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1/9/2022

Epiphone Has Really Stepped Up Their Game

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So I mentioned in my Best Gear of 2021 post that my new Epiphone 335 was the best gear I had bought last year.  I still think that.  I still don't see it becoming my main player, but, lately, it's the one that I've grabbed first when I walk into my music room.  It's just a fun guitar to play, and it sounds really nice.

It's a gold top.  Cream colored binding but all the rest of the plastic is black.  Epiphone's Alnico Classic Pro pickups are in it.  If I remember correctly, those are Epi's version of Gibson's 57 Classics, with the Pro signifying that they're 4-wire instead of 2-wire.  Aesthetically, the one thing I wish they would've done would have been to paint the inside edge of the f-holes black instead of body colored (gold).  The Gibson 335 I had for a while had that, and I just always thought it looked better that way.  I haven't measured it, but I think it has the same neck that is on my Standard 50s Les Paul.  It has that same handful of a feel that I've come to really like instead of the really thin necks that a couple of my older Epiphones have.

Sonically, it's not bad.  That's not to say that it's not good.  It is.  But, remembering back to the Gibson, the Epi pickups sound nice, but they're not as articulate as the ones that were in the Gibson.  Granted, that's sitting in the quiet of my practice space.  It's not something I think I would notice if I were playing out somewhere.  It may also be that I'm not remembering the 57 Classics as they really sounded.  After all, it's been over a year since I traded that one off.  I'm in no hurry to upgrade the pickups (they really do sound pretty good), but it is something that I will probably end up doing some day.  Kind of like my Gretsch, one day I'll come across the right pickups for the right price, and I'll know that it's time to go ahead and upgrade them.  Until then, they will definitely serve the purpose.

Playability is just fine.  The action out of the box (out of the store?) was right about what I would've tried to dial in, so, after I got it home, all I did was clean up the guitar-store-funk on it and change the strings.  After playing it for a while, one thing I do need to do to it is get it back on the bench and smooth some of the frets up in the squeaky-zone.  I don't play up there on a real regular basis, but I've been working some stuff that has a bend on the 17th fret, and every time I hit it, I think it scrapes a little bit.

It's turning out to be a great guitar.  It didn't just blow me away like the Standard 50s Les Paul did.  But, in all fairness, it was that Probucker 1 at the neck of the LP that continues to pull me back to that guitar.  I just really like that sound of that pickup in that guitar.  So, didn't blow me away, but it did reach out and grab me at the store, make me take it home, and continues to make me leave it out on the stand and grab it at some point most every day.  

Bang for the buck, dollar to value ratio, whatever you want to call it, Epiphone continues to step up their game.  This new 335 just further convinces me of that.
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3/1/2021

Epiphone Pickups

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I bought my Epiphone 339 back when they first released them in 2011.  I missed that first run that delivered in the fall of 2011, so the one that I got was made in that second run.  That means that I had to wait 4 or 5 months to get mine.  I ordered it in November, and got it the end of March or first of April.  One change that they made between the first run and the second that I didn't see them announce anywhere was that the original 339s shipped with their Probucker pickups and the second run shipped with their Alnico Classic Pro pickups.  I had actually been looking forward to getting to try the Probuckers out, but the Alnico Classics sound good to my ear, so whatever.

Never gave it a whole lot of thought after that.  Like I said, I wasn't unhappy with the pickups it came with.  I had always heard that the Alnico Classics were Epi's version of Gibson's 57 Classics and the Probuckers were Epi's version of Gibson's Burstbuckers.  I had put a pair of Burstbuckers in an old Les Paul I had, and I really liked them.  Never really bonded with the guitar, but I thought the pickups sounded good.  I had a Gibson 335 for a while that had 57 Classics and I really liked them too. 

In my head, I always said I preferred the 57 Classics.  I'm not really sure why.  Honestly, I think I liked them better because that's what it seemed that most Gibsons I liked were getting when I started paying attention to that brand, and they were advertising them as being "like PAFs."  In the last few years, I've realized that they now seem to be putting Burstbuckers, 490s, MHS, and another pickup or two in guitars as much as they are the 57s.  When I saw that, I realized that several of those are also said to be "like PAFs."  Now, I must confess, I'm not really sure what a PAF sounds like, but being a good gear hound and sometimes cork-sniffer, I know that PAFs are the sound that everyone thinks they should have.  So, if it sounds like a PAF, that's the next best thing to actually having a PAF, right?

Now I'm just confused.  All these PAF-like sounding pickups, and they all seem to sound a little different to my ear.  What's the real PAF sound?  No clue.  At that point, I realized I had been sniffing a cork or two, and figured, I wasn't unhappy with the way that 339 played or sounded.  As well, from a similarity standpoint, I had the real 57 Classics in that 335, and, to my ear, they didn't really sound all that different from those Alnico Classics.  If I really sat and listened to them, I thought Epi version may not have been quite as clear and articulate on the low end, and they may not have been quite as harmonically rich when driven, but they sounded good.  Just playing at church on Sunday or at the local blues jam, and nobody was going to hear a difference in the two.  So there was no reason to change the Epi pickups.

Then last fall, I picked up that Epi LP Standard 50s (or whatever it's called).  I immediately bonded with that guitar.  Loved the neck!  Loved the sound!  And did I mention the neck?  I had been playing that 339 predominately for nearly 18 months when I got that LP, and the 339 suddenly found itself relegated to hanging on the wall.  One of the things I really liked about that LP were the pickups in it.  They seemed super clear and articulate, and sounded good clean or driven.  Maybe it was the guitars.  Maybe it was the pickups.  Maybe it was a bit of both.  Either way, it had the Probuckers in it, so I was once again questioning what the 339 would sound like with Probuckers instead of the Alnico Classics.

So I started looking for a set of them.  You could get them direct from Epiphone, but they were (1) $150 a set, and (2) out of stock.  So Reverb was my option since I don't like eBay.  Someone from Thailand was selling them starting at $50 a set with a wiring harness.  That's a good deal, right?  Seemed super sketch to me, so I passed on them.  I'd see others showing up here and there, but they were running about $50 a piece (or more).  I found a pair that someone pulled out of a new Epiphone where they were asking $70 for the pair.  I messaged them for pics of the back of the pickups, and, when he sent them, it turned out they were actually the Alnico Classics like I already had.  I let him know what he actually had, and that I'd pass since they weren't the ones I wanted.  His ad hasn't changed.  So be careful if you come across that ad; they're not actually Probuckers. 

The next afternoon, I noticed someone had posted a set of Probuckers for a super price.  Looking at the ad, the pics all looked right, so I was convinced they were real.  According to the ad, the seller had just pulled them out of a new Epi LP Modern that they had gotten.  Pics looked right, and the story sounded legit.  Looked at the price again, and three other folks had already made offers on them and someone had them in their cart.  So, since the price was really good without asking for a deal, I pulled the trigger.  I will say that they are the Probucker 2 and 3 pickups where my LP has the Probucker 1 and 2.  

Finally got them swapped out, and the Alnico Classics are now sitting beside me on the desk.  What's the verdict on the 339 now that it has the Probuckers in it?  I like them better!  I think they have a clearer low end.  I'm not sure the difference in the Probucker 1 in the LP neck and the Probucker 2 that is in the LP bridge and the 339 neck, but I still like the Probucker 1 best of all.  To my ear it really sounds good.  Either way, again, to my ear, the Probuckers have a clearer low end and are just a bit more articulate than the Alnico Classics.  They also seem to be a little bit smoother and not quite as harsh when driven.  When turned up, they also don't sound as hot to me.  The Probucker 1 is easily my favorite, but the 2 and 3 I also like better than the Classics.  Granted, in a blindfolded side by side, the only one I think I could pick out of the mix would be the 1.  That is, if I could pick it out of a crowd.  But trying to be objective sitting in my quiet little music room, I believe that I hear a difference in the two types of pickups.

So, I have to say that I think the Probuckers are great pickups.  They're half the price of the Gibson Burstbuckers, and, to my ear, they're not that different.  Granted, I haven't A/Bed them at this point, but from what I remember of that pair I had, they're pretty close.  Given the chance, if I had another Epi with those quick connect ends, if it didn't have the Probuckers in it, I'd see about finding another pair.  I'm not sure that all the hype around the Probuckers isn't at least a little marketing, but, I think, they're well worth the money.  Like I already said, they're not the Gibson (or Duncan or Lollars), but they're close enough that nobody but us gear hounds are going to hear the difference.  Bang for your buck, especially if you get them used, I don't know that you're going to get anything better.

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1/4/2021

My Epiphone Les Paul Standard 50s

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A couple of months back I picked up one of those Epiphone Les Paul Standard 50s. A gold top. Because everyone needs a gold top, right? Never expected to play it much because I've never bonded with an LP. Granted the only ones I'd played had been the entry level Epiphones and the entry level Gibsons. I'd never played a "nice" one from either brand, so some would say I had probably never given them a fair shake.

I think I got a pretty good deal on this guitar because it was being sold as a blem from American Musical. No big though because I fully expected to just hang this one on the wall because I think a gold top is a beautiful guitar.

It came in, and I pulled it out of the box. I'm not sure why American Musical was selling it as a blem. I'm guessing someone bought it and returned it, so they couldn't sell it as new. It was setup pretty nicely, and I couldn't find anything wrong with it. Once I got it on the workbench, I noticed that the nut is a couple of millimeters off center. I think it was cut weird because it's flush on the bass side and just barely not flush on the treble. Otherwise I have been all over this thing, and can't find anything wrong with it.

The neck is perfect. I wish all my guitars had the neck on this one. It's bigger than all the other electrics I've got. I've got an Epi acoustic that has a big neck on it that is bigger and borders on being uncomfortable to play after a few minutes. This one is big without being as big as that one. It's a good handful without making my hand tired. It's just a great feeling neck.

The pups on it are advertised to be an Epiphone Probucker 1 in the neck and Probucker 2 in the bridge. I've read that those are Epi's version of the the Burstbucker pups. I really like them. To my ear, they're clear and articulate. I especially like the neck pup. I've really liked the Epi Alnico Pro (Epi's equivalent to the 57 Classics) that are in my 339, but I think these Probuckers make the Alnico Pros sound kind of average.

It has the 50s-era wiring in it. From what I've read, that means that the highs don't get muddy if you turn the tone down. Honestly, until recently I've always dimed the tone and never messed with it again, so I'm not really sure if wiring like this makes a difference. Since I've started playing with the knobs on all my guitars more, maybe I'll eventually be able to hear a difference.

I think it looks as good as a gold top should. I think that the gold color is more yellow than the Gibsons I've seen. The Gibsons seem to be a greener gold that this one. You can look at the sides and see that it is a 3-piece body. Looking at the back, they have a veneer on it (albeit a nice looking veneer) that make it appear to be one piece, but it's not.

It's got the to-be-expected cream colored binding and hardware and gold knobs with pointers. There is binding on the neck, too, but the binding doesn't cover the fret ends like it does on a Gibson. It's got the vintage looking tuners with the off-white plastic tulip keys. The headstock is the new Gisbon-inspired headstock that I, personally, like better than the usual Epi headstock.

The one thing I don't like about the guitar is that this mug is heavy. Like orca heavy! I stuck it on the scale because I was curious, and this thing is 9.5 pounds. It is noticeably heavier than any other guitar I've got. I wouldn't want to stand and play it for long periods of time.

Other than the weight, this guitar is really a great guitar. My assumptions of the guitar when I initially bought it turned out to be completely wrong. It feels good and plays good and, to my ear, sounds really good. Since I picked it up, it has become the guitar that I play the most. For the last couple of years, I was typically reaching for my 339 when I played. This Epiphone Standard 50s Les Paul seems to be making the move to become my main player. I've played Gibson LPs that I didn't like half as well as this one. Over the course of the last 10 years I've bought several Epiphones (a 1962 anniversary Sheraton, a 339, a couple of different acoustics, this Les Paul, and others), and with every purchase, I am more impressed with Epiphone's offerings.
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    Snarf is a wannabe musician who currently resides in the great state of Texas.  His wife is his favorite.  He believes chocolate milk made from milk that is anything less than whole milk is basically water and deserves to be dumped down the sink so nobody has to suffer through it.  He hates having to shop for clothes. But he has a thing for really cool bags, and, consequently, has more gig bags than guitars and a closet full of messenger bags and backpacks.  He still misses his dog who was taken by cancer 5 years ago.  Check out his Reverb shop and see if he has any gear he's trying to get rid of.  

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