Figaro Posted February 10, 2010 Share Posted February 10, 2010 I went to buy a Sheraton and they had a used Joe Pass. After trying both several times, I went with the JP. I liked it's louder unplugged sound which is due to the spruce top and deeper hollow body. I also prefered it's deeper tone through an amp. The neck is larger than other JPs I have tried in the past. It's not huge but it's round. I can't stand a neck with a flat back like some Epiphones have. It's blonde with flamed back and sides and it's in mint condition. It even came with a hardshell case. The action is very low and it plays perfectly. I checked the intonation and it's dead on. This is one of the best JPs I have ever played and definetly the nicest guitar I've ever bought for $375! But... It's a 2008 and the serial number starts with SI so I guess it was made by Samick Indonesia. How do the Samicks made in Indonesia compare to Korean Samicks? This is a really nice guitar. Can you really tell a difference between the Korean Samicks and the Indoneasian ones? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smips65 Posted February 10, 2010 Share Posted February 10, 2010 ;) Good Catch, and HNGD A decent JP, wherever it was made is a good thing. If you like it, then don't worry so much about Indonesia, or Korea, or China. They're Hollow thru and thru, that's why it sounds out more than the Sheri. If you play a lot plugged in, you'll figure out where to stand, and turn yourself, so feedback isn't so bad. Have fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordy01 Posted February 10, 2010 Share Posted February 10, 2010 Who cares where it's from. As long as it feels good in your hands it's a winner. If it sounds good, take it home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parabar Posted February 10, 2010 Share Posted February 10, 2010 Congratulations! A good Joe Pass is one of the best guitars Epiphone makes. Of all my guitars, the Joe Pass is the one I keep coming back to, because it's so comfortable to play and sounds so goooood! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 10, 2010 Share Posted February 10, 2010 Good choice They are two very different guitars the JP and the Sherri but I love them both. I read a review of a guy who had a Joe Pass with a Seymour Duncans Jazz/JB set, he used to gig regularly with that guitar and loved it. When I bought my 1997 JP I decided to try and make mine like that guitar he was raving about. I also have to two bridges the original and a floating ABR. It is very versatile I switch them occasionally as both have different things to offer. Like the guy in the review stated to be honest the stock pups were not that great, but we both had 1997 models and the difference when I changed them was immense. But from what I read since, the later stock pickups seem to be greatly improved on what was found on earlier JP's. I have read that many people really like the pickups on JP's made over the last few years. I am going to try a set of Mean 90's in my JP an then decide if I stick with the SD set or the Mean 90's... This is how my JP looks today All the qualities you stated I agree with. The JP is a fine guitar. here is testimony to the versatility of the guitar This is totally stock and the same year as yours or very close through a Fender blues junior [YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4ZeXB4xNdU[/YOUTUBE] and this is a JP with believe it or not P-90's this is why I have to try the Mean 90's in there [YOUTUBE] [/YOUTUBE] HNGD great choice, but never rule out a Sherri one day..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluesman345 Posted February 11, 2010 Share Posted February 11, 2010 The Joe Pass is definitely a beautiful guitar, especially if it's modded. The only gripe I had with the one I used to have was that the stock HB's were a little muddy and the gold plating tarnished easily. Here's a pic of my JP along with a MIM Strat: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
epinder Posted February 11, 2010 Share Posted February 11, 2010 This is how my JP looks today Love the JP"s. The only drawback I see to them is the cheesy looking tail piece. You have improved the looks tenfold with the tail piece that you added. Nisch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 11, 2010 Share Posted February 11, 2010 Epinder wrote: Love the JP"s. The only drawback I see to them is the cheesy looking tail piece. You have improved the looks tenfold with the tail piece that you added. BigGrin Nisch. Epinder, I have Carverman to thank for the ideas for the Harp tailpiece and tune-o-matic bridge....I thought they looked great on his guitars, and they give the guitar a little more weight and "chung" (can't think of another word to explain but I like it..) :-), Carverman gave me some good advice and helped me find what I needed. A big thanks to Carverman. Also got the idea to try the Seymour Duncans SH-2 Jazz / SH-4 JB from this review I found (The SD's are beautiful, but I just have to try a set of Mean 90's in there to finally say this one is finished) here is the review I based my choices on Features : 9 As previously described by other reviewers, the JP Emperor II has the standard "Gibson" style layout of two humbucker pickups, two volume, two tone, three-way toggle above the fingerboard, trapeze tailpiece and height-adjustable "ebonized" bridge. Standard Epi tuners. The body is maple with, I believe, a spruce top. As far as I can tell, the top is solid, not laminated; The jury seems to be divided on this among reviewers (perhaps Epi changed their specs at some point in recent history). Maple set neck, with rosewood fingerboard and "pearloidized" bold inlays. Mine is finished natural. As for modifications, I replaced the stock humbuckers with a Seymour Duncan SH-2/SH-4 combination (a must if you want the full potential of this beauty to come out). Guitar was made in Korea by Samick. Sound : 10 This guitar sounded much like I expected when I bought it; big tone, great jazz box for small stack-o-scratch. But listening to CD's by some noteable jazz guitar greats made me realize that it was missing something. Thanks to some of those reviewers before me, I decided to give the pickup switch a try. The Seymour Duncans that I installed opened up the tone on her more than I could even imagine. Then stringing her up with Thomastik-Infield Jazz Swings took her right over the top! I play primarily a jazz/bop/blues variety plus contemporary Christian music on this particular guitar and, even after having her a year, she still can give me goose bumps. My main rig for this guitar is generally straight into a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe; Though she sounds great through my (noisy) Tubeworks Tube Driver Combo, too. Action, Fit, & Finish : 9 Since I bought this model used, I must assume that the previous owner was responsible for the reasonably good set up that I received her in. I'm a fanatical tweaker on guitars and spent only about two minutes to get her where I wanted her. As for action, this guitar has the beefier profile Gibsonish neck. I had grown accustomed (read: spoiled) by the "fast" necks of my other guitars, so this one took a little getting used to for me. It wasn't long however before it became my favorite neck to play. Between the comfortable neck and the smooth TI strings, nothing feels as inviting to play. I'll pull a digit off the rating for the fret edges being a little catchy (only bothers me when I wipe down the fingerboard after every session with one of my beautiful daughter's old cloth diapers). The finish is gloss poly and looks fine anywhere the guitar hasn't been dinged. Reliability/Durability : 10 As an archtop, she should probably be babied like any other big blonde. But she seems extremely robust. Even temp and humidity changes don't seem to affect her as much as my solid bodies! As for electronics, as long as you keep 'em clean and have good solder connections, there is not much reason to worry. Some have quibbled about the tuners on these; I've experienced no problem there. She stays in tune beautifully, though I still retune her constantly out of habit. If I'm gigging for $, I'll always have backup for any guitar. Other wise, Epi in one hand, Hot Rod in the other, and don't forget the Monster Cable. Customer Support : 10 Queried them via email about replacing the pots with Gibson and they responded within 24 hrs. Otherwise haven't needed their support. Overall Rating : 10 I began playing guitar around 1968, in bands around 1971, quit entirely in 1978, started again in 2000 and never looked back. I've always played rock, more recently jazz, blues, cont. Christian, but mainly love jazz variations and am constantly learning. Love to write original material. I also play a Godin Radiator (great guitar for the bucks) and a Strat copy loaded with Fender Lace pups and a Floyd. Previously played Fender Stratocaster and Electra Les Paul copy. Currently running through said Hot Rod Deluxe (through a Red Box Pro into soundboard where applicable. Get one.) or Tubeworks TD-752. Use some effects with other guitars but not with the JP. If I lost it, I would try several others and perhaps move up if finances allowed, but I think for under $500 used, I'd be hard pressed to beat it; maybe one of Samick's other models, who knows? Right now, I can sit for hours playing this guitar and never tire of it's beautiful sound feel and ever appearance. Guess that makes me a lucky guitarist. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ladyscaglyc Posted February 11, 2010 Share Posted February 11, 2010 Congrats on the JP ! You could always do as I did and just replace the neck HB with a Mean 90, leaving the orig. bridge HB in place. The mix variations are great and the GFS is perfect in drop-in fit & finish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
layboomo Posted February 11, 2010 Share Posted February 11, 2010 Good Choice I'm a fan too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.