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Gibson has the legendary name, the resale value – but also the premium price. The Epi is a good looking hollow body center block guitar that plays wonderfully, sound great – and is actually affordable for most of us. So, the dilemma – should I go for the legendary name, etc. or go for the affordable guitar that still plays and sounds great? Reminds me of an old American TV commercial where you had to choose between Charlie the Tuna with good taste – or that tastes good!
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Charlie! Good to see you on the forum again!
It depends. If you have always wanted a Gibson and can afford it, then go for it!
If you can’t justify spending the extra money or can’t tell a ~$2000 difference between the two guitars, then go for the Epiphone. You can always swap the pickups out for better sound and take it to a luthier for a professional setup and hardware upgrades.
Not sure? You could blindfold yourself and play the two side by side at a guitar store. That or turn your back and let the sales associate play and see which one you like better.
If I recall correctly, you have been pretty happy with your Epiphone 339, right?
And if either of those don’t work you could go with a used Gibson 335, a Gibson 335 studio, or a Heritage 335. I am sure the membership will weigh in with their two cents too.
-Bryce
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Hi Charley, Just to add my two cents! I think a lot depends on the person. My business partner had a Gibson 335 which he purchased 25-27 years ago. he sold it 7 years ago when he had a long spell off guitar. He bitterly regrets that decision to this day and only two weeks ago bought another one to replace it, although he wishes he had his original because of the history. I also have another close friend who has been playing guitar for over 20 years and plays beautifully and is very skilled at it. He only has one old “no name” electric guitar, which he bought for £100.00 from Ebay. He has always been satisfied to keep things going, has an old car which he fixes up and has no interest in the finer things……. Me however, well Hmmmm…… I am very much like the beginner golfer who has to own the Carbon fibre top of the range clubs without even being able to hit the ball!!! (all the gear and no idea!!) So, I guess its a very personal choice to make. My excuse/reasons were this: Mid Life crises! Cheaper than a sports car!! Seriously, for me, the amount of pleasure I will get for many years will be worth every penny and that feeling when I open the case!!! reassuringly Gibson!!! haha. I wish you all the best, Cheers Phil
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Hi Charlie, I’m with Phil on this, I want to open the case and see the Gibson name on the headstock. I may not be playing like a blues King but that’s down to me and not the guitar. Plus I don’t want think I should have got the best I could have afforded and end up buying twice. That said I don’t have a 335 as I can’t afford one but I do have a lovely American strat, White with a maple neck that i rarely plug in and play but I do like to look at it on its stand next to the rarely used tweed blues Jr like an art installation .
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Charley:
I just got back from a visit to my local GuitarCenter and I wanted to buy one of everything. My weird alternative suggestion would be to check out all the other options and instead of paying $3k for one guitar, drop that same money on 2-3 or even 4 really wonderful alternatives: Ibanez, Washburn, Epiphone, Gretsch, PRS, D’Angelico
The great thing about buying (and selling) guitars is that each new one raises your level of humanity. Rumor has it that the only thing keeping Mother Teresa off the Sainthood list is that she never perfected her ZZ-Top licks.
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Hi Charlie,
I’m with Sharon on this one, at least for me. I’m not good, yet, and I haven’t committed to a sound or tone so I spent small dollars on several guitars. I can’t justify big dollars for one guitar. I’m very happy with my Squiers, Epiphone, and Ibanez.
On the other hand, I agree with Stattastic, you don’t want buy twice because you didn’t buy what you really wanted. Buy what will make you happy.
BTGuitar
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HI Charley,
When I got back into playing “seriously” a few years ago, I decided that I wanted to, over time, have one of each of the guitar standards…as a kid in my band days there was only one guitar to have..a Gibson Les Paul and was fortunate to have one. The day came for the semi hollow, and almost collapsed when I saw the prices on the Gibsons. I went to the House of Guitars here in Rochester…and spent an entire Saturday afternoon in the back with one or 2 of each, including Ibanez, Eastman, Hagstroms, Epi’s…. alternatively plugged into Deluxes, Twins, Tweed Bassman, Supersonics, etc….here’s what I learned:
Did not like the Epi’s with humbuckers only P90’s
There is nothing like a Gibson ES335…simply the Gold standard
Ibanez, Eastman, Hagstrom make truly amazing guitars for the money
That day they received their first ES335 Studio (2014)So I compromised with myself even though I could afford the regular. I loved the ES 335 Studio…maybe not as pretty as the regular…but for $2000 less I got the tone, and yes the Gibson…got a great deal at House of Guitars too…..with the extra money I bought a used (like new) Ibanez AM 93 ($300 with case). To my ears, the best sounding and finished guitar in the Under $1000 range, love it to death, warmer than the ES335 studio. Very happy….although an option I didn’t investigate at the time is the used 335 market….there are great guitars out there for reasonable prices…
There are no rules for any of this….and there are personal factors beyond the $$, some people need to drive a Porsche, or have a Rolex or a different companion….some of us want emblematic guitars……go for what your gut tells yo….
Good luck and enjoy the hunt.
Roberto
Roberto
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Hi Charley,
I am a beginner but have been collecting guitars for decades and recently bought a Gibson ES335 Custom Shop in cherry red, partly influenced by Brian’s videos on Cream and his gorgeous ES335 in cherry red also (reading past threads, Brian has been a Gibson ES335 fan for several years). I’m very happy with my Gibson guitars (also own a CS339, a CS359, and several others, including an L5 that I won’t touch until I get better, perhaps next lifetime)). For me at least they are very easy to play, they exude quality, and sound great.
Like others here have said, there is something magical for me when I open the case and see the Gibson head-stock, the workmanship, the quality of materials, and the overall feel. I end up polishing the guitars before playing them. Can’t say I do the same for the Korean and other Asian guitars I own.
Get what makes you smile, and will continue to make you frolic in the future.
Cheers,
Richard
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OK Charley, was looking for some drum machines in the older gear threads and found this:
Looks like it’s a Gibson ES-335 for you…
Cheers,
Richard
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I have looked at the Gibson and the Epiphone, Les paul standard.
my wife got me a Epiphone, Les paul as a learning guitar and if I stay into playing I will get a gibson use
for personal playing and use the epiphone for a drag-around guitar.I just hate getting chips & dings on my good guitars. ( or motorcycles)
one of the things i do like about Epiphone is that they are inexpensive enough that I could get a Epiphone ES 335
as well. but that’s how the addiction starts ( i wonder if there is a twelve stop program for guitar collectors??) -
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Gibson has the legendary name, the resale value – but also the premium price. The Epi is a good looking hollow body center block guitar that plays wonderfully, sound great – and is actually affordable for most of us. So, the dilemma – should I go for the legendary name, etc. or go for the affordable guitar that still plays and sounds great? Reminds me of an old American TV commercial where you had to choose between Charlie the Tuna with good taste – or that tastes good!
I hate to keep throwing a wrench in the works but you need to look at the Ibanez and Washburn 335 copies.
I won’t comment much here b/c to some, I would be speaking blasphemy against Gibson but the high end Ibanez will give Gibson a run for their money. The Washburn and mid priced Ibanez – either will leave the Epi’s in the dust -
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I have looked at the Gibson and the Epiphone, Les paul standard.
my wife got me a Epiphone, Les paul as a learning guitar and if I stay into playing I will get a gibson use
for personal playing and use the epiphone for a drag-around guitar.I just hate getting chips & dings on my good guitars. ( or motorcycles)
one of the things i do like about Epiphone is that they are inexpensive enough that I could get a Epiphone ES 335
as well. but that’s how the addiction starts ( i wonder if there is a twelve stop program for guitar collectors??)Ah! Motorcycles. Hmm… Had 3 of them so far and a scooter.
The melody of the notes is what expresses the art of music . 🙂 6stringerPete
It really is all about ”melody”. The melody comes from a language from our heart. Our heart is the muscle in music harmony. The melody is the sweetness that it pumps into our musical thoughts on the fretboard. 🙂 6 stringer Pete
Pete
Active Melody
Forum Moderator -
Lots of very good points here
Let me start out 1st if it were me and I had the money Id do the Gibson
as far as resale value, most of us here are in the 50-60 years old range here,I dont think we have enough time left for a new Gibson to be worth a lot of money resale.I think on resale of a 5-10year old Gibson if you can get 3/4 of your money back you would be lucky.I dont see me ever selling mine anyway but you never know.With that said theres always a used market on Gibsons,if thats a way you want to go check a site called http://www.worldsguitar.com/ they sell only used Gibson and seem to have good prices.
another good point is buy epiphone and up grade,done that,its a great playing and sounding guitar,I still went and bought a Gibson.And now I have a $600 epiphone with $300 gibson pickups in it,which on a used market you might get $300 out of it.
Ive gotten back into playing in the last 4 years or so,and I to like to try and keep my guitars in pristine condition,to where if i was going to a buddys house to jam, I would take the epiphone instead of the gibson. But my thinking over the last year or so is starting to change,not sure why,maybe the newness of the guitars is starting to wear off.They are instruments they are suppose to be played.Why spend almost 3k on a Gibson and keep it in the basement.
It comes down to you,deep down inside you know which one you really want, if you dont do it there will always be that I should have knot, but on the bright side that way you will own a Epiphone and a Gibson at some point lol -
Thanks, y’all! My problem is – every time I go into my local Guitar Center, I fall in love with something else! My latest infatuation is the Indonesian-made Gretsch G2655T Streamliner Center Block JR – Bigsby, Double Cut, in Walnut Stain. Beautiful guitar, and it plays great for a guitar costing in the US $650 range.
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Charley, the solution to that is to fall in love with guitars that Guitar Center doesn’t carry, and that you can’t afford. Might I suggest:
https://reverb.com/item/1627155-alembic-further-guitar
Here are a couple “demos”:
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In my experience, if you lust for the Gibson, get it. Why? because you will save tons of money, and save yourself the hassle of storing gear you really do not want. The experience part? I spent over a thousand buying up; always lusting after the best, always wanting to know what I was missing, and eyeballing that one piece that was always in my mind. The result? I ended up buying the one I lusted after, only spending almost three times as much on gear that now sits waiting to be sold!
Don’t feel guilty, buy the name brand you lust after, and you’ll live happily ever after….
until you see the next step up! -
Wife got me a Epiphone sg standard for Christmas and l just bought my self a Ibanez? the Epiphone l think sounds more smoother ,cleaner .Don’t get me wrong l love the Ibanez fits me beautiful. But the epiphone will there’s just something special about it .The feel , the sound ,the way it sings when you touch it lol.Gibson is for me , Also have a BC RICH. she’s good but LOUD oh yeah.
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I think an important factor in what you end up going with is how it feels to play it. Some guitars just seem to have that magic in it, maybe it’s imagination… I have an Epiphone Les Paul that I bought used from a college kid looking to make rent and after a professional setup and fresh strings, this is a great sounding guitar. The AAA flame top in Honeyburst looks pretty schnazzy, too!
Like Deluxe Strat said, rarely do I buy a guitar and worry about resale value. I buy it for me, not the next guy after me.
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I have been playing on and off for more than 50 years. Now I am retired I get a chance to play more often. I especially like to play rock, R&B and blues. After years of playing mainly chords I learnt the 5 pentatonic shapes and enjoy improvising and jamming to a backing. (Brian’s lesson have been a huge help!) Whilst I could afford more expeÙÙnsive guitars I have found that I can do very well buying second had for around $300 or less. The important thing is to teach yourself how to checkout a guitar and how to set it up to play well. With care and practice, adjusting the truss rod and bridge to get an optimum string height and good action and intonation is not so hard.
Now I have never had the opportunity to try a Gibson ES-335 but I have an Epiphone ES-335, or “Dot”, and love it. I made a few tweaks after buying it second-hand but in good condition. It sounds good and plays well. I would not want to part with it Just as I would not want to part with my Fender Strat and Ovation acoustic guitar.
You know the story about the tomatoes in the store at two different prices being from the same box, but folks go for the dearer ones because they have got to be better? I suspect this is the same sort of thing.
Rod (in Ottawa)
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