Australian Sun Posted August 10, 2012 Report Share Posted August 10, 2012 Hi Folks, I'm looking for information on (and to buy) the Japanese Epiphone J200 Elite or Elitist. I am interested in learning more about these instruments if anyone has any facts to share. As far as I know, the name was changed from Elite to Elitist shortly after production started in 2002 at Fuji-Gen, Japan (not Korea?) due to someone like Schecter or Ovation (confirm?) having a similarly named model already on the market. They were only in production for 2 or 3 years (confirm?). I don't know if that's true so any confirmation of that would be awesome! I think the instrument I'm looking for has these attributes, some of which are a bit of guess work (in italics): * Solid spruce top * Solid maple back * Solid mahogany or maple sides (?? maybe different between sunburst and natural finish models, anyone know this??) * One-piece mahogany (?? or 3 piece maple ??) neck set at the 14th fret * Ebonized rosewood fingerboard with crown inlays * 25.5" scale length * 1-11/16" or 1.68" bone nut (?) * Ebonized rosewood moustache bridge with bone saddle and pearl inlays * 24K Gold hardware * Die-cast Grover Imperial tuners * Multi-ply 2-ring rosette * Single-ply neck & headstock binding * 7-ply body binding * Tombstone headstock with pearl holly inlay * 2-ply black/white truss rod cover * Black bridge pins with white dots * Tortoise pick-guard Does anyone own one of these? How do they compare to the Gibson J-200 Standard, True Vintage and Custom? Are they as flawless as my research tells me? I look forward to your knowledgeable replies, thank you everyone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red 333 Posted August 11, 2012 Report Share Posted August 11, 2012 I have an Elitist J-200. It's a very well-made and nice sounding acoustic--very balanced. I have ten Gibson and nine Epiphone acoustics, and the Elitist J-200 is definitely a favorite. If you can find one, you will a good chance of finding a really nice guitar. Good luck. I think the link Pete provided contains all the answers to your questions about Elitist specs. A couple things I did not see there were the headstock angle and finish type: all the Elitist acoustics (except the Paul McCartney Texan) have a 14 degree headstock angle and (extremely thin) poly finishes. Their Gibson counterparts (and the McCartney Texan) have 17 degree headstock angles and nitro finishes. One other thing: strictly speaking, the Elitist J-200's tuners are not actually Grover Imperial. They are Grover Super Rotomatics--modern Grover tuners with Imperial buttons. If you have any other specific questions, fire away. I'll try to answer as best I can. Red 333 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Australian Sun Posted August 12, 2012 Author Report Share Posted August 12, 2012 If you have any other specific questions, fire away. I'll try to answer as best I can. Red 333 Thanks Red, actually I do. How much do you think you would expect to $pend if yours ever needed replacing, and lets hope it never does! I'm definitely going in for a purchase asap, just need to know how much is too much, proportionally, for this instrument. Sounds like a fancy tactical move when I say it like that doesn't it, 'going in for a purchase'. "Roger that tower control, going in for another purchase, wait, pull up pull up, it's GAS time!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red 333 Posted August 12, 2012 Report Share Posted August 12, 2012 Thanks Red, actually I do. How much do you think you would expect to $pend if yours ever needed replacing, and lets hope it never does! I'm definitely going in for a purchase asap, just need to know how much is too much, proportionally, for this instrument. Sounds like a fancy tactical move when I say it like that doesn't it, 'going in for a purchase'. "Roger that tower control, going in for another purchase, wait, pull up pull up, it's GAS time!" Keep in mind that a guitar's tone and playability is not always proportional to its price. Many guitars, like the Elitist acoustics, are undervalued as instruments because of the name on the headstock. Others command prices that don't justify their capabilities. That said, here in the US, I would expect an Elitist J-200 to sell used for $800-$1200. Let us know if you find one! Red 333 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Australian Sun Posted August 27, 2012 Author Report Share Posted August 27, 2012 How about this one, does it look legit / genuine? eBay link Even though the auction is over I'm keen to know what you think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red 333 Posted August 27, 2012 Report Share Posted August 27, 2012 Looks the real thing to me. And very nice, too. Hope you find one! Red 333 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.