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James... « Shocked at how good these are »
Published on 12/21/11 at 15:52Got mine on sale. Figured I would try it even though I generally shun cheaper overseas models. Has your typical 175 features. 2 tone 2 volume 2 humbuckers and one switch. Hollowbody design. What more needs to be said? It's a 175. Made in Korea I think. Everything on it is Epiphone.
UTILIZATION
First off, the finish is great considering where this is made. The body finish is okay but the rosewood neck in particular feels really good. The highest measure of a guitar for me is the "feel" of it. And this one passes that test. I think if I close my eyes sometimes I might mistake this for the real deal. The fretwork is pretty good and the overall worksmanship seems to exude quality. Playability is great after some minor setup work. No big deal there. Some minor hardware upgrades like tuners for instance would be a great addition to this guitar. You can easily turn this into a Gibson killer with a few hundred more bucks in the can.
SOUNDS
Now here's the thing. The epi pickups in this are pretty good. I think a lot of players will be happy with them. But in my opinion it's worth spending a few extra bucks on some decent PAF's and replacing them. I just got a pair of seth lovers and shoved them in. Put some tuners on it and you see Huge improvement and now this is a very solid axe. It has that resonant jazz tone I wanted. I'll be keeping it for sure now.
OVERALL OPINION
In short, get some new tuners and pickups and this is a jazz/blues machine. Epiphone has really come a long way in the last few years. These guitars are mere upgrades away from seriously rivaling Gibson, which has faltered. If you need a serious hollowbody on a budget, I can't recommend this enough. In the past I wouldn't went with another maker like Washburn or Hagstrom but I no longer see any reason to stay away from Epi for budget hollow fun. Glad I picked this up.
UTILIZATION
First off, the finish is great considering where this is made. The body finish is okay but the rosewood neck in particular feels really good. The highest measure of a guitar for me is the "feel" of it. And this one passes that test. I think if I close my eyes sometimes I might mistake this for the real deal. The fretwork is pretty good and the overall worksmanship seems to exude quality. Playability is great after some minor setup work. No big deal there. Some minor hardware upgrades like tuners for instance would be a great addition to this guitar. You can easily turn this into a Gibson killer with a few hundred more bucks in the can.
SOUNDS
Now here's the thing. The epi pickups in this are pretty good. I think a lot of players will be happy with them. But in my opinion it's worth spending a few extra bucks on some decent PAF's and replacing them. I just got a pair of seth lovers and shoved them in. Put some tuners on it and you see Huge improvement and now this is a very solid axe. It has that resonant jazz tone I wanted. I'll be keeping it for sure now.
OVERALL OPINION
In short, get some new tuners and pickups and this is a jazz/blues machine. Epiphone has really come a long way in the last few years. These guitars are mere upgrades away from seriously rivaling Gibson, which has faltered. If you need a serious hollowbody on a budget, I can't recommend this enough. In the past I wouldn't went with another maker like Washburn or Hagstrom but I no longer see any reason to stay away from Epi for budget hollow fun. Glad I picked this up.