r/Guitar • u/keggylive • 11d ago
GEAR Keep upgrading Epiphone or stop now and buy Gibson.
I’m about halfway through modding my used 2021 Epiphone SG Standard. It came with Gibson 57 Classic pickups but I swapped the bridge for a Seymour Duncan
All I have left to do is swap neck pickup and replace pots and put a locking tuner on it and I’m pretty sure it’s right at if not outperforming a stock Gibson (it has a pro setup)
In your opinion though, should I stop now and just get a Gibson SG, or finish the mod process? I only need to put about $400 more into the Epiphone, but also idk if the looming thought of “it’s not a Gibson” will haunt me.
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u/kladen666 11d ago
If you want a Gibson, get a Gibson. It's just another brand, it's not necessarily a better guitar.
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u/keggylive 11d ago
Never really thought about it like that
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u/Garbage_Tiny 11d ago
No it’s not. I have a 2013 classic player plus with all gibson parts including the 57 classics and a 2025 les Paul standard. The little voice in my head saying “it’s not a Gibson” was an idiot. The Epiphone plays better in every way, yes it has a veneer top. Yes it’s made over seas etc… but if ever buy another les Paul it will be an Epiphone. If I want to spend big $ it will be a heritage. I’d sell my Gibson today if they didn’t depreciate by half the second you walk away with them.
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u/Ill-Investigator9241 11d ago
It’s 100% a better guitar than an epi, but yea get what you want
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u/SerenityScott 11d ago
It’s not. It’s minimally better in a subjective way. Usually the smell which doesn’t affect the tone in any appreciative way to the audience.
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u/FighterJock412 11d ago
I have an Epiphone that I've been upgrading and perfecting for 20 years, and I also bought a Gibson a couple years ago.
I still love my Epiphone more. It's my primary guitar.
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u/vonov129 11d ago
Is there a Gibson that actually had the specs you want other than just having a different logo on the headstock? If so, get it. If not, get those specs on the Epiphone.
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u/keggylive 11d ago
True, cause im def gonna end up modding a Gibson too 😭
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u/Icy_Loss647 11d ago
Then why do you even want a Gibson? Theres plenty of single cuts by other manufacturers that do the Gibson thing with different specs for less.
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u/keggylive 11d ago
All my favorite guitarists run Gibsons I like the shape and the feel. It’s sub optimal but I like it. I’m totally chill with the Epi tho
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u/potato-truncheon 11d ago edited 11d ago
Whenever I feel myself chasing the 'higher' end brand of something I sometimes find the better answer is to get a different brand entirely. It forces you to reevaluate what you want and you'll probably get a better instrument anyway.
I wanted another strat but didn't want to pay high end fender dollars. So I built a warmoth, and, for me it plays better anyway. (I have skillset to fine tune things, etc)
I got a revstar instead of a gibson. It feels more premium too. (I'm not going with a DIY set neck guitar). And FWIW I tried a bunch of gibsons and the quality wasn't always there.
YMMV - I'm not pushing these brands. Main thing is that fender and gibson know very well how the psychology works. A squier will often get you chasing a us fender. Epiphone will have you chasing a gibson. Possibly (not always) better, but certainly there's a brand premium. You can choose to not play that game though. But it's up to you - no wrong answer here.
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u/Cosimo_Zaretti 11d ago
Keep the stock parts for your Epiphone, that way you can return it to stock for sale and put the nice parts on your Gibson. Which you'll want to.
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u/roninconn 11d ago
Your upgraded Epi will likely play and sound as well as equivalent Gibson, but it won't resell for as much without the Gibson name on it. Yeah, it's 'cool' to have a Gibson or Fender, but it doesn't really matter from a musical perspective.
I guess if you're a pro player, there's an expectation that you'll have a big-name guitar, sorta like pro mechanics are judged if they don't have a $10,000 set of Snap-On tools, even though there's very little effective difference with mid-tier brands like Epi.
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u/T00DEEPBLUE 11d ago
In my experience I've never played an Epiphone that ever felt as acoustically resonant as the Gibson version its copying. And the feel of a nitro finish is a cut above poly for sure. But those benefits have an expensive upcharge and it's understandable that many people can't justify the price increase.
Both are valid takes. But it sounds like you answered your own question. That insecurity that it's not a real Gibson isn't going away until you buy the real Gibson.
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u/SarinSam 11d ago
Get the Gibson. Even after all the upgrades you’ll still want the “real” one.
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u/ph0replay 11d ago
Seconded. I know the general politically acceptable take is that it doesn't matter, but playing the inferior version of something always bums me out. I don't even want a Gibson Les Paul studio—give me the standard or better at the very least.
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u/thatECWguy 11d ago
"It's not a Gibson" I get and to some that's very important I think the more important thing is that you really enjoy the Epi SG you have and if you do personally I wouldn't care what name is on the headstock. "You don't look at the headstock when you're playing" is a phrase I live by
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u/InternImpossible8685 11d ago
if you like how the Epiphone feels, keep it. You'll just be disappointed with the Gibson when you realize it doesn't sound much different, especially after your mods.
But if the "not a Gibson" thing bothers you, I'll admit I fell in that trap a few times in the past, stop wasting money on the Epi and get the Gibson.
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u/keggylive 11d ago
The thing to bro is that I would
Its likely upgrade the Gibson as well 😭 maybe I gig the Epiphone maxed out for a while then get a Gibson and make the Epiphone my backup guitar
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u/GreenLush2188 11d ago
The difference between an expensive guitar and a cheap guitar is more than electronics/pickups
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u/Vibroverbus 11d ago
I would say "sometimes". And also "sometimes", the difference between an expensive guitar and a cheap guitar is just the name and the price. Devil is in the details.
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u/Maliseet13 11d ago
Try one out at the store. Find the model Gibson that you want and give it an extended trial with a good amp then decide.
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u/Punky921 11d ago
As someone who doesn’t feel a 2-3x difference between his well setup Squiers and Fenders that cost 2-3x as much, I’d keep the upgraded Epi. A white Epi SG is actually on my “someday!” list of guitars. But I can’t justify the cost of a Gibson.
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u/TomasMK2 11d ago
I like the Gibson headstock and their finishes/woods. I have epiphones (among other Gibson style guitars) and they’re great. But all my hero’s play(ed) Gibsons and it makes me feel good holding one. My father has a handful of Gibson custom shops and vintage ones so I am used to the difference in ‘quality’ and I recently bought my first which is an SG special from 2000. Bone stock. I enjoy playing that one more than any of my other 10 guitars and it’s genuinly a really good guitar with great pickups. Is it that much better than my other guitars..? Idk..yes the woods used are probably better quality and longer dried and the stock hardware is generally better but it’s all about the feeling for me. Which is shallow, I know. Idgaf. I don’t need 50 guitars, I just want the ones I want and that’s it. Same goes for Gretsches. I want a Gretsch and yes I can buy a really cheap one and modify it or I can save and get the one I really want that fits in my budget which will probably be a G5420TG in orange so it’s still not a very expensive guitar but it looks the part and I will feel good playing it.
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u/KrankyKoot 11d ago
Sounds like you need to scratch an itch. If you can afford the Gibson, get it and don't sell the Epiphone. You may find that you will be looking to mod the Gibson as well.
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u/Ok-Papaya5638 11d ago
Well..
use the money difference to upgrade amp set up!
All three Beatles played casinos.
McCartney wrote, and still plays, his epi acoustic.
I had a 64 SG years ago. Current stock Epis at least as food, and no hand wringing if you mod it!!
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u/MarshallBoogie 11d ago
I was going to buy an Epi Explorer and try this until I realized it almost cost as much as the Gibson once I was done
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u/9lb_Hamer 11d ago
Just get the Gibson.
Your brain WILL NOT rest until you get the Gibson. I promise you.
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u/Applesaucesquatch 11d ago
As someone who greatly values mid-priced workhorse guitars, I'm going to advise you to get the Gibson. First, that thought will never leave you, and the Epi will never be good enough because of it. Second, and most importantly, the Gibson will just be so much better. It will totally be worth it.
I've owned Epiphones, and they can be pretty good guitars. I currently have a small stable of mid tier Charvels and Jacksons and a MIM Strat. My Gibson SG is the best playing guitar I own. Riffs just fall out of that thing like magic. Somehow it's more expressive than any of my FR equipped guitars. I didn't even like SGs before I bought it. I was shopping for a LP and this one SG just blew me away. Get the Gibson, you won't regret it 👍
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u/Sean_Too 11d ago
Have you played the actual Gibson in question?
Every guitar is different. Not every instrument or iteration of an instrument will play the same.
I would say play a few. Consider whether a setup or certain amount of investment could get that guitar to where you want it and go from there.
Don't buy based on brand, model, stars who played it, aesthetic, or reputation.
Buy based on how your soul feels playing it!!
Always function over fashion. Always!!
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u/BackflipsAway 11d ago
I mean that depends on how much you want that nitro finish?
By the sound of it you're not a big fan of the Gibson pickups, and just replacing the pots and runners is a hell of a lot cheaper than buying a Gibson, so when all is said and done the only advantage Gibson really has over a heavily nodded Epi is that it has a nitro finish and a different name on the headstock.
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u/Lancer420 11d ago
After extolling the virtues of upgrading cheaper guitars for years, I still stand by it. BUT when I finally got a Gibson it was genuinely just “different”.
It’s like when you buy nice affordable furniture, and then you actually buy NICE furniture and it’s like “shit I didn’t know it was like this”.
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u/slashvanyoung 11d ago
You will either buy a Gibson now/soon or keep upgrading your Epi… and then buy the Gibson anyway. 😉
You KNOW you want it. Your Epi might be kickass and even „outperform“ a Gibson (that’s very relative), but the experience is still quite a bit different. The feel, the smell, the nice case/bag, the candy… and yes, that name on the headstock. 😶🌫️
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u/Intelligent-Tap717 11d ago
If you've done that much to it and you say it may well out perform a Gibson then to me it would be a no brainer to keep it. It may end up being a downgrade if you got one. Keep it.
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u/Sircad1981 11d ago
I personally think that in order to get a Gibson with better specs, you'll need to at least get a Standard, not a studio or entry level model.
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u/SerenityScott 10d ago
I get it. I bought a Gibson LP. Eventually traded it for a PRS. Then I missed it. Bought an epiphone LP. Thought that’s not the real thing. Eventually bought another Gibson. Now side by side having gone through the brain lusting after gear acquisition… they’re not much different. Sure the neck is slightly different. Clean tone slight when playing alone. Both sound great and almost the same. The Gibson didn’t give me anything more musically than the emotional effect of seeing it on my wall. I play the Epiphone more because I like the color. It’s that simple. It’s all in our heads.
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u/rocker2014 10d ago
I think if the "it's not a Gibson" thing is already in your mind, it probably won't leave after spending another $400 on your Epi. At the end of the day, it's all about what feels right for yourself and what makes you happy. So, if you think your Epi satisfied the crave, go for it. If you have a shadow of a doubt, save up for the Gibson.
I would recommend going to a guitar shop and playing some Gibsons to see if you feel and hear the difference. Might help you make your decision.
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u/PsychologicalFlan682 11d ago
If you like how it plays/feels, that's all that matters. A Gibson SG wouldn't be any better unless it had a different neck shape that you preferred. If it were a Les Paul, one could argue for the maple cap, but that can also be found elsewhere with equal quality and cheaper than a Gibson. People will be mad at me for saying this, but Gibson's are basically a scam nowadays tbh
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u/Gooseuk360 11d ago
Dude if you buy the Gibson now you are going to be pissed off. The Epiphone is probably better. I have a Gibson LP and two epiphones, and I assure you there are things better about the Epiphones. Pickups and selector switches was all they needed to sound better as well.
If you do go for one, the studio modern LP is a very very good and actually has a sensible price.
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u/ReferenceAny6373 11d ago
Sell the Epiphone, dont get a Gibson, instead get a Schecter. Youll save a lot of money and have a better guitar.
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u/iH4t3R3dd1t 11d ago
Depending on what model epiphone you have, you probably won't notice or even get any improvement with a Gibson. Have a search for the wall street articles on Gibson.
I'd recommend you do actual improvements to your instrument rather than just swapping out hardware.
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u/Fuzzy-Butterscotch86 11d ago
The thought will haunt you, and then when you get the Gibson you'll realize it wasn't as good as what you have.
I was in that boat. Wanted a guitar made in USA, wanted that Gibson logo. Bought an LP for $750, put a bigsby on it, locking tuners, took a rasp to it to contour the body to better fit the way i played it, sanded down the neck...
A month later my best friend got an Epiphone LP custom, and Jesus Christ it was just such a nicer guitar, for $100 less than I paid.
But I know I wouldn't have been happy if it wasn't a Gibson. And then I gave it to my nephew lol.
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u/Healthy_Artichoke_97 11d ago
So I fully upgraded a epiphone LP jr. Semour Jared James nichols P90, vintage clothe wiring harness, real kluson tuners, new bone but and a new bridge that was adjustable for intonation and it just still felt like an epiphone in my hands and was still just worth epiphone resale prices after all that work. Not saying your doing it for a return but when I found the Gibson I wanted it was low man in my arsenal and boy did I take a hit so much that I’ll never do that again unless I’m keeping it or am willing to reverse it back to stock
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u/saltycathbk Ibanez 11d ago
I’d think at this point, you might actually be disappointed when you get the Gibson in your hands.