hilm3 Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 I am pretty sure I will buy a new guitar in the next week or so. Help me out! The rules: 1. It's got to be an Epiphone. 2. It's going to be an Epiphone model, not a copy of a Gibson something or other. The beginning of my Epi collection. 3. I have an Epi Casino and a Gibson SG. These two cover a lot of ground, and the Casino is my current jazz favorite by default. 4. I want it for Jazz - I like every genre of it and I am pretty good if I say so myself. 5. No tremolo on this baby (blech!, phooey! yuck!). Same for 3-pup models. 6. Here's my list. Differences in price do not matter and won't factor in the decision. So, fire away: ES 175 (breaks rule number 2, but nice looking) Broadway JP Emperor II Emperor Regent Nick Valensi Riviera P94 (hot pick ups, I know) Sheraton II AlleyKat The only ones I have not played are the ES 175 and the Valensi. Right now, I am heavily leaning to which ever one I am looking at. So basically, I want them all, but where do I start? Kid at a candy shop. I have about $1600 to spend. The law is half on a guitar, more or less, the rest on jewelry for the spouse. By the way, jewelry means anything she wants. Probably plane tickets to visit the grandkids. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete B Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 Wilshire? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianh Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 Except for the Valensi and maybe the Broadway, you can get 2 of those models for $800 on the used market. The Broadway would the best for jazz. Amazon has ES 175s for $399 shipped right now... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hilm3 Posted March 9, 2012 Author Share Posted March 9, 2012 Except for the Valensi and maybe the Broadway, you can get 2 of those models for $800 on the used market. The Broadway would the best for jazz. Amazon has ES 175s for $399 shipped right now... Yes indeed, 2 used is an attractive option. Although for me to bring two guitars into the house at the same time would not go over big. Small steps. Plus I've never bought a new guitar yet, other than my practically new classical guitar back in '76. It was owned for a couple of weeks by someone who decided they preferred a spruce top. The sparkly, shiny, and new figures into this project. Wilshire is nice, but looking for hollow body. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
damian Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 The Valensi has been discontinued.....Might wanna grab one now....Just a thought.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hilm3 Posted March 9, 2012 Author Share Posted March 9, 2012 Sheraton II Lucille AlleyKat OOOHHH! AlleyKat! How did I miss that. Thanks. Added to the list. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pennyman Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 OOOHHH! AlleyKat! How did I miss that. Thanks. Added to the list. Good call adding that to the list, except it's been discontinued... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parabar Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 2. It's going to be an Epiphone model, not a copy of a Gibson something or other. The beginning of my Epi collection. Technically the current Broadway is more of a copy of a Gibson L-5 CES than a new version of the original Epiphone Broadway --- but I personally think the original B'way design was a bit clunky. And the Emperor Regent is a copy of the Gibson Johnny Smith, with a Frequensator instead of a Gibson tailpiece. All the guitars on your list are nice, but which one(s) would suit you best is a question nobody else can answer for you --- you really need to get your hands on 'em to try out. But here are my impressions, which may help you narrow down where to start: I'd recommend the JP Emperor II over the Epiphone ES-175 (which is being discontinued). They're both 24.75" scale, 16" archtops, but the JP's spruce top and pickup spacing give it a warmer, rounder tone, and the ones I've seen have been better made, better sounding guitars. Used ones in good condition can go for less than $500 on eBay and Craigslist, sometimes less than $400, so you might be able to pick up a JP AND one of the others on your list within your budget. In all seriousness, my Epiphone JP does more of what I want than the Gibson ES-175 I used to own. The Broadway and Emperor Regent are essentially the same guitar with different pickup configuration. The Regent's floating pickup makes it louder acoustically, but it's a one-trick pony. If you want it strictly for jazz and playing acoustically, it might be a good choice, but the Broadway's bridge pickup sure comes in handy if you want to play some blues, rockabilly or country, or even rock out a bit every once in a while. And the Regent feeds back more easily too. The Sheraton II is a wonderful guitar, but will be less different from your Casino and SG than the four "jazzbox" options listed above. In my experience, semi-hollow guitars do indeed occupy the territory between solid and hollow bodies, but they're not in the middle of that space. Models with stop tailpieces, in particular, to me are closer to a solid body in response and tone, though they do have some harmonic richness and response that resembles a true hollow body. The P-94's in the semi-hollow Valensi behave differently than the P-90's on a hollow-bodied Casino, but they're designed more for grit and breakup, so I'm not sure that would be the best choice for a jazz guitar. Based on your comments that you want it for jazz, I would suggest that either the Broadway or Emperor Regent would be the place to start. Their longer scale and big 17" bodies will offer you response and tone that will be distinctly different from either your Casino or SG, and provide the most tonal variety. As another hint, look for one with a serial number starting with R --- those will be made by Peerless in the 90's or early 2000's, and are usually a cut above the Saein-made ones, with a much more symmetrical and pleasing f-hole design too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hilm3 Posted March 10, 2012 Author Share Posted March 10, 2012 ....Broadway or Emperor Regent would be the place to start.... From playing them, I am kinda sorta leaning this way, but still indecisive. Thanks for your comments, Parabar. Much appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianh Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 Agree with Parabar 100%. I have a Emperor Regent and would trade it in a heartbeat for a Broadway, although I have toyed with the idea of installing two humbuckers in it, thereby making it into one. If you could scrape together a few more sheckles, you might even be able to find a used Elitist Broadway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morkolo Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 I'd go with the Broadway, basically the same thing as the Samick HJ650 I have and it can give you jazz tones all day long and like others have said when the mood allows it can do country, rock, etc... really nails that Scotty Moore/Chet Atkins Gibson tone if that's what you're looking for. Try to find a shop where you can play as many back to back as possible and don't settle on one Epiphone makes great guitars but not everyone that comes off the line may be a keeper for you. Though they are more consistent than Gibson there are still subtle differences which could be huge to your ears, more or less the difference between "the" guitar for you or not. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the guitar butcher Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 I have a Sheraton II one of the best choices I have made it's so awesome and kills. I am putting new hum buckers in tho TGB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LPDEN Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 The AlleyKat would be my choice... Mainly because there are only a few left around new, and it's unique to Epiphone and offers the mini-hum in the neck position and full '57 Hum in the bridge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LPDEN Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 It's threads like this that I read that get under my skin ad give me a bad case of GAS. The remedy was I sought out an Alleykat and found an old stock 2006 model in Honey Sunburst (HS). Sorry for the hijack, I'll do an independent thread with pics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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