Is the Chinese made Epi Classic the BEST import guitar under $500?

I’ve now had this 2020 Epi Classic for 6 months. I changed nothing. It is the very first guitar I’ve owned that needed NOTHING modded from its stock frame. Excellent P90’s, tuners that work (and stay in tune), level frets, clean pots…

I have NO complaints. In fact, this Epi SG might be quite simply the best “bang for the buck” import set neck solid guitar made today. Period. And I don’t want to say this. I’m a huge fan of Korean and Japanese made guitars. I don’t WANT to like China. I’m not a fan of how they run their nation, but you can’t argue with an excellent product and an excellent price. This guitar is in my top 3 that I own. That’s saying something.

great guitar there.... Best? that's hard to say. But that guitar is objectively great at any price point.

close contender is the Worn Casino. that's a **** load of guitar for the cash. but TEMU, amazon and firefly and on and on.... all the way to the end of the internet is filled with solid guitars at low prices.

damnedcat777 said:

I’ve now had this 2020 Epi Classic for 6 months. I changed nothing. It is the very first guitar I’ve owned that needed NOTHING modded from its stock frame. Excellent P90’s, tuners that work (and stay in tune), level frets, clean pots…

I have NO complaints. In fact, this Epi SG might be quite simply the best “bang for the buck” import set neck solid guitar made today. Period. And I don’t want to say this. I’m a huge fan of Korean and Japanese made guitars. I don’t WANT to like China. I’m not a fan of how they run their nation, but you can’t argue with an excellent product and an excellent price. This guitar is in my top 3 that I own. That’s saying something.

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Intrigued by the neck on these. Love how its green like the body. Does it have that unfinished, open pore feel?

the worn finishes feel great in the hand... and if you play them at all they just keep getting smoother .

Epiphone seems to have really sorted out the Chinese factory's QC at this point. I had an early MIC G-400 (2004) and it was a dog. But the game has really been stepped up these days, with Squire's Classic Vibe series offering really well made guitars under $500 as well.

Ever since they came out, I've been very tempted to grab one of these. A friend had the LP Special sister model and I was very impressed. I would still want to upgrade the P-90s because they didn't have enough definition for me, but that's an easy upgrade on a solid foundation.

Got mine for two bones used, Gotoh lockers and pseudo Bigsby. No neck dive (I’ve had six Gibsons) and plays and sounds amazing!

I think Epiphone prices have gone up like everything else.
That doesn't mean the Epi isn't still a good deal...
It just means yo cash ain't nuthin but trash...

I own one Epiphone guitar. Mine is an ES-339 P-90 pro. I bought mine in 2015 on sale at M/F for like $339.00...
That guitar at that price was irresistible. And I still have it. I ordered this online, but I already knew what to expect.

I was going to buy a Casino... I really was. I had made up my mind.
I didn't own a P-90 guitar, so I felt a lack, or a gap, or something missing from my tones.
I was happy with hum buckers, and mini hum buckers, and Wide Range (Fender) hum buckers too.
And I thought, if yer gonna have a P-90 guitar, have one. So... a Casino.
But then I saw that Epi had come out with the Casino Coupe! A smaller version with P-90s and a
center block, about the size of a Les Paul. I decided that was the one. But I wanted to play it before
becoming a fan boy.

I marched into my local G/C... I was on a mission. The sales guys were lounging around behind the guitar counter looking
at their phones. I explored the guitars unescorted. I didn't need any sales guys to SELL me something, I knew what I
wanted.

But my look-see was a no-see. So I walked up to the counter where the sales guys were lounging around
and I went "a-HEM..." One of them looked up, surprised. I said, "I'd like to look at an Epi Casino Coupe... Have you got one?"
He looked at me like I was someone's disoriented grandfather, mistakenly thinking he had entered a car dealership.
The sales guy didn't have a clue what I was talking about. *laughs

I saw that look on his face and so I said, "It's an Epiphone semi-hollow body guitar with P-90 pickups."
A lightbulb appeared over the guy's head in a cartoon balloon, and he gestured with his phone down the wall to
his left and said, "I think there's some hollow bodies over THERE..."

I wandered over, unescorted. There were some hollow body guitars hanging on the wall. No Casino, no Casino Coupe.
But they did have an ES-339 P-90 pro, which I took down and plugged into an Orange Tiny Terror. It sounded great.
I'd heard of the Gibson version of the ES-339 which was equipped with '57 Classic hum buckers. The Gibbie had a price tag
maybe eight times as much as the Epi. And they were both plywood guitars (read that "laminated top" in sales guy speak).
I thought, "If I'm going to buy a plywood guitar, maybe I'll buy the cheap one." The Epi ES-339 had a price tag which was
about 2/3 the price of a full size Casino. The P-90s sounded excellent through the Orange amp. Just ordinary Chinese made
P-90s. I thought, I could play this, and I like the price. The small "hollow" body seemed to fit me well. It's not really
a hollow body guitar. The 339 has a maple center block with hollow "wings" on the upper and lower bouts.

So this Epiphone really reaches back to old Lester Polfus, and his "log" guitar which had a 4x4 center block and hollow
wings cut off an Epiphone '40s style Jazz guitar. I liked that as soon as I perceived it. Also, the 339 size is smaller that
ye auld Jazz guitar, and I liked that. It's not really a hollow body guitar, it just LOOKS like one with its hollow wings.
But that center block makes it a (mostly) solid body electric guitar, so it has all the virtues of that. Hard to beat, really.
Especially for the price. G/C's price was about $425 if I remember correctly. It was ten years ago y'know.

So I played the Epiphone ES-339 P-90 pro for about a half hour in the store. It was a sunburst version, lovely...
The sales guys were still looking at their phones. After I bonded with the guitar, I prolly would have paid the G/C price for it
(especially if they threw in a case) but since the sales guys were hanging out behind the counter being coooooool...
I put the Epi back on the wall and left. They didn't notice. *shrugs A strange way to do "business."

I went home and punched up M/F on my 'puta. I saw that the very guitar I had bonded with was on sale!
Mastercard, get me outa here... I ordered the instrument in the blonde bombshell paint job pictured, and added
a hard shell Epiphone case. Bizarre that Epiphone would offer a guitar for sale without a case. But I got the right
case and it fits perfectly. 10 years later, it still looks fine.

The instrument arrived and played quite well right out of the box. I did some preliminary setup procedures on it
and it responded sweetly. The fretboard seemed dry and light colored, so I unstrung the instrument, and oiled the
fretboard with Fret Doctor. It darkened up nicely. I installed a set of D'Addario tens, and the sound improved by
leaps. I was a happy customer. And I still am.

Here she is in 2023 if I remember correctly... A lot of years later. I still love the feel of the neck. I HAVE modded this guitar extensively
mostly because I fell arse over teakettle for this instrument. Nuthin's too good for my baby, eh? I named her Caledonia.
IMHO Epiphone makes a fine serviceable instrument... but also:
Epiphone guitars respond really well to modifications and "improvements." Especially if done by those of us who know what we are about.

Here's my Epiphone ES-339 on stand next to my Fender Telecaster Deluxe (replica). They've got this Black/Blonde motif going.
These two instruments cover a lot of tonal ground. Snow White and Caledonia... as different as two guitars might be.
But the Black/Blonde & Blonde/Black mojo is unmistakable when you stand them up together. AND play them both in the same
set. I've had the Fender since like 2009 and the Epi since 2015, so they have both given great service (AND given no problems).

I am truly blessed with great guitars. I wouldn't say my Epiphone was "the Greatest"
but IMHO it's right up there.

alex1fly said:

Intrigued by the neck on these. Love how its green like the body. Does it have that unfinished, open pore feel?

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Yes, but… I got mine from a pawnshop on eBay. I believe someone painted the body with some kind of clear spray on lacquer. I can’t be sure. Does the finish wear? Oh yes. Even with the clear lacquer I believe that’s been added, the neck is wearing down tot he wood finish underneath. Which I love. The guitar also happens to be the lightest guitar I own. I need to weigh it.