caimi

Several years ago, maybe 25, I acquired a Gibson SJ-200jr. . It was a fine guitar, great player and looker and a keeper. Needless to say in the past 25 years in was added to the "guitars-I-wish-I-still-had" list for reasons I no longer remember. And as the years passed Gibson's J-200 kept getting more and more expensive and just more than I cared to spend on a single guitar. So, 2 or so years ago Epiphone announced the "inspired by " line and the J-200 in that line was too much of an siren song to avoid. I bought one and owned it less than six months. In short, it did not inspire me for several reasons. Then last week I saw an ad for newer "inspired by" models and the 1957 SJ-200 was too much to resist. The specs (torrefied spruce top, flame solid maple back and sides, a real mustache bridge) alone were enough to get me to try again and I am not disappointed. This guitar has the volume and tone the earlier version lacked. The fretboard is a little wider. And it feels like a Gibson. In my estimation it is as close to a $5000 Gibson SJ-200 as you can get for a fraction of that and it is worth every penny of its $1400 price tag. It is beautiful, fun to play, expertly built and has tone and sustain for days. I still haven't settled on what make strings I like the best with it but Martin Luxe Kovars are in the lead. Bravo, Epiphone and Gibson Custom Shop.

This is my response to ghost_of_fl: The answer I was hoping to get was an intelligent one. If, as I said, I didn't send a picture of my guitar with my question which was whether or not it was possible for this model to have an addie top, then the answer I got was not an intelligent one. It may as well have been, "Don't bother me," for all of the effort put into it. Thanks to JWG4927 and Salfromchatham. Your answers go a lot further than Gibson's .

Thanks.

Looks similar to mine.

It is spec'd sitka but looks unlike any modern sitka top I have ever seen. So I wrote to Gibson asking and the reply: "It's spec'd sitka so it's sitka." I'm not convinced. Oh, it's a 2020 Gibson L-00 Studio Rosewood . It's clear and loud and sweet sounding. If I had to guess I would say adirondack. Gibson says sitka and they're sticking with it.

Look at the attached picture and tell me what wood you think this is. Two hints: 1. Gibson 2. Spruce But what kind of spruce?

I own Gibsons and Epiphones. I've had guitars made by both manufacturers that I have loved and those I have not liked much. But the biggest reason a Gibson ES 335 is nearly $3000 more than an Epiphone 335 is money: The average hourly rate for a Chinese guitar production worker is $3.50 or about $7,500 per year. The average hourly rate for a Gibson guitar production worker is $20 or about $41,000 per year. So it costs significantly more money for Gibson to produce a Gibson ES 335 than it costs Gibson to produce a Epiphone ES 335 Pro. The cost of production does not dictate the quality of the craftsmanship which you can see with your own eyes. The Chinese made Epiphones are very well made guitars. But they are made by workers who are paid 80% less than their American counterparts. So the final cost of the guitar is significantly less when made in China. Whether one sounds better than the other is partially subjective and partially due to different (but not necessarily better) components.