PSA 1/30/17 Korean built Epiphone ES-295

[blue]

Not the infamous $450 ES-175 level of deal, but at $799, but still well worth considering if you're in the market for this type of thing!

USA Dogear p-90s, bigsby, gold finish...

Sorry. Musician's friend Stupid deal of the day.

[Steve DeRosa]

Unless you're playing lead guitar with an Elvis tribute act I'd take the 175 over this one any day - or a Godin CW II once you figure in the cost of a case for the 295. If you haven't played any of the Epi hollows/semis made since they reopened the Chinese factory (long story, and not germane to this thread), the so-called "Slim-Taper D" neck adopted across the board is in fact a thick, cheeky, hard-D profile that bears absolutely no resemblance to its fast-playing Gibson namesake (or any other Gibson or Epiphone neck, from any era) other than the 1-11/16" width; the 175, on the other hand, feels very much like the circa-1966 1-5/8" flat-D profile that first gave the "Slim-Taper" neck its name (and popularity among fleet-fingered soloists) - definitely not everyone's cuppa tea since the advent of the '1-3/4" or death' movement, but you'll need to be aware of the extreme differences before you consider purchasing the 295. FWIW I bought an Ultra 339 a while ago, worked out on it last night, and while it looks great/sounds amazing - the pickups are every bit the equal of many Gibson USA versions - the neck profile actually makes it painful to play for extended periods, particularly if I'm doing a lot of chord work; sad to say this one's on its way out, in favor of something more user-friendly...

[blue]

This is MIK, not MIC. My MIK 175 truly has a "slim taper neck". Slimmer than my EVH shredder.

[Steve DeRosa]

I like the old mid-80's - early-2K's MIK necks a lot, especially the Peerless-made archtops (Emperor Regent, Zephyr Blues Deluxe, Broadway, some Sheratons); hoping they've gone back to that design for the entire hollowbody lineup - those MIC necks are a total trainwreck...