EpiSheriMan Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 Does anyone actually own one of these? What's the quality like? I hear that they are made by same factory that does the Elitist guitars... I noticed that Musicians Friend have then on Clearance at $2,199.......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red 333 Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 Does anyone actually own one of these? What's the quality like? I hear that they are made by same factory that does the Elitist guitars... I noticed that Musicians Friend have then on Clearance at $2' date='199.......... [/quote'] They are excellent. They were made in the same factory that made the Elitist hollow and semi-hollow bodies, so you can imagine the attention to detail paid in the manufacturing process, the skill of the luthiers, and the quality of the material used. I have six Gibson acoustics right now, and the McCartney Texan fits right in there with them comfortably in both sound quality, playability, and build quality. They have a nice warm sound, and are capable of a lot of volume. I used the adjustable bridge to set mine up pretty low, so I've lost some sensitivity when fingerpicking on the high B and E, but it's a great strummer. The neck is super comfortable to me. I find the Texan is the guitar I play most often. Red 333 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EpiSheriMan Posted March 9, 2009 Author Share Posted March 9, 2009 Thanks Red,.... Do you think he actually signed all the 1,964 limited run (if you can call that limited) blue labels? I just found a bargain used Texan for $ 1,350. I'm very tempted.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dubstar Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 the hand signed Texans are from the USA run, if I remember correctly...the MIJs have only a printed facsimile of his signature Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red 333 Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 the hand signed Texans are from the USA run' date=' if I remember correctly...the MIJs have only a printed facsimile of his signature[/quote'] That's correct. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EpiSheriMan Posted March 11, 2009 Author Share Posted March 11, 2009 :D/ Just got a used one for US$ 1,300!!!!!! Can't wait, should be shipped soon!!!!!!! :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red 333 Posted March 11, 2009 Share Posted March 11, 2009 :D/ Just got a used one for US$ 1' date='300!!!!!! Can't wait, should be shipped soon!!!!!!! :- [/quote'] Congrats! Let us know how you like it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paulrus Posted March 19, 2009 Share Posted March 19, 2009 I've always wondered about something...McCartney's Texan was (is?) a right handed model. Correct? But he reversed the strings and played it upside down. But did he reverse the saddle as well, meaning reverse the direction of its slant? I would think just reversing the strings would really screw up the intonation. I presume he would've had the wherewithal fairly early in the Beatles career to have it done properly. But looking at the Epi Texan promotional video, McCartney's Texan looks pretty clearly to have a regular righty saddle slant. And the guitar sounds wonderful. This kind of baffles me. I believed the saddle was angled such as it is after much scientific study and consideration. Heck, the the B string is compensated different than all the others. But his Texan sounds awesome regardless. I presume he used that Texan to play some of his most famous compositions; Blackbird, Mother Nature's Son (not too famous, but a cool tune), and they all sound great---nothing going out of tune as he goes down the fret board. Am I missing something? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pohatu771 Posted March 19, 2009 Share Posted March 19, 2009 I believe Blackbird was done on his Martin, as much of his later Beatle acoustic stuff was. If you see a high-resolution picture of the American aged version (and I assume the Japanese), the G and E strings have large "tabs" on them. Another picture of him with what I assume is his own guitar also has the "tabbed" saddle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clarkuss Posted March 20, 2009 Share Posted March 20, 2009 I believe Paul played his Martin D-28 on Blackbird and most of the White Album -> End of the beatles. Texan is still a cool guitar though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red 333 Posted March 20, 2009 Share Posted March 20, 2009 I believe Blackbird was done on his Martin' date=' as much of his later Beatle acoustic stuff was. If you see a high-resolution picture of the American aged version (and I assume the Japanese), the G and E strings have large "tabs" on them. Another picture of him with what I assume is his own guitar also has the "tabbed" saddle.[/quote'] According to Andy Babiuk's Beatle's Gear book, both Lennon and McCartney got Martin D28's in 1968, so any acoustic stuff he did prior to that was most likely the Texan. It's thought that much of McCartney's White Album acoustic work, including Blackbird, was played on the D28. In addition to his Texan, he uses Martin acoustics on stage and in recordings to this day. Mccartney's Texan, which is a right hand model, is currently set up for left hand playng, but in an unusual way. The original adjustable saddle has been removed, and the large slot for it was filled in with rosewood, which has been slotted for a new saddle. Here's the unusual part: instead of reslotting the saddle for a bridge that is angled correctly for a left handed player, the new saddle maintains the right-handed orientation, though it's at a less extreme angle. As noted above, the saddle is compensated with large tabs on the E and G strings that essentially reverse the angle of the bridge, so the strings are the proper length for a left handed player when they make contact with the saddle. Epiphone issued three styles of McCartney Texans: An Elitist McCartney Texan, a McCartney USA Texan, and a super expensive replica, the Aged USA Texan. As far as I know, all the 1,964 Epiphone Elitist Paul McCartney 1964 Texans (made in Japan by Terada) were made with the original style adjustable bridge, as were the 250 Epiphone Paul McCartney USA 1964 Texans (which were made in the Gibson Acoustic factory, in Bozeman, Montana). Both righty and lefty models seem to have been made. I THINK (but do not know with 100% certainty) that the 40 Aged USA Texans may have been exact copies of Paul's Texan--that is, righty guitars set up to play lefty with the non-adjustable compensated bridge he now uses. Epiphone publicity material is unclear on this point. There is photo of Paul signing the soundboards of some if not all of the 40 Aged USA Texans, and the dozen or so that you can see seem to be right handed models set up to play lefty with the non-adjustable compensated bridge. I have seen photos of an Aged USA Texans with an adjustable bridge, but, given the Aged USA Texans sold north of $40K, it's possible that guitar was a fake. Red 333 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paulrus Posted March 20, 2009 Share Posted March 20, 2009 Great information. Thanks for explaining it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TommyK Posted March 20, 2009 Share Posted March 20, 2009 ... Here's the unusual part: instead of reslotting the saddle for a bridge that is angled correctly for a left handed player' date=' the new saddle maintains the right-handed orientation, though it's at a less extreme angle. ... Red 333[/quote'] You reckon he did this so as to not hurt the re-sale value, since there are more right handed guit tar players than left? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red 333 Posted March 20, 2009 Share Posted March 20, 2009 You reckon he did this so as to not hurt the re-sale value' date=' since there are more right handed guit tar players than left?[/quote'] LOL. That's probably it. He was planning for a rainy day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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