Epiphone quality/price question

All Epiphones = Made in Korea

But Epiphone Masterbilt = Made in USA ( Price tags start no less than 1000 $ )

Dan, that was funny.Actually i have tried to economise my posts lately. :wink:

All Epiphones = Made in Korea

But Epiphone Masterbilt = Made in USA ( Price tags start no less than 1000 $ )

Wrong on all counts.

Until 2002 all Epis were made by Samick in Korea, just like 1/2 the guitars in the world.

Now they are all made in Epi's own factory in China. This may be the source of a perception of inferior quality, but there are some great guitars coming out of China (Blueridge, some Guilds).

The MasterBilts reportedly get some additional inspection and/or tweaking in the US, but they are assembled in China.

MasterBilt street prices start at US$550 and go up to $1000.

Thanks Slej, for the clarification.Its good to get misconceptions cleared in time.

I find a lot of Korean made guitars to be of high quality. Of course there will be exceptions. Korean and Mexican seem on par. Chinese made are getting better and to me are on par with Indonesian made. Japanese are better than both these other two categories, and then allegedly tops is US made. Like any of the other categories, there are plenty of lemons. There are more volume produced guitars in non-American countries. So, IMO, considering the volume they produce, they can be easily as nice as an American made. I especially like a lot of the Korean made guitars. Agiles are just flat out nice for the money!

I have an Epi Les Paul custom in ebony and it is quality.

Very nice sound and plays really well, definately would reccommend them to anyone.

Thanks again! Sounds like most folks haven't had a problem with Epiphone overall.

I'm awaiting my 2nd Epi Allen Woody bass as the 1st one had a slightly bent truss rod (according to my guitar tech guy, as I know nothing of such things!). I'm just hoping that it's not a design issue because that guitar plays like a dream, is beautiful, sounds great (except for the fret buzzing due to the truss rod problem) and is definitely the right price ($500). It's short scale which isn't that easy to find in this price range to my knowledge.

Anyway, thanks again for your Epi input! I'll let you know if the 2nd one is right or not. :)

Interesting... when I was looking to buy my first "real" electric after starting to play a few years back I was looking at the Gibson Faded SG ($649) versus the Epiphone Standard SG ($399). The differences at that time:

Gibson: No poly finish, worn brown color, set neck, ebony fretboard (or ebonized), pearloid dot inlays, no binding, silkscreen Gibson logo, Kluson/Gibson tuners, not too-heavy (comfortable weight) made in USA.

Epiphone: poly see-through red finish, set neck, rosewood fretboard, peraloid trap inlays, full neck and headstock binding, pearloid Epi logo, Grover tuners, light as a feather, made in Korea.

I REALLY wanted to buy the Epiphone because it was prettier, had all the high-class trimmings, and was $300 less than the Gibson. Unfortunately, the Gibson played better and the pickups sustained for half the day. It was amazing. The Epi sustained for about 5-7 seconds with an open G-chord. The Gibson sustained for at least 12 seconds. Quite a difference.

I asked the salesperson about it - thinking it was the pickups. He said some jimmer-jabber about the Epi pickups being Gibson pickups made overseas to Gibson specs and dipped in wax and blah blah blah. I didn't know much at the time so I bougt the story. He made it seem like the guitar was the reason.

I think the truth of the matter is that the pickups and wiring had more to do with the performance that day than the guitar. They both felt good in my hands, and if the Epi had Gibson pups re-wired in it I think it would have been a great guitar for $450 (after the pup switch).

In the end I bought the USA Gibson for three reasons:

1) The sound was just BETTER
2) The resale value is so much better, that I felt if I dumped the guitar-god thing I would be able too get 80% of my money back
3) Sadly, the headstock said "Gibson" and "made in USA"

If I were to do again, for a first electric, I'd buy an Epi or Hamer made in Korea guitar in a heartbeat and upgrade the electronics. They are well-built machines and you get far more product for the money.

(fyi - but I love my Gibson)

I have a Masterbilt (DR-500M) and I love it. Great tone and a bold volume. Very happy with it.

correct me if i'm wrong but i believe the "masterbuilts" are acoustic and the "elitists" are electric.

the elitist models imo, are actually better made than the lower level Gibsons and have their own factory in Japan.
i believe they also use all US hardware and are set up here in america. (i was told that by a MF manager).

epiphone also makes several signiture models such as the joe perry "boneyard" that rival the Gibsons lower end lps and are priced under $800.
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Epiphone-Joe-Perry-Boneyard-LP-Standard-Electric-Guitar?sku=518709

i have seen the epi elitist lps on sale at MF several times at under $800 also.

I have a Masterbilt 500M that was made in China. It is a high quality instrument that I wouldn't trade for any other acoustic in the $500 price range.

TL:

As far as I know, you are correct. The Masterbilts are acoustic and the Elitists are electric. I owned a LP Elitist, which was made in Japan and had USA hardware & was set up in the USA. A very nice guitar. I bought mine used, so I don't know the price new. It was very comparable to a Gibson LP Standard, which I now own.

Thanks again for all your responses.

I got my new Epi Allen Woody bass but haven't yet taken it to my guitar guy. It seems fine to me, though I wouldn't mind having the action lowered a tad. Can't believe there's no one onsite every day at Guitar Center to do such relatively simple things. :roll:

I won't be able to get into him soon, I guess, but I'll definitely make it well before my 30 days is up. If he again deems the truss rod bent, I guess it's a) a batch problem, b) a design flaw, or c) my guitar guy's mistake. I hate the thought of sending it back again cuz it's very nice to play, sounds great and is quite beautiful, I think. I'll keep ya posted!

P.S. I had a feeling I knew what GAS was, but after finding out for sure I have to say I was born with it. The 'G' could stand for "Goodies" in my case as it can run from guitars to effects pedals to CDs to handbags to perfume to...!!! :oops: