By: Steve Miller
Submitted: 2010-06-30 01:24:13 | Word Count: 805
A huge element of deciding on an electric guitar when you are shopping for a new axe will depend on your skill range. Gibson guitars are high-end guitars, yet especially pricey. More expensive than a beginner musician might wish to pay out. One piece of information you might not know is that Gibson guitars has a number of different brand names under its belt, including a great beginning electric guitar brand, Epiphone guitars.
Epiphone Guitars look, sound, and feel similar to their costlier Gibson cousins. Why do they cost much less? First, Epiphones are built overseas where labor prices are low, while Gibson guitars are built in Nashville, Tennessee. Next, Epiphone Les Pauls are crafted from ordinary mahogany varieties; Gibson employ scarce Honduran mahogany wood. Gibson guitars also utilizes an intensive finish procedure; Epiphone uses a more cost-effective catalyzed finish.
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Just because Epiphones are built offshore, does not inevitably mean they’re bad quality. For instance, Les Paul pickups are built to Epiphone’s exacting specs. They're double- dipped in wax and tested by Epiphone engineers at each step of development. It is this attention-to-detail which sets Epiphone apart. And it's these very details that bestow the extremely rich, creamy sound that makes this guitar a favorite of blues, jazz, and rock players. Epiphone’s loyalty to music is reflected by a limited lifetime warranty on all of its models, regardless of price.
Here are my personal suggestions for the very best Epiphone guitars for beginners.
Epiphone Les Paul Special II -
Probably the most inexpensive Gibson guitars, the Epiphone Les Paul Special II is nice for newcomers for many reasons. First of all, it is cheap. You can get the Les Paul Special II for under $200 with no trouble, which is affordable. Not only is this axe inexpensive, it really is extremely versatile as well. Whether you're aspire to be a metal player or just want to jam with some pals, this axe will work for you. Including a mahogany neck and a rosewood fingerboard, this axe not only sounds good, but is gorgeous as well.
Epiphone Les Paul 100 -
The Epiphone Les Paul 100 is the axe you'll crave, if you're starting to get serious about your music. The mahogany wood body with maple top provides classic strong, heavy sound while the bolt-on mahogany neck and rosewood fretboard are straightforward to play. Features 700T/650R open-coil humbucker pickups and chrome hardware. The Epiphone Les Paul 100 electric guitar features classic Les Paul design and tone. This truly is a superb guitar for all ranges of guitar playing. It might be a bit more expensive than the other guitars in this article ($299). However it is worth it since you can use it all through your axe playing career.
Epiphone G-310 SG -
The G-310 is a little more costly than the earlier two electric guitars, however not by a lot. Between $200 and $250, this axe is still terrific for novices however does not sacrifice as much in features. What the G-310 does better than the earlier 2 guitars is that it handles both harsh and warm distortion nicely. Just like the previous guitars, the G-310 has a mahogany neck and rosewood fretboard, so you are certainly getting a quality Gibson guitar with any of the 3 choices.
Epiphone SG Special -
Another axe below $199, Gibson’s Epiphone SG-Special guitar is a good beginner axe. This electric guitar is a replica of the original Gibson legendary SG, so it is a classic guitar. The SG-Special is a typical rock electric guitar, so there aren’t any special bells and whistles, but it surely does boast two open-coil humbucking pickups, a rosewood fretboard like the Les Paul Special II, and an exquisite sound for such an reasonably priced electric guitar. An incredible feature of the Epiphone SG-Special is that it comes in a variety of different colors, so no matter your personality there's a electric guitar for you.
I would be comfortable with recommend any of these Epiphone guitars to a beginner, though I'd suggest spending a couple of extra bones to get the Les Paul 100 or G-310 SG. Starting out you might not tell the difference, but you'll rapidly grow out of the first two guitars and wish you had the versatility of the G-310 SG or Les paul 100.
