The problem with Epiphone no one tells you 

Great video. Its not just the fretwork, its the material they use for the frets. And yet ESP and Schecter are able to put stainless steel frets on their similairly priced models.

Ten minutes for paraphrasing the fact, that Epiphones have "bad fretwork" and "bad switches", but I didn't understand what exactly is the problem with the frets (I have - among other guitars - an Epiphone LP for more than 20 years).

Like myself, most people are buying these guitars and upgrading them and still have a guitar that's way, way under what a gibson costs. Once you have learned to do fret work, these things can be awesome.

I feel like with a lot of guitar brands recently it's been a roll of the dice as to whether the fret work will be decent. This is why when I find a guitar now that doesn't have fret buzz from uneven frets or sharp edged frets I make sure to keep hold of it because I'll know it's a keeper regardless of how much it cost.

The root of the problem is...Epiphone is owned by Gibson.

I have two Epis, a 1990 Sheraton II and a budget Les Paul with a set neck, dot inlays and no binding -- some kind of Studio. Both were almost flawless. I did have to very gently file one note on one fret on the Sheraton. Otherwise, the fretwork and electronics are fine. Does Epiphone send their seconds to Singapore and reserve the better ones for the U.S. market? 😅

the real problem is that it says, "Epiphone" on the headstock

It would be helpful if people mention where they bought their epiphone, what region, what manufacturing year, date of purchase, etc. Just to see if there’s been any patterns on where and when the problem epiphones are popping up.

You can take the boy out of corporate but you can't take the corporate out of the boy! The Jacket!

You live in Japan and are not playing an Orvile old Ibanez Burny Tokai etc? I live in the USA and these guitars are superb

When you mention difficulty in bending strings on your Epi LP, and also the same with your Casino, what do you mean by difficulty more specifically? The terrible fretwork that you are describing would only make string bending more difficult if they were shaped closer to square waves than flat radiused curves . I'm wondering if your guitar world would easily change drastically by using lighter strings. What gauge set are you using?

I was very impressed with ESP especially when compared to epiphone. You’re definitely right about your experience and findings.

i dont know if i've just been lucky but i havent had these issues you mentioned with any of the epiphones ive had or played. I should add i have 50+ guitars in my collection and 6 or 7 are epiphones. Of the newest i have 3 of the matt heafy models. My oldest epiphone is from the mid 90s, its still all stock and frets are still all working great. That was my main gigging guitar for 10 years. But for years ive heard these complaints so there must be something to it, ive just managed to dodge the bad ones somehow.

I recently purchased an Epiphone Inspired by Gibson Firebird with a free Plek job from Sweetwater. It is awesome.

I have an Epiphone DC 90 Pro that a friend was selling with a hardshell case. I got it for $400 and I like it a lot. It plays very smooth, but there may be a glitch in the pickup switch. I tend to just use the bridge pickup but sometimes I would prefer to have them both on, so the center position of the switch. It could be there's a problem with the neck humbucker but I don't know.

i have a 2004 epi SG that i bought new. the fret edges are honestly the smoothest factory fret edges i have ever felt on a guitar. however the frets are not level and very low from the factory so that i need to refret that thing rather then just level the frets :/

In trogly's unboxing of the 58 Flying V he discovered that the frets were magnetic. MAGNETIC??? How!? What are they using? Steel?

So basically, if you by an Epi, take it to a luthier, have the frets leveled and dressed, pull out and replace the switches and voila---or spend the same amount on something esls?

My local music shops have told me PRS (including SE) have been top notch when delivered followed by foreign guitars like Yamaha, ESP, Ibanez, then Jackson Schecter and they said Epiphone has improved but Fender and Squire show up lose strings and not setup and one of the store’s I mentioned are big Fender strat/tele fans and are upset with the issues with Fender. One customer ordered straight from Fender shop and the guitar showed up not setup and needed neck adjustment, frets addressed. I don’t know how long term Epiphone electronics hold up now.

I have a 2019 Epi Standard Pro Plus Top with Probuckers, I love it. Made in China.. The toggle switch was having static so I took it out and adjusted the tension of the contact. If your LP is 20 years old was it made in Indonesia? Korea? Great video dude.

Spot on.. Bought a new BJA LP JR last year.. the wiring was awful and not even done correctly.. and the frets were atrocious.. needed a full level and recrown. I got it working great and it rips but it was hours and hours on the frets.

as someone who has been playing on and off for about 25 years I think fretwork has gotten worse in general. I never had frets chew my hands up when I was younger, now I see it all the time, what the hell happened? I got a jackson two years ago that was so fucked up i got it replaced.

Have you played the Schecter Solo custom ii?

I recently bought two Epi LP's, one LP Special, an SG, and a Flying V and have had to do fret work (Leveling and smoothing fret ends.) on all of them and change out a pot. But I was somewhat expecting that and now I love my Epi's. Yes so agree with you. Very informative video. Subscribed!

any guitar ya get needs your own refining to adjust it for your needs that's part of the charm and fun!

I love my Casino too, but you're right! The frets are not consistent especially closer to the body and my guitar suffered a problem with the bridge pickup connector too.

came to your channel since you had a video about your experience with richlite fretboards and had to sub bc you discuss a lot of guitar topics 😊

Hi. I'm listening with interest, is Epiphone an arm of Gibson so to speak?

Does replacing a generic chinese 3 way toggle switch on a chinese les paul for a switchcraft improve sound quality on a guitar? Or only the way it feels when switching positions ?

Coincidentally, not being able to bend without muting during the stairway to heaven solo was a problem with my epiphone SG. Fret leveling and recrowning plus going over the fall away high frets made it better. I'm of the opinion that with a little time, you can turn almost any budget/mid range brand into something as good as the expensive ones.

Love your channel man, I’ve owned several epiphones and agree with the QC issues. I had two LP standards that I basically ripped apart and replace all the electronics, hardware and had to do full blown fret jobs on each Epi I owned. I loved them… eventually but I also learned how to do setups, fret leveling, soldering etc just to get it playable for gigs. New players don’t know how to do all of that and it’s a usually a big ask especially for the price point that Epiphone has been charging recently. I agree that there are other quality brands selling guitars at similar or cheaper prices putting out a quality product.

I've had this problem with a couple of Epiphones before but I learned to level frets and work on guitar electronics so doesn't bother me that much. The last 2 Epis ive bought are a 2020 and a 2023 and they have no issues.

what a comparison, Epiphone LP standard/ Heafy to ESP E-II eclipse, really ? please tell me where to buy that brand new 7 string E-II Eclipse at 180K JPY ? I'm no Epiphone fanboy but have not had any issue with them for very long time (both LP standard and Matt Heafy LP), very great P/P in my opinion

This is very quickly becoming one of my favourite guitar channels. You talk about important issues and it's clear that you're passionate about the subject matter but also give a very balanced overview of the topic. You're also a realist, and understand the reality of the guitar business - it's exhausting sometimes to hear people who either completely discount the need for budget instruments or the opposite, those who sneer at the idea that a brand or marketing can add any value to a product whatsoever. I was ready to chime in and say that it's not entirely fair to compare a Made in Japan ESP on discount to a full price Epiphone but you said everything yourself. (In saying that, it IS insane that those two instruments were even in the same ballpark and this is where I definitely lean towards the opinion that no brand name is going to add THAT much value, especially when ESP isn't exactly a no-name in the industry) But yeah, you're 100% correct. Epiphone is 100% a pipeline to Gibson - if someone absolutely falls in love with their Epiphone then the logical step when it comes time for an upgrade is obvious. And it seems entirely logical that it's worth cutting a few percent off of the immediate profit in order for those instruments to feel great and be something that a beginner, working musician starting out or in a developing country can rely on. Otherwise they are looking at a future where less and less guitarists are growing up with Epiphone/Gibson as a brand they care about and not something they value and in 20 years the 'blues lawyers' of tomorrow aren't buying $50,000 Greenie reissues because they just don't care. Anyway, great video. I'm excited when I see new uploads from you now.

Two years ago i bought a Sire L7. After playing it for about an hour, both my Epiphone LPs went up for sale. Same experience you had except the L7 was $700 USD. There are great alternatives that don’t break the bank if you seek a bit.

Reasonable, knowledgeable and polite. Great video!

I have tried maybe a dozen Epiphones in various music stores over several years. They always feel wrong on the fret board, so I have never bought one. I used to think the contour on the back of the neck was the problem.

The switch on my PRS SE Baritone just failed last week. Not a pass to epiphone as ive had the same issues but im just putting it out there.

I have an Epiphone Korina Explorer. It is I bought it in 1998(I think). I have different pots, caps, pickups. Lots of custom work. I have two questions. 1 the neck is fabulous but I believe it is a 2 piece neck but not sure. Would anyone know? 2. Is the neck worth refretting? opinions welcome. This guitar has a unique sound and its playability is fabulous.

My 2020 Les Paul Standard has CTS pots in it, also my 2023 Epi TV Yellow Les Paul Special has CTS pots in it too. Fretwork was ok, no fret sprout or anything, but I don't mind working on my guitars.

I agree that the prices of these high-end Epiphones are totally delusional. $1700 for an Epiphone is beyond a joke. There's an endless list of guitars that are better quality in that price range.

Have the 58 Epi v also,broke in the frets,truss adjustment,in 1998,ain,t parting with it

I have an Epiphone Les Paul Custom. I had the PLEK done to it and it is smooth, soooo smooth. I had gone to a Guitar store and checked one out and the fret were harsh and I did not like it. The PLEK did add $299 but it made the fret great.

I was completely blown away by how good the fretwork was on my ltd ec256. which was bought as a scratch and dent from Amazon. if you would've seen how bad the packaging was...? loose inside the box, and still fret work was immaculate and the set up was better that any epiphone I have ever played. that says something.

All epiphone or Gibson epiphone, i ve played on even a copy one (understanding ) you have to blow the pick up treble knob sometimes to get a sound if it gets blocked or muted .

I bought an SG G-400 in 2007. The fretwork was really good. Ten years after the plug jack failed, so I did some soldering. Not a bad a deal at all, still rocks

I own 2 pro les Paul's, one a standard the other a custom. Both were built in Korea over 20 years ago and they both play and sound great! Have only had to replace the tone pots and the capacitor in the standard. Not bad for the amount of play they have seen over the years! Great guitars.🎸

I went into this video not sure what you were going to talk about specifically but I had a hunch it was going to be about the frets on the Epiphones lol. I am actually a drummer who plays guitar and have always owned Fenders or Squiers. I recently bought a 2020 Epi Les Paul Custom brand new w/ the ebony fretboard from Sweetwater which did their "55 point inspection" and the frets were horrible on it. Within a few days of playing it I noticed I was getting metal shavings coming off the frets when I would do bends.. esp in the 12th fret "pentatonic box" region like you stated. You could actually see where I was mostly playing on the neck because certain frets were rounded then around the 12th fret they were completely flat and pitted. This was my first time ever owning a Epiphone and was not aware that this is an actual problem with Epiphones frets. I was told this when I brought to my local luthier to get it refretted. Im not even a gigging musician either, or a player who digs in hard when playing. I am a bedroom player who plays maybe 3+ hours or more a day esp during the pandemic I was playing a lot more. I bought the les paul brand new and I think it was around 800$? Its not the most expensive guitar but for that type of money I never wouldve thought the frets would wear out that fast. Within 6 months of playing the frets were already done. Im not even sure how long frets should last, but I still have my very first Squier strat I got back in 02 brand new for like 250$ that Ive played thousands of hours on and played countless shows on in high school and I've never had to change the frets.. and that is a entry level cheap squier lol.

Brother, I could have fixed the fretwork on two Epiphones in the amount of time it took you to come out and say that the problem is the fretwork 😂 But you're right. I just got an Inspired By Gibson 335 and everything is perfect except the frets are rough as sandpaper

I have an Epi, but bought it used, and it did need some fretwork, but otherwise it was good. With the frets done it plays great, and I play it more than anything other guitar. But getting it used I have no idea what the frets were like new. The electronics are good on mine.

The pots, the frets, the toggle, the nut. For real I wore the frets down in my Epi LP in about 5 years. Refretting is no snall matter

I AGREE WITH YOU 100%. I BOUGHT 2 OF THE 58' KORINA EPI EXPLORERS YEARS AGO & BOTH OF THEM WERE USELESS TO PLAY ABOVE THE 14TH FRET. EVEN WITH TRUSS ROD ADJUSTMENT. HAD TO SET THE ACTION SO HIGH THAT THEY WERENT WORTH PLAYING. SAD DEAL.

I have an SG that is great. The only problem I had with it was the 3 way switch was scratchy when I didn't play it for a while. I sprayed it and it was fine. just lucky I guess.

Honestly I'm really happy to hear this! I've loved Gibsons and own two really nice American made Gibsons, a J-200 and an S-1. I've always wanted to get a Les Paul and an SG but never really liked the Epiphone versions of these guitars. I was recently looking to buy a semi hollow body guitar and everyone told me I should buy an Epiphone ES335. I went to Guitar Center and tried one out, side by side with a Gretsch G5622t and to me there was no comparison. I loved the Gretsch and didn't like playing the ES335 at all. It just seemed like a bad version of a Gibson. I'm anxiously awaiting the delivery of the Sapphire Blue Gretsch I pre-ordered. I was at a vintage guitar show a couple of months ago and played an old Epiphone ES335 with a patched together broken neck and really liked it. I'd much rather have that one than the new one I played at Guitar Center. The difference came completely into view when my cousin gave me an Affinity Squier Strat a couple of years ago. That guitar is a really nice instrument that quickly became my favorite, goto solid body. It was really good from the factory and made me want to put a bunch of money into upgrading it to perfection. I got a Plek setup on it. I put in a Freeway switch 10 position pickup selector blade switch. I added a treble bleed pot to replace one of the tone pots. I gave it locking tuners too. I wouldn't have done that though, if I hadn't loved playing it first.

I agree with the second complaint, the switches on Epiphones simply don't stand up over time. As far as the fret work, I bought a Epi Les Paul 60's Tribute Plus 8 years ago and the fret work is impeccable... I did upgrade all the switches less than 6 months after buying it, but the fretwork is flawless.

Great channel. I enjoy your videos 👍

I bought a quilt top classic epi in 2007 I think and immediately had fret work done to it and yes the switches are low quality.

I would expect some fretwork to be necessary on almost all new guitars below a certain price point. And in 16 or 17 years of doing set ups and repairs I've seen a few high end guitars which have needed something doing. If I couldn't do it myself I'd factor in the cost of a set up into the budget for a guitar. It's one way the factories keep costs down. Set ups and fret dressing is time consuming and hence expensive. And it's the single most important thing in whether or not you'll enjoy the guitar.

I bought a 59 epiphone, and I love it. Granted, I did get those frets in shape right out the box and upgraded the hell out of it (thing bites). You can get a decent epiphone and make an amazing guitar with a little work.

I have a couple of Epis, and have had several in the past, even a n early 2000s DOT, and NONE of them, have/had these issues you speak of. The frets were all well dressed, and polished, with little to no fret sprout. And never had any electronic issues, and even though the switches aren't the highest quality, I've never had to replace them, over the past 10-15 years.

You are correct about the high fret work being shoddy. On 3 of the 4 Epiphones I bought new, beyond the 15th fret any bent note would get choked due to unlevel frets. Some leveling and re-crowning remedied this. All 3 of them are 'Artist' models. I've never had an issue with fretwork on any Gibson I've owned.

I have an Epiphone Les Paul Prophecy, I had to fix some issues but after fixing them it is a really nice guitar, that's the only epiphone I own. I went hard buying Charvel and Solar guitars tho.

Over the years, I've played some nice guitars and some not so nice. When I was younger, I remember buying my first new electric guitar. Price and quality were important. It was 1985, and after playing since 1976, I deserved a new guitar. I bought a Carvin DC150 with a fine tuner bridge. Carvin used to make some great guitars, and then they became Kiesel and lost their way. My next guitar was from a company that wouldn't exist if it were not for Gibsons lack of quality in the 70s. The Hamer Chaparral Custom was one of the best guitars that I have ever owned. The Chaparral Custom was the one that got away. Unfortunately, Hamer is a thing of the past, like Carvin. I picked up a Fender Stratocaster from a friend who needed cash, and I became a constant work in progress. I considered buying an Epiphone, but quality was my concern. Then, one day, while I was browsing the used guitars, I came across a Gibson Les Paul Studio Faded T series. It was like new with a hardshell Gibson case. May it's a fluke, but it plays and sounds amazing. It is wired like an old school, Les Paul, and was $599 USD. Both Gibson and Epiphone have gotten out of hand with price versus quality. This video was worth listening to. Maybe Epiphone and Gibson will someday consider offering a guitar that the average person could afford.

Why buy a reasonably priced guitar with problems when you can save up and buy an expensive guitar with problems? 😂

Man you NAILED it. The Epi inspired by Gibson have upgraded electronics, but the fret work is spotty at best. I have 8 or 9 Epi's right now. One was purchased used, the others all new. Every one of them has needed fret work.

Totally agree. I love Epiphones, but this is definitley an issue. I had a G310 (the low end SG) which was so bad, it felt like an Encore. The G400 was a lot better but still not great up the neck. I play a Riviera currently which is actually excellent, but it did require a full set up and fret dress to be comfortable. Going over to the dark side, I bought a Squier JM Jazzmaster a few years ago, and it has the most playable neck. So if Squier can do it, there is no excuse for Epiphone not to.

Mine has been Pleckt lollar pickups and bigsby ..It’s an incredible guitar

PRS SE fretwork and tonal quality in upper frets is to me the best I’ve found. I have played plenty of cheap-to-expensive, new-to-vintage guitars and they ALL are lacking in the bass-side wound upper frets, some more or less than satisfactory. But only one guitar in 40 years achieved unobtainium - a PRS SE CE24 from 2008 that I tried in a whim at GC because I had never gave PRS a real look before. It turned out to be a GC ‘exclusive’ with ebony fretboard!! And it was marked down to $650!! Amazing 😎

I bought an EB3 Bass back in 77. I got sold on it by the salesman who convinced me I could play everything from YES to Black Sabbath. I paid around $120 I think. It wasn't bad but I had to replace pots too often. I like to play soft at a higher volume but when I did it on my EB there were tonal issues. I never had that with my P-Bass, my Ricky or even my Ibanez bases. I still play it but not often.

I have 4 Epiphones and I have never had any problem with any of them and one of them is over 40 years old. The newer ones are fine too and they all play easy and sound great. I have had many fret and neck problems with expensive Taylors.

I have an epiphone, the electronics are kind of failing but it's around 10 years old, do expensive guitars never fail?

I bought an e.s.339 Epiphone last year. I do my own setups. I couldn't believe how low i can make the action with no fret buzzing. It is unbelievable. My Gibson L.P. couldn't get that low of action without fret buzz. It took me hours of adjusting the truss rod and raising and lowering the bridge. Not with the Epiphone. I had a great setup in under 15 mins. It could be maybe luck, idk. But i know the Epi has c.t.s. pots. So does my Gibson, but on a circuit board. My Epi was hand wired. Now, when i get some time, I'll have to pull the boards out and hand wire them myself. The board works fine, but i might want to change things around in the future. Dont get me wrong. I love my Gibson, but the Epiphone line inspired by Gibson, they are awesome. In my humble opinion.

What if I told you the top carve , binding scrape and small pin into body bridge were much more authentic to Gibson on a 2003 Epiphone Elite Lee Paul I just purchased for $1200 used?

You're not wrong about their cheap switches. My epi prophecy V and Les Paul both had the switch go, after little playing. Never had that problem with another guitar (and PRS SEs are really quality guitars).

I just ordered a 1979 Yamaha Studio Lord SL500 from Japan, I heard they were good quality so hoping for the best...shipping $170 guitar was $379.

I have 2 stock tele mins and they suffer from the exact problems . To make them stage worthy I ended up replacing pus and all wiring and switches + hours of fret work

I have an Epiphone Les Paul; it was made in Korea by Samik plant in 2002 before production was transferred. The factory bought Valley Arts Guitars; I believe. The action is sublime, and it stays in tune incredibly well and no fret problems. Very nice instrument well made.

The only problem I've had that is common to every Epiphone I've ever played is, the pots are completely non-linear. They're either on or off.

I'd have to agree with some of the comments. I have ALWAYS upgraded electrics on my Epiphone collection. Have not had issues with last few, but if I were to buy another I'd focus on factory id "23" which denotes the Samick factory in Korea.

I'm not sure what you mean by fretwork not being good on Epiphone guitars. Can you elaborate? Just to put it into context, I am a repair tech, so I see about 2,000 guitars every year, on my workbench. I actually see many issues with Gibson fretwork. Gibson has issues with fretwork prior to the introduction of PLEK and now with PLEK-ing they have other issues. The polishing of the frets is actually rougher on Gibson guitars, compared to Epiphone. But the frets are not always leveled on Epiphone guitars. Is that what you are referring to? My bigger issue with Epiphone is the nut, i.e. the string slot height. All that said, you are 100% correct about the switch. The cheap "import" switch in the Epiphone guitars can't compare to the solidly-built Switchcraft brand in a Gibson. They are like night and day, for sure. Cheers...

I watched this and got that "itch" to buy a good, affordable recording guitar. I did the research and bought a new LS LT Epiphone electric guitar for my studio. It arrived on time and is the epitome of quality. All my frets were well polished and perfectly crowned all the way down the neck. No set up issues. Its sound matches professional Gibson guitars at 10 times the price. Happy as hell here. Epiphone is still rocking the quality they are known for.

I own one Epiphone that I purchased in 08 or 09 a Les Paul Classic, paid around 350 USD brand new, it was on sales around Christmas time. Fret job on mine not horrible, switch stopped working so upgraded all the electronics and put on new hardware as well. At 350 this is acceptable at higher prices not so much. I’m happy with my modified Epi but not in the market to buy another. I do own a few Gibsons LP and SG and the SG is not perfect the neck binding has gouges and the side of the nut is a little rough, I purchased it brand new and it came like that. Not a huge deal but a guitar at that price should be near perfect.

I bought an Epiphone Custom Pro Koa top Les Paul a little less than 2 years ago in 2022. Right out of the box , the guitar played well and also sounds very good. The action seemed a bit stiff to me at first, prompting me to contemplate having it in the shop for a set up. After playing it for a bit , I decided not to because to me , it feels fine. The only thing I might have done is to change the volume control pots because they are not as graduated as the ones on a Gibson. I could change all of the guts and still not spend as much as I would on a Gibson. I showed it to the luthier who does my work and he was impressed with the quality in relation to the price point. Gibson USA has made their guitars virtually unreachable with price tags over $3000. If I paid that much for a guitar, of course I would be convincing myself that I've got the best guitar on the market. Since I already own a Gibson ES 135 that I paid $1000 for brand new in 1994, I couldn't justify spending over $3000 when I was looking for a Les Paul. I bought my Epi and am quite glad that I did.

I only have one epi: a Dot Deluxe. I have not experienced the issues you describe with it. Thanks for your video.

Ive played Epiphone since I was 13 and I love them. First thing I always do is have them set up by a pro. Every time Ive bought one the intonation is out. Another thing I do, change the nut to a Tusq. It'll make the beautiful harmonix of your Les Paul stand out. On another point, when doing your own string changes, make sure you tighten EVERTHING down. Espies in my opinion vibrate heavey. So they are bound to make shit come loose and that always sounds bad. I hate ESP. They feel clunky and cheep. I'd rather play a Squre than an ESP or a se prs. Glad to see some Epiphone lovers out there!!

Can confirm. I just bought my first guitar (45 and just learning lol) and after many an hour between epiphone and squire, I ended up with the a squire.

Wow, why this video has this many dislikes is beyond me. I thought your points are very vaild, nuanced and also very precise. Gibson is relying almost entirely on nostaligc boomers and collectors for their success. They also need to compete for younger players with innovation and quality. The new generations care less and less for guitar heroes of the past and have no issues with trying new stuff. And Epiphone seems a good brand to begin.

Epiphone is out of their mind if they think im gonna pay $1500 for a chinese guitar

Great video 100% agree. I bought a new Emily Wolf which is great and the switch never worked correctly.

Very enjoyable video and fair points. I bought an epiphone SG 61 recently and it has CTS pots etc. The switches appear solid, pro buckers are a bit weak compared to the Tim Shaw's on my 81 custom, but the fret work is not great up high. Have you ever looked at the Trev Wilkinson 'Vintage' brand? They are very usable and very reliable well.made work horses for $400 mark.

The fret material makes a world of difference. My now 14 year old shecter has great frets as they are stainless but electronics gave out. I have a Yamaha pacifica from a year after the shecter purchase that the frets are worn to buzz but the electronics held up. Its always a gamble until time shows whether the premium price is worth the rig. As with any long time player its what feels right to you, whether its price all the way down to materials. Oh also im now an Ibanez player so test the waters it never hurts.

I bought an Epiphone Classic two weeks ago. It needed fretwork all along the bottom of the neck. $600 for the guitar. I bought a firefly strat a month before the Epi. $198 to my door. Impeccable, ball end frets. Custom shop level frets. We're paying entirely to much for inferior work.

Dude... pretty much all the new epiphones if it's not in their beginner model line come standard with CTS electronics and very high quality craftsmanship for the dollar. The 1959 model you mentioned as well as the other higher end epiphones come standard with Gibson USA pickups. I own two epiphones as well as a PRS se custom 24 and two Fenders and I've never had any issues out of my epiphones.... and one was built in 2005.

I have two Epiphone Les Pauls, a Modern and a 1960 Tribute. No problems with the frets at all. OTOH, I purchased a PRS SE 24-08 and it needed a couple of frets leveled.

Thanks for bringing this up. I have little experience with Epiphone, aside from a Les Paul Studio that I got back in 2005 expecting a high-quality instrument and being quite disappointed with it. Likewise I now play ESP LTD guitars that are much better quality and more bang for the buck.

Great video! You hit it on the head. What I've Bern saying about both Gibson and Epiphone. In my opinion, if you are paying over $600 (USD) for a guitar, the frets and electronics should be flawless. Schecter and ESP/LTD have proven you can have excellent quality at even less than $600.

I've owned many Epiphones over the years. Brand new out of the box, brought it home... fret levelled it before I did anything. Same thing with used ones. They need to be levelled and usually slight fall away above the 12th fret to make it playable up there. Yes, its been a problem forever, but with some tools I'm able to quickly solve that problem and move on. What I don't care for now compared to my Gibson Tributes are the pickups. I love the 490R and 498T combo, only available in 2018 Tributes. So I sold off all my Epiphones and found 2 Gibson Tributes that I love and those are my #1 and #2. But yes if you want to play Epiphones, learn to level and fall away the frets.

Ever since guitars started coming from Korea, Indonesia, the Philippines, and China (especially china) I have had countless brand new and just passed warranty guitars in my shop that could not be setup well without fretwork, and not just all of the new brands made there, but well known brands "Alternatively priced" (so no way just the price) instruments! So far two of them were PRS's, one Hagstrom, and many Ibanez's, Epiphone's, Squire's... you name it. Not only is the fretwork all over the place, but they often have truss rods already maxed out and on edge of stripping out the treads, or installed too close to the fingerboard (one way rods) to where they are not very effective... All that talk about "because they are made on CNC's they are more accurate" and that cheep guitars are just as good as expensive ones other than maybe spending $300 on new electronics and pickups. Well that's just a crock of shit, and always has been: No CNC machine can do jack about what can and will happen when you slap instruments together with woods that were not dried properly, truss rods that are made of weak alloys, and in necks that can't already hold most of the tension without one; A truss rod is not supposed to be a reinforcement of the neck itself, but an adjustment of the relief so they can handle different gauges of strings (different tensions). Once inspected, even if good, that is irrelevant, because the problems gradually start showing their ugly face, especially when they are shipped from the factories that are almost all in very humid areas (jungle climates), to much dryer areas in the world. BTW: Scheckter's and a few others are sent here to the US to dress frets and what not before sale, but even those have not had enough time to settle when you get them, they only have fewer problems out of the box; you just wait! The only thing a CNC can guaranty is faster and much easier production, so you need fewer people, and people with less skill, and even a poorly maintained CNC, bits that are not very sharp... can trow off the accuracy quite a bit too. In the end many who ask me to install a few hundred bucks in new parts, add my time for the work, on their $300 guitar brings it up to a $600+ guitar, and that is just the least of their problems, because a fret level and re-crown can easily go over $250, so now the owners cost is ~$900 to $1000! I often can't even recommend doing fret work in knowing the instrument is still not stable, and needs another year or two to do so, and so even my own meticulous fret work can be in vain, as well as my reputation on the line, for being blamed for stuff completely out of my control. I had to greatly expand my service agreement to outline that these problems can be expected, and why I cannot be held responsible for them if you don't heed my warnings, and also log any of my findings as to expectable failures in the repair log so the customer has written record of it, and with it as juxtaposed to may warranty that covers my work, and not the shortcomings of instruments I didn't make!

My 335 Pro had a poor input jack and input switch. Both upgraded.

Two great Epiphone guitars are the 24 fret Custom lp prophecy gx with a hardshell case and the 1959 Lp standard with a hardshell case as well with Gibson burstbucker p/ups. They're the higher end guitars and are worth the money. Also,the necks are semi-gloss making it easier to fast playing.