Post by Tony Ravenscroft on Jun 17, 2023 4:45:44 GMT -6
Now in my 60s, I've owned a couple of Epiphones in the past, never a Gibson, and never a Les Paul or clone.
FULL DISCLOSURE - I can reasonably be called a cheapskate. Though I finally have a little disposable income, I have previously before only once (and even allowing for inflation!) paid more than this: $491 + $36.66 (tax) + $20.69 (s/h). So, yeah, it runs high of this Forum's $290 guideline. In my defense, it's got a case and some critical "upvaluing" features, which I will probably get around to mentioning below.
And having won it at auction... from a thrift shop where staff knowledge of instruments often doesn't rise above the level of "it's kind of like a guitar, probably," I waited and worried.
Upshot? I did well.
Yeah, it's used - but aside from a minor edge chip and some shallow dings on the back and mid-neck, it looks new.
I have a weakness for any guitar with stock Grover Rotomatic tuners. Set aside that I find Rotos to be the single most consistent, stable, reliable, and long-lived tuner yet still very reasonably priced. Even ignoring that, my experience is that guitar brands almost never bother to put Grovers on guitars that are undeserving of Grovers - and most companies are so brand conscious that if they can't have house-brand tuners, they'd rather go generic or even outright cheap. While I have seen bad cheap Grovers - both authentic and knockoff - in recent years, I'm generally confident that any pre-2015 axe with factory Rotomatics is worthy of serious contemplation!
The trussrod cover bills this as a goldtop. I found this hilarious. But I don't think this is either an error or that it's someone's quirky aftermarket choice. Many years ago, I was told that early goldtop LPs were intended to cover up flawed wood that would have been unsuitable for sunburst, and Black Beauties (a.k.a. tuxedos) used the thicker paint to hide grain flaws that showed through the thin-sprayed gold. No, I have no footnotes, but that's the old myth, and it doesn't seem unreasonable. And by extension it would make sense that all the plastic would still be various white/beige/pink tones, and gold knobs - there is no reason not to call a '56 tuxedo a goldtop because, aside from the paint, it is a goldtop. With a 2006 serial number, this Epi would be a reasonable "50th anniversary" commemorative model.
But the main reason I got it is that I've always wanted to play a guitar loaded with proper P-90 pickups, particularly because Les Paul himself made them sound great.
IMPRESSIONS: The knobs and tuners feel perfect; even the strings are decent. It has definitely had a proper setup: action is reasonably low, intonation is close. All in all, it's quite enjoyable. Being it's a 2006, this is remarkably great condition for 17 years, which also means it's fully stabilized (wood components, various adhesives, multiple coats of finish). The case is unbranded but solidly built. Aside from oiling the rosewood and buying a new switch tip, and maybe tweaking the intonation, there's nothing to be fixed!
shopgoodwill.com/item/167451658
FULL DISCLOSURE - I can reasonably be called a cheapskate. Though I finally have a little disposable income, I have previously before only once (and even allowing for inflation!) paid more than this: $491 + $36.66 (tax) + $20.69 (s/h). So, yeah, it runs high of this Forum's $290 guideline. In my defense, it's got a case and some critical "upvaluing" features, which I will probably get around to mentioning below.
And having won it at auction... from a thrift shop where staff knowledge of instruments often doesn't rise above the level of "it's kind of like a guitar, probably," I waited and worried.
Upshot? I did well.
Yeah, it's used - but aside from a minor edge chip and some shallow dings on the back and mid-neck, it looks new.
I have a weakness for any guitar with stock Grover Rotomatic tuners. Set aside that I find Rotos to be the single most consistent, stable, reliable, and long-lived tuner yet still very reasonably priced. Even ignoring that, my experience is that guitar brands almost never bother to put Grovers on guitars that are undeserving of Grovers - and most companies are so brand conscious that if they can't have house-brand tuners, they'd rather go generic or even outright cheap. While I have seen bad cheap Grovers - both authentic and knockoff - in recent years, I'm generally confident that any pre-2015 axe with factory Rotomatics is worthy of serious contemplation!
The trussrod cover bills this as a goldtop. I found this hilarious. But I don't think this is either an error or that it's someone's quirky aftermarket choice. Many years ago, I was told that early goldtop LPs were intended to cover up flawed wood that would have been unsuitable for sunburst, and Black Beauties (a.k.a. tuxedos) used the thicker paint to hide grain flaws that showed through the thin-sprayed gold. No, I have no footnotes, but that's the old myth, and it doesn't seem unreasonable. And by extension it would make sense that all the plastic would still be various white/beige/pink tones, and gold knobs - there is no reason not to call a '56 tuxedo a goldtop because, aside from the paint, it is a goldtop. With a 2006 serial number, this Epi would be a reasonable "50th anniversary" commemorative model.
But the main reason I got it is that I've always wanted to play a guitar loaded with proper P-90 pickups, particularly because Les Paul himself made them sound great.
IMPRESSIONS: The knobs and tuners feel perfect; even the strings are decent. It has definitely had a proper setup: action is reasonably low, intonation is close. All in all, it's quite enjoyable. Being it's a 2006, this is remarkably great condition for 17 years, which also means it's fully stabilized (wood components, various adhesives, multiple coats of finish). The case is unbranded but solidly built. Aside from oiling the rosewood and buying a new switch tip, and maybe tweaking the intonation, there's nothing to be fixed!
shopgoodwill.com/item/167451658
I don't know as I could sling it around onstage for hours, but it's just fine as a sit-down axe, and okay for some standup recording work.
Though I'd be saddened - because it really is a classic design - one or both of the P-90 can likely be replaced with a double-coil P-90, or mini-humbucker, or maybe a Thunderbird-style mini, with no routing. 
My chunky Washburn BT-6 (with HSH pickups and full-on Floyd Rose) is a mere eight.