rogerdodger
Hi
Im looking at getting an electric, whats the pros/cons of an epiphone or a stratt, looking around the 4k - 5k budget?
Thanks
rogerdodger
LMinnie
pick ups pick ups pick ups...
single coil vs humbuckers..
What sound what you going for bud?
CornFlakes
I would say go for the Fender very versatile guitar..
But like Lawrence said it all depends on what sound you are looking for.
nick
you can probably pickup a epiphone les paul for that price, the MiM strats are they in that range too? only really seen the pricing on the squiers (and then Id say the epihones are better quality)
rogerdodger
thanks
i'd like to get into playing some clean sounding lead... nothing heavy... so is the verdict fender? unless its the squire range...?
Martyr
you can only get a second hand epiphone in SA because of the whole Gibson south africa dispute...but you could probably get a second hand one for that price...unless you wanna order from US...
rogerdodger
i didnt know about that dispute... bummer
i live in slummies (east london), we have quite a jacked company Lee Gold... where is the best known good price place in the country?
r
nick
rogerdodger wrote:
i didnt know about that dispute... bummer
i live in slummies (east london), we have quite a jacked company Lee Gold... where is the best known good price place in the country?
r
ah cool, Im from el too, have fond memories of oggling everything in lee gold, they usually have quite a decent selection.
what sort of music are you wanting to play? what artists do you like etc? that'll help us guage the sound you want to achieve
Martyr
where is the best known good price place in the country?
for second hand stuff try www.gumtree.co.za
also try
www.muz.co.za
www.soundz.co.za
www.soundtrader.co.za
www.marshallmusic.co.za
If you ever come into PE(i'm in PE) try Musikland or Tempo Musik...if you find the guitar you want you can play their prices against 'em and one of 'em will lower their price...oh and it helps that they basically across the road from each other ? there's also 2 other stores music alive and music box,music alive is down the road from 'em both and music box is near the cricket stadium...
rogerdodger
ive been doing a lot of reading on forums, articles etc and have basically confused the heck out of myself...
Some guys seem to think that humbuckers are exclusively for distortion, heavy rock and that they solo poorly. other guys say thats rubbish and say that hbuckers can solo the same if not better than single coil and that the sustain is determined by the body, not the pickup...
this is complicated stuff...
I think Im leaning toward an epiphone, even though I'd prefer a stratt because all my friends have epiphones...
Martyr
(IMO) humbuckers are way better than single coils...but if you gonna go with humbuckers(if you keeping the original epiphone humbuckers then ignore this ?) you need to choose between passive and active,the difference: active pick ups use batteries to boost their tone and are for higher gain and passive,well don't have batteries ?
there are other articles on the forum about the difference between passive and active(i'm honestly no expert at this,i know minimum)
which epiphone are you looking to get?(check www.epiphone.com for their models)
rogerdodger
wezz, have you got any idea what i'd pay for the 'Les Paul Custom'?
JoeyBones
My suggestion, buy a Strat and replace the pickups. I'm super impressed with the Bill Lawrence pickups in mine. Noiseless and very powerfull. Powerfull enough to compete favourably with most passive humbuckers. As long as you are comfortable with the strats slim body, it's a good option.
glug
rogerdodger wrote:
wezz, have you got any idea what i'd pay for the 'Les Paul Custom'?
An Epiphone Les Paul Custom costs about R6000 bran new
EvertFC
Wezz wrote:
you can only get a second hand epiphone in SA because of the whole Gibson south africa dispute...but you could probably get a second hand one for that price...unless you wanna order from US...
Which dispute?
Martyr
i got mine for a steal (R3500,with flight case and cables),but you looking anywhere from R4000-R6000 for a custom...you can order from ebay and it'll work out to about R5000 with shipping,insurance,import duties,etc(if you buy from overseas,try get the guy to ship it as a present?)
i can't actually remember what the dispute was about,but gibson dropped the SA distributor for some reason and then a couple of months later they were available in SA(but a very short while) and now if music shops want to get epiphones or gibsons in they have to order 'em by the container full, which means that they will need to keep thousands of rands worth of slow moving guitars on hand which could be EXTREMELY risky... that's what i was told by a friend who sold epiphones and gibsons,don't know if that's all 100% correct maybe someone else knows?
so yeah,check out gumtree for epiphones or you gonna have to wait out this SHIT exchange rate(i have to do it aswell for pedals >☹) and order from the US...
warrenpridgeon
Mmmm
Fender vs Epiphone...Two VERY different horses ?
By "Fender" do you me FENDER or Squire "designed by fender"
I had a Squire strat and I now have a Epiphone les paul (still with standard pups...wana upgrade when I have some spare cash...but sadly motorbike tyres are pricey...hehehe)
I found the neck of the squire to be a bit thinner than the les paul...the paul is more comfy for me...also the les paul weighs more than the strat...I prefer the sound of the humbuckers over the single coils of the strat too...and the les paul is just plain rock 'n roll baby!!!
free2rhyme
For EvertFC
Gibson/epiphone wanted our local distributer to buy a lot more stock to sell in SA, somewhere in the millions per month. The distrib couldn't sell that many Gibsons per month and are to this day trying to negotiate a lower deal. In my opinion, we won't see Gibsons in SA for a while, no loss for me as I'm not a fan.
Okay back to topic, why not have the best of both worlds and go for a Fender Fat Strat, it has a humbucker in the bridge and 2 singles in middle and neck. Alternatively you can get humbuckers and wire them to split into single coils with the flick of a switch like Seymour Duncans. EMG pups can't do this.
The major difference is not only pups but wood, Epiphone are Mahogany bodies and Fender are generally Ash or Alder. Mahogany gives a warmer bassier tone while alder/ash gives a brighter tone, also Epiphone are set necks while most fenders are bolt on necks. Then its the bridges, Epiphone are fixed and Fender are Trems... there are a lot of factors to take into account since the difference between the 2 guitars is great.
Why limit yourself to Epiphone and Fender? You can pickup a PRS SE for the same price and trust me, it kills any Epiphone lp out there, plus a whole lot lighter plus its a Mahogany body.
You can't really argue with Fender quality and tone, maybe try a Mexican or Japanese model...cause in the end,
Fender Mexicans - made in Mexico by Mexicans
Fender USA - made in USA ...... by Mexicans
dont flame me :?
Vintage-Vibe
No dispute - currently there is NO importing agent for new Gibson/Epiphone stock - for now ... ?
WantzChas
Just a thought, why only Fender or Epiphone? Never thought about other brands like Ibanez?
