Excellent, comprehensive comparison. I bought the Epiphone version. I bought it when a retailer had them for $599. I prefer the color of the Gibson, but do like the color of the Epi. I'm on the fence regarding the conduit--I can take it or leave it, and understand why you like it. It's kind of disappointing that they didn't use Gibson branded or CTS pots, and a Switchcraft switch and output jack on the Epi. Overall, the Epiphone version, especially for the price that I paid for it, is a great value.
I got the Epiphone version and style-wise (no conduit, beautiful red color) I like it way more. It kind of is a poor's man EVH Shark ;) For me the big advantage is it is really lightweit; what is more, it has a great high fret access. Naturally Gibson is probably a better playing machine but price per quality ratio favors Epi. And as you noticed, this reddish fingerboard really goes well with the red finish. I generally don't like brown boards but this reddish brown just looks great on this one. The only cons are these front locking tuners (sometimes I have to use needles to get the strings out of them) and the "low quality chrome" bridge - my hands sweat a lot when playing and it shows on the bridge (oxidation?) - I suppose the best option for me is black hardware cause the black bridge in my Kramer 84 from 2015 or so still looks mint.
Thank you for this, my brother 👊
🤘🏻
I'm with you, I like the conduit better lol
@@JasonHook Makes sense 🤣
@@JasonHook then why is it gone on the epiphone?
Great detail. Thank you.
Excellent, comprehensive comparison. I bought the Epiphone version. I bought it when a retailer had them for $599. I prefer the color of the Gibson, but do like the color of the Epi. I'm on the fence regarding the conduit--I can take it or leave it, and understand why you like it. It's kind of disappointing that they didn't use Gibson branded or CTS pots, and a Switchcraft switch and output jack on the Epi. Overall, the Epiphone version, especially for the price that I paid for it, is a great value.
Yeah u got a great deal there, and the pots/switch are relatively easy and cheap to swap.
I got the Epiphone version and style-wise (no conduit, beautiful red color) I like it way more. It kind of is a poor's man EVH Shark ;) For me the big advantage is it is really lightweit; what is more, it has a great high fret access. Naturally Gibson is probably a better playing machine but price per quality ratio favors Epi. And as you noticed, this reddish fingerboard really goes well with the red finish. I generally don't like brown boards but this reddish brown just looks great on this one. The only cons are these front locking tuners (sometimes I have to use needles to get the strings out of them) and the "low quality chrome" bridge - my hands sweat a lot when playing and it shows on the bridge (oxidation?) - I suppose the best option for me is black hardware cause the black bridge in my Kramer 84 from 2015 or so still looks mint.
Black hardware will look great!