Stuart Ryan is a familiar face around these parts. A well-known educator and pro guitarist, he's contributed many superb demos and lessons to Guitarist. We're huge fans of his agile, articulate playing, which spans everything from Americana to acoustic fingerstyle. We'll also freely admit to having envied his guitar collection over the years, which has included some of the very best instruments money can buy, from Froggy Bottom acoustics to Custom Shop unobtainium, vintage flat-tops and more. But a recent A/B comparison video Stuart posted on social media gave us pause for thought.
In the video, Stuart played a modded 30-year-old Epiphone Sheraton alongside a 1959-spec Gibson 'Murphy Lab' ES-335 worth around £5,000. While a keen ear could detect subtle differences, it's fair to say that the Epiphone gave as good as it got. Given that we were making this Epiphone anniversary issue as the video was posted, the time seemed right to get to the bottom of whether it really is worth making the extra investment to get a Custom Shop semi when an old Korean Epiphone can come so tantalisingly close to matching Murphy Lab performance with a few judicious mods. Intrigued, we gave Stuart a call to find out more, starting with how he came by the Epiphone in the first place.
"That Epiphone was my 18th birthday present, nearly 30 years ago," he recalls. "I found it under my parents' bed, two days before my 18th birthday. I kind of knew I was getting it, but when I found it, I thought, I'm going to open this now and have a strum.' And yeah, it just felt great. Those Epiphones from that era, they're amazing, absolutely amazing. About 10 years ago, I had a '63 Custom Shop 335 and I ended up preferring that particular Epiphone, to be honest. So the 335 went and that was even prior to the upgrades I've since made to the Epiphone.
Denne historien er fra September 2023-utgaven av Guitarist.
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Denne historien er fra September 2023-utgaven av Guitarist.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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BASIC INSTINCTS
The sophisticated range of Swedish-designed guitars made by .strandberg* has lured thousands of players over to the headless side. But the company's new stripped-back Boden Essential model is its strongest play yet for the hearts and minds of mainstream players
Second String
As PRS's more affordable USA-made S2 line moves into its second decade, the series gets a revamp with - at last - USA-made pickups and electronics. What took so long?
PABLO VAN DE POEL
When a band from The Netherlands describes themselves as 'raw, psychedelic Southern rock', it may take a little cognitive processing to work out what that might mean. One listen to DeWolff, however, and you will be duly transported to the 60s for some fuzzed-out rock 'n' roll
THE BERNIE MARSDEN COLLECTION
With a fabulous collection of the late Bernie Marsden's guitars, amps and other highly collectable music gear going under the auctioneer's hammer on 11 June, we were thrilled to have the chance of a sneak preview
LENNY KRAVITZ
Some 35 years since the release of his debut LP, for his 12th record, Blue Electric Light, Lenny Kravitz is back again with equal doses of vigour and vibes, using vintage guitars and the purest valve amps
GEORGE VJESTICA
You may not know him at first glance, but the work of Stoke-on-Trent native George Vjestica has probably impacted some of your favourite albums and movies
DICKEY BETTS
Emerging from the shadow of Duane to write signature hit Ramblin' Man, the Allman Brothers guitarist was a hard-living pioneer of Southern rock
NICK GUPPY
It is with great sadness that we report the passing of our highly valued amplifier guru, who died suddenly in April
Lucky Break
Alex Bishop blends old wood with new in an attempt to fix a severely damaged guitar headstock
Tones Behind The Tracks
Cedric Burnside learnt at the knee of his fabled grandfather, but his latest album is a hill country blues masterclass on his own terms