tramber Posted January 18, 2009 Share Posted January 18, 2009 I was just looking at the Sweetwater web site when I ran across the description (and photo) of an Epiphone Emperor Swingster. * New line features four guitars, with a historic hollowbody look * Bigsby-licensed tailpiece with original wire arm * Roller Tune-o-matic bridge and Grover tuners * New "Swingster" pickups with push/pull series/parallel switching * Available with Trans Black, Wine Red, Sunrise Orange, and Natural finishes Here's a link- http://www.sweetwater.com/publications/reports/?action=day&day=1&sid=41 You may need to scroll down the page a bit. Doug - Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dubstar Posted January 18, 2009 Share Posted January 18, 2009 some interesting offerings there... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L1Picker Posted January 18, 2009 Share Posted January 18, 2009 At least it doesn't have a bullseye on it. I'd like to see some bigger pics...this might be a new offering I could get into. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dubstar Posted January 18, 2009 Share Posted January 18, 2009 http://tinyurl.com/824cht Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red 333 Posted January 18, 2009 Share Posted January 18, 2009 ...How about that Les Paul with the long tenon, solid maple cap, and burst buckers? Now that the Slash models are sold, it looks like Epiphone is reintroducing a made in China line to take fill the Elitists' place. The Inspired by John Lennon seems like an un-numbered continuation of the Revolution model (as was rumored). I wonder if that and the Texan are still made in Japan. I'm gonna guess thse two models are still MIJ. Those Emperors look like they might be thin-lines. VERY interesting. Red 333 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarxBros Posted January 18, 2009 Share Posted January 18, 2009 I see they are doing an Epiphone 59 Les Paul reissue, it states "non weight relieved body". Does that infer other Epiphone LP's are weight relieved? I recently saw a pic of an Epi with the cap off, not sure if it was an Ultra, but it was pretty hollowed out inside. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr.Nelson Posted January 18, 2009 Share Posted January 18, 2009 I see they are doing an Epiphone 59 Les Paul reissue' date=' it states "non weight relieved body". Does that infer other Epiphone LP's are weight relieved? I recently saw a pic of an Epi with the cap off, not sure if it was an Ultra, but it was pretty hollowed out inside.[/quote'] well, if they didn't use that extra heavy Alaskan mahogany they wouldn't have to weight-relieve them...jus sayin' What it looks like to me is Epiphone is doing a Taco Bell and making an entire menu out of mixing and changing around the same seven ingredients...did you also notice they're using marketing buzz words like "long neck tenon" and using Gibson pickups to try to sell the '59 Paul?...and they're even using "period-correct knobs" for all those purists in the Epiphone crowd...hmmmm so they don't have the Elitists now so they're going to put lipstick on a pig and find ways to make the Chinaphones more appealing...one can only guess that these will be priced between the standard fare Epiphones and the Elitists...that Emperor looks to me like making good use of the ES-175 knock off's bodies they had left over from the guitars they couldn't sell and making use of that over-stock of those Asian knock off Bigsbys...it's like having a Norlin flashback...and it looks like McCartney's deal with Epiphone has expired and he's not mentioned in the copy for the '64 Texan..and I'll bet the price hasn't changed...and now the Lennon Casino is only "inspired by John Lennon??? let me guess...they're putting Klusons and two screw epsilon truss rod covers on Elitist Casinos and saving a butt load of money in production and finishing and I'll bet they only slightly, if at all, lower the price...sorry to be party pooper but people should really look beyond their intoxication before getting all giddy when Epiphone comes out with something new...that is never really anything new...just old crap changed around a bit...face it, the economic climate isn't real conducive to a lot of discretionary spending and credit is pretty tight so Gibson/Epiphone can't be selling a lot of guitars so it only makes sense that they make use of what they have and not go out on a limb with anything too far removed from the tried and true...I think the reason the Elitists were discontinued was because Japan has recovered from its previous economic woes so their labor is getting to be no longer a bargain and production costs have started to cost-prohibit the Elitists at a sufficient enough profit margin so they take what they think was selling those Elitists and employ them in the much lower labor cost Chinese guitars and try to grab whatever crumbs of market share there are remaining of that price niche...sorry kids, nothing there of interest to me but that Boss tuner with the built-in headphone amp looks interesting.. Mr.Nelson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarxBros Posted January 18, 2009 Share Posted January 18, 2009 well' date=' if they didn't use that extra heavy Alaskan mahogany they wouldn't have to weight-relieve them...jus sayin' What it looks like to me is Epiphone is doing a Taco Bell and making an entire menu out of mixing and changing around the same seven ingredients...did you also notice they're using marketing buzz words like "long neck tenon" and using Gibson pickups to try to sell the '59 Paul?...and they're even using "period-correct knobs" for all those purists in the Epiphone crowd...hmmmm so they don't have the Elitists now so they're going to put lipstick on a pig and find ways to make the Chinaphones more appealing...one can only guess that these will be priced between the standard fare Epiphones and the Elitists...that Emperor looks to me like making good use of the ES-175 knock off's bodies they had left over from the guitars they couldn't sell and making use of that over-stock of those Asian knock off Bigsbys...it's like having a Norlin flashback...and it looks like McCartney's deal with Epiphone has expired and he's not mentioned in the copy for the '64 Texan..and I'll bet the price hasn't changed...and now the Lennon Casino is only "inspired by John Lennon??? let me guess...they're putting Klusons and two screw epsilon truss rod covers on Elitist Casinos and saving a butt load of money in production and finishing and I'll bet they only slightly, if at all, lower the price...sorry to be party pooper but people should really look beyond their intoxication before getting all giddy when Epiphone comes out with something new...that is never really anything new...just old crap changed around a bit...face it, the economic climate isn't real conducive to a lot of discretionary spending and credit is pretty tight so Gibson/Epiphone can't be selling a lot of guitars so it only makes sense that they make use of what they have and not go out on a limb with anything too far removed from the tried and true...I think the reason the Elitists were discontinued was because Japan has recovered from its previous economic woes so their labor is getting to be no longer a bargain and production costs have started to cost-prohibit the Elitists at a sufficient enough profit margin so they take what they think was selling those Elitists and employ them in the much lower labor cost Chinese guitars and try to grab whatever crumbs of market share there are remaining of that price niche...sorry kids, nothing there of interest to me but that Boss tuner with the built-in headphone amp looks interesting.. Mr.Nelson[/quote']It sure is typical rehash from the spare parts bin. I personally have lost all GAS for cheap as well as expensive guitars. I find myself back where I started decades ago, playing my 1939 L50 archtop. I played the hell out of it when I got it, then.....It sat for years unplayed while I played the GAS game.... now it's almost the only thing I'll play. It might be a POS to the corksniffing collector crowd but it sure as hell plays wonderful and has a sweet tone to it. I do miss my 54 Custom, huge mistake selling that. I really have no electric that rings my bell other than my 79 Explorer. Hell I've not plugged into my Twin in a long time. Cool chating as always. Pardon me while fade away and spin Johnny Cash Folsum Prison live..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eor Posted January 18, 2009 Share Posted January 18, 2009 I see they are doing an Epiphone 59 Les Paul reissue' date=' it states "non weight relieved body". Does that infer other Epiphone LP's are weight relieved? [/quote'] it infers that other gibson lps are weight relieved/tone hole'd/chambered/swiss cheese'd etc. i kinda don't see epiphone bothering with such a process because they are barely using "mahogany" anyway, right? don't know, could be wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarxBros Posted January 18, 2009 Share Posted January 18, 2009 it infers that other gibson lps are weight relieved/tone hole'd/chambered/swiss cheese'd etc. i kinda don't see epiphone bothering with such a process because they are barely using "mahogany" anyway' date=' right? don't know, could be wrong. [/quote']It's common knowledge the Gibson non historics are weight relieved, not sure why they'd mention it for an Epi unless other Epis are. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eor Posted January 18, 2009 Share Posted January 18, 2009 i think that: a. it being an "Epiphone 1959 Les Paul Reissue", it is referring to it's similarity to the original '59s (and the gibson r9s) non holey solid body, and not an abstract admission of weight relieved guilt. b. it isn't common knowledge that the gibby non historics are holed/chambered. they have it listed in the fine print (now) but i never walked into a store where i saw a sign pointing out the holes and chambers needed to make a $2500 guitar come in at just under 11 lbs. us guitar forum dwellers/trolls know, but as for the average joe? doubt it. c. if epiphone holed up their lps, it would be twisted and portrayed as a bad thing. you can hear the corksniffery now: they would be too light to be a (real 11 lb) les paul, what is epi hiding/trying to pull and so forth. that said, i don't see the practice as good or bad thing- just a thing. and lastly, i think they finally listened when someone here said to go after the gretsch market- i'd like to see more of this swingster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L1Picker Posted January 18, 2009 Share Posted January 18, 2009 well' date=' if they didn't use that extra heavy Alaskan mahogany they wouldn't have to weight-relieve them...jus sayin' What it looks like to me is Epiphone is doing a Taco Bell and making an entire menu out of mixing and changing around the same seven ingredients...did you also notice they're using marketing buzz words like "long neck tenon" and using Gibson pickups to try to sell the '59 Paul?...and they're even using "period-correct knobs" for all those purists in the Epiphone crowd...hmmmm so they don't have the Elitists now so they're going to put lipstick on a pig and find ways to make the Chinaphones more appealing...one can only guess that these will be priced between the standard fare Epiphones and the Elitists...that Emperor looks to me like making good use of the ES-175 knock off's bodies they had left over from the guitars they couldn't sell and making use of that over-stock of those Asian knock off Bigsbys...it's like having a Norlin flashback...and it looks like McCartney's deal with Epiphone has expired and he's not mentioned in the copy for the '64 Texan..and I'll bet the price hasn't changed...and now the Lennon Casino is only "inspired by John Lennon??? let me guess...they're putting Klusons and two screw epsilon truss rod covers on Elitist Casinos and saving a butt load of money in production and finishing and I'll bet they only slightly, if at all, lower the price...sorry to be party pooper but people should really look beyond their intoxication before getting all giddy when Epiphone comes out with something new...that is never really anything new...just old crap changed around a bit...face it, the economic climate isn't real conducive to a lot of discretionary spending and credit is pretty tight so Gibson/Epiphone can't be selling a lot of guitars so it only makes sense that they make use of what they have and not go out on a limb with anything too far removed from the tried and true...I think the reason the Elitists were discontinued was because Japan has recovered from its previous economic woes so their labor is getting to be no longer a bargain and production costs have started to cost-prohibit the Elitists at a sufficient enough profit margin so they take what they think was selling those Elitists and employ them in the much lower labor cost Chinese guitars and try to grab whatever crumbs of market share there are remaining of that price niche...sorry kids, nothing there of interest to me but that Boss tuner with the built-in headphone amp looks interesting.. Mr.Nelson[/quote'] For me, revisiting the tried and true is comforting. I'd rather have a twist on the Emperor than a whole new SG/Flying V combo, or a Robo Les Paul. Epiphone isn't turning out anything less inventive than any other manufacturer with their current lineup. They've got some new stuff, some old stuff, and some revamped stuff...that's how marketing goes. It's the same with Gibson, Ibanez, Yamaha, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie brown Posted January 18, 2009 Share Posted January 18, 2009 I see, they've put "Inspired by" on the "Lennon" Casino. Does that mean this is a continuation, beyond the 1965 limited editions numbers? Or, is this a non-collectable version, without the "Lennon" case, case candy, certificate and serial number? Anyone here know? CB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TWANG Posted January 18, 2009 Share Posted January 18, 2009 I liked everything I saw there, though some more than others. You can break any guitar down to it's marketing blurbs and walk away haughty. Sure I'm not personally nuts about bullseyes.. or even the design. But let's take a look around.. we aren't alone. A whammy on a les paul..with a kill switch and worn finish.. in a special for a low price. Epis got it's eye one someone who's not into history. both those gts are probably going to be priced for and are directed at younger players. I'll bet that lennon inspired sells a lot of guitars, given the price of the lennon model. That's not a bad thing. That swingster is definately looking at history. Very nice features in my view. roller bridge, bigsby. wire bigs arm. and.. push pull pots.. epi? getting away from old style electronics! yay! and obvious.. 'tron' pickups. I want to hear them. I want to see that guitar. And the 59.. CTS pots..burstbuckers.. and some nice appointments re: the knobs. Nothing wrong with that. These all look like winners to me. And sure to bring out the whiners, as well. I'm not a fan of the wilshire with that particular guard shape.. I like the butterfly looking one better. But they've been doing ok with that model and another wont hurt. I'll be happy if they keep up the standard they've set, along with introducing new features. If they don't hit all my particular buttons at once, I'll be happy to watch them, as I have been, hitting a lot of the right buttons. If only a gibson is good enough. Go buy one, they're for sale. I think they know what they're doing. And I'm willing to bet that the chinese epis will improve as well as change. TWANG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Memphs1978 Posted January 19, 2009 Share Posted January 19, 2009 so i will own one of the '59 re-issues that sounds like a very very nice guitar!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TWANG Posted January 21, 2009 Share Posted January 21, 2009 http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/Epiphone-Elitist-Country-Deluxe-SemiHollow-Electric-Guitar?sku=518757 http://img3.musiciansfriend.com/dbase/pics/products/2/4/7/552247.jpg just noting this was out for a while.. TWANG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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