Les Paul Copy vs $3000 GIBSON! - Can you Hear the Difference??
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- Опубликовано: 8 сен 2024
- Can our affordable Les Paul kit stand against an actual Gibson?
Check out this new series on the channel to find out!
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Honestly this video makes me never want to buy a Gibson. I also really want to buy a Gibson. I also want to build a kit guitar. Thanks for the internal conflict DB! Great vid series.
Everyone should own at least 1 true les Paul in their life. Just buy from a credible source and with all paperwork. Verify true lespaul with Gibson via serial number. They can tell you model, color pickups. Don't buy altered ones
or buy an epiphone les paul
@@GreatWhiteLionSnake ...or not. Especially if you don't play guitar.
@@pjo5214 haha. I stand by my statement ;)
Absolutely blown away by the kit guitar.. it sounds warmer in some areas.
How much would the kit guitar be ?
Love to win
Love to win I had a Les Paul Epiphone Nast a phone and they were stolen from me now I don't have the finances to buy an epiphone but I love it love to win
you always look so happy and optimistic, makes the video a lot more fun to watch. I love it
Analyst cuz hes doing what he loves
Darrell is sooo nice. He's easy to watch. He's Canadian. No wonder.
My wife bought a kit guitar for me (thank you, Dear...). I saw your series and am confident my Les should work and sound well. Thanks so much!
You have a good wife. Wish mine would get me one. I always wanted a guitar when I was young now at 70 seeing this has renewed my interest.
I’d pocket the $2800 difference and go on a trip to Hawaii!!
Buy a Gibson, go on holiday to Hawaii, drive a BMW -- same thing, meaning one is attracted like a moth to the bright lights. There are plenty of beaches, and guitars, in the world. Think different, but DON'T buy an Apple!
Ndlanding Iphones are hella overpriced. Samsung is better
@rdiehl2
and struggle with playing an inferior guitar
...just sayin' :P
You would piss it away on a vacation? What about 10 more kit guitars and parts upgrades for them?
@@aquatichighs hawaii is very fun
I have been playing a Gibson Les Paul (a number of them actually) since 1967, and while it still has the superior sound, the kit’s sound actually stood up quite well. I have built A couple of kits myself, always changing out the pick ups and electronics for best quality, but that Solo kit sounds good right out of the box.
Awesome demo and music as always!
I am a subscriber to both your’s and Brad’s channels, and it was fun to see your collaboration in this build.
Bravo!
Gibson is not worth 15x the amount the kit cost. GREAT series of videos, mate!!
Well, that depends if you're gonna sell it or not. The Gibson will sell for a high price and the Kit will sell for close to nothing.
A fully built guitar to the standard of Gibson isn't worth 15x as much as few pieces of wood and some aliexpress hardware? ($200 × 15 = $3,000) you can get a pretty nice Studio on sale for about $1200
For argument sake, After you finished with the kit, and paid a professional to finish it to the quality of a Gibson, your now invested at leased $500-600 into this thing. And you've still got a bolt on neck, a veneer top, cheap Chinese hardware and no resale value.
So a $500 guitar vs a $1200 Studio.
Yeah I'd say a Gibson I'd worth that 2.4x
The biggest argument for the Gibson is the value over time. The Gibson will eventually be worth more than $3000 as long as it is properly taken care of. The kit guitar will probably stay right at the $200 mark. So roi is far better with the Gibson. But if you just want a les Paul to play with or learn with, the kit is a definate option. Another issue though with the kit is how well will it stand the test of time. I would be willing to bet the Gibson holds together far better after 50 years.
@@Fureoz I feel like that's a really depressing way to look at guitars, as an investment that you'll eventually sell, and actually playing it and using it isn't important. A Gibson les Paul, like a fender American strat, is one of the end game guitars, i.e. Once you buy it you have it for life, and pass it down to your children when you die. I don't give a damn about leaving it to rot in a case never being played and then selling it years down the line, what kinda "guitar player" does that? That being said, Gibsons aren't worth the cost and haven't been for decades at this point, there are so many different brands of cheaper yet higher quality les Paul "copies" these days that are still premium built and sounding, that if you want the best playing and sounding les Paul then you don't go with Gibson. But to a lot of people, even the best copy would never be enough, and they always will eventually aim for getting a Gibson. Even if it's not really value for money at all. It's just one of those things where owning one is not about whether it's a "sensible purchase" or not, it's about the guitar you dreamed of having since you were a kid.
You cant talk about resale..., all things beings being equal if thats your critique? BUY THE GIBSON. If Value is your judgement? GET THE EPIPHONE LES PAUL. IF you want a kit and a project? Get the kit
I like how warm El Cheapo sounds.
Price difference is not equal to sound difference
James Markham I agree, but I always can pick out the Gibson vs the kit every time in blind sound check. I built a kit in 2015 nice to see the kit guitars quality getting better.
I agree James.
Not everyone can plop out 3 to 5 grand for that sweet Les Paul sound James. A good way to start a young player with only 2 to 3 hundred investment! That's what my son learned on. Just saying. Still love my real Les Paul though.
Yeah, the Les Paul sounds better, but I don't think it's $3000 dollars worth of better. If I had that kind of disposable income, I'd go for the Gibson. I'm not a pro though, so $200 for a fairly similar tone seems good. The only thing I'd be worried about is the playability.
Spend 200 bucks on pickups and you've got the same guitar never impressed by gibson slash Brazilian dream cost as much as a new car rather have the car
what makes differences:
skill
and amp
Switch the pickup ups and do it again. ...:)
Jim Morse not only the pickups, use the exact same electronics and lets see what happens ;)
I agree, Jim, and I agree w/Ramon M. in that the entire wiring harness including the pickups and the 3-way switch swapped into the Braun would be a much better comparison. What the hell, right? Then you can put it all back (probably) when you're done, ya know??
Swap the name badge and listen to the critics . . . .
Just found this series...and with the Solo retail store being an 8 minute drive from work I'll be picking up a Solo LP kit for sure! Really impressed given that it only costs $259.
Also this is the first time I got every one right in the blind test! My life is complete haha! Great work once again!
RC32 same for me! What a great series.
Ahh ye awesome work from Darrell as always! Awesome to hear my man!
Great series of videos and that’s nice kit. Curious to know if you put the same electronics in the kit as are stock in the LP would it make the blind test tougher?
Possibly! Make them sound a little more similar and resemble each other if that is what someone would go for!
Thanks!
I think it would be incredible close - like 95% identical ☺
The scarf joint makes it superior to the Les Paul neck. When you use one piece of wood, the head stock angle causes a weakness due to the grain being constant but the angle not being constant. That's why so many Les Pauls have a broken head stock. A scarf joint allows you to add an angled head stock where the grain follows the angle and makes it stronger.
Someone should tell that to the people at the Gibson shop... cause they still haven't figured that out. I own a Dean Thoroughbred Deluxe in Scary Cherry flametop I purchased for around $600 and it BLOWS AWAY the Les Paul I own.... Gibson is really over rated... GREAT GUITARS! but OVER RATED and OVER PRICED.
Yes that is true an out the scarf joint being stronger against short grain breakage however as a repairman I have seen ugly back bow bend just under the first frets on scared construction as the grains of the 2 pieces are not parallel and shrink expand at different rates and also shorter piece is glued on other piece using partial end grain which sucks moisture out of glue way down thru neck joint worst on maple necks in my experience and that's why premium makers like Gibson Guild avoid this neck construct method for long term stability
...totally wondering how those Gibson pick-ups (or similar) would sound in the kit...thanks for cool build videos...
This this this. I really want to see what happens if he swapped the pickups. Put the Gibson's in the kit and the kit's in the Gibson.
Michael Hendler .....humbuckers and their pots are pricey, especially the 50's originals.
I tried it. I put the same bridge pickup I have in my les Paul into a cheap squier bullet. Sounds almost as good. I have a video of it on my channel if you want to check it out.
I've done this with a $800 Epiphone Les Paul and I still grab my Gibson, they sound identical but the fell and playability is just better. It's not something you notice really till you live with both.
Swap pots too
Are you a big Gary Moore fan? Your playing reminds me of his quite a bit.
So do you really need a Gib$$$on to get a good Les Paul tone?? :)
Darrell Braun Guitar hey not fair! The kit is beautiful, but I don't trust tech sites enough to join patreon. My FB got hacked and I cut out all but email I needed. I want the kit one too!
Darrell Braun Guitar yes I could hear the difference right away Gibson is still the better between the two
Darrell Braun Guitar Oh yes, I got 3 for 3 on the blind test! Slight dif. Kit sound a bit thinner to me. 3 for 3 can't just be luck!
I could definitely tell the difference but I thought the kit held its own. Beautiful playing as always Darrell!
Darrell Braun Guitar, to my ears, the gibby was a lot more clear and crisp. not sure it was 2800 dollars worth of articulate difference though. maybe throw those Gretsch pickups in it for a play through before you award it to a loyal patreon client. good job overall!
I just finished building a Solo LP set neck kit. My wife did all the wood work finishing, I did the assembly and set up. She watched a number of videos on finishing and watched many of Brad's videos! I bought the flame maple top and this was my first kit and the first time I played in a few decades...so, I can now make noise again :-) I've not yet written my review for the Solo site so will only say here that I am very happy to have built this guitar and the guys at Solo supported me with answers to all my questions and concerns, no matter how many I had :-0 I would certainly recommend their kits.
Darrell, loved listening to you play! am happy to have run across your video series.
That's awesome!
I hope you really enjoy it!
Welcome to the channel ☺
Would love to see a guitar collection video!!!
I'll see what I can do ☺
So glad I stumbled upon this awesome series! I bought the exact same spalted maple, bolt on neck kit 6 months ago as a first time build. Finished it in my garage and am really happy how it turned out. So impressed with the comparison to the authentic Les Paul. To my amateur ear I failed the blind test. Couldn't pick out to real one. Actually bought the kit specifically to set the action up a bit higher to learn to play slide. The tail piece, bridge and neck adjustment made it easy to play around and get a good set up and sound and since it was an inexpensive kit I wasn't too worried about messing around. May be more careful now that I've seen this video. Thanks!
That's awesome!
I'm glad it turned out well ☺👍
I noticed a difference, but just a slight one. If you install good pots and tone caps, and a good set of pickups like the Gibson, I think it would be really difficult to tell the difference! Sure the Gibson is a gorgeous guitar! But the kit is very nice looking too! There's a difference of $2800 there (minus finishing supplies). For people who may not be able to afford the Gibson and want the satisfaction of building their own guitar, I think the kits are an awesome way to go. For me, they're a stepping stone. I did two and now I feel ready to build my own body. After that build, I would like to do a complete build including a neck. I've learned so much more about guitars since my first kit, than I ever knew! Btw...both kits I have are amazing to play and I'm in the process of upgrading pickups, electronics, and tuners. They should sound great as they sound pretty good as is!👍😎🎸🎶
74dart man that’s the great thing about those kits. Tone wood. If you have that you can upgrade the rest! Hope you’re doing well!!
Lucas Crossley yep!☺
Lucas Crossley surprisingly, my Tele kit is a basswood body and that thing is sweet! It's loud even unplugged! It has great sustain too. Really surprises me for a cheap kit...a lil over $100. I put a lot of time getting the neck as perfect as I could...levelling, crowning, and polishing, and it was really worth it! It plays like a guitar costing many times what I have in it...thanks for the well wishes...same to you! 👍😎🎸🎶
74dart man I actually did get to spend a bit of time with one of Solo Music Gears’ basswood body telecasters. It was quite good but to my ear I could tell the difference between the two woods. It was pretty subtle though. When you do your custom build you should share some pics or video clips. I would love to see or hear it! Cheers mate!!
Lucas Crossley ok! Cheers to you!☺😎
The only blind test that was nearly indistinguishable for me was the 1st test due to the distortion, however, we're not talking a $2,800 dif (obviously). Still, without picking up and feeling the difference, you can't really judge. I'd certainly assume just about anyone would be happy with the kit guitar when recording or on a gig so long as the components were upgraded.
Great comparison! Unless you want to flash with a Gibson that "Darrell Braun" sounded pretty amazing! Would be proud to flash the later. BTW great playing I find your musical compositions very awesome!
My heart may have skipped a beat when you went blind test. I got the bridge and combined pickups correct, but not the solo neck pickup test. I thought on that pickup the kit sounded less nasal. Regardless they didn’t sound much different. Need to listen again with headphones.
Cool video series!
Sound Quality~Gibson
Build Quality~Gibosn
Look~Gibson
Affordability~Kit
IN conclusion Kit wins, its not $3000
I never tried Gibosn, is it good ?
@@c.zasazd4480 Depends on which one you get and for what price.
@@speediablo is gibosn differents than Gibson?
@@c.zasazd4480 It's just Gibson buddy.
@@speediablo no
honestly? I f I had the money for the gibson, id buy the kit and then replace all the electronics with gibson les paul and take my girlfriend out to an expensive dinner. Id have about a grand left over and buy a hell of an amp and cab
@Trumpenstein if you want the exact sound I guess, the electronics are about the same price as the kit it itself, though.
Smart choice on your behalf!
First time for me to get the results right!!! The sound of the Gibson seems more clear and with a nice difference of the highs and lows. A better range on each pick up. The kit guitar miss a bit of definition but in the end, it is a nice guitar. The look is very nice, I really like it!!! I guess if you update the electronics and the pick-ups, you can end up with a very nice and special guitar!!!
I went 3 for 3 in picking the Gibson, and there is an obvious difference. However, that kit sounds amazing, and no one would tone shame it. You have proven the best thing you can do for your tone is practice. Great video, and beautiful guitar.
Amazing the sound and quality for $200, the Gibson does sound a bit clearer and brighter to me, but damn, what a bargain for that kit !
Darrell, you do great work, I'd love if you'd build me one..I'll pay $
@@kenhall6525 As soon as he's done with Your's - I'll be putting in my order as well! If I were to do this build, it would look and sound like a $100 guitar. And, it would sound like a $50 guitar! This man could make an Oil Can Guitar Sing!
In all honesty the kit guitar sounds amazing for what it is. A few tweaks with higher end pickups being the most important upgrade would make this thing really sing. I have two les pauls. A Gibson and an epiphone and I’m about to have a third from this kit build🤘🏻
I’ve seen so many of yours and Brads ‘s videos, it was nice to have one guitar link the two channels together. Your Gibson is sweet, but the kit guitar turned out really great. Perhaps one day soon I’ll pick a kit and see what happens.
Thanks!
It was really fun to work with Brad ☺
I built a kit tele. Turned out awesome. only addition was i purchased and installed some tex mex pickups. I was impressed with your kit build in every way except the finish. As a professional wood craftsman i had a tough time on the finish of my guitar body as well. Didnt like the first go around so i sanded it all back to wood. Then i got the torch out and burnt the body. After a light sand and clean i did a clear coat in polyeurethane. 24 coats to be precise with a wet sand in between each coat. It turned out taking a lot more time than expected but i didnt want a finish like you ended up with. I kept going until i was happy. Then i polished it down with the same 3m kit that your buddy used. I replaced the plastic white pick gaurd and the control panel in copper that i cut and shaped myself. I found a cool brass longhorn steer off of a belt buckle and installed it on the headstock. Wish i could send you all a pic. It turned out beautiful. Especially for a first build. Proved to myself i can build a better guitar than i can even play. I have had this guitar for 2 yrs now and just discovered a new video by zz top, Billy Gibbons with almost the exact same guitar i built myself. Even has a longhorn steer on his and the copper too. Amazing. I designed my guitar as a tribute to all the great blues players from Texas and named my guitar, Texas Smoke.
Sure enjoy your videos bud. Keep up the great work!!
Great comparison. I Love such things. I think i heard some slightly differences. And to me the Gibson sounded Not always better. Would be interesting what the kit can do with Premium pups ( and maybe hardware). Always a pleasure to watch your videos, Darrell. Greetings from Germany.
Surprisingly I actually identified which one was which every time.
Me too!
Yeah. The pickups made the biggest difference in tone.
@Trumpenstein I know, I just do not have anything that I would vaguely identify as a well trained ear.
Simply amazing!!! I might have to go out and pick one up myself. Botched the first two test but picked up on third
Thank you
02:26
Also, it has a very tight fitment to the body !
As a Bonus, it came out extreamly straight, no shims required !
All in all, it came out Great !
04:04
Yeeeaaaaaa !
Blind Test !
11:04
I think that they both sounded just great !
The Gibson was a bit Brighter, and the Braun was a bit Warmer !
Excellent Show, Darrell !
Thanks, For All That You Do !
Sounding like Carlos S on that solo! I'd rock that kit guitar as a live show beater just needs better pickups and controls.
After listening to this a few times , its clear that the Gibson has a substantial amount of natural sustain over the kit. Now if I'm a blues player , then there is a good reason to say the gibson is the better choice. However its only when both pickups are used that the sustain comes in clearly and the gibson has a bit more bite on the 3 higher strings than the kit. The notes do not sound so flat as with the kit. Blues players have no better option than a Gibson if price is of no concern. However , i feel the gibson is getting a lot of the sustain from the pickups , if you could buy better pickups and put them in the kit , I feel you may achieve an ever better blues guitar than gibson has to offer. The kit does has a much better warm tone which is better for blues.
Not true!
I agree that the Gibson had slightly better sustain, but my guess is that it's the bolt on neck that hurts the sustain of the kit guitar, not so much the pickups.
I’ve been a guitarist for almost 17 years now.. there is a big difference in tone and sound between the Gibson and kit. The Gibson is more natural with lower highs. The kit highs gave it away every time.
pickups are responsible for 90 percent of it
Most non musicians would pick the Gibson because of the brand name.
After 17 years of work, have you noticed that there are different pickups? This test is not correct at all in this case.
I bet you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference a blind test.
I'm guitar player over 40 years & when you do the blind test I was guessing wrong 3x times, I thought was Gibson but wasn't! So kit guitar sounds much better than Gibson! Also if the feeling neck etc.. is same or better I will choice the cheep guitar!🎸👌
A few thoughts... the $200 kit is probably more like $500 after you pay someone to do the staining (not sure how many people have the skill to do that themselves, certainly not me)? Second, I think the kit would have been prettier if the binding hadn't been painted over.... certainly a subjective opinion. And last, I suspect you could hand a tin can with a piece of twine attached it, and Darrell would make it sound good.
You'd be surprised what a little research on RUclips can do!!
I don't think there was any binding. I'm pretty sure it was just the side of the lighter colored wood cap contrasting with the mahogany body.
Alexander Winston - Couldn't Agree MORE! This man could make an Oil Can Guitar sound like a 5K Guitar! Beautiful Guitar! Great Sound! And God, Can This Guy Play!
There was binding , and yeah I would not have stained it either. I would have painted the back , sides and neck . Leaving the spalted front clear . Man I want one now . I wouldnt be afraid to spray bomb this with some StewMac cans .
Yeah it's pretty, but from a SOUND perspective there's not allot of difference.
If you spent a bit more on upgraded components you'd have 9/10 the guitar for 1/6 of the price.
I'm also so surprised
I had never expect that pretty nice sound outta that small Budget equipment
And what nice finish
Well done!
the kit sounds pretty good but still the Gibson stands out haha, i really love watching your videos😊 how sad i can't be a patron🙁 but I'll always support your vids here on RUclips haha
I used my phones speaker. Keep in my mind it's a stylo 4 that I got from metro for free. I was able to guess correctly in the blind test all 3 times.
Note sustaining and definition, clearer, cleaner sound with the gibson. But honestly i think if you upgraded the electronics in the kit, lowered the nut a bit, you could easily pull off a close to equal sound out of the kit.
But something else that wasn't discussed was longevity and live show abuse.
But for an at home, hobby musician, who wanted a project guitar or wanted a custom guitar of their own design. The kit is def the way to go.
For a traveling musician or a serious player. Spending the same amount of money you would on the kit plus upgrades, on a name brand guitar, is the way to go.
Nice work, DB. Love these kinds of vids. It’s a perfect example of how even a cheap guitar can sound good in the hands of a seasoned pro, much like yourself. Personally, to my ears, the Kit guitar held its own. You could’ve basically swapped them in the blind test and I wouldn’t have been able to tell. Sure, there were differences. But 2800 bucks worth of differences? Nah.
Keep up the good work, my man!!!
I m really appreciate this channel.. not bias at all in every aspect of guitar reality.. not misleading viewer the concept of guitar quality..
Both sound awesome my man! But gotta go with the cheaper one because Money haha! Great video my man!
RC32 i like the sound of the cheaper one better
Ahhh I see! Respectable opinion indeed, both sound good in their own right
I enjoyed building and customizing my 335 kit. Like you said, it belongs to me and no one else. The finishing and glueing were the most delicate points. Cool to see you guys working together on the kit.
Can you make a video rehauling the parts of the kit (pickups and hardware)
Would LOVE to hear a kit guitar, (or even a store bought single cut away, that is not an Epi) with the same pick ups as what is in the Gibson model.
Other wise . . . again, great vid.
Thank you very much Darrel ;)
I would really like to compare these two guitars with same set of pickups installed. I think there will be no difference at all.
And the pots, switch, and nut.
Тимур Насибуллин yeah, you can tell the kit guitar doesn’t like the positions higher up on the fret board as much as the gibson
There might be an ever so slight difference.
And the feel. Which you can't really gauge until you play them both. But still not almost 3k difference.
Have been playing for 30+ years. Mostly acoustic these days, but have owned guitars across the price spectrum. In each of the blind test samples I preferred the kit and this didn't surprise me. When it comes to acoustic guitars, I'm still pretty firm in the "get what you pay for" mindset, but solid body electrics... The CNC machine doesn't know where it's doing it's thing and the only reason Fender, Gibson, PRS, etc.. get away with the super high markups (and it is almost entirely profit in their pocket) is because the mystic of certain brands tied to our heros. Thanks for doing your part to dispel the myths.
Interesting. I didn't have much trouble picking out the LP in the blind test, but I own two of them so I guess that would be expected. The first two were easier though. Not that the kit guitar sounded a bunch worse, but it did sound noticeably different to me.
When you were playing over the backing track I noticed more difference than unaccompanied oddly. I didn't feel feel the bridge pickup cut through as well on the kit guitar especially when you were in the upper registers, but I kind of liked the tone of the neck pickup on the kit. I felt both 'kit' pickups were a little muddy compared to the Burstbuckers.
But for $200.00...
I was left wondering how it would compare to a LP Studio because that is what the body reminds me of.
Good video, thx.
keep in mind those pickups on the kit are the ones that came with it along with the tuning machines . up grade those then your really in business. I watched the build on the kit from start to finish and I'm very impressed , so impressed im going to buy one and build it !
Where can I get a Darrell Braun Les Paul?! That would be a cool brand name! Impressive sound from a kit guitar! I watched all 4 videos. I'm seriously thinking about buying a kit guitar sometime down the road. Thanks for sharing!
Now, from a luthier pov (my other business), bolt on necks are just fine. The only compromise between the bolts and through is higher fret accessibility around the heel; which is still an issue with set neck. The sustain argument is subjective and the benefit of being able to swap out the neck if it breaks (has happened to me) is worth any sacrifice in sustain...which can be fixed with either overdrive or sustain pedals.
Hmm.. in the blind test i could tell which was which for each configuration besides the neck pickup. I thought the neck pickup actually sounded better on the kit
From reading a good chunk of the comments on Its very clear that most people are willing to compromise a little tone and sound in for absolute affordability. The differences in sound quality from I could hear weren't jaw dropping or anywhere near equal to 2800 bucks. That kit sounded phenomenal for its price. I'd choose the kit any day just for the sheer common sense of it all.
I got the 3 blind tests right. Starting to be able to hear the differences in guitars
Johnathon G me too but it could be the new hearing aids i have.
As soon as you upgrade the electronics and the pickups the kit is smokin! Thinking I'll pick one of these up now.
Hands down the $200 kit guitar!!!! You should sell them I would pay $650!!!!
Jason MITCHELL i would buy one
I’d get one
If you'd pay $650 for a kit guitar, I'd love to sell you this bridge I just acquired. I'll let it go real cheap!
@J MITCHELL
you know you can get a real gibson for less than $650, right? :P
With all the effort that went into the kit of $200 to make it look good, string and tune it, I'd guess the shop price in the finished state would already be $1200. Then you need to upgrade the tuners and pots. I do not play guitar but guessed which was which each time. The 'neck' was most obvious. That all said, even without all the additional effort, a $200 kit could make a kid wanting to learn guitar very happy and save $2800 for lessons.
Have to say, on the second blind test , I thought the kit guitar was the Les Paul., and it was pretty hard to hear much of a difference on the other tracks., and I’m listening through a Bose system.
I’m in the finishing stages of completing this exact build, just needs intonation, nut work, etc all the usual set up stuff. I’m using the crapy set up strings it came with , and it sounds amazing.
I almost don’t want to mess with it as it sounds so good.
The pots etc are crap, ( had to replace one as it didn’t work, but I think I fried it soldering).
But a spray with electronic cleaner will do wonders.
Have to say that it’s already playing better than most guitars I’ve had, without even being set up .
Of course I mean final set up. I did polish frets, oil the fret board ,etc.
It’s a little muddy on the E and A strings, but that’s probably because of the strings.
I actually thought this thing would most likely be a wall hanger, but I played it and couldn’t put it down,, and it still has to be properly set up.
The kit sounds immense for 200 but I'd definitely upgrade the electronics and pickups at some point
I played a '71 LP Custom for 43 years. I've never played a guitar it's equal. The tones out of your LP really bring back memories.
That said, the kit guitar amazed me. Got to admit, that bolt on is sacrilege! But for $200 and sounding that close, why not!
Single pickup Gibson. Both pickups Kit
I love that blue one, killer tone and stunning , stunning finish..2019 is a new blue Standard in the G Program, can`t wait..super cool vid tks
OHH YES!!!
Robert Baker hey Robert!
That’s how I feel about your videos too!!!!!! Cheers
Still waiting for a collaboration between the two nicest RUclips guitarists!
Robert Baker how are u not verified u have 180k subs
Hey Robert !
I got all the blinds correct, I'm a long time Gibson owner too so it's pretty obvious which is which. With that said, the kit guitar isn't bad. When I think of the guitar I learned on, I'd have been pretty happy with the kit guitar. Plus, if you build one, you learn a lot about the instrument too. Great video.
Well, the sound to me was marginally better on the Gibson, but there's not a lot in it to be honest. Certainly not enough to justify $3,000 over the $200 kit. Had these guitars not been in a direct comparison test, I'm certain that the listener would be none the wiser as to which was which! Even if you throw some more money at the kit guitar in terms of pickups and electronics, you're not going to get close to the $3,000 cost of the Gibson, but you're going to get so, so close to the sound. Nice going Darrell and Brad, and kudos to Solo Guitars.
Both sound great. The biggest differences in tone imho are not because of pickups and hardware, but the fact that the LP has a solid maple top as opposed to the veneer on the kit, giving the LP a more articulate tone.
Arpeggio test: COLLECTIVE SOUL INTENSIFIES
I got one out of three. Although it was subjective in m mind. Yes they sound. Little different but nothing 50 bucks for electronics, and pickups won't fix. Still not enough to quantify the price difference.
Now as far as neck feel and what you like is also a personal choice.
I do love the finish on the Gibson.
If your prententious and you want to buy something for your safe or an enviromentally sealed container to put on you wall as a work of art, buy the Gibson. If you want to buy something that your not afraid to touch and play often buy the kit and spend the extra money at starbucks or on a hell of an amp and more gear. I would do the latter.
Killer vid segment! I’d go for the kit,fine tune and change pickups,and you pick an original finish,win,win!!!Seems like a waste to spend big money for an all around decent axe.
I think with a pickup upgrade the kit would sound really awesome. I can't imagine the kit's stock pickups are of great quality. Probably update the pots as well. Still be way cheaper and nothing like something you guild yourself. Real fun is building acoustics from scratch.
I think the kit pickups have a flatter frequency response without the characteristic scoop and spike, more like modern "metal" pickups. They sound ok and aren't that far off, but they don't fit as either a tight high output pickup or a vintage voiced one.
I tend to rip the frets off kit necks in order to do plenty of inlay work, but getting a good level crown and polish is not too difficult. Inexpensive kit guitars are a great substrate to learn how to do fret jobs and you can get really good results as a significant proportion of the price of a high end guitar is labour costs.
Having cheap hardware around that can be replaced with high end hardware really helps avoid investment until you know a guitar is good enough to be worth throwing pricey hardware at.
I guessed the blind test correctly every time before I even heard the 2nd guitar being played. The difference is very noticeable. You could narrow that gap by spending the extra coin and getting identical pickups/pots of the Gibson, but I still even heard the tuning and resonating chords being played that weren't perfectly in tune and I could tell it was the kit guitar. With a little work, you could make that guitar sound the same as that Gibson for tons less money though.
Yeah especially in the bridge pickup the Gibson just blows it out of the water.
Thank you for sharing this series! I have always been nervous about purchasing a kit guitar. Great job on the finish. I bet you could feel the difference! :-) thanks again.
I can hear the difference, but they are negligible. In a life band setting with high volume, I don’t think any normal person could tell the difference. It’s definetely a minute difference and NOT a $2800 difference. Gibsons are just way overpriced IMHO. Great job on the kit, great comparison, great tone & great playing throughout. Thanx!
I have built a few kits as well as scratch built guitars. First thing to keep in mind is the electronics in a kit will be crap. The bridge will also be serviceable but generally will be crap. Same with the tuners.
All that being said if you use all the stock parts it comes with you will get a playable real guitar. However with a little planning and some time on Amazon you can spend another 150 bucks and buy some upgraded components and put together a really fine instrument. Sure you could just combine the price of the kit, price of upgraded components and price of finishing supplies and buy a very nice (used) guitar but the point of a build is what you create is yours. It's a one of a kind. The other great thing about kit building is learning how to properly set up a guitar and level/dress frets. These are skills every guitar player should have. It makes all the difference in the world so either you pay someone to do it or learn how. To me it's better to learn how.
I picked the Gibson everytime in the blind tests and I'm no expert. Also I thought the finish on the kit was a bit shonky tbh.
Which would I have? The kit without question.
3k for some wood and metal? Nah. well if I was a rockstar then obviously yeah baby!
I'd like to have seen some slightly better pickups in the kit to see what that added.
I'm off to Amazon to look at kits see y'all
Are you kidding me!? That playing at the end was insane. Better or worse is subjective neither sounded bad. I just ordered the kit really looking forward to getting into it. What finish?
If I didn’t already have a nice Epiphone SG on the way, I would definitely grab one of these kits.
The only difference I hear is in the pickups. Throw in some good pickups and that kit guitar is a hot rod. Got them all right its easy to hear the difference but to me its all in the pups and the electronics (maybe even a better bridge.) All in all for the price of the kit, pups, electronics, and a nicer bridge, you've got basically a Les Paul and a trip to Hawaii. I may pick this kit up. I have a set of EMG 81's lying around and a floyd rose. I wonder if you could route a FR into this?
Why no binding scrape on the kit guitar?
I was wondering this as well...
I'm thinking because it was a cream color and not bright white so it wouldn't go with the black and ash very well
I am surprised I could tell the right one. But I did. The kit guitar sounds pretty good and turned out nice. Saved some money and got to have the fun of building it.
That was excellent
So surprised at how it sounded
A couple Seymour classics in it and it would be spectacular
Again- nice job my friend 👍👍
First test with overdrive bridge pick-up I had wrong because the kit sounds better :)The other two I guessed correct. There you can hear the real difference. But if you would change pick-ups and pots for better one and invest another 200 dollars, I think it would be really hard to tell the difference even in clean tone comparison. If you will pay some time to fret work finish and you set the string height and intonation right you get an amazing guitar which can bear your name and you can be proud of it.
That Mesa sounds good!
nice comparison. i was wrong on a couple of the blind tests. There is definitely a difference but both sounded great in their own way. I liked the gibson better in some areas and the kit better in others. I'd love to see the same comparison but with the same pickups set at the same height. In the modding that i've done, pickups are the difference.
Man that is an insanely minute difference
I cant believe I'm going to say this....but..
The build sounds amazing with all the cheap stuff. With the price difference just WOW. I'd go for the build and spend money on upgrades... simply amazing sound as is. Better finish better upgrades and save major money.
Thanks for this. Will get a build now.
Looks like Gotoh locking tuners would be a no-mod upgrade, upgrade the tuners/hardware/pickups and sell the Gibson
Based on looks alone I'd prefer the kit! I like darker guitars!
Parker plays Ye I know! :P
Parker plays for $2800 more too!☺
I really like the color of the kit guitar myself!👍😎🎸🎶
Parker plays I'm sure they will be. I have a family and obligations, so it's hard for me to afford a Gibson. The kits to me are really fun to build, I've learned a lot, and it's so cool playing something you built! Even with upgrades, you can have a nice kit guitar for under $300! A tenth of the cost!
Parker plays thanks a lot!
the fact that they are so close just reinforces that kit guitars are the way to go
I missed two out of three on the blind test 😣, either that 200 bucks kit sounds amazing or that gibson sucks 😂😂( just kidding). Awesome kit really. Cheers from Buenos Aires !
Marcelo The Eyeman hahaha me too. I was correct on the bridge pickup but i missed the othet two !
Same
Marcelo The Eyeman I managed to get all three right but the kit sounds phenomenal for the price
hard pressed to know which i prefer more ; your builds or your playing. both are truly incredible. keep it up mate.
The kit has a better tone (to my hears)
yea i liked the tone better on the kit idk why lol
It has a much warmer tone. Keep in mind the gibson has the burstbucker pickups that are very bright as far as les pauls go.
Man that KIT was such a pleasant surprise to hear, not so far from the Gibson, I would love to enter the giveaway but in this moment my situation is not so good. I wish the best to the winner! I guess I'll check out the KIT one by myself in the future! Nice review Darrell!
A lot of orange peel. If i win this, id polish it 😀
Yeah, I guess Brad didn't take his time with it
What does orange peel mean?
@@2brainded240 It is the result of a poor paint/finish job. The finish actually resembles the look of the outside of an orange (not the color), not smooth but with slight dimpling or unevenness. This causes uneven light reflection.