Is an epiphone a good guitar company? & what amp should I get

Question

Epiphone guitars look just like gibson guitars but cheaper. I am a beginner player and I was wonder witch specific brand or model of guitar would be best for me at a reasonable price <$250.

Also I was looking at this epiphone les paul package:

http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/Epiphone-Les-Paul-Special-II-and-Amp-Pack?sku=513150

It is origionaly $800 but on sale for 270. It comes with the amp and other accesories

I also saw this online:

http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product?sku=480674X

and I was wondering whether this works just as well as a reglar amp, and if i need to buy an amp or stero to go with it.

I thought I might get this because of all its effects and then just buy a guitar seperate.

So is it better to buy a package like the epiphone les paul or to buy the v-amp and a guitar seperate. Also what is a good brand of cheap but still ok quality guitars

Answer 1

Epiphone guitars are a great brand to follow if you&#039;re just starting out. Alot of professionals still use them actually. They are in most ways just as good as Gibson, only half the cost and a slight decrease in quality (thought it still beats out other guitars of similar prices) . Guitar brands are hard to categorize, especially when getting down to Brands and specific models. But if you&#039;re shopping online, always read customer reviews. I find that the most helpful.

In my opinion Gibsons are the best guitats ever made. But I can&#039;t afford one so I stick by Ibanez Guitars. Good Quality, Nice Sound Good Prices.

As for the choices you were looking into, I&#039;d go with the guitar Amp package. Don&#039;t get simulators and Amp replicators. They just don&#039;t compare to the real thing.

Answer 2

Epiphone guitars are good quality! Think of them as the generic version of Gibons, they&#039;re essentially made by the same people. Finding the &quot;generic&quot; brands can save you money but still ensure you get a good product. For instance, LTD is the generic of ESP (if that means anything to you), Tapco is the generic of Mackie, etc.

Good stuff.

The V-Amp is an effects processor, not a full amplifier. While your needs may vary, if you want to hear yourself out loud I would suggest going a different direction. I will be quite honest - I have owned the rack-mount version of this processor (the V-amp Pro) and some parts of it are cool, but much of it is kinda like &quot;bleh&quot;, to use a technical term. It&#039;s good because it&#039;s cheap, but it&#039;s not top quality. If you get it, get it because its cheap and because it&#039;ll do while you&#039;re saving up for something better.

I actually recommend the Epiphone Valve Jr. The combo is under 200$, and the head/cab version is under 300$. I just picked one up, I&#039;m using the head with one of my cabs, and I am just amazed by how sweet it sounds. It has no features or special effects, but it has great tone. Put a pedal in front of it (even the V-amp I guess) and you should have a great sound with volume levels that shouldn&#039;t get too ridiculous.

I always recommend buying amp and guitar separate. You get higher quality that way. It really helps if you have the budget to be a little choosy.

I&#039;ve gone through a couple different guitars, and I&#039;ve found that I like the LTD EC-50 and EC-100QM. These are pretty inexpensive, but have pretty decent sound. As with any inexpensive guitar, you should expect to need to have them set up, and upgrading their pickups really helps, but with that in mind, they&#039;re a very good value, play well, and can sound very good.

I personally suggest Elixir strings. They&#039;re coated, and they last longer. I&#039;ve been playing for over a decade now, and I still hate changing strings. =) Google &quot;guitar string care&quot; for tips on how to keep your strings lasting longer. My favorite string lubricant is GHS Fast fret. Reduces string noise and makes it easier to slide my fingers around. I think it helps the strings last longer, too. Dunno.

Look, whichever way you go, I strongly strongly strongly recommend you play the guitar first, and compare it with other guitars. I got suckered in by the deceptive beauty of a BC Rich Warlock but suffered for it once I started gigging. It wouldn&#039;t stay in tune, the neck didn&#039;t feel comfortable, and it never sounded all that great, even with EMGs in it. I&#039;m much happier with my Jackson Dinky and LTD&#039;s!

Saul

Answer 3

Your  best bet on a tight budget is probably to go with one of the epiphone les paul special packages. That Behringer amp modeler that you were looking at requires amplification in order to play through it which will cost more money. I&#039;ve been playing guitar for 5 years and I have an epiphone black beauty which I love. So go for the epiphone package and I&#039;m sure you won&#039;t be disappointed.

Answer 4

The Epiphone package your looking at would be a good place to start. Has everything you need right there, which is all you need for now. Those are pretty decent guitars for the price too.  

   While the Behringer V-Amp has a ton of effects in it, you would be forced to use headphones all the time if you dont have an amp to plug it into.  Thats great for those 10 at night practice sessions, but in the long run, I think you would be better off with the package.

Hope this has helped, and hope you learn to love playing music for many years to come.