Saw late on Friday night that the Epiphone 1963 AJ-45 reissue was back in production and available in the UK. £159 too! I thought that it was cheap enough to have a punt on. It would at least give me the aesthetics that I was looking for (apart from the monstrosity/headstock), but it would also be my first dreadnought, as my other acoustic is a Washburn EA20 (old one).
So, ordered it on Friday, got excited, and then it arrived yesterday.
Out of the box, the finish is perfect, the action is good, and the intonation seems excellent. I like the plastic button tuners. Think it looks better without the neck binding, but then that makes the edges of the board feel a bit sharper. Still, not as sharp as a squier VM electric. Some places spec it as solid top, some not.
Sound wise, it immediately felt very bassy/thick/warm in comparison to my Washburn. There's a lot less string and note definition, which I don't mind as such as I find the Washburn to be a bit zingy at times.
Overall it seems to be a great instrument for £159. Is it the best for that price? Probably not. If I was looking for pure tone and build quality, the money would probably go furthest on a s/h Yamaha. But it does scratch an itch, and I do like it.
Now I need to try a real one, and see if I need to re evaluate the herd.
