I'm an old Gretsch guy at heart, but I've always had a soft spot for USA Epiphones (New York or Kalamazoo) - played a few Casinos/Rivieras when they were new, others over the years, sorry I never grabbed one when they were cheap back in the '70s (or the NOS Al Caiola Standard - think B.B. King Lucille with P-90's and a cherry finish - Manny's had for $150 at that time); love the fact that Epi's trying to challenge Gretsch on their "affordable vintage" home turf, but those anachronistic '59-style necks on the USA models (that's not why we liked the 60s originals, guys) - as well as the "Slim-Taper D" (which bears no resemblance whatsoever to its sleek Gibson namesake) used on the Chinese stuff since 2008 - were/are a big mistake, and if not for that I'd own one or the other right now...
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"Mistaking silence for weakness and contempt for fear is the final, fatal error of a fool"
- Sicilian proverb (paraphrased)
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