Buying Epiphone Les Paul Standard: The China vs Korea manufacture.

[hedzeppelin]

Originally Posted by overdriver

Ya it is subjective, and ever guitar is different some what ,same models are in the ball park so to speak but all a little different. B. Gibbon has been saying that for decades still has not found a LP that sounds as good to him as his pearly does, and he has a wack of vintage Lps. All good hed !, rock on!

Same to you, overdriver! Yep, guitars are all different. They vary even within the same model. That's why I always try 'em before I buy 'em.

[brettk7]

Any of you guys pick up the issue of Guitar Legends with Billy on the cover? Definitely a great read, that man has some awesome stories to tell!

[overdriver]

Originally Posted by brettk7

Any of you guys pick up the issue of Guitar Legends with Billy on the cover? Definitely a great read, that man has some awesome stories to tell!

I flipped through it while I was waiting for someone , can not seem to put out the money for guitar Mags anymore. Nice read as you say.

[brettk7]

Originally Posted by overdriver

I flipped through it while I was waiting for someone , can not seem to put out the money for guitar Mags anymore. Nice read as you say.

Yeah man, after reading that... I have came to the conclusion that he is the ultimate Les Paul fan. I'm sure there is some estranged player that don't flaunt his collection but damn, I would kill for a collection like his!


I think we need a Billy icon... It could just be a normal icon with a huge ass beard lol

[overdriver]

Originally Posted by brettk7

Yeah man, after reading that... I have came to the conclusion that he is the ultimate Les Paul fan. I'm sure there is some estranged player that don't flaunt his collection but damn, I would kill for a collection like his!


I think we need a Billy icon... It could just be a normal icon with a huge ass beard lol

Ya whats with the Slash Icon anyhow A Billy B. one would be nice.
I read years ago about Billy looking for another guitar he liked as much as his Pearly I guess it was around the time he had Seymour Duncan try his hand at recreating the pups , oh ,still no go, the pups that is. Kind of makes me snicker when I read all the stuff about THE LP SOUND is that !really is it Slash with Duncans, P. Green with tricked out neck pup & wiring, E.C. in the Bules Breaker days. J. Walsh in the James Gang days. J. Page ,P. Frampton...........
Well its all that; they ( guitars), all sound different.and the guy running them make them all sound different, the way it should be is it not!?

[brettk7]

Originally Posted by overdriver

Ya whats with the Slash Icon anyhow A Billy B. one would be nice.
I read years ago about Billy looking for another guitar he liked as much as his Pearly I guess it was around the time he had Seymour Duncan try his hand at recreating the pups , oh ,still no go, the pups that is. Kind of makes me snicker when I read all the stuff about THE LP SOUND is that !really is it Slash with Duncans, P. Green with tricked out neck pup & wiring, E.C. in the Bules Breaker days. J. Walsh in the James Gang days. J. Page ,P. Frampton...........
Well its all that; they ( guitars), all sound different.and the guy running them make them all sound different, the way it should be is it not!?

Yeah man, I think I am gonna have to set-up a poll and see if we cant get the rest of the board to speak up on a Billy Gibbons icon haha.

But yeah, I completely agree with you. Seymour Duncan should know that they can't just perfectly replicate a guitars sound JUST with a pick-up! Who do they think they are? GOD!? haha

On second thought, I guess it is possible. But not to a T like Pearly's sound haha

[Big_dawg]

back on track, Ive got a new Chinese EPi Custom, but I have 2 problems that maybe you guys dont, Im in the UK, which means having to wait a long time sometimes and Im left handed which means I cant go into most shops and try a bunch of guitars, normally I have to mail order and pray what I get is good.

Fortunately the Custom out of the box (after tuning and minor set up) is great, in fact Ive actually played a Gibson that wasnt this good but was 5 times the price. Ive not had the oportunity to play a LH korean, but looking around some ofthe shops that have RH ones and talking to people that own them I cant see or here any difference.

Re the PUP changes if you dont like the sound change them but dont just right them off cos theyre standard equip. mine sound great but after modding my other LP this will be due a PUP cos I'll be after a total change of sound.

[Luciano90]

Buyed the Les Paul Standard a couple of hours ago - I love it.

I went into various guitar stores, and found one that had the Wine Red one, tried it, it sounded great, and I buyed it, here is a pic:



I wanted this color and only 1 store had it, and it was in the box. I'm really statisfied with the guitar, gotta keep practicing and learning now =).

Thanks for all the replys.

PS: It's from China, I didn't found any used one from Korean in good shape, only a Gold Top 56, but I really hate the gold top color is just too artificial...

[Curtis_Louis]

Luciano90, I was talking about string height, pickup adjustments and owner preferred strings etc. Stuff that gets done once you bring the guitar home.

[InTheEvening]

Very nice Les Pauls, the wine red is a nice color for the Epiphone.
Have you had the chance to plug it in to an amp?

[Luciano90]

Originally Posted by InTheEvening

Very nice Les Pauls, the wine red is a nice color for the Epiphone.
Have you had the chance to plug it in to an amp?

Yes... but now I gotta buy a new one, I have a Peavy Blazer 158, is like, too much guitar for the amp xD.

[coldsteal2]

Originally Posted by Luciano90

Buyed the Les Paul Standard a couple of hours ago - I love it.

I went into various guitar stores, and found one that had the Wine Red one, tried it, it sounded great, and I buyed it, here is a pic:


I wanted this color and only 1 store had it, and it was in the box. I'm really statisfied with the guitar, gotta keep practicing and learning now =).

Thanks for all the replys.

PS: It's from China, I didn't found any used one from Korean in good shape, only a Gold Top 56, but I really hate the gold top color is just too artificial...

Beautiful guitar!! i guess we can call you Lucky Luciano now

[overdriver]

Originally Posted by coldsteal2

Beautiful guitar!! i guess we can call you Lucky Luciano now

LOL cold your BAD! yes very nice guitar Luciano ! Did you make them an offer they could not refuse. Just a joke guy , happy playing

[overdriver]

Originally Posted by brettk7

Yeah man, I think I am gonna have to set-up a poll and see if we cant get the rest of the board to speak up on a Billy Gibbons icon haha.

But yeah, I completely agree with you. Seymour Duncan should know that they can't just perfectly replicate a guitars sound JUST with a pick-up! Who do they think they are? GOD!? haha

On second thought, I guess it is possible. But not to a T like Pearly's sound haha

If seymour had done it for him I do not think Billy would still be looking maybe it a personal thing with him wants to find another stock one thats as good to him. he has means to do so and it seems like traveling the world looking is fun for him. Why not Eh!

[coldsteal2]

Originally Posted by overdriver

LOL cold your BAD! yes very nice guitar Luciano ! Did you make them an offer they could not refuse. Just a joke guy , happy playing

I couldnt resist, just made that way

(besides we all love the Mob in the US )

[overdriver]

Originally Posted by coldsteal2

I couldnt resist, just made that way

(besides we all love the Mob in the US )

Ya there is a rumor that they do have branches in Canada as well. Not that I would know anything about such things.

[coldsteal2]

Got um here in Northern California to

The Mob is Rock Band freindly hahah

[Krister Karlsson]

I have a chinese one and I think it is a really decent guitar. It is not the same standard as my Gibson Les Paul but it is not that far off actually.

[spitfirem1]

I got an Epi LP studio in yesterday. It's Chinese, and other than action being a bit high at the nut it came well set-up - needed no truss or intonation adjustments. Quality looks good and the guitar plays as nicely as I can manage. It's probably coated in lead and dead kittens, but it works pretty well.

By the way, Wikipedia has a list of serial numbers corresponding to place of manufacture as well. For the previous poster, SI = manufactured by Samick in Indonesia.

[Mikeeeeh]

Congratulations on your new LP Luciano... shes looks a beauty!! Play hard!

[dimas_wali]

Ok Mr. luciano..
i would prefer korea than china.the good side of MIK,
they have a good mahogany,the chinese haven't.
MIC doesn't think the finishing parts,but korea does.
or you've got a indonesia's?hehehe..
soon i'll get the picture..

[gordon]

i just get a new les paul standard plus top from china 1 .., but what is the different with les paul standard plus top with les paul standard ?

[KY_GuitarMan]

Chinese Epi's rock. Gibson's Qingdao, China plant makes only Epi's. Samick in Korea makes everything for everyone. Jack of all trades, master of none. Hopefully by now you've already had yours for over a year. Rock on.

[matthornet]

Originally Posted by lp59aholicDon

Many CHinese products are made in prison labor camps with less than decent materials, I would say try and wait till you have the money and search out a Korean

If this was true for Epiphone then it would be the americans who built those prisons & forced them into labor because Gibson built their very own plant in Qingdao, China dedicated to making Epiphones.
No offense on nationalities here just a piece of mind.

I own a 2007 MIC model too & its built and playability is remarkably better than some other MIK I've played. Not what I expected at first. There are badly made ones made from Unsung China I've played but Qingdao ones are pretty solid. Stock pups can be better but still acceptable.

[Fuelish]

Originally Posted by gordon

i just get a new les paul standard plus top from china 1 .., but what is the different with les paul standard plus top with les paul standard ?

Plain-top Standard is just that - a plain maple veneer. The Plus-top Std has a "flame" maple veneer - "stripes" of sorts running across the body (and strangely 3 dimensional when changing the viewing angle, especially in good light....I love my + )

[The_Sentry]

Originally Posted by Luciano90

Hi there mylespaul community. I was wondering, I'm going to buy a Epiphone Les Paul Standard. But, I was told the ones from China aren't good as the ones from Korea. My problem is that, I'm from Argentina, and here is impossible (really) to find one from USA, so, the new ones are only from China. So, I can buy a new one from China, but I was told that wood is worst than the one's from Korea, and that the Koreans are good overall the Chinese ones. So, is it true that the Chinese one's are so bad?, What should I do?, do I really have to purchase one from Korea?, in this case I would have to buy a used one, but this is a problem because I can't use credit card, and I don't have all the money right now.

So, can anyone help me out to decide?, thanks.

OP, my advice to you is this:

Be it an Epiphone or otherwise, your best option is to find something local, try it out, and if you like it, put it on layaway. I for one would be a fool to "guarantee" you a great guitar from either China or Korea sight unseen, and never played.

Just an opinion....

[jbzoso2002]

ive owned both. the mik one was a damn nice guitar.
but it hade neck issues and needed a set up right away.
the mic 1 i have now i played for 3+ yrs before i had a
set up done. the mik was from 01 & the mic is from 11/04.
the china one i have after mods beat a new gibson traditional
like a drum.

jimmy

[purevilpleasure]

This thread is well over a year old, how did this resurface? And the OP hasn't logged in since Dec of 07.

[Damien 6ix]

The Korean made, IMHO, seem to have a "thicker" tone and feel better in hand just based on what I own, not what I've tried, since no guitar outta the box ever felt right to me. And playing for 10 minutes isn't enought to judje a piece. It is true that more recent Chinese pieces seem to have improved. But just by aknowledging the fact that Korea is economically way superior to China, meaning higher wages etc, tells you a little bit more about quality. Epi's principal market is those on a budget who want a Les Paul but cannot afford a Gibson. It's all about value, not quality. Not that they voluntary produce crap or anything, but they know their main target aren't after the best tone they can get, but rather the best thing 500$ will get them. I might be wrong but unlike it used to be in the 80's, if I see "made in Korea" today in any item, I'll go for that rather than any "made in china". Anyone has any idea what the actual cost is for an Epi? I mean who truely believes that Epis were moved to China in order to improve QC rather than to lower production cost?
I think that if you're happy with your Epi regardless of where it was manufactured then rock on...

[The Beatles Sound]

my vote for MIK