Diffrence between Epiphone ES-333 and Gibson ES-333? (Tom Delonge signature)

[mazerfaka]

Hello there!

I have been playing with my Epiphone ES-333 (Tom Delonge signature) for quite some time now, i absolutly love it.
And i need a good back up guitar for gigs, so i have been thinking about getting an Gibson ES-333.
But i don't know if it's worth it if it feels and sounds the same..
In my hometown here in Sweden it don't have any chance to try the Gibson..

So!
What's the diffrence between the Epiphone and the Gibson? Feel, quality etc..

[AShannon04]

I don't play either guitar, but here are a few differences I've found:

-Gibson has the P90 pickups, while the Epiphone has only 1 Gibson Dirty Fingers humbucker. As a result, the Epiphone only has a single knob
-the Epiphone has "dot" fret inlays vs. the Gibson trapezoidal ones.

I think the quality of Gibsons is generally higher than that of Epiphone. Gibsons are made in the USA, while Epiphones are made in Japan, Korea, etc.

According to Wikipedia, From the early 1970s the Epiphone brand name has been increasingly used by Gibson for lower priced guitars manufactured in countries other than the United States. The Gibson is probably about 4 or 5 times more expensive, but in general, I think you get what you pay for. That said, it doesn't seem to me that there are THAT many differences to make it worth your while, especially if you love your Epiphone and are looking for a totally new guitar.

[Theseventhson]

Does Gibson make a 333?

[remoteCONTROL]

Does Gibson make a 333?

http://reviews.harmony-central.com/reviews/Guitar/product/Gibson/ES-333/10/1

[rburk90]

if you get an epiphone...don't get a gibson copy....epiphone has a few archtop semi hollow body's that they made before gibson bought them. i own a Epihpone Sheraton II.....you should look into that....it is epiphones own guitar and it is way better than any gibson copy for around the same price

[PawelPotapowicz]

Well if you wanna talk tech, Epiphone was an independent company in the 50's that specialized in making hollow body guitars. They were starting to go under when Gibson bought them over, same as what happened with Kramer.

The guys above is correct, 4 out of 5 times the Gibson hollowbody will be more expensive than the Epiphone. However, that 1 our of 5 that Epiphone makes blow the Gibson out of the water. I would say if you are playing out a lot and this will be a guitar that you are going to beat up, maybe go with a lower end Gibson. Their quality is always top notch.