JohnMcClane5000 Posted October 12, 2009 Share Posted October 12, 2009 Hi, I was wondering which colour Epi Texan I should get? I actually wanted to get both, antique natural and sunburst... But the sunburst seems to be a little bit strange, no black 'outlining' of the finish, what's up with that? Did Epiphone use an 'old' Texan as reference or is it a completely new colour? What do you guys think? JM PS: Look at the 'old' texan, it almost doesn't have no black outlining, only on one side (?) and the one in the official Epi Catalogue from '64 has black outlining too... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red 333 Posted October 12, 2009 Share Posted October 12, 2009 The new Texan is supposed to resemble a vintage one that has faded, and lost the black (like the one in the non-catalog picture you posted, with the "outline" missing). Red 333 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnMcClane5000 Posted October 12, 2009 Author Share Posted October 12, 2009 so it's a quasi-nitro finish-ish-faded-black-ouline-ness that's going on with the sunburst one? =D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cookieman15061 Posted October 12, 2009 Share Posted October 12, 2009 I just got the natural one last week and all I can tell you is those web site pics do not do the guitar justice. Mine is beautiful and couldn't beat the price. $380 from MF after 15% discount. Intonation is right on although action was set a little high from factory. I love the tone both acoustically and plugged into my vox amp. The only thing that takes a little getting used to is the location of the pickup controls inside the top of the sound hole. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thawk Dean Posted October 12, 2009 Share Posted October 12, 2009 I LOVE the look of the natural. It looks REAL and not over done. But then again, I like the natural look on most things. Wood has a character all its own without covering it up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frenchie1281734003 Posted October 12, 2009 Share Posted October 12, 2009 Hi' date=' I was wondering which colour Epi Texan I should get? I actually wanted to get both, antique natural and sunburst... But the sunburst seems to be a little bit strange, no black 'outlining' of the finish, what's up with that? Did Epiphone use an 'old' Texan as reference or is it a completely new colour? [img']http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a304/Nirrik/N_1633a.jpg[/img] What do you guys think? JM PS: Look at the 'old' texan, it almost doesn't have no black outlining, only on one side (?) and the one in the official Epi Catalogue from '64 has black outlining too... I`m not sure about Epiphone going for an aged Sunburst finish (Called shaded back in the day!) on these new texans, or whether it`s an Ice Tea finish instead (The other standard Epiphone finish in the 60`s). Personally I like it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnMcClane5000 Posted October 13, 2009 Author Share Posted October 13, 2009 I just got the natural one last week and all I can tell you is those web site pics do not do the guitar justice. Mine is beautiful and couldn't beat the price. $380 from MF after 15% discount. Intonation is right on although action was set a little high from factory. I love the tone both acoustically and plugged into my vox amp. The only thing that takes a little getting used to is the location of the pickup controls inside the top of the sound hole. HOLY S...................... It's beautiful! Please send more piuctures! Wow that post makes it really really hard for me to decide whether I should get the natural (wow, the 'antiqueness' of the finish is stunnnnnnning!) or that 'ice-tea-finish'.... Anyone got a sunburst one? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EpiSheriMan Posted October 13, 2009 Share Posted October 13, 2009 I hate to say it, but these new Chinese Texans look to be pretty darned good quality! :D John, not sure if it helps you with your decision but below is the sunburst finish on my Elite Japan texan (w/ lots of black outlining)... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EpiSheriMan Posted October 13, 2009 Share Posted October 13, 2009 I just got the natural one last week and all I can tell you is those web site pics do not do the guitar justice. Mine is beautiful and couldn't beat the price. $380 from MF after 15% discount. Intonation is right on although action was set a little high from factory. I love the tone both acoustically and plugged into my vox amp. The only thing that takes a little getting used to is the location of the pickup controls inside the top of the sound hole. Cookieman, a few questions on your brand spankin' new texan if that's OK... I read on MF site that the finish on these is nitro. Can you confirm this from yours? Also, can you kindly measure the width at the nut in mm's? My Elite Texan is 39 mm. Thnx :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red 333 Posted October 13, 2009 Share Posted October 13, 2009 I read on MF site that the finish on these is nitro. Can you confirm this from yours? The MF site lists the finish as polyurethane. Maybe you were looking at their page for the McCartney Texan, which does have a nitro finish. Boy, that would be something if manufacturer's could offer a gloss nitro finished guitar at the Inspired by Texan's price! Red 333 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron G Posted October 13, 2009 Share Posted October 13, 2009 Boy' date=' that would be something if manufacturer's could offer a gloss nitro finished guitar at the Inspired by Texan's price!Red 333[/quote']Check out Godin's acoustics (Art & Lutherie, Seagull, Simon & Patrick, Norman) - all of them are finished in nitro, and all of them sound better than any poly-dipped Chinese acoustic (and I've played a lot of them). I just got an A & L dread for a mere $249, and it's louder and more resonant than anything in that price range, as well as most guitars that are much more expensive. If Godin can do it right here in North America, there's no excuse for Epiphone and others. Edit: Godin's most expensive acoustics only go for little more than $1,000 - I hope to play some of them sometime, because if my A & L is as good as it is for $250, I suspect that the high-end ones are gonna really be something of an amazing bargain, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red 333 Posted October 13, 2009 Share Posted October 13, 2009 I`m not sure about Epiphone going for an aged Sunburst finish (Called shaded back in the day!) on these new texans' date=' or whether it`s an Ice Tea finish instead (The other standard Epiphone finish in the 60`s). Personally I like it. [/quote'] "Shaded" is what Epiphone called that finish, Frenchie! They used the same term to describe the Casino's finish, too, or any other guitar who's edges were, well, shaded. I know a lot of people refer to Casinos with an "iced tea" finish, but the Epiphone finishes were called Royal Tan, Shaded, Cherry, etc. at the time. "Iced Tea" is how later players and collectors might describe Royal Tan (usually) after it had faded over the years. That faded appearance has come to be a finish on its own, though. For those of you who are new to all this, you should know that when the Texan was first sold, way back in the in the '60s, most Gibson/Epiphones (yes, Gibson made Epiphones right alongside thier own guitars in Kalamazoo, Michigan) came in a limited number of finish options compared to what we have today. Then as now, the majority were sunbursts. Gibson was the first to finish a guitar this way (they were also the first to offer a natural top guitar, too!), and it's become a kind of unofficialy trademark. And while there are many varieties of sunburst finishes today, there was really only one for a long, long time. Gibson evolved what we would recognize as a sunburst between 1915 and 1922. For many years after that, the typical Gibson burst had a pear-shaped amber center that dakened to a brown/black at the edges. When they called it anything other than 'sunburst' in their catalogs, Gibson called this pattern the Cremona sunburst (after the town in Italy where Stradavarius made viloins). While there are some variations on how how wide the center was, etc., there wasn't too much variation in color at the center or at the guitar's edges until the late '50s. This, coincedentally, is when Gibson bought Epiphone, and began spraying the edges of Epiphones with the "Shaded" pattern, to distinguish them from their Gibson counterparts. Many Epiphones were virtually identical to various Gibson models, but with slightly different decoration, hardware options, etc., to set them apart, especially in the years following Gibson's purchase of Epiphone. At around the same time, Gibson began introducing colored dyes into some oftheir bursts. The most famous of these are on the '57- '59 Les Pauls, which were the first without gold or other solid colored tops. These guitars were given what Gison called a Cherry Sunburst. Most of thse had very vibrant red edges, though some had more black toward the edges to hide the dark horizontal grain found on some of the maple tops. Over the years, the finishes on these Les Pauls have faded in a number of remarkable ways. Collectors use terms like "honey burst," "iced tea," "lemon drop," "faded cherry," "tobacco burst," etc. to describe how they now looked. Because they were so beautiful, new finishes were developed to replicate the accidental appearance of these aged finishes, and they were given these names. And that's how we got so many varieties of finishes, especially in Les Pauls. Originally, the Texan was available in what Epiphone called "Natural" and "Shaded" finishes. Forty some years later, the Inspired by Texan is available in "Antique Natural," which approximates the look of a natural topped guitar that has yellowed with age, and "Vintage Cherryburst," which I think is meant to look like a "Shaded" top that has lost some of its color. Both are made to evoke an instrument that's 40 years old (though unscratched, undented, and still shiney!) In contrast, when the Elitist Texans were issued, their finishes were unaged, and looked more like that of a Texan as it left the music shop in the '60s. Red 333 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red 333 Posted October 13, 2009 Share Posted October 13, 2009 Check out Godin's acoustics (Art & Lutherie' date=' Seagull, Simon & Patrick, Norman) - all of them are finished in nitro, and all of them sound better than [i']any[/i] poly-dipped Chinese acoustic (and I've played a lot of them). The Godin family guitars are nice guitars, all right. I should have thought of them. I may be wrong, but I don't think they are all finished in nitro laquer any more, though. For instance, Art & Lutherie guitars are finished in varnish, not laquer. It's suppossed to be a geat combination of toughness and tone, though. Just sayin'. I wonder about the others. From what I have seen on Seagul's own webiste (and despite what the retailers say), Seagul no longer specifies what the finish is anymore. I've got a catalog from just a few years ago, and they made a point about the finish being nitrocellulose laquer. In the section on finish on their website these days, they say it's a "Custom Polished Finish" that it is not like thick poly. They don't say it is NOT poly, LOL. And they don't say it IS laquer. It still may be laquer for all I know, but they certainly don't make a big deal about it lately, while they did in the past. Maybe with the popularity of the many builders who use poly almost exclusively, like Taylor, Larrivee, etc., it's not that important for Godin to call out as a feature either way. Heck, many buying low and mid priced models in the Godin family (many of whom are certainly purchasing a first instrument) are probably blissfully unaware of the nitro vs poly debate! In any case, like anything, how well something is done is just as important as what was used to do it. A well applied poly finish as a good finish, and a poorly applied nitro one is not. Red 333 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EpiSheriMan Posted October 13, 2009 Share Posted October 13, 2009 The MF site lists the finish as polyurethane. Maybe you were looking at their page for the McCartney Texan' date=' which does have a nitro finish. Boy, that would be something if manufacturer's could offer a gloss nitro finished guitar at the Inspired by Texan's price! Red 333[/quote'] Doooooah Red,...I could have sworn I saw on one of those Internet Dealers site's it said Nitro.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
el capitan Posted October 13, 2009 Share Posted October 13, 2009 I'm so glad I cancelled my order! There's something not quite right about this guitar-the bridge for a start! My Macca rules! Bought a Seagull 12 string-the best! & I've owned Martin.Gibson & Guild-it has a guitar/musical sound rather than just a 12y sound-you have to play it to know what I mean. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnMcClane5000 Posted October 13, 2009 Author Share Posted October 13, 2009 I'm so glad I cancelled my order! There's something not quite right about this guitar-the bridge for a start! My Macca rules!Bought a Seagull 12 string-the best! & I've owned Martin.Gibson & Guild-it has a guitar/musical sound rather than just a 12y sound-you have to play it to know what I mean. What's wrong with the bridge, man? Is it because the pins aren't all the way on the lower side of the bridge? What difference does that make other than cosmetically... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnMcClane5000 Posted October 13, 2009 Author Share Posted October 13, 2009 Hey guys, thanks for all your help! I just wished to see the vintage cherry one in 'real' because those press photographs always look too 'sterile' and 'unreal' to me. Why can't they put the guitars in some 'natural' lighting on a stage with amps and road cases etc... I just don't get no feel from those photos... I don't know, maybe I should just take the safe bet and buy the antique natural one. I'd love to test play the guitar first but I can't since Switzerland won't have none of them because the biggest Gibson dealer round here won't ship any in. So I have to buy it from Germany (Thomann.de)... Could anyone who's guitarstore near-by has a Vintage Cherry Burst Texan hanging on the wall take a picture of it for me? That would be super-lovely JM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red 333 Posted October 13, 2009 Share Posted October 13, 2009 Get the Vintage Faded Cherry Shaded (that's what I'm gonna call it from now on) so it matches your Casino! Red 333 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pohatu771 Posted October 13, 2009 Share Posted October 13, 2009 I'm so glad I cancelled my order! There's something not quite right about this guitar-the bridge for a start! My Macca rules!Bought a Seagull 12 string-the best! & I've owned Martin.Gibson & Guild-it has a guitar/musical sound rather than just a 12y sound-you have to play it to know what I mean. Do you want an adjustable bridge? The general consensus is that they weren't that great, though some argue differently. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frenchie1281734003 Posted October 14, 2009 Share Posted October 14, 2009 Do you want an adjustable bridge? The general consensus is that they weren't that great' date=' though some argue differently.[/quote'] If you go to the Epiphone site, you can get both the "Inspired by" and "McCartney" Texans up, and flick between the two to spot the differences, a fun game if you are a saddo like me. Anyway, both versions seem quite similar in general appearance, I like the idea of losing that awful tone sucking ADJ bridge, but the bridge is different in general outline, and the bridgepins are not set as far back as on the originals (but hey some of those 60`s bridges were plastic anyway!). Epiphones bumpf claims the "Inspired by Texan" has a glued neck/body joint, but doesn`t state "Dovetail", so you can bet that will be different, and indeed, comparing the photo`s seem to suggest that the new ones have a much bulkier neck heel. The h/stock angle also appears to be the shallower 14 degree type, and I do wish they would do a longer two screw TRC for these "Inspired by" guitars. According to the Specs only the top and back are solid, and the sides are laminated, much like the Elite/Elitists, and in fact that`s probably a good idea from an electro/acoustic standpoint (Takamine have done that for years). Overall It does seem that you are getting an awful lot of guitar for the money, and that has to be a good thing, but whether they sound like a good old Texan is a different matter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnMcClane5000 Posted October 14, 2009 Author Share Posted October 14, 2009 If you go to the Epiphone site' date=' you can get both the "Inspired by" and "McCartney" Texans up, and flick between the two to spot the differences, a fun game if you are a saddo like me. Anyway, both versions seem quite similar in general appearance, I like the idea of losing that awful tone sucking ADJ bridge, but the bridge is different in general outline, and the bridgepins are not set as far back as on the originals (but hey some of those 60`s bridges were plastic anyway!). Epiphones bumpf claims the "Inspired by Texan" has a glued neck/body joint, but doesn`t state "Dovetail", so you can bet that will be different, and indeed, comparing the photo`s seem to suggest that the new ones have a much bulkier neck heel. The h/stock angle also appears to be the shallower 14 degree type, and I do wish they would do a longer two screw TRC for these "Inspired by" guitars. According to the Specs only the top and back are solid, and the sides are laminated, much like the Elite/Elitists, and in fact that`s probably a good idea from an electro/acoustic standpoint (Takamine have done that for years). Overall It does seem that you are getting an awful lot of guitar for the money, and that has to be a good thing, but whether they sound like a good old Texan is a different matter. [/quote'] Well, I don't think anyone who buys an inpired by has ever played on an 'old' Texan before, especially the younger folks! And since it's 'inspired by' it means that it doesn't follow the old specs a hundred percent which means there's space for modifications and updates (built in pickup, etc. etc.). So it's really just a matter of 'heritage', styling and appeal. I bet it's a great guitar for the money and I don't really care if it doesn't sound 100% like macca's, I mean, it's not like I'm gonna perform 'Yesterday' on national television on it with hundreds of screaming girls in the audience. And let's face it, if they had made an exact replica of Macca's for the price of the inspired by (which they could have) no one in their right mind would pay the extra thouands for the Macca version. But I'm very grateful to Epiphone that they haven't forgotten about the 'poorer' guitar-players out there who also care for sound, looks, AND price! Epiphone, you're doin a great job, keep up the good work and I'll stay a loyal customer! JM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cookieman15061 Posted October 14, 2009 Share Posted October 14, 2009 Well here's my take and since I own one now I hope it helps. These are not original texans nor the Macca version but they are a fine guitar/ great guitar when you consider it for under $450. If an original is what your gassin for pay your monies and enjoy. Since my gigging is down to 4 or 5 events a year a $2000 guitar is not what I want. What I was looking for was something with a pickup since all my other acoustics have none and a sweet tone that makes me want to play it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red 333 Posted October 14, 2009 Share Posted October 14, 2009 According to the Specs only the top and back are solid' date=' and the sides are laminated, much like the Elite/Elitists... [/quote'] The Elite/Elitist acoustics have solid sides. Red 333 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
el capitan Posted October 14, 2009 Share Posted October 14, 2009 Nothing wrong with it-and a lotta guitar for the money.It just doesn't look like a '64 Texan which is what it's being marketed as. More important what does it play and sound like-electic/acoustic? I have been known to change my mind! "I wish I was as sure about one thing as Bill Monroe was about everything" (Steve Earle) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frenchie1281734003 Posted October 14, 2009 Share Posted October 14, 2009 The Elite/Elitist acoustics have solid sides. Red 333 I stand corrected Red, I thought the Elite/Elitist Texan acoustics had laminated sides (I`m sure I read that in Guitarist Magazine). However these new "Inspired by" Texan guitars do look to be a tremendous bargain, and I will be trying them out as soon as they arrive around these parts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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