New Epiphone models with Gibson shaped head stock.

[Mike Hickey]

I

I have a set of custombuckers, they are brighter and more articulate than standard burstbuckers and have a bit more ''airy/woody'' tone in the mids with a warmer sounding bass.
Good for classic blues/rock but not as punchy as regular burstbuckers, can't really recommend them for harder styles of music, regular burstbucker2/3 are better for those types of music.

One thing that did throw me off a bit at first setting up the custombuckers was lowering the neck pickup didn't brighten up the bass, which was a bit overwhelming (especially the low e string), like it does on all my other pickups.
It made them sound a lot darker/muddy. Raising them in fact tightened them up again.

I think that might have been due to the weak AlNiCo 3 magnets used. The bass notes stayed about the same volume but got very muddy when i lowered the pickup. Probably not enough pull on the lighter strings compared to the thicker ones. Setting the neck pickup closer to the strings tightened them up without getting much louder. If i set the neck pickup lower than 4/64th high e and 5/64th it is an absolute mudfest. I can't really go any higher on the neck pickup because then it doesn't match output with the bridge very well which is at 3/64th on both high and low e. Any higher on the bridge pickup and i get some strange noises, probably because the pickup is too close to the strings at that point

It took a bit of tweaking my pro buckers to. Lower was better with them. They still not as percussive as I would like , but overall the pickups work great. Looks like I might have to hold off on the new 59 unless I can actually play one and figure out if. If overall the pickups can be adjusted to work. I love the idea of the vintage style but it always comes down to tone

 

[Darkness]

They aren't really glossy then. Maybe it's the camera or my TV but the pickup rings, guard, chip and nut look more like a white than a cream color like my 59 has. Note the color difference between the guard and the rings on the R9. My 59 all the plastic is darker like the guard.

 

[Mimmo]

I'm dangerously GASing for the J-45 1942 banner...

 

[Norton]

the j200 is pretty sweet too. they all look great. yeah, I wish the price was lower. but really... this is the zone I'd expect for a guitar with a better materials/component set and these features.

roasted Woods on those acoustics is pretty fantastic .

 

[bobalu]

I really want to check that shop out. Its 45 minutes from me, but my wallet says no.

Trust me................you should listen to your wallet.

 

[spupilup]

Thanks for the heads up on the Shinichi-ubukata ES-355 but the new IBG custom shop Cherry red ES-355 is looking pretty sweet. Expensive?… no doubt, but with custom buckers all the great specs and a case it could be a lot worse.

I don’t think it’s too expensive at all. In fact, had I not bought the DG-335 the day it was introduce, I probably would have bought this new ES-355. I‘ve been wanting as ES for awhile.

 

[Mike Hickey]

They aren't really glossy then. Maybe it's the camera or my TV but the pickup rings, guard, chip and nut look more like a white than a cream color like my 59 has. Note the color difference between the guard and the rings on the R9. My 59 all the plastic is darker like the guard.

The article I read said the had an aged gloss finish and it was checked. Bummer, I'm out. I'm not into the relic thing.

 

[Daz84]

I don’t think it’s too expensive at all. In fact, had I not bought the DG-335 the day it was introduce, I probably would have bought this new ES-355. I‘ve been wanting as ES for awhile.

Typical ain't it, they all come along at once. Nice guitar you have there tho. I reckon the DG-335 and the ES-355 are different enough to justify owning both.

 

[Darkness]

The article I read said the had an aged gloss finish and it was checked. Bummer, I'm out. I'm not into the relic thing.

I agree, I thought a glossy finish was part of the reason for a higher cost. I'm a bit Surprised really.

 

[Rider]

I agree, I thought a glossy finish was part of the reason for a higher cost. I'm a bit Surprised really.

That kind of money for an Epi without a gloss finish is absurd.

I'm not liking any of this. It's like Gibson is throwing Epiphone under the bus to cash in on people who can't afford an American made guitar.

All of these new Gibson knock offs are a hard pass for me.

 

[Mike Hickey]

Typical ain't it, they all come along at once. Nice guitar you have there tho. I reckon the DG-335 and the ES-355 are different enough to justify owning both.

What's more typical is the good news bad news thing. Fender does it too, the give you something you want but then there's always something you don't want. They should have kept it simple with the l.p.s and just added the Gibson head stock and left the rest alone. I don't like the relic finish and the pro bucker 2 and 3 set up they use for the epi standards are just fine thanks. I get that by offering the Gibson pickups it justifies the cost and they probably correctly assume people will be more likely to be interested in the guitar.

 

[spupilup]

Typical ain't it, they all come along at once. Nice guitar you have there tho. I reckon the DG-335 and the ES-355 are different enough to justify owning both.

I couldn't agree more. I just have to wait at least until June. I've purchased 7 guitars over the last 10 months. I need more hangers and another rack, too!

 

[Stillsour]

The Brendan Small Ghosthorse from Epi had a Floyd Rose 1000 and Burstbuckers for 799. Flamed top, burst finish. I feel like for a few hundred more may as well get a studio or studio modern from Gibson.

 

[WoundUp]

I do like the back of this 59 better. Not $300 better, and not $500 more than I paid for my ADB better. I notice they're calling these "IGC", I suppose inspired by Gibson Custom?

https://www.musicstore.com/en_US/US...Tobacco-Sunburst-Perimeter/art-GIT0061614-000

I don't see IGC anywhere on that page?

 

[Darkness]

I don't see IGC anywhere on that page?

If you check the pics, the back of the headstock and zoom in. It's under the serial number.

 

[TheKat]

This 59 Epi is in Factory Burst. $1,271

Yeah, with an "AAA" maple veneer, painted with "VOS" polyurethane. Very custom shoppy

I had to google what factory burst is - did I miss an accident in a China Epiphone plant? Turns out it is just a new word for cherry sunburst - with the added meaning "more original"

I'm getting too old to fancy what the people at Gibson do nowadays ....

 

[Paruwi]

I'm getting too old to fancy what the people at Gibson do nowadays ....

me too

 

[soulman969]

It seems fairly obvious that for tradition bound manufacturers like Fender and Gibson innovations are at least somewhat limited. Their marketing strategy seems to be produce as many variations of the same model as they can hoping buyer will want to own more than one of them but in a different finish or with different pickups.

They could probably get by with the old Sears; "Good, Better, Best" approach but apparently that's not enough variety for them so they need an "Almost as Good" import model or two, a few models that fit between "Better and Best" and then of course the "Even Better than Best if you can afford it Custom Shop model".

I can't help but thinking this approach is at least one reason for rising costs because they have so many different models they need to predict the sales for. What can they do with those that don't sell but dump them in the marketplace at dealer cost or less just to recover their own costs. It all seems a little too absurd to me.

 

[Scotty]

Well, I guess Gibson needs to find SOME way to get rid of all of those 490/498 pickups! (I was never a fan).

And I still don't understand the whole "Gibson" TRC and headstock shape thing. If you want a Gibson, get a Gibson. If you choose the Epi, be happy with it. Besides, anyone that CARES whether you play a Gibson vs. an Epi, still KNOWS whether you're playing a Gibson or not anyway.

It’s not a true Gibson shape but I do like it a lot more. I haven’t played one because my collection is complete and I’m totally smitten with it.

 

[BlueSquirrel]

If you check the pics, the back of the headstock and zoom in. It's under the serial number.
View attachment 25192

Another mystery has been solved! Well done, Sherlock!