Epiphone’s “inspired by vintage” guitars

[welshr]

"Yamaha, Alveraz, Ibanez, Washburn, and others are making great guitars in that price range."
I never played an Alvarez that I didn't like. Unlike many guitar makers these days, their quality control seems to be excellent. You get a lot of guitar for your money when you buy an Alvarez, I think.

"My hope is that the new managers at Gibson will realize the error that they have made with Epi and start to revive Epiphone to it's former glory."
I hope so too.

[welshr]

Originally Posted by Pickcity

I picked up an Epi Ej200 (with cutaway,don't know the exact model) at my local store the other day and it was an amazing guitar. This was the second time I have played one of these guitars and both times I was highly impressed. $399 and it comes with a hard case. I did not purchase it, but can't stop thinking about it, so I am going back next week. I do not need another guitar, but we all know how that goes...I can only speak for the 2 jumbo models that I have limited experience with, but those guitars were winners. If the other Epi acoustics are anything like the EJ200, they are an excellent value.

Is that you in those videos?

[lowrider]

Yes, but to me, a $400 to $700 Epi doesn't compare to the other guitars in that price range. There is no logical reason for this. If Gibson would stop selling cheap copies of their own models as Epiphones, and develop new quality Epi models made in Asia, Epiphone might be able to get some respect again.

When I see those flashy guitars hanging on the wall at SA and GC, I think they are trying to attract customers who don't know any better.

[The Growler]

I think that the inconsistency of the modern Epiphones is very related to the outsourced model Gibson is using here. They are contract made by different manufacturers to Gibson's request, which includes a price point. I would think some are better than others at delivering a quality product at that price. I would also guess that Gibson might occasionally be asking for things that are going to be very hard to deliver at the requested price points.

Some seem to be good values and some less so as we're seeing here in the feedback from (former) owners.

[Tony Burns]

Sorry not trying to bash anyone -honestly i mean well ,
but some people expect to much out of a Gibson knock off .
That's they way i look at Epiphone -the original Company that Gibson
bought actually made better guitars than Gibson . Washburn was in the same
light as Epiphones -they were a standard of excellence competing with Martin
at one time .
For the money you pay your getting a decent guitar -but don't compare it to a Gibby ,
they might look like one hanging on the wall -but they are what they are -
Yes older Masterbuilts are decent -but they were more money and had more hand work in them .
The new ones are hit and miss.

I can also honestly say not all Gibsons acoustics are great
Ive played a few dogs, and always have thought for the money
I can do better - thou i have played some that were stellar -
When Gibson went out of business back in the 1970's
I had John Greven make me a better jumbo than the J-200
The mastergrade top wood actually came from the then defunt Gibson company

.

[zombywoof]

Originally Posted by welshr

That's a great answer to AndrewG's question. Some of the MIJ Epiphones from the 60s are also pretty solid guitars, I think.

There are no MIJ Epiphones from the 1960s. Offshore production did not begin until 1970. And the first bolt-on neck offerings were terrible. Gibson simply licensed the Epi name. Many were just re-badged Arias.

[welshr]

Originally Posted by lowrider

Yes, but to me, a $400 to $700 Epi doesn't compare to the other guitars in that price range. There is no logical reason for this. If Gibson would stop selling cheap copies of their own models as Epiphones, and develop new quality Epi models made in Asia, Epiphone might be able to get some respect again.

When I see those flashy guitars hanging on the wall at SA and GC, I think they are trying to attract customers who don't know any better.

The others in the same price range being Yamahas and Alvarez's perhaps?
On the other point, you're dead on. Gibson should move Epiphone back to Japan and do it right.

[welshr]

Originally Posted by zombywoof

There are no MIJ Epiphones from the 1960s. Offshore production did not begin until 1970. And the first bolt-on neck offerings were terrible. Gibson simply licensed the Epi name. Many were just re-badged Arias.

I stand corrected. I wasn't sure exactly when Epiphone moved from Kalamazoo to Japan; now I know! And you're right, those bolt-on necks were terrible.

[zombywoof]

I own two pre-Gibson Epiphones - a Triumph Regent archtop and FT-79 flattop.
The first Gibson Epiphones in 1958 were built in a separate rented facility under its own foremen. The first Texans were pretty much a J45/50 body with a leftover Epi French Heel neck slapped on. The first true Gibson-made Epiphone would have been the Frontier which was the protoype for the Hummingbird.

I have not spent enough time with Epi Masterbilt flattops to have an opinion. I have been impressed by the IB Texans I have played as well as the Masterbilt Century archtops. The Bozeman-made editions of the Texan, Frontier and extremely rare Excellente from the 1990s were all amazing instruments. The Epi copies of Gibsons such as the Hummingbird, J-200, L-00, and Everly Bros. J-185 though have for the most part left me cold.

[zombywoof]

Originally Posted by welshr

I stand corrected. I wasn't sure exactly when Epiphone moved from Kalamazoo to Japan; now I know! And you're right, those bolt-on necks were terrible.

The move was obviously precipitated by ECL which purchased Gibson's parent company CMI in 1969.

[welshr]

Originally Posted by zombywoof

I own two pre-Gibson Epiphones - a Triumph Regent archtop and FT-79 flattop.
The first Gibson Epiphones in 1958 were built in a separate rented facility under its own foremen. The first Texans were pretty much a J45/50 body with a leftover Epi French Heel neck slapped on. The first true Gibson-made Epiphone would have been the Frontier which was the protoype for the Hummingbird.

I have not spent enough time with Epi Masterbilt flattops to have an opinion. I have been impressed by the IB Texans I have played as well as the Masterbilt Century archtops. The Bozeman-made editions of the Texan, Frontier and extremely rare Excellente from the 1990s were all amazing instruments. The Epi copies of Gibsons such as the Hummingbird, J-200, L-00, and Everly Bros. J-185 though have for the most part left me cold.

You say the circa 1990s Texans, Frontiers and Excellentes were made in Bozeman? I didn't know that any Epiphones were made in the U.S. after the move to Japan. Are there other post-70s Epis made in the U.S.? Just very curious about this . . .
Also, the FT-79 is the original Texan, is it not? Or am I misaken? Also very curious about this . . .

[PetesaHut]

Originally Posted by welshr

I’ve been reading through some very interesting threads (posted recently and as far back as 2010) on Epiphone’s “inspired by vintage” guitars--i.e. the Epiphone “1963” EJ-45, the Hummingbird “Pro” and Dove "Pro,” the Epiphone “Inspired by 1964" Texan, the Epiphone EJ200SCE jumbo, and the the Epiphone AJ-220 “advanced” (sloped-shoulder) jumbo. I want to share what I learned about these models (it’s all over the charts) and invite you Epiphone players to share your thoughts, especially those among you who’ve owned one of these for a least a few years. (One of my concerns is how well these guitars hold up over time.)
The “1963” EJ-45, the Hummingbird “Pro” and Dove “Pro” seem to get consistently bad reviews. Comments like “Very disappointed” and “Junk, I returned the guitar” came up again and again (with very few exceptions).
The reviews of the Epiphone EJ200SCE jumbo and the Epiphone AJ-220 “advanced” (sloped-shoulder) jumbo are overwhelmingly positive. Quite a few reviews say that “This thing was set up and ready to play right out of the box, excellent action and intonation, awesome guitar.” The only caveat seems to be that they are not consistent--i.e. if you find a “good one,” you’ve got an excellent guitar, but try several of them out before you buy one.
Making affordable knock-offs of classic Gibson acoustics is a great idea, so why doesn’t Epiphone (apparently) bother to do it right? The Masterbilts show that they can make a darned good guitar when they want to. So why not do it with their “inspired by vintage” guitars?

I have a Hummingbird Pro which does sound a little thin, but its finish is beautiful, sounds fantastic when plugged into my Fishman Loudmouth, it sounds like a different guitar.

Epiphone AJ-220 “advanced, now I love this guitar, its playability, suits me fine, again sounds great acoustically and awesome plugged in. It's a black finish which I don't really like, but that's how it came, I purchased both in Pawn shops and both are in pristine condition.

In summary, given the price I paid for both, I'm very happy.