The Blindfold Epiphone vs Gibson Challenge 

Kappa

TheSoggySponge kappa

xDDDDDDDDDDDD hahahahhaa would be the best trolling ever xD

That would honestly be extremely amusing to watch

YES PLEASE

OOoo!! Interesting idea!

Rob Chapman Epi std, studio and tribute :P do it to capt. next time :D

jaskicd and then an ltd to really fuck with them

jaskicd and then an ltd to really fuck with them

Jack Reavy no ltd they suck

Pablo Rages Haha STD

Pablo Rages Read the original comment again - he doesn't say "if it's still playing the same", he says "if it's still playing". You sound very bitter... jealousy perhaps?

Pablo probably has buyers remorse. The Gibson was probably way out of his budget and can't stand to think that an Epi can sound anywhere near as good.

hahaha

Drop it on the head stock to be sure.

I believe that one should learn to play without looking at the guitar from the start, it doesn't look very professional if you have to keep looking at the neck to not mess up

You know, not everyone plays to be a professional. A lot of people play for the joy of it.

​@@powerbound4162Idk, Slash looks at his guitar neck all the time and he looks like a legend making sure his fingers keep up with his shredding talent

Either that or "No sneaky touching knobs".

The Epi Probuckers rival or exceed Gibson pickups. Plus some limited edition model Epiphones come with Gibson pickups. My point is you can buy an Epi with upgraded pickups.

Jon Doh That's not what I'm saying, the Gibson just plays a bit better because of it's shape and finish, and quality. The pickups could both be '57 classics on an Epi and a Gibby but the Gibson would just play better because it's a better built instrument

every Gibson Les Paul I've played had a crisp, tight sound I've never heard on any other guitar. Every Epi Les Paul I've played sounded dull in comparison...and it's not just because of the pickups. idk, if you can't tell the difference, just in sound, between the two, there's something wrong.

taradead I've played both i modified my first epiphone and it was amazing. then i played a natural gibson les paul and my mind was blown. my heart sank and my head sweated. no de tuning after bends always in tune when strumming chords. there just is no excuse after that really. Gibsons are way fatter sounding and are better for recording in the studio. les paul great for beginner and moderate players, but i jizz all over a real les paul anyway. if only i have 10,000 dollars too throw down. most people who have them are pros who get them from money they received from gigging, making records, and hobbyists. i wouldn't feel comfortable practicing on one for hours though. epiphone is great for that.

Jon Doh I actually disagree with this statement. I have a 1960 Tribute Plus that shipped with real Gibson 57 Classics and my little brother just got an Epi Standard with the Probuckers, and we played both through my Blackstar HT-40 Special Edition (Celestion Vintage 30) and my guitar sounded way better. much more clean and sustained better as well. Is it worth the extra 150 bucks? I say yes, but you can always upgrade the regular Epi in the future if money doesn't allow for a $650 guitar right away.

Would it be possible to do a double blind test you could then call it scientific. There is known fenomina were by a test administrator can unknowingly give suttle hints to the test subject. A double blind test solves this by removing any bias from the test administrator and test subject I'd love to see the results of that. Perhaps a blind screen were the test subject puts hands through and plays the instrument ensuring the test administrator also is behind a screen.

Sionyn Jones phenomena

I like the idea but something with more entropy is called for something like a lottery machine or bingo machine. Dice suffer from a tendency bias relertive to throwing a dice.

I don't know if its been suggested already but it would have been funny to have him play the epiphone tribute with the Gibson pickups to confuse you guys more

I have done an actual "hearing test" myself. I recorded 15 different guitars, back to back, all playing the same passage. With no level changes, I mixed vintage guitars with modern guitars, American made, with Chinese made, expensive with cheap,...NO ONE has passed the test yet. I even made it multiple choice,...NO ONE has gotten them all right. Hidden in the test is a Hannah Montana guitar, some have mistaken this for the vintage guitar. With variables this close, look dudes,..it really doesn't matter in the end, just play good music.

Thank you sir ;-)

agree

Rob Chapman Where can I get a silverback? I love the sound.

It sounds so good that it's now in my top 3 list of amps that I have to decide on which I want to buy.

Snyder- Check out the dealer list at the Victory Amps website.

godfatherNYC I agree, sounded really great.

I just wish the les Pauls had a more playable neck like my esp ec 1000. I've gotten quite used to the way it feels. and I'm hooked.

RemoteAbductionArm the studio would be my choice and it's price is better than the other Gibson's

Yeah man! I'm with you. That was the best of the bunch by far! (Simply in my opinion- so don't everyone start crying-lol)

exactly

They've done that

he clearly feels the headstock of the Gibson std, which is a totally different shape to the Epi headstock... CHEAT

I think they should do blindfold tests where they don't play them at all, and should also be no where near them because they can always smell the difference between those Gibson and Epiphones hahaha

TALK less PLAY M O R E ! !! !!! !!!! !!!!!

You should get more up votes .

Jaroslav Roytapel I thought the same!

I don't think Tokai can be in an Anderton's video. But I upped anyway.

Norman Zealand Malana What makes you say that?

Tokai was kicked out of the us because they were making gibson copies better than the originals for lower prices. Afaik, gibson sellers cant sell tokais jor advertise them.

Is this meant as a compliment?

I know, I'm pointing it out because I want people to know that he's a great player! But thanks for the feedback :)

Yes its supposed to be a compliment

Nicholas Manoukian Do you watch the guitar when you play? Half the time i'll have my eyes close or watching some other stuff shredding up.

No sometimes Ill learn a song with me eyes closed too. But the way he's playing, it sounds like he's been blind and lean red guitar that way lol

Klatu Baradanikto Yes. Yes they do.

Dogheadj Excellent! I don't smoke marijuana but I have friends that do. I will usually put one of those spring loaded snake things in the secret compartment and leave my guitar out where they can see it. When they open it the snake pops out scaring the hell out of them. There is just something about the look on a stoned guys face when he is startled that makes it way more funnier than a normal person. Maybe it's the way they slump back with their mouths opened in disbelief saying, "Oh wow man,..not cool, not cool." LOL,..people who smoke pot are funny. They don't make very good president though.

Kloobis Skooda yes, but it's secret as you said

Joe Guitar I have been going into music stores up and down the East coast of the U.S. hiding thousands of dollars in the secret compartments of Epiphone Les Pauls. In one particular guitar whose location is a secret, I have hidden 25 one once ingots of pure gold.

psshhhhh it's a secret

They are made by the same company as far as i know ...

+Tcrumpen Thats the point. Epiphone is owned by gibson, Ltd is owned by Esp.

Andy Smyth I always though ltd was just a style of guitar, like Gibson make Les Paul and SG's, didn't now it was a sub company

LTDs are basically the "Epiphones" of the ESPs, they are cheaper but different.

They don't sell ESP's, they only sell LTD's

The results of such a test would be totally useless for a guitar player, because playing and listening are a totally different experience.

I get that - I am suggesting that this is the very reason such a test would be useful.

kayosiiii are you saying that a blindfold test where people just listen is useful, only because it demonstrates to people exactly how useless such a test is? Because, in that case, I'm not sure I agree - Some people will be smart enough to figure it out, but there are a lot of fools out there who genuinely believe that the sound is the only thing that's important, and feel that the existence of these kind of tests on the internet somehow validates their narrow minded perspective.

Not at all - I am simply interested in knowing if there is a noticible difference in the sound being produced as well as noticible differences in how the instrument feels to play. I would also like to know about differences in reliability, but that is a bit beyond the scope this sort of thing. If it makes you feel better maybe a test where the instruments are not plugged in - in addition to a listening test

kayosiiii Didn't they do that in the 2 & 1 Gibson video?

+Nicholas Robbins I thought that the Epiphone in the video really did sound less nice though. Would you not agree?

when i bought my guitar (Gibson LP) I tested Gibson vs Epiphone for myself. so my opinion is that the the Gibson wich is the 2014 Clasic had more sustain und sounded more fat. In the end i bought the Gibson because for me it had a better handling and better Sound. But, and that is a big point Epiphone is cheaper and Not bad at all and everyone has to decide wich is better for them

+Nicholas Robbins If you have both, you dont care... with good pickups (emg or seymour etc) epiphones are good as a gibson for sound of course.

+Nicholas Robbins Well yesterday I brought my 500€ Epiphone to a friends house for a jam session and also compared it to his 1500€ Gibson and it instantly blew my mind how much better my playing actually sounds. His Gibson was not only lighter and thiner, but it just felt so much better playing it. Recently I noticed that I just couldn't progress tone wise, I was always wondering if it's my play style or the amp or my guitar which sounded not so nice. So after pluging the Gibson into my amp I clearly can tell the guitar makes a big difference!

+Nicholas Robbins I have an Epiphone, and it sounded like just the one in the video. The tone is a bit rough, but the feel is awesome.

+CrushedJustice well my eip explorer has better pickups than my cort m200 but that costs even less

It's the simple solution that I would do, but most don't want to bother with investing in an extra hundred bucks to improve a guitar. They prefer to buy something already setup.Gee Bill

Gee Bill That's why I said a simple solution that "I" would do. Regular consumer wouldn't bother with tinkering with what they want out of a guitar.

Except Casinos. I have one and it is great. If I could only have one guitar in the world I would choose the Epiphone Casino definitely.

+CrushedJustice And the hardware. At least change the cheap nut, and the bridge.

haha tell me about it. pretty much the 3k gibsons play like shit over at the store i sometimes go to. basically nothing is worth testing properly there ://

I'm left handed and i use right handed guitars. Dx

I don't buy for a second that some $80 guitar played better then a Fender Strat or Gibson SG. At least not the American made Standards. I understand that some cheaper guitars can actually be better, but methinks you are lying to make some exaggerated "point". Just my opinion

Ok, well I bought the guitar for $80 but it's really like a $300 guitar. A Yamaha Pacifica 112L to be exact. And I'm not saying that my guitar is flat out better, I stated that the reason it played better was because the Strat and SG were set up so badly. The Strat was like a $900 American, and the strings seemed old and the action was a little high. The SG was in the $1,000 - 3,000 range (can't remember the actual price) and the strings were also old and way too high off the fretboard. I'm sure If the store had a guy to regularly go through all the guitars and maintain them, I would've thought differently. Just a set up is all, I'm sure they are great guitars.

TheRealMikeShea the pacifica is a great guitar, I’m jealous of a friend who’s got one, it played better than any strat I’ve tried, the neck was just amazing, but pickups were meh, so I’m inclined to believe you. I believe a good setup can do wonders to a guitar, but after owning both a premium ibanez and a prestige I can tell you attention to detail is definitely something that didn’t strike me at first sight but I could probably do a blindfolded Ibanez test now, it would be an interesting thing to do, sadly most of the stores I go to don’t carry around huge stocks of them, and not 7 strings anyway…

Look up Cherry Sun Burst

+MrSixiesRock I have had the Epi LP standard pro for about a week now and it is awesome and it definitely looks great.

U_Say_What_Fool Great choice and great guitar man, I had a Stranded i had for about 6 years since new recently i swapped it for a Tokai though. But the Epiphone was honestly perfect i think. As a Gibson owner i had no issues with it. Only thing i like more on the Gibson LP is the Headstock shape

MrSixiesRock i am an intermediate guitarist and have been playing for just over a year and i watch rob for things like this video to see if there is as massive a gap in quality between epiphone/gibson fender/squier, but having never owned a gibson i would say that the Epi LP is great, especially for the money

U_Say_What_Fool Best guitar you could buy for only just playing over a year, Wont let you down at all mate

yep thats what i thought

diamondacn And Chappers was feeling around for the binding.

To be fair he guessed before he felt the headstock.

They're great guitars

Random Crap umm no... Not all of them. The shitty ones are made in China but some are made in Korea and they're excellent

Random Crap soon they won't be though. Epiphone is moving out of China

Random Crap yea it is a good thing. I don't think the price will go up though. They're only moving right over to Indonesia or something like that where some of their guitars are already made anyways

ive got 2 epiphone les paul customs from korea and they are brilliant guitars,i picked up a white and a black model and both have duncans.i paid $300 each,so 6 bills for 2 gig able ,mint shape guitars.

Yeah he always plays the open E chord with his index finger free anyway so he can feel the headstock even when it isn't allowed

And The Beat Goes On he does that anyway

truss rod cover gives it away in later versions of this same "game"

Yeah... yeah (everyone chimes in)!

FuckPunkers they are all les Paul's chill out.

+Just sam epiphone and Gibson have different head stocks

He also touched the volume knobs on the studio pro...

Just sam the angle of the headstock is 14% on the epiphone and 17% on the gibson I think.

I agree a blindfold SG test would be great

Valentin D looks beautiful too

If I'm just starting out would you suggest an epiphone?

I would. The Mexican Fender Stratocasters are great cheap guitars too if you like Fenders. Go to a music store and try them all.

owwwwcccchhhh I have multiple epiphones, I love the hell out of them, just stay away from the low end models, the les paul std versions are nice, and the SG ones are great

drralph100 Fenders are made by illegal Mexicans in the U.S. Why not save a lot of money and buy the same guitar made by legal Mexicans in Mexico?

owwwwcccchhhh I recommend Mexican strats for beginning, or even for a long time. I have a Gibson Firebird but play my Mexican Strat a lot too. They're almost the same as the American ones. I just don't like how Epiphone looks on the headstocks lol. It's like you see a Les Paul and then you're like, oh it's just an Epiphone.

Feeling the binding doesn't give anything away. The binding on my epiphone wildkat Is just as good as the gibson standard lp.

The Les paul studio doesn't have any binding.

DaveDangerous74 Yeah but he still thought the LP standard was a studio - I thought he'd feel the binding straight away.

DaveDangerous74 Well, that is a 'tell' isn't it?

Plus on the custom shop there's an engraved plaque where the toggle switch cover is on the back, so that would have given that away immediately.

Oh shit thanks

+ThePcGamer wait what, people actually liked this. Wtf. Tsk tsk tsk. People these days, atleast I didn't get 80 likes with alt accounts and bots

+ThePcGamer I was trying to see how much hate I got, not likes. Goddamit!

Loostio Boostio Hi, you told me to thank you later so now that it has been a year I'm here to thank you kind man :^)

Inevitable Truth thanks

I've heard they smell like vanilla. I've played a few at Guitar Center, and although they were absolutely breath-taking, I don't recall smelling vanilla. Maybe I should have sniffed the maple cap more while playing.

+Jonathan Keith its. when you take them out of the case it's very noticeable the nitro gives of vapours for years

Yeah my SG smells delicious. It's great.

+humphrey peek true I just bought my new studio shred and it smells so good

They smell like Tick-tacks to me.

Me too - I was really expecting to feel a much bigger difference. Clearly binding has a much bigger visual impact that it does on feel!

CaptAnderton I've got a a SE PRS with binding and an American PRS w/o binding and can confirm, binding doesn't mean anything.

I totally agree.

well seeing how the pickup are what MAKES THE SOUND I think that's an accurate statement,,, wtf

Andrew Whittaker no the strings make THE SOUND and the pickups pick up the sound

Luke Davis Yeah and some pick up the sound a lot better than others lol

Andrew Whittaker haha. well, some pick up the sound differently than others. strings, wood type, shape, cavity size, "weight relief" or not, and finish type and amount all create the sound together. Theoretically, you can get the exact same tone out using pickup A on guitar B as pickup B on guitar A, while A on A, and B on B are entirely different from one another. Calling a pickup better or worse than the next is entirely dependent on the guitar. Burstbuckers, for instance sound atrocious in a lighter toned body. The high output cuts through the mahogany nicely, but sounds screechy in a solid maple body.

Mike Mlodzienski ...all this is assuming that the pickups are made well. yes, there are bad pickups, but they are made with poor materials, or wound poorly. at the end of the day, the difference between a 150 dollar pickup and a 20 dollar pickup is the maker.

man I'm already searching where i can buy it :)

I'd be hard pressed to tell the difference between a gibson les paul studio and an epiphone les paul ultra (if they had the same pickups) . Gibson aint what it used to be... You're spending 3000$ for a "decent" gibson. That same money will get you a custom made guitar from a good luthier.

I agree that swapping out the pickups would make the difference and a decent amplifier will also help.

JgHaverty True. Gibson these days is not what they used to be. Chambering the bodies was a huge mistake.

My main guitar at the minute is an ESP LTD viper 10 (the basic one thats about £50) with some pickups from a small UK company called Warman. I had the same pickups in a Gibson SG and, with the same guitar amp settings, youd struggle to hear any difference between the two soundwise. The gibson was much nicer and easier to play though.

Yeah, i'm looking at a photo of the 1973 Gibson Les Paul Silver Anniversary Model i used to own. F-/K! I miss that Guitar, it was like a finely tuned piece of machinery to me, the best Guitar i've had the privilege of owning. Gone but not Forgotten. Anyway in my hands i have my Epyphone Les Paul Ultra, super light in weight, fast action, great sounding pickups, simply a nicely constructed Guitar. I think it is around a 2001 model, i paid $750 with Hardcase, for one in the same condition as mine i think you'd be looking at around $1100 from what i've seen available on the net and in music stores. As mentioned above in this thread for a decent Les Paul your going to pay at least $3000 where as for the same money you would get a custom build and for even less an Epyphone Les Paul Ultra. I guess we all hear a little differently so i guess it's each to his own on this one, personally i think the difference in sound between the 2 Guitars is so minimal in the end you only end up paying for the name. GIBSON (it is a pretty special name though and will always looks good written on the guitars headstock) $3000 or $1100?

Yeah listen to this with a quality sound setup or decent headphones and it's painfully obvious that the Epiphone's tonal quality is tiny compared to the Gibson guitars. They are a music store after all, so I don't think they want say the Epiphone sounds weak and needs to be upgraded right after it is purchased.

Pablo Rages This test tells us nothing of value. If they had put decent pups in the Epi we would know how good or bad it really is. Anyone with a clue already knows the Epi pups are going to suck. That should not have been the basis of comparison. Particular not when that problem can be fixed for $100.

Pablo Rages I would rather know if putting a $100 set of pups in a cheap Epi will give me a guitar that can't be discerned (blindfolded) from a MUCH more expensive Gibson. But I guess you would rather know that Epi pups aren't as good as Gibson's. Which you should already know. Yeah I'm weird like that.

Pablo Rages I've never been completely satisfied with any Gibson I have owned. Maybe that's more of a reflection of the ones that have come my way. But I just don't think they are worth the money they cost. Have you seen what Warmoth can do for the same price as Fender or Gibson? Custom Shop quality at standard shop prices. You can even pick the exact piece of wood they will use. Are you familiar with the term "ghost builders"? Your beloved Gibson may not even be a Gibson! harmonycentral.com/forum/forum/guitar/acapella-41/1103098- thegearpage.net/board/showthread.php?t=807441 edroman.com/guitars/gibson/unhappy-gibson-customers.htm

MasterOfSparks Long Rant coming up: Gibson is for sure overpriced. Most notably models after the Studio. I find the studios to "generally" be great instruments and are easy to find used. I can get some amazing sounds out of my SG-pro which has P-90 pickups. But, absolutely, other companies have made guitars that are much better designed for far less money, FAR less. In my opinion, they justify high pricing with the Gibson name and age old authenticity. Gibson likes to make it clear that they are traditional, seeing how they are one of the pioneering companies to build early electric guitars. (1935). Famous users who have used/use them make it clear to the public that Gibson is undoubtedly the best choice if you want to buy a tried and true, beautiful, expensive, best-brand name-to-tell your-friends, guitar. Remember, their is a large group of people who buy these guitars who cannot identify the differences serious players can. Attention to detail regarding the instrument becomes so inherent to committed players, it is hard for one to imagine how someone cannot notice differences. So regardless of the price, Gibson will always be able to do what they do. Their prices will always be looked at with awe; either by someone thinking: "Why would I get something with old design flaws and can break at the headstock easily, for 3500$?!! Or; "This is the best guitar ever! Oh wait, I want to try That one... Oh man! This is even better. Boulevard of broken dreams sounds wicked, Smells like teen spirit, wow. It's Fu**ing deadly. It's totally worth the price difference, I can hear it. I'm adding it to my account here anyways.This will make me want to practice even more (The previous guitar was 1500$ less and had a less fancy top).

They never plugged the guitars in during the Squier/Fender/Fender Custom test. It was just a feel thing. I think that screwed it all up. The sounds had a big impact on the decisions in this test.

Tim Crouch Yeah, I wondered the same and since I saw that vid, I knew that they plugged them in... but you replied to the wrong comment :>

+chris Bryson different headstock on Epiphone..

epi standard is $400 i think. the gibson studio is about $1000, standard is a little more than that, custom shop is insane money, like $4000 or something

I have one :')

James Hetfield I see what you did there.

They've been doing that lately XD

Gibsons have more overtones.

I feel like the notes sound clearer, or to put it another way, the notes demand your attention

...yep...put them on a stand...let someone else change settings and only touch the neck and rest picking hand...then you got something...