Never saw one of these

[strumbert]

http://philadelphia.craigslist.org/msg/2334694081.html

[motowntom]

Nice!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Cheers

[Ship of fools]

While a very nice guitar he is way off on the value, these were made in 2003/04 they listed for about $1600.00 which means street price was closer to $1000- $1100.00 so todays price should be closer to the $650-750 range and if I was going to look at the Elitist, I would rather have a Elitist 1964 USA Texan Paul McCartney Signature model.ship

[Red 333]

While a very nice guitar he is way off on the value, these were made in 2003/04 they listed for about $1600.00 which means street price was closer to $1000- $1100.00 so todays price should be closer to the $650-750 range and if I was going to look at the Elitist, I would rather have a Elitist 1964 USA Texan Paul McCartney Signature model.ship

 

An Elitist J-45 recently sold on eBay for about $1100. The rarer models in particular, like the J-45, EL-00, J-200, Byrdland, and Broadway seem to be increasing in value, and are commanding prices close to or above what they sold for originally.

 

The USA McCartney Texans routinely sell for over $3K, so it's apples vs. oranges to most folks (I'd rather have one of those, too!). The (non-McCartney) Elitist Texan would be closer in price. The Japanese McCartney Texans are holding their value well, too, routinely selling for between $1600-$2000, depending on condition.

 

Price aside, the J-45 also has a wider nut width, and is short-scale, so there is certainly a difference in tone and feel between the two models that some players would prefer.

 

Red 333

[TommyK]

Does that headstock look right to you?

 

Where's the center cleavage?

[TommyK]

 

http://www.epiphone.com/elitist/j45.htm

 

yes it looks ok...........

 

 

That's a new one on me.

 

I take it from the downloadable product catalog these are of 2003 vintage.

 

The twisted sister LP gave me the dry heaves.

[dubstar]

elitist headstock based on historical epiphone design...

 

 

[TommyK]

I'll keep this one in my gray matter data base.

 

Just an observation. What do you suppose the graphic designer who came up with the graphics thought the first time he saw a hole drilled in his "R" in the word "Royal"?

[el capitan]

I had an Elitist Texan-very nice,but when I got the MIJ Macca it had to go! Got a very good price & quick sale.

Sticking a pre-war headstock on a Kalamazoo era body shape-- what's that about?

[dubstar]

well, gibson obviously wanted some visual distinction to be made on the gibson-bodies elitists in the united states...and the headstock is a nod to epiphone's rich past...the best of both worlds, I guess you would say

 

so the elitist byrdland, country deluxe, '63 335 dot, LP models, and J-45 all got the non-gibson headstock

[Red 333]

well, gibson obviously wanted some visual distinction to be made on the gibson-bodies elitists in the united states...and the headstock is a nod to epiphone's rich past...the best of both worlds, I guess you would say

 

so the elitist byrdland, country deluxe, '63 335 dot, LP models, and J-45 all got the non-gibson headstock

 

The Elitists models that were originally Epiphones got the headstock style they had when they were first issued in the '60s, which was the paddle style. Those that were originally Gibson models got the style seen on the Royal, above. The exception was the Thunderbird bass, which kept its unique Gibson shape.

 

For what it's worth, of the 24 (I think) Elitist models and their Signature or Assembled in USA variants (like the McCartney Texan, John Lee Hooker Sheraton, USA Sheraton, and limited edition Lennon Casinos), only the Texans, Sheratons, Rivieras, and Casinos were original Epiphone models to begin with (and even those were originally Gibson variants). The rest of the line (Les Paul Studio, Standard, Plus Top, Custom, Gold Top; Byrdland, Chet Atkins, ES-335, SG, EB-3, J-45, EL-00, Jim Croce EL-00, and J-200) were all Gibson models. Had they been given Gibson-shaped headstocks, you'd be hard-pressed to tell them apart from the same model Gibson; they were that good.

 

Now, the Broadway got an Epiphone-style headstock (the style that's like the Gibson open-book, but with the edges clipped off), but that guitar is actually more like a Gibson L-5, and has very little in common with the original Epiphone Broadway. Interestingly enough, that style headstock, even though it resembles the Gibson open book, is actually a pre-Gibson Epiphone style.

 

Red 333