GuitarVlog

The nail is truly in the coffin. I learned today that none of the dealers will be restocking the AJ500RC. Goodbye Epiphone. Hello Recording King. :)

The Recording King is a OOO-size with a spruce top. I've already played three (two ROS-626 models at $775 with case and one ROS-627 at $975 with case). They are nice but I don't feel that they have anything different from my Johnson Carolina II JO-27 which I bought for $300 at closeout. If there is more tonal "punch" from its 12-fret design, then I'm either too inexperienced to hear it or it's much too subtle. The AJ-500RC might be more interesting given its three factors of: 1. A 12-fret design 2. A cedar top 3. An Advanced Jumbo shape

Actually' date=' I have an OM with a 1.75" nut which is equivalent to the EF500R. I tried the EF500R and it was quite good but the local B&M's unit had a cracking neck joint. I opted for another manufacturer. Thanks, Dugly! I am expecting the AJ500RC to have some clear differences with both the 12-fret design and the cedar top. I'll have to see what happens in February.

Thanks everyone for the replies. My interest in the AJ500RC started after I played an AJ500M and was impressed by the tone and its bass response when played fingerstyle. But I'm accustomed to classical guitars and to OM's with wide nuts (1-3/4" to 1-7/8") and wide string spacings at the saddle (2-3/8"). If the AJ500RC has a similar tone to the AJ500M, then I feel it would fill an important niche. I'll wait until February. If Zzounds doesn't get it in, I'll probably start searching for a fingerstyle jumbo or mini-jumbo that might have a similar tone.

I played an AJ-500M today and really liked its tone, but I'm purely a fingerstylist. I learned about the AJ-500RC but read that it's discontinued. Who made that decision?! Is there any chance that it will be brought back? ;)