PJ Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 I only see an Elitist Casino buried in with the Epis. I hope the Elitists are still available, since they're the best guitars Epiphone's made in many, many years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BBird Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 Gone, baby, gone. Epiphone discontinued almost all of the Elitists. Happy hunting! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie brown Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 Actually, there is one model left...the Elitist Casino. It's in the "Archtop" catagory. However, the rest are indeed, gone. CB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobG Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 There's always ebay. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JefferySmith Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 The Country Gentleman model was still available at MF. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PJ Posted January 17, 2009 Author Share Posted January 17, 2009 Wow....what a disappointment. Nothing in the "sweet-spot" of the market. Either China or Memphis. A big gap in product and price. Too bad. I think they were great guitars and I had my eye on a couple of those models. Oh, well, I'll stick to my Teles, I suppose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JefferySmith Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 Wow....what a disappointment. Nothing in the "sweet-spot" of the market. Either China or Memphis.A big gap in product and price. Too bad. I think they were great guitars and I had my eye on a couple of those models. Oh' date=' well, I'll stick to my Teles, I suppose.[/quote'] Now that Epiphone has abandoned the high end market, I don't feel guilty about recommending Eastman or Heritage guitars. Don't count either of them out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PJ Posted January 17, 2009 Author Share Posted January 17, 2009 I'm a career Product Manager...maybe I should toss an application in the hat. Other than Prophecys and A Gold Top with Slash's pickups in it, I've seen precious little new from Epiphone. Granted, I like the Masterbuilts (even have one) and the old Bard in my Avatar, but I'd really like to see Epiphone sustain a drive in the market, with some good, new guitars. They can even be old designs - kick-up the Dot a little, make the SGs a little more feature-rich, do something like an Orville Les Paul. That's what I thought the Elitists were. Still, too bad they're gone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie brown Posted January 18, 2009 Share Posted January 18, 2009 Epiphone has an "image" problem...in that they have been perceived, for so long, as a "poor man's Gibson," or that "Cheap Asian" Gibson...that when they did introduce the "Elitist" line....at the time, it wasn't so far removed, from the mid range Gibson. And, at those prices, people bought Gibson, for the name (as well as the quality). Now, with the Elitist line gone, and the astronomical (IMHO) price increases for Gibson guitars, in the last 2 years, especially...they've created that "hole" in the market, and I think a lot of us, here (I know I do) hope the new "Qingdao" dedicated factory will reintroduce the models that were in the "Elitist" line at close to, if not the same quality, and price range? But, as I've stated too, THAT might be a "pipe dream?" Epiphone seems to be going in a different direction, demographically, than most that would have bought "Elitist" models. But...who knows? Anything's possible, one way or the other. They aren't talking, so all we can do is "speculate/hope/dream!" CB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PJ Posted January 18, 2009 Author Share Posted January 18, 2009 See....guys like me who have had Epiphones since the 70s, don't have any issue with Epiphone on the peghead. I don't buys guitars just because they have Gibson on them. I have all makes of guitars - Ramierez, Ibanez, Fender, Yamaha, Epiphone, Gibson, etc. A good guitar is a good guitar. Period. And the Elitists are really good guitars. I just didn't play my cards right and get one quick enough. But, I sure hope we get something better from Epiphone than a one-pickup 335 with a pinstripe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Svet Posted January 18, 2009 Share Posted January 18, 2009 If it's high resolution images you seek you can find them here: http://www.gibson.com/press/epiphone/elite.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PJ Posted January 18, 2009 Author Share Posted January 18, 2009 Demographics? What demographic does Slash represent? He's a terrifc guitarist - a Hall of Famer, for sure. But, not exectly mainstream. I'm sure anybody under 40 probably isn't sure who he is. But, us guys over 40 don't (generally) buy signature model guitars. The whole signature thing has become hollow-marketing, unless you're tapping into something really significant that gets you to a certain market. But, I'm sure that's not what (epi) they accomplished with that model. I have an easier time understnading a Tom DeLonge model that appeals to the younger players, but, even that's a stretch. I'd just be interested in some good guitars and what factory they come out of, doesn;t matter to me, at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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