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I have two excellent low cost archtops guitars that, for the money I spent, are both excellent guitars. Due to some upcoming circumstances, I may have to sell one. They are:
1. Epiphone Zephyr Regent - Near mint, beautiful sunburst and surprisingly good acoustic tone. Plugged in, the pickup is not as nice as the 175 below. Kind of flabby in the bass and not as well defined. Of course if I keep it, I can always upgrade the pickup. Neck feels fantastic and action is outstanding. It is a pleasure to play.
2. Epiphone ES-175 Premium - Sunburst, not as pretty as the Zephyr Regent. Sides are black instead of sunburst unlike the Zeph. USA pickups sound fantastic. There is a second pickup which gets very little use. Just did a gig with it and never went to the bridge pickup. Action on this also feels fantastic and it is also a pleasure to play.
Given the above info, and the fact that losing either one is going to be a sad occasion for me, does anyone have any suggestions? I have trouble saying which way I am leaning because whichever one I play at the time is the one I want to keep.
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05-04-2015 10:54 AM
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What year is the Regent?
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2004 Peerless Factory
Originally Posted by Para
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I have a EZR. With a Duncan Antiquities. There's a unique acoustic woodiness that comes through from the inherent qualities of the guitar before it's even plugged in. It's really alive, soulful and inspires everyone who plays it to comment on how good it feels.
I do consider it a professional instrument worthy of the commitment to set up properly. You won't believe it with a really good pickup.
They're also not so easy to find, a loss when they dropped it from the catalog.
David
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Keep the Regent, put in a Classic 57 (same pickup as in Premium)
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+3 for the Zephyr. You can always swap pickups... not so much how the guitar is built. Nearly any good aftermarket pickup should sound great: Seth Lover, 36th Anniversary, any of the PAF clones, etc. You don't have to spend much for a big improvement. Flubby and undefined is very typical of most lower end Asian-made pickups.
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As much as I like new stuff, the Zephyr stays.
I struggled with the same dilemma with my 175 and my 165. I sold the 175 because I could get more money for it. That simple..
Re: the Zephyr.
A pleasure to play is your own words. You probably don't have to plug it in every time you play it and it sounds nice.
They are essentially the same class of instrument minus a bridge pickup. If you like the trebley sound that comes from a bridge pickup on an archtop than you cant get that with the Zephyr. The Zephyr is gonna sound amazing when you add the new pickup down the line.
Zephyr, Zephyr, Zephyr..
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Swap pickups now and keep the Zephyr.
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rclosson, did you not just sell off a guitar recently?
Drop the ES175, the Peerless Regent is a better tool that you have bonded with.
Besides the ES175 premium is flavour of the month and will sell without too much bother.
The Regent won't get you much return.
When I tried to sell my Korean Tanglewood Triggs TRG1 through the for sale section here the guy that was interested batted me down as much as 30% off of what I wanted for it.
A lot less than what it was worth IMHO, even though it had a Jazzbow set up, a new bone nut, TI 13's, a fitted case and courier cost all in. Needless to say I got really peeved and ended the transaction.
Good luck
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Offer them both up, and sell the one that gets the most $$$$$ for you. We're talking Epiphone here . . .
That being said, I'm still super happy with my Epi 175 premium -- I doubt they'll be forgotten once production is discontinued
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flip a coin.
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I have done a lot of horse-trading looking for the "holy grail" much more than I ever should have. It is time for me to get down to the essentials and concentrate on practicing. (Actually long over due) I have a great solid body, a great flamenco, an excellent 7 string and two great archtops. I plan to get down to one and just stop. Really!! Originally Posted by jazzbow
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Actually, there is merit in that. I could be totally happy with either one. Originally Posted by edh
flip a coin.
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I don't believe that! Originally Posted by rsclosson
I thought I had reached my ultimate guitar with my Jazz Tele until I played a Korean Epiphone Emperor Regent
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Of course you are correct, but I keep trying to tell myself... Originally Posted by jazzbow
I don't believe that!
I thought I had reached my ultimate guitar with my Jazz Tele until I played a Korean Epiphone Emperor Regent
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There seems to be a lot of love on here for the Zephyr, but I would probably keep the one that sounded great as is. My take is that since neither guitar is expensive, I wouldn't spend over $100 swapping out a pickup that won't necessarily guarantee the desired results. If the construction and playability were equal, I would keep the one which didn't require any modifications.
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My thoughts exactly! Originally Posted by boatheelmusic
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Well, regardless of what I decide, whichever one I sell is going to be an excellent guitar for the new owner and whichever one I keep is going to be a great one for the old owner.
Thanks for your input.
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I have a newer Peerless and am quite a fan--superb quality. I think the 175 is Korean-made as well, not sure which factory.
In any event, the Regent is not going to be easy to replace, whereas the Epi 175 is currently for sale and readily available on the used market. That would make me lean toward keeping the Regent.
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You could sell tthe Zephyr to me if you want.
Gr Erik
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Actually, I am going to put the zephyr up for sale. Originally Posted by EriktK
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Final results. The Zephyr is now being proudly enjoyed by one of my best students. The 175 is my keeper. I spent several months playing my Zephyr and trying to bond with it. It is the more attractive of the two guitars and fits my (former) requirement of only having one pickup.
My student had put his bid in on the Zeph or the 175 about the time I started this thread. Well, after a long hiatus from the 175, I pulled it out of the case and started playing. Eureka! I was playing better than I had played in a long time. It is a total mystery as to why but it was like immediate bonding. I measured both necks and pretty much thought they were identical. I guess it would take a micrometer to really figure out the difference but I have no need or desire to do that. So when my student let me know he was ready to get one of the guitars and that he wanted the Zephyr, I happily let it go.
So my final result is that my factory second Epi ES-175 Premium is the keeper. Interesting to note that this is not my first Premium. I bought a brand new Blonde at GC and returned it within a month. Never felt right. I got this on a whim because the price was right, being a second and all. It is so much better than the blonde I had. The stars must have aligned the day it was build. The only tweaks I had to make was to re-position the tail-piece which was 3/16" off. Feels perfect and sounds at least as good as any Gibby I have ever played.
So, as far as archtops I am down to the 175 and my Emperor Regent. The Premium is getting the most play now.
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Good deal. Glad you came to a conclusion you were happy with.
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@rsclosson, how did you reposition the tailpiece?
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