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I understand the appeal. I sought out and bought a late 30's Chicago-made Regal resophonic because I wanted the look.
Of course, resophonics don't depend on fine woodwork or appointments for their distinctive sound, and I was able to get an instrument that has the sound as well as the appearance.
If only it didn
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11-19-2009 06:48 PM
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I'm guilty also. That's why I bought my Vestax made D'Angelico in the first place. That way, I had a connection with the past. As I mentioned in a few other threads, Nowadays, the only gigs I play are at a nursing facility where my mother who is 94 lives. I usually play for about an hour and a half and realized that the standards I was setting to jazz went for 1928 to about 1946 with a few standards in the 50's. That to me was the golden age of jazz music in New York City and the look of that Japanese D'A did the trick for me. It's all about the nostalgia for me.
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To finish my sentence: "If only it didn't have a slotted peghead." Man, I hate those -- I had a Ric 366/12 for a long stretch, and that "compact" peghead that "cleverly combines vertically and horizontally tuning machines" probably prejudiced me against the rest of the instrument.
Unless you LIKE a guitar that dictates the order in which you restring it, and, of course, we're talking about TWELVE strings here...nurse, where's my medication?
Yeah, hot rod ford coupe, as has been noted, a guitar that recreates an experience for us has a way of recreating experiences for those who listen to our music.
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Asian built guitars certainly don't have a monopoly on terrible quality. Gibsons are just as bad if not worse than most foreign built guitars (I've worked on enough of both to be able to say that). The last L-5 I had in the shop needed to have it's pickup pulled out and when I did it I was disgusted to find out the top was 9/16" thick! You might as well be playing a solid body. The fit and finish of that instrument was terrible and we are talking about a guitar that cost close to $8,000. There are plenty of modern makers that do Gibson better than Gibson.....Campellone, Triggs, Painter etc... Guitarists don't pay anywhere near what other musicians pay for their instruments and are still more worried about them. A friend of mine tours in a bluegrass band with a violin that was made in 1701. Most guitarists would never pay what he did nor would they play an instrument on a gig that was made in 1951. In the interest of full disclosure....I am a luthier trying to make the move from strings repair to building archtops full time. I will also be changing my name to John D'Angeliquistodetto with a price increase to follow
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i was very lucky this summer to score a 1936 S.S Stewart acoustic for 5 bucks at a garage sale (with un-opened pack of D'Addario's)
Originally Posted by Doctor Jeff
ended up repairing it and giving it to a friend
SS Stewart Restoration | Calgar C the restoraton process
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Now personally, I find this argument subjective at best. I have seen some surprisingly good workmanship in cheaper Asian stuff and embarrassingly crappy workmanship in expensive American stuff, and vice-versa.
Out of curiosity, I inspected the inside of my Indonesian Epiphone ES-175 and found it to be a far cry from the OP's gut shots of his guitar.
The neck block is two pieces of solid wood glued vertically and beveled smooth on the corners, and the parallel braces are shaped and sanded almost to a sheen.
All of the structural pieces inside had nice grain and color and appeared to be all from good cuts of wood... Not scrap lumber.
I shoved my iPhone into the f-hole to try to get a picture or two... They didn't turn out too well, but you get the idea.
Incidentally, no gaps or visible glue residue either.
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This is a pretty old thread, revived recently by spammers...
I owned an emp reege...it was a fine guitar for starting out. I played a Godin Kingpin about two years after I bought the epiphone and realized quickly I could do much better for my money.
The regent suffers from the same thing the overseas made ibanezs' and gretsch archtops do...glossy, pretty, decent playing, completely bland sounding guitars.
I have just ordered a Loar archtop...I've been told it's a big step up...I hope it is. Full review forthcoming.
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Anxious to hear that review. From everything I've read about them on various forums, the good ones are great, but that the quality control is all over the map and there are a fair percentage of bad ones.
I've been tempted by them before myself from what it looks like you get for the money.
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The Epiphone Emperor Regent is not pretending to be a Gibson otherwise it would be 5 times the price
For a 25.5 scale 17 inches Johnny Smith budget Jazz box it is a good value.
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I understand what you're saying.
I just happen to have had good luck and experience with the cheaper imports so far.
Let's not forget the stellar reputation of the imported Eastmans and the now collectible Japanese copies over the years (on the higher-priced end).
Ultimately, there are many cheaper Asian imports that show build quality and materials that exceed the money spent. Many others show that you get exactly what you pay for.
Gibsons are fine guitars, but they're so expensive that when QC waivers, you don't get what you pay for.
My apologies if this has already been touched upon.
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Hi saw this thread and had to reply:
I Have an Epi Emperor Regent.
Bought it as a durable and inexpensive alternative to a Gibson L-5C. I wanted a garage/travel guitar that could double for my ES-175, or my L-50 and not have to worry if it got damaged or stolen. I liked that it could be played acoustic and/or amplified. It had minor issues with the frets which had sharp edges ( with no nibs, they tend to stick out once the fingerboard shrinks), and the 8th fret was loose. Had to tighten up the jack, tuners and hardware, again because the wood had shrunk here in California, but that is to be expected. Made a real bone nut for it and tried new 11 flat wounds on it and found it had very little volume but OK tone. Put TI Swing series 11s on it and liked them much better.
Plugged into my Blues Jr. (has Bill M mods and a mojotone reverb tank) it has a wonderful sound that while not as dark as a PAF humbucker, it has a nice tone unto itself which my ES 175 cannot replicate. Very diverse, especially when played at a level where you can hear the acoustic and amplified sounds together, and it does blues, surf, country, classic rock, and jazz very well.
Only one complaint: If you are a Gibson player, meaning 24.75 scale, like me, you may find it difficult to adjust to the 25.5 inch neck. The other minor issue is the position of the volume and tone controls; like Fender Strat, they are easily bumped while strumming rhythm so you have to adjust for that. A final note was the Florentine cut-away, while beautiful, it does not allow as much access as the Venetian cutaway on my ES 175, but this would also be true for any guitar with a Florentine C. A.
So in summary, it is an inexpensive alternative to at Gibson, has very nice appointments( bindings, inlays) is well made, and is diverse in tone acoustically and amplified. Yes, it needed some tweaks to make it suit my needs, but only minor adjustments and service which BTW, all guitars require from time to time. The bonus is that today, Epi, and Gibson have disscontinued full bodied archtops, so now, they are all going up in value....I'm glad I got it they were still affordable, and will never sell it.
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I never knew this thread existed. Have started a couple on Emperor Regent, as if it were a best kept secret. Firmly believe it will graduate into a true classic. My -99 had a faulty pot changed under warranty; not the slightest issue since. And it just keeps getting better.
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FWIW, ES-175s have a Florentine (sharp) cutaway, L-5s and copies have a Venetian (rounded) cutaway. Those names were just picked out of thin air by Gibson, and have no historical significance, it's all just marketing.
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Yeah I remember this thread from years ago!
Too bad Randyc doesn’t seem to be active on the forum anymore.
As I suffer badly from the MOD-syndrome, I have had this little plan in the back of my mind for years now to buy an Emperor Regent and do this to it:
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L-5 CES w/ custom P-90s clone, nice !
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A Broadway is a better starting point for this.
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Hey Jazzers,
New video featuring my Epi Emperor Regent. This guitar is a joy to play. Here I'm using a TC Electronic BAM 200 amp head that brings a nice deeeeeep sound.
Hope you'll like the sound of it.
Best and take care.
Fred.
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A superb guitar, amp ...and guitarist! Thanks, Fred, for another great clip! Whether jazz guitar sound may get better than this is a matter of taste, but IMHO it does not have to. The amp, a whopping EUR 133 at Thomann, combined with a proper cab (wink wink nudge nudge) is today's Polytone replacement therapy. And if the guitar just sported a Gibson logo...
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Nice playing on an old chestnut Fred, (the tune, not the guitar
)
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Thanks mates. I appreciate your support. It’s not because it’s Markus but I’m pleased to say that my 12" toob speaker is the ideal companion when I go out for gigging.
Best and take care.
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What wonderful playing, and a great sounding guitar.
I have a friend with an Epiphone Broadway, very similar to the Emperor Regent but with humbuckers. It's a superb guitar at any price.
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Fred, you did it again: transported me away from my surroundings. Lovely playing and lovely sound. Thank you!
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A fine performance one of guitardom's under-rated great instruments. My MIK EER was my main jazz squeeze for years. Your excellent playing highlights its virtues! Thanks so much for this.
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Thanks mates for your support!
It's a nice instrument, indeed. It took me some time to find the right combination guitar/microphone/amp/right hand technique but once you get the sweeet spot, it's there. The BAM200 amp head brings a nice boomy attack, with a dark/mellow tone, but it clears up when you play treble notes on the E string. And the handwired J Smith Kent Armstrong PU is so delicate and punchy at the same time. A real winner for me. Now I have to practice my thumb technique
Best and take care.
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But only if you want humbuckers, not if you want P90s, as their covers won’t cover the humbucker cutouts….. Originally Posted by Gitterbug
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