This guy is a great musician, just playing with the basic equipment generating 'natural' sounds and knowing the fundamental concepts of the blues deeply....good example to follow.
@toshakprince Thanks. I've been playing about 34 years (from age 11). I started playing in bands when I was 16 - cover bands, blues, jazz, rock, etc - as well as studying classical guitar during the 90s. Since 2003 I haven't done any live playing (apart from one night in a bar in Bangkok last year, but that's another story...) I play pretty much every day - normally for about an hour or so - and I've done that pretty much since my late-teens. I'm sort of addicted to the routine, I suppose.
Your awesome! Love how you made the epiphone sound so damn good! Proves the sound comes from the guitarist himself. If you listen with your eyes closed sounds like a well made Gibson standard from the fifties! Kudos!
I don't even know why are you not famous yet, or why this video has got low views in contrast with it's good content. I like your playstyle, and it's good to see an Epiphone, brings up the good thing in blues and the legacy that Mr. Les Paul left for the music world. Thanks for your effort, and thanks for sharing your taste. Regards, Tiago.
@carlosroj Thanks very much. On this video I'm using a Zoom G2.1u effects unit plugged straight into my laptop, so there's no amp. The pickups on the Epiphone are stock, by the way - I know a lot of people change the pickups on Epiphone Les Pauls, but to my ears they sound fine.
@poetotti It's actually a Honeyburst. A lot of people are confused by the finish (including myself) because it looks so much like a cherry sunburst. Apparently - so I'm told - the Epiphone factory used this finish and called it "honeyburst" only during 2008 - the fact that it looks nothing like a honeyburst didn't seem to bother them. I'm quite fond of the finish myself - it's sort of halfway between honey- and cherryburst and can look quite different dependent on lighting, angle, etc.
You won't regret buying an Epiphone Les Paul - they're superb guitars. I've always been a Strat man, but I tried a friend's Epi Les Paul and was really impressed - since I bought this one, I've played nothing else. When I bought this one, I tried a Gibson Les Paul back to back with it and, whilst the Gibson was slightly nicer, it seemed to me to be only £200 nicer, rather than the £1700 extra it would have cost me to buy it. This Epi is totally standard, btw - the pickups are excellent.
I have a Epiphone Les Paul Classic 2021 and it's sounds so clean and aggressive with the alnico, I find Epiphones with pro buckers sound warmer, I prefer 60's slim taper necks, but with 50's wiring, and I find Gibson's are better tone, but not worth the price difference, for the value and close similarity, the Epiphone is the best option
Well, I opted out for a Michael Kelly with P90's and a Bigsby. Almost bought the Epi after watching you tear it up here but the Kelly was just oh so sweet and the P90's growl quite nicely, so it'll peel paint just fine. But I give ya props for the fire in the belly and a smooth blues style that sizzles. Kudos.
Epiphones sound very good value indeed in the US. An Epiphone Les Paul Standard Plus Top in the UK costs around £500 ($800) including taxes! A Gibson Les Paul Standard will set you back £1600 ($2600).
Kev, wow thanks for the nice reply. From what I have heard, tone is 99% in the player not in the guitar. You sir, play very nicely. As for my Epi Les Paul, it is now my 3rd Epi after buying a Sunburst Dot and a Natural EJ200 Acoustic.
Thanks. I only bought the guitar about a month ago. I compared this Epiphone Les Paul with a Gibson Les Paul and I thought the difference was negligible - and yet the Gibson was four times the price of the Epiphone. The finish on this guitar is (I think) Heritage Cherry Sunburst, although I've never seen one with a finish quite like it. The guitar is completely standard except I removed the pickguard. The pickups that come with the Epiphones are very good indeed.
Kev, I just bought one of these Epi's from mom n pop music store. The store owner told me the guitar was in his store for 2 years. I know this because I had wrestled with getting it for that long. Not sure why it did not sell, maybe it was the missing cap off the pickup selector, maybe it the grains not bookmatching perfectly. The guitar feels great, even has unusual bold tiger striping on the mahogany back not just plain grain. You get great tone out of yours and I hope to get 1/10 as good.
Quite an Epiphone collection you've got there. I don't understand how Epiphone ended up as Gibson's poor relation, to be honest. In the sixties it seems they were just as highly sought after - just look at John Lennon; he always played an Epi. I suspect that Gibson decided to "demote" the brand once they acquired it so as not to compete directly with their own guitars. In my opinion,an Epiphone is a great guitar in its own right and easily hold its own against my Fenders & Gibsons.
@dotted6789 Thanks very much. I'm actually English - born near Liverpool - but I do at present live in north Wales. Having said that, I bought this Epiphone from Amazon Marketplace for £250. It was an absolute bargain as they're usually £400 in the shops.
excellent, smooth riffs and great tone on the Epi... bought the plus top in honeyburst last month 409 euros and the flamed maple is incredible... have her put away for Xmas... just had to have one when i saw and heard the demos here on RU-vid... been wanting a Les Paul since I was 16 (now 51 still playing an original 74 Fender Custom Tele) but way out there for my budget... this is the best of both worlds in my opinion... I'll be learning some of your riffs here... thanx again Kev...
Congratulations on the new guitar - you won't be disappointed. I think the Epiphone Les Paul is a superb guitar and, as I'm sure you've read elsewhere, they're all but indistinguishable from a Gibson Les Paul in terms of tone and playability. Thanks for the kind words about my tone, too (although the Epiphone should get 99% of the credit).
@EarZidane I got the backing track from the guitarbackingtrack website - I think it was one of the Stevie Ray Vaughan tracks, but I can't remember now. As for which is best, the Epiphone Les Paul Standard or Custom, I couldn't really say as I've never tried the Custom. Ultimately, it's what you prefer. One thing I will say is that the Epi Les Pauls are definitely great guitars - well worth the money and very nearly as good as the Gibsons for a fraction of the price.
@victor1997ification Yes, it's a strange looking honeyburst - apparently the China Epiphone factory only used this particular finish during 2008 and called it honeyburst, even though it looks like a halfway house between that and cherryburst.
The Michael Kelly guitars look outstanding. I've never played one myself, but I've checked out their website and they're obviously quality instruments.
It's the $500 Epi - here in the UK they retail for about £400-£450, although I managed to get mine direct from the Qingdao factory via Amazon for £250.
I would recommend an Epiphone Les Paul. I have only just bought mine and I am very impressed. It's a very versatile guitar and can be used for thrash metal (i.e. James Hetfield), jazz, blues, etc. It's also a quarter of the price of a Gibson and plays and sounds just as well (in my opinion). Жао ми је, не можете да одговорите на српском! Поздрав из Велике Британије!
@miktas1994 Thanks. Normally I use an old Peavey Stereo 400 amp, but on this video I'm playing through a Zoom G2.1u effects unit plugged straight into my laptop.
@EarZidane I use a Peavey Stereo Chorus 400 combo. Having said that, almost all my videos on RU-vid are recorded by plugging my Zoom G2.1u effects unit straight into my laptop (although I still use the "Peavey" setting on its amp simulator option).
@DavidRayT Thanks very much. In this video I'm just using a Zoom G2.1u effects box plugged straight into my laptop - I use Cakewalk Home Sudio for recording. The guitar is completely standard, btw.
@svidrigajlov I know what youy mean about Gibsons - they do sound more defined (but enough to pay an extra £1500!). As for the Vintage Wilkinson guitars, I hadn't heard of them until you mentioned them. I Googled them and they look very nice indeed. The more years I spend around guitars, the more I'm convinced that a well known trade name bumps the price up - you get more guitar for your money with a lesser known brand.
I downloaded it from the internet. I forget exactly where I found it, but if you search for "backing tracks" on Google, you're sure to find something similar.
mate you are a wicked guitar player ,its like you know every sound you want to make & just do it so fluidly, how long have you been playing & how much do you practice? & thanks ,it was very nice
Thanks. I use a Peavey Stereo Chorus 400 amp and a Zoom G2.1u pedal. On this video I'm just using the G2.1u plugged directly into my laptop. The pickups are stock.
@vassili1987 Thanks. The best price I've seen in the shops near where I live (Chester/Liverpool) was £399. However, I bought this one in 2009 from Amazon for only £250, brand new. I was a bit apprehensive because 1) I couldn't try the instrument out first and 2) it could have been a fake (although this was less of a concern as I was buying through Amazon rather than, say, eBay). Anyway, the gamble paid off and the guitar is great.
If you're after a punk sound, I would think that most solid body guitars can be tweaked to produce a suitable tone. Remember that Steve Jones of the Sex Pistols used a Les Paul, and I can't think of a more archetypal punk guitarist. I'd recommend the Epiphone. I bought mine from Amazon from a seller called Items20009 for £250 - an absolute bargain. Obviously, the best thing to do would be to try one in a store first and see if you like the tone.
Thanks. Yes, the headstock uses a scarf joint (and the tenon is glued, too). However, the glues used nowadays are so thin and strong that it makes no difference (to my ears, at least). I compared this guitar to a "real" Gibson Les Paul when I bought it and the difference was neglgible - certainly not worth the extra £1500 for the Gibson. As for how the Epi compares to my Kramer, the Epi has more of an "edge" and attack to it.
Yep Kev, my collection has slowly began to erase my initial dislike of the EPI headstock designs. Not knowing how these prices are relative to UK money, but each of my 3 Epis cost me between $329-$350 US including taxes. At that rate I can buy 5-7 guitars for the price of 1 New Gibson. Sidenote, I really love the Honey Burst color. I'd love seeing how a close up picture of your "reddish Honey" looks next to my golden one.
Hi Kevin, listen do you have any idea how good you really are...really i can`t stress this enough and I think i`m going out and buying an epi, lol, i can`t wish you enough success. Play on
Just come straight to this from the excellent Strat demo'. Just blistering playing here as well - amazing. I know it's ten years after now but I'd love to know what amp/effects are used to arrive at such great tones.
@vaibzzz123 Thanks very much. I know what you mean about the stock Epiphone pickups - I tried a Gibson Les Paul at the time I bought my Epiphone and the Epi did sound warmer. I haven't gigged the Epi yet, though, so I sometimes wonder whether the Gibson would cit through the mix better. Either way, as with many other people, I just couldn't justify paying four times the price just to have the word "Gibson" on the headstock.
@sciorts I use Cakewalk Home Studio for recording, Steinberg Wavelab for editing and Cubase SX3 with an EZDrummer plug-in for the drumtracks. I've also got Sibelius 5 and MakeMusic Finale 2010 for scoring and VST instruments.
IMO, an Epiphone Les Paul is better (or at the very least equivalent to) a Gibson Les Paul Studio. No matter what people say, the Gibson brand name bumps the price up and you end up with less guitar for your money.
@vaibzzz123 Congratulations on the new guitar - you won't regret choosing an Epiphone. As you say, there's a small difference in quality (and tone) to a Gibson, but not enough to warrant an extra £1000.
Kev, you mentioned that you haven't done much live playing for 7 years. let me just tell you that you make a great concert for us fellows on youtube that can't afford tickets to see a great player like yourself.
@victor1997ification What can I say? They're excellent guitars - this one is as it came from the factory in China and it plays and sounds like a dream. Check out rockongoodpeople's review of the Epiphone Les Paul if you haven't already seen it. Just search for Epiphone vs Gibson Les Paul
I'd recommend an Epiphone Les Paul - they're great guitars, although the honeyburst finish on this one is a little bit strange - sort of halfway between honeyburst and cherryburst. Thanks for subscribing, btw.
I prefer the Gibson tone, its warmer and more clear, especially on the clean. But I think you are right, the difference is not that much and it surely doesnt worth the extra price... have you ever tried those new "Vintage - Wilkinson" guitars? I've heard they are pretty good and they costs less then the epi btw, very nice playing!
@Kev3542 thank you very much for your response...I know the epiphones are very good guitars...I have one now but i want a new one and i have this trouble...Custom or standar...?Anyone can answer all accepted...sorry for my english...
To be honest, I've always been happy with the stock pickups, but after hearing your cover of "The Loner" (which presumably features your Epiphone Les Paul with DiMarzio Air Classics, you may well have a point. Your guitar sounds great.
@Kev3542 Hello Dude......Its been a long time but it must be time we made the follow up to End of the Line????? I've got a few weeks before term starts up again... Nige.
wow nice. anyway, are you from wales? where to find the best offer for epiphone there? im planning to study in glamorgan, cardiff in august. any suggestion? im looking for epi or squire
@iHacksorzz Thanks. I suppose knowing the notes and playing naturally/smoothly are equally important when improvising a solo, although one thing I also think is important is not "over" playing. I really admire players like Miles Davis who can say so much with very few notes.
