Mainstream guitars are getting surprisingly expensive – while prestige brands are offering no-frills electrics for very tempting prices. Which should you buy, we ask?
Once upon a time, it was obvious where a company’s budget brand ended and its prestige brand began. Squier was to Fender what Epiphone was to Gibson –a respectable alternative for those who couldn’t afford, or chose not to buy, the full-fat version. If you didn’t mind going off-brand entirely, you could buy decent copies by the likes of Tokai.
Today, however, things aren’t quite so simple. Take the Chinese-built Epiphone Kirk Hammett ‘Greeny’ 1959 Les Paul Standard, for example. Not only does it possess the classic ‘open book’ Gibson headstock shape (a thing hitherto denied to Epiphone buyers), but, at £1,499 it costs more than the current entry level Gibson USA Les Paul –the rather skinny and spartan Les Paul Modern Lite, which can be had for £1,449.
The pr esence of a famous name pr obably will influence how much you want a guitar
Gibson loaded the Epiphone with goodies such as the ‘proper’ headstock shape, Gibson USA ‘Greenybucker’ pickups, aonepiece neck, CTS Potentiometers, Mallory Capacitors and more besides –leaving you to decide if the combined effect was worth more than having the coveted ‘Gibson’ logo on the headstock of the Les Paul Modern Lite, which is not abad guitar per se but lacks frills of any kind. Essentially, the Epiphone represents the high-end of affordable lutherie, while the Gibson represents the low-end of premium guitar-making.
These two frontiers have never really been allowed to overlap so obviously before, so guitar buyers are maybe a trifle unprepared for the mental calculus involved in figuring what they should buy. Alook at the comments below Guitarist’s video demo of the Epiphone Kirk Hammett ‘Greeny’ is instructive: “I’ve been a long time Epi supporter, but the recent price hike (and for this model in particular) has lost me entirely. Gibson need to rethink their strategy for the Epi brand,” one viewer fulminated.
Another chimed in, more positively: “I don’t understand the complaints about it being Chinese and an Epiphone. People seem to forget that Gibson used to be the cheaper option and Epiphone the more expensive option. So why shouldn’t Epiphone strive to get back to making higher-end guitars? Doesn’t matter to me, if it’s a great guitar it’s a great guitar.”
There’s no right answer, of course –just a soup of strong, subjective feelings with some chunks of rational argument fl
