Listen To These New 'Inspired By Gibson' Epiphones - Page 3

llew · #31 05-07-2021, 08:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by davenumber2

Music Villa did a comparison video of the J-45 model with a Gibson. While the Epi sounded like a nice guitar, the difference was apparent to me.

I haven't heard that MV video but the biggest deterrent to me with the Epi's is their narrow but width. Still...a very nice option especially at their price point?

davenumber2 · #32 05-07-2021, 08:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by llew

I haven't heard that MV video but the biggest deterrent to me with the Epi's is their narrow but width. Still...a very nice option especially at their price point?

https://youtu.be/x7W8HHZRIYI

Robin, Wales · #33 05-08-2021, 02:06 AM

I listened to the comparison videos posted in this thread on two different sets of headphones and can hear a significant difference between the Gibson and the Epiphone models. I would describe it as a "thicker" and more "alive" sound from the Gibson guitars.

I can't afford either brand but would certainly want the Gibsons in my hands out of the two. If they were both the same price guitars that I was trying out in a music store I am pretty sure that I'd be picking the Gibson over the Epiphone based on those sound comparison clips. But maybe it would be a different story with the guitars actually in my hands.

What would have impressed me was if the tone difference I am hearing in those videos was reversed and the Epiphone models sounded preferable to me. But I don't think Gibson would want their cheeper brand outperforming their bespoke one.

BoneDigger · #34 05-08-2021, 03:36 PM

Well, it just so happens that I had a chance to play a Gibson Hummingbird today, side by side with the new Epiphone Hummingbird. Both were nice guitars. I was in an acoustic room, all to myself. The Epiphone beat out the Gibson in this matchup. The Gibson was nice, really nice! But the Epiphone had a tone that I absolutely loved. I wish it had the wider nut like the Gibson, but when it came to fit and finish and tone, the Epiphone was the better guitar. Maybe it was just that guitar, but this Epi was awesome!

I now own it.

nitram · #35 05-08-2021, 03:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by davenumber2

Not saying they don’t sound good but JP has never met a brand he couldn’t promote. I don’t blame him for it but I take what he says about X brand with a grain of salt.

True that.

Johnkenn · #36 05-09-2021, 12:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by raysachs

So the guy doing the blindfold test picked all three of them right, with almost no hesitation. Suggests they’re plenty good guitars, but not to be confused with Gibsons. Makes me question the opinions in the OP video...

Yeah. That is a completely truthful video. I’ve played two of the epis - 200 and hummingbird. They really don’t sound much different from the laminated back and side versions of you ask me. Lack major bottom end. That dude op is a great player and can make anything sound great, but you can even hear it in that video. If he had the Gibson equivalents, it would be entirely obvious.

Mike McLenison · #37 05-09-2021, 12:58 AM

I like'm. Keep them on a stand close by.

Robin, Wales · #38 05-09-2021, 02:52 AM

I watched all the videos again and have changed my mind a little. I am growing to like the very slightly less bass heavy Epiphone "inspired by" sound. I would really have to play these guitars to make an informed decision. Anyway, there's no doubt that the Epiphone guitars are good in their own right.

I was struck by JP's narrative towards the end of his review about headstock name fixation clouding getting the right tool for the job at hand. I blindly bought a very cheap second hand guitar sight unseen off Ebay last autumn as an interim while taking time to find something "good". Yet when I look at my criteria list for "the one" (tone, playability, feel, specs, functionality for purpose etc) what I have ended up with, by chance, ticks all the boxes except for the name on the headstock. So it can't possibly be as good a fit for me as a better guitar - or can it? Anyway, I'll keep looking but perhaps with not so much urgency.

I would still like to see an LG-2 version by Epiphone (but please with the 1.72" nut!)

ruger9 · #39 05-09-2021, 06:50 AM

If they do an LG-2, I'm in. I don't do the bigger bodies anymore, since developing a right shoulder problem. My Farida OT-22 is awesome, it really is, I find it NOT lacking at all. But if Epi does an LG-2...

mrjop1975 · #40 05-09-2021, 08:14 AM

I had a chance to try the Epiphone Inspired by Gibson Hummingbird a few weeks back at the local music store. They didn't get have a regular Gibson Hummingbird to do a side by side test with but I will say, if I was in the market for a larger bodied guitar (I prefer 000 or 00 size) I would get it. I put it through my tests I do when I try a guitar in person - fingerpicking, back up strumming, cross picking, the Carter scratch etc. and it worked nice. In the end, it is what a guitar does what you want it to do,not the name on the head stock IMO.

Goat Mick · #41 05-09-2021, 09:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ruger9

If they do an LG-2, I'm in. I don't do the bigger bodies anymore, since developing a right shoulder problem. My Farida OT-22 is awesome, it really is, I find it NOT lacking at all. But if Epi does an LG-2...

I love my OT-22w as well. It’s a great sounding guitar with a lot of Gibson vibe. It just lacks that dry Gibson bite that I love so much.

Mark Stone · #42 05-09-2021, 10:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brucebubs

I own a 2012 Epiphone EJ-200 that was also made in Indonesia.
Absolutely nothing wrong with the build quality, plays like a dream however every specification upgrade in this new 'Inspired by Gibson' series is a big positive step acoustic-wise.

From laminates to all sold woods.
From plastic nut & saddle to bone.
From thick poly finish to thin.

Visually there's the new smaller headstock, keystone tuners, different rosette and extra color added to the pickguard design.

And no more 'barn-door' pick-up controls.

This is really good to hear. In the past decade or two I've used two Epiphone EJ-200s (both Samick) and they were very, very strong stage instruments. To read about these improvements is very nice.

EllenGtrGrl · #43 05-09-2021, 10:38 AM

I've had one of the Inspired by Gibson J-45s for the past month and a half or so. How I got it is a little atypical.

While I have been concentrating lately on smaller bodied guitars (my Eastman OM-sized E8OM is my baby) for 6-string acoustics (my 12-string is a Yamaha LL16-12 slope shoulder dreadnought), for a change of pace from the typical dreadnought tone I've had for most of the time I've been playing (a little over 42 years), I still like to have a 6-string 'dread around, for when the hankering to have those 'dread tones to play certain songs, strikes me. My Taylor AD27 (along with my 150e 12-string) went bye-bye due to the realization that their necks were too thin comfort-wise for me. I've spent a fair amount on guitars over the past year, so after getting my Eastman and ordering my Yamaha 12-string, I decided that I wasn't going to spend a bundle for a 6-string dreadnought. I'd keep an eye out for one that was reasonably priced - but by the same token, wasn't a piece of firewood.

I have a soft spot for Gibsons, having had a couple of J-35 reissues (that I should have held onto), and like the growl that Gibsons have, compared to Martins (besides, I can't stand the thin necks Martins have). One day a several weeks ago, out of boredom, I paid my favorite guitar shop (Cream City Music), a visit. I saw a natural finish Inspired by Gibson, Epiphone Hummingbird, in the acoustic guitar room. I usually prefer slope shouldered to square shouldered dreadnoughts, and I've always considered Epiphone acoustics (even the Masterbuilt series guitars) to be "blah" at best, but a coworker of mine played an Epi Hummingbird, that sounded OK, so I decided to take it for a spin. I was surprised. It sounded pretty good - almost on a par with the Taylor AD27 I'd gotten rid of a month earlier, and while the neck wasn't as chunky as the necks on my old Gibson J-35s, it had enough heft to be decently comfortable for me. Still, I was hesitant to throw down $700 for it (due to the upper bout shoulders - they're more square than a Martin's IMO!), so I decided to think about it first, before I laid down my money. Three days later, I decided to buy the Epi Inspired by Gibson Hummingbird, and I went back to the guitar shop to seal the deal, only to find that it was gone.

A couple of weeks later, I stopped off at the guitar shop, to see what the status was for my (at the time) "on order" Yamaha LL16-12. While I was there, I took a look in the acoustic guitar room. There weren't any Inspired by Gibson Hummingbirds, BUT there was an Inspired by Gibson J-45. As I mentioned earlier, I have a soft spot for slope shouldered Gibsons, having owned 3 of them (2, J-35 Reissues, and a J-15 [a nice guitar, but I just did not like its thin, Slim Taper profile neck]). So, I grabbed the Epi Inspired by Gibson J-45, and took it for a spin. Did it sound like my old J-35s, J-15, or the 50s spec J-50 I tried out in 2020, that I would have bought it I had the money for? No, not quite, but it sounded good - definitely in the ballpark, and I realized that with time, as the guitar aged, and was played in, it would only sound better. The neck had the same kind of heft as the Hummingbird I tried out, and as for its neck width at the nut "only" being 1.690" wide vs 1.720" wide for the Gibson versions, that was no big deal for me. I don't like overly narrow necks, but neck thickness is more important to me comfort-wise - if it weren't, then I would not have gotten rid of the Martin DSS-17 I had, which had a 1.75" wide neck, but Martins overly thin (to me) Modified Low Oval neck profile.

To make sure I wasn't making an impulse buy (along with the fact that I didn't have funds with me at the time), I decided, to call it a day, and think about it. The next day, I told myself, that the chances were good, the Epi Inspired by Gibson J-45, would end up being sold in short order, like the Inspired by Gibson Hummingbird was, and I'd kick myself for not buying it, so I bought the Inspired by Gibson J-45. I'm glad I did. It's been a nice guitar, that has more than satisfied my urges for some 'dread tone, when the hankering hits me for it.

My Epiphone Inspired by Gibson J-45

catdaddy · #44 05-09-2021, 10:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BoneDigger

Well, it just so happens that I had a chance to play a Gibson Hummingbird today, side by side with the new Epiphone Hummingbird. Both were nice guitars. I was in an acoustic room, all to myself. The Epiphone beat out the Gibson in this matchup. The Gibson was nice, really nice! But the Epiphone had a tone that I absolutely loved. I wish it had the wider nut like the Gibson, but when it came to fit and finish and tone, the Epiphone was the better guitar. Maybe it was just that guitar, but this Epi was awesome!

I now own it.

Congrats on your new Hummingbird!

I had an opportunity to play one of the new Epiphone Hummingbirds a couple of weeks ago at a local GC. It was a really nice guitar in every detail. I was able to compare that guitar to a Gibson J-45 Standard which they had, and I actually preferred the Epi Hummingbird. They didn't have a Gibson Hummingbird there to compare it to, but I own a 1970 Gibson Hummingbird and the Epi showed me that it has a lot of shared DNA with my 'bird.

Dru Edwards · #45 05-09-2021, 10:54 AM

JP Cormier makes every guitar he plays sound amazing. I'm subscribed to his YouTube channel.

I'm looking forward to trying some o the Inspired by Gibson Epis but my gut tells me they'll be hit or miss like many other Epis I played before. Hopefully I'm wrong as the posts in this thread are optimistic.