150th Zephyr Deluxe

[cunningham26]

I keep a pretty close eye on things but totally missed that in addition to the sheraton, they're putting out a 150th anniversary version of the zephyr with all the correct appointments- carousel knobs, NY mini buckers, correct tuners, cloud inlays. I've been looking at broadways and old elitists for a while and when i saw these come through for $1300 it was a pretty no brainer. 

anyone else seen these and have thoughts, or if someone's ahead of me in the game, any initial thoughts on fit and sound quality?

[LesB3]

Mine came today, might be going back on the weekend.  I really wanted to like this guitar -like you, it hit all the right buttons.  

Ultimately, I think a new (or used) Broadway is a better guitar, and if looking to spend $1300 on a vintage inspired guitar, a Guild X-175 or X-350 would be a far better choice.  Here's my initial impression:

https://www.gretsch-talk.com/threads/epiphone-150th-anniversary-guitars.222096/post-1604004

[cunningham26]

On 7/21/2023 at 6:35 PM, LesB3 said:

Mine came today, might be going back on the weekend.  I really wanted to like this guitar -like you, it hit all the right buttons.  

Ultimately, I think a new (or used) Broadway is a better guitar, and if looking to spend $1300 on a vintage inspired guitar, a Guild X-175 or X-350 would be a far better choice.  Here's my initial impression:

https://www.gretsch-talk.com/threads/epiphone-150th-anniversary-guitars.222096/post-1604004

good rundown- thanks for cross posting! 

 

I got mine yesterday and haven't had a chance to put it through it's paces, but the build quality is great. set up really well from Sweetwater - sounds like you got yours straight from the factory if the rubber around the switch was dried out already . For what it's worth i played a 2004 elitist broadway probably a month or so ago in a shop (listed at $2400) and it felt very similar. the detail work on the zephyr is almost flawless- yes the finish is that matte epiphone poly and I agree it's a little trump-skin orange, but not dissimilar from what you see on a lot of $1000 range gretsch electromatics and all the other epiphone stuff these days. there's a little rough spot in the finish under the floating part of the fretboard over the body- clearly it was attached during the final polishing, which is my only real "oh they should have caught that" but not the biggest deal to me personally. 

Overall can only speak to initial build impressions, but impressed so far out of the box. will update here with other impressions. 

 

[LesB3]

I did get to play with it more today, and some things are getting better for me, but I'm also starting to notice some other details that are making me think taking it back is still the better option.

I've been comparing this new Zephyr to my older Broadway and Zephyr Blues Deluxe, and if you look close, it almost looks like the binding on the new guitar is painted on or...  something...   I don't know.  Something looks off about it.  It's most noticeable on the headstock.

With a great deal of knob tweaking on my amp, and some fiddling with the bridge, I'm starting to get some usable sounds out of this guitar.  The Mini-HB's in this are a bit strange - they remind me somewhat of a DeArmond, but with some humbuckerish qualities.  Clean, they're very plucky / percussive, but there's also some room there, meaning you could use this guitar for rock as well.  I don't knownwhat the genesis of these pickups was, but if the intent was to duplicate the slightly weak, slightly percussive sound of a vintage NY pickup...   mission accomplished?

 

[cunningham26]

2 hours ago, LesB3 said:

I did get to play with it more today, and some things are getting better for me, but I'm also starting to notice some other details that are making me think taking it back is still the better option.

I've been comparing this new Zephyr to my older Broadway and Zephyr Blues Deluxe, and if you look close, it almost looks like the binding on the new guitar is painted on or...  something...   I don't know.  Something looks off about it.  It's most noticeable on the headstock.

With a great deal of knob tweaking on my amp, and some fiddling with the bridge, I'm starting to get some usable sounds out of this guitar.  The Mini-HB's in this are a bit strange - they remind me somewhat of a DeArmond, but with some humbuckerish qualities.  Clean, they're very plucky / percussive, but there's also some room there, meaning you could use this guitar for rock as well.  I don't knownwhat the genesis of these pickups was, but if the intent was to duplicate the slightly weak, slightly percussive sound of a vintage NY pickup...   mission accomplished?

 

I think it's a beast all its own with those NY pickups- my goal was to have something that can dial into jazz sounds but i also play a lot of old country and early rock and roll, not rockabilly per se but not too far off, so they have an appeal for me with that range.  even in the limited demos ive seen i was struck by how bright they are compared with a P90 or an hb with the tone rolled back. I'm here for it!

[LesB3]

I was able to get some pretty convincing (early) sounds out of it, so if you're looking for a straight up 40's / 50's Jazz sound, you might have a guitar that suits.  

Ultimately, I decided that it still wasn't a $1400 guitar (in my mind) so returned it today.    They didn't have any of the other 150th models in stock (a shame) as I was looking forward to trying them out.

[cunningham26]

On 7/25/2023 at 3:15 PM, LesB3 said:

I was able to get some pretty convincing (early) sounds out of it, so if you're looking for a straight up 40's / 50's Jazz sound, you might have a guitar that suits.  

Ultimately, I decided that it still wasn't a $1400 guitar (in my mind) so returned it today.    They didn't have any of the other 150th models in stock (a shame) as I was looking forward to trying them out.

Bummer! hope you find what you're looking for. The MIJ emperors from the early 80s have always intrigued me, and can be had for a little bit more than the zephyr. being 40yo they're probably sounding pretty sweet now. 

[cunningham26]

ok I've had a few weeks with the Zephyr so for those that find this thread, my initial thoughts:

Build quality, fit, and finish is outrageously well done. absolutely no flaws on mine apart from the lack of sanding under the bridge which I forgot about until rereading this thread. The binding is under the poly and definitely gives the effect Les pointed out of it being almost painted on- very very seamless and I imagine maybe they've got laser machines doing a lot of the detail work. Made in Indonesia, for those asking! 

As I mentioned above, the pickups give it a really unique sounds that covers some pretty particular ground. Neck pickup is really dialed for jazz- difference between 9-10 position is huge, so rolling it back hits a sweet spot. On my sheraton im almost always middle position with neck volume rolled down to 6-8. on this I prefer the neck position. as soon as you go middle position especially with the neck all the way up, you're getting into Gretsch/rockabilly territory with some jangle. Im not complaining. Bridge is all humbucker all day. 

It takes to effects really well but doesn't really jive with my drive pedals. feeds back pretty easily (obviously) but also just doesnt sound all that great. definitely wants to be a clean-tone guitar. 

Overall there is definitely bang for the buck- while it may not be an every day player, what it does cover it does really quite well. Only thing i will change is to swap out the tailpiece for a frequensator just for historical accuracy (really want it to bleed 50s epiphone) and put some flatwounds on there. If I find some on the cheap i'd swap out the pups for authentic NY single coils. until then i'll just work on getting the shiny gold pickup covers to get a little patina.