tommyb Posted May 21, 2010 Share Posted May 21, 2010 I received my Masterbilt DR-500MCE yesterday from Musician's Friend. It's the natural finish version, MF doesn't offer VS yet. It is supposed to come with the $90 hard case, but mine did not. I emailed MF and they said I should have received the case and they are working on it. They're telling me that the case is missing in the warehouse. The guitar is an all-glossy finish, beautiful I might add. The only satin area is the neck and rear of the headstock. Build quality is first-rate at least to my eyes, and the sound is powerful. Intonation in the upper registers is spot on. This is my first Epi and my first acoustic/electric. I'm playing through a Roland CUBE30x amp and some of the settings make it sound like a 12-string. Very pleased so far. Tom Ohio USA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimitom Posted May 21, 2010 Share Posted May 21, 2010 It think that it's very unfair to put on the official site that guitar includes a hard case, and later it comes out that you don't get one. (http://www.epiphone.com/news.asp?NewsID=1805) TommyB did you get anyithing else with the guitar or did you have the same experience as SPD67 did? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tommyb Posted May 21, 2010 Share Posted May 21, 2010 I got all the owner's manuals, including one for the eSonic2 pickups, Warranty, bumpersticker, etc....everything but the hardshell velvet-lined case, which was advertised as being included. Musician's Friend is trying to find out why I didn't get one, they say I should have, and, of course, so does their website. Tom Ohio USA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie brown Posted May 21, 2010 Share Posted May 21, 2010 I got all the owner's manuals' date=' including one for the eSonic2 pickups, Warranty, bumpersticker, etc....everything but the hardshell velvet-lined case, which was advertised as being included. Musician's Friend is trying to find out why I didn't get one, they say I should have, and, of course, so does their website. Tom Ohio USA[/quote'] What IS it, with "Musician's Friend," and cases??! I bought a AIUSA Sheraton, a few years ago, that was supposed to come with a hardshell case, and it came in a "box!" I had to go through some "hoops" to get a case sent to me, for it...which should have been included, in the first place, and when they DID (finally) send one, it was a very generic, black "Epiphone" case, and NOT the one pictured (Like the Brown, John Lennon Casino case, but without the graphics), or advertised as part of the deal. SO....make sure they send you a "Masterbilt" case, and not some generic cheapo! ;>b CB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tommyb Posted May 21, 2010 Share Posted May 21, 2010 Not five minutes ago I got a shipping notification from MF that the case is on it's way. It's the Epiphone dreadnought case, velvetlined, wood, with a lock. It has the Epi logo on the outside and MF's price is $90. Sounds like a nice case. I'll make sure it matches the description when I receive it. Thanks for the heads-up! Tom Ohio USA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimitom Posted May 21, 2010 Share Posted May 21, 2010 Not five minutes ago I got a shipping notification from MF that the case is on it's way. It's the Epiphone dreadnought case' date=' velvetlined, wood, with a lock. It has the Epi logo on the outside and MF's price is $90. Sounds like a nice case. I'll make sure it matches the description when I receive it. Thanks for the heads-up! Tom Ohio USA[/quote'] Hey Tom, so do you actually have to pay $90 for the case or they are sending you for ''free'' (included in guitar price)? Thanks for the info man.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tommyb Posted May 21, 2010 Share Posted May 21, 2010 No, no....the case is included with the quoted price of $599, so it's already paid for. They just didn't ship with the guitar as they should have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tommyb Posted May 21, 2010 Share Posted May 21, 2010 Here's a link to a photo of my new DR-500MCE: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimitom Posted May 21, 2010 Share Posted May 21, 2010 It looks really nice.. and its photographed nicely too. Congratulations on your purchase, thanks for the photo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tommyb Posted May 21, 2010 Share Posted May 21, 2010 Thanks, jimitom... I've gotta get these fingers in shape so I at least do it justice! [imghttp://farm5.static.flickr.com/4036/4626121432_a60285a207_m.jpg][/img] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TxStrat Posted May 23, 2010 Share Posted May 23, 2010 I purchased one yesterday from GC. He let let me take home the natural, and is ordering the VS for me. When the VS comes in, he is going to let me swap the Natural for the VS. Oh, and I had to show him the GC web site to convince him that it's supposed to come with a case. He told me that when he ordered my VS, he would make sure that he got the case with it. He tried to give me an SKB case, but I think I want the Epiphone case... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimitom Posted May 23, 2010 Share Posted May 23, 2010 Hey TxStrat, the GC seems very generous for giving you the natural until the VS comes... Could you tell us something more about the sound of the guitar, primarily unplugged? Do you also think that the action is a little to high? I would appreciate your comments very much. Thanks. (I've ordered mine and currently waiting) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TxStrat Posted May 23, 2010 Share Posted May 23, 2010 The sound quality unplugged is awesome....but I wish it projected a little better. It's not as loud as I would like it to be. I think once I get some new strings on it, it might get a little better, but I don't want to put new strings on it and then return it to GC. I guess that's the least I could do for them letting me take the natural home while I wait for my VS. Anyway, 90% of the time I will have this plugged in to a PA and it was because of this that I decided to go with this particular model. I use an LR Baggs Venue DI, and that with the eSonic2 electronics, makes this is the most versatile acoustic guitar I own. Oh and yes the action is a little high, I will probably take it to a luthier to get that changed, if the VS that I am getting is as high as the action is on the natural I have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimitom Posted May 23, 2010 Share Posted May 23, 2010 Thanks for the review TxStrat! I also think that this guitar gives a lot of possibilities plugged in. In my experience the first change of the strings on a new acoustic guitar really shows what it can do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tommyb Posted May 23, 2010 Share Posted May 23, 2010 I agree about the action being high. I'm checking out luthiers in the area as I will most likely have mine worked on too. I haven't made up my mind about the sound yet. I already put new strings on mine, a lighter gauge set of SIT's. I haven't played many really good quality acoustics to compare. I think the sound is good, and oh yes...the intonation all the way up the scale is perfect. It's one of the first things I check. The Yamaha FG-300 I had back in the seventies was a sweet-sounding guitar, but the intonation in the upper registers was flat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tommyb Posted May 24, 2010 Share Posted May 24, 2010 While I was concentrating on not thinking about my sore fingers my wife snuck in and shot this candid...trust me! I didn't know until the flash went off! This is my one week old DR-500MCE and I'm loving it. I think the action is too high though and I'm researching luthiers in the northeast Ohio area to take it to. There are more around than I thought and most of them have been in the business for many years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimitom Posted May 24, 2010 Share Posted May 24, 2010 Thank for the photo TommyB!! Lowering the action shouldn't be a problem for a good luthier and it shouldn't be too expensve for you. Funny thing is that I still don't have my DR-500MCE but I've already found a luthier in my town for lowering the action. By the way that's a nice photo of e-minor and I think that the guitar looks like a real solid well-made instrument. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TxStrat Posted May 24, 2010 Share Posted May 24, 2010 I am still blown away with the different sounds I can get out of this guitar. I spent 3 hours last night with my DR-500MCE, a Venue DI, my mixer that has EFX built in and headphones (didn't want to wake up MaMa, cuz everyone knows if MaMa ain't happy, ain't nobody happy). I kept the EQ on the board flat and used a combination if the blend control, the tone or "EQ" knob on both of the pups, and the 5 band parametric EQ on the Venue (including a "presence" control) and found a number of excellent "tones". I should have documented the settings, but I didn't. I am anxiously awaiting the arrivial of the VS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tommyb Posted May 24, 2010 Share Posted May 24, 2010 TxStrat... You've got some serious gear! Maybe you can help me. MY amp is a small Roland CUBE 30x that has an output for a recorder. What I'd like to do is record some chord accompanyments and then play lead...sort of a poor man's two channel setup. Play that back through the MP3 input and play along. Is there an inexpensive recorder that would work here? BTW...I'll bet the VS is gorgeous based on the fit and finish of the natural...post some photos when it comes! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TxStrat Posted May 27, 2010 Share Posted May 27, 2010 hahaha.. I guess everyone's interpretation of "inexpensive" is a little different. A good quality recording studio will have several hundred thousand dollars invested in equipment. Having said that there are several relatively inexpensive ways to do exactly what you are wanting to do. You could go with something like this: http://pro-audio.musiciansfriend.com/product/Tascam-DP004-Digital-Pocketstudio-Limited-Edition-Red?sku=583086 but I have personally never used anything like that but it looks fairly easy and straigtforward. I prefer to do the mixing and mastering on a PC. I have a home recording studio and I use a firewire interface and Sonar Studio 8.5. You could start with something like this: http://pro-audio.musiciansfriend.com/product/E-Mu-Tracker-Pre-USB-2.0?sku=705624 which is what I started with a couple of years ago. It comes with the "LE" Limited edition versions of both Sonar 6 and Cubase. Both are good recording applications. Not sure what kind of PC (or MAC) hardware you are using, but there are very few apps that will truly push your hardware, (memory, CPU and disk drive speed and size) than digital recording. Be sure to check the minimum requirements before you purchase this. If you don't have a relatively new PC you might not be happy with the results. Additionally it might take some time to learn how to use the software efficiently, but the possibilities are endless. Beware, once you get hooked on doing some recording, it's almost as bad as being a musician... you can keep upgrading and spending money and you are never satisfied... there is always something bigger/better out there... LOL If you have more questions on this topic shoot me an PM and I will give you my email address. Now to get this back ON TOPIC>>>> I did some research (I called Gibson) and it turns out that the "Natural" version of the DR-500MCE is an exclusive for GC/Musicians Friend. My VS is on order, but I haven 't gotten a delivery date yet.. I am treating the Natural with kit gloves so that there isn't a mark/scratch on it when I swap it for the VS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimitom Posted May 28, 2010 Share Posted May 28, 2010 '' "Natural" version of the DR-500MCE is an exclusive for GC/Musicians Friend. '' That's interesting. Maybe there won't be any problems with case distribution on VS guitars. Everyone who bought a Natural didn't get his case with it (at least not at the same time when the guitar was bought ). If anyone gets his DR-500MCE VS please inform us!! cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TxStrat Posted May 28, 2010 Share Posted May 28, 2010 I am not sure why GC can't get the case situation figured out. On both th Epi and GC web site it says that it comes with a case. On the GC web site it even has the part number for the case listed. I had to show that to the Salesman at GC for him to believe me that it should come with a case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tommyb Posted May 28, 2010 Share Posted May 28, 2010 Yes, it's strange. My case for the DR-500MCE finally came and I'll say that it's gorgeous. Very thick lining with a recess that allows for the clearance for the eSonic2 panel. The guitar fits it like a glove. Some have mentioned the odor. I'm just letting mine sit open so it airs out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocman13 Posted June 6, 2010 Share Posted June 6, 2010 Musicians Friend has still not broken the code on the included case!!! My DR500MCE shipped, but only one box is on the shipping email. I sent an email to MF customer service and received a promt reply. However, it seems you must wait until you receive the guitar before you can get them to ship the case! You have to supply them with the serial number before they will look into it. MF has a great web site, super customer service, and the worst warehouse and shipping department in the bussiness. Makes me want to look a little harder at M123 for future purchases... Another unhappy MF victim :- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red 333 Posted June 6, 2010 Share Posted June 6, 2010 MF has a great web site' date=' super customer service, and the worst warehouse and shipping department in the bussiness. Makes me want to look a little harder at M123 for future purchases...Another unhappy MF victim :- [/quote'] MF and Music 123 (and Guitar Center) are the same company, and share the same warehouse. Red 333 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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