Show Full Spec Comparison
| Epiphone Les Paul Muse | Ibanez GRX70QA | |
|---|---|---|
| General | ||
| Brand: | Epiphone | Ibanez |
| Year: | 2020 | 2020 |
| Configuration: | HH | HSH |
| Strings: | 6 | 6 |
| Made in: | China | China |
| Series: | Epiphone Inspired by Gibson | RG |
| Colors: | White, Black, Blue, Green, Brown, Red, Purple | Black Burst Patterns, Blue Burst Patterns, Red Burst Patterns, Sunburst Patterns |
| Left-Handed Version: | No | Yes |
| Body | ||
| Type: | Solid Body | Solid Body |
| Body Material: | Mahogany (chambered, thin, belly scarf) | Poplar |
| Bridge: | LockTone Tune-O-Matic | T106 |
| Neck | ||
| Neck Joint: | Set | Bolt-On |
| Tuners: | Grover Rotomatic 18:1 ratio | Ibanez |
| Fretboard: | Indian Laurel | Jatoba |
| Neck Material: | Mahogany | Maple |
| Decoration: | Trapezoid | White Dot |
| Scale Size: | 24.75" | 25.5" |
| Shape: | Custom C | GRX |
| Frets: | 22 Medium Jumbo Nickel Silver | 22 Medium Nickel Silver |
| Fretboard Radius: | 12" | 12" |
| Nut: | NuBone | Plastic |
| Nut Width: | 43mm (1.693'') | 42mm (1.654'') |
| Electronics | ||
| Bridge Pickups: | Alnico Classic PRO (Humbucker / Passive) | Infinity R (Humbucker / Passive) |
| Middle Pickup: | Infinity RS (Single Coil / Passive) | |
| Neck Pickup: | Alnico Classic PRO (Humbucker / Passive) | Infinity R (Humbucker / Passive) |
| Switch: | 3 Way | 5 Way |
| Knobs: | Speed | Dome |
| Pickup Mods: | Coil Split, Phase Out | None |
| Volume Controls: | 2 | 1 |
| Tone Controls: | 2 | 1 |
| Hardware | ||
| Strap Lock: | No | No |
| Hardware Color: | Chrome | Chrome |
Show Diagrams Comparison
Reasons to Get
Epiphone Les Paul Muse over Ibanez GRX70QA
Reasons to Get
Ibanez GRX70QA over Epiphone Les Paul Muse
Other Key Differences
Epiphone Les Paul Muse vs Ibanez GRX70QA
Shared Features
Epiphone Les Paul Muse vs Ibanez GRX70QA
Common Weaknesses
- Weight Relief
- Locking Tuners
- Stays in Tune (Evertune)
- High-Quality Frets
- Compound Radius Fretboard
- From a High-Quality-Standards Country
- Luminescent Sidedots
- Strap Lock
- Top Pickup Brand
- 21:1 Tuner Ratio
- Active/Passive Preamp
Price History Comparison
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Hand Size Comfortability
And after taking into account the scale length, nut width, neck profile and fretboard radius, we can conclude that the Epiphone Les Paul Muse favors large hands more than the Ibanez GRX70QA. But it's still more comfortable for people with small hands, as you can see in the score meter below.
Epiphone Les Paul Muse:
Ibanez GRX70QA:
Beginner Friendliness
The Ibanez GRX70QA meets 5 out of our 8 criteria items for beginner friendliness, while the Epiphone Les Paul Muse meets only 4. This takes into account the type of frets, scale length, nut width, bridge type, fretboard radius, and neck profile to determine the easiest combination for new players.
New Player Friendliness
Epiphone Les Paul Muse- Comfortable shape
- Easy-to-use bridge
- Tall frets
- Comfortable neck
- Comfortable fretboard
- Narrow nut
- Short scale
- Locking tuners
New Player Friendliness
Ibanez GRX70QA- Comfortable shape
- Easy-to-use bridge
- Tall frets
- Narrow nut
- Comfortable neck
- Comfortable fretboard
- Short scale
- Locking tuners
Sound Quality Comparison
The wood used in an electric guitar or bass is not as important to determine the final tone. However, some people prefer specific wood types, so we'll take a look at those first. Then, we'll take a look at the electronics to determine the versatility and sound quality of each instrument.
Woods Used in the Epiphone Les Paul Muse
Mahogany is a fairly rare wood nowadays. It's used mostly for bodies due to its relatively lightweight. Gibson popularized it with their Les Paul guitars during their golden years, so this wood has a lot of good reputation behind it. The most expensive type comes from South America and it's still used by Gibson even today. Find out more about Mahogany.
There are many types of Laurel, but East Indian is the most common for guitar building. Its color can vary from dark to light brown with black lines. Many people find its tonality similar to Rosewood, which favors the warmer frequencies. Find out more about Laurel.
Woods Used in the Ibanez GRX70QA
Maple is one of the most popular necks for good reasons. It is a strong wood that is relatively cheap to make and looks beautiful. The highest quality maple is the hardest that comes from North America. Find out more about Maple.
Jatoba is a hard and dense wood that emphasizes the mid-lows, giving a fuller, more round sound than, for example, Mahogany. However, it also has a lot of clarity in the top end. Find out more about Jatoba.
Poplar is a cheaper and heavier alternative to Alder wood. It terms of tone, it emphasizes the low-end and has cutting mids. It's relatively soft compared to most body woods. Find out more about Poplar.
Winner: Epiphone Les Paul Muse.
Pickup Configuration
The Epiphone Les Paul Muse has an HH configuration while the Ibanez GRX70QA has HSH pickups.
Double Humbucker (HH) is the choice for people who want a fuller, more round sound with tons of mids and lows. Humbuckers also get rid of the hum noise that plague single-coil pickups. They can work out for almost any genre going from Djent to even Jazz.
On the other hand, HSH is a versatile pickup configuration that will give you the high output, full tone, and quiet sound of humbucker pickups, but with the possibility of using a single coil for cleaner tones. The disadvantage is that the middle single-coil pickup will have a noticeable lower volume, so you might want to adjust the height of the pickups. Another problem is that if you set the middle pickup too high, it might interfere with your picking hand.
Pickups Quality
None of these use a specialized pickup brand for their pickups. Some of the best guitars on the market come with pickups from brands like EMG, Seymour Duncan, DiMarzio, etc. You might want to replace your pickups eventually if you want to get the best sound out of any of these instruments.
Both use Passive pickups. This is what's used for most music genres. They have a regular output and will serve you for both high-gain and clean tones. The alternative (Active pickups) offer a higher output that is mostly used for heavy music.
Winner: Tie.
Versatility Comparison
Some instruments offer you more ways to explore your creativity than others. Below you'll find how both compare when it comes to versatility.
Switch Options
The Ibanez GRX70QA gives you 5 switch options while the Epiphone Les Paul Muse gives you 3. This means that the Ibanez GRX70QA gives you more options to find the right pickup combination for the type of sound you want to achieve
Only the Epiphone Les Paul Muse comes with some kind of pickup modification: Coil Split, Phase Out.
Coil Split lets you disconnect one of the pickup coils. When used with humbuckers, it turns them into single-coil with lower output and cleaner tone.
When the Phase Out option is activated, the pickups will ''work against each other'', meaning that they will cancel out their shared frequencies. The result is a very thin sound, instead of a full, rich tone. This is an interesting sound for genres like reggae or funk and has also been used in classic Hard Rock.
When evaluating versatility, we also take into consideration bridge and neck joint type, number of frets, switch options, amount of pickups and more.
Winner: Ibanez GRX70QA.
Final Sound Quality Scores
Build Quality Comparison
When it comes to build quality, we like to take into account everything used to build the instrument. This includes materials, hardware and the quality control expected depending on the country where it was built. Let's see how the Epiphone Les Paul Muse compares to the Ibanez GRX70QA.
Country of Origin
The manufacturing country can tell a lot about the build quality of an instrument. Both in this comparison where made in China.
China has a bad reputation when it comes to building quality. However, times have changed and now respectable brands use China's cheap labor to build good instruments for a lower price. Don't discount a guitar only because it was built in China, but also expect more quality from countries like Korea.
Winner: Tie
Nut Material
If you want your guitar to stay in tune and sound good, you need a well cut nut. Nut quality can be inconsistent even when comparing two copies of the same model. The best way to make sure you're nut will be well done is by getting a nut made by an expert company like TUSQ or Micarta.
The Epiphone Les Paul Muse has a NuBone nut. It's made by the same company that makes TUSQ nuts. It's slightly softer but hard enough to give you a brighter sound when playing open strings. It's also self-lubricating, so it's good for tuning stability.
On the other hand, the Ibanez GRX70QA comes with a Plastic nut. This is a low-quality nut that you might want to consider upgrading soon. Bone and TUSQ nuts are the best for guitars with a fixed or simple tremolo bridge.
Winner: Epiphone Les Paul Muse.
Fret Material
Most fret wire is made of nickel silver. This material eventually wears down after a lot of use and most instruments end up needing a complete fret replacement. However, some expensive models come with stainless steel frets. This is what you should aim for if you can afford it.
Unfortunately, none of them come with stainless steel frets.
Winner: Tie.
Bridge
The perfect bridge for you will depend on your playstyle because they all have advantages and disadvantages. However, some bridges are more expensive—like Floyd Roses and Evertunes—and thus add more value to a guitar.
The Epiphone Les Paul Muse's brige is a Fixed. It's a simple bridge that is very beginner-friendly since it doesn't require any set-up. You can swap strings easily. It might also give more sustain since it doesn't have complex moving parts that make the strings lose vibration. However, it doesn't have the same versatility as a tremolo bridge.
On the other hand, the Ibanez GRX70QA's is a Tremolo. Tremolo bridges give you more versatility than fixed bridges. They let you perform the intense vibrato effects that would be impossible with a fixed bridge. However, since the bridge floats and there's less contact with the body, the strings lose sustain slightly faster. They can also be a bit harder to restring and set up correctly than fixed bridges.
Since we need to be objective, the most expensive type of bridge will be the winner of this section. In the end, this doesn't matter if you're not going to use the bridge for its original purpose, so choose the bridge that fits your playing style better.
Winner: Tie.
Tuners
Both come with regular tuners. The Epiphone Les Paul Muse's are Grover Rotomatic 18:1 ratio while the Ibanez GRX70QA's are Ibanez
Winner: Tie.
Neck Joint
Contrary to popular belief, the difference in sustain and tone that some neck joints give to a guitar is simply unperceivable—if they're all well built. However, some of them do have advantages over the others.
The Epiphone Les Paul Muse has a Set neck joint. This neck is tightly glued to the body. They give you the least versatility because you can't swap them for a neck that fits your hand better if you want to, unlike bolt-on necks. Some people think this gives more resonance and sustain, but there's no real difference if the bolt-on joint is well built.
On the other hand, the Ibanez GRX70QA comes with Bolt-On neck joint. This neck is joined to the body by 4 bolts that you can simply unscrew. This allows you to replace the neck or take it off for travel. It's the most common and cheapest way to build a guitar.
Winner: Ibanez GRX70QA.
Here is the list of features that were considered when choosing the winner in the Features subcategory:
Epiphone Les Paul Muse
- Expensive Wood
- NuBone Nut
- Coil Split, Phase Out Pickups
- Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
- No Locking Tuners
- Made in China
- No Top Brand Pickups
- No Neck-Through Build
- No Weight Relief
- No Luminescent Inlay
- No Tremolo
- No Compound Radius Fretboard
- No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
- No Strap Lock
Ibanez GRX70QA
- Tremolo
- Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
- No Locking Tuners
- Made in China
- No Expensive Woods
- No High-Quality Nut
- No Top Brand Pickups
- No Neck-Through Build
- No Push Knob or Extra Switch Option
- No Weight Relief
- No Luminescent Inlay
- No Compound Radius Fretboard
- No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
- No Strap Lock
Final Build Quality Scores
Playability Comparison
Let's now compare their playability. Bear in mind that the instrument will feel different depending on your hand size and play style. That's why you should always test before buying. But if you can't or want a second opinion on it, we can still take a look at each of the important measurements of the instrument for you. This way, we can predict how easy a guitar might be to play, or how different it will feel compared to the other.
Remember that, even though the difference might seem small, every inch counts when it comes to feeling of the instrument in your hands. Any variation can completely change how comfortable a guitar feels in your hands.
Nut Width
The nut width will affect the separation between strings at the nut. In this comparison, the Epiphone Les Paul Muse has the wider nut with 43mm (1.693'') vs 42mm (1.654''). This is a 1mm (0.039'') difference
This means that it will be more difficult to do bar chords on the Epiphone Les Paul Muse, especially closer to the nut. However, it's also easier to play without muting strings accidently. This favors people with big hands.
Scale Length
The scale length is one of the things that influences playability the most. This is the distance between the nut and the bridge and will affect everything from low action allowance, difficulty to perform bends, fret separation, and even tone.
The Ibanez GRX70QA has the longest scale: 25.5". The Epiphone Les Paul Muse is only 24.75" long. This is a 0.75'' (19.1mm) scale length difference.
This longer scale means that the strings need more tension to get in tune. This is good if you want to avoid fret buzz, which can happen when the strings are too loose and touch the frets while vibrating. This is especially important when playing in lower tunings. This will also let you reduce the gap between fretboard and strings (low action) to make them easier to press down. However, this higher tension will also make it harder to perform bends and vibratos as the strings will feel stiffer.
This also means that the frets have a longer separation between each other, so this will make it harder for people with smaller hands when playing some chord positions.
Another characteristic of a longer scale is that it makes the guitar sound 'snappier' or brighter. This is due to the extra separation between harmonics and overtones produced by the tension. This influences tone more than any other factor (except the pickups).
Lastly, remember that you can also affect the tension of the strings by changing your string gauge. You can use a thicker gauge for more tension and a lighter one for less tension.
Neck Profile
No single neck shape is better than others. However, most people tend to prefer a thinner necks because it doesn't get in their way when playing fast and most hand sizes can adapt to it pretty well. However, some people still prefer thicker necks for a better grip, especially if they have big hands.
In this case, both have different neck shapes:
The Epiphone Les Paul Muse has a C type of neck. This is what you'll find in most modern guitars. Most people feel like the thickness of a C neck is simply the less intrusive one for playing fast, while at the same time allowing you to grab the neck easily for resting if you want to.
The Ibanez GRX70QA, on the other hand, has a GRGR neck. This neck is used in Ibanez's mass production guitars, and it's very similar to the Wizard profile in terms of shape and thickness.
Fretboard Radius
Most guitar fretboards are not flat; they usually have a curve or arc across their width. A curved fretboard will make it easier to perform chords without muting strings, while a flatter one will make it easier to play single notes, which is good for bending and soloing in general. The best fretboards have a compound radius that varies across the fingerboard, but they're not common since they take a lot more work to build.
Both the Epiphone Les Paul Muse and the Ibanez GRX70QA have the same fretboard radius of 12". This is the radius used in most Gibson guitars. It gives you a good balance for playing chords without muting, but also good comfortability for playing single notes and bending.
Fret Size
The Epiphone Les Paul Muse has Medium Jumbo frets, which should be taller than the Ibanez GRX70QA's Medium frets.
Some people prefer taller frets because they result in more sustain since the strings get pressed cleanly without interference from the fretboard. However, if they're too tall—like Jumbo frets—, you might change the pitch of the strings accidentally if you press too hard because you won't be touching the fretboard with your fingers. This is also why some guitarists with a heavy grip prefer smaller frets. They like to feel the fingerboard to avoid pressing down too hard and getting out of pitch.
