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2009 Epiphone Country Deluxe Elitist


eor

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http://www.gryphonstrings.com/instpix/34805/34805.php

 

don't see too many of these anymore. this one being exceptionally pretty-- don't recall seeing flamey ones before. lots of huge porny photos, too. i don't think the price is altogether terrible, given what it is and its rarity/condition, but i wouldn't call it a deal by any stretch. then again, what do i know? hope someone here lucks out.

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Your guess is as good as anyone's. Well, as good as mine, anyway; someone here will know more about these, but I didn't even know they existed. I do know that Elitist Sheratons were going for about $1600 new in 2007 and the last one of those I saw second hand was around that price. I suppose it (obviously) depends on whether anyone really wants one of these- I'll admit with Gretsches on the same page, my eye was drawn to the Gretsches.

 

I just had a look at the completed listings on US ebay for Elitists and was surprised to see the Les Pauls fetching such low prices, and a 335 which couldn't fetch it's starting price of $1090.

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hard to say on the pricing. only saw one of these in person in a store, a few years back. want to say that it was close to/north of $1700, but i don't remember for sure. mind you, this was before the price increase. the sheratons were around $1300-1400 and went up to around $1700-1800, i think.

 

though i haven't been on top of prices lately, the les pauls had been going up to the $800+ range, and all the "jazz" elitists were well north of $2000. i've seen the chets/country deluxe not go for that much; also not see them fetch $1300. given there relative rarity and nichey-ness, i guess it depends on who's holding how much on any given day.

 

and since they were made in the same plant by the same people, they are essentially re-badged gretsches, with different pickups. except that gretsch never made a model to these specs, though gibson did a few times. think of them as a gretsch that never was. they wouldn't make chet a semi-hollow or something, i forget why he jumped ship to gibson.

 

and if anyone is curious, here's a elitist dot for $995, which i would classify as a decent deal. harmony central- elitist dot for sale (again, no affiliation)

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eor wrote

and since they were made in the same plant by the same people, they are essentially re-badged gretsches, with different pickups. except that gretsch never made a model to these specs

 

Say WHAT??? Do you not see the extreme pretzelity of that logic?? How can something be a "re-badged (whatever)," when, as you say in the very next sentence, (whatever) never made a model to those specifications? ](*,) Also, the Terada plant in Japan has made guitars for many other brands besides Gretsch.

 

You are correct in stating that Chet Atkins did indeed change his endorsement from Gretsch to Gibson, partly because Gretsch would not put a center block inside the Country Gentleman model as Chet desired. However, the only Gretschy things about the Gibson/Epiphone Chet models are: a) the control layout, with both individual and master volume knobs, B) the thumbnail fingerboard inlays, and c) the orange color. Two of those are purely cosmetic. The center block is a Gibson invention, though Gretsch did briefly make a center block model, the 6120N, which also had a rare (for Gretsch)Florentine cutaway. And the pickups --- which many would argue are the most important and distinctive factor in an electric guitar's tone --- are high-output humbuckers, which sound nothing like any of the pickups Gretsch has used on its guitars --- not Dynas, not FilterTrons, HiLo Trons, the various other 'Trons, or even the Gretschbuckers.

 

I've played the Elitist Chet models, and they are elegant, superb guitars. They have a wider and flatter fingerboard than most other electrics, which make them especially well-suited to fingerstyle playing, but their tone is that good old Gibson/Epiphone Fat City we all know and love all the way. If you want to travel out to Twangville on the Gretsch Express, by all means do so, but the Elitist model is more Classic than Country, and its DNA is definitely Gibsonian in origin.

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of course. i meant that being of similar origins, from similar hands, they are of similar quality. i don't think he meant in that way; it was intended to address the slightest, vaguest implication that the epiphone is a lesser intrument. but they don't sound a damn thing alike, hence a gretsch that never was. owning two of those as well, im pretty confident that they are probably much closer to my sheraton than my g6118t (which i bought because i couldn't bring myself to swap out the pups and slap a bigsby on an elitist broadway i had my eye on at the time*).

 

were you to put some tv jones in it, you'd get something pretty cool- i did that once with an es333 and was very pleased. especially if you split them.

 

and for whatever reason, i could't make my peace with the nut width, which is odd, because my favorite acoustic is the same width. maybe if i tried it again. also curious how the different woods in the plys change things, if at all.

 

*- though i kinda wish i bought it when i had the chance, given their rarity/value now. guy only wanted $1000 at the time ](*,)

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The local GC had a new Elitist Country Gent approx two years ago. I believe the price originally was $1900 and came down to $1500. It started getting a bit beat up by people handling it, and at some point the armrest was taken off, exposing two mounting holes in the top (which did not look good at all). At some point it got sold, but it sat for a long time.

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How much do they go for used? I've never seen one on ebay or anywhere.

 

I've seen a couple on eBay. Most recent one went for somewhere around $1200 - $1400 as best I can recall.

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between this and midiman's thread- damn if i don't want one now. even if i'd rather have the older, wine red ones. here's an review on them, stating the street price as 2k.

 

My linkhttp://www.epiphone.com/images/N_CDGP.pdf

 

slightly nutty configuration- thinline, 25.5 scale, 21 frets, 1 3/4" nut, fancy wiring... can't find dimensions. so i guess it's kinda like a giant, long scale, oddly wired 335, kinda? looks like a good live "acoustic" alternative- less hassles and feedback and what not, with some finger room for capoing up the neck. intrigued again.

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