Epiphone 2023 Inspired by Gibson Custom Shop 1958 Korina Explorer and Flying V

[Vinsanitizer]

I hope the build quality is a lot better than the current $600 versions.
I also hope the V's don't have neck-dive like every other Epiphone V has.

• 2-piece solid Korina bodies (not laminated like the cheap versions)
• Satin (dull) finish
• '58 "baseball bat" neck profile
• Pau Ferro fingerboard
• At least medium-jumbo frets, I hope
• Gibson Burst buckers 1 & 2
• CTS pots
• Fancy retro leather case w/ pink interior (no shroud)
• $1,299 each

 

[Sustainium]

Those prices purchased a Gibson not so very long ago.

 

[V-man]

Unfortunately not. I HATE Epiphone, but a SOLID Korina neck and body w long tenon at 14% of that bullshit $10k Gibson ripoff was too significant not to throw caution to the wind.

Clearly the Chinese building a guitar is like a monkey trying to fuck a football.




Noticed wood putty filling the gap on the treble side, none on the bass side. The result was a full bore finish crack that crossed the tenon plane within 2 hours of play. These complaints are sprouting up all over the pages.

Rather sad but unsurprising with my experiences regarding that company. Returned the following morning. Fuck Epi.

 

[AlvisX]

This one don't neck dive IIRC . It's in a mountain bunker in CH
I just play the damn thing ...........Its from the early oughts .I payed 175 bucks for it. It smelled like cigs for a month


My Popa Chubby V didn't balance very well however , I moved the button to the center of the V , all good
I know I had to do that with at least one Ibanez faux Korina

 

[Gunner64]

Epi's can be great guitars. You get shitty ones too...just because it says gibson on the headstock doesn't make it better than every Epi out there. PLENTY of terrible Gibsons out there too..

I ain't overly picky, if it plays, sounds good and stays in tune I could give 2 shits what it says on the headstock.

 

[V-man]

Epi's can be great guitars. You get shitty ones too...just because it says gibson on the headstock doesn't make it better than every Epi out there. PLENTY of terrible Gibsons out there too..

I ain't overly picky, if it plays, sounds good and stays in tune I could give 2 shits what it says on the headstock.

I 100% agree that Gibsons churn out unacceptable shit (surely any company that makes production-class instruments do as well). To the extent that there are terribly executed Gibsons that don’t automatically make them better than Epis by simple virtue of the headstock logo may be a fair point…

However: I have never in my life owned or picked up an epi that played or felt like a Gibson. This round was yet another disappointment from them.

 

[Sandman]

I hope the build quality is a lot better than the current $600 versions.

I have one of the $600 Epi Korina '58 Explorers (recently taken out of production) and a similar Moderne. They both have superb quality. That said, I've also seen ones with finish cracks. Maybe have to fish and throw some of them back. But it seems, if they're good, they're *really* good.

 

[Gunner64]

My point being not all Epis or Gibsons..or anything else are either all good or all bad.

The 2020 Epis seemed like great guitars to me, my bud has 2 LPC's with the open book headstock design and they are really, really nice. I have a Prophecy V from that year that's a pretty nice guitar as well, I would say a better guitar than a Gibson Faded. (Have an 08) although I'm still on the fence with the Fishman Pick ups in the Prophecy.

I have a Epi 2009 LPS that I paid $165 for that ranks right up there as well, way better than any Gibson LPJ, or SGJ I have played.

Good Epis are out there. Sorry you haven't found any, but they are.

And why would you order one if there were complaints all over about them?

 

[jason e bates]

Unfortunately not. I HATE Epiphone, but a SOLID Korina neck and body w long tenon at 14% of that bullshit $10k Gibson ripoff was too significant not to throw caution to the wind.

Clearly the Chinese building a guitar is like a monkey trying to fuck a football.

View attachment 127223
View attachment 127224

Noticed wood putty filling the gap on the treble side, none on the bass side. The result was a full bore finish crack that crossed the tenon plane within 2 hours of play. These complaints are sprouting up all over the pages.

Rather sad but unsurprising with my experiences regarding that company. Returned the following morning. Fuck Epi.

you criticize chinese made guitars for poor quality yet you take pictures like a 5 year old with a potato, the irony is strong.

 

[Mrmadd]

Got an Epi V a coouple years ago. $500
Beautiful like the one shown above.
Plays great for what it is. Sounds really good and fat.

Some nut who previously wned it covered up the Epi name and put a Gibson classic truss rod cover on it.
Thats a bad case of Epiphone Shame.

I kept the classic truss cover, and was able to easily wipe off the black crap used to cover the EPIPHONE NAME.

 

[Gunner64]

I actually paid more for the Epi Prophecy V at just a tad over $700 than I did for the Gibson Faded at $600.

The Gibson came with a Epiphone hard case, but I bought a factory Gibson Hardcase for it for a hundred on Reverb, and put the Epiphone Hardcase in storage. When I bought the Prophecy I already had a Epiphone case for it, which worked out well.
After that they're about even money.

 

[saxon68]

you criticize chinese made guitars for poor quality yet you take pictures like a 5 year old with a potato, the irony is strong.

rude much? We usually keep it a bit more polite here between members.

 

[Plexitim]

Hafta pick and choose, I suppose. I have a 2006 Epi Flying V in Korina, bought it new. It came through with legit 2 piece Korina body - no veneer as most had. No neck gap filler or other quality issues other than the cheapie scarf neck joint by the headstock. The new ones look interesting except for the dull finish. In today's dollars it seems like a pretty good value if you can find one without the flaws mentioned on this forum.

 

[V-man]

My point being not all Epis or Gibsons..or anything else are either all good or all bad.

The 2020 Epis seemed like great guitars to me, my bud has 2 LPC's with the open book headstock design and they are really, really nice. I have a Prophecy V from that year that's a pretty nice guitar as well, I would say a better guitar than a Gibson Faded. (Have an 08) although I'm still on the fence with the Fishman Pick ups in the Prophecy.

I have a Epi 2009 LPS that I paid $165 for that ranks right up there as well, way better than any Gibson LPJ, or SGJ I have played.

Good Epis are out there. Sorry you haven't found any, but they are.

And why would you order one if there were complaints all over about them?

Epis are cheap. They use pot metal shit hardware. They use subpar electronics. When they do something like a “AAA Flametop“ or Korina, it’s some bullshit veneer.

The ENTIRE POiNT of this guitar was:

A) Actual ABR
B) Gibson spec wiring with BBs
C) SOLID repeat SOLID Korina Neck AND Body with long tenon.

This cost waaay more than an Epi should.. but that’s because (other than the tuners) it really was supposed to be more of a Gibson [spec] than an epi. Unfortunately, shitty labor cobbling these together is the undoing of them.

So why, after all these problems are reported…?

No, you have the cart before the horse.

The moment I verified these were solid, one was on a UPS truck. I don’t fuck around on specs… AND the fact I was willing to brush aside all my experiences to give this a shot backs that up. Unfortunately, 4-5 reports come in while I am waiting for delivery. Mine shows, another two reports follow, etc.

I regretted not having a Poppa Chubby from time to time and thought the same about this, but the more I actually fuck with Epi, the less I ever want to. The only redemption on this or any other future gamble is the built in returns on these sales.

 

[donkost]

I bought one of the Epi Flying V's with the Korina laminate new back around 2009. Was like 499 brand new. Bought it to fool around with, expecting to change pickups and whatnot. Ended up just adjusting the height and pole pieces and got a decent bite out of it. IMO, in that era I used to have to get three Epis in order to find one I wanted to keep. Recently (within the past year anyway) bought a Epi '59 LP and a natural Casino. Always wanted the Casino and had to buy one after watching the Beatles Get Back documentary several times. Anyway, the quality on both of these was fantastic and no returns were needed. For LP comparison I have a mint '87 Gibson LP Custom tobacco sunburst that I bought new for $1005 with the chainsaw case (in '87). And you know the price of those things now (yikes).

 

[axe4me]

Inspired by Gibson guitars are good.

Light years better. That does not make them great.

Better.

Yes but not a be all.

 

[VERVEHAMMER]

you criticize chinese made guitars for poor quality yet you take pictures like a 5 year old with a potato, the irony is strong.

UNBELIEVABLY FUNNY! THANK YOU SIR!..

I'm using that.

"You criticize ____________ for ________, yet you _________ like a 5 year old with a potato, the irony is strong."

 

[VERVEHAMMER]

rude much? We usually keep it a bit more polite here between members.

Look out for that Rude Marshall Volume....

Rock and Roll is Rude, and Metal is Ruderer....erer.

You think that's rude, go ahead and pet my dog.

 

[axe4me]

you know that "inspired by gibson"is a start.

Don't for a moment think you got a gold ring.

It's better but not best.

Be honest.

Veneer does not make it better.

A good and healthy start.

 

[V-man]

you criticize chinese made guitars for poor quality yet you take pictures like a 5 year old with a potato, the irony is strong.

irony?

Ler’s see…

were you let down by the inferior pictures that you actually paid for to someone holding out to be a professional photographer?

Am I earning a paycheck for entertaining certain dullards here with a loose command of the concept of irony?

Was I “selling” my shitty product to an unsuspecting public at large?


Yeah bud, slight difference between a group of “artisans” who hold themselves out as professionals for a guitar company, getting paid to do shit work that said company sells to people, versus some guy who is obviously not a photographer, (nor masquerading as one) sharing pictures used to convey to distributor what happened.