Who owns a Broadway?

[Aster1]

Hi Ya'll,

 

Just love the "look" of a Epi Broadway esp. with the double trapeze, but having never seen/touched one in person, want some owners feedback. Also, what style of music do you like to play the best on it? Better years than others, or is a new one just fine? I love the vintage sunburst but looks like Natural is the color now.

 

Thanks in advance!!

 

Aster

[crust]

I had this set up around 1998-2000. No longer have it. I played Elmore James style slide, John Lee Hooker boogie style, fusion, Jack White style, straight/swing jazz and blues, cowboy songs. ....I wish it had a whammy. It was beautiful, nice neck and inlays on the headstock and neck, easy on my hand, versitile. I did change the bridge to a intoneateable one and the knobs to gold, thats it. I sold it to a student at the Berkeley school of music in Boston. Case, guitar, amp, got the right price and got a couple Gibson LP's. I might some day get another one, maybe. It was a wonderful, beautiful guitar and the Epiphone stereo chorus with 2 10 inch speakers (SC210)sounded so great, sparkling and lush tones with the great chorus on that particular amp. Dig It ?

 

[ArchtopBill]

I have had one for several years and I really enjoy it. Mine is an '06 that I purchased new in '09; she stayed in the store for three years waiting for me. Recently upgraded the pups and then subsequently had a pissing match over the tonal value of pots and caps. No need to reopen that can of worms, but maybe I did.

 

The Epi Broadway is a great jazz box for a reasonable price. Nice to look at and easy to mod. I use TI JS-111 strings and the stock bridge, properly adjusted, has very good intonation. I really do not want to add a Tun-o-matic bridge as I prefer the warmth of the rosewood bridge.

 

I play jazz and Chet Atkins-style standards on it. Just the past few days switched from a Fender Champion 100 to a Fender Mustang IV V2. The Broadway sounds great through either, but the new Mustang is phenomenal as far as clean tone and flexibility.

[jfine]

In 1973 I bought a Broadway from the guy who bought it new in 1961. This was the Gibson-made version, basically the electric version of the Triumph archtop acoustic. I believe this was the only deep-bodied electric in the Gibson-made Epiphone line until the Howard Roberts came out. Mine was blonde, two mini-humbuckers, wired out-of-phase! The guy I got it from said he'd never had it rewired or modified, but the neck pickup was installed backwards (screw coil furthest from the fingerboard). This made the two-pickup setting almost unusable, but I could get some interesting partially-out-of-phase tones by juggling levels on the individual volume controls. I've never played another one, so I don't know if there were more like that, but I've seen pictures of other Broadways with the reversed neck pickup--I think the one in the '65 catalog might have been like that. Strange! I can't imagine that they did that on purpose, but you never know...Gibson did some wild things with out-of-phase middle pickups on ES-5's and Les Paul Customs in the '50's. And no, I don't still have the guitar...

[JasonG]

Just got mine on Wednesday. I LOVE it. I also recently got a reissue Sorrento, so the two have been fighting each other for play time. I really like the Gibson minis in the Sorrento but the Broadway plays awesome and feels great.

 

Hi Ya'll,

 

Just love the "look" of a Epi Broadway esp. with the double trapeze, but having never seen/touched one in person, want some owners feedback. Also, what style of music do you like to play the best on it? Better years than others, or is a new one just fine? I love the vintage sunburst but looks like Natural is the color now.

 

Thanks in advance!!

 

Aster

 

 

 

[Aster1]

Thanks for the replies. I'll keep my eyes open for a Vintage Sunburst used maybe. Didn't know about a Broadway or a Sheridon 50th annie if I could find one.

 

Aster

[ArchtopBill]

In 1973 I bought a Broadway from the guy who bought it new in 1961. This was the Gibson-made version, basically the electric version of the Triumph archtop acoustic. I believe this was the only deep-bodied electric in the Gibson-made Epiphone line until the Howard Roberts came out. Mine was blonde, two mini-humbuckers, wired out-of-phase! The guy I got it from said he'd never had it rewired or modified, but the neck pickup was installed backwards (screw coil furthest from the fingerboard). This made the two-pickup setting almost unusable, but I could get some interesting partially-out-of-phase tones by juggling levels on the individual volume controls. I've never played another one, so I don't know if there were more like that, but I've seen pictures of other Broadways with the reversed neck pickup--I think the one in the '65 catalog might have been like that. Strange! I can't imagine that they did that on purpose, but you never know...Gibson did some wild things with out-of-phase middle pickups on ES-5's and Les Paul Customs in the '50's. And no, I don't still have the guitar...

 

That sounds like a really fine instrument.Being a '61, did it have a carved top?

[kidblast]

I bought one of these last year. I really like it.

 

I put flatwounds on it (11 gauge)for fingerstyle solo stuff, it's fantastic. These are very solid guitars,

(Grover tuners, USA Electronics etc).

 

The pickups are a bit more resistant to feedback than some of the other Epi hollows I've had in the past (I had a Joe Pass from that was maybe a late 80s early 90s..)

 

the neck on my broadway is excellent and very stable.. good fret finishing work, and very low action.

 

They are only available now in Natural, and there is no case included. (you need the Epi Jumbo Acoustic case - same on you would use for the Epi J200)

 

For the money, they really are fantastic little jazz boxes.

 

[Parabar]

I bought a used '97 Peerless Broadway (sunburst) about 7 or 8 years ago ... didn't like the Frequensator tailpiece, so replaced it with a high quality Japanese L-5 tailpiece replica I got on eBay, changed the rosewood bridge for an ABR-1, and replaced the black knobs with gold ones. The new bridge and tailpiece turned a good-sounding guitar into a GREAT sounding one.

 

 

A few years ago I also got an Elitist Broadway in natural, which I like better on this one since it shows off the flame so nicely. The Elitist is my absolute favorite guitar, and even beats some Gibson L-5's I've played for tone and feel.

 

 

I play mostly original music, a mixture of jazz, funk, reggae, blues, and R&B.

[crust]

What a beautiful Elitist. Man, that is one nice Epiphone.

[Aster1]

I'm presuming that the Elitist version ain't available any more? I'm betting that so as that's the one I want. [biggrin]

 

Beautiful guitars.

 

Aster

[kidblast]

they are no longer in production which is really a shame,, Elitist were really well done. I have a Country Gent Elitist that is just terrific.

 

But anyway, get thee to Ebay, you may score.

 

while you are there, take look for an Emperor Regent. Broadway body/neck but a single pickup.

 

I have one of these as well in 2011 (I think..). they were just in the process of being discontinued, I lucked out, a few months later, you couldn't find these anywhere new.

The single floating pickup makes for a real simplistic experience, performs surprisingly well.

 

[jfine]

That sounds like a really fine instrument.Being a '61, did it have a carved top?

No--it had a laminated pressed top. In the Epiphone line it was equivalent to Gibson's ES-175, although it was shaped a little differently. I'm not sure if there were any Kalamazoo-made Epiphone electrics with solid carved tops--maybe the Howard Roberts.