Quote:
Originally Posted by jazzer44
Nice deflectionary tactic, but this isn't about my needs, its about the OP being disappointed with the Epiphone Century De Luxe archtop. The following are some points why the Origianl Poster may be disappointed:
- pressed top on plywood body sounds like a toy - quacky & midrange heavy. A nice way of describe bad tone is to call it "unique"
-electronically the pickup is more like a $15 joke, not something you want on a guitar with MSRP well over $1K
- uncomfortable neck with sharp edges I found quite fatiguing, probably due to bulky neck profile and non-slip finish on back of neck causing unwanted friction
And I don't call it a horrible guitar just because it sounds crappy acoustically & electronically and because it is difficult to play, but also because of how they're marketing it:
- confuse market with wrong appointments - they are of a lower model Triumph not a Deluxe model - fret markers, binding, mahogany neck, no hump pickguard, silver instead of gold hardware
- confuse marketplace by adding the word "Century" into the name (Century was another Epi model back in the day)
- original Deluxe had maple neck, not mahogany. The manufacturer's specs says maple-mahogany neck (its really a mahogany neck with maple stripe)
- when Gibson went to 17" archtops, Epiphone went 17 3/8"
In further support of the original posting I'll add that the arching looks Micky Mouse - its low and lacks styling, and that the finish is what I'd expect to see on a low end mass produced instrument. So in reality, this instrument didn't even look good hanging on my wall (guess its below wall hanger status in my books)
I was 3rd owner when I bought mine soon after these hit the market. I purchased it for cheap and sold it even cheaper because I couldn't look the buyer in the eye and say this was a good guitar. I noticed that person who bought my guitar listed it for sale a week later.
My opinion is that anyone who says this is a good guitar is likely a beginner lacking knowledge of what else is out there. I wouldn't have another at any price, but realistically I think they should be priced under $500 new, $250-300 used. Thanks for allowing free speech and opinions.
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Oh, of course, you are more than welcome to state your opinions.
I was not deflecting in any way. The reality is that there are some of us that actually like these guitars. Yes, I have played a few "good" archtops and the new Epi is not in the same league. But then, I don't think any of the entry level models from Epi, Gretsch, Loar or others are meant to be. They do have their own tone going on, and that uniqueness is what draws some of us to them. I don't play jazz. I don't listen to jazz. I don't even like jazz, but from a rockabilly or rock/folk perspective, these work pretty well. I did change out the pickup for a nice Gretsch Dynasonic, and now I'm right where I need to be with it.
I'm sorry you disliked yours so much and sold it for a loss. I do agree that new prices were too high on these. I bought mine used so I didn't have that issue, but on that I do agree. As for the rest, again, I don't dispute anything you posted. I'll only say I like mine regardless of construction methods. I also own a Guild X175 and like it a lot too. Different construction, different tone, and definitely more of an electric archtop, but certainly not high end by any means.