meanstreak Posted November 23, 2014 Share Posted November 23, 2014 I've got a Masterbilt laying around the house somewhere... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meanstreak Posted November 23, 2014 Share Posted November 23, 2014 I've got a Masterbilt laying around the house somewhere... This is an old pic, doesn't include the new Masterbilt EF-500M I picked up a couple months ago. Great guitars all around. I think they sound better than many guitars that are quadruple the money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lucille64 Posted November 24, 2014 Share Posted November 24, 2014 This is an old pic, doesn't include the new Masterbilt EF-500M I picked up a couple months ago. Great guitars all around. I think they sound better than many guitars that are quadruple the money. I wholeheartedly agree with you Mean !!!!!!!!!!! I swear by my DR500MNA and will never part with it till death do us part :) By the way,,,, that is a killer collection. One to be very proud of ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougar Posted November 24, 2014 Share Posted November 24, 2014 This is an old pic.... Nice harem you've got there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milod Posted November 24, 2014 Share Posted November 24, 2014 The more I think about it, it seems to me that the Masterbuilts were marketed to folks who knew about guitars, but couldn't budget a Gibson or Martin or whatever in that price range. So without the high-end finish on most, you had a fine guitar for little cash. OTOH, those who know less, are likely to go either for a nice other-type Epi, or if they have more cash, a fiberboard Martin or laminate Fender, thinking them a "top brand" instrument. In short... marketing marketing marketing. I'd like to see the Masterbuilts stick around, but my concern is that it may be considered a niche market. Heck, a 24 3/4 inch scale and I'd be likely to jump on an AE regardless that I probably have more guitars than I have room to store to get to on a given day. m Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lucille64 Posted November 24, 2014 Share Posted November 24, 2014 The more I think about it, it seems to me that the Masterbuilts were marketed to folks who knew about guitars, but couldn't budget a Gibson or Martin or whatever in that price range. So without the high-end finish on most, you had a fine guitar for little cash. OTOH, those who know less, are likely to go either for a nice other-type Epi, or if they have more cash, a fiberboard Martin or laminate Fender, thinking them a "top brand" instrument. In short... marketing marketing marketing. I'd like to see the Masterbuilts stick around, but my concern is that it may be considered a niche market. Heck, a 24 3/4 inch scale and I'd be likely to jump on an AE regardless that I probably have more guitars than I have room to store to get to on a given day. m M.... I agree with you on the Masterbilt line from the marketing point of view but in my case I can and have afforded many "High End " Gibson's (ex. Custom Ren Ferguson built L4A) , Martin's )(000-45 & D45) and a Santa Cruz OM and Collings Dreadnought . Sold them all after getting my Masterbilt except I still have the 11 thousand dollar Martin Custom shop 000-45.( promised my daughter that would be hers when I passed on ) I also wish Epi would re-make the EF and DR line in a 24.75 scale length. I'd by them all no doubt even though I can no longer play. When I got right down to it my Masterbilt DR500MNA is as good a playing and sounding instrument as any of them. At the end of the day...collectability and vintage value really meant nothing to me. I used them as tools of my trade and to satisfy my foolish ego that told me big name headstocks were all I could be seen playing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milod Posted November 24, 2014 Share Posted November 24, 2014 Lucille... Absolutely on the headstock "thing." And it goes worse, as far as I'm concerned, when folks will doggone nearly say that a walrus ivory endpin increases their acoustic guitar's tone perceptibly. And I may be even worse, in that "playability" trumps "tone" in my head. Then again, I've been an AE guy since the first decent piezos came out in the early '70s. Can't play? Not even slide? I feel for you. Even before I heard of Django, a long long time ago, I was figuring technique and various options in case I lost all or parts of both hands... I figure that still could happen to me, too. m Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lucille64 Posted November 24, 2014 Share Posted November 24, 2014 Lucille... Absolutely on the headstock "thing." And it goes worse, as far as I'm concerned, when folks will doggone nearly say that a walrus ivory endpin increases their acoustic guitar's tone perceptibly. And I may be even worse, in that "playability" trumps "tone" in my head. Then again, I've been an AE guy since the first decent piezos came out in the early '70s. Can't play? Not even slide? I feel for you. Even before I heard of Django, a long long time ago, I was figuring technique and various options in case I lost all or parts of both hands... I figure that still could happen to me, too. m M........... arthritis has destroyed my hands. I can still hold a guitar in my arms and attempt to play some progressions but I can never play with any dexterity or left hand effectiveness anymore. My right hand can't fingerpick effectively and doesn't have enough grip to hold a pick. Most importantly, I can't play at the level I did for so many years and if I can't do that then I lose my motivation. It's all about me and my personal expectations of ability that has deteriorated. I agree that playability and feel are way more important than tone. Thus my statement about why the Masterbilt fulfills all my needs in an instrument. If a player has talent and developed skills they can make great music on just about any level of instrument. My Martin 000-45 is made of top grade Brazy rosewood and Adirondak spruce and truthfully it doesn't sound 10,500 dollars better than my Masterbilt. :) Bottom line... like it's 90% about the player and 10% the instrument in my opinion Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milod Posted November 24, 2014 Share Posted November 24, 2014 Lucille... Sorry you feel that way; making music is a special gift largely from between the ears but in ways best done with an instinctive physical and mental connection to the instrument. But yeah, the Masterbuilts are quite nice instruments. I do enjoy mine. Better yet, a 24 3/4 scale PR5e all-wood Masterbuilt. <grin> m Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lucille64 Posted November 24, 2014 Share Posted November 24, 2014 Lucille... Sorry you feel that way; making music is a special gift largely from between the ears but in ways best done with an instinctive physical and mental connection to the instrument. But yeah, the Masterbuilts are quite nice instruments. I do enjoy mine. Better yet, a 24 3/4 scale PR5e all-wood Masterbuilt. <grin> m M.... it's the physical connection to the instrument that has quit on me, I still have all the love of playing in me. That is what frustrates me the most... not being able to play like I used to. Getting old really does suck. So carry on for me and keep enjoying it while you can :) I hope someday Epi makes that Masterbilt all solid wood 24 3/4 scale PR5E , I really do Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cliffmac Posted November 25, 2014 Share Posted November 25, 2014 lets be honest if epiphone were aloud to and they mage a masterbuilt Dove, Hummingbird, EJ200, J45, and a PR5 and a EL00 Pro the prices would sky rocket and they would be a top the acoustic world Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milod Posted November 25, 2014 Share Posted November 25, 2014 Cliff... Can't really argue that one. And that assumes the buff finish 'stedda shiny ones. m Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougar Posted November 25, 2014 Share Posted November 25, 2014 Heck, a 24 3/4 inch scale and I'd be likely to jump on an AE regardless.... That scale is why I picked up an EL-00 Pro (I know you've got one too). I didn't notice a large improvement on ease of chording. I guess I'll throw on some lighter strings - I'm not going to be playing it for its acoustic perfection, but plugged in it's a considerable and fun instrument! ...arthritis has destroyed my hands... So sorry, man. I stupidly broke my left hand index and middle finger many years ago. I can play a lot of chords, but can't play others. I can play keyboards fine though. I figure myself lucky for that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meanstreak Posted November 27, 2014 Share Posted November 27, 2014 lets be honest if epiphone were aloud to and they mage a masterbuilt Dove, Hummingbird, EJ200, J45, and a PR5 and a EL00 Pro the prices would sky rocket and they would be a top the acoustic world You're probably right. It seems Gibson is occupying the space those would fill by putting out the J-15 etc. I'd gladly pay $1500 for a Masterbilt Hummingbird if it had a short scale and wide nut like the J-15! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meanstreak Posted November 27, 2014 Share Posted November 27, 2014 Also it may not be the OP's style but here is Matt Healey of The 1975 playing a couple tunes on a DR-500MCE - Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DennisB643 Posted November 29, 2014 Share Posted November 29, 2014 Also it may not be the OP's style but here is Matt Healey of The 1975 playing a couple tunes on a DR-500MCE - Oh man that DR-500MCE sounds nice.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
revolver66 Posted November 30, 2014 Share Posted November 30, 2014 Just wish Epi did a non-cutaway MasterBilt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meanstreak Posted November 30, 2014 Share Posted November 30, 2014 Just wish Epi did a non-cutaway MasterBilt. You should be able to find plenty for sale used! http://www.ebay.com/itm/EPIPHONE-Masterbilt-AJ-500-jumbo-body-acoustic-guitar-OOP-aj500-/291309940391?pt=Guitar&hash=item43d36ceea7 I've bought several guitars off eBay and they've always been great. The only one I've ever had an issue with is this summer when I bought my EF-500M from a Guitar Center in another state. The pics were small and I couldn't see it was actually a second. Figures! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cliffenstein Posted November 30, 2014 Share Posted November 30, 2014 Buying used means no warranty. An IB64 Texan is your next best bet...and it's a mighty good bet!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MichaelDH Posted December 1, 2014 Author Share Posted December 1, 2014 Thanks for all the replies and information. Hopefully towards the end of the month I'll be able to check into them some more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lucille64 Posted December 1, 2014 Share Posted December 1, 2014 You should be able to find plenty for sale used! http://www.ebay.com/itm/EPIPHONE-Masterbilt-AJ-500-jumbo-body-acoustic-guitar-OOP-aj500-/291309940391?pt=Guitar&hash=item43d36ceea7 I've bought several guitars off eBay and they've always been great. The only one I've ever had an issue with is this summer when I bought my EF-500M from a Guitar Center in another state. The pics were small and I couldn't see it was actually a second. Figures! Hey Mean.... did that GC ever do you right for not telling you it was a second model since they didn't mention it in the posting or when you spoke to them ? They should have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meanstreak Posted December 2, 2014 Share Posted December 2, 2014 Hey Mean.... did that GC ever do you right for not telling you it was a second model since they didn't mention it in the posting or when you spoke to them ? They should have. You know I was all fired up and going to call to give them an earful, but once I put my fav Martin SP strings on it and let it get some humidity after being shipped from Arizona the thing just opened up and sounds fantastic now. I ended up not even calling to mention it to them! Pretty sure the 2nd status has to do with cosmetics from the line on the top on the top as I can't find anything structurally wrong with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lucille64 Posted December 2, 2014 Share Posted December 2, 2014 I'm glad to hear it worked out ok for you in the end. I just started using Martin SP 12-54 phosphor bronze strings on one of my guitars and I like them. Today I put EXP 16 D'addarios on my Masterbilt DR500MNA and they are fairly nice as well. Waiting to see how each of them sound after they break in a little. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dennis G Posted December 4, 2014 Share Posted December 4, 2014 Had a weird one happen. Got an emal about being a tester for some D'Addario NYXL acoustic strings. I normally use EXP 16's, so thought okay. Get a free set of strings for answering a questionnaire to follow. Okay, strings arrived a couple of days ago and yesterday went to restring on my AJ500. Took off all the old strings, put on low E and as I was tuning to pitch, the nut flew off! Took it into my luthier today with the new strings, nut, et al and said "help". Ten minutes and ten dollars later, I was out the door with a glued on nut and new strings. Love 13th St Guitars in Huntington Beach, CA. (and my AJ500M). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LPS1976 Posted December 5, 2014 Share Posted December 5, 2014 Had a weird one happen. Got an emal about being a tester for some D'Addario NYXL acoustic strings. I normally use EXP 16's, so thought okay. Get a free set of strings for answering a questionnaire to follow. Okay, strings arrived a couple of days ago and yesterday went to restring on my AJ500. Took off all the old strings, put on low E and as I was tuning to pitch, the nut flew off! Took it into my luthier today with the new strings, nut, et al and said "help". Ten minutes and ten dollars later, I was out the door with a glued on nut and new strings. Love 13th St Guitars in Huntington Beach, CA. (and my AJ500M). I had the same thing happen on my AJ500. a couple of drops of super glue and pressure from a capo and it was good as new (at no charge of course) :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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