IB 64 Texan update.

[frenchie1281734003]

I have had the Texan two weeks now, and I am just as impressed with it, maybe more so. The sound is opening up very nicely, and it appears to be a great all rounder, it certainly finger picks very well. I feel this is a guitar that may win some awards for Epiphone. They say "You get what you pay for", well in this instance you get a hell of a lot more too!

 

If there is a fault with the Texan, it is probably the Tuners, well actually the holes for the tuners to be exact. As several of us have mentioned, these holes are not in a straight line, which means using three on a plate tuners is not a good idea, and they look as though they are forced in too! The answer is to replace the tuners with individual ones, and Kluson types i.e Gotoh, Kluson or Wilkinson are probably the easiest (You may have to redrill Rotomatic or Grover types).

 

I have had a chance to try a few things out, and made a couple of modifications to the guitar too. Firstly, I bought some Ebony bridgepins to replace the plastic ones, only to find, that in my opinion, the Texan actually sounded better with Plastic bridgepins anyway (That`s a first). The nut & saddle are bone, but would benefit from a bit of reshaping. I do not like the three screw TRC, although the new "E" is great, and harks back to the 60`s, so anyway, I made a replacement two screw TRC, using my Lennon 65 Casino`s as a template, and that now looks a treat. Playability is really good, and all I need now is a good hardcase that will fit, anyone got any suggestions?

 

Original h/stock with three screw TRC.

 

Updated H/stock, with new Nickel button tuners, and my handmade 60`s type two screw TRC.

 

Closeup of the same.

 

Back of headstock, I found it easier to fill all existing screwholes with PVA & cocktail sticks, before drilling new ones.

 

Steve.

[Red 333]

Steve, the Epiphone Masterbilt Ultralight Case For Dreadnaughts is the same case the McCartney Texans came with, if they're available where you are.

 

Here's a link so you can see one.

 

Masterbilt Ultralight Case

 

Masterbilt Ultralight Case Interior

 

They are sometimes called a "rigid gig bag," too. Nice, lightweight, but very protective case.

 

Red 333

[frenchie1281734003]

Steve' date=' the Epiphone Masterbilt Ultralight Case For Dreadnaughts is the same case the McCartney Texans came with, if they're available where you are.

 

Here's a link so you can see one.

 

Masterbilt Ultralight Case

 

Masterbilt Ultralight Case Interior

 

They are sometimes called a "rigid gig bag," too. Nice, lightweight, but very protective case.

 

Red 333

 

 

Thanks Red 333, that is exactly what I need, but do they ship to the U.K.?

[dhanners623]

Good report and I'm glad yours is sounding fine. Got mine back from the shop today. Had them smooth out the nut slots, which were cut kind of rough. Also had them do a little work on the bridge pin holes. And I switched out the plastic bridge pins with camel bone. There is a bit of an improvement in tone, but not astronomical. Still, it was good to get that cheap plastic out of there.

 

And yeah, those tuners definitely need to go. Yours look good, Steve, but I'm opting for the individual models with the white buttons to keep with the vintage vibe.

 

All that said, I've decided that the only real beef I have with the guitar is it looks too new and shiny. It needs to look beat up so it'll look like that sweet tone comes from years of hard playing.

 

I know folks pay big bucks for "relic'd" Fender electrics (and I've seen online tutorials in how to do it) but I'm not sure a lot of those techniques work on a poly finish.

[Red 333]

Thanks Red 333' date=' that is exactly what I need, but do they ship to the U.K.?

 

[/quote']

 

I don't think they do, Steve. I thougt maybe Thomann or some place like that might have it.

 

Red 333

[frenchie1281734003]

Good report and I'm glad yours is sounding fine. Got mine back from the shop today. Had them smooth out the nut slots' date=' which were cut kind of rough. Also had them do a little work on the bridge pin holes. And I switched out the plastic bridge pins with camel bone. There is a bit of an improvement in tone, but not astronomical. Still, it was good to get that cheap plastic out of there.

 

And yeah, those tuners definitely need to go. Yours look good, Steve, but I'm opting for the individual models with the white buttons to keep with the vintage vibe.

 

All that said, I've decided that the only real beef I have with the guitar is it looks [i']too[/i] new and shiny. It needs to look beat up so it'll look like that sweet tone comes from years of hard playing.

 

I know folks pay big bucks for "relic'd" Fender electrics (and I've seen online tutorials in how to do it) but I'm not sure a lot of those techniques work on a poly finish.

 

 

Thanks David. I share your sentiments about the beat up look, so I am trying to do a crash course in hard playing on it. So far, I have a couple of small divots starting to form on the fretboard, and a scuff on the lower rim, but I`ll keep working at it!

 

Steve.

[dhanners623]

I'm wondering what poly finishes look like after years of hard playing. Most of the poly finishes I've seen of late would survive WWIII, a gamma ray burst and every other form of calamity you can throw at it.

 

Years ago, I had an old Takamine F-360 (the one that from 20 feet away was a dead-ringer for a Martin D-28) that had a poly finish on it, and I had read an article somewhere -- I want to think it was an interview with Herb Pedersen or somebody -- who said they had the finish taken off the top of their guitar in an attempt to let the top vibrate better. So I lugged the guitar into a guitar shop in Fort Worth and they were more than happy to take my money and try to remove the finish. As the repairman told me later, it was really hard work. (I passed on having him scallop the braces. He showed me the scars on his forearms from scalloping braces of already-built guitars and I told him I wasn't going to ask him to injure himself working on a Takamine.)

 

Even though it was a plywood-topped guitar, it did sound better after the finish was removed from the top. It was never going to be mistaken for a pre-war Martin, but it was about as good as a '70s Takamine was going to get. I had a Baggs saddle pickup installed and it was actually a very good stage guitar -- played well, sounded good plugged in and stayed in tune.

[Red 333]

I lugged the guitar into a guitar shop in Fort Worth and they were more than happy to take my money and try to remove the finish.

 

You lived in Fort Worth? I am very familiar with it. What years were you there?

 

Red 333

[dhanners623]

You lived in Fort Worth? I am very familiar with it. What years were you there?

 

Red 333

 

What's your connection to Fort Worth?

 

Actually, the closest I came to Fort Worth was living in Arlington. I lived in the "Metroplex" from '82 to '94. Lived in Dallas, then moved to Arlington, and then later back into Dallas. But of Dallas and Fort Worth, I always enjoyed Fort Worth more. It seemed more "genuine" and more sincere about the arts. Great museums. And Geno's barbecue.

 

The guitar shop where I had all my work done was Longhorn Guitars. Don't know if they're still there. Once bought a nice D-35S with amazing Brazilian rosewood there, but never could get used to the wide fingerboard, so I traded it for a D-12-20, which I later traded for a Guild F-212, one of the finest 12-strings I'd ever heard. The D-35S and F-212 fall into the category of "Guitars I Wished I'd Never Sold," but alas, as the French say, "One must eat."

[Red 333]

What's your connection to Fort Worth?

 

Actually' date=' the closest I came to Fort Worth was living in Arlington. I lived in the "Metroplex" from '82 to '94.

 

[/quote']

 

Small world. I actually moved TO the Metroplex in 1994, and once lived in Arlington for a time.

 

I don't think Geno's is in business anymore. There is a Longhorn Guitars in Hurst, a suburb of Ft. Worth, but I've never visited.

 

Ft. Worth does indeed have a great arts and museum district, and there's been quite a bit of growth between it and the Botanical Gardens since you left. The Dallas Arts District has REALLY grown, though. It is now a self-contained 19 block area with a great variety of museums, performance spaces, and public spaces.

 

Dallas Arts District, Should You Care

 

It's great that both cities are so close together. They differ, yet compliment each other as communities, and form a rich and varied combination. Still, not many from one side of the 'plex mosey over to the other often, and residents of one tend to look down on the other.

 

I've visited Minneapolis and St. Paul several times, and think the world of it. All the lakes! I've lived where it snows in the winter, so can do without a lot of that, though.

 

Red 333

 

P.S. Sorry for the hijack, Frenchie!

[dhanners623]

Well, the thread is about Texans, so technically, maybe it isn't hijacking the thread to talk about Texas....

 

My nephew is a lawyer in Dallas, my niece lives in Rockwall and my brother and sister-in-law live in Commerce, east of Dallas. He's a department chair at Texas A&M-Commerce. I go back every couple of years. Used to listen to KNON all the time. Even played "live" on the air a couple of times when I lived down there. Played Poor David's Pub and Club Dada.

 

I wonder how many Texans Epiphone sells in Texas?

 

Ok, back to talking about guitars....

[Red 333]

Well' date=' the thread is about [i']Texans[/i], so technically, maybe it isn't hijacking the thread to talk about Texas....

 

 

I'm a Texan with a Texan, so I feel entitled.

 

But, just so Steve doesn't feel slighted: nice job with the tuners, Frenchie.

 

OK, back to the hijack.

 

If you played Club Dada, you'd be sorry to see the decline of Deep Ellum. Developers are trying to force out many of the small restaurants and clubs, so they can errect bigger buildings and more housing. There's been a bit of a renaissance on Main Street below that area, though, and some of the club and restaurant activity has migrated there.

 

Poor David's Pub has moved from Lower Greenville to swankier new digs Southside. Greenville is changing a lot, too, as the residents of the surrounding neighborhoods have severly limited parking on their streets. That's had a catastrophic effect on clubs and restaurants.

 

Back to Texans, the guitars, now. What kind of strings did you have put on with your new set up?

 

Red 333

[frenchie1281734003]

Hey, don`t be sorry about the hijack. Guitars bringing people together, now that`s a beautiful thing.

[dhanners623]

If you're asking me about strings (or was it Steve?), all I've tried on the Texan so far is D'Addario EJ-17s. That's what I use on my J-45, too. Any recommendations to get the best of the slope-shoulder/longer scale length combination?

 

I also have a kit guitar built by a guy in Browerville, Minn., that is essentially the same specs as a D-18 and is a reeeeally fine guitar. It's my bluegrass boomer and records beautifully; I used it on nine of the 12 songs on my new CD. I string it with Sfarzo SFT 80-20 Bronze (.013-.056) strings, which I stumbled across by accident. Nice strings, but they don't sound good on the J-45, for some reason.

 

And speaking of the Metroplex, I have a steel-bodied Duolian from Republic Guitars (http://www.republicguitars.com) right there in Rowlett. I use John Pearse phosphor-bronze mediums on it. Republic Guitars was my big discovery last year. I was looking for an affordable 12-fret slot-head reso, and came across them on the Tubes of the Internets. Read some reviews that said nice things about them, and the price looked good so I ordered one. Absolutely love it. It would be an amazing guitar at twice the price. Used it on two songs on the CD. (Used the J-45 on the remaining tune.)

[dhanners623]

I, too, should apologize for hijacking the thread. I'm relatively new here, and I don't want to overstep my welcome.

[Rockanrolla]

These cases fit the Texan (UK seller)

 

http://www.andertons.co.uk/hardcases/pid9049/cid580/epiphonecasefordreadnoughtacousticguitar.asp

 

Ive had some elixir nanoweb 11s on my texan, Ive usewd these strings on all my acoustics, they seem to be very good for all styles, but are really great on the texan, I also quite liked the strings it came with albeit a bit heavy.

[frenchie1281734003]

These cases fit the Texan (UK seller)

 

http://www.andertons.co.uk/hardcases/pid9049/cid580/epiphonecasefordreadnoughtacousticguitar.asp

 

Ive had some elixir nanoweb 11s on my texan' date=' Ive usewd these strings on all my acoustics, they seem to be very good for all styles, but are really great on the texan, I also quite liked the strings it came with albeit a bit heavy.[/quote']

 

Thanks for the heads up, on both the case, and the strings.

 

Steve.

[ricbeat]

Hello everybody!! Just registered. Ordered my IB texan on friday, should be with me by tuesday. Really don't want to be dissapointed! Always wanted a texan but never had the wallet for a 60's one. Was so pleased when they announced the IB 1964 model! Just strung my 1998 casino, sounds brill!!!!

[TommyK]

Pardon my ignernts... What does the "IB" in IB Texan mean?

[Beatroot]

Pardon my ignernts... What does the "IB" in IB Texan mean?

 

Inspired By (1964 model)

[Red 333]

Pardon my ignernts... What does the "IB" in IB Texan mean?

 

Inspired By.

 

The name of the new model of Texan is "Inspired By '64 Tean." There are also couple of Casinos in the "Inspired By" range, an Inspired By John Lennon '65 Casino and Inspired By John Lennon Revolution Casino.

 

The Inspired By range is made in Eiphone's own Chinese factory, and are new, more affordable versions of instruments that were previouly built in Japan (by Terada in these cases). The Inspired By range has some differnt specifiations than the Japanese guitars in order to make them more affordable, but also adds some more modern features, like the pick up in the Texan, that the Japanese versions or their Gibson-made incarnations did not have.

 

Of course, the originals that inspired the Japanese instruments were made in the '60s in Kalamzoo, MI, by Gibson.

 

Red 333

[EpiSheriMan]

Inspired By.

 

The name of the new model of Texan is "Inspired By '64 Tean." There are also couple of Casinos in the "Inspired By" range' date=' an Inspired By John Lennon '65 Casino and Inspired By John Lennon Revolution Casino.

 

The Inspired By range is made in Eiphone's own Chinese factory, and are new, more affordable versions of instruments that were previouly built in Japan (by Terada in these cases). The Inspired By range has some differnt specifiations than the Japanese guitars in order to make them more affordable, but also adds some more modern features, like the pick up in the Texan, that the Japanese versions or their Gibson-made incarnations did not have.

 

Of course, the originals that inspired the Japanese instruments were made in the '60s in Kalamzoo, MI, by Gibson.

 

Red 333[/quote']

 

Red, you should work in the Gibson PR department! Thats perfect!!!