taxman

Epiphone Casino, Standard - NO REGRETS AT ALL Epiphone Casino, Inspired By Lennon - NO REGRETS AT ALL Epiphone Texan, Inspired By Paul -- NO REGRET Epiphone EJ-160E John Lennon acoustic -- REGRET I don't play it often, it isn't the real Gibson 160, needed much work to get it right (various string brands, gauges, saddle replacement, tuner replacement...) Epiphone SG, '66 model -- REGRET Should have just saved a few hundred dollars more and bought me a Gibson SG Of the two Epi regrets I have I would never get rid of the EJ-160. It looks the Beatle part and sounds the Beatle part. The SG I may sell or just give to someone.

Thanks very much for the very informative replies. Good stuff. I play Gretsches and I am aware of their dark years - known as the Baldwin years when Baldwin (the piano company) took control. Didn't know Gibson had similar dark years. And, yeah, the guitarist from New Model Army came of age during the 70s, so as you suggested he probably simply bought the guitars that were around which were these Norlins. I have to be honest with you. I have all the guitars I always wanted...all except a Gibson SG, and when I buy one I just might be buying one of these Norlins. I like the look of that gloss brown, you say they are cheaper, and one of my faves played one. If I find one I'll definitely consider it. Thanks again.

OK, thanks to the good folks here I just found out that one of my favorite players - Justin Sullivan of New Model Army - played a Norlin-era SG. I found another pic of a Norlin SG -- that odd looking SG in the middle with that freaked out control panel, right? Well it seems Justin Sullivan of New Model Army also played one of those red burst Norlin SGs with that crazy control panel: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBtbf2LQWdo&feature=related Here's a guy who obviously had a preference for Norlin-era SGs. I wonder why? My questions: 1. What exactly are Norlin-era SGs? I know of Baldwin-era Gretsches and those are seen as inferior models. Are Norlins viewed as inferior? 2. Anything particular to Norlin SGs, like that crazy control panel and different finishes? 3. Why would a guy have a preference for Norlin SGs over the regular ones? Do they offer something different, something special? 4. Does the fact that the player Justin Sullivan is from some small town in England account for his buying of Norlins...in other words, were they flooded into one market? I suppose you think I could wiki this information but I'd much rather hear personal opinions and hands on experience, rather than clinical wikipedia facts. Thanks for anything you can share.

Epiphone sells the EDREAD case for the Texan, but like you said, "Who wants another black case?" So I asked around and ended up buying the Musician's Gear Tweed Case for $59. With the tweed outside and the brown interior this case looks absolutely spectacular with the coloring of the Texan. However, there is a slight problem. The guitar does not fit perfectly. Thankfully the case is a shade too big rather than too small and that makes for an easy fix. All I did was took some foam I had lying around (you can get this stuff at any fabric store for two bucks) and cut a 'U' shape for the neck. When I close the case the foam compresses onto the neck and keeps the guitar in place. No rattling, no movement at all. The body of the guitar fits well into the case, it is just the neck that was moving around, but not anymore. Look, for $59 bucks and a quick mod you can't go wrong with this fine looking case for the Texan. I have the black EDREAD case for my Epi 160-E, I sure didn't want two of the same exact cases for my Epi acoustics. I love the look of this tweed and brown case for my Texan.