Watch this before buying a Gibson Les Paul

Watch this before buying a Gibson Les Paul. What is the greatest Les Paul? We compare a Gibson Les Paul to an Epiphone Les Paul Custom and Vintage V100 Reissue. Surprisingly, the Epiphone Les Paul and Vintage V100 stood their ground against the mighty Gibson Les Paul.

I love my Gibson Les Paul. i've had an Epiphone Les Paul before and wasn't particularly impressed. On top of that I've played several Epiphones which weren't as good as my Gibson Les Paul. However, this Epiphone Les Paul Custom was different. It played incredibly and I was blown away by the Epiphone Pro Bucker pickups! Those Epiphone Pro Buckers are some seriously great sounding pickups so if you see any used on eBay for a good price - snag them!

Obviously Gibson have had their issues over the years but they seem to be back on track now. The only way you're going to get a nitrocellulose finish with with a true Gibson Les Paul for example.

A great budget Les Paul or cheaper Les Paul alternative would be a Vintage V100. The Vintage 100 is a carved top guitar with a bound body which even m eldest son commented on how great it looked. Reminiscent of the white Gibson Les Paul Custom that Lindsey Buckingham used to play, it is one great looking guitar.

The Vintage V100 is also nearly £300 cheaper than the Epiphone Les Paul Custom. Equally, the Epiphone Les Paul Custom is roughly £600 (double) cheaper than the Gibson Les Paul Studio featured in this video. And the Gibson Les Paul Studio is the cheaper end of the American Gibson Les Paul range: a Gibson Les Paul Standard would set you back over £2,000 and a Gibson Les Paul Custom at least £4000.

In summary:
Vintage V100 - £370
Epiphone Les Paul Custom - £600
Gibson Les Paul Studio - £1,200
Gibson Les Paul Standard - £2,000
Gibson Les Paul Custom - £4,000 (at least)

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➤Time Stamps
00:00 - Vintage V100 vs Epiphone Les Paul Custom
02:02 - pickups : Vintage V100 vs Epiphone Les Paul Custom vs Gibson Les Paul
04:12 - Should you get a Gibson?
05:58 - Should they do a Player series Gibson?
08:46 - pickups : Epiphone Les Paul Custom vs Gibson Les Paul

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[MarcusMoji]

So glad to hear someone say Gibsons are too expensive. I honestly do believe the average player can’t tell

[Cameron]

I think if they made the Epis "Gibson Players" I doubt anyone would bother getting a full fat Gibson anymore lol. Besides the collectors. If you're just a player, I doubt anyone else would bother haha.

Absolutely love the look of that Epi custom! I usually like painted guitars but that's gorgeous!. Gotta keep that pickguard on too! 😜. I agree with you both on that Epi headstock. It's not pretty at all lol. The new one is much better. What's the best headstock video idea 😉😂. Great video chaps!.

[FRCMoto]

Great topic guys. I just bought a new Epiphone Les Paul Custom with Gibson P90s. Gloss black. I haven't seen another one like it anywhere. Great guitar, beautiful attention to detail and high quality.

[timsodonovan]

I’ve owned four Gibson Les Pauls over the years, but my Vintage V-100 smokes them all !…. I realize it’s all relative and depends on the individual player, but my V 100 is my favorite guitar of all time!

[markaston]

I bought an Epiphone Les Paul Modern before Christmas and love it and picked up a Harley Benton SC Special with P90s for £130 and love it just as much. Quality wise I can't tell the difference but both sound great

[JasonGraystone]

Mate hats off. Your channel is fucking brilliant. Nice work lads.

[daleturner]

I bought a Epiphone Gold Top threw in some Seymour Duncan pickups and had $600 in it total. It’s a awesome guitar and sounds and plays as good as my Gibson. It’s my go to player!

[SeemoreDunkan]

PLEASE add the Harley Benton to the mix and do another round :) maybe even change to the same boutique pickups and see which Les Paul sounds the best.

[nealatthecrossfishing]

The headstock is my only hang up about the Epiphone too! Love your idea of a Gibson “player” version with a true Gibson headstock!

Great comparison and thanks for saying what I have for years. The budget stuff when you get above the £100 junk can be phenomenal. Differences in pickups are important but subjective and can be compensated for with amp settings, boost or eq pedals. I am a huge fan of Vintage brand guitars and have a V62 and a V100 both of which are brilliant in all ways. (Ok the 62 is a bit dull looking).

Just a thought about presentation. I would find it helpful if you referred to the guitars by make rather than saying 'this' or 'that'. The reason is that I tend to treat videos a bit like podcasts and don't watch 100% of the time. I do like that have and discuss your differing opinions. Refreshing from all the influencers and pushers like Anderson's and JHS.

[tbx]

I´v been in the guitar store last week-end and took a look to all the Gibson Standard (50s + 60s) and Slash Signature line up. My conflict is, that I´d like to own a Gibson Les paul for a long time...but I am not willing to pay 2200-2800€ for a guitar with warped humbucker frames, cheap-feeling toggle switches and not aligned knob poinnters. I am not expecting perfection, but I expect no (obvious) issues at that price point. The quality of some guitars I´ve seen is poor in my view, although the sound may be great. My visit was let´s say a very sobering one. I am not willing to support their mentality because "they can, because they are Gibson".

[davidwilkinson]

Check out the Slash Epiphone Gold Top!! Might satisfy that need

[anthonymattock]

I have an Epiphone Les Paul Custom which I bought in the late 90's and it's pretty lacking in tone and playability. If I want to play a Les Paul style guitar, my go to now is the Vintage AFD100. They are good guitars full stop, not just good for the money

[thess]

My son and I play a Greco Les Paul and a Greco SG and there's literally no need for a Gibson after that, I do have a 2004 Korean Epiphone Les Paul Standard which doesn't feel bad but after playing the Greco's I kind of don't even want to play my Epiphone anymore

[John_Doe]

I played a few Gibson LP’s and to be honest they sound punchy in a way i don’t hear in budget versions and iv’e tried many of those. Might be the burstbucker pickups i don’t know. However, i don’t think the Gibson prices can be justified, it is not €1500 better than the budget versions around €500+.

[michaelbevins]

Les Paul style guitars are boring without coil split! Try mojo c t s pots and you will know what i mean, With the split you can blend the middle position the way you want single full combinations.