Best quality - Epi DR500MCE Masterbilt or Yamaha A1M?

[Duff]

quality - Epi DR500MCE Masterbilt or the beautiful Yamaha A1M?

Any ideas as to which has better quality - Epi DR500MCE Masterbilt or the beautiful Yamaha A1M? I played the Yamaha today and liked it. There is no place around here to try out the solid wood Epi Masterbilt>Anyone have any opinions either way on this, based upon your own experience>The Epi is all solid wood: top, back, and sides; the Yamaha is solid spruce on the top and laminated mahogany on the sides and back, with a mahogany neck. The Epi also has a two pickup preamp - one pickup at the bottom of the fretboard just below the strings and another under the saddle. The Yamaha has a newer design of multiple pickup sensors under the saddle>

I am not trying to get opinions as to how this is a totally "subjective" and unanswerable question. If you don't have a personal opinion based upon your own experience please don't share with me how you think that this is a totally personal preference type of thing. I'm interested in hearing "your" personal preference, if you have one. Your impressions are of interest to me in making my own evaluation.

Rest assured that in the end it will be my personal preference that I rely on to make my personal decision as to what to get. I'm just looking for some information here, not pointless debates over subjectivity/objectivity and the fruitlessness of inquiry.

Thanks.


"Don't let it get you down. It's only castles burning. Find someone that's turning and you will come around.." Neil Young.

[BoneDigger]

Buy what you have played and enjoyed. The Epi is a fine instrument too, but Yamaha is known for its fit and finish.

Todd

[Duff]

Good advice indeed.

I liked the Yamaha A1M. It's tone was mellow and beautiful. The guitar looked great as well.

I can't try out a Masterbilt because no one around here has one, even though there is an Epiphone dealer close to me.

Most Epiphone acoustics that I have played were very inexpensive and didn't sound remarkable to me.

My Seagull, which is at the factory for a possible repair, also does not sound remarkable.

I have a very inexpensive Oscar Schmidt white dread with blue pearl binding that is all laminate but sounds better than the Seagull S6 by far. The Seagull is totally falling apart and the neck will not allow for low action, never has. I probably shouldn't have bought it in the first place. Without going into the details of the Seagull, I'm going to focus on getting a new acoustic that I think is quite remarkable from the beginning, without spending more than six hundred or so. That's not a lot of money but I plan to find an A/E that I like and can enjoy within that approximate range.

After a lot of years of buying and playing guitars I think that it is the best idea to buy a guitar that is already exactly the way you want it or very close, possibly even already set up by the dealer. That way you don't find out later that you can't lower the action, etc.

I want to get a dryer, more mellow sounding acoustic.

Feedback is appreciated.

[montydog]

Hi,

I've never played the Yamaha but I have played several Masterbilts including the DR and AJ models in mahogany and rosewood. They have all played, looked and sounded wonderful. I own an AJ 500M which is a fabulous guitar and my next will be an EF finger style model. Very underrated instruments IMHO.

The eSonic pick up system is brilliant.

[lmacmil]

I see a lot of Masterbilts on Ebay sold as "manufacturer refurbished" which makes me wonder about their quality.

[bighaze51]

I had the epi dr500mce. It was a great guitar. I really liked the dual pickup system. It sounds beautiful plugged in. But I found it wasn't loud enough for me. I ended up getting a Martin dx1ae. Much more volume and bass response. I do miss the epi though. I have no experience with the yammy though. Good luck on your quest

[mcrofutt]

I have that Epiphone and I like it A LOT. The set up is perfect for fingerpicking, the sound is versatile, and the price is right.
I have no experience with the Yamaha

[Boneyard75]

I have an Epiphone DR500MCE...It is my go-to stage guitar...a sweet sounding guitar that is very balanced & it has the best pickup system that I have experienced & I have tried a whole bunch of different pickup systems...Like a preceding post said, "the Esonic is brilliant!"...I like this instrument so much that I bought another of the same model....I will be selling my 2nd DR500MCE for a great price here soon...I just find it redundant to own 2 of the same...
I have tried the Yamaha A1M & the acoustic sound was underwhelming to me...I require more bass than it produces by a good measure....they are heavy guitars as I remember....Yamaha did better in it's preceding LL16X with the SBT pickup system...It was a better guitar with a much better pickup system....Why they went backwards, I will never understand...
good luck, Boneyard

[wooglins]

Originally Posted by lmacmil

I see a lot of Masterbilts on Ebay sold as "manufacturer refurbished" which makes me wonder about their quality.

In most cases that simply means it was a customer return. A very large reseller of those instruments is located here in Nashville and I have chatted with the owner about the instruments.

[van6143]

The Epiphone Masterbilts are great guitars all solid wood construction they have gotten great reviews i have 2 the AJ500r and EF500 both are great guitars if you can give them a try.

[Jeremy]

Having owned several Epiphone and Yamaha guitars as far as quality is concerned, Yamaha takes the cake. Every guitar of theirs I've ever had has sounded great and was built well (except a minor issue on one). With Epiphone, every model I've had except for two (including three Masterbilts) has had some issue but I did like the way they sounded.

[BoneDigger]

I have owned two Masterbilt guitars. One was a DR500M and one was a DR500P. Both were good guitars, though workmanship was spotty on the 500M. However, I have played a few others at various stores and these guitars are not as consistent as you might think. Some are great and some are below average.

As noted earlier, if you have played the Yamaha and liked the tone, I would not place a bet on an unheard Epi. Buy the one that you played and liked.

Todd

[Duff]

Good advice BD. A bird in hand is always better than ten in the bush.

I like the Yamaha A1M I played but might even try an A3M for the couple hundred more. I might just pay a little extra and hope it pays off.

I like the idea of the Epi E-sonic preamp with the cool pickups, but the Yamaha system on the higher end of the ones I'm looking at seems to be quite adequate.

Today I have been playing my Schecter C-1 E/A, electric acoustic. It is a beautiful and awesome hybrid superstrat type semi-hollow type guitar with some upgrades I had done to it, including audio pots on the tone and nickel covered Seymour Duncan full sized humbuckers - the '59 neck and the JB bridge. Great pickups and the guitar has a really great sound, including the simulated acoustic sound provided by the Shadow graphtec saddle pickups that handle to acoustic sound and route it to the active electronic system.

It is a stereo guitar with one stereo jack. With a "Y" cable it can be sent to an acoustic amp and an electric amp at the same time. You can blend the a/e sounds and you can also just plug it into one amp and get both channels thru one amp, like I'm doing now with my Fender '65 Deluxe Reverb RI. The DRRI does a great job with the acoustic switch position sound - it sounds beautiful and clear and almost like a real nice acoustic guitar. The blend function works great too and sounds great thru the amp. The full HB sound is also very excellent, as you might expect from a nice guitar like this with the premium Seymour Duncan humbuckers.

It is a beautiful guitar with an ebony fretboard and split trapezoid inlays and jumbo frets, beautiful binding, mahogany body and access set mahogany neck with a beautifully but modestly figured thick ash top with graceful "f" holes, in a very pleasing antique burst. They don't make these anymore and I was very lucky to get a great deal on it brand new a few years ago. In fact it was an awesome deal.

This is the nicest sounding hybrid guitar I have played. The acoustic sound is the best I have heard. I have a Peavey Custom bound tele copy with twin HB's and a simulated acoustic pickup system. The Peavey is not in the same solar system as the Schecter, even though it is a nice guitar.

As nice as it is it's not a nice a/e dreadnought.

I'm not sure where my quest will take me with the dread, but it is definitely on my mind. I might even decide to buy the Yamaha FGX730SC Acoustic Electric. I doubt that though, considering the A1M is very close in price and I like it a lot.

[Markini]

Well I own more Gibsons than any other brand (love my two Taylors and Martin too). Also have a couple of Epiphones (electric). But the best all aound AE cutaway I have is a Yamaha Compass Auditorium. Very well balanced, easy to play and sounds good with voclas.

I like Epiphone electrics in general, but have never been thrilled with their acoustics, mostly did not care for the tones.

Bird in hand is worth more than two in the bush. IMO buy the Yammy.

[Hypnos]

I've been able to try a bunch of A series and Masterbilts. I've had better considtency with the Yamahas and would go that route personally. I do like their new pickup system as well. If you can get your hands on a grand concert A series guitar, try it out. Very impressive!