maatty

I went to GC in Atlanta last weekend, and I was intrigued how better the Gibson AJ was over the Epi Masterbilt. Owning an MB guitar, I had to try the Gibson AJ. Price: $1999 vs $699 (Gibson was all acoustic, so I figure AJ-500R w/o the electronics costs $599) Sound: Gibson wins hands down on clarity and tone. Epi sounds muddy compared to Gibson. Gibson AJ sounded a lot tighter, focused, and more fundamental. The lows were more accurate, tighter, and deeper. The highs were clearer and sounded a lot better. The mids were better on Gibson as well. I think I have to start saving $$$ for a Gibson now . Whoever put reviews online saying that Epi Masterbilt is better than the Gibson AJ is wrong. Overall, I liked '71 Martin D-35, Gibson AJ, and Taylor 710CE they had. Out of these, I think the Martin and Gibson had the best balance. Of course, YMMV

Miles, have you found out what's causing the problem? My AJ-500RE also has the same tuner symptoms. I don't use amps yet so I don't know about the rest of the problem though.