2003 Epiphone Emperor Regent Video added

[Max405]

Yes, indeed, I have surfed most of my life, from Baja Mexicao to British Columbia, but I've never dropped into a wave that I didn't paddle into ... tow-in is an entirely different ball of wax!

You are a mans man..
JD

[Max405]

Joe,
Sounding great, as always! These Epis are great. My Korean made EER was acoustically the best sounding laminate guitar I’ve heard. A joy to play. May she continue to reward you for years to come!
Roli

Roli, Thank You sir!
I played my EER against the wall the other day, so I could her the acoustic sound and it was quite nice. Pretty full. Louder than my 165, but not as smooth.
Yes, this guitar is definitely a joy to play. I outkicks its coverage big time..
Thanks and Stay Strong!
Joe D

[Max405]

Actually, I've found the frequensator quite annoying on my Epi, making background noise on some frequences. So, I've decided to dampen it with cork pieces. Now it's fine.
Attachment 78431

Freddy, Its good that you identified the problem and sorted it out. I love your sound on it. Its nice to have a guitar that you dont worry about.
Thanks, Joe D

[lawson-stone]

Hey Lawson, thanks buddy. I just checked Reverb and there are no used Monarchs. And they are solid wood whereas the EER’s are laminated throughout. I thought you had a Monarch? They are nice. They are around $1500 brand new for a solid wood guitar. They are nice. I like the Jazz City guitars too. They blinged out with abalone. And they are dull finished. I would polish one of those right up. Nice color too..
I wonder if anyone here has one.
JD

I do indeed have a monarch, but wondered if I'm missing something the EER could supply? How's that for crazy!!

You have converted me, btw, to thinking that floating pickups on an otherwise acoustic guitar are just fine even for a laminated body. I used to think that was a no-go, but that laminated body has its own magic, even acoustically, and the lam-body+floater works brilliantly on the second-series ES165's, and evidently also on the EER.

I actually had an EER about 25 years ago and like an idiot, sold it for a fraction of what I should have.

[Max405]

I do indeed have a monarch, but wondered if I'm missing something the EER could supply? How's that for crazy!!

You have converted me, btw, to thinking that floating pickups on an otherwise acoustic guitar are just fine even for a laminated body. I used to think that was a no-go, but that laminated body has its own magic, even acoustically, and the lam-body+floater works brilliantly on the second-series ES165's, and evidently also on the EER.

I actually had an EER about 25 years ago and like an idiot, sold it for a fraction of what I should have.

Lawson, You were not an idiot at all. You probably helped out another musician who couldn't afford the full price. To me that's you being a very admirable good guy. Thats you bro.
Last time I talked to Kent Armstrong, he told me specifically, that his 12 pole floaters are designed to make you feel like like, "you lose Nothing" by going with a floater. If I could, I would spring for one of his Gold 12 pole floaters and put it on this guitar. Then, I would have the best of both worlds. A nice acoustic and an electric guitar that is close to being without compromise. But that is not necessary for me right now.
You are not missing anything. Unless you love the sound acoustic sound of a guitar and you dont have one to play. Your Monarch is probably a much better guitar than this EER.
JD

[lawson-stone]

Lawson, You were not an idiot at all. You probably helped out another musician who couldn't afford the full price. To me that's you being a very admirable good guy. Thats you bro.
Last time I talked to Kent Armstrong, he told me specifically, that his 12 pole floaters are designed to make you feel like like, "you lose Nothing" by going with a floater. If I could, I would spring for one of his Gold 12 pole floaters and put it on this guitar. Then, I would have the best of both worlds. A nice acoustic and an electric guitar that is close to being without compromise. But that is not necessary for me right now.
You are not missing anything. Unless you love the sound acoustic sound of a guitar and you dont have one to play. Your Monarch is probably a much better guitar than this EER.
JD

I have a KA 12 pole floater on my Loar LH650 and it is indeed a very nice pickup. Thicker than the average floater and the sound is stronger. I'm actually not sure the 12 adjustable pole pieces are that much better than 6, but I have no complaints. I have thought about a KA12 for my monarch. I have one in a drawer here somewhere.

I don't know if the monarch is a much better guitar, but I do know it has been a "no drama" guitar. I have never even had the truss rod cover off, never touched a fret, never even had to crank the bridge wheels. It is perfectly set up and stable. I don't know why I don't play it more than I do!

[citizenk74]

Actually, I've found the frequensator quite annoying on my Epi, making background noise on some frequences. So, I've decided to dampen it with cork pieces. Now it's fine.
Attachment 78431

Cork is a wonderful odd-sound dampener. I too, have cork in the nooks and crannies of the Frequensator, as well as other guitars. I have a collection of squishable, resilient items for just that purpose.

[Max405]

C74, I got a chuckle out of that one.
JD

[neatomic]

Cork is a wonderful odd-sound dampener. I too, have cork in the nooks and crannies of the Frequensator, as well as other guitars.

plus collecting the cork can be fun too!! haha




cheers

[73Fender]

Congrats beautiful Epi and nice playing. Enjoy.

[Max405]

Congrats beautiful Epi and nice playing. Enjoy.

Thank you very much.
Brian is great at what he does. Ask for the “shredder” treatment.
Joe D

[GuitarDude2021]

Thank you very much.
Brian is great at what he does. Ask for the “shredder” treatment.
Joe D

Do you have a website or something to get in contact with Brian?

[PaulW10]

And yes, I detailed the crap out of it. Meguires 101, 105 and Menzerna P085rd. Then topped with Virtuoso. The metalwork got 100% Carnuba. It sits on my wall and it thinks it’s a Monteleone!!
Take care buddy.
Joe D

I really enjoyed this post/thread...your playing is wonderful and the guitar looks and sounds gorgeous.

I have the same guitar from the same era, but in blonde. I have always LOVED it. Your post made me take it out and play it and re-remember how much I love it.

The reason I hadn't been playing it much lately is because I purchased a 1959 Epiphone Deluxe Cutaway which is almost a clone. The EER model seemed to have been inspired by the Deluxe Cutaway as I believe it is virtually identical in terms of specs etc. (although laminate versus solid of course). Here's my Deluxe Cutaway. It was the 3rd one made by Gibson after it acquired Epiphone.

1959 Epiphone Deluxe

It too is a stellar guitar. I love them both. Even though I believe my Deluxe Cutaway was at the top of the line in 1959, my EER is remarkably comparable. In fact I've always struggled with accepting the EER to be as great as it is as I stupidly couldn't get over the fact that how can such a great guitar be so darn cheap to buy!! Sort of magical really. One of those great values you stumble on in life every once in a while.

Anyway I was wondering if you'd explain your detailing process you speak of above. My EER shines nothing like yours and I'd love to get it there. Did you use all those products in sequence? When I google them I noticed I may end up spending more on getting all of them than I did for the guitar Thanks in advance for any advice.

Paul

[Max405]

Hi Paul,
1st thank you for your post and the nice things you said.
Your guitar is a beautiful piece of history. It has that unmistakeable Epiphone cutaway profile. Love it.
Your Emperor Regent is beautiful in blond.
My detailing process was necessary to get some of the scratches out of this guitar.
I use a Porter cable random orbital buffer. I use a Green ultra cut pad and Meguires 101. This brought finish down the the depth of the scratches. So now the scratches are gone, but the finish is dull. Then I went to an orange pad and Meguires 105. That brought the finish back at speed 4, then I jeweled it at high speed (6). Keep the pad moving or you will burn through. This brought the finish to a high luster and I probably could have left it at that. But... out came a black pad and the Menzerna po85rd. You can work this stuff into the surface for a long time and it just keeps getting shinier and shinier. Once you are satisfied wipe off the product and use a 10% alcohol and 90% water solution to remove the po85rd residue. This stuff is loaded with a lubricant which allows you to work the polish eternally. If you don’t wipe it completely free of this residue the Virtuoso polish will not adhere to the surface. I use 2 coats of the Virtuoso. Or if you have Menzerna PowerLock, it’s basically the same thing.
Very important! Use a pure Carnuba wax on the gold parts. The virtuoso or powerlock contain solvents that will reduce the life of the gold coatings. Only use pure Carnuba with no solvents or abrasives.
Your guitar will sit on your wall thinking it’s a Monteleone. A $600 Radio Flyer.
Enjoy your guitars. You have 2 guitars that are capable of unlimited musical ecstasy.
Joe D

I really enjoyed this post/thread...your playing is wonderful and the guitar looks and sounds gorgeous.

I have the same guitar from the same era, but in blonde. I have always LOVED it. Your post made me take it out and play it and re-remember how much I love it.

The reason I hadn't been playing it much lately is because I purchased a 1959 Epiphone Deluxe Cutaway which is almost a clone. The EER model seemed to have been inspired by the Deluxe Cutaway as I believe it is virtually identical in terms of specs etc. (although laminate versus solid of course). Here's my Deluxe Cutaway. It was the 3rd one made by Gibson after it acquired Epiphone.

1959 Epiphone Deluxe

It too is a stellar guitar. I love them both. Even though I believe my Deluxe Cutaway was at the top of the line in 1959, my EER is remarkably comparable. In fact I've always struggled with accepting the EER to be as great as it is as I stupidly couldn't get over the fact that how can such a great guitar be so darn cheap to buy!! Sort of magical really. One of those great values you stumble on in life every once in a while.

Anyway I was wondering if you'd explain your detailing process you speak of above. My EER shines nothing like yours and I'd love to get it there. Did you use all those products in sequence? When I google them I noticed I may end up spending more on getting all of them than I did for the guitar Thanks in advance for any advice.

Paul

[neatomic]

yeah man...that's the breakdown straight from Joe D...marvelous!

that epi glows!


cheers

[PaulW10]

Hi Paul,
1st thank you for your post and the nice things you said.
Your guitar is a beautiful piece of history. It has that unmistakeable Epiphone cutaway profile. Love it.
Your Emperor Regent is beautiful in blond.
My detailing process was necessary to get some of the scratches out of this guitar.
I use a Porter cable random orbital buffer. I use a Green ultra cut pad and Meguires 101. This brought finish down the the depth of the scratches. So now the scratches are gone, but the finish is dull. Then I went to an orange pad and Meguires 105. That brought the finish back at speed 4, then I jeweled it at high speed (6). Keep the pad moving or you will burn through. This brought the finish to a high luster and I probably could have left it at that. But... out came a black pad and the Menzerna po85rd. You can work this stuff into the surface for a long time and it just keeps getting shinier and shinier. Once you are satisfied wipe off the product and use a 10% alcohol and 90% water solution to remove the po85rd residue. This stuff is loaded with a lubricant which allows you to work the polish eternally. If you don’t wipe it completely free of this residue the Virtuoso polish will not adhere to the surface. I use 2 coats of the Virtuoso. Or if you have Menzerna PowerLock, it’s basically the same thing.
Very important! Use a pure Carnuba wax on the gold parts. The virtuoso or powerlock contain solvents that will reduce the life of the gold coatings. Only use pure Carnuba with no solvents or abrasives.
Your guitar will sit on your wall thinking it’s a Monteleone. A $600 Radio Flyer.
Enjoy your guitars. You have 2 guitars that are capable of unlimited musical ecstasy.
Joe D

Thanks very much Joe for taking the time to give such a thorough response. This actually sounds like a very fun project I'm going to have to try. And the results you obtained speak for themselves. Wow your guitar is beautiful!

I wonder if these products would work on all types of guitar finishes?

Anyway thanks again for your reply!

Paul

[Max405]

Hi guys, I added a Video to this post because I am very excited about the sound and the use of my IPhone 12Pro Max camera. I’ve recorded this song before with the solid Formed and the sound was awful. The difference in sound is I am using the great DaVinci Resolve for video editing. I was using Corel VideoStudio which wasn’t very good.
Thanks guys.

Joe D

[silverfoxx]

Hi guys, I added a Video to this post because I am very excited about the sound and the use of my IPhone 12Pro Max camera. I’ve recorded this song before with the solid Formed and the sound was awful. The difference in sound is I am using the great DaVinci Resolve for video editing. I was using Corel VideoStudio which wasn’t very good.
Thanks guys.

Joe D

Joe,
The tone from this guitar is absolutely superb. Its the best version Ive heard of the tune from you.
In a blindfold test, one might assume that it is hand built by a master Luthier. But as has been
said previously it is the quality of the fletcher not the bow. Congratulations on yet another very
nice rendition of a favourite Standard. Thank you my friend for sharing this with us.

Best, 007

[citizenk74]

That is just beautiful, Joe. The EER indeed has an outstanding neck, as nice as anything I have played, and the way the neck hangs in the seated position really makes it possible for a nice relaxed approach to the fingerboard, at least for me. Thanks for posting this.

[neatomic]

more niceness Joe D...it doesn't have some of the low end lushness that some of your other guitars had...a bit more one dimensional...but still, a wonderful dimension...and the fact that it's on an imported epi, that most players can afford- icing!

it all comes down to ears..and you got'em pal

cheers

[Max405]

Joe,
The tone from this guitar is absolutely superb. Its the best version Ive heard of the tune from you.
In a blindfold test, one might assume that it is hand built by a master Luthier. But as has been
said previously it is the quality of the fletcher not the bow. Congratulations on yet another very
nice rendition of a favourite Standard. Thank you my friend for sharing this with us.

Best, 007

007, Thank you very much. I think I only recorded this song once before. But this one sounds infinitely better. Not because of the guitar. Because of the video editing software. Corel VideoStudio is awful.
It’s a real beautiful song. The iPhone video is more colorful, clearer and is 1/10 the size of the webcam files!
Thank you my friend and the pleasure as always is all mine.
Joe D

[Max405]

That is just beautiful, Joe. The EER indeed has an outstanding neck, as nice as anything I have played, and the way the neck hangs in the seated position really makes it possible for a nice relaxed approach to the fingerboard, ay least for me. Thanks for posting this.

C74 you are right buddy. It’s a very playable guitar. The neck is perfect. But it requires frequent adjustment of the bridge height. I havent adjusted the bridge in any of my other guitars but this one I’ve tweaked 3 times already. Not a big deal. No guitar is perfect.
As always thank you for the really nice words buddy.
Joe D

[neatomic]

The neck is perfect. But it requires frequent adjustment of the bridge height. I havent adjusted the bridge in any of my other guitars but this one I’ve tweaked 3 times already.

is the bridge saddle tilting on the base posts under tension?....sometimes the saddle bends toward the headstock side...ever so slightly, but it will affect action/feel


cheers

[Max405]

more niceness Joe D...it doesn't have some of the low end lushness that some of your other guitars had...a bit more one dimensional...but still, a wonderful dimension...and the fact that it's on an imported epi, that most players can afford- icing!

it all comes down to ears..and you got'em pal

cheers

Thank you Neatomic. I tested the recording on 3 very “reference” type headphones by Sennheiser - hd650, hd700 and momentum 2 wireless and I was very impressed with the bottom as well as the other frequencies. To me, this guitar has similar clarity to the Solid Formed at about the 80% of the volume. A Real wound Kent Armstrong pickup will make it louder but I’m afraid it might bring other issues out. I’ll keep it as is.
What sound source are you using?
It’s a shame Gibson/Epiphone doesn’t make this guitar anymore. I honestly think the Korean Peerless facility was a cut above in terms of quality/longevity and overall value. I do remember buying a blond one brand new back in 2017 and I had to return it. The nut was about 3/16” too high. The bridge was buried. And the action was absurdly high. I believe they were made in China in 2017. The guitar was not even playable.
Once again thank you for your posts. Between the last 3 responses, I am surrounded by the class of the organization!
Thanks bud. JD

[neatomic]

the low notes are solid...but lush is harder to define or capture!...the recording is low end tight and clean, super well done...but the guitar and perhaps in combination with the mia ka pup doesn't have the rich low end harmonic content that some of your other guitars had....which is no insult!! you had some guitars!!

and yes it does sound similar to your solid formed...but that wasn't my fave either!! hah..they both sound a little tight to me..by compare...(and i have been enjoying your playing vids a long time now!)

no putdown...i think you always bring out the best in your guitars...playing, looks, recording etc...but all guitars are unique!

cheers