Epiphone El-Cheapo...

Since I started taking lessons I have been using an acoustic guitar. I have an Ovation Balladeer that I love; it does everything I need for right now. I want to get an electric, so my wife said she would get me one for Christmas. The only issue, with our 2 boys and a rough few years, we are not rolling in money at the moment. After doing a lot of reading, I believe that I have narrowed it down to a Vox amp (AD30VT), and an Epiphone Special II Les Paul copy. Both got good reviews from various websites but I also wanted to get your opinions. I fully understand that the Special II is not going to have the tone quality as some of the more expensive models, but considering that I am JUST starting the guitar, I think that it would be a pretty good place to start. I will upgrade later as I get better, and as we got more finically secure.
Do you think that for my needs this would be a good combination, or for $400.00 for everything could I do better?

Thanks all.

alright. definate NO for the special II. definate. the vox amp, alright. but even if your a beginner, you should get a guitar that will last you and will sound good doing it.

for the same price, you can get something WAY better. its a little-known brand called Agile. i own an agile and LOVE it.

this would be my personal choice in your pricerange

but heres the actual page....look through it

Agile=better than Epi's, for less.

Originally Posted by: rockonn91alright. definate NO for the special II. definate. the vox amp, alright. but even if your a beginner, you should get a guitar that will last you and will sound good doing it.

for the same price, you can get something WAY better. its a little-known brand called Agile. i own an agile and LOVE it.

Agile=better than Epi's, for less.

OK, but why? Again, just about every review I have read about the Special II has been good.

I am interested in the Agile if it's a better buy then the Epiphone, I just would like to figure out why you say one is better then the other. Keep in mind, I really do not know a lot about guitars.

Thanks

its a personal taste thing i suppose. i just have very good relations with Agile, and not so much with Epiphone.

your right, the epiphone has some good reveiws. has an allaround rating of 8.3 at Harmony Central. the fact is, low-end epi's dont have the greatest quality.

Agile, well it has basically the same overall rating (8.9) at harmony central

ok, so my personal reasons that i'd go for the Agile.
one, the price. that Agile is basically the same price as the Epiphone.
two, the look. this may not seem important, but it is. look at both, and i think you'll agree the Agile looks way better/more professional.
three- the epiphone's body was made of alder/maple, while Agile's is Mahogany. its hard to explain the difference, but mahogany is very rich and full. heavyer tho.
Four- the epiphone and agile to a little switch of the woods here- epiphone uses mahogany for the neck and agile uses maple. epiphone has the edge for that one.
Five- the electronics on the Agile give you a much better selection of tones- it has 2 volumes and 2 tones, the epiphone just has one of each.
Six and final- the reviews. ok, on musician's friend, it says "Nov 7, 2005 - Not a bad guitar. I've had it for about 10 months now. Sweet Chrome hardware, Loooong sustain, and easy neck. However my nut broke, G doesn't stay in tune, high action and intonation needed adjusted and very heavy body! I sanded my plain looking ebony model down and refinished it after I fixed the nut and now I love it!!"
that may sound fine to you, but the stuff i hear are stuff like, "my nut broke", "G doesnt stay in tune" not good. i know the Agile has grover tuners, so it wont go out of tune, the epiphone doesnt say. i actually cant find many true specs about this guitar anywhere, not even the Epiphone website...


alright, im done ranting.

what it all comes down to is your opinion. you're not going to find the Agile in any stores, dont even try. try and find the Special II in a store and ask to play it. mabie it'll be just right for you. but if you look at all the features and stuff on the agile and just compare them both, the Agile seems way better

He y I got an Epi Les Paul Special II. Had it for years. It was my first guitar. I still play it even though I got my Gibson. I think it sounds great. What you reall pay for are the electronics. The wood, finish, and appointments (tuners,etc), are just not as quality but if you take care of it it will be good to you.

one, for the amp, I'd say take a vox AD15VT over the AD30VT, the 15 is 15 watts, and the 30 is 30 watts (simple enough right?) well, if you are just going to be playing at home, and at guitar lessons, then the 15 watts will definately get you by, it's louder then you probably think it is. and you'll save a little money that way

for the guitar, I am also going to recommend agile... however, I'm going to say that for the same price as the one that rockon91 listed, you could get the AL-2500 in heritage cherry, which is a step up model to the AL-2000.

the reasons I say get an agile over an epiphone is because you get alot more bang for your buck with an agile. and the agile is more on par with a gibson then a low-end epiphone.

You can get a variety of MIM fender Strats for around $500, which are very versatile guitars and are better quality than an Epiphone of the same price. The strats come in SSS, HSH, HH, and HSS combinations...you have alot to choose from. They come in hardtail and tremolo,and Floyd Rose Tremolo, you get one volume and two tone knobs and the choice between maple/rosewood fretboard.. I would go with a Fender.

Originally Posted by: Tele MasterYou can get a variety of MIM fender Strats for around $500, which are very versatile guitars and are better quality than an Epiphone of the same price. The strats come in SSS, HSH, HH, and HSS combinations...you have alot to choose from. They come in hardtail and tremolo,and Floyd Rose Tremolo, you get one volume and two tone knobs and the choice between maple/rosewood fretboard.. I would go with a Fender.

he was talking about an epiphone special II which is about $150... and he said he only has $400 for both guitar and amp

Yes, I only have in the $400 range to spend. I fully get the fact that I am not going to find "the best" guitar (which is a very subjective rating anyway) in that price range. But it is what it is; $400 give or take to get an amp and guitar.

I do like what I have read about the Agile. And yes, looks are important. I like the fact that it's a $200 guitar that looks every bit as good as a guitar 2 or 3 times that amount. I also like the dual controls compared to the Epiphone's single volume controls.

The only concern I have is that I can only buy it from one place that happens to be a long ways away from where I am. How is Rondo Music to deal with? The nice thing about the Epiphone is I can run up to Guitar Center 5 miles from my home if I need to return it for any reason. But hopefully that will not need to happen either way. I have a guy that is a friend of a friend who said he would set up whatever guitar I get.

Thanks for all of the help !!

Originally Posted by: binfordtoolsYes, I only have in the $400 range to spend. I fully get the fact that I am not going to find "the best" guitar (which is a very subjective rating anyway) in that price range. But it is what it is; $400 give or take to get an amp and guitar.

I do like what I have read about the Agile. And yes, looks are important. I like the fact that it's a $200 guitar that looks every bit as good as a guitar 2 or 3 times that amount. I also like the dual controls compared to the Epiphone's single volume controls.

The only concern I have is that I can only buy it from one place that happens to be a long ways away from where I am. How is Rondo Music to deal with? The nice thing about the Epiphone is I can run up to Guitar Center 5 miles from my home if I need to return it for any reason. But hopefully that will not need to happen either way. I have a guy that is a friend of a friend who said he would set up whatever guitar I get.

Thanks for all of the help !!

from what I've heard, rondo music is EXCELLENT to deal with, they are very well known for their excellent customer support. and should something be wrong with the guitar when you recieve it, if it isn't the shippers fault, they will probably replace it for you. and if it is the shippers fault, then they might complain to the shipper and get you a refund. but I'm pretty sure they would pack it well so nothing would happen to it. but if you are still unsure, then get a hardshell case for it... best way you can protect a guitar.

Oh, sorry I misunderstood.

Originally Posted by: 6strngs_2hmbkrsfrom what I've heard, rondo music is EXCELLENT to deal with, they are very well known for their excellent customer support.

i loved buying my guitar from Rhondo. they're excellent, send you a nice fed-ex online report of your guitars progress to your house, give you nice little emails. its shipped in a double box and handled very nicely- i didnt even see any scratches or dents on the box when i got it!

only problem, there is no warrenty- if its messed up when shipped, they'll replace it but after you start playing it...

ive had my agile nearly a year and havnt had to do anything to it yet.