Gutch Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 Well, it finally happened. I have known about the JP for years and years, and always had it in the back of my head that I would have one some day. However, my musical focus has been more on the acoustic side of the house -- I been doing the solo singer/songwriter thing at local restaurants, festivals and farmers markets for the past several years. I do sit in on electric with a couple guys, but their musical style calls more for solidbody (Strat/LP) type of sound. Anyway, I've decided that this year I'm going to focus on scratching my jazz itch by putting an emphasis on studying chord/melody style of play. Of course, I could do that on any guitar, but you know this is a perfect excuse to get a new guitar!!! B) Headed down the local GC to do a little comparative shopping. I had spied the Joe Pass in natural that they had on the wall. They also had a full compliment of the new ES-175 Premium available, as well as several other brands. Played the JP against the ES-175 -- I really liked the feel of the JP in my hands and the smaller body size. The 175 sounded very clear and nice with the 57 Classic pickups, but I really didn't like the look of the satin finish. The JP sounded much warmer - Almost too warm - But the feel in my hands was better. Back and forth between the JP and the 175. Finally, I made the decision to go with the Joe Pass. The cost differential would let me swap out the electronics and buy a hardshell case and still come in under the 175. More importantly, the Joe Pass felt more comfortable in my hands which meant that I would play it more and hang onto the guitar longer. As I was talking to the sales guy, I noticed there was a small crack in the finish of the guitar. He said that since he would have to order in the case from the warehouse, we could also bring in a brand new guitar as well. Sounded good. I made the decision to go with a sunburst finish rather than natural. Sweet! The email arrived last Tuesday saying that everything was in. I was finally able to make it over to the store on Thursday. Boy, am I glad we made the decision to order a new one in. it is a night/day difference between the one I received and the one on the sales floor. First off, I LOVE the sunburst finish. Very well done and the colors are spot one -- Not too contrasty - Looks like a nicely aged finish. The clear coat on this new one (looks like a May, 2014 build date if I'm reading the serial number correct) is a fraction of the thickness of the one on the store floor, making it much livelier and responsive acoustically. You can actually see the grain of the Spruce top reflect in the finish -- that's nice and thin. This is a solid contrast to the thick poly finish of the past. Fit & finish are spot on. No finish flaws that I've found, the mechanicals are excellent and the guitar plays and stays in tune very nicely. No rattles or loose bits, and the guitar feels so solid and comfortable - Very impressed! Electronics -- Now, this was an area that, in my opinion, tended to be weak for Epi. Based upon my experience of 35+ years playing & working on guitars, I figured I would need to invest extra money to bring the p'ups/pots/switches up to par. Not necessarily a bad thing, just something I expected to do when buying a lower priced instrument. Well, this guitar has changed my opinion! The pickups are warm, but very nicely balanced. Do they exhibit the clarity of 57 Classics? No. Could you do better? Sure. However, they are certainly worlds above what was typically offered in the past, and of a high enough quality that I'm in no hurry to replace them. I love that Epi is using full sized potentiometers for the volume and tone controls and soldered connections. They roll off very smoothly without noise and the taper of the pots is also very smooth and useable - Nice! The pickup selector switch feels very solid and switches cleanly without static or scratchiness. This Emperor is an incredible addition to the herd, and one that will be around for a very long time. It joins the other Epiphone in the collection - A Les Paul Standard Pro Plus - and will reside proudly alongside several other guitars costing many times more. Thanks, Epi!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capmaster Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 Everything nice so far, but - I want to see pics... :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fromnabulax Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 I've got a Gibby ES175 so for me the great wrestling match came down to the Emperor or the Broadway. I tried them both several times and in several ways, Jazz, Blues Rock, Country, amplified, unplugged, I loved them both. The both sounded great, they both played extremely well. In the end I went with the Broadway. The body was a bit chunkier and I love the way it feels as I play it, but beyond that I fell in love with the somewhat more resonant quality of tone I get from that wacky frequensator tailpiece. I know not everybody likes it, but that crazy extra bit of ringing and teeny bit more low end I got out of the guitar sold me by about a hairs breadth. Like yourself, I do in fact use mine for restaurants and outdoor farmers market style gigs as well, though Towards the end of last summer I picked up a D'Angelico EXL 1 for those. I really like the floating pickup leaving the guitar even more of an amplified acoustic, and it also has a wacky staggered tailpiece that sounds quite similar to the frequensator. Maybe you and I ought to get together and jam sometime. Enjoy that Joe Pass! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sleeko Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 Sounds great. Now lets see that sunburst! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gutch Posted February 16, 2015 Author Share Posted February 16, 2015 Sounds great. Now lets see that sunburst! Here's a quick phone pic. More to come! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fromnabulax Posted February 16, 2015 Share Posted February 16, 2015 Here's a quick phone pic. More to come! Very very nice, and even better without the silkscreened autograph in the pickguard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sleeko Posted February 16, 2015 Share Posted February 16, 2015 Here's a quick phone pic. More to come! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gutch Posted February 16, 2015 Author Share Posted February 16, 2015 Put a few pics into a Picasa folder. Let's see if this works... https://plus.google.com/photos/103407997652359087881/albums/6116461248737788241 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geeter Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 Congratulations. That's a very nice guitar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martin82 Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 Congrats on the new guitar. It's a beauty. You mentioned you bought it at GC. Was it the Paramus, NJ store? I ask because they have a JP and a couple of 175s on their wall. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gutch Posted February 17, 2015 Author Share Posted February 17, 2015 Congrats on the new guitar. It's a beauty. You mentioned you bought it at GC. Was it the Paramus, NJ store? I ask because they have a JP and a couple of 175s on their wall. Thanks! Not Paramus. Picked it up at the Arlington Hts., IL (Chicago area) store. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paully Posted February 22, 2015 Share Posted February 22, 2015 My JP's a '99 Samick build. I love it. My #1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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