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John Lennon EJ-160e Finally got to try one


MarkW

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I have been lurking around Guitar Stores hoping to try one of these baby's out. No one has ever had one in stock. They are always glad to order one for me, which I hate to do sight unplayed.

 

Went to the Guitar Center yesterday to pick up a Guitar from the tech and low and behold...there it was an EJ-160e John Lennon by Epiphone signature guitar. Oh lord I was in heaven!

 

...Until I played it...It was not a comfortable guitar to play and the tone/sound was completely unimpressive. Now I know why no one has them in stock! Epiphone knows that us Beatle fans will buy em without trying em. IT has to be good because John (kinda) played one.

 

I am not writing this to insult anyone who has this guitar and likes it nor am I disparaging Epiphone in general. But I have waited so long to try this guitar, I wanted to make sure I shared my very limited opinion. By the way we all have our own opinions and to each his/her own!

 

Viva La Differnce!

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The Gibson Lennon played had a single coil P-90 pickup - the Epi version has a mini-humbucker. Different sounding pickups. The P-90 will have a thinner and brighter sound than the mini HB.

 

You might come closer to the tone you want by buying the Epi version of the J-45 and slapping a single coil scross the soundhole.

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It is generally known that the Gibson J-160E was not a good unplugged acoustic guitar. The Epiphone EJ-160e being a cheaper version of this is unlikely to excel in this regard.

 

It really wasn't designed for that purpose, it was supposed to be played plugged in, and it's an early attempt at an "acoustic electric". Having said that, it has a voice of its own... that doesn't bear much resemblance to what you'd traditionally consider to be a good acoustic tone. I think most people who do not realize this, and expect it to play like a J-45, will always be disappointed - if you look around, plenty of people have gone through that experience the first time they played one. It's a thin sound, but it can serve rhythm purposes quite well in a band with a second guitarist.

 

John did play it unplugged a fair bit too, but to paraphrase what he's said in an interview, he's an artist first, and a musician second. Give him a cheese grater and he'll make music out of it.

 

You can think of it this way... the J-160e is more of an electric guitar... with an acoustic flavour.

 

If you want a good Epiphone acoustic, look at the Masterbilts.

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I wonder why they made it like they did. IMHO, I agree it's basic features are not particulary impressive as it is not a great acoustic, it isn't a great electric- being rather quiet and limited tonal range in both cases.

 

But there's something about the whole thing that turns me on. I love playing this guitar. I especially love the feel of the neck and the body. It's solid. I have a great setup on this one, it is smooth as butta. :) Even the tuners are smooth.

 

I have acoustic strings on it and hence never plug it in, but I love the volume and tone knobs being on the front. They add to the image. The colors and finish are gorgeous.

 

BTW, not many people mention this, but don't forget to note this is a 15-fret model. Very unique and no doubt adds to the feel and experience. That gets the nut way on out there.

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I was just looking at some old Gibson literature and apparently, Gibson custom-made the J-160Es given to both John and George in 1962. The guitars had ladder bracing rather than the standard X bracing and had laminated spruce rather than solid wood tops. Sounds to me like the Beatles got short-changed.

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I was just looking at some old Gibson literature and apparently' date=' Gibson custom-made the J-160Es given to both John and George in 1962. The guitars had ladder bracing rather than the standard X bracing and had laminated spruce rather than solid wood tops. Sounds to me like the Beatles got short-changed. [/quote']

 

I read somewhere that Gibson did that to make the guitars less prone to feed-back. The tops were 3 thin sheets of quality spruce glued together - not just a slab of plywood. I have a MIK EJ160-E that I probably play more than all my other guitars combined - I really like it, but it seems to me that the newer ones made in China aren't quite as good.

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I read somewhere that Gibson did that to make the guitars less prone to feed-back. The tops were 3 thin sheets of quality spruce glued together - not just a slab of plywood. I have a MIK EJ160-E that I probably play more than all my other guitars combined - I really like it' date=' but it seems to me that the newer ones made in China aren't quite as good. [/quote']

 

Yeah, that would have been a problem since Gibson was largely going into unchartered territory with this one. Guess they could not very well put a block down the center of the guitar like they did with the ES 335.

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The Beatles certainly didn't short change anyone. The J160-E's of that time were basically hollowbody electrics that looked like dreadnaughts.

 

Huh never said the Beatles short changed anyone. I loved them and got to see them. What I said was Gibson took the venerable J-45 and made some pretty unwise changes sonically. Single coil pickups for acoustics had been available from DeArmond years before the J-160E came about. And Martin had put out the D-28E in 1959. Everyone knew what to expect from those guitars. replacing the solid wood top with a laminate top, however, made no sense.

At least ya would have had a nice J-45 if you did not want to plug it in.

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Huh never said the Beatles short changed anyone. I loved them and got to see them. What I said was Gibson took the venerable J-45 and made some pretty unwise changes sonically. Single coil pickups for acoustics had been available from DeArmond years before the J-160E came about. And Martin had put out the D-28E in 1959. Everyone knew what to expect from those guitars. replacing the solid wood top with a laminate top' date=' however, made no sense.

At least ya would have had a nice J-45 if you did not want to plug it in. [/quote']

 

Sorry if I implied that.

 

I have a 2002 Bozeman J-160E that I play mainly as acoustic. When I bought it the shop had two, just a couple of serial numbers apart. The first one I played, and it was the first time I played a J160E, was a dud acoustically. The shop owner could tell I wasn't really excited about it and he went in the back and brought out another. The difference in sound was like night and day.

 

As for the Epi version I've only played one and was not impressed. I've heard from others that they're hit and miss but if you find a good one it's well worth it.

 

Cool that you got to see The Beatles! They're probably my single biggest musical influence. I never got a chance to see them but I did see Ringo in person once. In 1989 I was at a crosswalk in a residential part of Beverly Hills. There wasn't anyone else around, I was crossing from one side and this couple was crossing from the other. It was Ringo and Barbara Bach! As we passed in the middle of the walk I said cordially "Hey Ringo!". He seemed irritated and replied sternly in his low Liverpool voice "I know me name!".

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I have a 2002 Bozeman J-160E that I play mainly as acoustic. When I bought it the shop had two' date=' just a couple of serial numbers apart. The first one I played, and it was the first time I played a J160E, was a dud acoustically. The shop owner could tell I wasn't really excited about it and he went in the back and brought out another. The difference in sound was like night and day.

[/quote']

 

No problem Bro. Funny, but I seem to listen to the Beatles, especially the earlier songs, more these days than I did back then. I think it is the pure joy of the simplicity fo those early records.

 

I love Gibson acoustics - I have a 1960 J-200 and a 1956 SJ.

 

When I was a kid, I wanted one of those J-160E's like Lennon's so bad.

 

I agree - the Bozeman Gibsons are real inconsistent although they do not have near the quality control problems as the electrics coming out of Nashville. I have played some Bozeman acoustics that were just as sweet as can be. Others - thin, muddy or lifeless. My main complaint with Gibson is the Martin-style bracing they have been using since the mid-1980s. Makes their guitars brighter with a more booming bass than the Hart or McCarty era acoustics.

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