[Mark W]

Went to the Guitar Center yesterday to pick up a Guitar from the tech and low and behold...there it was an EJ-160e John Lennon by Epiphone signature guitar. Oh lord I was in heaven!

...Until I played it...It was not a comfortable guitar to play and the tone/sound was completely unimpressive. Now I know why no one has them in stock! Epiphone knows that us Beatle fans will buy em without trying em. IT has to be good because John (kinda) played one.

I am not writing this to insult anyone who has this guitar and likes it nor am I disparaging Epiphone in general. But I have waited so long to try this guitar, I wanted to make sure I shared my very limited opinion. By the way we all have our own opinions and to each his/her own!

Any one else own one or tried one? What was/is your opinion?
Viva La Differnce!

[Jukebox]

Thanks for the heads up!

[Gretschy]

$500 acoustics rarely sound good or feel that great either IMHO.

[Timthom62]

I once owned a vintage J-160E and have tried the Epiphone version and there is just no comparison. Gibson at one point re-issued a J-160E "John Lennon" version that was much closer to the original than the Epiphone version. If I were looking for a J-160E, that would be the one I would look for.

[g6120]

ive also played the epiphone version and was not impressed but i have to say im not a fan of the gibson j160 as well . i had a 60s original and ive also tried a few of the new limited versions that were made with the plywood top as the beatles used and the sound was not very impressive at least to me .

they look great but the sound is one dimentional very thin but i do like what george martin did with them in the studio and made them jingle on the recordings . with the cost of the gibson j160 there are far better accoustics for that dollar amount in todays market .



g6120

[Mark W]

Yeah I have two A/E Guilds that play great and sound fantastic. The John Lennon was like a nightmare design by comparison.

[Synchro]

Originally Posted by Mark W

Epiphone knows that us Beatle fans will buy em without trying em. IT has to be good because John (kinda) played one.

I believe that the Beatles were just actors and that the playing an singing was done by Michael Nesmith, Mickey Dolenz, Peter Tork and Davy Jones.

[gretschiam]

Thanks for the info, Mark W. I was actually thinking of ordering one, and I probably wouldn't have tried it out. You saved me.

I've always lusted after the Gibson, strictly for Beatles reasons. The brother of my bass player bought one and said that every time he plays it it sounds like the Beatles. For the last 20 years I've been using Ovations, which are reliable, versatile and play like an electric- but it's always been just a little off. I regret like heck selling my Guild F30-R, but I'd added a Barcus-Berry system and it was just too cumbersome on stage. Both the Gibson Lennon model and the new Guilds (which are incredible after a pretty weak decade or two) are just so expensive that I've shied away from buying them- I've chosen instead to pick up other electrics and some amps. I'm actaully thinking very strongly about the new Harmony H-300.

I would have been really disappointed if I'd gotten the Epiphone and then found out it wasn't there. Thanks.

[Mark W]

GRetchiam

I had been jonesing over that Lennon guitar for 2-3 years, but something held me back - plus I just have to try an acoustic before I buy it. The Guilds I am playing right now are the Chinese GAD's. THey are sweet. In fact, I am contemplating adding a 3rd (12 string Gad F30...) Guild to my stable. I played Martins, Takamine and Taylors in that under $1,200 range and the Guild beat em all. The one I play the most is my GAD-40CE.

ANyway...the Gibson Lennon is better I was told but a little steep for my purposes. I would probably buy another Gretsch first.