Flyer91 Posted June 19, 2015 Share Posted June 19, 2015 As promised by zZounds, FedEx finally delivered my Epi BB King Lucille today! I throughly inspected it for any cosmetics, and then did a quick set-up, plugged it into my Trio Band Creator with a set of headphones, and I'm definitely digging this thing .... big-time!! It did have a couple of minor hiccups tho. The treble E string popped at the ball when I was 'loosening' the "Floyd-like" TP-6 fine tuning bridge knobs. And .... they say in the ads that these come with D'Addario 10-46's ... but all the ball ends are brass, and I've never seen D's 10-46s without colored ball ends. Maybe only the D nickle wounds are colored?? No biggie, I'll put a set of my fav EB SS 9-42's on it anyway. The other nit was ..... the mounting plate for the stereo output jacks was at a 'very' obvious angle. But as luck would have it ..... I easily fixed that by removing the 4 screws, and only needed to re-drill one hole to get it squared/parallel to the binding, which was accomplished with no issues. I set it up for 1.5mm height at the octave on the bass E, and 1mm on the treble E, with a neck relief of just a tad over .011" I was a little concerned because I always sweat it when I have to loosen the truss nut to get bow. I much prefer to go the other way ..... even though it's considered to be more dicey. I didn't check the nut slot height (forgot) but it feels fine, nor did I use radius gauges to check the string radius to fretboard radius, but by eyeball it looks good too. So ... through the Trio it sounds like a Lucille, and in the short time I played it .... I think I like the center pup position with the Varitone chicken-head knob at 3. Really warm, and bluesy (go figure eh? ) ... and that (as well as a personal tribute/memory in view of recent events) is exactly why I got it! Anyway ... here's some quickie/blurry pix ...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sleeko Posted June 19, 2015 Share Posted June 19, 2015 As promised by zZounds, FedEx finally delivered my Epi BB King Lucille today! I throughly inspected it for any cosmetics, and then did a quick set-up, plugged it into my Trio Band Creator with a set of headphones, and I'm definitely digging this thing .... big-time!! It did have a couple of minor hiccups tho. The treble E string popped at the ball when I was 'loosening' the "Floyd-like" TP-6 fine tuning bridge knobs. And .... they say in the ads that these come with D'Addario 10-46's ... but all the ball ends are brass, and I've never seen D's 10-46s without colored ball ends. Maybe only the D nickle wounds are colored?? No biggie, I'll put a set of my fav EB SS 9-42's on it anyway. The other nit was ..... the mounting plate for the stereo output jacks was at a 'very' obvious angle. But as luck would have it ..... I easily fixed that by removing the 4 screws, and only needed to re-drill one hole to get it squared/parallel to the binding, which was accomplished with no issues. I set it up for 1.5mm height at the octave on the bass E, and 1mm on the treble E, with a neck relief of just a tad over .011" I was a little concerned because I always sweat it when I have to loosen the truss nut to get bow. I much prefer to go the other way ..... even though it's considered to be more dicey. I didn't check the nut slot height (forgot) but it feels fine, nor did I use radius gauges to check the string radius to fretboard radius, but by eyeball it looks good too. So ... through the Trio it sounds like a Lucille, and in the short time I played it .... I think I like the center pup position with the Varitone chicken-head knob at 3. Really warm, and bluesy (go figure eh? ) ... and that (as well as a personal tribute/memory in view of recent events) is exactly why I got it! Anyway ... here's some quickie/blurry pix ...... Nice looking guitar. Best of luck with it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottpaine_69 Posted June 19, 2015 Share Posted June 19, 2015 Congrats! She Looks beautiful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cody78 Posted June 19, 2015 Share Posted June 19, 2015 Beautiful guitar I always fancied a Lucille (or 345 stereo) for the looks, tonal options and stereo feature, but have never even got around to trying one. Funny, I've been listening to BB King all day today starting with his 1973 album To Know You is to Love You and 1974's Friends. These 2 albums I don't normally listen to as much as my favourites LA Midnight, Completely Well or Indianola Mississippi Seeds, but they really are great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LPS1976 Posted June 19, 2015 Share Posted June 19, 2015 Congrats on the Lucille! as far as the strings go, D'Addario makes strings for Epiphone in bulk and these do not have the colored ends. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
burchster Posted June 19, 2015 Share Posted June 19, 2015 Congrats! I love my Epi Lucille. I always get confused when switch to my Gibson lucille because the inputs aren't labeled. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flyer91 Posted June 19, 2015 Author Share Posted June 19, 2015 Congrats! I love my Epi Lucille. I always get confused when switch to my Gibson lucille because the inputs aren't labeled. First ... thanks for the positive comments guys!! :) And burchster ....... how would you compare 1 - The play of the Epi to the Gibson? 2 - The cosmetics of the Epi to the Gibson? 3 - Any other comps you feel are noteworthy? I have both a Gretsch G6136T-LTV White Falcon, and a G5422TDC Electromatic (poor man's WF) and to be honest ..... there is certainly a difference, but the WF is just not $3k+ more of a guitar than the Electro. And .... the Electro can be modded/upgraded for under $400 to be damn near the WF in a practical/use sense. Do you find a similar experience with the Epi and Gibby Lucilles? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
burchster Posted June 19, 2015 Share Posted June 19, 2015 The Gibson is superior in build and quality. It has a chunkier neck and I love the Ebony fretboard. But the Epiphone is a great guitar and if I hadn't of got a great deal on the Gibson I wouldn't own it. It's not worth the 4000 dollar asking price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flyer91 Posted June 20, 2015 Author Share Posted June 20, 2015 The Gibson is superior in build and quality. It has a chunkier neck and I love the Ebony fretboard. But the Epiphone is a great guitar and if I hadn't of got a great deal on the Gibson I wouldn't own it. It's not worth the 4000 dollar asking price. That's exactly what I've told others regarding my White Falcon! It's a great guitar, and I'm proud to own one .... but had I not got it for such a good investment deal, I would never have bought it either. In view of what guitars under $1k (and many under even half that) bring to the table, I think the WF-LTV @ a street of $3800+ is just outrageously overpriced. I can't think of any commercially built guitar that's worth those prices ..... unless it is a collector piece/has significant investment potential. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Campbell Posted June 20, 2015 Share Posted June 20, 2015 Congrats on that beauty! I almost went with the Lucille before opting for my Sheraton II. I still have my sights on one. And... got to agree with cody78, Indianola Mississippi Seeds & LA Midnight are two of my favorite BB recordings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bacongrease Posted June 23, 2015 Share Posted June 23, 2015 This forum is bad for GAS. Beautiful guitar. Congrats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abutcher Posted June 26, 2015 Share Posted June 26, 2015 Interesting post on the Falcon. I had one and it was superb, I thought way better than the Electromatic. I bought an Epiphone Les Paul and a 339 though because they felt great against the Gibsons. I have a Custom Shop Gibson acoustic though and it sounds and plays beautifully. Not the greatest finish though and there are a few flaws. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abutcher Posted June 26, 2015 Share Posted June 26, 2015 Forgot to say I really fancy a Lucille! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guido-Italy Posted January 22, 2017 Share Posted January 22, 2017 Hello I think this Lucille made in China as the actual Epiphoneproduction. How is it made ? Is it gid finish , electronics, ec.... ? Thanks for answer , Have good Blues !!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie brown Posted January 22, 2017 Share Posted January 22, 2017 Congratulations, on an Epic "Epi!" Lucille, is a great guitar, Epi or Gibson! On "Gibson" pricing, especially on "Lucille," these days, I have a little story to share with you all. My Gibson "Lucille" is a 2002 version. Ebony fingerboard, the whole "9-yards!" I got it, brand spanking new, for $1,600 and change. I was still living in So Cal, at the time, but was dealing with my favorite guitar dealer (E.M. Shorts) in Wichita, Kansas...which has been my dealer, for over 30 years. I kept asking Jon Ray, who was my contact, at that time, if he was "Sure that was the price," as 335's were $300 bucks higher, at that time. He assured me, several times, that the price was "their current selling price," on Gibson Lucille's. I said: "Sold!" Gave him my credit card number, and it arrived, flawless, in about 3 days. Now, IF I had hesitated, and "waited," or had to buy one now...I not only couldn't afford the Gibson version, I wouldn't pay SEVEN GRAND, for one, and with a (out of spec) Richlite board! Not that I have anything against Richlite boards, really. But, for upper tier and very expensive Gibby's, that seems like more of a cost cutting feature, than warranted, for upper tier models. But, that's just Me! So, I lucked out ("Timing is everything"), and have enjoyed it, every minute since! So, enjoy your Epi version, as well! It too, is a nice example, of the Gibson classic! And WAY MORE "affordable!!" CB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flyer91 Posted January 24, 2017 Author Share Posted January 24, 2017 Hello I think this Lucille made in China as the actual Epiphoneproduction. How is it made ? Is it gid finish , electronics, ec.... ? Thanks for answer , Have good Blues !!! Yes, it was "Handcrafted in China".;) The build quality is very good, and closer on par with my Gibbys and Pro-Line Gretsch guitars than price alone would indicate. Here's a decent YouTube example of it by Gregor Hilden ... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80lYWD4AsE4 And the Gibson ... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zggE8BXOfJk IMHO the biggest difference between these two (and almost any Fender/Squier, Gretsch Pro-Line/Electromatic, Gibson/Epiphone and etc.) is the the grade of components and the way they feel in your hands. In some cases my poly finish guitars look better than my nitro-lacquer finish guitars. So ...I guess it could be said that modern mfg methods have really narrowed the gap on performance these days ... while cost keeps diverging. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flyer91 Posted January 24, 2017 Author Share Posted January 24, 2017 double post Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pesh Posted January 30, 2017 Share Posted January 30, 2017 Very nice! Looks fantastic; HNGD and congratulations! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougar Posted January 31, 2017 Share Posted January 31, 2017 Oh yeah! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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