well i bought this about a month back now............ and i deliberately waited a few weeks before posting a review.......... to get past that "honeymoon period" ?
right so what is it ??? it's an Epiphone reissue of the Epiphone emperor regent from 30's ........
and i bought it brand new ........
price wise i was impressed by Epiphone pricing in SA it lists in USA for about $1000 and sells at street price of $700 and i paid R6200 for it here brand new from Marshall.....they import epiphone so price wise it was not like with my brand new Fender american telecaster which has a street price of $1000 but sells here after discount at moment for about R14000 so no mark up on Epi when compared to USA prices
so value for money .....is pretty damn good at about R8 to dollar price
below are a pic of an original one from 50's (they were made from 30's - 60's) and good to see the design of the reissue is pretty on the button
below are some pics of my one ?
and one of me using it at a gig
ok so my impressions...........
1.
vibe..... it just is the ultimate in "image" guitars ....it gathers attention and sends a strong message to audience that this is a "jazz act" and i have to admit this is one of the main reasons i had for buying it ....it's "image" value ...... i even had someone from the audience last sat at my gig say ........."wow that looks like it comes right out of the 'cotton club" which i think is a hint earlier than this design but only by a few years .BUT the point being the guitar works well in setting the vintage ,jazzy atmosphere/vibe for my show...........
2.
playability ........ the guitar plays well .........BUT required a full setup including fret dress before it was perfect (thanks marshall music woodmead for doing it as part of the service offered when i bought it ) it plays like a jazz guitar should...........
size wise it's huge ..17" bout so it takes some getting used to BUT it's not as deep as say a ES175 so the thinner depth makes it easier to play .....
however i find it totally comfortable and above all balanced to play comfortably ....i sit and play and it';s wonderfully easy to reach any fret
the scale length is 25 1/2 inch so it feels like my fender which is a huge plus as i find the gibson 24 inch scale a bit cramped for jazz chords higher up the neck ...so to me this scale length is great
fretboard radius is pretty shallow and only a slight curve it feels almost flat .I DON'T LIKE THIS ........ i would prefer a more radiused fretboard
pickup it has a floating mini humbucker which is great cos it's NOT cut into the body and is way cool with electronics (pots) on the scratchplate
tonally the pup is typically jazzy but NOT as dark as one would expect ......... however i have read on archtop sites that if one changes the pup for say a handwound kent armstrong jazz pup it literally will double the quality one can get out of this guitar as the construction is sound ..
(so maybe a new floating pup on the shopping list ...but to my taste this pup is sounding good but nice to hear there is an upgrade recommended )
hardware ...they grover tuners and the old original frequensator tailpiece ...... hate the gold hardware ..yuk sooooooooo ugly i will prob replace the tuners with the jellbean ones at some stage ,the tuners are very stable and hold tuning well...just that horrid gold plated colour
build seems solid and is beautiful with maple back and sides and a spruce top............
IT'S JUST TOO DAMN SHINY FOR ME ......i hate that
strings well like any acoustic it needs heavier gauges , well heavy for me ? i tried it with 9's (way too light) 10's ...then 11's then settled on d'addario chomes 12 - 52 flatwounds........ it sounds best for the guitar ............. but took about 2 gigs for me to get used to the thicker strings and higher tension .......... but it's all good now...and even tho the gauge is a 12 the action is typically jazz guitar "low" so i don't need to press down much (not like on that flat top i tried a while back)
so there you have it .......... a new toy ..broken in and doing gigs in jhb .........
overall it's a happy buy.......... value was good and sound and playability are up to par for a pro instrument ........
the one negative and it;s NOT just of this guitar but of archtops in general ...is that they quite prone to feedback and even at low levels of my jazz gigs i need to place the amp specifically in a spot where it won't feedback or "boom" on some notes....... i read up about this and it's a common problem and the reason why even on sites that are aimed at promoting archtops...they suggest if it is to be your "only" guitar that you rather go for a 335 type guitar rather than a 17" full acoustic archtop ...... but the feedback is manageable with amp placing ......... and i have other guitars if i need to play on a loud stage ........ but for my low volume cafe/restaurant style jazz gigs it's perfect
btw the archtop into my tube amp offers an amazing warm very era specific jazz tone, fat and warm 8) and oh so cool looking
it's a very genre specific guitar and NOT like my telecaster which i can use for almost anything including jazz............ it does jazz well BUT thats where it's versatility or lack of it ends........... great old vibe, jazz box with that old look and tone ..but NOT an all rounder
