DennisB643 Posted March 10, 2015 Share Posted March 10, 2015 These 12 fret-slot heads are few and far between. Whenever I see one of the rarer models for sale, I always like to bring it to the forum. $749 seems reasonable for a rare model. My next guitar has to be a 12 string, so I gotta pass on this one. https://reverb.com/item/536677-epiphone-aj-500rc-12-fret-2005-natural As usual, I have no affiliation with this sale. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougar Posted March 12, 2015 Share Posted March 12, 2015 These 12 fret-slot heads are few and far between. Whenever I see one of the rarer models for sale, I always like to bring it to the forum. $749 seems reasonable for a rare model.... Jeez, how did I miss this? Well, I didn't miss it - I just bought it. Thanks, Dennis! I guess it's good I missed it initially since they dropped the price 10%. The last two I've seen went for $800 and $900, so $675 was pretty much a no-brainer. No question this is the rarest of the Masterbilts. I'd say my harem is now complete. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red 333 Posted March 12, 2015 Share Posted March 12, 2015 Great guitar. Hope you enjoy it. I love mine. If I ever had to thin the herd, it would certainly be the one Masterbilt to keep. Check the bridge carefully for lifting; this model has a terrible history of this. It's easily repairable, though. And well worth it. Enjoy! Red 333 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fromnabulax Posted March 12, 2015 Share Posted March 12, 2015 That's quite a nice looking guitar. I've not heard or played one so I am hoping Cougar comes back with a full review. I'm getting ready to pull the trigger on a Martin 00015sm which appears to be similar, though costing almost twice as much. Good luck with your new guitar Cougar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickthemiller Posted March 12, 2015 Share Posted March 12, 2015 Jeez, how did I miss this? Well, I didn't miss it - I just bought it. Thanks, Dennis! I guess it's good I missed it initially since they dropped the price 10%. The last two I've seen went for $800 and $900, so $675 was pretty much a no-brainer. No question this is the rarest of the Masterbilts. I'd say my harem is now complete. What a beauty! And a bargain by the sounds of it. Enjoy!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougar Posted March 12, 2015 Share Posted March 12, 2015 Thanks all, and especially Red, who I've noticed has given this guitar very high marks in the past. Your review conforms to all others I've seen about the AJ-500RC, so there's little question about how great these are. Yeah, the bridge pulling up is a common problem for these. Fortunately, this one has already had its bridge re-glued by a pro, so I'm set! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DennisB643 Posted March 13, 2015 Author Share Posted March 13, 2015 Thanks all, and especially Red, who I've noticed has given this guitar very high marks in the past. Your review conforms to all others I've seen about the AJ-500RC, so there's little question about how great these are. Yeah, the bridge pulling up is a common problem for these. Fortunately, this one has already had its bridge re-glued by a pro, so I'm set! Cougar, Glad to be of assistance. Once again, congratulations seem to be in order. Because I'm off recuperating from surgery, I've had time to search the web for guitars (never a good thing). I almost pulled the trigger on a real honest-to-goodness Nouveau/Gibson (only 139 made) 12 string. Legend has it, that Gibson lost money on each and every one before turning the line over to Epiphone, the whole experiment lasting 2-3 years. The whole Nouveau saga is interesting to the guitar nerd in me..but I digress...I then proceeded to lose an action for a Guild D-4 True American 12 string by $5 on Ebay. I did pull the trigger on a new 12-string, being frustrated with auctions. I'll wait till I get the pictures from Sweetwater before I make the formal announcement..lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougar Posted March 13, 2015 Share Posted March 13, 2015 Because I'm off recuperating from surgery.... Hope everything's going OK! ....I've had time to search the web for guitars (never a good thing). Fun, but yeah, dangerous to pocketbook. ....I then proceeded to lose an action for a Guild D-4 True American 12 string by $5 on Ebay. I hate when that happens. Of course, the winning bidder might have had a much higher max bid. I did pull the trigger on a new 12-string, being frustrated with auctions. I'll wait till I get the pictures from Sweetwater before I make the formal announcement..lol. Heh, been there. That's how I ended up with a new GPCPA4 from SW, which, I might add, I got for less than any of the GPCPA4s currently on Reverb. But I digress. Congratulations on the new 12! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DennisB643 Posted March 13, 2015 Author Share Posted March 13, 2015 Takamine GJ72CE-12 The specs: jumbo body, price, even the tone woods (solid Spruce top/flamed Maple sides and back), electronics (including tuner), and color (blond) were exactly what I wanted. Thanks to my sales rep Michael for the discounts (on the guitar and the custom Tak case). I am stoked to be owning a 12 string again. I played a Taylor 150e today because I happened to be in GC. Sounded good but plain-Jane. The Tak is a beauty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougar Posted March 14, 2015 Share Posted March 14, 2015 ... exactly what I wanted. Oh man, that is gorgeous. You're going to have some fun with that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seapotato Posted April 27, 2015 Share Posted April 27, 2015 Jeez, how did I miss this? Well, I didn't miss it - I just bought it. Thanks, Dennis! I guess it's good I missed it initially since they dropped the price 10%. The last two I've seen went for $800 and $900, so $675 was pretty much a no-brainer. No question this is the rarest of the Masterbilts. I'd say my harem is now complete. Sorry to bump an old thread, I'm just surprised to hear they've gone for that much. I have one I bought a short time ago, and it's just not for me. So I was going to flog it for what I paid, so I can continue the search, but now you have me thinking about trying fleabay. I have it up on a local used site for approx 650 usd, but not getting any action, so I figgered next step was to try this gibson forum. Ebay is a bit of a last resort, I haven't had much luck there. It's a bit worrysome shipping a guitar, but I guess there's no avoiding that, unless someone local comes out of the woodwork. Cheers, Ryan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougar Posted May 19, 2015 Share Posted May 19, 2015 Takamine GJ72CE-12The specs: jumbo body, price, even the tone woods (solid Spruce top/flamed Maple sides and back), electronics (including tuner), and color (blond) were exactly what I wanted. .... Hey Dennis, how are you liking your Tak 12? I noticed one of these GJ72CE-12's, but a burst, on ebay yesterday that wasn't getting much attention, so I put in kind of a feeble bid. And now I'm real sorry I didn't go higher. Sweetwater, GC, MF, nobody's got that brown burst, which just looks killer to me. And there don't seem to be any used ones out there. So now I'm seriously gassing with no place to go. :( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
agradeleous Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 Nice guitars it's been many thousands if yes but I always like the taks and that AJ500 looks very interesting . Hey cougar check out some Guilds 12s 😊 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougar Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 ...that AJ500 looks very interesting . Intonation was off, so I had my tech cut a new bone saddle and.... This baby's got tone. Big tone. Tons of tone. Another keeper. Hey cougar check out some Guilds 12s Oh jeez, not more research. I was kind of banking on Dennis's research and how that Tak12 was exactly what he wanted. And the fact that it's in a reasonable price range. B) I see now there's a new Takamine GJ72CE-12 burst on reverb, but it's for full price, paying for which is sort of against my 'religion'. I'm surprised the thing's been up there for 6 months. I messaged the seller about a discount. ;) I got some GAS relief when I pulled out my old 1970s Japan-made blue label Epiphone FT-160 12-string. It was still right in tune. Man, I should have hit record. I'm not much of a cover player; I play what I feel, and I was feeling good! Love those 12 strings! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DennisB643 Posted May 20, 2015 Author Share Posted May 20, 2015 Cougar, Funny you bring that Tak up. Beautiful guitar for a $600 price point. Couple of issues were involved with that guitar... 1. Sweetwater sold me a returned guitar as new and neglected to tell me that it was a return, saying they had no way to track that in their system, which really infurated me. It was obvious from first glance that this was a returned (used) guitar. What they call returned, I called used (it had scratches on the pickguard) and was missing paperwork. I later found out that it had been out for several weeks, so this wasn't just a case of someone getting it looking at it and sending it right back. I pitched a b**ch and they promised me a new one when the next shippment came in and gave me $50 off (thus the $600 pricepoint). The more I played her, the thinner it sounded. Once you own a Guild 12 string (the real Guild not the GAD stuff) really, there was no compairson. I had order a custom Tak case but that was a flimsy piece of crap (for $90) so back they both went. To Sweetwater's credit, they gave me a full refund on both items. 2. Then...I found an Epiphone AJ 18-12 on ebay which I won. The first sign of trouble was the jury-rigged box arrived that they shipped it in. The second sign was the cracked neck, sawdust inside the guitar and strings that looked like they hadn't been changed in about 10 years. After going through the formal appeals process with Ebay, I finally got my money back (except to ship in guitar back to the seller in a proper guitar box). Total damage was $50. 3. Bottom line, I'm still on the hunt for a twelve string...but a Guild. It did feel good to have my hands on a twelve-string again though... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougar Posted May 21, 2015 Share Posted May 21, 2015 Bottom line, I'm still on the hunt for a twelve string...but a Guild. Wow, sorry for the bad outcomes, but thanks for the reviews. I noticed the Takamine comes with .010-.047 strings. Is that typical for a 12? Once you own a Guild 12 string (the real Guild not the GAD stuff) really, there was no compairson. With solid wood all around, I can see that pretty easily. Those just launch right out of my price range at the moment, though. Yeah, I guess you could say that lam FT-160 I've got sounds pretty thin. It's jangly. It's OK for me, with the extent it gets played in the rotation. I've got to break out that Martin GP! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
agradeleous Posted May 21, 2015 Share Posted May 21, 2015 Dennis jump over to LTG ..... Let's talk Guild these folk are best of the best and love to keep Guild in house meaning selling to other members . There's been some beautiful guitars got passed around as well as bought of line for good deals that's how I bought mine . I also bought a gad f130 I really liked it but it did have an issue , to me it seemed to die out tone wise as I went up the neck but I can't say for sure that it wasn't a result of the small body size . It did how ever record very well . I would have gave the gads more chances but they were unavailable . They were beautiful Guitars very clean and well built . The new line from Córdoba is out titled ... The Westerly Collection They have a little more bling on the head stock and we can hope some upgraded specs . Let talk Guild forums has a ton of info . I'm still waiting for my F212XLCE that I had for five minutes . Think my luthier took it home he needs to give it back lol I payed 1,500 she's sweet , she's plan Jane , and sounds heavenly she also came with cloths "case" lol best move I've made and my first U.S. Guitar. I hope to get a 6 string Guild one day these guys will get you hooked lol As always Audio ! Guys Audio lmao Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougar Posted May 21, 2015 Share Posted May 21, 2015 As always Audio ! Guys Audio lmao OK, OK, here's some audio for ya. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dodger11 Posted May 21, 2015 Share Posted May 21, 2015 OK, OK, here's some audio for ya. nice tune Cougar! great playing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
agradeleous Posted May 21, 2015 Share Posted May 21, 2015 nice tune Cougar! great playing I can't stop shaking my groove tang ! Awesome C it reminds of some Acoustic Alchemy my fav CD quick ling not the best one though LOL What two guitars are you using on Ravs ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougar Posted May 21, 2015 Share Posted May 21, 2015 I can't stop shaking my groove tang ! Haha. A tune's got to have rhythm! I like upbeat. B) Awesome C it reminds of some Acoustic Alchemy my fav CD Oh yeah, out at about minute 5:00 of that tube. Jeez, that guy's crazy good in that style. What two guitars are you using on Ravs ? Same guitar, capo'd to the 2nd fret. That's the overly gorgeous EF500RAVS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
agradeleous Posted May 21, 2015 Share Posted May 21, 2015 Wow not bad but I have say it sounded more defined capo' d thought it was two different guitars it certainly likes the higher register . But very good and now I'm mad remember that EF I got . Sure wish now you could played it just you know how bad it was ugh . It should have been a keeper . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougar Posted May 22, 2015 Share Posted May 22, 2015 nice tune Cougar! great playing Thanks Dodger. I used to have time to mess around with multitracking. Don't know where that time came from or where it's gone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougar Posted May 22, 2015 Share Posted May 22, 2015 ...I have say it sounded more defined capo' d thought it was two different guitars it certainly likes the higher register . It's also easier to play capo'd 'cause the frets are closer together. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
agradeleous Posted May 22, 2015 Share Posted May 22, 2015 It's also easier to play capo'd 'cause the frets are closer together. I hear ya tiny hands LOL get me a close up of the bridge pins they purdy :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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