matalie Posted April 25, 2015 Share Posted April 25, 2015 I just ordered a EJ200sce from Sweetwater. Vintage burst, a demo model. I'm not sure what to expect, but these sure do get rave reviews. The one I saw on Sweetwater was the first pictures or videos that actually showed the red in the sunburst. I was shopping mainly for a hummingbird pro, but when I came across this demo, I went for it. I'll add the NGD post to this thread once it comes in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuitarLight Posted April 25, 2015 Share Posted April 25, 2015 I just ordered a EJ200sce from Sweetwater. Vintage burst, a demo model. I'm not sure what to expect, but these sure do get rave reviews. The one I saw on Sweetwater was the first pictures or videos that actually showed the red in the sunburst. I was shopping mainly for a hummingbird pro, but when I came across this demo, I went for it. I'll add the NGD post to this thread once it comes in. Hello and welcome! Sweetwater has a great reputation, and you should be happy with them I think. The EJ200sce does have a great reputation also, and is probably one of Epiphone's most popular and biggest selling models! I love the burst color on them...just so sweet to look at...and the sound is likely to be every bit as good as this guitar looks! Best of luck! Keep us posted! ...GL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fromnabulax Posted April 26, 2015 Share Posted April 26, 2015 I wrote one of those reviews myself and stand by every word. I primarily bought mine for traveling cross country and using at a church camp in the mountains some hundred miles or so outside of Los Angeles. Places and conditions I would never put my Gibson J200 through. Packed up and shipped by Fedex one way, and an airline baggage hold the other, the case took a beating, but the guitar having been built like a tank took the trip very well. In the terribly hot, dusty and dry conditions the guitar never failed me, I stayed in tune even with several kids and teens taking their turns battering it around through several renditions of contemporary pop and rock tunes, as well as several campfire favorites. I had it plugged into a small 5 watt Vox amp and it always sounded great. Encouraged by the experience with that one I stepped up to the DR500mce for somewhat more civilized outdoor gigging, and it too has never let me down. The current crop of Epiphone acoustics I own are just treat for the money, and I hope you love yours as much as I have mine. I look forward to seeing your own review here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matalie Posted April 29, 2015 Author Share Posted April 29, 2015 It's sitting at my desk at work right now. I'm on a plane flying home so I won't get to check it out until tomorrow night. Really looking forward to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matalie Posted May 1, 2015 Author Share Posted May 1, 2015 So I got it today and my overwhelming thought is this thing is underpowered and very quiet for being a big jumbo guitar. I'm not thinking it's going to be a rosewood dreadnought cannon, but for such a big guitar, this thing is way underpowered. I feel like it's not living up to it's potential. So I feel like I have a decision to make. Can I make this guitar come to life? Medium strings? a colosi bone saddle? Or some serious playing time and it comes to life? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cliffenstein Posted May 1, 2015 Share Posted May 1, 2015 So I got it today and my overwhelming thought is this thing is underpowered and very quiet for being a big jumbo guitar. I'm not thinking it's going to be a rosewood dreadnought cannon, but for such a big guitar, this thing is way underpowered. I feel like it's not living up to it's potential. So I feel like I have a decision to make. Can I make this guitar come to life? Medium strings? a colosi bone saddle? Or some serious playing time and it comes to life? It may be because you bought a demo model. Solid top Epiphones have a great reputation for volume and clarity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dodger11 Posted May 1, 2015 Share Posted May 1, 2015 So I got it today and my overwhelming thought is this thing is underpowered and very quiet for being a big jumbo guitar. I'm not thinking it's going to be a rosewood dreadnought cannon, but for such a big guitar, this thing is way underpowered. I feel like it's not living up to it's potential. So I feel like I have a decision to make. Can I make this guitar come to life? Medium strings? a colosi bone saddle? Or some serious playing time and it comes to life? the medium strings could well be the answer - I had them on my EJ160e and it was LOUD - similarly an old Terada J200 copy that looks to have similar dimensions as the EJ200 - it was too loud to sing over with mediums. I have 11s on both now and both are still loud enough but have more clarity on the high end. Aren't the banck and sides of the EJ200 maple? I find that maple bodied guitars are very bright sounding with less bass than mahogany or rosewood so maybe that's why you're hearing a difference? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olie Posted May 1, 2015 Share Posted May 1, 2015 I have one and IMHO it's meant to be played plugged in.The DR500mce I also own is much better acoustically and works well electronically as well.The solid woods make it more impressive acoustically. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fromnabulax Posted May 1, 2015 Share Posted May 1, 2015 I'm sorry to hear your bummed on your new guitar. I use mine for fingerpicking mostly and it projects pretty well. For flatpicking, mine is plenty loud when unplugged. I use a heavy pick though. I've been surprised by just how loud mine can be in a jam situation when going up against Martins. I think my EJ200 may in fact be a touch louder when strummed, but the DR500mce offers a lighter tone. The EJ200 which of course is modeled after the Gibson J200 was designed to be strummed, and loudly. You may want to experiment with different strings and picks. I often use Elixer strings on several of my acoustics, but on the EJ200 they made the guitar sound muddy and lifeless. I switched to uncoated D'Addario phosphor bronze .013s and the guitar jumped to life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaiser Bill Posted May 1, 2015 Share Posted May 1, 2015 Truly sorry to hear you are disappointed in your new guitar. I hope with some minor alterations it will be all you wanted. Nothing more depressing than a guitar that doesn't live up to your expectations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matalie Posted May 2, 2015 Author Share Posted May 2, 2015 It's boxed up and I'm sending it back. My thinking is that if I picked this guitar up in a shop, there is no way it's coming home with me. A big thing is that the burst on this guitar looks nothing like it does in the photos of it that were on the sweetwater page. The reds in the burst in the photo aren't evident in person. The burst is orange to black and to me looks nowhere near this nice. Also I can get more power and tone out of my dreads, which certainly have less girth. If I'm going to hold and play over a big jumbo body, I want it to deliver. Thankfully I'm working with Sweetwater and they have great service. Here's the sweetwater pic- Looks great but I think the aperture of the camera is wide open. The guitar looks like fromnabulax's picture above. I thought it would be the opposite, that the pictures I'm seeing online don't really show the burst and finally the sweetwater pics did. But I've learned to only trust what a burst looks like in person. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuitarLight Posted May 2, 2015 Share Posted May 2, 2015 It's boxed up and I'm sending it back. My thinking is that if I picked this guitar up in a shop, there is no way it's coming home with me. A big thing is that the burst on this guitar looks nothing like it does in the photos of it that were on the sweetwater page. The reds in the burst in the photo aren't evident in person. The burst is orange to black and to me looks nowhere near this nice. Also I can get more power and tone out of my dreads, which certainly have less girth. If I'm going to hold and play over a big jumbo body, I want it to deliver. Thankfully I'm working with Sweetwater and they have great service. Here's the sweetwater pic- Sometimes the pictures make them look more red than they actually are, but the color, tho more fire orange than red, is very nice also! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matalie Posted May 4, 2015 Author Share Posted May 4, 2015 I had it packed up and ready to go out tomorrow morning, but I figured I would take it back out of the box and give it another try this evening. I couldn't get over the fact that these get such great reviews and I wasn't hearing it. I'm glad I did this. I started thinking about it and I had flown home the night before I opened the guitar up on Thursday. Now that my ears are back down here at sea level, it sounds much better- full, open, airy and bright. Nice tone. I was already pleased with how it plays and the electronics. Still wish the burst was more red, but it's nice. It's staying here for sure. Here's a picture I took representing the true color as close as I could get it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuitarLight Posted May 4, 2015 Share Posted May 4, 2015 Matalie, your picture still really shows this guitar to be quite stunning. That is actually a pretty nice looking guitar! Proper humidity, and a break period, and maybe a fresh new set of your favorite stings in it, will likely show it to be a real winner! It looks great to my eye! ...Maybe its not the reddish color you expected..but it sure does show a rich warm firelight glow, the kind a campfire gives off, and that is delightful! Good luck with it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cliffenstein Posted May 4, 2015 Share Posted May 4, 2015 Yes....very beautiful. If Epiphone would make these as a non-cutaway with a solid top I'd buy one! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matalie Posted May 4, 2015 Author Share Posted May 4, 2015 I like it. I'll probably have a bone saddle made, get some bone pins and throw some mediums on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aster1 Posted May 4, 2015 Share Posted May 4, 2015 I have a CE which I believe has "select Spruce" which means laminated top. For a large git is is really pretty quiet. I had to put really bright strings on it and it does sound pretty good. I don't think they sound GREAT. It PLAYS great esp. after a setup at the luthiers though. It may sound better plugged in but I never plug my acoustic in at the house and don't gig. I would have traded the electronics & cutaway for the older EJ-200 or whatever it was called that had the solid top. I believe yours with the sCE HAS the solid spruce top. That should get better with playing & age. Several of my Gibsons too a couple of years to really sound great and it just all of a sudden got better. Yours may not have opened up totally yet and may get better. Loudest strings with some high end for me anyway were D'Addario phosphor bronze, but alas, no way can I barr chord .12s let alone .13 on a git these days. I have to use .11s now just to continue to play with my neck issue (causing some left hand strength issues right now). Give it some play time, Also, are you saying the VS is more yellow (that would be correct VS IMHO) or is it like the color in the photo from Sweetwater? That's really too red for VS (kind of like how red the Epi Hummingbird is vs. the Gibson version). Aster Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dodger11 Posted May 4, 2015 Share Posted May 4, 2015 Yes....very beautiful. If Epiphone would make these as a non-cutaway with a solid top I'd buy one! I think since around 2012 they are solid tops - although no non cutaways with electronics which would be a cracker - I'd love one too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarryUK Posted May 29, 2015 Share Posted May 29, 2015 I've just come on this page for opinions on this model. I'm in the UK and I've seen some at the right price. Are they a good player? http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/291473622118?_trksid=p2055359.m1431.l2648&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT. I'm bidding on this one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dodger11 Posted May 29, 2015 Share Posted May 29, 2015 I've just come on this page for opinions on this model. I'm in the UK and I've seen some at the right price. Are they a good player? http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/291473622118?_trksid=p2055359.m1431.l2648&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT. I'm bidding on this one. If you have a Dawsons nearby they should have one in stock if you want to try before you buy - the hard case looks great too and must be close to £100. I've played a few and tehy are great strummers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wootpow Posted June 7, 2015 Share Posted June 7, 2015 I like it. I'll probably have a bone saddle made, get some bone pins and throw some mediums on it. I tried mediums on mine but didn't like the feel. I went with Elixir nanoweb phosphor bronze light 12-53 along with a quality bone nut,saddle and pins. Big improvement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Isaac Posted June 20, 2015 Share Posted June 20, 2015 Got my EJ-200SCE today. Yes it was a bit lack-lustre at first but I know with playing the wood will improve the tone. Not sure about the D'Addario 12 P/B that are fitted as it is bit too mellow. But the newness and the plastic saddle may not help. So next is a bone saddle then see how it goes with the D'Addario strings before I think of a change. It certainly needs to be strummed with enthusiasm to get it to perform; but early days yet. Needs to be broken in some. Compared to my Gibson Southern Jumbo True Vintage that has Elixir 80/20 11s the SJTV certainly takes the edge, but as I said it is early days yet. I have not yet tried it with my Fender Acoustamatic 90 amp; I will do that when I have it acoustically to my liking first. Epi EJ-200SCE, Fender amp with Gibson SJTV on top, and Epi Roy Orbison FT-112 Bard 12-string. Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cliffenstein Posted June 20, 2015 Share Posted June 20, 2015 The saddle probably doesn't need upgrading. It's likely you just have to get it past the break-in period. You'll have it singing in no time...of that I have no doubt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Isaac Posted June 28, 2015 Share Posted June 28, 2015 The saddle probably doesn't need upgrading. It's likely you just have to get it past the break-in period. You'll have it singing in no time...of that I have no doubt. When I took the saddle off it was very rough on the sides and the top was not very good. I was not sure if it was plastic or poor bone. So I sent it to a luthier to make a bone copy. This is what he said: Yes it was bone - but it was extremely badly made - I measured it in detail and the width was varying by more than 0.2mm, there are big scratches all over the sides (which reduce acoustic coupling) and the very sharp angular form of the string contact surface would enhance treble and then lead to string grooves - which damp everything and mess up sustain. Whoever made it must have know nothing about making things , musical instruments , sound transmission or aesthetic beauty of musical instruments. I have not fitted it yet as I have been away a few days but the one he made looks really good, and he has done work for me before so he knows what he's talking about. Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougar Posted June 28, 2015 Share Posted June 28, 2015 So I sent it to a luthier to make a bone copy..... I just had a new bone saddle cut for my AJ500RC, mainly to get the intonation right. Of course, this required dropping the guitar off. It would have been nice if you could have had this checked at the same time, but maybe getting the guitar to your luthier was not as convenient for you as it was for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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