Gibson Baldwin EPOCH

I bought this guitar off Ebay for ??25. (Advertised as 'A truely awlful guitar). It was new and in the original packaging so I guess it is a late 2008 or early 2009 model. It has a 'Made in China' sticker on the back of the head stock so no points in guessing the country of manufacture. It's a Les Paul 'wantabe' so 22 frets, gloss flat top flat top, black in colour. It has one tone and one volume, a selector switch and two humbuckers. I have no idea what wood they have used for the body but I suspect they bought a cheap load of used builder's timber. The neck has a redwood fretboard, that's about all I can say about it.

The guitar comes with a black gig bag with Gibson Baldwin printed on it, a spare set of really cheap strings for that off-key tinny sound, a tuner (The best bit in the package) and a cheap strap.

Lets be honest. I don't like this guitar. I have read all the other reviews and I must have got a bad one. Having said that, the humbuckers do give a good account of themselves and deserve to be removed and saved for a 'proper' guitar. They are gutsy and have the balls to give a real edge to blues, heavy rock and even metal playing. Turn the amp up full, a little reverb and no pedals. Thats the way to get a good sound from these pickups. They alone are saving the guitar from the nearest dump. The tone and volume controls???? They don't seem to make any diference at all!

Where do I start?

The finish has been applied by a pre-school child using an old paint brush and a bucket of thick tar! There are paint runs down the rear of the head stock and neck. There are patches of bare wood on the edges of the headstock. The 'Epoch' name is badly applied.

The neck is rough and lumpy!!!!!!!!!! I have never felt anything like it before. You can actually tell where your hand is on the neck by the finish or lack of it under your palm.

There are areas of over spray over the cream binding on the body.

The fingerboard was so dry when I got it that it drank lemon oil before I could wipe it off to clean. the 13th fret was so high I swear I saw a group of Sherpa's climbing its north face.

The action..... I turned it all the way down and its still about a quarter of an inch too high.

The strap buttons were loose, and were so poorly made that their edges were sharp and were cutting through the cheap strap to such an exent that the strap continualy gave way.

This thing is a nightmare

After a day with this 'thing' I replaced the bridge, filed the offending frets down, replaced the strings and sprayed contact cleaner into the electrics. Only then could I hear the pickups, who were struggling to improve this truely awlful object.

This object (I will not describe is as an instrument) will never get on stage with me. Not now, not ever!. The pickups may in the future make it to a back-up. So no, it won't withstand live playing as it will never get the chance. It is struggling to survive in my house, it will soon end up where it belongs. A bonfire.

I took it to my local guitar shop.

They laughed at me.

'This is a guitar shop, not a junk shop' I think was their opening line.

I can not remember when I started playing. I have had some truely bad guitars in my time but all have had the capability of being improved and up till now I have kept every one.

My favorite axe is 'Jeannie' a heavily custonised beast with EMG electronics and pickups. All the hardware has been gold plated and its an absolute joy to play, I love that guitar!

I also own a Burns Brian May, a proper Gibson, two Fenders Tele and Strat) and a couple of Richwoods (both now a lot better than they were when I bought them.

I play through a Vox Valvetronic which drives a nondescript 2x12 cab. I don't usually use any pedals but do own a Digitech 'Screaming Blues'.

Would I buy another Epoch if thie were stolen? What do you think? It's here, COME AND STEAL IT, PLEASE!

I couldn't help buying this guitar at a yard sale. Set-up for action was limited but after buying another saddle and bridge and new tuners I've got a nice guitar with a humbucker sound.And it looks good!

i bought this guitar off ebay so im not too informed on the history but it has a nice set of pick ups on it and the bridge was adjusted nicely. but the set up theyu did was a little too close (easy fix) ant the machine heads were a little loose (easy fix) it came with an amp picks strap and a tuner. the things included were kinda cheap but will hold up till i get other things

the sound is sort of whiny and loose with nothing in between. the guitar is pitchy when its in overdrive but there is still some variety if you have a nice amp to go with it

the people who sent it got it set up ok but it sill buzzs in between notes

its a really solid guitar on the heavy side but good strap buttons to hold it up has a nice thick finish well painted a unlikely to wear off i would definitely not need a backup

has a ok 5 year warranty not needed if you can do normal upkeep

Ive been playing for about mostly on acoustic because i didn't have the money for an electric but for a first its nice i just wish it had the original knobs (need to get originals but it was a good 12 dollar investment great for money!

22 Fret Les Paul Special II style solid body guitar, two Classic Humbuckers, 3 way switching, one tone, one volume. Rosewood fingerboard, wrap-around bridge tailpiece. Body is high density plywood. Has a nice Gibson style headstock. Plastic nut. Single action truss rod.

I got this in a kit with tuner, strap, gig bag, picks, strings and a DVD at a closeout sale at Target. I was looking for a project guitar and for $40 this is a good one!

I'd rate it higher for features, but most of the stuff that it came with is really cheap and I won't be using it.

Out of the box it was pretty terrible. Terrible intonation due to an improper bridge design (the bridge is made for a wound G string, but the included strings have a standard plain G string), uneven, buzzing frets and a really poor nut. Wouldn't stay in tune. The pickups were nice and strong though and I could tell there was some good tone hiding in there.

what can I say. It was a disaster. Really bad frets. Cheap plastic nut that was too high and had the same width cut for every string! Incorrect bridge design. Big spots in the finish that were missed by the buffer around the bottom of the neck. It scores a zero here.

The good news for me was that the basic materials, neck, pickups, electronics and machines seemed to be of good quality. I'll give back a couple points for this reason.

I bought this guitar knowing that it would need lots of work. It probably wouldn't have fallen apart with the factory hardware. The top strap button didn't hold very well due to the angle and style. It needs to be replaced ASAP or it will eventually hit the floor. The finish is nice and thick, just poorly applied.

I refit it with a proper Tune-O-Matic bridge and stop tailpiece, Dunlop Staploks, Levi leather strap, a custom bone nut and some major fret leveling and polishing. This sucker is solid now! I'd have no fear of playing without a backup.

Dunno... I voided the warranty the day after I bought it.

I started playing about 30 years ago and quit when life got too real. I started playing again a couple years ago. I consider myself more of a 'mechanic' than a player! I have a couple of old Strats and a Schecter electric along with a couple of acoustics. I sold my old Gibson LP Custom in 1983 (DOH!) and this is my only LP style guitar currently.

If this guitar was stolen I'd be pretty upset since I put a lot of sweat and time into it and I love the way it plays now, but I'd probably just buy an Epiphone Les Paul Standard to replace it.

If you have the skills and don't mind fixing the flaws or just want a challenge, this is a solid platform to start with and you can end up with a nice playing guitar.

BLACK FINSH WHITE BINDING LP BODY STYLE HAS A STOP TAILPIECE, TUNER ARE OK FOR A BEGINNER, THE NECK IS A LITLE WIDE, CAME WITH A TUNER, PICKS, STRAP, VIDEO ,CORD ONE VOL. ONE TONE ONE SWITCH THIS ONE IS MADE IN CHINA HAS TWIN HUM. PICKUPS. HAS A SOILD WOOD BODY, ROSEWOOD FINGER BOARD BASIC LITTLE GUITAR

I PLAY LOTS OF DIFFERENT STYLES IT MAKES FOR A GOOD LITTLE BANG AROUND GUITAR I USE A RANDAL MICRO WITH IT SOUNDS PRETTY GOOD IT HAS A VERY SIXTIES SOUND TO IT KINDA HIGH PITCHED LIKE MY OLD JAGUAR A OK GUITAR FOR MESSING AROUND NOT REALLY A VERY VERS. GUITAR BUT IT STILL SOUNDS OK

WELL I MADE MY WIFE JUILE BUY IT FOR ME AT TARGET IT WAS ON CLEARANCE FOR 49.99 BUT IT IS WELL WORTH IT IT HAS ITS FLAWS LIKE THE ACTION WAS HIGH (EASY FIX) ,THE ANNOTATION WAS OFF, TO ADJUST THAT, THE SCREWS ARE UNDER THE STINGS FACING THE BRIGE PICKUP (NOT A EASY FIX). ALL THE KNOBS AND SWITCHES WORK GOOD AND NO NOISE FROM THEM. THIS GUITAR IS ON THE HEAVY SIDE AND FELLS PRETTY SOLID. THE FRETS ARE NOT BAD, AS I HAD HEARD FROM THE SIGNATURE BRAND , BUT MAYBE I MIGHT TRY SANDING DOW THEM BUT NOT RIGHT NOW THEY WORK OK

IT HOLDS A TUNE IT SEEMS VERY WELL BUILT LIKE I SAID ITS A LITTLE HEAVY BUT IT IS A BEGINNER GUITAR AND THEY KNOW HOW NEWBES ARE AND SO I THINK IT CAN TAKE A LICKIN AND KEEP TICKIN. FINSH LOOKS GOOD THIS IS THE FIRST GUITAR I SEEN IN AWHILE THAT HAS A PAINTED NECK NOT THAT ITS BAD IT KINDA LOOKS COOL. SEEMS TO HOLD A TUNE GOOD ENOUGHT THAT YOU MIGHT BE TEMPTED NOT TO USE A BACKUP BUT IT WOULDN'T BE MY PRIMARY GUITAR BY NO MEANS DONT GET ME WRONG ITS A GOOD GUITAR I JUST LIKE A THINNER NECK AND A WHAMMY BAR AND WAY I PLAY YOU NEED A FEW BACKUPS

HAS A 5 YEAR GUARANTEE ITS PRETTY SOLID DONT THINK I'LL NEED IT

I BEEN AT IT SINCE 1976 MAN AM I OLD LIKE ALL MY GUITAR I LOVEM TO DEATH I TOLD MY WIFE WHEN I DIE THROW THEM IN WITH ME. IF STOLEN OR LOST I WOULD BE PISSED I "LOST" A FEW OVER THE YEARS AND EVEN WHEN ITS A CHEAPER ONE IT STILL HURTS
IN CLOSING I READ ALOT OF SURVEYS ON THIS SITE I REALY DO LOVE THE GUITARS PEOPLE SAY I CAN EVEN PLAY REAL GOOD I THINK I NEED SOME IMPROVEMENT AND WITH BEGINNER GUITARS LIKE THIS ONE I KNOW THAT FOR GENERATIONS TO COME MUSIC WILL GO ON AND ON