jefleppard Posted September 3, 2008 Share Posted September 3, 2008 risking certain ostracism from the boys at the gibson acoustic forum, i picked this up yesterday morning. mahogany b/s satin finish, glossy spruce top, no pick up. the factory action is adequate though the strings were dead so i swapped them right away for ej17s. this guitar is a beast - overtone city. and loud. OMG, its loud (just like its owner). the bass hits you in the chest with a great rumble, so much so, it makes me laugh when i play it. the overtones ring on and multiply on top of each other. at one point they were swirling out of the soundhole like smoke from a fire. still more laughter. the note separation is fantastic. no bleeding or muddiness. much clarity. i played this guitar side by side with a gibson AJ at the store and it stood up quite well. i have alot of respect for the gibby version so i will not trash it. it is a beautiful instrument and i will own one one day. however, in defense of its little brother, the aj500m does not pale much in comparison. the volume, tone and resonance are nearly identical. the treble strings on the epi pale slightly but other than that it is only appointment and finish issues that are miles apart. i will mention here that the epi is 1900 canadian dollars less than its high-class gibson counterpart. is there that much difference? not in the least. this is my deal of the century. i cannot put it down. it even smells great - a cola-like waft hits me when i play it. i have already recorded with it and i found myself daydreaming away just listening to it through my studio set up. it is so nice to find a holy grail. we all look and know how it is to find something special. well, i have. and here it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Space Pup Posted September 4, 2008 Share Posted September 4, 2008 We wouldn't ostercise you...we may slap you around a little though. You understand, we have to keep up appearances...and just for a bit of fun. Congrats' on the Epi, those Epi Masterbuilts are some seriously sweet guitars. I'd chose one of those over the Canadian built Gibsons anyday. (no offence) Is your's a sunburst? I like the burst on those, the reddish center is original but I wish it was a little thinner and showed the wood grain better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jefleppard Posted September 4, 2008 Author Share Posted September 4, 2008 thanks for the comment/warning, SP! lol! no, mine is antique natural. there was a SB in the shop where i bought this one but it sounded a little weak. i think there are some QC issues with the setups on the masterbilt line and someone like myself, who is by no means a guitar tech, may be intimidated by the propostion of an after market setup. what if it still doesn't sound right? also, it had the eSonic2 p/u and a nanomag. i didn't like it as much and i really don't care for that p/u. the baggs does a much nicer job - the element, for example, in my swd is much nicer. have you played or read any reviews of the aj500rw? i think i might be on the lookout for one now. thanks jeff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Space Pup Posted September 4, 2008 Share Posted September 4, 2008 Epiphone probably does the same as Gibson in that respect. Set up every guiatr at an average setting and let the player do the rest. When you think about it almost everyone wants something different in a set up, lower action, medium strings, etc., it probably make mores sence to do it this way. I very rarely use the pickups in my guitars. I prefer to use 2 microphones insted, one at the body and one at the neck. I like the changes you get in sound by just changing the postion of the mics. I run the mics into a four channel mixer and then into my Boss BR Micro Recorder. It works great for me, especially since only three of my acoustic guitars have pickups and the one in my Fender 12-string sounds like crap. I have not played the AJ 500R but I have played the DR 500R and the EF 500R. Out of those two the EF would be my choice for Rosewood so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitarstrummer Posted September 4, 2008 Share Posted September 4, 2008 Given your signature line, are you sure you don't mean oystercize you? :) Consider yourself oystercized!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jefleppard Posted September 4, 2008 Author Share Posted September 4, 2008 Given your signature line' date=' are you sure you don't mean oystercize you? Consider yourself oystercized!![/quote'] nice one, gs. i actually thought about you when i wrote that review because i recalled your comments a couple months ago about the AJ. i remember you saying the bass hits you in the chest. on this guitar it was the first thing i noticed. i mean i'm pretty sure it wasn't a heart attack! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taylor Player Posted September 7, 2008 Share Posted September 7, 2008 Hey Cunk.... Awesome that you got a Epi. AJ!!! I am glad that your enjoying it. Those AJ's really do thump your chest something big! :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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