Ibanez GIO or Epiphone Gibson Les Paul?

Question

Someone highly recommended an Ibanez, and I can only afford the GIO series, but there are also some Gibson Les Paul Epiphones for around the same price. Which are better?

Answer 1

Hello there,



I am not going to tell you what great guitars those are, nor give you a list of people who played guitars other than what you are looking at. The Gio is not a good Ibanez guitar. It is a cheaply made guitar for beginners. The low end Epiphone Les Pauls are not good Les Pauls, they are cheaply made guitars for beginners. The models of Epiphone Les Pauls in that price range are not the good ones. I do not recommend either guitar, unless you can find no other.



Lots of performers have used Epiphone guitars, but not the low end Les Paul models you are talking about. So all that talk is wasted. No bearing on your question.



And before someone comes along and gives you a list of all the great guitarists who play Ibanez guitars, like Joe Satriani, I will point out that those performers do not play the Gio series guitars. So a list of Ibanez playing performers would be equally a waste fo time. No bearing on your question.



Since you are on a tight budget, you need to shop smart. I suggest you look at finding a good deal on a used guitar. You can get a higher quality guitar used for the same money as a lesser quality new one. You will get more for you money and your money is limited.



Check your local want ads, Craigslist, and even eBay. Look in any local pawn shops. If there are any small locally owned guitar shops in your area, ask to see what used guitars they have on hand. Small shops usually have more used guitars than the large chain stores do.



Ibanez makes some great guitars, but the Gio series is not included in that. The same goes for the low end Epiphone Les Paul. The Les Paul is a great guitar and Epiphone makes some very good ones.



Later,

Answer 2

It depends on what you are going for. The Ibanez GIO series is great for beginners, and it has a good distortion and great action. It would be more for playing hard rock to heavy metal songs. As for the other guitar, it has to be either Gibson or Epiphone, it can't be both. But if you mean the Gibson, that is an incredible guitar, I would definitely recommend it for playing almost any type of music. That type of guitar is played by guitarists such as Neal Schon and Slash and many more. But the Epiphone Les Paul is not as great. It's another pretty much beginner's model, it is still a great guitar, and can play the same types of music as the Gibson version, except it won't sound as good on an Epiphone. But if you go with the Epiphone, you can always change those pick-ups to Gibson Les Paul model pick-ups. But the biggest difference between the Les Paul and the Ibanez GIO series is that the Les Paul does not have a whammy bar, whereas the Ibanez GIO does.

Another suggestion would be to check out a PRS if it is in your price range. I own a PRS Tremonti SE, and I have to say that it is a great guitar for playing hard rock songs and even slower/softer songs, but it is still sort of a "hard hitting" guitar in a way.

You could go on YouTube to check out any of these guitars.

Answer 3

Josh Homme Epiphone

Answer 4

Epiphone makes top-quality guitars. The only way is to play them both and see what YOU prefer.



But I'd say the Ibanez is inferior- very budget-oriented. Here's a list of people who have used Epiphone over the years:





The Beatles made prominent use of Casinos. In December 1964 Paul McCartney purchased a 1964 Texan FT-79 acoustic and a 1962 Casino; early in 1966 George Harrison and John Lennon followed suit, acquiring Casino E230TDs which they used regularly on stage and in the studio thereafter.[1][2] Lennon's Casino, first used on the album Revolver, became his main studio and stage guitar both with The Beatles and as a solo artist.[1][2] Epiphone produces two John Lennon signature model Casinos: One is a sunburst model resembling Lennon's prior to his alteration of the finish; the second, known as the "Revolution" Casino, is a replica of Lennon's after he had his sunburst Casino professionally sanded down to its natural finish.[3][4] McCartney used his Texan acoustic extensively for songwriting; he also performed the song "Yesterday" on it during an appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, and still uses this guitar to perform "Yesterday" in current concerts.[1] Epiphone has issued a McCartney signature Texan replicating this guitar.[5]



Keith Richards (The Rolling Stones) was among the first "British Invasion" guitarists to acquire a Casino, using a sunburst model with P-90 pickups and a vibrato tailpiece (most likely a 1961 or 1962 model) on The Rolling Stones' first US tour in June 1964.[6] Although he also used a number of other makes in the mid-60s, photos and footage show Richards continued to use the Casino regularly both on stage and in the studio through 1966.[7]



Brian Jones (The Rolling Stones) used a Casino, notably on "Little Red Rooster" on the band's May 2 1965 appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show.[8]



Dave Davies (Kinks) can be seen playing an Epiphone Casino in the video for "All Day and All of the Night".



Dwight Yoakam uses a Casino Elitist



The Edge (U2) uses a Casino.



Matthew Followill (Kings of Leon) uses a Sheraton II.



Mark Wilson (Jet) used a Jack Cassady Bass in the early videos such as Are you gonna be my girl



Nick Valensi (The Strokes) plays a Riviera which he customized himself with Gibson P-94 pickups; a Nick Valensi Signature model based on it was issued in 2005.



Noel Gallagher has two Epiphone Signature models, issued during the height of Oasis' popularity in 1995-96: the "Noel Gallagher Union Jack" and "Supernova" semi-hollow guitars.



John Lee Hooker used a Sheraton (with Frequensator tailpiece) and Sheraton II (with stopbar bridge). Epiphone introduced a signature John Lee Hooker model in 2000, the year before his death.



Brian Aubert (Silversun Pickups) uses a vintage sunburst Sheraton II as his primary guitar. It can be seen in several videos from the "Carnavas" album.



Tom DeLonge (Blink-182, Angels & Airwaves) uses his signture ES-333 in both Epiphone and Gibson versions.



Ezra Koenig (Vampire Weekend) plays a natural finish Sheraton II.



Matthew Followill (Kings of Leon) plays a vintage sunburst Sheraton II. He has also been pictured with an ebony finsh Sheraton II.



Josh Homme (Queens of the Stone Age) used an ebony Dot around the Lullabies to Paralyze era of the band.



Joe Pass uses an Emperor. Epiphone produces a signature model of Pass' guitar.



Les Paul used Epiphone guitars for recording from the early 1940's until the late 1950's, even after his signature Gibsons were produced. The Epiphones were highly customized models with his own pickups on them.



Ace Frehley (Kiss) uses a customized Les Paul with Dimarzio humbuckers.



Jay Jay French (Twisted Sister) uses a Les Paul. Epiphone produces a Jay Jay French signature model.



Pete Doherty (The Libertines/Babyshambles) uses a Coronet as his main electric guitar.



Steve Marriott (The Small Faces/Humble Pie) used a Dwight during Humble Pie's early days; it can be heard on the track "I Don't Need No Doctor".[9]



Django Reinhardt acquired a Zephyr to play during his American tour with Duke Ellington in 1946. He used the guitar for the rest of his career.[10]



Wayne Static uses a Flying V Signature guitar.



Phil Upchurch is pictured with an Epiphone Casino on the covers of his albums Feeling Blue and Upchurch.



Alex Lifeson (Rush) uses a Masterbuilt acoustic and has appeared in several Epiphone advertisements.



Ernest Tubb used several different acoustic models.



Nancy Wilson uses an Epiphone Les Paul Ultra and has an endorsement from Epiphone.



Frank Iero uses an Epiphone Les Paul Elitist



Then again, I'm a Les Paul player, so I'm biased. But I never played an Ibanez that I cared for.