Jazz tones from an Epiphone Sorrento ?

[Daniel Kuryliak]

It is SO tempting to say, "It will produce smoky, woody emissions if you hold it over a fire," but I will not yield to temptation.

Yes, it has mediterrean flavor, probably should name it Clarice, as to it's sound, a mixture of olive wood smoke,green olives, goat cheese, a wee bit of lamb kebobs. some fine chianti some fava beans...and thou Clarice.

Attachment 9231

Hannibal Lecter: A census taker once tried to test me. I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice chianti.

[mangotango]

He's playing thru a Matchless C30 Head, ($3000) with what looks like a Matchless ESD 2x12 extension speaker cabinet ($1000) so why shouldn't it sound good?


Correction, it's the 50th anniversay "Snotburst"...Gibson finished some in this burst in 1962...don't
know why but it never sold as well as a cherry burst.

You're right, I've not done them justice. It's a special one-of-a-kind Snotburst.

[KevinV]

I know this topic was dropped nearly a month and a half ago, but with much of it being conjecture I thought I'd chime in with some first hand experience.

I purchased an Epiphone 50th Anniversary 1962 Sorrento Reissue and absolutely love this thing. Firstly, yes, it's capable of some great jazz tones. The US made Gibson mini humbuckers are powerful and articulate, but don't have too much bite and are capable of being rolled off to some very smooth tones. The wiring and electronic components are high quality…CTS pots, etc. So the electronics and pickups are not a weak link in this guitar.

The guitar itself is of very high quality. I did a setup and was able to set the relief at .004" at the 7th fret and string height at 3/64" on both E strings at the 12th fret. She plays like a dream with no string buzzing. The fret ends are smooth, everything is tight, and it just feels like quality.

When I did the setup I put on a new Tusq nut and a set of D'Addario Chrome Flatwound 11's. I oiled the fretboard and polished the frets and decided to swap the Tune-o-Matic bridge with a rosewood bridge. I ordered the bridge and a couple of Emerson PIO .022uF caps from StewMac today and will be able to install those next week when they arrive. Beyond that, I don't have anything else I want to change up on this guitar.

I've owned and played a Hofner Jazzica Custom, Gibson ES-175, Gibson ES-335, Eastman AR371CE (still have this one), Epiphone Elitist Broadway, as well as several other guitars of lesser street pricing. The Sorrento holds its own next to any of them. And I dig the royal olive…it's probably my second favorite burst color and true to the original Sorrento.

That's my first hand account. For me, the Sorrento makes a fine jazz guitar. Your mileage may vary.

[va3ux]

Thanks for the review Kevin. The guitar still intrigues me. There`s a mid-90`s one with P90 for sale locally that I`m considering, although the price is high. Not entirely the same as the new 62 reissue you have.

[J. Murrieta]

yes, thank you kevin.

does anyone else have one of these? i'm very close to pulling the trigger over here. thanks.

(of course, i'm not really a jazz player. it's more latin folk surf jazz rock...or something like that.)

[PTChristopher2]

I bought one of these last month, or maybe late January. The "real" price for a brand new one, not a "second" was $519 shipped to my door.

At that price I figured I'd adjust as needed to have a hazardous conditions archtop.

I am picky and willing to re-fret, re-pickup or whatever.

All I did was get rid of the nut and make a new one (Tusq like Kevin, because I had a blank sitting around with a pile of bone blanks). The stock nut is styrene, which should be awful, yet can work better than it should. But the slots were too narrowly spaced, leaving lots of FB out past the E's.

So a quick nut, T-I JS-112 strings. Neck PU. Tone turned down a bit. And we gots a fine sound on a guitar that I an not worried about under any situation.

I got the non-booger color, but I admire the nerve of showing up with a snot-burst.

Seriously, no fret end work was needed. I did a minor fret level and dress just as a matter of course. It was not really needed.

Not bad for modest $$$

In my opinion.

Chris

[monkmiles]

These have caught my eye since they came out. If I were in the market for this type of guitar, I'd certainly try one if I could.

[J. Murrieta]

thank you! i'm getting closer. honestly, i like the snot burst! i have an eastman T146 in "Golden Age" which might be too close the the "natural" finish...at least this one looks really nice:

http://www.americanmusical.com/Item--i-EPI-ET2S-LIST

like chris, i'm also drawn to the sorrento for price, beat-ability & hazardous conditions. any other opinions out there?

[PTChristopher2]

>>> any other opinions out there?

Penelope Cruz was super-hot in Volver.

[AlohaJoe]

>>> any other opinions out there?

Penelope Cruz was super-hot in Volver.

Amen!

[Jazznovice]

Hey, guys. I have an original (aka Kalamazoo-made) Cherry Red Sorrento from 1966 that I picked up new while working in a small guitar store back then. I love it's smooth tones and rich jazz flavor. I just don't have any jazz gigs any more as I've switched to other styles. But when I was doing my gigs I loved the jazz tones I got from it. No offense intended, but I can't imagine any Korean model can match its tones.

[tiagop]

I have a 'snotburst' since November and it has been my main guitar ever since. Very inspiring instrument. I posted a thorough review a while back over at TDPRI (always played teles before getting the Sorrento): 50th Anniversary "1962" Sorrento: Full review - Telecaster Guitar Forum

[D.G.]

Does anyone know if the Epi Sorrento is capable of producing smokey, woody jazz tone ? Or is more in 335 territory ?

Thanks...Phil

I'm selling all my other archtops (except my Eastman 905) and making the Sorrento my main electric archtop. What can I say, I like cheap guitars

It really depends on the amp as to how "jazz" your sound is, and what you're looking for, but of me, it does what I want it to. Like other's have said, it's closer in spirit to an es340 than a 335. But the mini-hums won't get you p90 tones. But they are the only humbuckers I haven't immediately ripped out of the guitar. Course, some of that has to do with the fact that I don't know if I could replace them with anything, so...

My test for an archtop (usually laminate) is to string it with 12'w and then really, really, really whack the high E string at the 10th fret and see if it goes "thunk" or if it goes "spank". If it spanks, like a plank, I can't use it. If it thunks, it's mine

[AlohaJoe]

But the mini-hums won't get you p90 tones. But they are the only humbuckers I haven't immediately ripped out of the guitar. Course, some of that has to do with the fact that I don't know if I could replace them with anything,

Pete Biltoft (Vintage Vibe Pickups) is now offering a P90 for a mini-hummer route... there is a matched pair on eBay here, or contact Pete directly if you're interested. He also recently told me he can make a CC blade pup in a mini-hummer. Jason Lollar makes a Firebird type mini, but that would be an unusual choice for Jazz.

[palindrome]

Pete Biltoft (Vintage Vibe Pickups) is now offering a P90 for a mini-hummer route...

What is the difference between P90 and mini-humbucker dimensions? Aren't both (normally) supposed to be identical, anyway?

[tiagop]

These mini humbucker sized P90s look dangerously interesting... Would love to hear sound clips. P90s do tend to sound woodier and clearer to me than minis (although I do like the minis on the sorrento).

[D.G.]

Pete Biltoft (Vintage Vibe Pickups) is now offering a P90 for a mini-hummer route... there is a matched pair on eBay here, or contact Pete directly if you're interested. He also recently told me he can make a CC blade pup in a mini-hummer. Jason Lollar makes a Firebird type mini, but that would be an unusual choice for Jazz.

Nice!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Looks like I'm gonna give Pete a call...


Thanks for the heads up!

[D.G.]

What is the difference between P90 and mini-humbucker dimensions? Aren't both (normally) supposed to be identical, anyway?

No. A mini-humbucker is built just like a big humbucker, just narrower coils. It sounds like a larger humbucker, but a bit brighter and more importantly, a more "present" midrange focus. A P90 is a true single coil, with all the advantages/disadvantages that implies.

[palindrome]

No. A mini-humbucker is built just like a big humbucker, just narrower coils.

Sorry, apparently i misread "mini-humbucker route" as "mini-humbucker routing".

Of course I (sort of) understand the difference in design, but my impression has always been that both are supposed to be identical in terms of _physical dimensions_ historically (putting aside departures in design from the original Gibson standard designs for a moment).

[Tatayoyo]

Hello !

I own this guitar after a "blind test" at a friend's house. He is a jazz guitarist for decades and had many guitars in his hands. I like to blindtest him on Hifi (that's my domain) and we usually get big surprises.
So he gives me the chance to ridiculize on a short test.
I played two guitars, blindfolded, ans i have to tell which I prefer...
The 62 Epi Sorrento was much more playable and enjoyable to me than the 1965 Gibson Es175 he purchased on E-bay for a incomparable price (450$ vs 3900$). He tells me, after the blindtest, that he never had such a surprise with a cheap guitar (he tells it is cheap in price but not in quality) and thinks the price was a mistake.
The day after this, I went to a guitar shop and buy the same, in natural finish.

[pingu]

had an original one mini hum sorrento way back ... got complements on the sound from
the band i was playing with at the time
But ... i found the sound too light for me

it sounded a bit like an es 125T
others may dig this kinda sound ....
I just prefer a full depth archtop type sound
Es 175 type sound (bit more bottom end)

[Tatayoyo]

Hi Pingu,

I think the 175 requests too much from me to sound like it must... I just find the Sorrento much more playable. The neck is immediatly mine, without any adaptation time. The interest of blindtesting in this case is that I'm sure I'd prefer the Gibson if I saw the instrument before playing it. The name, the prestige of it are important psychological points (like in Hifi and wine, you prefer the McIntosh blue eyes and the Château Margaux label on it).
After 20 years thinking of the Telecaster to be the perfect guitar for me, i changed my opinion immediatly.
The price is the "cherry on the cake" as I never saw a guitar with that sound and finish near 500$.

Sorry for my poor english...

[pingu]

cool Tat ....
your english is good !

I think you're right to go for the comfort
of the guitar ...

one day I want an Ibanez JP20 for exactly that reason

[339 in june]

There is an Epi Sorrento brand new for sale in my favourite local music store. So I gave it a try as I heard a lot of good things here and there and the price of it is rather attractive.
In fact, I was a little anxious : how will I justify a new guitar to Mrs 339 when I'll come home with it ?

No justification necessary : I didn't like the tone I got from it.
To my ears :
the bridge pick-up is useless : too thin, too trebly ...
the neck pick-up is about the same, only usable with volume on 5 and tone close to 0 (which I find very restrictive !)
Playability was OK as far as I can tell from the 10 minutes I spent trying to tweak a usable clean "jazz sound" without success.

So, I'm quite surprised because this is absolutely not what I expected to find according to general opinion.
My ES-125 T with her P90 is laughing at me, and I can hear her whispering :"I knew you'll come back to me !"

[va3ux]

When I first posted about this a year ago, I was concerned that I'd find the same thing you did '339', which was why I asked. My main concern was with the Mini HB sound rather than the rest of the guitar. I have never run cross one of these new reissues in a store (haven't looked all that hard either). But about 9 months ago I did buy a 1996 Sorrento (made by Peerless in Korea) with P90s. The look and shape of the Sorrento are attractive to me but the main attraction at this stage of life is the thin body and the comfort it provides. The P90 sound is new to me and I like it. Overall the guitar is pretty good. I'd still like to try one of the new Sorrentos but I'm happy with what I found.