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HNGD - Elitist Broadway


Parabar

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Posted

The Fed Ex man just delivered my first new guitar in several years, and WOW is it a beauty! I scored it in an eBay auction last week, and they don't turn up there too often. Especially not like this one --- it's a NOS 2004 model, dead mint, still has the plastic on the pickguard, gold plating gleaming like new, and maybe the flamiest back I've ever seen. It's even more spectacular in person, but here are the requisite pics:

ElitistBroadway.jpg

 

Baby got Back!

ElitistBroadwaybackcloseup.jpg

 

It's very resonant and live-sounding acoustically, but it came with .010's, which feel too light for it, so tonight I'll probably swap them out for .011's and check it out plugged in. The white plastic knobs will have to go, to be replaced with gold bell knobs, and I'll have to see about the tailpiece. I'm not big on Frequensators, but it can't have just any old tailpiece on it either. And it came without a case, so I'll have to track down one of those as well.

 

This is definitely the nicest guitar in my collection (and the most expensive), so I'll hafta log some practice time to be worthy!

 

(Can you tell I'm stoked?)

Posted

Congrats-what an absolute beauty and you are right about the back,that flaming is just outstanding.She's a true work of art but that's not surprising,Epiphone has been turning out fabulous jazz boxes for decades.I'm sure that you'll spend many hours playing this new beauty-enjoy.

Posted

I'd surely leave the white knobs & frequensator on there for the vintage Epi vibe.

Beautiful guitar!

 

I could accept the white knobs as "old Epiphone" --- except the rest of the guitar is modeled after the L-5 CES rather than the original Epiphone Broadway, and to my aesthetics they don't blend. The Frequensator I may get used to, but on my Korean Broadway I took it off because the strings I prefer don't have a long enough D string to work well with it, and when I put a heavier tailpiece on, oh MAN did it improve the sound.

 

I've just been playing it through my Epiphone Blues Custom 30 and Mesa Nomad 45, and it's astonishing how different it sounds from the Korean. I'm grinnin' like a pickin' fool --- it's definitely as close to an L-5 as I'll ever need to get --- Wes and Kenny are in there, but so are Scotty Moore, Jimmy Nolen, Jerry Miller and Terry Haggerty, and it's already making me play a little differently. The BC30 brings out the warm richness of the clean tones, and it sounds surprisingly good through the Mesa with the gain cranked into serious crunch territory -- and no feedback issues (at this volume anyway). Next step: change the strings for .011's.

Posted

Simply beautiful. Are you sure this is an Elitist?From the headstock and the made in Japan label, I would guess this is a Matsumoto(?) made guitar from the 80's.Either way, enjoy.

Mark

Posted

Simply beautiful. Are you sure this is an Elitist?From the headstock and the made in Japan label, I would guess this is a Matsumoto(?) made guitar from the 80's.Either way, enjoy.

Mark

 

Yeah, its an Elitist. They were made from the early to mid/late 2000's at the Fuji-gen factory in Japan.

ElitistBroadwatHeadstock.jpg

Posted

Very nice! I had a Broadway in the mid to late 90's and have fond memories of it. Not sure what I'd do about the knobs. I'd hate to change them but I agree, you could put better looking ones on there! Enjoy!

Posted

Yeah, its an Elitist. They were made from the early to mid/late 2000's at the Fuji-gen factory in Japan.

ElitistBroadwatHeadstock.jpg

 

Mine was made at the Terada factory in 2004, and it has both the Elitist TRC and the decal on the back of the headstock, so no doubts as to its pedigree.

Posted

HNGD to you Parabar. That really is a thing of beauty. It looks perfect like it is. I think the white knobs look great on it and especially the Frequensator. Congrats on the new acquisition.

Posted

I agree - the white knobs and freaky-sator make it look like a vintage Epi.

 

I'd leave it alone myself, but it's your git until you decide to sell it to me.

 

msp_thumbup.gif

Posted

Oh. I thought they were Fuji-gen. Did they make Elitists at both locations, or am I just confusing guitar models again? lol.

 

Fugi-Gen made the solid body Elitists; Terada built the hollow bodies, semi-hollow bodies, and the acoustics.

 

GREAT score Parabar. I love mine!

 

Red 333

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