EpiAlan Posted April 20, 2012 Share Posted April 20, 2012 I am working on getting a Masterbuilt AJ-500R Rosewood guitar as that round shoulder is my favorite. I realize they are out of production, and most online places are now out of them. I've heard good things about them and am looking to hear from others who have one for a general review. Thanks! I have found one retailer who has one left and I may buy it...at (Musicians Friend) It is one returned in ..they say..Mint Condition with only the box messed and the warrenty gone..but Mint for $521 inc delivery. I don't care about the box, or the warrenty as they are out of production anyway, and I imagine the warrenty won't matter. Either way I would send it back if there is something major wrong with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RaysEpiphone Posted April 20, 2012 Share Posted April 20, 2012 Never buy a guitar with out first trying it out. This is my motto, unless its a used peace of junk your buying (for nothing) for a 5 year old to tear up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red 333 Posted April 20, 2012 Share Posted April 20, 2012 While individual guitars can always vary in quality, Masterbilts have an excellent reputation as a whole. I have an AJ-500M, AJ-500R, AJ-500RC 12 fret, and a DR-500M. I find them to be very good guitars, and excellent values. I also have nine Gibson acoustics, so I can speak with both experience and confidence about the quality of the Masterbilt line. If you can find one new, a lifetime warranty is an excellent thing to have. It doesn't matter whether the guitar is out of production or not; Epiphone will honor the warranty. Check Sweetwater, Same Day Music, Zzounds, EM Shorts, or Fuller's Vintage Guitars if you haven't already. Good luck, Red 333 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EpiAlan Posted April 20, 2012 Author Share Posted April 20, 2012 While individual guitars can always vary in quality, Masterbilts have an excellent reputation as a whole. I have an AJ-500M, AJ-500R, AJ-500RC 12 fret, and a DR-500M. I find them to be very good guitars, and excellent values. I also have nine Gibson acoustics, so I can speak with both experience and confidence about the quality of the Masterbilt line. If you can find one new, a lifetime warranty is an excellent thing to have. It doesn't matter whether the guitar is out of production or not; Epiphone will honor the warranty. Check Sweetwater, Same Day Music, Zzounds, EM Shorts, or Fuller's Vintage Guitars if you haven't already. Good luck, Red 333 Thanks, I checked them all, there is not a single NEW AJ Masterbuilt 500R left in the country apparently. The only one was at MF as a new, but returned and in mint condition AJ500R....I ordered it as there is a 45 day return period. All others I found were on ebay, (Not my thing)..or damaged and refurbished, so I felt the MF mint condition one was the best. I'll let you know how it turns out. I'm hoping it is as they say Mint...and I will be happy getting the last one in that condition. I've dealt with MF several times before and they always take the guitar back no trouble if it is defected, and they pay for return shipping as well. So MF is probably my best option. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meanstreak Posted April 20, 2012 Share Posted April 20, 2012 Thanks, I checked them all, there is not a single NEW AJ Masterbuilt 500R left in the country apparently. The only one was at MF as a new, but returned and in mint condition AJ500R....I ordered it as there is a 45 day return period. All others I found were on ebay, (Not my thing)..or damaged and refurbished, so I felt the MF mint condition one was the best. I'll let you know how it turns out. I'm hoping it is as they say Mint...and I will be happy getting the last one in that condition. I've dealt with MF several times before and they always take the guitar back no trouble if it is defected, and they pay for return shipping as well. So MF is probably my best option. Not that it is a gurantee on future purchases, but I bought both my Masterbilts, my Epi PR-100 and my Epi Dove on eBay. All have been tremendous guitars. In fact I've purchased something on eBay more than 2,000 times in the last ten years and can remember being disappointed with my item just three times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EpiAlan Posted April 22, 2012 Author Share Posted April 22, 2012 Update...I got my Masterbuilt AJ-500R 2 days ago from MF. It was like new with the plastic still on the pic guard. Although it is not as beautiful as my Martin J-40 or my Taylor 815ce, it plays and sounds STUNNING, even with the old strings that came on it, which I have not yet changed. I am amazed at its volume and sustain. I prefer its tone over that $3000 Taylor..literally. And the action was set up perfect, which got even better after 2 days of humidification. I just LOVE it! It will be my dirty and sweet little "Goto Guitar!" Does anyone know if the satin finish is Poly or laquer? --I would like to try to polish it with some Gibson polish, just for protections sake, but I'm not sure if it would work on the rough satin finish it has...thanks all! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meanstreak Posted April 22, 2012 Share Posted April 22, 2012 Update...I got my Masterbuilt AJ-500R 2 days ago from MF. It was like new with the plastic still on the pic guard. Although it is not as beautiful as my Martin J-40 or my Taylor 815ce, it plays and sounds STUNNING, even with the old strings that came on it, which I have not yet changed. I am amazed at its volume and sustain. I prefer its tone over that $3000 Taylor..literally. And the action was set up perfect, which got even better after 2 days of humidification. I just LOVE it! It will be my dirty and sweet little "Goto Guitar!" Does anyone know if the satin finish is Poly or laquer? --I would like to try to polish it with some Gibson polish, just for protections sake, but I'm not sure if it would work on the rough satin finish it has...thanks all! Don't use that! I made the mistake of using the Gibson polish on my DR-500 natural satin. Put a haze on it that won't go away! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EpiAlan Posted April 22, 2012 Author Share Posted April 22, 2012 Don't use that! I made the mistake of using the Gibson polish on my DR-500 natural satin. Put a haze on it that won't go away! Meanstreak..thank you so much for telling me this!I feared it might make a haze on it. I will use a plain slightly damp cloth instead. I hope you get your DR clean. You might try a 50/50 windex and water mix, and spray yours and then wipe it immediately slowly and thoroughly with a vey soft cotton cloth. This may need to be done several times, but my guitar tech told me to do this when I got a hazy film on my rosewood Guild from the polish..it worked. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meanstreak Posted April 23, 2012 Share Posted April 23, 2012 Meanstreak..thank you so much for telling me this!I feared it might make a haze on it. I will use a plain slightly damp cloth instead. I hope you get your DR clean. You might try a 50/50 windex and water mix, and spray yours and then wipe it immediately slowly and thoroughly with a vey soft cotton cloth. This may need to be done several times, but my guitar tech told me to do this when I got a hazy film on my rosewood Guild from the polish..it worked. Good luck! I hadn't heard that 50/50 windex trick before, I'll try it next weekend when I change my strings. Thanks for the tip! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red 333 Posted April 23, 2012 Share Posted April 23, 2012 The finish on Masterbilts is poly. I use Gibson Pump Polish on my satin Masterbilts; it's never left a haze at all. Red 333 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meanstreak Posted April 24, 2012 Share Posted April 24, 2012 The finish on Masterbilts is poly. I use Gibson Pump Polish on my satin Masterbilts; it's never left a haze at all. Red 333 lol I wonder if I should have cleaned it with a damp cloth before I used the polish? I first used gibson pump on my AJ-500M VS and it looked great on the darker finish, but when I did it to the natural colored DR-500 it left a nasty haze on the belly near the bridge. Maybe something was there I hadn't noticed before hand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red 333 Posted April 25, 2012 Share Posted April 25, 2012 I had the same experience with Virtuoso Polish, which lots of people seem to love. I tried it, and left a haze on my guitar; I had been using the Gibson Pump Polish on it. I guess the two products are incompatible. The reverse might have been true when you used the pump polish on your guitar--maybe something was used on it previously that was incompatible. Hope you were able to get the haze off. Red 333 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meanstreak Posted April 28, 2012 Share Posted April 28, 2012 I had the same experience with Virtuoso Polish, which lots of people seem to love. I tried it, and left a haze on my guitar; I had been using the Gibson Pump Polish on it. I guess the two products are incompatible. The reverse might have been true when you used the pump polish on your guitar--maybe something was used on it previously that was incompatible. Hope you were able to get the haze off. Red 333 ahh ya that could have been the problem as all my guitars are bought used! Who knows what the previous owner put on it! I'm planning on giving the guitar a good cleaning and new strings later today, I'll let you know how the haze situation goes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red 333 Posted April 28, 2012 Share Posted April 28, 2012 ahh ya that could have been the problem as all my guitars are bought used! Who knows what the previous owner put on it! I'm planning on giving the guitar a good cleaning and new strings later today, I'll let you know how the haze situation goes. More than a few people use waxy spray furniture polish on their guitars (which I would never recommend). I don't think any guitar polish will react well with it initially--it'll look hazy until it's all removed. Maybe that's what happened n your case, Streak. You may just need some elbow grease to get the old stuff off (and maybe a product like Meguire's Scratch-X, which is sold in automotive departments). Then, as long as you choose a guitar-safe product and stick with it, all should be well. Red 333 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombywoof Posted April 30, 2012 Share Posted April 30, 2012 Best way to clean a guitar remains some cheesecloth slightly dampened with distilled water. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red 333 Posted April 30, 2012 Share Posted April 30, 2012 Best way to clean a guitar remains some cheesecloth slightly dampened with distilled water. I'm a big microfiber fan, myself. Red 333 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MorrisrownSal Posted October 9, 2012 Share Posted October 9, 2012 I just bought a NOS AJ500R from Sam Ash today. I have been playing it for a few hours. Stunning. Just put new strings on. I think I was lucky to stumble on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuitarLight Posted October 11, 2012 Share Posted October 11, 2012 I have three Masterbilts AJ-500R AJ-500M and DR-500MCE. I still am scratching my head wondering how they can possibly play and look so good! But they do! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milod Posted October 11, 2012 Share Posted October 11, 2012 I have the AJ500ME... I get the impression that two factors may have been involved in a questionable rep, at least for the two-pickup version of the electric stuff. Some apparently had major problems with the electronics. I haven't. Second, I have a hunch that some have been more than usually sensitive to humidity or lack thereof. Mine was just about ready to be returned after not touching it for more than a month due to my work schedule. It was unplayable when I got it. Voila, that month later it was a near-perfect setup for me... No other change but sitting in a case for a month. m Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.