Epiphone ES-335 IG vs Epiphone Les Paul Plus Top Pro

[mspart]

I thought I'd change things up a little.

I just got a 2024 Epi ES-335IG (IG=inspired by Gibson).   I have been playing it a lot and it plays real nice.   Sounds great.   I'm no good and I still sound good.   It has 57 Classic Gibson pickups, CTS pots, overall a very good guitar.  

I have a 2015 Epi Les Paul, that I have loved since I got it used in 2015 or 2016.   I love that axe and play it mostly.   Due to the newness of the ES-335, I am playing it less, but I picked it up the other day and I melted.   It is just the right fit for me.  

I give both a thumbs up and would recommend them to anybody, even Mr. Gibson!!! 

I made a cheap pedal board out of some old plywood and Velcro.   I have a Tube Screamer, Little Big MUFF, chorus, digital delay, and reverb.  I play these through a Marshall Origin 20W head and through a 2x12 cabinet stocked with Celestion Vintage 30 speakers.   I installed those myself.   It sounds pretty good and it is very loud when on the 20W switch.  I play it mostly on the lowest setting which is 0.5 watts I think.   Even 5 watts is very loud in the room we have it in.   I could not do a 100W amp.   That would blow the windows out.   Think Marty McFly at the beginning of the movie. 

I also have a Marshall 50W CODE amp that I retrofitted with a guitar jack//switch so it can port directly into the speaker cabinet and not the crappy speaker in the CODE.   It sounds way better that way.   This amp can model lots of vintage amps and has all the effects on board.  Mostly what I do now is play a backing track through the CODE and play along with it on the other.   So I am the guitar player for the song, that's a lot of fun.   

I just thought to put in a new thread that is not so polarizing.   Please add anything to this, opinions, your gear that you love, etc.  

mspart

 

 

[Caveira]

1 hour ago, mspart said:

I thought I'd change things up a little.

I just got a 2024 Epi ES-335IG (IG=inspired by Gibson).   I have been playing it a lot and it plays real nice.   Sounds great.   I'm no good and I still sound good.   It has 57 Classic Gibson pickups, CTS pots, overall a very good guitar.  

I have a 2015 Epi Les Paul, that I have loved since I got it used in 2015 or 2016.   I love that axe and play it mostly.   Due to the newness of the ES-335, I am playing it less, but I picked it up the other day and I melted.   It is just the right fit for me.  

I give both a thumbs up and would recommend them to anybody, even Mr. Gibson!!! 

I made a cheap pedal board out of some old plywood and Velcro.   I have a Tube Screamer, Little Big MUFF, chorus, digital delay, and reverb.  I play these through a Marshall Origin 20W head and through a 2x12 cabinet stocked with Celestion Vintage 30 speakers.   I installed those myself.   It sounds pretty good and it is very loud when on the 20W switch.  I play it mostly on the lowest setting which is 0.5 watts I think.   Even 5 watts is very loud in the room we have it in.   I could not do a 100W amp.   That would blow the windows out.   Think Marty McFly at the beginning of the movie. 

I also have a Marshall 50W CODE amp that I retrofitted with a guitar jack//switch so it can port directly into the speaker cabinet and not the crappy speaker in the CODE.   It sounds way better that way.   This amp can model lots of vintage amps and has all the effects on board.  Mostly what I do now is play a backing track through the CODE and play along with it on the other.   So I am the guitar player for the song, that's a lot of fun.   

I just thought to put in a new thread that is not so polarizing.   Please add anything to this, opinions, your gear that you love, etc.  

mspart

 

 

Nice thread.  I recently got my son a epiphone sg.   Cool fact.  He doesn’t know it is his yet.   He likes Toni iommi, noodles from offspring and slash from gnr.     (He’s 12).   He currently plays a small kids starter guitar.  He’s in a Green Day cover band.  

[mspart]

Epiphone (Gibson's side hustle really) is putting out some outstanding guitars for the money.   I don't have the money for Gibson guitars so I settled on Epiphone which is owned by Gibson and they have been outstanding. 

If he doesn't like it can I have it?  

mspart

[Caveira]

Just now, mspart said:

Epiphone (Gibson's side hustle really) is putting out some outstanding guitars for the money.   I don't have the money for Gibson guitars so I settled on Epiphone which is owned by Gibson and they have been outstanding. 

If he doesn't like it can I have it?  

mspart

Ha. I can tell he likes it.  I’m trying to learn it a little as a front (it’s “mine now”) so when his fingers get bigger it’s his.  I fibbed a bit.  I didn’t tell him what it was he was like wooooooah that’s a Gibson sg.   I should prolly tell him.   A life long guitar friend told me about it.  It looks cool.  Sounds cool.  He plays a bunch of sabbath tunes on it.   It’s maroon and not black (iommi).

 

im half hippy (dead phish panic umphreys others) half metal / rock (sabbath gnr Metallica etc, 90s grunge)
 

thing is if i push him to a genre he won’t do it.   So when he picked all those rock bands on his own and asked to take a guitar class 12/18 months ago I was all for it. 

[Caveira]

2 minutes ago, Caveira said:

Ha. I can tell he likes it.  I’m trying to learn it a little as a front (it’s “mine now”) so when his fingers get bigger it’s his.  I fibbed a bit.  I didn’t tell him what it was he was like wooooooah that’s a Gibson sg.   I should prolly tell him.   A life long guitar friend told me about it.  It looks cool.  Sounds cool.  He plays a bunch of sabbath tunes on it.   It’s maroon and not black (iommi).

 

im half hippy (dead phish panic umphreys others) half metal / rock (sabbath gnr Metallica etc, 90s grunge)
 

thing is if i push him to a genre he won’t do it.   So when he picked all those rock bands on his own and asked to take a guitar class 12/18 months ago I was all for it. 

Got him a few small/medium fender amps …. One for this studio he plays in and a bunch of 30 foot cords.  Wife thinks it clutters up the living room but I like it.  I have a knock off les Paul from my cousin too.  

[GreatWhiteNorth]

10 hours ago, mspart said:

I thought I'd change things up a little.

I just got a 2024 Epi ES-335IG (IG=inspired by Gibson).   I have been playing it a lot and it plays real nice.   Sounds great.   I'm no good and I still sound good.   It has 57 Classic Gibson pickups, CTS pots, overall a very good guitar.  

I have a 2015 Epi Les Paul, that I have loved since I got it used in 2015 or 2016.   I love that axe and play it mostly.   Due to the newness of the ES-335, I am playing it less, but I picked it up the other day and I melted.   It is just the right fit for me.  

I give both a thumbs up and would recommend them to anybody, even Mr. Gibson!!! 

I made a cheap pedal board out of some old plywood and Velcro.   I have a Tube Screamer, Little Big MUFF, chorus, digital delay, and reverb.  I play these through a Marshall Origin 20W head and through a 2x12 cabinet stocked with Celestion Vintage 30 speakers.   I installed those myself.   It sounds pretty good and it is very loud when on the 20W switch.  I play it mostly on the lowest setting which is 0.5 watts I think.   Even 5 watts is very loud in the room we have it in.   I could not do a 100W amp.   That would blow the windows out.   Think Marty McFly at the beginning of the movie. 

I also have a Marshall 50W CODE amp that I retrofitted with a guitar jack//switch so it can port directly into the speaker cabinet and not the crappy speaker in the CODE.   It sounds way better that way.   This amp can model lots of vintage amps and has all the effects on board.  Mostly what I do now is play a backing track through the CODE and play along with it on the other.   So I am the guitar player for the song, that's a lot of fun.   

I just thought to put in a new thread that is not so polarizing.   Please add anything to this, opinions, your gear that you love, etc.  

mspart

Cool - you seem to be SERIOUSLY savvy about guitar playing. Impressive.

If you could, post a short audio clip. Maybe 5 seconds max. It'd be cool to attach sound to the story.

I agree - polarizing posts are a downer. Let's lighten it up and hear some of your guitar!

Edited Wednesday at 08:04 AM by GreatWhiteNorth

[GreatWhiteNorth]

<bump>

[mspart]

On 7/2/2025 at 1:03 AM, GreatWhiteNorth said:

Cool - you seem to be SERIOUSLY savvy about guitar playing. Impressive.

I apologize if you got the wrong impression.   I think I am neither savvy about guitars or playing them.   I can do ok as a rhythm guitarist but no way do I play any leads worth listening to.   I don't come up with anything original.   I know the scales and just play those.   Horrible really.   

But I do love playing that's for sure.   I'm just not very accomplished at it.   David Gilmour once said he thought if he practiced enough he could play with real speed.   He found out he couldn't.   I can't either.   I can play some Gilmour leads because he doesn't go for speed but for feel and emotion.   I can copy those but can't come up with them.   If it goes outside of the standard blues scale, I'm lost.   UFO is a good example.   I can play some of their stuff, but the leads, Schenker is just way out there, there is no way I can keep up.  

I appreciate your enthusiasm but I won't be posting any videos anytime soon. 

mspart

[Caveira]

Just now, mspart said:

I apologize if you got the wrong impression.   I think I am neither savvy about guitars or playing them.   I can do ok as a rhythm guitarist but no way do I play any leads worth listening to.   I don't come up with anything original.   I know the scales and just play those.   Horrible really.   

But I do love playing that's for sure.   I'm just not very accomplished at it.   David Gilmour once said he thought if he practiced enough he could play with real speed.   He found out he couldn't.   I can't either.   I can play some Gilmour leads because he doesn't go for speed but for feel and emotion.   I can copy those but can't come up with them.   If it goes outside of the standard blues scale, I'm lost.   UFO is a good example.   I can play some of their stuff, but the leads, Schenker is just way out there, there is no way I can keep up.  

I appreciate your enthusiasm but I won't be posting any videos anytime soon. 

mspart

That’s still awesome.  Don’t kid  yourself.   My kid started playing maybe 12 ish months ago.   And I’m starting to learn a little now.  My hands certainly don’t move like they did 20 years ago.  
 

keep playin!    also Floyd is awesome.  I saw them live back in their division bell tour.  

[WrestlingRasta]

9 minutes ago, Caveira said:

That’s still awesome.  Don’t kid  yourself.   My kid started playing maybe 12 ish months ago.   And I’m starting to learn a little now.  My hands certainly don’t move like they did 20 years ago.  
 

keep playin!    also Floyd is awesome.  I saw them live back in their division bell tour.  

Saw that tour is well.  David Gilmour is doing one last tour this summer. 

[mspart]

I was in college at BYU and we drove to LA to see them on their  first tour post Waters.    It was a good concert.   Worth the drive.   Oh yeah!

I keep playing, but have to learn new stuff every so often or it gets stale.  Latest new songs are If by Bread, Nothing else matters by Metallica, Layla by Derek and the Dominos, Carry on  by Kansas.   All songs I knew about and never learned.   I can play the songs but not the leads.   Oh yeah , Back in Black and Hell's Bells by AC/DC.   Again no lead work.   Us and Them by Pink Floyd.   I'll have to start thinking of songs I want to play again.  

mspart

[Caveira]

10 minutes ago, mspart said:

I was in college at BYU and we drove to LA to see them on their  first tour post Waters.    It was a good concert.   Worth the drive.   Oh yeah!

I keep playing, but have to learn new stuff every so often or it gets stale.  Latest new songs are If by Bread, Nothing else matters by Metallica, Layla by Derek and the Dominos, Carry on  by Kansas.   All songs I knew about and never learned.   I can play the songs but not the leads.   Oh yeah , Back in Black and Hell's Bells by AC/DC.   Again no lead work.   Us and Them by Pink Floyd.   I'll have to start thinking of songs I want to play again.  

mspart

The pixies?

[mspart]

My brother loved that band.   I have to admit I don't know a thing about them other than they created the groove that Nirvana  capitalized on.   Many years ago I learned some Pearl Jam and AIC and recorded them.   They came out ok, even the leads.   My wife threw them away in a cleaning spree. 

mspart

[Caveira]

3 minutes ago, mspart said:

My brother loved that band.   I have to admit I don't know a thing about them other than they created the groove that Nirvana  capitalized on.   Many years ago I learned some Pearl Jam and AIC and recorded them.   They came out ok, even the leads.   My wife threw them away in a cleaning spree. 

mspart

They play some nice chords and melodies.   Not to challenging imo and I’m far far behind you.   
 

if you listen to this 2/3/4 times and don’t love them   You don’t love the pixies….   Kim diehl (spelling ?) was in the  breeders from that era    ….. That cannonball tune

 

[mspart]

I'll have to listen to that.   I listened to the first 1.5 songs and so far so good.

mspart

[Caveira]

8 minutes ago, mspart said:

I'll have to listen to that.   I listened to the first 1.5 songs and so far so good.

mspart

Fantastic!      Like I said I’m wayyyyy behind you.  Trying to learn this 

a major to g to d 

ha.  Paraphrased.   Name that tune. ?

[mspart]

Working on it.  

mspart

[GreatWhiteNorth]

9 hours ago, mspart said:

I was in college at BYU and we drove to LA to see them on their  first tour post Waters.    It was a good concert.   Worth the drive.   Oh yeah!

I keep playing, but have to learn new stuff every so often or it gets stale.  Latest new songs are If by Bread, Nothing else matters by Metallica, Layla by Derek and the Dominos, Carry on  by Kansas.   All songs I knew about and never learned.   I can play the songs but not the leads.   Oh yeah , Back in Black and Hell's Bells by AC/DC.   Again no lead work.   Us and Them by Pink Floyd.   I'll have to start thinking of songs I want to play again.  

mspart

That is exactly what I'm talking about - just post like 5 seconds of Kansas. That's first year guitar stuff. You don't have to be good at it. Good isn't the point. Just play like nobody is listening.

You can play the songs - so just fire 'em up and give us a short audio sample. (I'll help you with uploading if you need it.)