 any day of the week. Today the only Les Paul I own is a Chibson and I am very satisfied with it. In fact, I sold the last Gibson Les Paul I owned shortly after acquiring the Chibson because I liked the Chibson better. With the price of Gibson Les Pauls today, I don't know how kids can even afford to own one! Thankfully you can purchase a decent copy and by putting a little money into it have a comparable quality instrument.
Yes, they often have QC issues. Mine were no exception, which is why I was clear that they can be a great option for someone that's willing to put in the effort, but not for folks that want a turnkey solution.
My chibson was the worst pos ive ever tried sold it next day. Microphonic pups cheap fretwire dime size pots fat ass 50 neck all sharp edges the $2 bridge had casting spill over on the hi e saddle would slice you if i didnt break off the slag metal and file it off! The Epi Std 60s for $599 is wonderful no feet sprout, needed a clean and polish, no hi frets a great rolled fretboard edge cts pots and the Pro bucker 2 and 3 sound like Gibson pups to me, no desire to swap. They use the same 18% nickle steel base and same gauge winding just made in Korea. My LP desire is fufilled. I may try and get a new tobacco burst 59 w Gibson headstock and the custom buckers for $1299. Also the wood felt light not dense enough for mahogany.
There are a lot of very bad Chibsons out there. I did my homework before I bought the one I did. That said, the electronics and hardware were shit, as expected. I don't expect premium components on a $250 chibson. To be honest, I don't expect good fretwork either, but I was pleasantly surprised at how good the frets are on mine.
I've got a Chibson AFD Slash. So far, it doesn't have a Gibson Quick Release Headstock.. I might get a Greenie Chibson and or a Les Paul Junior. I'd say the AFD is a nice guitar. I'm sure it has an ebony fingerboard.
Where are you licated? I have this guitar brand new. Want to put in jb's and sh's? Locking tuners? Plus I see your a chevy guy!! #theoriginaldeadpoolcamaro! 👍
@IracesGarage that my #theoriginaldeadpoolcamaro In my profile picture! Hard to see the Deadpool emblem on the quarters, also have maximum effort across top windshield in black on a red vinyl strip with lodo in middle, also back windows have a white Deadpool vinyl face like gas tank! I have a bunch of pics of inside done in red from door handles to arm pads, knee red pads! Have a 73 vette also. 👍
You can rest assured that you're not the only one. Gibsons are now far too expensive for an average player to be able to afford. They have always been expensive guitars but now they are just unbelievably over the top expensive. They are now guitars for blues lawyers to collect and hang on their wall of the office
You can buy Epiphone quality hardware dirt cheap. And you can even get aftermarket hardware that is a lot better than Epiphone uses for not too much more. There is no way in hell that Epiphone should be more than $400. Anyone who buys one for $1400 is getting abused. I can see paying more for the Gibson (although they should be under $2000) because it costs a lot more to make a guitar in the US. Plus, Gibson can put out some amazing guitars (I have an SG Standard that is phenomenal and well worth the money!)
I got my IYV IPF300 this week. Thanks for the lesson to make the neck shine. 24 frets is new for me. Yes the frets above 12 are scratchy, yes at least 2 or 3 need lowering. Some loose wood in the f holes. Odd lump in the finish on the front and a few other bits in the nooks and crannies. Overall, I really like this guitar. If they spent the time to make every step perfectly completed then I would not be able to afford it. I am happy with this purchase. By the way the nut was obviously worked on. Intonation was very good over 2 octaves.
Those Gibson pickups are designed to be used with an aluminum tail piece and a bridge with brass saddles just like the original paf was.. That is a massive component to the original burst sound it's also the most overlooked variable.. Also the Chinese pu's often use cheap ceramic mags, if you swap them for alnico they'll get extremely close to the Gibson, I mean scary close to the point you'll likely never spend $100-$300 on pickups ever again... Put an Aluminum tp and brass saddles on the chibson also swap the magnets to quality rough cast Alnico 4 (most common paf magnet) and you'll instantly go sell that Gibson... Seriously just take my advice, and please do an a/b vid on the Gibson and chibson before you get rid of your Gibson..
I've already replaced the hardware and pickups on the Chibson. It sounds great, but the Gibson isn't going anywhere. The Greenybuckers are very different than other pickups, even other PAFs.
I have many guitars my main being a Gibson custom shop Murphy lab dirty lemon burst that's twice the price of your Gibson here. I also have a Gibson Supreme and a standard all great guitars but I have a custom made chibson with custom wound humbuckers in vintage cherry burst nitro finish it stands head to head with my custom shop and is better than my Gibson standard. All for $600 dollars. I also have several chibson's that I have put about $200 into that are every bit as good as my Gibson standard. Great mod platforms. I put Guyker locking tuners a brass roller nut and a Wilkinson roller bridge. I will also add Wilkinson wvc pups and 500k CTS pots with orange drop caps soon and they will be kickass beautiful guitars at a fraction of the price
on Ali Expres alnico 2 or alnico 5 magnets are exelent and cheep--so are good pots---to get the Peter Green out of face sound- it does not help to turn the pickups---you have to open the neck pickup cover and turn the magnet 180 degrees sideways and put it inn again---------to turn the pickup is just for the look of it---for the Peter green sound you ned Alnico 2 magnets------ the chibson pickups will sound good whith new Alnico magnets--have done that to many of them
I returned my last Gibson purchase that had same issues with binding on neck and the fact that the width of the fretboard plus the binding was narrower than the underlying neck. Made for sharp edges. This was on a Beato signature guitar. Gibson craftsmanship and quality control is crazy poor. The fact that Epiphones are made better is deeply disconcerting.
What a straight up to the point comparison. i have not c9me accross any other vedio i am a strat pwrsin but i do what a LP style look at a Kelley i think the brand but the Eastwood LP look nice 1800 bucks the kelly 750$..RocknRollflat5
