Gibson and Epiphone both use a number of pieces of wood glued together to form the body of the instrument. Gibson tends to use higher-grade woods and has recently been calling out the grade in model descriptions. This is commonplace for many makers when employing flamed and figured maple, but Epiphone also uses this for plain maple tops. In most cases, though, Epiphone uses a very thin maple veneer. Gibson models use a carved maple cap for most Les Paul models, which is an important part of the tone and aesthetic.Įpiphone generally uses a number of woods for its cap that are not always the same as the body wood. Maple, too, has many varieties, but most important to this discussion are the grades and thicknesses of the wood. In the past, Epiphone has also used alder and basswood for many models in place of Mahogany. On the other hand, Epiphone (and many other makers) often employ sapele or luan - which are cheaper and more readily available while still in the mahogany family - and don’t call it out. Mahogany has many different species, and guitar companies that use “genuine mahogany” are quick to point it out in the literature - Gibson included. But mahogany, for example, is an entirely different story. In the case of maple and rosewood, the species used by the two companies are very similar. Gibson Memphis ES-335 Dot, 3-ply Maple/Poplar/Maple Our best bet for getting at some consistent comparison, then, is to aim for the middle of the road and look at comparable models that a potential buyer might consider side-by-side. The Cost of Buying an Epiphone or a GibsonĬost is a variable question, as the current most affordable Gibson, the M2, goes for $400, and the most expensive Epiphone, the 1965 Elitist Casino, goes for $2,000. We’re attempting to look past players’ preconceptions and emotions, focusing instead on the objective issues of cost, components, selection, and value. With all that in mind, we thought we'd spend some time today trying to answer what makes Epiphone and Gibson different today. According to most players, quality for both brands has fluctuated over the past decade or two, as have the exact specs and designs being brought to the table. The truth of the divide, though, is much more complex than a simple split between high- and low-end. The split is considered to be cheap vs expensive, imported vs American-made, and at its core, budget-friendliness vs historic quality. It's a long and entwined history, but for most modern players, Epiphone is seen first and foremost as the current low-end of the wider Gibson catalog. In 1957, Gibson purchased Epiphone and used the brand as a way to broaden their distribution network and, eventually, to expand production beyond just the US. The two companies were competitors in the archtop market in the 1930s and during the development of the earliest electric models. Gibson and Epiphone are two of the oldest brands in the whole history of guitar production, especially when focusing on electrics.
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