Epiphone reissues

[jfine]

First, let me say that I really like the look of the new '62 reissue Sheraton, Sorrento, and Crestwood Custom. Very cool. (I haven't played them yet, so I can't say if they play and sound good or not.) I'd love to see a reissue of the thin-bodied Emperor from the same period, but there are a couple of features I'd change to make the guitar more usable for modern players. The original ones were wired up like a 3-pickup Les Paul Custom, with the middle position on the pickup selctor giving the bridge and middle pickups out-of-phase--it's pretty honky and thin. What I'd do is have a separate volume control for each of the three pickups, plus a master tone control (there are four controls), and have the pickup selector wired for bridge, neck, and both together, with the middle pickup on its own volume control. And--a push-pull pot (tone control, maybe?) to allow the middle pickup to be in- or out-of phase. This would allow any combination of the three pickups, and give the option of in- or out-of phase on combinations involving the middle pickup with the other(s). Having separate volume controls would allow controlling the amount of out-of-phase-ness as well. And a partial or full center block would keep it from feeding back so much, a problem with the old ones. Three mini-humbuckers on a semi-hollow body? I'd buy one!