SeriesEpiphone S

Been playing electric for over 40 years in pub covers as well as original bands. I play guitar + bass. Musical tastes range from metal/country/blues/alternative/reggae/drum'n'bass. I've owned 5 Epiphone strat copies which I buy for their necks which are a strat scale length with 22 frets and a Gibson Explorer Headstock. These guitars were bought online(Ebay type auction)$US80 - $US152. The neck,tuners, bridge,neck screws are all I keep - the plywood body is discarded for a solid body. Prefer oriental made bridge tailblock to fatter dimensioned US Fender spec. Plywood body is thin thru and sounds thin. Pickups are generally yuck sounding MOSTLY DUE TO neck and middle pickups being mislocated...in the wrong position on the body.To remedy you would need to copy a US made strat pickguard's pickup locations and custom make a new pickguard due to standard US Fender pickguards NOT fitting Epiphone body...!! Entry level - typical Korean late '80's/early 90's Samick factory quality.Necks prone to twisting,maple fingerbords/medium jumbo frets, great to play even so. 3k ohms output strat pickups 2 good sounds on 5 way switch. 5 way switches not good quality,noisy & needing replacement.500k pots generally ok but sometimes scratchy. Paint jobs adequate...candy apple red best.Black paint blooms or splits below clear lacquer. The 22 fret neck and Explorer headstock are the best bits.Also love the Epiphone headstock logo which is usually mother of Pearl or Black. Quality is typical of Korean entry level guitars from late 80's early 90's. Recent Chinese Epiphone product blitz's this old stuff,quality wise. A lot of buyers bought due to Gibson branding. This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

I bought it in 1988 from a local music store. It had a small blemish (slightly darker area between the neck pickup and the neck..never notice it from 4 feet) so I got it for $199 new. I was 17 and playing a Hondo hollow body POS. This is what seems to be a pretty rare model. Every shop I talk to wants to see it. It is a strat copy, neck thru, alder body guitar. It is antique white mettalic, S-S-H config, a steinberger tremelo, 1 volume pot, 1 push-pull tone pot, and 3 - 2 way toggle switches. The sustain on this is incredible! Clean tones are rich. The neck is pretty fat, I prefer thin and fast. I can't seem to get the sound I want distorted, but I think it's a bad amp to guitar match. I need a Marshall! A little story... I was on an Amtrak train, the guitar was sitting in the seat next to me in a gig bag. We were going 58 MPH, and ran into a stopped freight train. The guitar suffered 2 chips, and the volume pot was pushed into the body, leaving a minor half moon shaped crack in the paint. I suffered many more injuries, so it's tougher than me! It's not the fastest or easiest playing guitar I've played, but it's above average. The thing is a tank, pretty heavy, and has been a loyal companion for 15 years now, so I can't complain. They were only made from 1985-1988, I don't think there are many around. This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com