NGD

[martin82]

I used to own an Epiphone Dot about 8-9 years ago. I never bonded with it, and sold it shortly after buying it. I repair and set up guitars now as a small side business, and I recently worked on a Wildkat Royale and ES335-Pro, which I was very impressed with.

 

I had always been interested in getting a big box archtop. I took the plunge a couple of weeks ago and found a 2009 Broadway on Reverb.com. It is virtually flawless - not a mark on it, and well set up. After putting new strings on it (D'addario EXL115w), oiling the fretboard, polishing and setting it up to my liking, I plugged it in fulling expecting to be less than impressed with the alnico classic pups. To my surprise, I really like the tone. I don't think I'll be changing these pups anytime soon. Here are a few pictures:

 

 

I think this headstock is beautiful:

 

[PeteWilson]

First: Welcome to the Forum! I have found lots o' great people here that love guitars, playing guitars, and especially love playing Epiphone Guitars!

I am not surprised that you found the sound pleasant to you. Lots of people just automatically think that because it says Epiphone on the headstock, that the pickups and other electronics must be changed. I have recently bought an SG Pro, and ES-335 Pro, and a Riviera P93. They all sound great to me and to my "guy" at the music store that sets them up.

Congratulations on your "new" guitar!

Play it well!

Pete

[milod]

I think guitars that function well don't necessarily "fit" a given picker - or at least how that picker figures he or she fits with it.

 

I'd say that it sounds as if you found one for yourself that does fit; and that's a great feeling.

 

m

[crust]

I really like the Epiphone Broadway Electric guitar a lot. I had one about 25 years ago but a good friend made me an offer and I was happy to help a friend get started with a nice rig. My friend is in Mexico now . The last time I spoke with him was 3 or so years ago on FB. He told me he had a small farm and found his own place to be... Which is good, he went through a lot as a kid. Great guitar player too, another childhood friend that was a super player. He said he still had "the rig"...but I don't know if he still has it...he has 3 grown kids, one of them may have it...I really don't know...lol It certainly was a great sounding rig...that's for sure. Here is my original, and the SC-210 amp that with the guitar, which also "went south" with the guitar

[crust]

I missed the one I had had was happy that Epiphone still manufactures them. The Epiphone Broadway has been in production a long time.

all these guitars, gone but not forgotton..

[crust]

got these now

 

[kidblast]

yep, Broadways are nice. I picked one up 2 years ago this coming January. plays/sounds great.

 

Also have one of the later, last run Emperor Regents, just before discontinuance.

 

Same body/neck but one mini floating humbucker.

 

For the dough you can't go wrong with these given the USA Made counter parts are north of $9k new.

[martin82]

Thanks for all the comments.

 

My only complaint (and I knew this going in, so it really shouldn't be a complaint) is that feedback is pretty easy. I don't mind sometimes, but there are other times, esp. during quiet passages, when feedback is not wanted at all. I've tamed it to an extent, by either turning down the volumes on the guitar, or turning away from the amp.

 

Also, what is a good metal bridge for this guitar, if I want to at times change out the wooden bridge?

[milod]

I think one reason the ES175 was designed had to do with incipient feedback problems as amplifiers were being produced with increasing volume and potential for feedback. Your instrument is among the bigger box types that had the greater difficulty in standing up to the sort of "dance combo with increasing volume needs" that was going in that era.

 

Even the 175 and its cousins had increasing problems as we went beyond "Rock around the Clock" and big slap fiddle basses and unmiked saxes.

 

Fairly common "solutions" were to close off the sound holes and/or to stuff something into the hollow body of the instrument. So was the solidbody guitar and variations on the semi-hollow. The Gib/Epi Lucille is far from the first archtop or semi-hollow that was made without soundholes at all. Gretsch made more than a few that had painted-on soundholes.

 

For a lotta archtop ideas, see: http://www.archtop.com/ac_access.html

 

For a TOM bridge... http://www.stewmac.com/Hardware_and_Parts/All_Hardware_and_Parts_by_Instrument/Archtop_Guitar/Bridges_and_Tailpieces/Tune-o-matic_Bridge_For_Archtop_Guitar.html?utm_source=google&utm_medium=shopping&utm_campaign=2014-10-gp&gclid=CPbGtLXkz8ECFQ8R7AodXmoAQg

 

For what it's worth, I have a 1950s archtop that has worn three types of bridge on top of its wooden base - a wood bridge, a simple steel bar and the current TOM. I made that latter switch so many years ago (around 40) that I can't recall where I got the bridge. But the Stewmac version likely would work well enough. You may want also to consider a version that adds a piezo.

 

m

[crust]

gone but not forgotton. I got this around 1994-95 at Wurlitzer Music in Boston. Nice guitar had a big white paint drip on the inside back surface...lol

I've gone through a number of instruments, again this Emperor Regent was set up with flat wound strings and sound quite unreal through that SC-210 amp with some chorus and reverb, really "clean", quite a delightful "tone" (to me). Again, this one went to another great guitar playing friend of my oldest son (my oldest son plays clarinet and was in the school jazz band, same as my youngest...fine talented musicians play swing jazz and big band style...well, just about anything they want actually. My youngest plays alto sax and is very, very good at playing "modern jazz". Like Charlie "Bird" Parker good. He was playing "Bird" sax at age 7...unreal talent...he still plays, taking lessons (along with me, at the same time/place) He told me he didn't want to "lose his lip"...lol

[martin82]

I think one reason the ES175 was designed had to do with incipient feedback problems as amplifiers were being produced with increasing volume and potential for feedback. Your instrument is among the bigger box types that had the greater difficulty in standing up to the sort of "dance combo with increasing volume needs" that was going in that era.

 

Even the 175 and its cousins had increasing problems as we went beyond "Rock around the Clock" and big slap fiddle basses and unmiked saxes.

 

Fairly common "solutions" were to close off the sound holes and/or to stuff something into the hollow body of the instrument. So was the solidbody guitar and variations on the semi-hollow. The Gib/Epi Lucille is far from the first archtop or semi-hollow that was made without soundholes at all. Gretsch made more than a few that had painted-on soundholes.

 

For a lotta archtop ideas, see: http://www.archtop.com/ac_access.html

 

For a TOM bridge... http://www.stewmac.com/Hardware_and_Parts/All_Hardware_and_Parts_by_Instrument/Archtop_Guitar/Bridges_and_Tailpieces/Tune-o-matic_Bridge_For_Archtop_Guitar.html?utm_source=google&utm_medium=shopping&utm_campaign=2014-10-gp&gclid=CPbGtLXkz8ECFQ8R7AodXmoAQg

 

For what it's worth, I have a 1950s archtop that has worn three types of bridge on top of its wooden base - a wood bridge, a simple steel bar and the current TOM. I made that latter switch so many years ago (around 40) that I can't recall where I got the bridge. But the Stewmac version likely would work well enough. You may want also to consider a version that adds a piezo.

 

m

 

 

Thanks for the links. Interesting info.

[kidblast]

The feedback on a hollow body guitar is definitely hard to get around. you can do some things to minimize it, but it requires quite a lot of attention to the matter and it's still going to feed back. Oh and yea,, i've tried the "stuff the body with foam" with an old Joe Pass I had some years ago. That stuff killed the tone completely and the sucker STILL fed back.

 

I think the sort-a-good news is today's pickups coming out of the Far-East are a bit better, and a little more resilient, but, not so much so that it solves the problem. The pickups used back about 15~20 years ago were just horrible.

 

 

I've accepted this as the compromise that one must deal with when using such a guitar,, maybe you should too :)

[milod]

A lot also has to do with speaker placement.

 

m

[martin82]

The feedback on a hollow body guitar is definitely hard to get around. you can do some things to minimize it, but it requires quite a lot of attention to the matter and it's still going to feed back. Oh and yea,, i've tried the "stuff the body with foam" with an old Joe Pass I had some years ago. That stuff killed the tone completely and the sucker STILL fed back.

 

I think the sort-a-good news is today's pickups coming out of the Far-East are a bit better, and a little more resilient, but, not so much so that it solves the problem. The pickups used back about 15~20 years ago were just horrible.

 

 

I've accepted this as the compromise that one must deal with when using such a guitar,, maybe you should too :)

 

I have accepted it, as I knew going in that feedback would be something to deal with. For the most part, I can control it. This is not the first hollow body I've owned. In fact, I have two others. The Broadway, due to its size, does feedback a little more.

[kidblast]

aside from that tho.. they do sound great don't they?

 

for the money, they are knock out deals IMO

[martin82]

Agree completely. I can't understand how good this guitar is, given the price. Maybe I mean I can't believe how inexpensive this guitar is.

[crust]

Agree completely. I can't understand how good this guitar is, given the price. Maybe I mean I can't believe how inexpensive this guitar is.

 

Simply put, Epiphone guitars are a great value. I can't get enough of them...lol