Friday, August 14, 2009

Why To Buy A Les Paul Epiphone

A musical legend has just died and with it, many rock, blues and jazz guitarists are crying in their beer today. Had it not been for this great man, bands like Led Zeppelin would have never existed. Heck, rock and roll as we know it would not have existed. Not only did he give us the electric guitar but multi track recording as well. But this article isn't about that. It's about why to buy a Les Paul Epiphone instead of one of his more expensive lines. This article will explain why an Epiphone is all you need.

At the top of the list for reasons to buy a Les Paul Epiphone instead of a classic or custom is because of how far the technology has come for actually putting these things together. Even the cheapest guitars made today sound a heck of a lot better than the ones from years ago. Sure, an Epiphone from 1976 probably wouldn't have a decent enough sound even for a garage band. But today, the sound itself is more than passable. In fact, it's quite good in my opinion.

If that reason alone doesn't keep you from shelling out big bucks on an expensive guitar, consider this. What are you actually using the guitar for? Sure, it's cool to be able to say you've got a $700 guitar, but do you really need it? Unless you're playing in a professional band that's going on tour, making records and banking millions a year, it's not going to be the make or break of your musical career. And even with that, given the sophistication of guitar processors today, even the cheapest guitar can be made to sound darn good.

What kind of a price difference are we really talking about though? Well, a Les Paul Epiphone Special II can be had for all of $170. That's less than I paid for my Squire Start, which trust me, doesn't sound as good, again, in my opinion. Compare that to a Gibson Les Paul Standard Plus at $2,699 or a just a Standard at $2,189 and you're talking about a huge difference in price. Again, you have to consider what you're using the guitar for and what you're budget is.

Bottom line is this. Unless you have a fanatical ear, you're not going to hear a significant difference between the two guitars, especially if you're an accomplished player, because in all honesty, I don't care how expensive the guitar is. You're only going to sound so good if you're a hack guitarist. That's another thing to consider. If you're only so good, a $2,600 guitar isn't going to make you sound like Jimmy Page.

So before you plunk down your hard earned cash on a two grand instrument, consider the Epiphone. Even the higher end Epiphones are only about $700...a far cry from close to three large ones.

To YOUR Musical Success,

Steven Wagenheim

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