The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
Reply to Thread Bookmark Thread
Page 2 of 8 FirstFirst 1234 ... LastLast
Posts 26 to 50 of 184
  1. #26

    User Info Menu

    My epi es-175 is a workhorse and I don`t regret for a second buying it. I have played music for money the last 25+ years and quit being a brand snob a long time ago.

  2.  

    The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
     
  3. #27

    User Info Menu

    I have reached that point in my life (nearing 60) and career that I can buy pretty much any guitar I want -- and I find myself with a lot of Epis! Now I don't play out any more and don't feel a need to impress anyone and maybe that colors my thinking but I feel Epiphones represent real value. I have a Dot, a Sheraton II, Les Paul Custom, ES-175, Joe Pass, and Broadway (as well as a nylon string SST) and I love 'em all. Other electrics in my collection include a Telecaster, Strat, Ibanez AF84E (no cut away and a floating pickup), and a Gibson Blues Hawk. I play all of them but the Epis are the favored children in the family. The Epi jazz boxes, I think compare very favorably with others similarly priced.

    (It's also good to point out that modestly priced guitars today represent a level of workmanship and playability that was almost unheard of when I was a teen in the 60's; only a real man could make a barre F or Bb at the first fret of a typical import guitar.)

    Though I happen to be an Epi fan, it's hard to go wrong with any modestly priced guitar from the familiar companies.

  4. #28

    User Info Menu

    EDIT: I'm going to try to fix this post so it makes some sense.

    *************************************

    [OP / E-shill] >>> What I struggle with the most is when you buy a guitar you have to add an extra $75 on for a setup because you know you will hate it as is from the factory.

    I think it is practical to consider the setup as part of the cost of any guitar.

    It is not that factories are incompetent, and make bad setups because they do not know better.

    Part of it is cost, and part is that each player will have some variations on preference anyway.

    The sort of typical factory semi-passable/semi-awful setup is fairly easy and inexpensive to do. But to improve this even a little would be fairly costly. Way upstream at a factory level, small cost differences mean quite a bit. A factory cost difference (in either direction) of even a dollar or two is huge.

    And then most players would want to have the setup adjusted to their liking anyway (at least I hope they would).

    Also, temp and humidity changes can make it hard to deliver a stable and arguably optimized setup through the long supply line from a factory into our sweaty playing palms.

    Things are the way they are for nearly understandable reasons. It is very expensive to make them even a little better, and then players will want to tweak things anyway.

    >>> Then it comes down to if it will hold a set and I have had some really expensive guitars not hold a set for crap.

    I suppose I have done setups in what you'd call "quantity".

    In my opinion, guitars drift from a preferred setup for very clear, simple, and specific reasons.. They do not lose some sort of general grip on "set-up-ed-ness".

    There are expensive guitars that are very lightly built from solid woods and require some significant care to keep things stable. In many cases such guitars are harder to keep in superb playing condition (in terms of the setup) vs. oh, say a typical Epiphone - for example.

    All in my opinion.

    Chris
    Last edited by PTChristopher; 04-17-2012 at 10:12 PM.

  5. #29

    User Info Menu

    >>> I was a teen in the 60's; only a real man could make a barre F or Bb at the first fret of a typical import guitar.

    It remains true, in my view, that the vast majority of nuts are too high. Unfortunately, there is considerable continued sentiment for the sources of this problem.

    Chris

  6. #30

    User Info Menu

    I've owned an Epiphone Dot, Les Paul, and Birdland, and was not disappointed in any of them. My friend recently sold his Gibson Les Paul after he got and Epiphone, because the Epi smoked it. The Gibson had some bizarre frequency spikes that, with several pickups we tried, made it sound harsh and awkward.

  7. #31

    User Info Menu

    >>> bizarre frequency spikes

    I have no good explanation, but many Les Paul guitars (and other heavy solid body guitars from many makers) have had rather significant resonance and response variation at certain frequencies. (I mean both electrical and mechanical variations.)

    This includes many variations on the Les Paul - from some of the Norlin Era Les Pauls that were heavy enough to be listed in "Jane's Fighting Ships", to some of the older lighter LPs and some of the newer chambered LPs.

    It doesn't make them bad guitars at all, and in my opinion, many players are completely unaware of these response peaks (and valleys).

    (And sorry for stealing the rather outdated "Jane's Fighting Ships" line from US writer Jimmy Breslin. I do not even know if "Jane's" publications are even well known in general.)

    Chris
    Last edited by PTChristopher; 04-17-2012 at 10:31 PM.

  8. #32

    User Info Menu

    Quote Originally Posted by PTChristopher

    [OP / E-shill] >>> What I struggle with the most is when you buy a guitar you have to add an extra $75 on for a setup because you know you will hate it as is from the factory.

    I think it is practical to consider the setup as part of the cost of any guitar.
    Putting on my old fart hat...

    In my day: When I worked at a music store, instead of playing dwiddly dwiddly all day when it was "quiet" my boss stuck a broom in my hand. Or we cleaned the windows, or dusted. When there was nothing left to do he would find something for me to do. Very quickly I learned to do setups (instead of cleaning the toilet in the back). At first every guitar on display was tuned and set up. Eventually more and more repair work stopped getting sent off site.. and if I am making money for the store and providing faster turn around time for our clients.. well.. that is worth far more than dwiddly dwiddly all day.

    Soo.... I dont think 75$ setup on a new guitar is reasonable, it should be on the dealer to make sure the guitar leaves the store in playable condition. I am not saying change the strings out for the buyers prefered brand and setup to his taste (something a player should be able to do himself anyway). But no high frets, protruding fret ends, poorly cut nuts, dirty pots, loose jacks, wonky pickup heights, backbowed necks, loose tuners.

    Ok.. not ranting anymore. (side note, when I bought my Epi LP new the only issues were a) crap nut, roughly cut and cheap plastic b)purely cosmetic but there was a little too much filler around the crown inlays on the fb. If I didnt work there I wouldnt have expected the nut replaced but at least cut properly.

  9. #33

    User Info Menu

    Hi Drew,

    >>> I dont think 75$ setup on a new guitar is reasonable, it should be on the dealer to

    Fair enough. I guess my opinion is that a player should expect a guitar to require some basic work to be set up to his/her liking with his/her chosen strings.

    If, as per your experience, a dealer can find ways to make this part of their 'value proposition' then that sounds great to me.

    And to stay on-message: There is no way to really do any setup superbly until the nut is right.

    In my opinion.

    Chris

  10. #34
    Thanks again guys.

  11. #35

    User Info Menu

    Mmm me too . . . I cry as i join the rant that my epi emperor regent arrived on order in horrid condition , BUT the store paid for their tech to install a graph tech nut , do a fret dress and shave some wood off the bridge to lower action . . . BUT after that it was perfect , and i got it at a great price and it included the new nut and fret dress and set up . And now it plays beautifully and i'm very happy to own it . But i refused to accept it and almost walked away from the deal when i saw the factory setup . But it just took a good setup and new nut and since i never paid for it i thank my music store manager for that service .

  12. #36
    You are a lucky person to have a store like that in your area. We have Sam Trash and Guitar Center (Musicians Fiend). But both are not worth a crap. It seems every guitar on the floor is just shy of wrecked. So, you find something you like and order it.

  13. #37

    User Info Menu

    I had an Alleykat. I wasn't happy with it. Sold it. Switches, knobs, wiring, pickups, and the jack connector were all really shotty. The neck felt nice though.

  14. #38

    User Info Menu

    Nice to see a couple of others give the Zephyr Regent the thumbs up. I think its outstanding for the price. And leaving price out of it - it's a damn good guitar. Peerless did a great job these.

  15. #39

    User Info Menu

    In my opinion there reall is only one real silution and that is toplay as many guitars in the shop as you can.Sadly this is still not ideal as i do believe you do not really get to know if you like a guitar or not until you have owned it for a bit.But there are those that you will instantly dislike.I own a few higher end guitars but last christmas bought an epiphone sheraton,as i wanted a 335 type and could not afford a gibson this time round.I was very worried about all i had heard about these chinese guitars being of poor quality.I mentioned this fear to the salesman who is also a wellrespected friend and he just told me to play it and see what i thought.I compared it to the dot through the same amp with the same settings and to my ears it had the better sound.Since christmas i have no played any of my other guitars and have fallen head over heels in love with it.Sofrom now on i will still listen to other peoples views but will ultimately make up my own mind.Peace.

  16. #40

    User Info Menu

    My workhorse is an Emperor Regent, replaced the pick-up with a Bartolino J5 (if I remember well). Great guitar! use at gigs when I don't want to be worried about my L4 or 1956 ES175. Great value for money

  17. #41

    User Info Menu

    Thing I like about Epiphones is if u have one of reasonable quality they generally sound good when being played by anyone. They generally sound good with most pickup settings. Kinda like a Tele. Thats a guitar I can play. However I can't make a strat sound anything other than a tin can haha. But in the hands of someone else they are great! Epi are a great all around player's guitar or a pro's guitar as well

  18. #42

    User Info Menu

    I have a really good made in Korea epi es 175, that I love playing, and everyone who picks it up loves playing.

    I have more expensive archtops, but still really love it and consider it genuinely outstanding value at the £350 it cost.

    Once I swapped it with a friend for an MIJ tele- really missed it, but luckily my friend didnt dig the epi, and so now its back, and I will always keep it even though I have a "real" 175.

    Dont know what the chinese made ones are like but this one is flawless and plays beautifully.

  19. #43

    User Info Menu

    On the topic of the OP, it probably depends on what sort of geetar your Epi is. I got an Epi solid neck and body SG for my teenage son to play his AC/DC riffs on, and allowing for the fact that its an SG, its feels pretty good to play, stays in tune well, and the p'ups sound good enough. I wouldn't pay extra for any store-bought guitar to be properly set up tho' - all store-bought guitars should be set up properly - whether they are 2nd hand or new.
    Last edited by tubeswell; 04-22-2012 at 08:26 PM.

  20. #44
    I have a 1946 Broadway that is one of the best acoustic archtops I have ever played. At one time I owned an early 1970's L5CES. Both are great guitars. I recently worked on a newer DOT [deluxe ?] for a friend up here. The assembly was not very good, loose pots and bad wiring. With that sussed out it sounds pretty good but has kind of a baseball bat style neck.

    Remember back in the day when "Only a Gibson is Good Enough" well Epiphone replied with "When Good Enough Just Won't Do". Gibson bought Epiphone about a decade later..... Rest is up and down history.

    Mike J

  21. #45

    User Info Menu

    That's funny, because I sold my Alleykat because the neck was too thin, but I loved the sound of it. I didn't have it long enough to experience a malfunction, though.

    Quote Originally Posted by Evan
    I had an Alleykat. I wasn't happy with it. Sold it. Switches, knobs, wiring, pickups, and the jack connector were all really shotty. The neck felt nice though.

  22. #46

    User Info Menu

    >>> Remember back in the day when "Only a Gibson is Good Enough" well Epiphone replied with "When Good Enough Just Won't Do". Gibson bought Epiphone about a decade later...


    I do not recall this flow of events at all. Do you have any ad's saying this from Epiphone? When would you describe Gibson as Buying Epiphone?

    Is it possible that it happened before we were born? (Depending on how you look at the acquisitions.)

    Just curious about this marketing.
    Last edited by PTChristopher; 04-23-2012 at 09:18 AM.

  23. #47

    User Info Menu

    Quote Originally Posted by PTChristopher
    I do not recall this flow of events at all. Do you have any ad's saying this from Epiphone? When would you describe Gibson as Buying Epiphone?

    Is it possible that it happened before we were born?

    Just curious about this marketing.
    The Epiphone sale happened when I was 5 years old, but it may well have been long before you were born.

    To be exact, Epiphone was bought by CMI, which also owned Gibson, in 1957. Ever since, Epiphone has been a subbrand under Gibson. Before that, it was a separate brand owned by the Stathopoulos family. There were problems in the 1950s and - as said - the Stathopoulos family eventually sold it with the complete inventory, tools and machinery. Part of the reason for the problems was the move of the factory from NY to Philadelfia in 1951, which meant a new and more inexperienced work force. The new work force was not so loyal either as the old one had been, and a strike was felt badly by the company. Some of the NY work force went to Guild guitars which was founded in 1952 by Alfred Dronge, who had himself worked for Epiphone, after the move of Epiphone to Philadelphia.

    I have seen the "Only a Gibson is good enough" marking inlaid/silk screened on headstocks on some Gibsons from the 1940s:

    http://orgs.usd.edu/nmm/PluckedStrin...oganonhead.jpg

    I have heard of the Epiphone slogan, but haven't seen it myself.

  24. #48
    Epiphone began as a "brand" in 1903 founded by greek immigrant Anastasios Stathopoule in New York. after his death in 1915 his sons Epaminondas [Epi] and Orpheus [Orphie] carried on the business. They incorporated in 1923 and settled on the Epiphone name in 1924 building primarily banjos. They also built guitars under the Sorrentino and Howard names.

    The "slogan war" was well documented during the time of Gibson's banner series in the late 40's. From 1931 through the late 40's Gibson and Epiphone were in direct competition in Archtop Guitars.

    Epi died of leukemia in 1943 and Epiphone never really recovered from his death. C.G. Conn [band instruments] acquired major control of the company in 1953 and was in turn bought out by Chicago Music Corporaton which owned Gibson in 1957. Production of Epiphones was moved from its New York factory to a facility in Kalamazoo. In 1960 production was moved to the new Gibson factory at Parsons St. in Kalamazoo.

    Hope this helps.

    Mike

  25. #49

    User Info Menu

    >>> in the late 40's

    Ah. So maybe a little before I would recall any slogan war.

  26. #50

    User Info Menu

    I did initially regret an impulse buy of a 2008/9 Chinese blonde Epi Dot, which played decently enough but sounded awful. I swapped out the stock pickups for a pair of Seth Lovers and I really enjoy playing it now.

    The cosmetics are not that great, especially the finish around the f-holes.

    Not a quality issue, but I was surprised it came with a 50s neck when I expected more of a 60s neck. Not my most well-researched purchase ever but it works fine.

    Bottom line is I am just as likely to pick it up as any of my other "fancier" guitars. Somebody in this forum said and it sounds right to me that the more I play the less I worry about what I'm playing on.