Gibson Les Paul JR. vs. Epiphone 57' Reissue Jr. w/BKP

[jmefreeman]

Right, in a bit of a dilemma. I currently own a gibson les paul junior, its a standard model, not one of the custom shop ones. Value about £400. It sounds alright but not great, isnt as amazing as i hoped. Plus i hate the sunburst finish. Epiphone have just released a '57 reissue junior, in tv yellow finish (actually pretty spot on!), solid mahogany construction. and i could pick one up for less than £200 leaving me money to upgrade the bridge, tuners and pickup (bareknuckle of course). Amp setup is an Orange Rockoverb 30. Im after a huge, raw open and high clarity sound basically (distortion, i dont really give a $%&# about clean). The gibson is quite muddy/nasal and i cant dial it out. Just want an honest opinion off people. I've never owned a really cheap guitar before, i know i'll have to upgrade loads of stuff but will it be like polishing a turd? Is the gibson gonna sound better regardless of pickup and hardware in the epiphone? Oh, and which bkp do you guys recommend? 90, 91 or 92?
CHeers guys!

[Crazy_Joe]

I say Epiphone, i don't really know why but i doubt there will be that much difference between them, and with BKP's in it will sound better than the Gibo anyways.

[HTH AMPS]

Epi's are starter guitars (sorry, but it's true) and the quality, or lack thereof, is really telling.  Keep your Gibson and put a BKP in it.

 :twisted:

[JJretroTONEGOD]

I recon the Gibson will always sound better, just like a USA Fender always sounds better over sqire strats and the way USA Jacksons always sound better than Japaneze made Jacksons.

It's makes sense to fit the Gibson with Bare Knuckles over the Epiphone to me.

[jmefreeman]

there is one other alternative. A tokai les paul junior ive also got my eyes on. better tv yellow colour again but im not overly a fan of the double cutaway. they have great reviews though. same price as my gibson. dont think they make single cutaway ones. they seem pretty good. Oh, and the epiphone is a set neck too if it makes any difference. J

[Twinfan]

I have an upgraded Epi SG with Riff Raffs.  You need to shop around and get a "good one", but once pimped up they're great guitars.  Given the small price difference in this case though, I'd just get a BKP-90 for the Gibbo.

[gingataff]

Get a BK P90, try it in the Gibson. If it's still pants then blame the guitar and buy a new one :) BTW Edwards have some very tasty Jrs including relics, a bit higher than your budget for the Epi though :?

[jmefreeman]

Yeah ive seen a nice edwards one, they rarely show up on ebay (us and uk) though, where do people get these jap guitars from (and dont just say japan!) Anyone know a company that does a decent SINGLE cutaway jr. in tv yellow? or any colour other than sunburst or black actually! jamie

[gwEm]

I have an upgraded Epi SG with Riff Raffs.  You need to shop around and get a "good one", but once pimped up they're great guitars.  Given the small price difference in this case though, I'd just get a BKP-90 for the Gibbo.

This reply makes so much sense! I agree 100% with everything here.

G

[Twinfan]

Yeah ive seen a nice edwards one, they rarely show up on ebay (us and uk) though, where do people get these jap guitars from (and dont just say japan!) Anyone know a company that does a decent SINGLE cutaway jr. in tv yellow? or any colour other than sunburst or black actually! jamie

You could get a custom order from Gordon Smith guitars.