clarkuss Posted March 27, 2009 Share Posted March 27, 2009 Does anyone own one of these? I've played a few but never had one of my own. I just don't understand why they're so sought after (in the UK at least). There's one on ebay going for £450 ($645) and most of the rest have gone for 300-500. The american market seems to be a lot more reasonable but in the U.K people go mad for them. Unbelievable that people will pay so much for a 70s Bolt on Hollowbody. The 70s guitars have to represent one of the worst eras of Epiphone's production. They just don't feel that sturdy to me. These guitars always come across as the cheapest conveyer belt guitars ever released (Even my Epiphone Special was a better player than my ET-278). In my experience the tuners are naff, the pick ups are pretty dead and I wouldn't be surprised if the factory tremolo unit put the guitar horribly out of tune. Don't get me wrong, I'd pay a couple of hundred but to buy one of these at the same price as a Casino, Riviera or Sheraton? Madness!! (IMhumbleO) But then again... they do have a certain appeal: [EA-255 with Bigsby] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duane v Posted March 27, 2009 Share Posted March 27, 2009 My 71 Epi ET-275 is built like a tank. Don't know what type of wood it's made from but it weighs about the same as my LP custom, and the stock electronics are still crystal clear, the finish still looks like a new guitar, the chrome is in ecellent condition, and the neck is straight as an arrow 32 years later Just because it's a bolt-on neck doesn't mean it's cheap..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clarkuss Posted March 27, 2009 Author Share Posted March 27, 2009 I would never say that a Bolt-On neck means a cheap and crappy guitar because I've played (and owned) plenty of good bolt-ons and loved them and you only have to look at Fender to realise this is not the case. I've just had a few bad experiences with these guitars, mainly the hollowbody ones. To me they dont feely sturdy and the guitars have been pretty lifeless sound wise. I know it changes from guitar to guitar but if someone gave me £450 to spend on an Epiphone it definitely wouldn't go on an EA-250 unless I got it for £250 and spent the other £200 doing it up! I think my ET-278 would sound great if it was done up but the original pick ups and tuners (and probably electrics) need a good seeing to. It's also built like a tank but unfortunately no crystal clarity... I'm normally a big fan of Epi's guitars as stock but I've never been able to find one of these (hollow or solidbody) guitars that felt good enough to play as it was. where did you get yours from Duane? One of the disadvantages is that you can rarely walk into a shop and play one so a lot of the time you don't know what you're getting but maybe I need to just keep looking. I appreciate that they're old guitars and I think they all have the potential to be good guitars but I'm just a bit baffled that people will pay so much for them when i think they're quite disappointing overall. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duane v Posted March 27, 2009 Share Posted March 27, 2009 I acquired my ET-275 from Cara guitars.... Today I'm going to do a sound sample of my ET-275 using my VOX AC50 using only the reverb on the amp for effects... The only mod is the upgrade to celestion speakers on the VOX..... This guitar has a nasty/crunchy big razor sharp sound. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clarkuss Posted March 27, 2009 Author Share Posted March 27, 2009 That would be great. I'd love to hear yours because mine is very flat. The bridge pick up has a bit of bite to it but the neck pup is non existent. Sound apart I love the guitar and the neck is great. If I don't sell it I'm going to give it a hardware overhaul because it's just wasting away in its current condition. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mgrmatt Posted March 27, 2009 Share Posted March 27, 2009 I know what you guy are say about the prices. I want to get one if I can find one at a resonable deal but some of the auction tend to go haywire or some people tend to over value them. I'll find one evntually. mgm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unreal77 Posted March 27, 2009 Share Posted March 27, 2009 I have one of those and love it to death. Wish I had more money to get a couple more... But it's true. The auctions go crazy with these guitars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clarkuss Posted March 27, 2009 Author Share Posted March 27, 2009 Yeah, there was one bought right away with BIN at £200 the other day but the seller didn't really know anything about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clarkuss Posted March 27, 2009 Author Share Posted March 27, 2009 You've also got a 2998 Epiphone Riviera P93? Gosh that waiting list is long! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unreal77 Posted March 27, 2009 Share Posted March 27, 2009 I bought the p93 on ebay for 525.00 not bad. It even came on the original box. The guy had it hanging on his wall. He posted it and i think an hour later I bought it. Now the people want 700 -800 for those. No way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clarkuss Posted March 27, 2009 Author Share Posted March 27, 2009 I have never seen one in the U.K. If I do, I will buy it. They look fab and 525 is a steal by the sounds of things. (I was "humourously" referring to the mistake in your signature though) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vomer Posted March 27, 2009 Share Posted March 27, 2009 It's a sweet little thing, flimsy yes, stays in tune OK, sounds 'vintage', pups low output, skinny neck, and I don't think they're worth what they fetch in the UK, imho. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duane v Posted March 27, 2009 Share Posted March 27, 2009 Here's a quick little demo clip of my bone stock ET275..... don't mind the sexy voice at the beginning, I had to use a free download AVS wav to mp3 file converter.... Friggin Sonar8 has only a 30 day trial MP3 converter on their recording software to my surprise and chagrin](*,) ....:( I used the channel 1 setting on my VOX AC50.... Only effect is the amp reverb. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sexygibson Posted March 27, 2009 Share Posted March 27, 2009 That sounded great Duane ! Would love to hear more. I may doing a sample this week of my new Crate V5. Its completely stock and I'll probably end up doing some upgrades but right now I'm getting some pretty cool tones with it using my Strat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sexygibson Posted March 27, 2009 Share Posted March 27, 2009 Here's a quick little demo clip of my bone stock ET275..... don't mind the sexy voice at the beginning' date=' I had to use a free download AVS wav to mp3 file converter.... Friggin Sonar8 has only a 30 day trial MP3 converter on their recording software to my surprise and chagrin'](*,) ....:( I used the channel 1 setting on my VOX AC50.... Only effect is the amp reverb. Dangit Duane. I just saw the vid of your Cobra. I will trade you my Crate V5 for your rear tires to put on my '03 GT. If I ever get back to work I want new pipes and rims for mine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duane v Posted March 27, 2009 Share Posted March 27, 2009 thanx Gibby I'm nowhere near the metal axe slinger I once was 18 years ago.... But every now and again I like to juice up the gain knob and re-live those 1980 playing days.... My playing now has actually reverted back to my 70's style when I was into Beck, Hendrix and the Beatles.... I just wished I had a deeper appreciation for them when I was a younger player back in the 80's..... My Eddie VH / Randy Rhodes faze really pulled me away from that, and it has taken me about 2-3 years to get back to my initial roots as a player when I started as a guitar player in 1974. That is why players need to be careful when getting locked into one style of playing... It happens without warning... well at least it did for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duane v Posted March 27, 2009 Share Posted March 27, 2009 Dangit Duane. I just saw the vid of your Cobra. I will trade you my Crate V5 for your rear tires to put on my '03 GT. If I ever get back to work I want new pipes and rims for mine. It looks nothing like that anymore..... it has flames, full cage, spool ect..ect... It's a one purpose vehicle (straight line)..... My 65 coupe is much nastier.... I ran a best 8.97 @ 175 mph in the 1/4 mile in the 65 Coupe... I have a 65 fastback that I'm "building for my wife.":-$ But I'm finding less time for the stangs, because my kids enjoy music more than drag racing.. and my job requires tons of traveling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sexygibson Posted March 28, 2009 Share Posted March 28, 2009 It looks nothing like that anymore..... it has flames' date=' full cage, spool ect..ect... It's a one purpose vehicle (straight line)..... My 65 coupe is much nastier.... I ran a best 8.97 @ 175 mph in the 1/4 mile in the 65 Coupe... I have a 65 fastback that I'm "building for my wife.":-$ But I'm finding less time for the stangs, because my kids enjoy music more than drag racing.. and my job requires tons of traveling.[/quote'] Would love to see more photos of your rides Duane. Maybe I'll start a thread in the lounge where we can all post photos of our cars or whatever else we're interested in besides guitars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clarkuss Posted March 28, 2009 Author Share Posted March 28, 2009 Woah, that's an entirely different guitar. Sounds nice Duane! Looks immaculate as well. If I keep mine it's going to get a make over Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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