New $400 all-solid Epiphone Masterbilt

[Johnny.guitar]

I'll take my my Canadian made Seagull using actual wood all day long over something like this.
But to each their own

[mz-s]

Originally Posted by Johnny.guitar

I'll take my my Canadian made Seagull using actual wood all day long over something like this.
But to each their own

Very good point!

[AndrewG]

Originally Posted by jazzd

Generally have been completely dissappointed by the Masterbilts given their specs. Choked-off bricks, every one I've tried. Dead thuds.

That's interesting; I never got to play one of the 'original' Masterbilt series, but the spec looked good and my interest was piqued. I did hear a few scare stories about structural issues, though. They don't seem to have been in the Epiphone catalogue for very long either. Maybe they didn't sell?

[Wade Hampton]

Andrew, a couple of years ago I spoke with one of the guys at Epiphone headquarters about this. What he told me is that the people on guitar forums like this one recognize what a great deal the Masterbilt series guitars represent, but we're about the only ones. Evidently they've never sold particularly well.


whm

[lkingston]

Originally Posted by jazzd

Generally have been completely dissappointed by the Masterbilts given their specs. Choked-off bricks, every one I've tried. Dead thuds.

I absolutely LOVE my Masterbuilt DR500MCE, but I did have to go through several in the store before I found a good one. It makes no sense as regular Epiphone are of consistent quality.

[MikeBmusic]

Originally Posted by lkingston

I absolutely LOVE my Masterbuilt DR500MCE, but I did have to go through several in the store before I found a good one. It makes no sense as regular Epiphone are of consistent quality.

More recently, maybe, but several years ago, Epiphones' quality consistency was anything but.

[roylor4]

Originally Posted by MikeBmusic

More recently, maybe, but several years ago, Epiphones' quality consistency was anything but.

I used to sell refurbs on Ebay and sold several Masterbilts. The good ones were always straight-up acoustic, with the exception of the EF-500rcce. All the dreads w/electronics were very heavy and acoustically sounded muffled and dull on a consistent basis.

The acoustic dreads and OM's could vary a LOT from "meh" to "oh yeah, baby".

It's my belief that the heaviness of the dual source system had a drastic and noticeable dampening effect on their resonance.

The tradeoff was getting a REALLY good sounding (IMO) barn door pickup system.

I have picked up several new ones over the last few years while shopping and they were all in the "meh" category for me, at least acoustically.

[Johnny.guitar]

Originally Posted by MikeBmusic

More recently, maybe, but several years ago, Epiphones' quality consistency was anything but.

Not sure about that either.
I bought an Epiphone Masterbuilt a couple years ago...can't remember the number but it was their take on a J45. It was a nice guitar, all solid wood. But less than a month in the back split with a nice crack near the neck joint. Moisture is not an issue where I live. They gave me another and it did not play the same at all. Ended up getting a Gibson AJ. So there's a happy ending

[Wade Hampton]

After I wrote that I was going to call Epiphone today to see what I could learn about this fingerboard material, mz-s replied:

Originally Posted by mz-s

I think you make a good point. Richlite has enough brand recognition in the guitar marketplace nowadays that if it was actually brand Richlite, they'd say so. I look forward to hearing what you find out from Epiphone!

Well, it's going to take a little longer. I wasn't able to reach either of the guys I spoke with the last time I had an Epiphone question. This time my call was routed to a Gibson customer service rep. He was very pleasant, but when I told him about the "torrefied composite blackwood" and explained that I was trying to find out what that was, exactly, his response was:

"Huh..."

He wasn't trying to stonewall me, it sounded as thought this was just the first he'd heard of it. So he got my contact info and told me he'd check into for me. It's pretty late in the day in Nashville right now, so he told me it'll probably be tomorrow before I hear from him.

Personally, I doubt we're going to learn anything substantive beyond what we've already surmised from the description: it's a processed wood product of some sort, probably very similar to what GaryH described:

Originally Posted by GaryH

Probably wood dust mixed with resin and formed under heat and pressure to make something that can be cut and machined. The same thing is done with clarinet and oboe bodies.

That seems most likely.


whm

[Mickey_C]

Fingerboard Material Torrefied Composite "Blackwood"; FSC® Certified
.
.
.
Rubberized wood composite fretboards? Fantastic. This should make the previous masterbrik guitars sound downright resonant.

http://www.blackwoodlumber.com/

[Mickey_C]

Here's a video showing the superiority of blackwood.

[Wade Hampton]

Right. I posted a link to that in one of my posts in this thread yesterday. But we don't actually know if this is the same product as what Epiphone is using for fingerboards - that was one of the questions I was trying to get answered when I called them today.


whm

[Charmed Life Picks]

Here's what a good one sounds like. The creme of the line was always the slope dreads, which they continued a number of years ago. Since they they've built them heavier and worser. Here's an AJ-500M:

[robj144]

How do you know it's $400? I don't see the price anywhere and I don't think it's even been released yet.

[mz-s]

Originally Posted by robj144

How do you know it's $400? I don't see the price anywhere and I don't think it's even been released yet.

I thought it was listed on the page I originally linked to, but it seems that it isn't. Here's the press release page with this guitar listed and the street price of $399.

http://www.epiphone.com/News/Feature...AMM-2017!.aspx