Finally pulled the trigger on a brand new Masterbilt AJ500RC!!

[ajsc]

 

"I have heard that complaint for hears - would be nice if Gibson took care of it. Interesting though - the scratchplate on my nearly 50 year old J-200 looks just fine. That's gotta tell ya something.

"

 

They did take care of it!! The flowers are inside the new ones not on the top of the pick guard.

Back in the "old" days the pick guards were hand made. That's not the case anymore!!

[Gio]

 

Actual sightings & reports of playing one of the rare species are welcomed and encouraged

 

 

Well, if anybody's coming to Italy I can tell you where to find one ! It has a small ding onthe rosette. Otherwise it's ok.

[YerDugliness]

Well, Gibson/Epiphone did it again, lied about delivering my AJ500RC . The most recent promised delivery date was 9/3/08. Yesterday I get yet another call from my Sweetwater rep, saying Gibson has now extended the time for delivery to 12/3/08. I'm sure they will pardon me if I've lost confidence in their promises..... !!

 

I'm sure that call was hard to make, I really raked him over the coals the last time he had to disappoint me, but he's been a real trooper and I have to respect him for that.

 

I really do think I'm quite done with this case of GAS , and shame on Gibson for that. Gibson has been putting me off for 2 years on this one, delay after delay, no response from this forum's Gibson service representative when I have repeatedly asked about the guitar, not even any excuses, just "...screw you very much and thanks for understanding" seems to be their attitude.

 

I'm at the end of my understanding on this issue, though...from now on they can just , cause I'm not listening to their bullcrap any more.

 

One very disappointed and obviously irate Dugly :-

[Red 333]

 

GEEZ---now I hear from SW that they don't really have the guit after all' date=' they had some Masterbilts come in and he thought mine was in those that were received, but now he tells me that it wasn't.

 

Is there no end to this?????? Gibson/Epi tells him that they will ship SW the AJ500RC September 20th. Pardon me if I have my doubts, this has just been one incredible fiasco..........

 

One very frustrated YerDugliness [/quote']

 

ZZounds had a few in stock today. I just ordered one, so check their site.

[YerDugliness]

 

ZZounds had a few in stock today. I just ordered one' date=' so check their site.[/quote']

 

Just now got on the computer, checked ZZounds, their AJ500RC link says "...more expected December 20, 2008"--might have the date wrong but I'm pretty close, and the month and year are right. Says they are accepting pre-orders.

 

I'm always a day late and a dollar short, have about decided this one isn't in the stars for me.....don't actually believe any of them anymore, if Gibson can't make guitars at least they ought to have the guts to level with us.....:-

 

Dugly

[Red 333]

 

Just now got on the computer' date=' checked ZZounds, their AJ500RC link says "...more expected December 20, 2008"--might have the date wrong but I'm pretty close, and the month and year are right. Says they are accepting pre-orders.

 

Dugly [/quote']

 

Well, Dugly, it came yesterday. I've only had limited experience with it, but my initial impressions: The AJ500RC is the Mel Torme of guitars. It sounds like velvet. Very rounded high end with a thick, syrupy bottom.

 

Like the other AJ Masterbilts I have, it's very responsive and very loud. I can see why this is an excellent guitar for fingerpickers. Not only because the guitar is so responsive and dynamic, but because, as mentioned, the top end (where you'd be playing melody) is supported but not overwhelmed by a very thick bottom.

 

This guitar is a great strummer, too. You could overdrive it if you strummed it too hard, but there's no need.

 

The big V soft neck has a very different feel from the other Masterbilt AJ's, and is very wide towards the soundhole, but is not hard to adapt to.

 

Fit and finish of this one is nearly flawless, with just some minor messiness around the peg head's binding. The bone nut could probably have been seated a little better (which is also true of my AJ 500R), so I may fix that if I feel ambitious someday.

 

The rosewood is beatifully grained. I can only imagine what the back and sides would look like with a gloss finish! No pickguard on this one. The fret board is rounded off (top to bottom) toward the soundhole, which is a nice touch.

 

Because it has 12 frets, the soundhole is shifted more towards the waist than to the shoulders. This may have something to do with the wonderful, rich sound, in addition to the rosewood and cedar body and top. The rosewood bridge is very dense, and has no belly (which may be another factor is the occurances of lifting). I'll keep my eye on it, but wouldn't hesitate to get it repaired if lifts in the future. The money spent would be worth it.

 

Here's a couple of curious things: the soundhole label has a serial number, but no factroy designation (like GR) on it. Also, the Epiphone inlay and stickpin on the headstock are somewhat different from the one on my AJ500R (I didn't take the others out of the cases to compare). I wonder if Epi subcontracts these to another builder.

 

I hope you are able to get your hands on one. The Epiphone website lists these as discontinued now. I feel very fortunate to have got one. It's truly a special instrument.

 

Red 333

[jefleppard]

sounds awesome, red333! some pics and a soundbyte, if possible, would be great. i think i'll go down this masterbilt road for a bit. i'm gonna use this aj500m for home only. now i want to find one i can put a baggs element in for live/club stuff - one that i'm not afraid to bang/bump around a bit. any suggestions? i saw todd snyder recently at the ark in ann arbor and he played a black epi sj-200 and i think he's using an element or such as no onboard eq was visible on the side.

[Red 333]

sounds awesome' date=' red333! some pics and a soundbyte, if possible, would be great. i think i'll go down this masterbilt road for a bit. i'm gonna use this aj500m for home only. now i want to find one i can put a baggs element in for live/club stuff - one that i'm not afraid to bang/bump around a bit. any suggestions? i saw todd snyder recently at the ark in ann arbor and he played a black epi sj-200 and i think he's using an element or such as no onboard eq was visible on the side.[/quote']

 

I'd say Todd Snyder's reccommendation would be better than any I could make. If you want to keep it in the Epiphone family, how 'bout one of those Performer series guitars, which already come with electrics. I've never played or seen one, but the reviews I've read say they are very good. I've got a friend who plays almost nightly with an old plywood Stella that's been hot rodded with good tuners, an new fretboard, and electronics. It sounds great amplified (and can sound almost electric with pedals), but sounds like crap acoustically. I think with the right electronics, you can amplify almost anything with strings and make it work for you in a live context, depending on your needs.

 

Here's a funny story: last night I ate at a restaurant, and a framed Todd Snyder poster was on the wall opposite me. I have to confess, my girlfiend had to explain that Todd Snyder was not Bob Schneider, since I've seen the latter, but was not familiar with the former. I'm gonna check him out, though, based on her and now your recommendation.

 

Red 333

[jefleppard]

thanks for the todd story, here's a great todd snider (sorry, spelled his name wrong earlier) clip, for adult ears only, with a great intro about garth brooks. he's a riot live and his intros are hilarious. sorry, in advance, if this type of thing offends.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVkPKIo2Kew

he's playing the ej200. sounds quite nice and bassy live though this handycam shot doesn't capture that. about the PR series - i have played one and i'm not crazy about the eSonic2 p/u though the guitar plays nice on its own. funny, too that you mention your friend's stella as i have a plywood kent from the 60's that i use for slide sometimes. that would be so funny to put a p/u in it just to see the looks i'd get! i might go with the ej200, aj100 or the ej-45 and just for show i'd like a black one and, you're right, most anything with a p/u in it will sound allright live. also, i played the el-00 today and i really liked it. had a nice bright and springy tone. i might drop the hammer on it monday and put the p/u in that. the finish wasa beautiful VB.

thanks, jeff

[Red 333]

also' date=' i played the el-00 today and i really liked it. had a nice bright and springy tone. i might drop the hammer on it monday and put the p/u in that. the finish wasa beautiful VB.

thanks, jeff

[/quote']

 

I have an EL00. It's got a unique look and sound. Springy's a good word to describe it. I've thought of relicing mine and doing the same thing, ala my friend's Stella, since it has such a cool vibe about it. Check out Musician's Friend for these; they recently had some refurbs for $239. They'd probably ideal to modify without a lot of risk. I put a bone saddle in mine and it improved the tone. Another forum member, Six String, put a new nut in his (in additional to the saddle) and got great results. He posted some sound clips not too long ago, if I recall. He also posted that he was selling his, so you may want to look into that, too.

 

I've been curious about those ebony AJ45's myself. if you go that route, let me know how you like it.

[theDeuce]

YerDugliness-

The Epi website says they are discontinued, I wouldn't hold my breath waiting on a new shipment in Dec. You might consider looking for a used one if it's a must have guitar for you, or scour the nations dealers. Maybe try a 'wanted' ad on Craigs List or ebay. Can Guitar Center search all of their stores and ship it to your local store if they find one?

[YerDugliness]

YerDugliness-

The Epi website says they are discontinued

 

Well, that's not good news. This is the first I've seen of that on the Epi website, while there were various internet sellers who had been listing the model as discontinued for some time......

 

Thanks for that bit of info. I just received a call last Thursday from my SW rep, saying that after Red333's posting he called Epiphone and was told that they are expecting a shipment in at the later part of December, not early December as originally stated.

 

Could Gibson/Epi be intentionally lying about this???? Perhaps they have one last production run, are expecting the shipment in Dec, and aren't making any more after that?

 

I do know I'm checking the Zzounds website every day now, in hopes the next time they get 2 up for sale that I might just be lucky enough to get one......but, as you suggested, I'm not holding my breath.....what a shame, Red333's review is quite favorable. Wonder why Gibson might be discontinuing this one model, it didn't seem to compete directly with any Gibson model that I could find......

 

Dugly

[YerDugliness]

Hey, guys and gals, just thought you might like to see what my sales rep at Sweetwater had to say today:

 

"Hi Doug,

 

Dance your jig, I checked out the guitar and it looks great,

and we have the case so it's ready to go as soon as you give me the word.

 

Mark Brody

your Sweetwater Sales Engineer

800.222.4700 ext. 1381"

 

I'll say it here, said it in my reply to Mark: YEE-HAW!!!! :)/

 

My sincere appreciation to Mark, he's stuck with me through quite the rocky road.....if you are looking for an AJ500RC, I'd suggest you contact Mark ASAP, we all know how quickly these things disappear and Epi may never make more, their website does in fact say Discontinued....get 'em while the gettin's good, and get 'em from Mark, you will never regret it. Sweetwater has the greatest deals on the net and free shipping, give him a call!

 

One Incredibly Happy Dugly