Home Forums The Guitar Epiphone Guitars You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites should upgrade or use an alternative browser. made in china or indonesia... Thread starter Wolf Start date Oct 14, 2019 Joined Oct 14, 2019 Messages 1 Reaction score 0 1 I bought my first Epiphone Les Paul custom pro a few days back, and would like too know out of the two, china or Indonesia what one makes the better Les Paul. 2 I have no direct experience with Indonesian Epiphones, I've heard they can be hit or miss. I'd take a Chinese Quigdao made in the last dozen or so years any day though. Joined Nov 11, 2017 Messages 41 Reaction score 34 3 My only Indonesian was a 1994 Trad Pro 1. The good 1st rate solid build, flawless finish, fantastic pickups/electronics, good setup out of the box. The bad Sharp fret ends, neck too thin for me. *Sold it because of the neck. I had a 2004 China Les Paul Standard that was 1st rate also. If not for the great Trad Pro pickups and the too thin Trad Pro neck, it would be a toss-up between the two. Last edited Oct 15, 2019 Joined Jan 16, 2015 Messages 7,554 Reaction score 9,281 Location Kraut-Territory 4 I bought my first Epiphone Les Paul custom pro a few days back, and would like too know out of the two, china or Indonesia what one makes the better Les Paul. Hi, Welcome here €piTalk Congrats on your first €pi LP-Custom The Question IMO is Can you see/feel/hear any difference if they would not write the country of manufacture on the guitar ? Countries don't make Epis - the employees make them Joined Jan 16, 2015 Messages 7,554 Reaction score 9,281 Location Kraut-Territory 6 The employees at the Quigdao Epi plant make some darn fine axes. just like those employees at the Indonesian Samick factory and those at the Korean Unsung factory.... Joined Sep 1, 2017 Messages 123 Reaction score 122 Location Charlotte, 7 Both factories from what I've bought and have had the pleasure of owning. Indonesian built Artisan models and the Thunderbird are just Fantastic. Close as possible to the big daddy without stepping on toes. The '55 Inspired by Custom and Jotun, as well as the ES-335 are Quindao China masterpieces. You just couldn't expect too much more. Unbelievable, so just be careful where you purchase. That's my only hang up. I can't explain how the GC here just has had bad quality stuff. Always a problem. zZounds and AMS have been better than I expected Last edited Oct 16, 2019 Joined Feb 20, 2018 Messages 600 Reaction score 536 8 It's all about material selection, specs and quality control. Joined Jan 25, 2019 Messages 24 Reaction score 18 9 I have experience in this, and I have a take, but I'm going to keep it to myself because I only buy very cheap used ones and I don't want to rock the boat. Joined Jan 16, 2015 Messages 7,554 Reaction score 9,281 Location Kraut-Territory 10 ......... but I'm going to keep it to myself.......... If we all did this - you would have nothing to read and learn here...... Joined Jan 25, 2015 Messages 5,134 Reaction score 6,925 Location Sutton QC 11 I have experience in this, and I have a take, but I'm going to keep it to myself because I only buy very cheap used ones and I don't want to rock the boat. And why do you feel inclined to share this bit of wisdom with us then ? 12 I have experience in this, and I have a take, but I'm going to keep it to myself because I only buy very cheap used ones and I don't want to rock the boat. Pointless post is pointless. Joined Jan 13, 2020 Messages 2 Reaction score 3 Location Pasadena, CA 13 Found this conversation as I searched Epi MIK vs MIC. I've owned many Epiphones and other guitars. Five years I started buying, keeping and playing, then selling guitars, many Epis, and mostly hollow or semi-hollow bodies. I now own as my keepers the following MIKs Sorrento, Alleykat, Regent; and an MIC Broadway 2018. I purchased all of these used Reverb, Guitar Center, Craigslist. I've been playing guitar for decades, and between 18-28 I played out regularly. I still play nearly every day. I consider my self a very good player. Now, what I have noticed about these Epiphones has been quite interesting. I find that the build quality is about the same for MIKs and MICs. Feel, playability, etc, seem to be equal. I have had a MIK Broadway and my current MIC Broadway. What I've discovered is the difference lies in the pickups. Yep, I've narrowed it down to the pickups. I took my 1999 Sorrento with P90s to Guitar Center and compared to the a Wildkat and the Casino. The Sorrento was a much better tone all the way around. I've also compared the '96 Regent pickup to the new D'Angelico EXL-1 both are 17" single pickup hollow - Epi doesn't make the Regent anymore and the Regent pickup was astoundingly superior. In fact, everyone who plays my Regent is blown away at the clarity of that pickup. I hold three music events at my studio in Pasadena every month so dozens of musicians come around each month. I recently purchased a 2002 MIK Alleykat, and this is when I decided that I must get more info on these MIKs because the pickups on this inexpensive Alleykat were astounding. I have two Gibson ES-275s, one semi-hollow Thinline, the other a full hollowbody. I compared the Alleykat to both of them. Results were as follows, the 275s both have Gibson's MHS pickups - some of the best and most articulate pickups I've every heard. I first compared the Alleykat to the full hollow and deeper 275. As expected, the 275 was a warmer sound, the pups were a bit louder, the highs were a bit more chime-y, but the Alleykat's pickups held their own very well. They just sounded like a different style guitar, because it was semi-hollow vs hollow, but the pickups did not compare as duller or muddier, they are very well voiced. I then compared them to the semi-hollow 275. The Alleykat pickups were not as loud, but very close in clarity and tone. I was really surprised. I never expected such a similar tone - not equal, but very similar. I must add that all the guitars have D'Addario 11 half-round strings, with the exception of the Broadway, on which I have installed 11 flats. So there's my story. I find the build quality pretty much equal, but I discovered that the older MIK pickups sound much better than the newer MICs. Why? I've no idea, but my ears can certainly hear the difference. Maybe Korea was making the Epi pickups in the same way Gibson was making their pickups, and maybe this all stopped once production moved full-time to China? Just guessing here. At any rate, keep playing whatever ya got! Joined Dec 7, 2015 Messages 3,352 Reaction score 4,038 Location Fort Collins, CO 14 Interesting observations. Could be why Epi has brought pickup mfg. back to the US to build the Pro line models. Pickups aren't complicated but there's still a lot of science that goes into designing good ones and an art to winding them well to avoid issues that can impact performance. On top of that you can take two identical sets and put them in different guitars and they may sound different to the ear. Then you can toss personal preference into the mix where one players wants absolute clarity and transparency and another prefers some woollier tonality for jazz or even for high gain distortion so everyone who winds them produces different "flavors" like jelly beans to meet demands. Anyway, always good to hear opinions from other players. Joined Jan 6, 2020 Messages 117 Reaction score 118 15 A lot of the voodoo about pickups would disappear if LCR meters were more affordable. The bare minimum, a DE-5000, costs as low as $80 at the moment, still way beyond a $10 multimeter. If you like a pickup, with no other information available it might be tempting to look at factors such as where it was made, how made it, or how much it cost, but with an LCR meter you might find that all the pickups you like just happen to be the ones with lower inductance, or higher inductance. DC resistance only correlates with the inductance to a degree, resistance rises linearly, but inductance rises to the square of the number of turns on the coils. If there was some secret to how pickups in the were wound, that secret would have leaked out ages ago. If there is a secret it's this stick to vintage specs, a lot of the import pickups tend to be either a lot hotter or very under wound, but sets like the ProBucker line show that they're taking vintage specs seriously now. Last edited Jan 13, 2020 Joined Jan 16, 2015 Messages 7,554 Reaction score 9,281 Location Kraut-Territory 16 Could be why Epi has brought pickup mfg. back to the US to build the Pro line models. Where is/was it stated that the Epi Pro-buckers are made in the US ? They are using some identical parts - that's all Joined Dec 7, 2015 Messages 3,352 Reaction score 4,038 Location Fort Collins, CO 17 Where is/was it stated that the Epi Pro-buckers are made in the US ? They are using some identical parts - that's all Well you would know better than I but I thought I had read that they were being produced in Nashville and if not I stand corrected. Anyway, how they're being made is a lot more important than where they're being made. I'm not one who cares much about point of origin. Joined Nov 5, 2019 Messages 24 Reaction score 32 18 I have no experience with Indonesian Epiphones but I can attest to Indonesian Squiers. They are just as fine as their Chinese counterparts where the Classic Vibe guitars are concerned. Joined Jan 25, 2019 Messages 24 Reaction score 18 19 And why do you feel inclined to share this bit of wisdom with us then ? Conversation is conversation. If I'm breaking some kind of rule that you have, I don't mind. Joined Jan 16, 2015 Messages 7,554 Reaction score 9,281 Location Kraut-Territory 20 Conversation is conversation. Not telling your opinion/wisdom/expierience at all is absolute NO conversation If I'm breaking some kind of rule that you have, I don't mind. we will tell you if you violate a rule Home Forums The Guitar Epiphone Guitars

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