Buy an Epiphone Les Paul Not a Gibson

Everybody loves to dunk on Epiphone. The wood is junk, it's not a real Gibson, just save up and buy the real one. So I looked into it. Gibson owns the plant where most Epiphone Les Pauls are built, the whole lineup got reset in 2020, and since 2024 some of them come with the actual Gibson headstock. If the last one you played was a bolt on neck or something from 2002, you're arguing about a guitar that doesn't exist anymore. I go through my current lineup, the Sweetwater Exclusive Inspired by Gibson Custom Les Paul Custom in Cobra Burst, the Epiphone Les Paul Futura Custom, and the Gibson.com Exclusive Les Paul Modern Custom, then put them up against my Gibson Les Paul Modern Figured. I'm not telling you to skip Gibson. I own one and I like it. These just deserve more respect than they get. SHOP GUITARS & SUPPORT THE CHANNEL Shop Epiphone Les Paul Guitars on Reverb (affiliate link): https://tidd.ly/4Alzkzd Shop Gibson Les Paul Guitars on Reverb (affiliate link): https://tidd.ly/473XO2q As a Reverb affiliate I earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you. 0:00 Nobody respects Epiphone 0:30 Which one did you actually play? 0:59 Why guitars got better 1:29 Gibson owns the factory 1:49 What changed in 2020 and 2024 2:38 Inspired by Gibson Custom, Cobra Burst 3:08 Epiphone Futura 3:46 Les Paul Modern Custom 4:12 Side by side with my Gibson 4:47 Quality control 5:08 "They use junk wood" 6:09 Gibson is selling you a lifestyle 6:58 Just give it the headstock 8:12 YouTubers with an agenda 8:51 "Just save up for a Gibson" 10:47 Nobody ever says buy a Studio 11:30 So should you buy one? Listen to my music: https://hyperfollow.com/nickneumann LINKS & SOCIALS Website: https://nickneumann.com Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/nickneumann.com Instagram:   / nickneumannlive