Epiphone esonic 2 performer me

[chriscpou]

I have one of these and it sounds terrible! I took it to the shop Musicians pro in Southport after 6 months (now closed down) and they said that the mono output was for effects pedals. I took it back because this output cracks loudly as if there is a loose connection. When I connect it up to an amp or PA via the stereo output the sound volume is incredibly low, distorted (after battery change also) and compared to another guitar with just a normal pick up it sounds REALLY quiet. This has being going on since it was new in 2011. I paid a lot of money for this (A$568) and quite honestly I am disappointed.

[Serge_L]

Quite a few things here.

 

In my limited experience with the eSonic2, I would suggest that the vendor was just trying to get you out of his hair. On the guitars I have with this system (Masterbilt Epis), both jacks are labeled, with the the endpin jack doing double duty as both a mono jack (both pickups blended to taste using the "blend" slider) and the output jack for the Nanoflex (under-saddle) pickup in a stereo setup. The other jack is the dedicated output jack for the Nanomag (end of fretboard) pickup in a stereo setup.

 

Warranty-wise, I don't know how that is handled (and for what duration) in Australia. Here in Canada, for instance, we get a one-year warranty on Epiphone guitars, whereas the same guitars come with a lifetime warranty in the USA (a one-hour drive from here...). You may still have some warranty left on your guitar, a competent reseller might be able to give you a hand.

 

Shadow electronics, as I understand, offer a two-year warranty to original purchasers (see http://www.shadow-electronics.com/request_inst_form.html?lang_id=2 ); you may be able to get somewhere with them if the Epiphone route is a dead-end. You may have local resellers of Shadow products who might be of some help, for example in diagnosing your guitar and/ordering spares as might be required.

 

Meanwhile, depending upon how experienced you are with fixing guitars, I would suggest you check a few things. With a fresh set of batteries, look inside and check that all three connectors are all the way in. Also, make sure that the guitar cord is pushed all the way into the endpin jack (you know that turning on the tuner will switch the output off, so you can plug in the amp quietly); if you have some loud hum or other abnormal sound upon turning off the tuner, the problem might be a jack that is set too deep inside the endpin, which should be relatively easy to fix (by a tech, preferably, unless you feel comfortable playing with those nuts and washers). If you have a tech do it, that would also be a good opportunity to have new strings put on.

 

Hope this helps. Again, I have limited experience with electro-acoustics, but this reflects it.

 

[My 2 cents, YMMV and other caveats go here]