diverden Posted June 28, 2011 Share Posted June 28, 2011 Simple solution. Epiphone describes The EJ 200 at their online catalog as having a Solid Spruce top. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DennisMiller Posted June 28, 2011 Share Posted June 28, 2011 It's been a few weeks since I visited this thread and a few more people have seen and played my EJ in the meantime. Everyone who sees it thinks it has to be a solid top and everyone who plays it says it doesn't matter, it sounds good enough not to be concerned whether it is or not. In the past few months, I've picked up a Taylor dread and a Martin dread. In each case, the tone is so different on opposite ends of the spectrum that this inexpensive Epi jumbo fits very nicely in the middle. I would never suggest it's cured my GAS, but it sure has helped me ignore some guitars I've seen for sale. I feel like what I have right now pretty well fits everything I might want to do. What the hell... I'll just spend the money on golf clubs instead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meanstreak Posted June 28, 2011 Share Posted June 28, 2011 at some point during mid 2010 Epiphone seems to have switched the EJ200 from all-lam to having solid tops. They didn't even make a very big deal out of it which I think they should have! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gypsyseven Posted June 28, 2011 Share Posted June 28, 2011 Honestly i don´t matter.....i just totally love mine! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DennisMiller Posted June 28, 2011 Share Posted June 28, 2011 Yet at the same time, the label stuck on the pickguard of mine, advertising features, referred to a "Select Spruce Top"... laminated in Epi-speak. I would have thought if they changed the top to solid, the FIRST thing they would have done is said so everywhere possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wiggy Posted June 28, 2011 Share Posted June 28, 2011 Epiphone apparently upped the spec of the EJ200's at some point during the back end of 2010 from laminate to solid tops. Don't know whether it will actually make any significant differenece to the guitars as decent laminate may well sound better than grotty solid (not saying that they solid spruce tops ARE grotty wood in fact almost certainly the opposite will be the case). As the CE versions are really designed to be played amped it may well be a retrograde step on these as laminate feedsback less. Either way these guitars, especially when you look at the build quality coming out of the Indonesian factory (which one anyone?), are fantastic bang for the bucks. OK not in the same league as a Gibson SJ200 but for roughly 10th of the price you can't expect them to be. Actually I get the feeling that if they introduced a Masterbuilt version it could seriously dent the sales of the SJ200's (which I suppose is why it doesn't exist!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gypsyseven Posted June 28, 2011 Share Posted June 28, 2011 ...Actually I get the feeling that if they introduced a Masterbuilt version it could seriously dent the sales of the SJ200's (which I suppose is why it doesn't exist!) Exactly, i thought the same. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supersonic Posted June 28, 2011 Share Posted June 28, 2011 Actually I get the feeling that if they introduced a Masterbuilt version it could seriously dent the sales of the SJ200's (which I suppose is why it doesn't exist!) I think you're right. I also think that, unfortunately, the same logic was applied when they chose to discontinue all of the Elitist models except the Casino. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wiggy Posted June 28, 2011 Share Posted June 28, 2011 To be fair, from a corporate point of view, the price point of the Elitist LP's pretty much matches that of the Gibson LP Studios so they've got that base covered and no matter how much we love them the Elitist range just adds confusion to the range. To fit into the current pricing structure they would need to be either £200 cheaper or more expensive - £200 cheaper loses them money (by quite a margin I'd imagine) and £200 dearer would dilute the Gibson brand because the pricing is simply too close to the Trads & Stds. This doesn't happen with the Casinos (would work with Dots as well - Gibson please note) as the price differential between the Gibby and Epiphone products allows something in between. In theory a Masterbuilt EJ200 at around £1000/1200 pounds would slot right in between the normal EJ's at around £300 and the Gibson SJ's at £2300 but that's an immensely competitive market and I doubt if Gibson could take much market share from Takamine, Tanglewood, Martin. Taylor, etc, etc, etc (very few of which produce a large jumbo anyway) but it could damage SJ sales. The only way it might work is if the EJ Masterbuilt was made in the US therefore giving that cachet but then the cost point is going to be pretty much the same as the SJ so would be no different to reducing the price of the SJ and would they sell sufficient extra numbers to justify it? Probably not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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