On the crossroad: Epi Tribute Plus or PRS SE Singlecut??

[skullboy]

I know, I know: another thread about Epi versus... Sorry, but I've been reading, listening and assimilating a lot of information about economic Les Paul type guitars and I've ended with these two as possible choices: the Epiphone Les Paul Tribute Plus and the PRS SE Singlecut.

Epi pros:
- those CLASSIC 57's !!!!!!!! Wow !
- Good Grover locking tuners
- Nice top and finish (yeah, I know it's veneer over a normal piece of maple but soundwise that's not important)
- Good electronics: good pots and Mallory caps

Epi cons:
- what about the bridge? I've read that it's not amazing. Good enough?
- The nut: I suppose it's plastic.
- Body and neck wood: one of those "asian mahogany" species. Is that bad for guitar tone? Is the neck going to bend after some years?
- Some fret buzz is highlighted in some reviews


PRS pros:
- Everybody says it's very well built and finished, no flaws, good fretwork
- Graphite nut
- Good woods (maple veneer top, too)
- Very comfortable to play

PRS cons:
- Generic tuners. Not bad, but generic
- G&B korean pickups. Again, not bad, but Gibby Classic 57 are way better

Opinions? Which way is going to be better?

Thanks!

 

[KrymsinViking]

Sounds pretty simple to me, get the single cut and upgrade it with 57 classics, and new tuners. It's easy to upgrade all of that stuff, but not so much the wood and shape.

 

[Bubbletonic]

The difference between those two guitars - for me, is the scale difference. The PRS has a longer scale length. I play different on Fenders, then different again on PRS when compared to a Gibson/Epiphone shorter scale. I personally prefer the shorter Gibson/Epiphone scale length and so between a normal PRS single cut and a Epi tribute, I'd go with the Epi...... but I'd take the SE over an Epiphone Standard..... and I'd take an SE Bernie Marsden over all. The PRS SE Bernie Marsden has a Gibson/Epiphone scale length, SE fit and finish, bird inlays and a bound board.

 

[SJM]

There was nothing wrong with nut, bridge or the woods in my Tribute Plus and it's an incredible sounding guitar. Here's the two guitars I have with Gibson 57 Classics. They only sound slightly different from one another but neither better nor worse.

I've never owned a PRS SE so I have no opinion. If you buy one and add Gibson 57 Classic P/U's and new tuners, how much money do you suppose you will have invested. You should be able to score a Tribute Plus for $510. The 15% coupons are nearly always available.

 

[paruwi]

I know, I know: another thread about Epi versus... Sorry, but I've been reading, listening and assimilating a lot of information about economic Les Paul type guitars and I've ended with these two as possible choices: the Epiphone Les Paul Tribute Plus and the PRS SE Singlecut.

Epi pros:
- those CLASSIC 57's !!!!!!!! Wow !
- Good Grover locking tuners
- Nice top and finish (yeah, I know it's veneer over a normal piece of maple but soundwise that's not important)
- Good electronics: good pots and Mallory caps

Epi cons:
- what about the bridge? I've read that it's not amazing. Good enough?
- The nut: I suppose it's plastic.
- Body and neck wood: one of those "asian mahogany" species. Is that bad for guitar tone? Is the neck going to bend after some years?
- Some fret buzz is highlighted in some reviews


PRS pros:
- Everybody says it's very well built and finished, no flaws, good fretwork
- Graphite nut
- Good woods (maple veneer top, too)
- Very comfortable to play

PRS cons:
- Generic tuners. Not bad, but generic
- G&B korean pickups. Again, not bad, but Gibby Classic 57 are way better

Opinions? Which way is going to be better?

Thanks!

Where do you think PRS gets his woods

Happy intonating the PRS

Epi comes with hardcase

and Welcome here

 

[Dr. Pain]

I don't understand why the wood would be a con. I have 3 guitars and a bass made from Asian mahogany and I can't find any fault with it. One of which is a tribute plus and it sounds awesome. There's also no issues with the bridge on the tribute plus as it is as good as any of the bridges on my ESP Ltd's. Mine did have some buzz so I lifted the bridge a little but again it's no different to my other guitars when I got them. A lot of faults mentioned here (the website) about tribute plus is nitpicking. You don't go buy a Corvette and expect a Ferrari 458. It's the same with the tribute plus. But what it is, it's awesome! All I've done to mine is change strings and lift the bridge slightly. It's tuning is the most stable I have. Make's me smile every time I play it. Porn for your ears.

 

[Hack]

From what you listed alone, the Epi.

From what I know of my 23 year old Epi... Then neck is perfect, still.

Both the Epis I own have really good acoustic tone. (suprisingly bright and loud actually)

 

[skullboy]

Thanks for your wellcome and thanks for the answers!
Seems that Epi is a good choice (not that the PRS is a bad one, only diferent). The "cons" I've stated are things I've picked from other forums, specially here in Spain where I live (no, I can't use any 15% coupons. Sorry, hehehe). I'm in two spanish forums: one strongly biased towards Gibson/against Epi and the other one just in the opposite way.
While I count my cash I will think about your tips and opinions. Oh, internet is hell: another contendent has appear. A Gibson Melody Maker with two P90 for 398€ (518 US dollars). Would it worth the price? I like P90 sound too...

 

[Barcham]

If a Melody Maker was $200 I still wouldn't buy one.

 

[paruwi]

Thanks for your wellcome and thanks for the answers!
Seems that Epi is a good choice (not that the PRS is a bad one, only diferent). The "cons" I've stated are things I've picked from other forums, specially here in Spain where I live (no, I can't use any 15% coupons. Sorry, hehehe). I'm in two spanish forums: one strongly biased towards Gibson/against Epi and the other one just in the opposite way.
While I count my cash I will think about your tips and opinions. Oh, internet is hell: another contendent has appear. A Gibson Melody Maker with two P90 for 398€ (518 US dollars). Would it worth the price? I like P90 sound too...

All the 'lower price' Gibsons I held in my hands had sharp fretends,
and it was more than 10 - including the 398€ Melodymaker at Thomann

The 88€ Epi SG Special I bought for my daughter has better fretends....

 

[skullboy]

Mmmm, that's something a lot of people say. But how about the sound? Fretends can be filed.

 

[paruwi]

Mmmm, that's something a lot of people say. But how about the sound? Fretends can be filed.

I didn't play it through an amp........

I had not to file any fretends on any of my guitars - and I will never buy a guitar which needs this work....regardless what the price is

 

[skullboy]

That's a good point of view: if you buy something, it has to do its job from the start! And the Epi has a killer look, that's for sure. Good looks, good sound (with those Classics who can expect a bad sound?). I'm almost sold...

 

[Yehoo]

Guess you'd have a lot of music stores where you live...
Always base your research on two things
- Budget
- the kind of music you play.

Since you like how the P90 and the 57 classics sound, I guess you're more into Blues and Rock'n'Roll stuff...

Personally I've no idea how much that PRS model costs, so I'm not gonna talk about budget... BUT, if your budget is around 700-800€ you should be looking for an Epiphone LP Elite...

From what I've heard, PRS make really some incredible guitars, even better than the late Gibson LP (that's what everybody in the Gibson forum have been complaining about...).

For Epiphone, and for 500€, the Tribute Plus is the must buy. A hell of a guitar for the money. Comes with a hardcase, strap-locks... Grover tuners and those lovely Gibson 57' Classic and Classic Plus.

I admit, mine came with kinda broken bridge. But I really didn't care... You can get, if it comes with bad one, a really good Gotoh for 20€. Not a big deal.

However, it's all about what you'll love the most of these two. The LP won't feel like the PRS and they won't sound similar. You need to go try some models and see which suits you best.

For Gibson, I'd never buy any Low-end crap like Melody Maker, Junior or even the 60s and 70s Tribute ones. Gibson never pays attention to those and they come in ver bad conditions as Paruwi said.
Even nowadays the Gibson Standard don't seem THAT good... So yeah, it's a waste of money IMO.

You are the one to decide, we only advice and give our opinions on what we buy.

 

[nitrodc]

Where do you think PRS gets his woods

Happy intonating the PRS

Epi comes with hardcase

and Welcome here

Intonation on my SE is spot-on (wraparound bridge). I have no idea what you're talking about. Took me ~2 minutes. Intonation on my Epi Standard was a pain with its weird backwards screws.

As for choosing between the Epi and the PRS -- go play them both (if you can). Only you can decide because electronics are upgradable. The PRS may be more expensive if you are planning on buying Gibson 57's for it (there are better pickups for that money tbh). If you're going to be upgrading both of them either way, then all you have to consider is playability and feel. I switched an Epi Standard+ for my PRS because I felt more comfortable with the PRS's Wide-Fat neck (I have big hands) and loved everything about it. My Epi was a great guitar, but the fret job wasn't as good as the PRS's and they started to wear down within a few days of ownership, the strings cut sharp grooves in the frets. I suppose the Epi had bad fret wire. I also didn't like the bridge pickup.

But since you are considering a Tribute+, that should leave a better impression than the Standard+ I had. So really, it comes down to you and what you want. Everyone's opinion of tone and feel is completely different, so basing your choice on the replies of a few forum members is NOT a good idea. Otherwise we'd all be playing the same thing.

 

[Tanqueray]

Play em both and decide which you like more. That's the best way to buy a guitar imho.

 

[skullboy]

I know I have to feel them both to decide, but I think it's useful to have some experienced opinions. Epis are easily available here to give one a try, and there's a store that carries PRS.
Thank you a lot lot lot for your advice!!

 

[nitrodc]

If you're unable to find the PRS you're looking for in your nearby stores, I'll just try and compare my Epi Std+ with my SE. I know it's a Standard and not a Tribute, but the feel and form should be the same.

I found the PRS a bit "rounder". In all aspects. The fretboard seems to have more curve (radius?) where the Epi had a flatter fretboard. The Epi neck was narrower than my SE's "wide-fat" neck, but the thickness was relatively the same. The neck on the PRS somehow felt noticeably longer, although it isn't that much longer in reality. Upper fret access is also a little easier on the PRS since it has the diagonal cutout. That's kind of important if you're going to be playing there often.
The body is also rounder on the PRS. It has a "belly cut" and smoother corners, where the Epi might dig into your arm a bit if you play sitting down.

Weight-wise, the two were nearly the same. The Epi might have been a bit heavier.

I liked the tuners on the Epi more (both in design and stability). They were Grovers. The ones on my PRS, I have no idea what brand they are but they're alright. The Epi held tune better.

That's about all I can think of in terms of build (apart from bad fret wire on the Epi -- but that doesn't seem to be a common problem from what I've read). I will say that the build quality on both guitars was great, but the PRS was better -- just for the fret job. There was a spot on the Epi where the frets were noticeably un-level in the 20th-22nd fret area. Otherwise it was just as well made as my PRS.

 

[needlespauls]

Ey, you gotta play em all. While I've played some great sounding regular Epiphones and Epiphone Elitists, some of the faded Gibson guitars that I've played we're so nice and open sounding, we're incredibly resonant, just incredibly expressive. Yes, including Juniors and Melody Makers. Yes the cheap finish brings the cost down, but those guitars can sound great!!!
The PRS SE like is fantastic, totally different guitar though.

 

[needlespauls]

245 SE would be most comparable