Epiphone Hollow Bodies

[poo]

Hey,

Has any here have anything to say about Epiphone hollow body guitars? I'm in the market for a hollow body...but i'm also on a budget and I was thinking on one of these. There are a wide variety of them, however. I've seen them, and they look like they are built well. Are there any opinions on how the play or how they sound?

I was thinking on buying one and just changing the pickups...


thanks
dave

 

[BrettB]

I am not an expert on the material, but the Epiphone Casino has quite a reputation, even John Lennon played it for a while.

 

[Lame Thrower]

I played a few Epiphones in my search for a 335 copy. I liked the Ibanez Art Star guitars a little better. The pickups especially. I ended up getting an AS80. YMMV.

 

[gibs]

The Casino has a good rep, but I've heard complaints about the little neck...by all means try to play one and see if it fits, then you could probably get a good deal online.....I've been wanting to try one out, but I can't find the time to drive outta town to mess with one.....gibs

 

[Wide Awake]

Epiphone is just about to come out with the Elite series. Made in Japan with quality materials, these guitars will be priced more than the usual Epi line but much less than the Gibsons.

You can find the pictures and info about them at www.epiphone.com I'm already starting to salivate after looking at the Sheraton and Casino. Who knows if they'll turn out to be great but my guess is they will be good bang for the buck.

poo- check out the Hamer Echotone, Echotone Custom, and Hamer Jazz 5 if you get a chance. I own an Echotone and it is a great guitar, good Seymour Duncan pickups and well made. Quite affordable too. www.hamerguitars.com

 

[Tom Hicks]

My little brother has the Joe Pass model,and it seems very nicely made.

 

[jimini2001]

it's funny you asked about epiphone guitars.i was comming on to see if anyone could tell me where to look to find values of them.i own an epiphone sorrento(looks like the sheraton)that someone wants to buy here in san francisco.i got a good deal on it new but have hardly played it.i was going to sell it to a guy here but he is in spain and i had problems getting through to his email for some reason.anyways epis' are a great sounding archtop for the buck.if you are into blues i recomend them they lend themselves very well to the slide also.


can anyone tell me who online does appraisals or where i can look it up myself(for free)?i've already contacted gibson but they were of little help.thanks you guys.good luck with the guitar search.tell us how it turns out

 

[poo]

whoa!

thanks guys..
I can get a good deal on an Epiphone. The only problem is a lot of them don't have the tremolo bridge...I love those things..

 

[powderfinger]

I've had an epiphone sheridan for a little over three years now. It's a great hollow body. Great for recording, great live.

 

[BluesMeister]

Hi Poo,

I've got an Epiphone BB King Lucille. Mine is very high build quality.

My only gripe is with the tone controls, to me they are either on or off, and no amount of subtle adjustment makes any perceivable difference to my ears. I tend not to use the Varitone, but it can produce some interesting tonal variations.

The PU switch was a bit noisy, but I cured that with a squirt of CRC.

The neck is nice and slim and sits easier in my smallish hands compared to my Ibanez Artist.

Personally I'd go for a Casino, natural finish. When the Elite series is released, you should check them out. Bear in mind the P90s are single soil PUs, my Lucille has humbuckers.

Contrary to popular belief, my guitar was made by Aria Guitars (Gibson told me so) rather than Samick.

--
BluesMeister

 

[poo]

thanks guys! I'm so glad you guys are giving me your time to actually give me your opinions! - and who says nothing is for free
Yea, I just want something with BIG tone. If I do buy an epiphone I will likely change the pickups...which brings me to the next question: what are some good pickups?
whoaaa!

dave

 

[powderfinger]

poo,
i think you'll probably be more than satisfied with the pick-ups on there.......with my sheridan on the neck pick-up through a Marshall the tone is huge not just big...........i think you'll be satisfied............

pick-up advice........seymore duncan.........i just put a SD humbucker from 1959 in my old squire strat and kicked it up a notch

 

[Richard Monroe]

I think the higher end Epiphones are fitted with the same classic 57 humbuckers as the 335. That's plenty big. For more versatility, I fitted my SG with Seymour Duncan SH4 (neck) and SH14 (bridge) with taps and push-pull pots. This allows me to use it as an SG, make it sound like a Telecaster, or like a hybrid Strat. The Duncans are cleaner and smoother than the 57's, but for the big sound you want, the original pickups are among the best choices I know of.-Richie

 

[64Firebird]

I have an Epiphone Dot. When I plug it into my old Bassman amp it really rings. I bought it for doing Rockabilly stuff and it works for me.

 

[mikeh]

I've got an Epiphone DOT (around $400) which plays well, sounds decent, records wells and holds it's tuning.

It works well with Rockabilly, some country applications and it provides a fair "jazz tone".

I'm sure a 335 would sound much better - but for $400 I'm satisfied.

 

[bluesbro]

Ditto with Wide Awake. I played both and the Hamer echotone was the best fit for me. Got mine in Red, sure is purrrrrtty.

Off

 

[grachus]

epiphones

hmmmm i got to get a closer look at these guitars i never trusted the hamer name and always thought they were not so well thought of but now im going to go and try one.. i am also looking at the godin lg guitars the one at my music store was bought by someon else so im still shopping and its getting better and better. harder to decide really i havent fallen for the one yet.

 

[Phyl]

My only complaint with Epiphones is that the quality is a real hit or miss thing. When I was considering buying one of their 335 knock offs, I had to play about a dozen of them before I found one that had a decent finish and a good neck. It takes some searching, but you can find a good one.

 

[twincop]

I bought an Epiphone Dot last December. I grabbed it from Victor Litz Music on-line. It's a natural finish and a factory second, but you cannot see the imperfection in the finish. I like it, especially when it was plugged into my Vox Cambridge Reerb Twin (which has died). I paid $319.00 with shipping. For a midline semi-hollow, I think it's a great sounding guitar.