fernandosor Posted September 22, 2009 Share Posted September 22, 2009 Hi Folks, I am new to the Forum. I have a C50 in almost New Condition only played for 20hrs tops. It has been in store for nearly 20 years and remains in excellent playing condition. I searched the web but did not find any others mentioned. Sooo if anyone out there has one let me know Fernando Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fernandosor Posted September 22, 2009 Author Share Posted September 22, 2009 Hi Folks' date='I am new to the Forum. I have a C50 Classical Rosewood Sides and Back with Solid Cedar Top and Ebony Fingerboard. It is in almost New Condition only played for 20hrs tops. It has been in store for nearly 20 years and remains in excellent playing condition. I searched the web but did not find any others mentioned. Sooo if anyone out there has one let me know. Fernando[/quote'] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vtwoodchuck Posted September 23, 2009 Share Posted September 23, 2009 Hi fernando, I too have an Epiphone classical C50 and cannot find out any thing about them. I would like to know years made and cost when new? Thanks. vtwoodchuck.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fernandosor Posted September 24, 2009 Author Share Posted September 24, 2009 Hi vtwoodchuck, I have contacted Gibson and they kindly sent me via e-mail a 'Product Sheet' and pricelist for this guitar. It appears to have been made from around 1986 to 1992. My C50s serial number is 8610049 so appears to be an early model and ties up with my memory of buying it around 86/87. Construction Materials are - Rosewood Back and Sides with a Solid Cedar Top and an Ebony Fingerboard. Good quality materials for a Guitar priced at USD $349.. Two cheaper models were made with Mahogany Back and Rosewood Fingerboard at USD $189 and $249. They have been unable to tell me how many were made or shipped. Do you play it often? I use a Sanchis Model 40 for most of my Classical and Flamenco stuff and I have a Brazillian Di Giorgio Classical from 1975 that has the most beautiful melow tones. Best regards Fernandosor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fernandosor Posted November 7, 2009 Author Share Posted November 7, 2009 Hi vtwoodchuck Are we the only owners of a C50? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slinger Posted February 10, 2010 Share Posted February 10, 2010 Hi , I have a c50 , bought it for $50 at a fleamarket serial#911403 last number unreadable . I'm a luthier and I bought it immediately Brazillian rosewood back and sides , cedar top , ebony fingerboard . It plays swweeter than anything I've built and a lot of other high end classicals as well, ramirez etc. . Other than this post I found an article that showed one auctioned in England for 15000 sterling. You are all very fortunate to have this remarkable instrument . I don't think this is the same as the one sent to you by Gibson , certainly not Brazillian rosewood at that time and that price. rcanavan2@verizon.net Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fernandosor Posted February 10, 2010 Author Share Posted February 10, 2010 Hi Slinger, So now there are at least 3 of these around. That sure is some price for the one at auction. I must say the one I have is in excellent condition and is a beauty to play. As a Luthier, you will be able to recognise the finer points of construction. The Guitar feels real good in the hands is well balanced easy to play and as you say, the sound quality is excellent. I wish you many happy hours of playing your new aquisition Fernandosor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slinger Posted February 13, 2010 Share Posted February 13, 2010 Hi fernandosor , I have actually had it for bout 20 years , I haven't found any thiung i like better . I have had many string sets on it over the years , but the ones I like best are the Hanabach Goldin's .... they have carbon graphite trebles and just bring out that Dark Chocolate sound of cedar and brazilian rosewood . Try em' and let me know what you think ... here's a link...http://www.stringsandbeyond.com/ha725goclgus.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fernandosor Posted February 13, 2010 Author Share Posted February 13, 2010 Hi Slinger, Thanks for the info. I will try the Hanabach Goldin's. To be honest I usually play my Sanchis Model 40 and i'm afraid to say, the C50 languishes in the background . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tpatten Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 I bought my C50 on ebay about 8 or 9 years ago - paid about 250 USD for it, incl hardshell case. It's condition was(and is) exceptional. I've also found very little about this guitar. I don't have the serial number handy. It is on the original label under the soundhole. I think the fellow I bought it from said it was from the eighties and made in Japan. iwould like to have a copy of the material from Gibson. maybe we should all post pics of this little jewel? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peeper Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 maybe we should all post pics of this little jewel? NOshit! Pics now or shuddup about it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geraldatwork Posted January 30, 2014 Share Posted January 30, 2014 I just joined the forum yesterday but came across this thread about a month ago when I was researching a C50 on ebay I eventually purchased. There seems to be very little information about this guitar on the internet. Hopefully a few people can add some. I'll post some photos when I get a chance. Firstly I am a lefty and had a local luthier cut a new nut from bone and reverse the strings. The guitar came with a mis-matched set of tuners. On one side the original which was fairly worn and barely functional and on the other a cheaper newer addition held on with wires, because there was a crack along the screw line. I found a set of tuners on ebay which was new "old stock" from the 70's in the box it came in and matched almost exactly the original, including the "bow tie" handles only better quality. I repaired the crack myself by spreading the crack by wedging it open and putting in a good amount medium thickness crazy glue making sure it soaked into the wood and adding a bit more before clamping it shut for about 30 minutes. After removing the clamp I put some of the glue in the screw holes a couple of times over a few days. I installed the new tuners and the crack is holding well. The luthier thinks it will hold up well. I had to refinish the headstock and about 1/3rd of the neck because I was a little sloppy with the glue and it dripped all over the place. I sanded most of the finish off and sprayed on some gloss. It came out well. Overall the guitar shows wear from a lot of playing with a few gauges on the soundboard along with some nicks on the back and sides. There are no cracks anywhere and the luthier tightened some braces inside the body. I'm 65 years old and started taking lessons 3 months ago so don't have any feel for how these guitars are supposed to sound. My main guitar is a Seagull S6 Original (lefty) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susannah Posted April 7, 2020 Share Posted April 7, 2020 I have a 1988 Epiphone C-50 that I have owned for 25 years. It was my first guitar (not counting my mom's guitar). I paid $125 in 1995. The price was very low because the front of the guitar has cosmetic damage, probably from someone trying to screw acoustic guitar electrification hardware onto it. I have 3 other guitars but this is still my favorite one to play, even though it doesn't look as nice because of its previous owner mistreating it. This is how I got it: my mom and I knew a guy who knew a lot about guitars and owned a lot of them. He was going to a guitar show, and I gave him my $125 and asked him to get me the best classical guitar he could for the money. He got an amazing deal on this guitar (a little over 1/3 what it cost when it was new) because of the cosmetic damage. I was 15 at the time and had no opportunities to go guitar shopping myself, nor did I know enough to know a good guitar when I saw one. I was fortunate to know an expert who was also a very nice guy and obviously very honest, for my mom to let me trust him with $125, which is a lot of money to a kid who has to save up for a long time to get that kind of money together. Until recently, I never realized just what an amazing deal it was. I'm glad to know that real experts think this guitar has such great sound. I always thought so, but I've always primarily been a pianist, so what do I know? BTW, I think that the guitar in Great Britian sold for £150, rather than £15000. That would be written as £150,00. They use a comma between pounds and pence, as we Americans use a decimal between dollars and cents, so that would be somewhere in the ballpark of $300 USD. For those not geeky enough to know how British currency is written out, it would look like it was supposed to read £15,000, and someone just placed the comma badly. Whereas, if it had actually been 15K pounds sterling, it would have been written as £15.000,00. Of course, since I didn't see the original source, I am only guessing, but I'm guessing at a price much more similar to what this guitar seems to sell for in USD these days. I just restrung my guitar for the first time last month. Seriously. I never broke a string. The strings were a little tarnished when I first got the guitar. One was about to break when I took them off. I braided the 3 bass strings into a necklace. I would not be a bit surprised if those strings had been on my guitar for 32 years. I just thought the sound would be improved if I replaced them. Too bad I hadn't read this post! I am going to replace them more regularly now that I am playing more (thanks to Shelter In Place, my guitar ability has improved dramatically). I will try those Hanabach Goldin's strings next time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ksdaddy Posted April 7, 2020 Share Posted April 7, 2020 Classical strings don’t reach their tone potential for a while. It will sound better each day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrcollin Posted November 13, 2020 Share Posted November 13, 2020 I too own an Epiphone C-50 Classical Guitar-- rosewood fingerboard-- that I have owned for about 30 years. I paid 100.00 for it in a pawnshop In Maryland. And while it has acquired a number of dents, scratches, and dings over the years, it always stays in tune and has developed a mellow sweet voice. I own a number of better and more costly instruments, this one sits out of it case ready at a moment's notice or when an inspired nostalgic tune comes to mind. I still enjoy playing this one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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