Twisted Sister’s Jay Jay French on Epiphones versus Gibsons: “I think that for the money, Epiphones are fantastic”
“If I can play them in front of thousands, they’re good enough for anyone, right?”
Image: John Lamparski / Getty Images
Twisted Sister guitarist Jay Jay French has weighed in on the wonders of Epiphone guitars in a recent interview.
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Speaking to Ultimate Guitar, French discussed his ongoing vintage guitar collection and the reasons he typically reaches for the Epiphone while he’s onstage.
“I have sold off almost all my vintage guitars except for maybe nine of them,” he shared. “And I think I’ll just keep those nine. I still have over 50 guitars, but I sold the vintage ones. My desert island guitar is a ’64 Gibson Les Paul Junior which I bought for $300 back in ’85. While on tour with Twisted, I got it when a guy came into the dressing room in Chicago. He came in with a couple of guitars, and I bought that Les Paul.”
Explaining that Epiphones are his weapon of choice while touring and playing live shows, French said, “I love Epiphone, and if you look at any pictures of me over the last 15 years, you’ll see that’s all I ever play live.”
“And the guitars I play only retail for $499, but they’re workhorses. Sure, I’ll throw in some aftermarket pickups, and maybe I’ll change the tuners, but I generally love the Epiphone. They’re made on CNC machines and very similar to Gibson’s. I think that for the money, Epiphones are fantastic.”
“If I can play them in front of thousands, they’re good enough for anyone, right?”
Elsewhere, the guitarist also admitted that while he still plays the guitar, he doesn’t “get the itch to create [new music] anymore”.
“I still love it, but you’d have to really push me to do it. And lately, people have been pushing me more. So, I’ve been performing for guest appearances with various people because they pushed me, saying, ‘Come on, man, let’s do it.’ So, my wife says, ‘Go do it. Have fun out there.’ But I have a guitar in my office, and I try to pick it up and play for an hour each day just to keep my fingers nimble.”
French added, “The guitar is still fun for me, but my writing is my focus these days. I write for various magazines and do my podcast and motivational speaking. That’s where most of my energy goes now.”