Cougar Posted January 16, 2015 Share Posted January 16, 2015 Been tracking this baby from Illinois. The long-haul UPS truck just got here this morning, and I picked her up a few hours later from the local service center. Out of the box, out of the nice SKB case, this girl's freezing cold! The neck is like ice. Sorry honey, let me put you down for a while. Inside your case. Maybe I'll open it a crack a little later. I waited awhile, she warmed up pretty quickly, and I had a chance to look at her more closely. This is a special guitar, even among other RAVS's. The burst color is spectacular, and the abalone is, well, sparkly, lol. I thought it was too much abalone on the RANS I had. Not anymore. Not on this one. And then there's the fossilized walrus ivory bridge and pins. The neck was very slightIy convex, but I figured tuning her up would fix that, which I did. She'd been set up well and is a breeze to play. She's clearly the mellow one of the three (the others are mahogany, maple). The solid rosewood back is a nice bookmatch that's hard to get a good photo of. Neck grain is gorgeous. . . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougar Posted January 16, 2015 Author Share Posted January 16, 2015 Wow, that second photo did not 'mix down' very well. The top is not made up of little square tiles! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cliffmac Posted January 17, 2015 Share Posted January 17, 2015 How does it sound? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blues2 Posted January 17, 2015 Share Posted January 17, 2015 What a beauty..More pic's please.. Oh, and congratz on the guitar.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DennisB643 Posted January 17, 2015 Share Posted January 17, 2015 She's a beaut...congrats! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dodger11 Posted January 17, 2015 Share Posted January 17, 2015 This is p0rn for Epi lovers - what a beaut - if that guitar sounds as good as it looks its a cracker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
agradeleous Posted January 17, 2015 Share Posted January 17, 2015 Nice, glad shes a keeper unlike mine :( The mellow part has me confused. My DR500mce is mellower then she should be so was the RA500 I sent back not what one would expect from a Sitka and rosewood coombo . That aside she looks awesome congrats . The tones should be nice and even across the board and a great mix with other guitars while recording. Hope we get to hear it soon :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougar Posted January 18, 2015 Author Share Posted January 18, 2015 How does it sound? Well, it sounds great. Well balanced. It's a Masterbilt! so it has the scalloped bracing with the forward X bracing -- what's not to like? It definitely sounds different than the mahogany, and especially different from the maple (which has a huge and well articulated tone). It's a little softer, mellower, but still has a rich, full tone. Beyond that, I have no experience with Gibsons or Martins, so I don't know how it stacks up with them. But I'm totally pleased with the looks, the condition, the setup, the neck straightened up once in tune, and it's got its own unique, pleasing tone. Most definitely a keeper! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougar Posted January 18, 2015 Author Share Posted January 18, 2015 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cliffmac Posted January 20, 2015 Share Posted January 20, 2015 Well, it sounds great. Well balanced. It's a Masterbilt! so it has the scalloped bracing with the forward X bracing -- what's not to like? It definitely sounds different than the mahogany, and especially different from the maple (which has a huge and well articulated tone). It's a little softer, mellower, but still has a rich, full tone. Beyond that, I have no experience with Gibsons or Martins, so I don't know how it stacks up with them. But I'm totally pleased with the looks, the condition, the setup, the neck straightened up once in tune, and it's got its own unique, pleasing tone. Most definitely a keeper! Awesome good for you, those pins look pretty cool very glad you are happy with it and look forward to hearing you do a sound clip (hint hint) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeteWilson Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 Congrats on your new guitar! I have had an EF500R for many years and I still love it! Enjoy! Play well, Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougar Posted January 25, 2015 Author Share Posted January 25, 2015 ...glad you are happy with it and look forward to hearing you do a sound clip (hint hint) Oh jeez, you mean I've got to play something? I guess I could pluck a few strings for a tone test... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougar Posted January 30, 2015 Author Share Posted January 30, 2015 ...look forward to hearing you do a sound clip (hint hint) OK, here's a (minimally edited ) sound clip that should give you an idea of the sound and tone of this gorgeous Epiphone Masterbilt EF-500 RAVS. I'm just playing a couple easy maneuvers here, some sort of fingerstyle, which is about all I can handle at this point, and I'm not even doing that very well. I break in the middle and put a capo on the 2nd fret, hoping to carry off these maneuvers a little more accurately, but as it turns out, not really that successfully. Obviously, the sound is different capo'd, but I like it fine - I think it still has plenty of sound and tone. I'm recording into a battery operated Tascam DR-05 digital stereo recorder straight to wav. The brightness is apparently accentuated with this type of ambient, record-the-waterfall (and the toe-tapping) type recorder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blues2 Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 OK, here's a (minimally edited ) sound clip that should give you an idea of the sound and tone of this gorgeous Epiphone Masterbilt EF-500 RAVS. I'm just playing a couple easy maneuvers here, some sort of fingerstyle, which is about all I can handle at this point, and I'm not even doing that very well. I break in the middle and put a capo on the 2nd fret, hoping to carry off these maneuvers a little more accurately, but as it turns out, not really that successfully. Obviously, the sound is different capo'd, but I like it fine - I think it still has plenty of sound and tone. I'm recording into a battery operated Tascam DR-05 digital stereo recorder straight to wav. The brightness is apparently accentuated with this type of ambient, record-the-waterfall (and the toe-tapping) type recorder. Well, to my ears, it sounds Great!!!, also, your guitar work sounded fine to me..don't sell yourself short there Cougar.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dodger11 Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 Guitar sounds class and your playing is fantastic Cougar I know it's a bit shallow but the guitar looks as good as it sounds Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougar Posted January 31, 2015 Author Share Posted January 31, 2015 Thanks for the confidence boost, guys. I'm playing a little more lately and feel like I'm getting some things back. That little DR05 picks up the sound pretty well, doesn't it? I'm getting closer to hooking the home studio back up and doing some multitracking, with (actual) guitar for the first time.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blues2 Posted January 31, 2015 Share Posted January 31, 2015 Thanks for the confidence boost, guys. I'm playing a little more lately and feel like I'm getting some things back. That little DR05 picks up the sound pretty well, doesn't it? I'm getting closer to hooking the home studio back up and doing some multitracking, with (actual) guitar for the first time.... Cool, post some sound clips when you get a chance... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cliffmac Posted January 31, 2015 Share Posted January 31, 2015 OK, here's a (minimally edited ) sound clip that should give you an idea of the sound and tone of this gorgeous Epiphone Masterbilt EF-500 RAVS. I'm just playing a couple easy maneuvers here, some sort of fingerstyle, which is about all I can handle at this point, and I'm not even doing that very well. I break in the middle and put a capo on the 2nd fret, hoping to carry off these maneuvers a little more accurately, but as it turns out, not really that successfully. Obviously, the sound is different capo'd, but I like it fine - I think it still has plenty of sound and tone. I'm recording into a battery operated Tascam DR-05 digital stereo recorder straight to wav. The brightness is apparently accentuated with this type of ambient, record-the-waterfall (and the toe-tapping) type recorder. I have to agree you have a very nice touch on the guitar and it sounds pretty dam awesome to me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougar Posted January 31, 2015 Author Share Posted January 31, 2015 I have to agree you have a very nice touch on the guitar and it sounds pretty dam awesome to me Thanks, man. I should do something similar with the maple Masterbilt and compare.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dodger11 Posted February 1, 2015 Share Posted February 1, 2015 Cougar - was reading that there is an update for the tascam dr05 that adds an overdub function and reverb as well. Think the update is on their site and looks easy to install - was thinking of getting one and if the update can allow overdubs I'd be sold! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meanstreak Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 Very nice!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougar Posted February 10, 2015 Author Share Posted February 10, 2015 Very nice!! Thanks, Mean. From your sig, it looks like you're pretty much sold on LR Baggs pickups. Did you do the installs or have a tech do it? I want to have something put into my EF500M. I take it you'd recommend Baggs... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CharmedLifePcks Posted August 14, 2018 Share Posted August 14, 2018 Been tracking this baby from Illinois. The long-haul UPS truck just got here this morning, and I picked her up a few hours later from the local service center. Out of the box, out of the nice SKB case, this girl's freezing cold! The neck is like ice. Sorry honey, let me put you down for a while. Inside your case. Maybe I'll open it a crack a little later. I waited awhile, she warmed up pretty quickly, and I had a chance to look at her more closely. This is a special guitar, even among other RAVS's. The burst color is spectacular, and the abalone is, well, sparkly, lol. I thought it was too much abalone on the RANS I had. Not anymore. Not on this one. And then there's the fossilized walrus ivory bridge and pins. The neck was very slightIy convex, but I figured tuning her up would fix that, which I did. She'd been set up well and is a breeze to play. She's clearly the mellow one of the three (the others are mahogany, maple). The solid rosewood back is a nice bookmatch that's hard to get a good photo of. Neck grain is gorgeous. . . . Gorgeous guitar. I'm a little confused on the various Epi Masterbilt model numbers. Could someone tell me exactly what specific model number this is? The label is too blurry to read. Thanks, Scott Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nyghthawk Posted August 14, 2018 Share Posted August 14, 2018 Gorgeous guitar. I'm a little confused on the various Epi Masterbilt model numbers. Could someone tell me exactly what specific model number this is? The label is too blurry to read. Thanks, Scott EF-500RAVS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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