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  #1  
Old 02-22-2021, 05:23 AM
Bain Bain is offline
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Default Tipping my toe in the water

Hi guys I have the chance to pickup a third hand archtop I have never played one before mainly a accoustic player well not that really only been playing 2years .Anyway it’s a ibinez artcore AF 125 the seller told me that it has a few marks on it as he’s been use in band ,he bought it from a friend ,it has had a full reset and been looked after be he has hardly used it at all . Well what was the question again oh ye , are these guitars any good for a beginner I am just testing the waters with this , if I like the sound I may upgrade later .
Thanks guys
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Old 02-22-2021, 06:33 AM
RoyBoy RoyBoy is offline
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Never owning or playing one, everything I've heard about the artcore series is positive. What you're looking at is a $500-$600 Chinese made archtop with lots of bling. Most importantly, It is an instrument made for playing jazz. If that's a genre you're interested in pursuing then this would be a decent entry level guitar. Having a plywood top with humbucking pickups cut into it, how it will respond acoustically remains to be seen, meaning you're likely to want an amp to enjoy it to the max. Perhaps if you put 13s on it it will be alright acoustically. Good luck in your adventure.
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Old 02-22-2021, 07:16 AM
rmp rmp is offline
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I have an Epiphone Emperor Regent, had it for a while. It's probably comparable with the one you're looking. I don't play it a lot, it's definitely a different "thing".. I usually have it strung w/11 gauge flat wound strings.

the regent has a single floating pickup..


These can be hard to find, since they're discontinued as of like 2010 which is about the time I bought mine. I've considered selling it but always walked back after I've played it for a few hours.
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Old 02-22-2021, 05:35 PM
Steve DeRosa Steve DeRosa is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rmp View Post
I have an Epiphone Emperor Regent, had it for a while...I usually have it strung w/11 gauge flat wound strings...

These can be hard to find, since they're discontinued as of like 2010 which is about the time I bought mine. I've considered selling it but always walked back after I've played it for a few hours.
These - along with several other hollows/semis and a couple solids - were either discontinued or went down the tubes when Epiphone moved from Korean to Chinese production in 2008 (yours would have been NOS). Nice guitars, BTW: in spite of their laminated construction they were true amplified acoustic guitars in the early postwar tradition (FYI Epiphone made a very small run of all-acoustic Emperor Regents in the early-2K's - probably no more than a dozen or so - that command a certain amount of collector interest), and they're quite capable of producing good unplugged tone/volume with the right strings (FWIW laminated construction doesn't have the same detrimental effect on an archtop as a flattop, something upright-bass manufacturers - including Epiphone in their New York heyday - have known for the last century); try a set of either monel or pure nickel (not nickel-plated steel) 13's - flatwounds aren't going to cut it here - and you just might discover a side of your Emperor that you never knew existed,,,
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Old 02-22-2021, 09:14 PM
antvas1963 antvas1963 is offline
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I have an Ibanez AF75 . I mounted a rosewood bridge on it and strung it with 12s which really makes the top move. But I have to admit my Peavey Telecaster sounds more jazzy than the Ibanez.
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