Leonard McCoy Posted April 7, 2023 Share Posted April 7, 2023 (edited) For whatever reason the tuner posts of the Epiphone Frontier are really positioned in such a way that only .012 or less gauge strings work well enough. Edited April 7, 2023 by Leonard McCoy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fortyearspickn Posted April 7, 2023 Share Posted April 7, 2023 I'd never keep a guitar you couldn't fit a pick in that gap. Having to select string gauge so the obvious design error doesn't cause problems - isn't cool. Sideways pressure on the Low E post which already has the normal pressure downwards is another issue. Going against the grain. There is ample room, as Jinder noted, for them to have properly located the hole. It all comes down to money and time. How much would you pay for a flawed guitar and how much time would you spend to make accommodations? For me the answer is easy - none and none. It's sorry of amusing - I can remember not that long ago here, members saying they would never buy a Gibson where the pick guard was 'improperly' positioned to cover the the rosette. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thegreatgumbino Posted April 7, 2023 Author Share Posted April 7, 2023 On 4/5/2023 at 10:38 PM, E-minor7 said: Splendid film btw ^ think it shows the strengths and vulnerability/'weakness' of the Bird. To be fair, I should probably re-record with fresh strings on the 'Bird. The DR Rares on there now were installed on December 1,2022, so they're pretty dead (I like my strings without sparkle). The Retros on the J200 were installed on 11/23/21! One of the reasons I love the Monels is they last for ever and the sparkle fades after 24 hours on the ToneRite. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E-minor7 Posted April 7, 2023 Share Posted April 7, 2023 4 hours ago, thegreatgumbino said: To be fair, I should probably re-record with fresh strings on the 'Bird. The DR Rares on there now were installed on December 1,2022, so they're pretty dead (I like my strings without sparkle). The Retros on the J200 were installed on 11/23/21! One of the reasons I love the Monels is they last for ever and the sparkle fades after 24 hours on the ToneRite. Splendid idea ^ to put on new identical sets, let them break in and then record. I'm sure it would fall in good soil - the great Jumbo and the Bird are rarely seen/heard compared like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thegreatgumbino Posted April 7, 2023 Author Share Posted April 7, 2023 8 hours ago, Larsongs said: It appears the similar priced Epiphone SJ200’s, Hummingbird’s & the slightly more expensive Epiphone Excellante do not have that Headstock issue.. They might be of interest to check out.. Agreed. I owned an Epi IBG 'Bird prior to getting my Vintage 'Bird. It was a great but redundant guitar, so I sold it. I'm not drawn to the Excellante and the IBG J200 would be redundant as well. The Frontier filled a gap being a square, full scale, maple b&s (and I love that pick guard and the ice tea burst). While I would love a Gibson Dove or USA Frontier, I can't justify the money & the Frontier presented an affordable option. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larsongs Posted April 7, 2023 Share Posted April 7, 2023 (edited) Maybe you might like the Epi 12 string Hummingbird? Or maybe look at those Epi J-45’s? Which are in the same ballpark price range.. Some of the YouTubes comparison’s make it appear very interesting.. Or if you really want to dive into a rabbit hole, go out try some mid priced Guild’s & Martin’s… Edited April 7, 2023 by Larsongs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thegreatgumbino Posted April 8, 2023 Author Share Posted April 8, 2023 17 hours ago, Larsongs said: Maybe you might like the Epi 12 string Hummingbird? Or maybe look at those Epi J-45’s? Which are in the same ballpark price range.. Some of the YouTubes comparison’s make it appear very interesting.. Or if you really want to dive into a rabbit hole, go out try some mid priced Guild’s & Martin’s… There really aren't any other Gibsons that grab my fancy right now. Lots of nice ones, but none that I feel would add greatly to my current three. The Doves or USA Frontiers are great, but I'm not going to spend the money on one right now. Realistically, I was looking at the Epi Frontier to replace my Yamaha FG820 for a kick around / camping guitar. I don't baby my Gibsons, but don't want to take them to the beach or camping. I like having a polyurethane guitar for times when bug spray or sunscreen will be used. I've owned a Martin D18 & D28 in the past and let them go. I finally played a Martin 000-15SM at Fuller's that sounded fantastic, but I can't get past the ugly stain and don't want to subject the slotted headstock to abuse. I have always wanted to love smaller guitars (and have owned several), but continually find I'm drawn to the richness of dreads/jumbos. I'm intrigued with what I'm hearing from the Yamaha FG5 and would love to try a 12 fret Larrivee 000 or 00. I ordered one of the mini Enya 36" carbon fiber travel guitars off of Amazon out of curiosity as the 24" scale caught my interest. I've owned GS Mini's and a McPherson Touring in the past. The GS Mini has never pleased my ear and I was never able to make the Touring's short scale work with my preferred standard D tuning. I was curious to see if the 24" scale made a difference, but fully expected to promptly return it since the specs list it as a 1-5/8" nut. It arrived yesterday and sounds very good at first blush (very reminiscent of the McPherson Touring). I was surprised the width at the zero fret is actually 1-23/32". String spacing at the nut is 1.44" out to out. String spacing at the bridge is 2.178". It has a zero fret, which the larger 41" X4 Pro does not appear to have. The scale isn't actually 24" as stated. Measurement from the center of the zero fret to the center of the 12th fret is actually 11 27/32". Times two equals a scale length of 23.6875" D profile neck. Nice hard case. It's a great guitar for what it is. Love the look of it. The neck is very nice. Wish it wasn't a zero fret and they offered a version without electronics. I'm interested in trying the full size guitar now, but they're out of stock till their upgraded version ships in May. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larsongs Posted April 10, 2023 Share Posted April 10, 2023 Right.. There is no shortage of other Guitars to try! I want to try out a couple of those Mastebilt Epi Acoustics.. Mostly for back ups to my Gibsons.. I'm mostly curious about the Epi J-45's.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meanstreak Posted May 1, 2023 Share Posted May 1, 2023 Well I've only just come across this thread and it's got me wondering if my Masterbilt Frontier is like that as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobouz Posted May 3, 2023 Share Posted May 3, 2023 I haven't posted on this board in well over a year. Occasionally I'll look in to see if much has changed (the answer is no), but for some reason this thread caught my eye, and I simply cannot believe how far off base the responses are - even from my fellow geezers! If you wouldn't own a guitar with the fifth string kissing the sixth, that leaves out a huge number of hourglass-headstock Epiphones made by Kalamazoo in the '60s, and it leaves out one heck of a lot of Gibsons, too (including my own '66 Epi FT-45n Cortez & '66 Gibson ES-125T). The issue is how far inward the tuning peg holes were drilled on the headstocks of '60s Epis & Gibsons- and it was almost always further in than we commonly see today. Three-on-a-plates were typically slanted to the point where the sixth & first strings toed inward (frequently resulting in the fifth string touching the sixth). On individually mounted tuners (as on the Frontier), the same scenario occurred as well, but there could be variations in the placement of the holes. There could also be variations in holes drilled on the right or left side, as to how far inward they were drilled. This too could sometimes result in the fatter fifth & sixth strings touching. And now the important bottom line: The fifth string rubbing the sixth as it passes by has virtually no effect on tuning. The OP's headstock holes could have been lined up a little better, but ten to one it was patterned after an actual '60s Kalamazoo Frontier! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brixa Posted May 3, 2023 Share Posted May 3, 2023 Also been watching this thread with interest and agree with the above. I bought a new Masterbilt Frontier around 6 weeks ago and changed strings straight away with no problem. I can’t believe how good this guitar is for me and the quality is up there with my J45TV, USA Texan and J45 Studio. At this price it is a great buy. After the first post on this thread I checked some images online and they are ALL this close to the tuning post. There was a 60’s original on a bidding site was also the same - this seems to be the way it is. You pays your cash and takes your choice - I am delighted to own this guitar and it has already been put to use as a jamming, pub guitar etc. No issues Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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