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  #16  
Old 08-26-2017, 07:21 AM
savofenno savofenno is offline
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Wink Got Epi Century De Luxe Classic Masterbilt in natural finish!

It looks darker than i expected, but wood is beautiful! I love how it sounds with stock bronze roundwounds, but i will soon change to Tomastik flats. Same goes to pre amp + mic system, i would have bought this guitar without if available. Never have liked that tone since they came in late eighties. De Luxe will get DeArmond Rhythm King in it`s neck next month.

I really love De Luxe, i feel like i have struck gold!

How do i post pics? I got many, taken with real camera!
There is my photos in TDPRI Acoustic heaven, if sending here is a problem.

Last edited by savofenno; 08-27-2017 at 10:47 AM. Reason: pics
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  #17  
Old 08-27-2017, 11:52 AM
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BoneDigger BoneDigger is offline
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I'm still loving mine! No buyer's remorse of any kind, which is rare for me.

The tone is exactly what I like for my type of music and it plays like a dream!
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  #18  
Old 05-12-2018, 10:51 PM
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BoneDigger BoneDigger is offline
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Almost a year in now and I'm still really liking this guitar! I had considered selling it a while back when I was downsizing, but I can never seem to let it go. It has a different sound for sure, certainly not old archtop-like. It's almost like a cross between a dread and an archtop.

I changed strings a while back and went with the original brand. I was very underwhelmed. So, I contacted the store where I bought it from used online and was told it had been strung with Thomastik Infeld strings. I went back to those and it really woke the guitar up again. So, I could see these guitars could seem a bit dull with the original Cleartone strings. Put some Thomastiks on it and prepare to be surprised. Granted, it did take a few days for the Thomastik strings to settle in and sound great.

There were rumors that Epiphone was discontinuing these. Not sure if that happened or not. What I can say is that for the right type of music, and for the right type of playing, these guitars can really shine. Mine was setup nicely when I bought it and I really enjoy it.

My only real complaint is the pickup. I just don't like the tone. I wish there was an easy way to change it. However, I just mostly consider this an acoustic guitar and ignore the pickup.
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  #19  
Old 05-14-2018, 06:57 PM
gmr gmr is offline
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Hey Bonedigger, so glad you still like the Masterbilt Deluxe. I like all three of these models. While they are not pure archtop and certainly not a seed, they do have a cool sort of tone. And the big neck feels right in a strange way. I was thinking about doing away with the original bridge and saddle and replacing it with a rosewood or ebony one, and replacing the under saddle piezo with a dual soundboard transducer, which I think, would plug right into the existing electronic circuitry. A JJB transducer would be a relatively inexpensive option with which to experiment.
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  #20  
Old 05-15-2018, 01:04 PM
danielou danielou is offline
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Default I like them too

I ended buyin both the Olympic and the Zenith about 3 weeks ago. Initially thought I made a mistake but after taking some trouble to set up properly and raise the action to a more reasonable level (shipped at 3/64" both bass and treble), these are very intriguing instruments. Really nice for folk/old-time music, country blues.
THey're relatively inexpensive so I'm keeping em.
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  #21  
Old 05-16-2018, 07:05 PM
jwguitar jwguitar is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BoneDigger View Post
Okay, no throwing stones! I realize this guitar doesn't get high reviews from the jazz crowd, but I'm okay with that since I don't play jazz!

I bought this used, but like new. It's well set up and sounds great. I'd almost call this a crossover archtop for the dreadnought crowd. I played quite a few vintage archtops, from Gibson to Kay. Since I'm not a jazzer, I wasn't exactly looking for that jazz tone. This one has more bass but generally has its own tone. Acoustically and plugged in, it sounds like what I wanted.





Those guitars are nothing short of awesome. I had the privilege to play that exact guitar and it plays so well. The neck feels great and is constructed similar to the old Epiphones of the 30s. Really well built. The only modification I would make is to install a floating neck humbucker.
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  #22  
Old 05-16-2018, 07:25 PM
Mooh Mooh is offline
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I bought a Zenith a while back and like it well enough but the pickup tone is kind of weird without some EQ. Very comfortable size and shape, very fast action, nice looks. Not a bad choice when one can't afford a custom built archtop.
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  #23  
Old 05-17-2018, 07:02 PM
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I have thought of putting a floating pickup on it, but I mostly use it as an acoustic anyway, so I doubt I'll mess with that.
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