LerxstLee Posted August 23, 2012 Share Posted August 23, 2012 Gave this guitar a shot and overall I am really pleased. Unlike my Gibson Alex lifeson 355 which also cost over five times the price in '08 this neck's volute is in the correct position. The AL355 was between the Nut and first fret,as well as other problems. That is old news from '08 when I promised to never buy a Gibson again. Sure some said it did not get in the way , well sorry when you have a chunk of wood sticking out of the neck when you are playing in the first positions , it really does get in the way , I don't make excuses for poor craftsmanship. Sure these guitars are not even close to compare , yet I had to note Epiphone can place the period correct volute in the proper position, yet Gibson took months to blame the artist by saying this is the neck that Alex approved and never even offered a fix for it. Unreal. Yet Epiphone came through with this model at a great price. Fit and finish wise it is actually better than the AL-355 , I am baffled and happy at the same time. Nice case , nice three piece neck with a great feel , the poly finish is nice , the setup was high and just simply needed to be lowered, and after that the intonation was spot on. The frets are nice and level ,yet they a had "gritty" feeling they just needed a quick polish to get some nice smooth bending. All simple five minute fixes. Gibson had the specs listed on the website as having three volume , one for each pick up and one master tone control , as another said,mine is also wired so with the toggle down its the bridge pick up with the bottom two pots running the volume and tone for that pick up , toggle in the middle is the bridge and middle pickup with the bottom two pots running the volume and tone for both, and the toggle up position is the neck pickup with the top two pots running the volume and tone for that pick up. I not complaining as the $8K Gibson model has the same pickups with only the bridge pickup wired, so I could easily wire this one that way but it does give it same tonal options. This makes the Ace's signature pick up kill switch challenging as you have to have the neck pickup turned off as usual and either toggle from bridge through the middle to the neck position to get the off sound , or you have to be in the middle , using both the middle and bridge pickup and toggle one up to the neck to get the kill switch sound. Also with both volumes off when you move the toggel switch from middle to the neck position you get a momentary on/off. Again not a big deal. I am not going to use the eagle sticker but as others have said , I am missing mine as well, I guess you have to call to get one. Again , not a big deal it's just another way Gibson refuses to be user friendly with their advertisements and what they actually put out. Simple quality control or lack of quality control. Overall I give it a 10 for price , a 10 for fit and finish ,10 for sound , a 10 for the case , and an 8 for electonics, (which I will upgrade anyhow) and a 5.5 for as advertised. I would recomend this guitar for any Ace fan , also for someone looking for a guitar to rock out with using the dimarzio super distortion, although the Paf's make it great for other types of playing. Grab one while you can , it's 1/3 the cost of the Gibson $2300 Budokan, that one has a one peice neck , one peice maple cap, a richlite finger board , and with all the plasticisers they put in the "nitro" it's almost getting close to poly /boggle ,not bashing it, just making some observations, while the Epiphone has a three peice neck, three peice maple cap , and an ebony fingerboard. It's not a Gibson but it sure is a really nice Epiphone at a great price. I really like it . Thank Epiphone. Now back to playing it some more. /Cheers Edited: to underline the "you can't compare these two models" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob R Posted August 23, 2012 Share Posted August 23, 2012 Congrats, great review. I'm glad to hear good things about this one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunner Posted August 23, 2012 Share Posted August 23, 2012 Congrats, great review. I'm glad to hear good things about this one. I feel your pain on the Lifeson (see avatar). The volute doesn't bother me when playing, just looks bizarre. I'm also baffled as to how they messed that up. To avoid wear and tear on the Gibson, I made a "Poor Man's Lifeson" from a white Epi 355. No volute on that one Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sal Adelfio Posted August 29, 2012 Share Posted August 29, 2012 Gave this guitar a shot and overall I am really pleased. Unlike my Gibson Alex lifeson 355 which also cost over five times the price in '08 this neck's volute is in the correct position. The AL355 was between the Nut and first fret,as well as other problems. That is old news from '08 when I promised to never buy a Gibson again. Sure some said it did not get in the way , well sorry when you have a chunk of wood sticking out of the neck when you are playing in the first positions , it really does get in the way , I don't make excuses for poor craftsmanship. Sure these guitars are not even close to compare , yet I had to note Epiphone can place the period correct volute in the proper position, yet Gibson took months to blame the artist by saying this is the neck that Alex approved and never even offered a fix for it. Unreal. Yet Epiphone came through with this model at a great price. Fit and finish wise it is actually better than the AL-355 , I am baffled and happy at the same time. Nice case , nice three piece neck with a great feel , the poly finish is nice , the setup was high and just simply needed to be lowered, and after that the intonation was spot on. The frets are nice and level ,yet they a had "gritty" feeling they just needed a quick polish to get some nice smooth bending. All simple five minute fixes. Gibson had the specs listed on the website as having three volume , one for each pick up and one master tone control , as another said,mine is also wired so with the toggle down its the bridge pick up with the bottom two pots running the volume and tone for that pick up , toggle in the middle is the bridge and middle pickup with the bottom two pots running the volume and tone for both, and the toggle up position is the neck pickup with the top two pots running the volume and tone for that pick up. I not complaining as the $8K Gibson model has the same pickups with only the bridge pickup wired, so I could easily wire this one that way but it does give it same tonal options. This makes the Ace's signature pick up kill switch challenging as you have to have the neck pickup turned off as usual and either toggle from bridge through the middle to the neck position to get the off sound , or you have to be in the middle , using both the middle and bridge pickup and toggle one up to the neck to get the kill switch sound. Also with both volumes off when you move the toggel switch from middle to the neck position you get a momentary on/off. Again not a big deal. I am not going to use the eagle sticker but as others have said , I am missing mine as well, I guess you have to call to get one. Again , not a big deal it's just another way Gibson refuses to be user friendly with their advertisements and what they actually put out. Simple quality control or lack of quality control. Overall I give it a 10 for price , a 10 for fit and finish ,10 for sound , a 10 for the case , and an 8 for electonics, (which I will upgrade anyhow) and a 5.5 for as advertised. I would recomend this guitar for any Ace fan , also for someone looking for a guitar to rock out with using the dimarzio super distortion, although the Paf's make it great for other types of playing. Grab one while you can , it's 1/3 the cost of the Gibson $2300 Budokan, that one has a one peice neck , one peice maple cap, a richlite finger board , and with all the plasticisers they put in the "nitro" it's almost getting close to poly /boggle ,not bashing it, just making some observations, while the Epiphone has a three peice neck, three peice maple cap , and an ebony fingerboard. It's not a Gibson but it sure is a really nice Epiphone at a great price. I really like it . Thank Epiphone. Now back to playing it some more. /Cheers Edited: to underline the "you can't compare these two models" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sal Adelfio Posted August 29, 2012 Share Posted August 29, 2012 YES ! Mine is #182, and I am thrilled with it. Worth the $799 - no question. It is as good as my Gibson Les Pauls - anyone who tells you differently is just being a snob, or is just too lazy to give the new Epiphones a chance. I have the original Epiphone Ace model - and this Budokan blows that one away. I think it is because that now Epiphone has a factory of it's own that is being overseen by Gibson Managers, this could be one of the reasons. I think my older Ace model was made at the Samick factory back in 1999 or so. Sure my Budokan needed tweeking - but most guitars do anyway. Basically the insturments need some TLC and a broken in period. After my guitar tech did what he had to do it is indeed gig worthy. One thing that really needs to be done is to add an inner nut in the input jack conection, as mine did not have that; this is really essential as it enforces the input prventing wire breakage if you were to turn the input over a period of time - so I highly recomend that you look int this. Enjoy Enjoy Enjoy ! It was voted #7 of all the new guitars at last years NAMM - but to me it's #1 ! It's also rather hard to buy - I got mine last month, but waited 6 months to get as i ordered it the same day i heard about it. Enjoy your Ace Frehley Budokan - I WILL !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharky007 Posted August 30, 2012 Share Posted August 30, 2012 I just got mine #520... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LerxstLee Posted August 30, 2012 Author Share Posted August 30, 2012 YES ! Mine is #182, and I am thrilled with it. Worth the $799 - no question. It is as good as my Gibson Les Pauls - anyone who tells you differently is just being a snob, or is just too lazy to give the new Epiphones a chance. I have the original Epiphone Ace model - and this Budokan blows that one away. I think it is because that now Epiphone has a factory of it's own that is being overseen by Gibson Managers, this could be one of the reasons. I think my older Ace model was made at the Samick factory back in 1999 or so. Sure my Budokan needed tweeking - but most guitars do anyway. Basically the insturments need some TLC and a broken in period. After my guitar tech did what he had to do it is indeed gig worthy. One thing that really needs to be done is to add an inner nut in the input jack conection, as mine did not have that; this is really essential as it enforces the input prventing wire breakage if you were to turn the input over a period of time - so I highly recomend that you look int this. Enjoy Enjoy Enjoy ! It was voted #7 of all the new guitars at last years NAMM - but to me it's #1 ! It's also rather hard to buy - I got mine last month, but waited 6 months to get as i ordered it the same day i heard about it. Enjoy your Ace Frehley Budokan - I WILL !! Glad you brought up the point about the input jack. I noticed mine was loose right out of the box. It is advertised as having a locking nut to avoid just that problem. I played it a bit then just snugged it up a bit and it has been fine since. I did not take it out to see if they indeed have a locking nut on the other side. I few minor tweaks and for what I payed I am very happy. In my opinion quality and build wise it easily beats my $3800.00 Al-355 easily. I ended up getting stuck with that guitars as it was a gift , and the place that sold it to my wife only had a 48 hour return policy. They knew it was a gift and also knew I would not be getting the guitar for another week. They would not take it back or even give credit, it had multiple issues. Well thats over and done with. We will never buy from that "highly recomended" guitar store, and I will never buy a Gibson again and that was in '08. I guess buying the Epi Ace sort of feeds the beasts , yet for quality and sound I am very happy. I would not pull the trigger on the Gibson Ace, and it was not the money that was the issue Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SGgypsyboy Posted September 2, 2012 Share Posted September 2, 2012 Without pics these events did not happen....... :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LerxstLee Posted September 3, 2012 Author Share Posted September 3, 2012 Without pics these events did not happen....... :) I am not sure what pictures you would like but the red guitar has a Period correct volute just like the $800.00 Epiphone ACE The white neck is the Volute from the 2008 $3800.00 Gibson AL-355 I hope that helps with something that happened to a Sold out Limited run of 300 guitars all made with this error. Simply makes me wonder how Epiphone can pull it off and Gibson said the "Al-355 is was approved to be this way" . I think I want a volute between every fret I keep mine in the case and in the closet occasionally taking it out "I like shaking my head" , The 355 sounds great but I really do not enjoy playing it , as it is very noticable to me. It was pre ordered and pre paid. By the time I recevied it I could not send it back. It's old news and done with. Just seeing my new Epi that actually has a period correct volute just reminded my of those dark days hoping Gibson was going to resolve it and that never happened. There you have it , feeding the troll . Who started the childish "pictures or it did not happen ?" I guess worse why do children repeat it ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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