Epiphone EL-00

This guitar from Epiphone has a mahogany body with a solid spruce top, a mahogany neck with rosewood fretboard and 24.75 inch scale, 19 frets total but the neck joint at the 14th fret, and chrome hardware. It has a sunburst finish, black pickguard, and a simple binding around the top.

UTILIZATION

Off the bat, I could tell that this guitar would be fun to play. The neck action was great, making playability very easy. The body has a bit of an interesting shape, in which the upper bouts resemble an older parlor guitar, with a tucked in waist, and the lower portion of the body looks a bit more like a jumbo, albeit smaller. This configuration was still comfortable sitting on my leg. Craftsmanship was definitely on point - the finish looked very nice, and the fretwork was pretty good.

SOUNDS

With the parlor guitar-esque upper section, this axe excels at fingerstyle. The clarity is definitely there - the upper mids are very sparkly and crisp. But the larger lower bout gives the guitar some added volume and richness of lower frequencies. This guitar still sounds good strumming or picking some single note runs, but it is best at the finger-picked stuff.

OVERALL OPINION

This is a pretty nice instrument for the price point. I've been playing the used one sitting at the store where I work, and the tag we have on it says $199 - this is a lot of guitar for under two hundred bucks! I wouldn't hesitate to play this guitar in a recording session, even one where the acoustic guitar was prominently featured. The sonic detail still comes through, allowing for very nuanced playing. Whether sitting at home on the front porch or playing a gig at a local coffee shop, this is a great guitar to grab. Recommended.