Well I guess I misunderstood you about the style choices. I took it that your friends built
SG's too but you hadn't seen them build a LP.
Naturally, since your last purchase was an SG and thinking your luthier friends build them...I was comparing apples to custom grown apples lol.
 
Like I stated much earlier in this thread; people buy for many different reasons.
When I talk with folks about a build I try to mention all the different aspects of guitars I can when planning out the build...if I think
they may not know but I've never thought that the things they prefer are not good just because I prefer
something else. It has also been an opportunity for them to learn about some aspects of a guitar that they didn't realize.
 
I know I played them for many years and didn't know anything much more than what I liked...didn't know or care why.
Scale length didn't matter to me then...I knew that all the strings I bought were long enough. Now it still doesn't matter
unless I'm going to build one. :) and lucky enough...the strings still fit.
 
 

Here's a case in point...

Here is my Guitar



This is my Tradition MTP-375.  Here is a better picture with more detail...



It is a solid Mahogany Set Neck and Body, in Transparent Black, with a 5/8" Curly Maple Top.
24 Frets, Abalone around Headstock, Neck, and Body.  Abalone and Mother of Pearl
Fret Inlays, Wilkenson Tremelo, I have an EMG 81 in the Bridge Position and stock pickup
in at the Neck.

If I were to go and trade this guitar or sell it, I'd be lucky to get $100, even thought this guitar,
10 years ago sold for $1,300.00.  Why?  Because no one is really familiar with this brand.  It
plays every bit as well, if not better, then a Les Paul or PRS, and sounds every bit equally as 
good, if not better.  But it has no value (perceived) because the BRAND is not popular or known.

Stamp PRS or Gibson on the Headstock.....$5,000.00....

This is the TESTAMENT to the IGNORANCE of Americans and their PERCEPTION of what is "Valuable"...

I'm just saying..

spacey
Well I guess I misunderstood you about the style choices. I took it that your friends built
SG's too but you hadn't seen them build a LP.
Naturally, since your last purchase was an SG and thinking your luthier friends build them...I was comparing apples to custom grown apples lol.
 
Like I stated much earlier in this thread; people buy for many different reasons.
When I talk with folks about a build I try to mention all the different aspects of guitars I can when planning out the build...if I think
they may not know but I've never thought that the things they prefer are not good just because I prefer
something else. It has also been an opportunity for them to learn about some aspects of a guitar that they didn't realize.
 
I know I played them for many years and didn't know anything much more than what I liked...didn't know or care why.
Scale length didn't matter to me then...I knew that all the strings I bought were long enough. Now it still doesn't matter
unless I'm going to build one. :) and lucky enough...the strings still fit.
 
 

One of them does build SGs, indeed, though I was introduced to him very recently, and didn't find out he had build a few of them (including a really beautiful one w/ the cross inlays, similar to Tony Iommi's) until after I'd ordered mine. 
 
As you said, there are many reasons why people chose a guitar and that Gibson was some kind of a promise I'd made to myself (actually, the cheapest way to hold that promise).
 
For the price I've paid because of the year-end price drop ($499), I actually don't know whether I could have had much of a custom SG.
 
I don't know how much I'd have to pay to have an instrument that, to me, feels or sounds remarkably better. I'm not the kind of guy who will agonize over the choice of wood and woodgrain - as much as I enjoy learning about it.
 
If EVH could revolutionize rock guitar with those 2 pieces of woods he bolted together and his rudimentary soldering skills, and if Hendrix made history playing off the shelf CBS Stratocasters, to me, though the difference may be discernable, it isn't something that matters all that much.
 
I pick guitars I think play well and will work for me. I can change the pick ups if needed, and that part makes more of a difference to me than wood and and that fine stuff.
 
You know, for a while I've considered having my strat upgraded. Or then having a totally custom Tele built for me. But then I started going through the list of custom options I wanted and realized that the result would pretty much be a caricature of a Les Paul. 
 
Still, wanting something a bit more streamlined than the LP, with bevelled edges, and to have that switch out of the way, the SG seemed like a good option. It has the tune-o-matic bridge which is ergonomically right for me.
 
It was a matter of finding one which wouldn't feel so frail and thing - hence the 50's rounded neck. 
 
The satin finish for the neck was also a preference of mine. The black pick up covers, a great solution to my ruining of chrome hardware. And the minimalist finish is definitely a big plus for me.
 
Funnily enough, these are features that I couldn't find rolled into one more expensive Gibson. So this one is almost like having a custom SG.
 

Whelp...I guess I'm a tangent to the above sentiments. Because I PREFER Epiphone to many Gibson products. If we are differentiating between the two. My Epi Nighthawk custom reissue...made in Indonesia...is exemplary. Put together every bit as good as my former PRS Custom 24. Just my opinion. It is also better built than my former Gibson ES339...which I had high hopes would be the end to my search for THE guitar. Ha! The current candidate is a MIJ 58 Strat reissue which I will take delivery on Monday. Fingers crossed. Again.

yorolpal
Whelp...I guess I'm a tangent to the above sentiments. Because I PREFER Epiphone to many Gibson products. If we are differentiating between the two. My Epi Nighthawk custom reissue...made in Indonesia...is exemplary. Put together every bit as good as my former PRS Custom 24. Just my opinion. It is also better built than my former Gibson ES339...which I had high hopes would be the end to my search for THE guitar. Ha! The current candidate is a MIJ 58 Strat reissue which I will take delivery on Monday. Fingers crossed. Again.

My black Les Paul is like that - the binding, the finish and all are all exceptional. It is totally playable - more so than many more expensive Les Paul's or others I've played. The pick ups are okay - pretty hot, not muddy but not very good either. Overall, I love that guitar. And it's gorgeous.
 
My cherry sunburst plays like a dream. The satin finish is a bit rough, especially the back of the body - play it without a shirt and if you have the tiniest bit of hair where the guitar rests, you'll understand.
 
The binding isn't as flawless as on the black one, far from it. The part which rests on my lap looks stained. The switch sucks. Some edges look a bit rough. But pick ups are surprisingly good - they're Epiphone's own version of a Gibson's Burstbucker and a '57. Sweet sounding.
 
Did I mention it was eminently playable?
 
The rough finish and the imperfections are things I'm well willing to put up with if that gets me a guitar which sounds and plays like I want for a reasonable price.
 
 

And speaking of strats...
 
I was quite disappointed the first time I removed the pick guard on my 1994 MIA Fender strat and saw the large chunk of wood they'd taken out - the swimming pool routing they call it, is that it? Doesn't look like particularly fine piece of work. The pick ups were nothing to write home about - quite mediocre in fact.
 
Other than that, it was quite indestructible, played better than any other strat I've played and never gave me any issue - except with the knobs which quickly started falling off. Only recently did it the volume and switch become noisy. 
 
I would NEVER put a Les Paul or a SG throughout a hundredth of what that strat has been through. They're not the fanciest but they're incredibly solid.
 
But with the exception of the electronics and maybe the tuners, I could probably tell you the same of just any old strat, be it made in Japan or in India or in Canada. 
 

2 years ago I sold a black Epiphone LP, I used the money to buy a Epi 335. The LP had a Gibson Classic 57+ pickup in the bridge that I bought new for $135 and installed myself. It was really a sweet player with that Gibson pickup and rivaled my real Gibson. When I advertised the LP for sale with the upgraded pickup, at a higher price, no one wanted to pay any more for it than the other Epi LP's that were being offered. I had dozens of guys trying to low ball me and were offering $200. When I would tell hem that the Gibson pick up alone was worth $135, they just didn't care. So.....I took the pick up out and sold it as a standard Epi. Got $300 for it with case.

When I bought the Epi Dot 335, I installed it into the new guitar. Now it is a sweet player as well. I haven't changed out the neck pick up yet, but will one of these days. The Epi neck pickup isn't too bad, but it is not as nice as the Gibson 490R pickup that is in my Gibson LP. I can hear the difference. The point was, that no matter what I did in upgrades to the Epi LP, it wasn't gaining me anything in resale value. It was a very well made LP and sounded pretty darn good with the upgrades. I think there are a lot of kids out there these days that just play on solid state amps, Line 6 Spiders and simulators that can't really hear the difference anyway. I know every time I go into GC some one tries to sell me on the latest POD or modeling amp. I always apologize and say, sorry...I am one of those geezers that love our tubes. I also don't play with a lot of heavy distortion, so dynamics is probably more noticeable to me as well.

Well, I stayed out of this topic (except when I pop in to make an expected stupid, hopefully comedic, comment of course! ), however...  "MY" answer to the OP is this:
 
Before I got my first wonderful chance to get a custom built the way I want, I camped in Guitar Center for hours trying out LOTS of guitars.  I tried out 31 Gibson LP's (Standards and Classics) and MOST of them had some issue (sometimes serious) with them.  The most common was sharp fret edges.  But, the thing that stood out above all else was how each one felt completely different from other, supposedly, equal guitars.  Unfortunately, only TWO really felt like you wanted to take them home, but at $2,350 I had a lot of misgivings and didn't pull the trigger.
 
Remember that I used to have a '76 LP Standard as well as my favorite Studio Double Cut so I was already familiar with how they were supposed to play and feel.  I also had a nice Lonestar Fender Strat (with a full replacement pickguard preloaded with alternative pickups so it was easy to switch from three singles to a fat-strat) so I knew what that was like as well.
 
I ended up buying a sweet LP Classic from a friend in financial trouble instead but, the next time I went into GC, I played a bunch of Strats and was very impressed with how consistently well set up they were and pretty much any of them would have made a nice purchase (for far less than an LP).  My conclusion?  Gibson had a complete let-down in quality control, yet their prices weren't competitive to others that were offering quality for a lot less (Yamaha, Music Man, Ibanez and Schecter all come to mind - and I've had all of these except Yamaha's).
 
So my answer to the OP is "Higher price for lower quality."  Of course, that's all based on the fact that there's really any statistics behind the original assertion to begin with!  LOL.
 
Here were my Gibson LP and Fender Strat:
 
 
 
BTW - The reason I'm not as much of a fan of Epiphones (I've only had one) is that every one I tried would have needed post-sale work to get it to the level I wanted.  Usually this meant upgrading the electronics and replacing the nut at the least.

Yup..that used to be my take on Epis as well. But in the last few years I think they've actually gotten WAY better. Especially the Indonesian builds. Agree totally regarding Gibbies. Quality control sketchy at best. My gripe with fender is that now they put out so many models at so many price points made in so many different locales that it's hard to know exactly what you're getting.

I'll keep ya posted on my MIJ 58 Strat and how it does...or doesn't measure up.

Finally took the bait Craig? :-)


I believe the Lone Star Strat comes with upgraded Fender pickups. Am I remembering correctly? I know that I hear the difference in pickups and electronics between a MIM Strat, an American and a Am. Deluxe. My last American Deluxe was a real player, it was really hard for me to let than one go. I will own another some day.

I have the same issues with Epi's Craig. By the time I have gutted all of the electronics and pickups, I am back into a lower end LP.

Nice LP Classic by the way. Classic is probably the model I would pick up if I get another LP. You can find some real bargains used right now. I see them at $1,400- $1,600 all day long here, in good shape.