Variable Posted June 30, 2020 Share Posted June 30, 2020 Plan to treat myself in the autumn to a new guitar had picked out an epiphone ej200 but getting my head turned by others. Anyone have any knowledge of the guitars linked below. I would like a good all round acoustic electric guitar, and any recommendations the Taylor is top end of the price I want to spend. Tanglewood how are they rated? https://www.guitarguitar.co.uk/product/200129354941008--epiphone-ej200sce-vintage-sunburst-fishman https://www.guitarguitar.co.uk/product/190618345094008--taylor-110ce-mn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ezbass Posted June 30, 2020 Share Posted June 30, 2020 I had a Tanglewood, electro acoustic, cutaway many years ago and it was really good value for money and a nice instrument, plainly modelled on a Takemine. I moved it on as it was for a specific project that folded, in retrospect (see below) I should have kept it. I currently have an Epiphone EJ200 as I decided I wanted a jumbo (oh the irony). Ideally I would've bought a Gibson J200, but at £3.5k that was never going to happen. Therefore, I trotted off to Guitar Guitar to try one out and took Lady Ez in tow (not quite, but nearly kicking and screaming ). I tried a few EA cutaways, but it was the EJ200 that I preferred. For poops and giggles I tried it alongside a proper J200. You could really feel the difference against your body, the J200 was like a living thing. However, Lady Ez, who was sitting opposite (I'm going to say patiently) said she couldn't really hear any difference, although this is because she could perhaps sense an awful lot money leaving the account. So I settled for the, by comparison, tight feeling and sounding but still very nice to play, Epiphone. Move onto today and I love the EJ200, the access made possible by the cutaway cannot be overlooked and, with playing, the sound has really opened up and it's a lot nicer than it was when I first bought it. Is it Gibson nice? No but, at under a 10th of the price (I went for the natural finish which was, IIRC, £329 at the time), it is much, much more than a 10th of the quality. If you like a big old flat top, I don't think you'll be disappointed. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EdwardMarlowe Posted July 6, 2020 Share Posted July 6, 2020 Tanglewood started off as a lower-price affair, but have streadily grown into a full range of imnpressive stuff, including higher end guitars. Their top end stuff I'd put up against anything in a similar price band. As for Epiphones, well... as I always say of any particular Epiphone, the relevant Gibson will be twice the guitar, for five or ten times the money. Up to you at hat ponit along the alw of diminishing returns scale you jump off the train... I can't claim to have based this on anything as I've not handled any of the 2020s yet, but I have a suspicion that Epiphone might just be very concertedly upping the ante as of these last few months, having been facing an awful lot of competition from some very good price-band alternatives in recent years. The new brooms at Gibson seem to be a lot more intune with the market than the previous admin. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yasin Posted July 10, 2020 Share Posted July 10, 2020 Should i get a ibanez grg 121DX Gio WNF Or An epiphone Les Paul player pack Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dad3353 Posted July 10, 2020 Share Posted July 10, 2020 See answer in other topic ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Variable Posted July 25, 2020 Author Share Posted July 25, 2020 I'm heavily leaning towards the epiphone EJ-200SCE in black , not buying for a couple of months yet so shall see if anything else tickles my fancy. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skinnyman Posted July 28, 2020 Share Posted July 28, 2020 You could also look at Faith guitars. Great value and perform way above their price point. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Variable Posted July 31, 2020 Author Share Posted July 31, 2020 On 28/07/2020 at 12:43, Skinnyman said: You could also look at Faith guitars. Great value and perform way above their price point. Will have a look thx, I do the love the look of the epiphone though, thinking the vintage look now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Variable Posted July 31, 2020 Author Share Posted July 31, 2020 I've noticed the epiphone ej200 sce is being sold with different electrics, fishmans and the esonic2 anyone have any knowledge of this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ezbass Posted July 31, 2020 Share Posted July 31, 2020 (edited) Mine has the Shadow esonic system. Both Shadow and Fishman are well respected systems (Fishman are better known), I wouldn’t imagine the difference would be something you couldn’t compensate for with amp eq. TBH I rarely plug my EJ200 in, but I remember being impressed with it amplified in the shop. Edited August 1, 2020 by ezbass 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Variable Posted August 1, 2020 Author Share Posted August 1, 2020 Thanks, wasn't sure about it, just wondered why they were using a different one, stock depleted everywhere however guitarguitar has the fishman version. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ezbass Posted August 1, 2020 Share Posted August 1, 2020 1 hour ago, Variable said: Thanks, wasn't sure about it, just wondered why they were using a different one, stock depleted everywhere however guitarguitar has the fishman version. I could be wrong, but I think Fishman are the market leaders in acoustic pickup technology. I’m absolutely sure a Fishman equipped EJ200 will as good, if not better, than the Shadow equivalent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Variable Posted August 1, 2020 Author Share Posted August 1, 2020 Thanks, very tempted to buy it, wasn't intending to buy for a few months. One more question these l pre amp take batteries I understand, where exactly would the batteries be hidden away? Difficult to change? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ezbass Posted August 1, 2020 Share Posted August 1, 2020 I admire your restraint. Yes they take batteries. My one uses the large, flat, tablet like batteries that they use in car key remotes these days, they just slot into the control panel of the preamp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Variable Posted August 1, 2020 Author Share Posted August 1, 2020 Thanks, the restraint is mostly down to what the Mrs will say when the huge box arrives haven't ordered it yet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ezbass Posted August 1, 2020 Share Posted August 1, 2020 (edited) Interestingly enough, I think one’s significant other is often the person who voices what we’re really thinking inside. Lady Ez, often raises an eyebrow when I get GASsy, but when it’s something worth having, she’s very supportive. When I fell in love with the tone of Rob Allen basses, I heard nothing but positive comments, although the price of a new one gave her pause (and me too if I’m honest). Fortunately, a pre owned became available and the deal was done. To this day, it’s the one bass/guitar I’m not ‘allowed’ to sell. She was also there when I bought my EJ200, which was just as well as the ‘full fat’ Gibson J200 was lovely (common sense prevailed). Edited August 1, 2020 by ezbass 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Variable Posted August 12, 2020 Author Share Posted August 12, 2020 https://www.tanglewoodguitars.co.uk/product/tw4ekoa/ Tempted by this one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skinnyman Posted August 12, 2020 Share Posted August 12, 2020 2 hours ago, Variable said: https://www.tanglewoodguitars.co.uk/product/tw4ekoa/ Tempted by this one That’s nice. Very nice indeed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Variable Posted August 13, 2020 Author Share Posted August 13, 2020 7 hours ago, Skinnyman said: That’s nice. Very nice indeed It's very pretty I must agree Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leftybassman392 Posted August 13, 2020 Share Posted August 13, 2020 For added information, I'd endorse @Skinnyman's thoughts about Faith guitars. They're not religious zealots as far as I know, but they do make exceedingly good guitars that punch well above their weight. Made by a family company in Indonesia IIRC, but under the watchful eye of Patrick Eggle, who IMHO is one of the finest luthiers currently working in the UK. His own guitars sell for £3k and up. He personally inspects each batch that comes into the UK. I had the good fortune to meet up and chat with him at an event in Birmingham last year while taking delivery of my Mercury parlour guitar. He talked me through the production process, and how he personally inspects them to ensure quality control. Very nice man to boot. While I'm here, I notice nobody seems to have picked up on the Taylor link (apologies if I've missed it). These are prestige instruments, used by many of the world's top pros. They are beautifully made guitars that will repay your investment. I had the good fortune to own an 800 series 12-stringer a few years ago. Quite possibly the best-made acoustic guitar I've ever owned. As always, just my personal opinion, gleaned from 50+ years of playing things with strings. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Variable Posted August 14, 2020 Author Share Posted August 14, 2020 12 string are they very difficult to play? struggling with the 6 lol. I bet the sound must be amazing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dad3353 Posted August 14, 2020 Share Posted August 14, 2020 25 minutes ago, Variable said: 12 string are they very difficult to play?... 'Very' would be an exaggeration, but it's probably best to not have one as one's first guitar. The repertoire tends to be different, as they're more generally strummed, or used for cross-picking; seldom for 'lead' lines. The bug-bear, for beginners, is the tuning (twice as many strings, of course...), as they do not sound 'amazing' unless properly in tune. Worth trying out (at a music shop, or borrowed from a friend..?) before investing, unless really keen. Once acquired, though, they're keepers. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leftybassman392 Posted August 14, 2020 Share Posted August 14, 2020 40 minutes ago, Variable said: 12 string are they very difficult to play? struggling with the 6 lol. I bet the sound must be amazing. I wouldn't recommend one as a first guitar for the reasons Douglas has given. In short, it's very specific sound that won't work well for most of the music you'll likely want to play. Also they're physically hard to play for a variety of reasons. Definitely not recommended as a first instrument, but again as Douglas say, try one out in a shop if you really must. One final point; transitioning from a 12 to a 6 is likely to be a lot harder than doing it the other way round. I don't know for sure though as I've never heard of anyone being daft enough to try it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Variable Posted August 14, 2020 Author Share Posted August 14, 2020 (edited) 6 is enough for me, I wasn't considering the 12 well not yet . After much consideration, and a nearly swing to the tanglewood TW4 koa I've finally decided on the EJ-200SCE has been calling me the loudest. Thanks for all your advice and input. Edited August 14, 2020 by Variable 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dad3353 Posted August 14, 2020 Share Posted August 14, 2020 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
