-
Anybody tried one? Would they be worth considering for jazz?
Musimaster: Epiphone Masterbilt Century Deluxe Classic VN
-
07-15-2018 02:11 PM
-
I did finally try one, last week.
Might be fine with a magnetic pickup. It was a well made guitar, but didn't sound particularly archtoppy to me.
The piezo pickup is an atrocity.
I also tried the Gretsch New Yorker? Satin finish all acousin model. Much better acoustic sound. Pretty cool guitar.
-
Not very encouraging, so far. Thanks Jeff! ;-)
-
We had a Masterbilt model in stock a while ago, I really liked it, particularly the piezo. I was planning on ordering the oval hole century deluxe but had to prioritize other things... They don't really fit the role for which they are marketed, it was to me more of a quirky acoustic guitar than a jazz box. I got a Yamaha flat top instead because I liked the passive PU and playability
-
From the style of playing of its endorsers on youtube, and from the sound(s) they get out of it, that was already my thinking but its good to have a confirmation from some member of this forum who played it.
Thank you.
-
I have a real deal 1938 Epiphone Masterbilt Olympic that I would sell for about twice the price of the current Olympics. It’s far superior in every way, and is a real acoustic jazz archtop.
-
I guess that your offer is addressed to all the members of the forum, ThatRhythmMan.
As for myself, I wouldn't buy a guitar without trying it, even if this caution makes me loose a good opportunity sometimes and somewhere, but thanks anyway.
-
I tried the the Zenith and Deluxe f-hole models at some length. IMO, the Zenith sounds pretty bad (like an old low-end plywood Kay/Stella/Harmony). The Deluxe sounds pretty nice as an acoustic guitar but is not particularly loud -- nowhere near as loud as a carved top, or even a cheap flattop (I did the comparison side by side). I could see it being usable on recordings, or accompanying a quiet singer, but it's not going to cut it in a group unplugged. The piezo sounds like a bad piezo, and I don't think is useful for jazz. It might be cool with a floating pickup. But if you're going that route there are similar-sounding archtops that already have floaters installed (e.g., Guild A150 Savoy). If you search here for keywords like "budget acoustic archtop" and "masterbilt" there are several threads here where these are discussed if you want more detail.
Originally Posted by Pierrot
John
-
Thanks John. I was just curious about these guitars. They look nice and price is quite affordable. But if sound is missing......no way. Originally Posted by John A.
-
I've tried the Masterbilt Century De Luxe Classic. Epiphone wants to reclaim it's Archtop heritage, that's great. -Is there a market in 2018? Put Phosphor-Bronze strings on and Piezo inside and abracadabra we have an Archtop with an amplified sound like a Western Dreadnought. Deep bass, sizzling highs and scoped mids, perfect for strumming cowboy chords and singer song stuff. There's the market. Personally I'd hoped for a more traditional mid focused Jazz sound. Build quality seems to be adequate at the price level, even though I think the guitar was on the heavy side.
The thinline Century on the other hand, was a nice guitar, light weight with a useful amplified tone. Sort of a 25.5 scale ES-125, cool.
-
Yeah, that thinline Century deal is very cool. Great P90 and big fat neck.
-
The three I tried were all over the place in terms of build quality. Agree the tone isn’t very archtop-like. I wanted to like them but I found them to be more of a novelty. Cool looking, but not my thing.
-
I have genuinely been really impressed with mine (Deluxe Classic) and I think it is unfair to compare these to genuine vintage models from 50+ years ago.
Those guitars were serious professional-grade investments in their day and would probably have cost the equivalent of spending between £3000-5000 in today's money. In reality, these modern versions are only 20% of a cost like that.
After all, what would a modern newly-built Gibson L5 cost now? A quick Google search says I can't even find an all acoustic one here in the UK but German retailer "Thomann" will sell me an electric one for somewhere in the region of £7000-8000. Don't forget, those figures are in UK £ and not US $!
Even a Chinese-built Eastman acoustic archtop would be 3 times the cost of one of these Epiphones.
I have looked at about 10 Loar guitars (the brand everyone seems to recommend ahead of these Epis) and never found one that was even remotely nice to play. OK, I factor the cost of a full setup into everything I buy but surely at least one of them should have had some appeal?
I will say however, that mine needed a (full) pro-setup. I think they all come over from Indonesia needing this as it is one area that manufactures always save money on with cheaper "cheaper" guitars. It has taken at least a year to "play in" and I have to use 13s to even begin to get the top vibrating properly (which may be too heavy for some people and put off potential buyers).
But, having said all of that: The build quality is fantastic, it (now) plays beautifully and sounds great. Of course, it is not going to sound like a fully carved top made in the days of when timber (and labour) was cheap but it performs really well at my weekly acoustic (jazz) jam and is easily loud enough unplugged (I haven't used the pickup).
Remember, it cost about the same as a Mexican-Made Classic Series Strat. I would say just try one for yourself and see how you feel about it rather than listening to opinions on forums like this. Join the Epiphone lovers group on Facebook and see what people think of them there.
Just my opinion of course!
-
I can see your point compared to the vintage guitars but prices in the UK must be very different from here in the US. You say that the Deluxe Classic is the same price as a Mexican Strat? Over here the Deluxe Classic is $1000 USD and the Strat is $600 USD (I bought one new late last year), so no they are not the same here. And my Eastman cost less than the Deluxe (I paid $750 new a few months ago) but I would venture to say is a far superior instrument. Originally Posted by steviebee74
-
The new Epiphone archtops are mediocre plywood boxes dressed in the drag of a vintage Epiphone.
I'm not going to say there isn't valid sonic place for such a guitar, but they are not good at the thing you'd think they would be good at based on what they are modeled after. It might be an ok studio tool, but they are piss poor acoustic archtops. Forgive me, but they just feel like a fraud.
As people who read this subforum regularly are probably sick of reading from me, Loar and Eastman are the only true carved-top acoustic archtops less than $2k USD. For the price price of a new Masterbilt Deluxe you can get a Loar LH-600 that is a far superior acoustic archtop.
-
Perhaps prices are currently somewhat different in the US? Originally Posted by rdwhitti
Today's UK prices for the guitars mentioned look like this:
Epiphone Masterbilt Deluxe Classic: £549 ($782)
Fender Classic Series 50s Stratocaster £800 ($1,044)
Fender Std Strat £479 ($625)
Eastman AR371CE (sunburst) - £969 ($1,265) - (about £80 more for the blonde version)
The Stratocaster I was referring to was the 50s classic series (though I have included the Std version for reference sake). You didn't say which Eastman you meant but I took the cheapest one in the UK - I also have this Eastman (and two more besides).
Maybe it is just better value over here?
-
They're not really all that bad, IMHO, and I own a 1951 made-in-New York Epiphone Zenith acoustic.
The thing is, they're meant to be plug 'n play acoustic guitars with factory-installed pickup. Some people are just not in a situation to sit in a fixed position at a gig with a nice condenser microphone pointed at their instrument. Many want an acoustic guitar they can move around with and to not worry about ear-splitting feedback.
As shipped from the factory, they will never have the smoky jazz sound many people associate with jazz. I have yet to hear one with an aftermarket floating magnetic pickup installed, but I bet it would sound and play pretty well.
I know purists hold the new Epis in disdain, but try finding an original Deluxe that doesn't need refretting, neck resetting, and binding repair for US$1000.
Reply With Quote
Acoustic Image Clarus 2R Series III
Today, 12:57 PM in For Sale