capmaster Posted June 1, 2014 Share Posted June 1, 2014 So far as I can make out it was 2010. I presume Chinese but the number doesn't really indicate. One big mistake above is that I was talking about my Gold Top 1956 Tribute (not the 1960 which has Gibson humbuckers) It is probably going too far to call them crap. The pole pieces were all over the place and the signal strength was way off for some strings but that's correctable. I found them a little harsh in not such a good way (I expect P90's to ring clear / growl) and so they got changed (as did everything else electric) and the nut. To my experience, to achieve signal levels consistent for all strings, the pole pieces of P90s must be adjusted very differently. This is also valid for string sets working nicely with any kind of pickups with respect to output levels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Zeplin Posted June 1, 2014 Share Posted June 1, 2014 Of the three Epi LPs I have owned I would rank them this way: From the Saein factory, Korea: 2001 LP Std Plustop From the unsung factory, Korea: 2000 LP Classic Transamber Quilt-top From the DW factory in China (I don't recall where this plant is): 2003 LP Std Plustop, Transamber The cherryburst was easily the best playing of the three with the amber quilt a close second. All were set up as I like them but the Saein made LP shone. Both guitars were well made and the fretboard on the saein guitar was excellent, fast smooth and a nice deep rich brown. I have been able to make all my guitars playable to my liking but not the one from China. The Chinese made LP had high frets in the upper register on the high e and B strings which I had to fix up. As for pickups they were swapped out and back and forth regularly between all my guitars (had a lot more free time back then, divorced and no honey do lists). I also had to swap out the pots and switch. On this guitar the neck volume pot got pushed into the body while changing the knobs cracking the wood which was paper thin underneath. Epi uses short shaft pots so the hole saw had to cut a little deeper leaving very little wood, keep this in mind when swapping knobs. I didn't feel as though I pressed overly hard but tough lesson learned for me. I put a switch washer on top to add some stability until I could get it repaired, which I never did. Traded it for a small Fender tube amp. Also keep in mind this is very early on in the Chinese manufacturing days so I would make some allowances there. This 2011 Chinese made Casino (factory code 15, don't know where this is) is nothing special when compared with other Casinos of its ilk but the black colour caught my eye and I waited patiently for 6 months for it to go on sale. It is a good guitar and I enjoy playing it and let's face it, everyone needs a Casino, but it doesn't stand out when compared to any other Casino. This gem cost me $7 out of pocket after redeeming a couple of gift cards. Black EB-0 bass from China, factory code 18. Excellent little bass which is so nice to play. The short scale makes it comfortable when sitting around the music room jamming. It plays great and is a steal in what you get for the money. I added some stickon trap inlays and blackened the white plies on the pickguard and TRC and replaced the screws with black ones. I owned this 2003 PR6-e AE for 11 years, bought it new for my 40th b`day. At the time I wanted an acoustic with a cutaway and this one fit the bill nicely. It was an excellent guitar with a surprisingly rich tone for a smallbody cutaway acoustic. It played well up and down the neck and as it aged it the solid spruce top turned a deep amber and looked so cool. Very well made. Alas my yearning for a full size dreadnought (my exwife had one that she never played so I used it while we were married but she wouldn`t sell it to me after we split, go figure) took me over and I traded it for a Gibson J45 and cash. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Not-Too-Late Posted June 1, 2014 Share Posted June 1, 2014 Here's a factory in the Czech Republic. First time I've heard of it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHDb2pMRb1A Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Marlowe Posted June 1, 2014 Share Posted June 1, 2014 So far as I can make out it was 2010. I presume Chinese but the number doesn't really indicate. One big mistake above is that I was talking about my Gold Top 1956 Tribute (not the 1960 which has Gibson humbuckers) It is probably going too far to call them crap. The pole pieces were all over the place and the signal strength was way off for some strings but that's correctable. I found them a little harsh in not such a good way (I expect P90's to ring clear / growl) and so they got changed (as did everything else electric) and the nut. Heck that's still a big step up from the usual "muddy inarticulate" complaint I see on older epiphone pickups. I find the ones in my SG to be quite aggressive but I like that sound. To me crappy is muddy and inarticulate but I can totally see how for others harsh etc would constitute crappy. I was mainly wondering if you had MUCH older Epiphone P-90s like from 2000 or something, and trying to get a handle on when the P-90s went from a muddy mess to the bright singing pickups I have in my 2011. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobouz Posted June 1, 2014 Share Posted June 1, 2014 I was mainly wondering if you had MUCH older Epiphone P-90s like from 2000 or something, and trying to get a handle on when the P-90s went from a muddy mess to the bright singing pickups I have in my 2011. FWIW - The stock P90s in my Korean-made 2004 Peerless Casino are quite articulate and clean. Very nice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Marlowe Posted June 1, 2014 Share Posted June 1, 2014 FWIW - The stock P90s in my Korean-made 2004 Peerless Casino are quite articulate and clean. Very nice. Nice to hear. I did a LOT of youtube ear testing of the various Epi P-90s (and others as well) and a bit of play testing of P-90 equipped Epis at Gutiar Center before I ordered my SG with them in it. Never heard any I thought of as sounding bad. Sure they're not Lollars etc but they're pretty darned nice to me. I think P-90s are REAL sensitive to pickup height / pole piece adjustment, so I sometimes wonder how many people don't like the ones they heard mainly because they were too close to the strings etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bender 4 Life Posted June 1, 2014 Share Posted June 1, 2014 I have GREAT guitars from both Korea and China......not just Epis either.....the Korean Agiles are top notch and the Korean Guilds are even better !!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vinlander Posted June 4, 2014 Share Posted June 4, 2014 I have 3 Epi right now and all from Korean plants. Despite they are all customized and dramatically in some cases, they were very fine instruments in the first place. 1995 Samick Emperor Joe Pass (very good lutherie but I hate the cheap plastic inlays of that time). 2003 Peerless Emperor Regent which has the best neck I ever played (even better than my Gibson Les Paul). 2004 Saein plant Sheraton that is as top notch as the 2 previous. I had a 1999 Saein Les Paul Custom I exchanged for the Sheraton; that one too shared the same good quality lutherie. A thing to keep in mind is ALL my Epis get the same professional setup made and it is worth the investment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milod Posted June 4, 2014 Share Posted June 4, 2014 I guess I'm happy to see I'm not the only one hollering about a professional-level setup. It's not just a matter of quality of picking. It's also a matter of sound for a given guitarist from a given guitar. A pro should be able to well-match guitar, strings and setup to how a given player's technique and even posture interacts with the instrument. I know a lotta folks howl about pups and bridges and nuts and such on electric and acoustic instruments, but IMHO the major variable comes down to that pro setup. m Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie brown Posted June 4, 2014 Share Posted June 4, 2014 I think, at times, there's a disconnect, between what's in our heads, sound/tone wise, and what ANY equipment will produce. Why doesn't my tone sound like (fill in the player) when I have the same gear! Because, YOU don't play, like them! And, trying to capture a tone, that's on record, or CD, that's been manipulated (a little, or a lot) in the recording process, when you don't have those options, or "tools," is a "fool's errand"...IMHO. We have access, to a mind boggling array, of "gear," these days, and "software" as well. Yet, what gets a lot of us really going, is what we heard years, even decades ago, being done with next to nothing, for equipment. A guitar, and an amp! MAYBE, a pedal or two (Wah, Wah, and/or distortion/fuzz, whatever) "Gear" has become the focus, instead of the music! Or, so it seems/feels, anyway. The forums are great social places, and good places for information, as well as mis-information. They can be very helpful, they can be very GAS producing, and they can be very confusing, too! It really doesn't matter, what "I," or anyone else likes, plays, uses for an amp, or pedal, or even a guitar, or where it's made...as long as it fits, the person playing it! That only matters, to ME! Find out, the hard way, what works for you. It's really the only way to know, for sure! Everything else, is hearsay, and/or conjecture. CB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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