This is my new Epiphone Masterbilt DR-500R dreadnought guitar.
What? Not a Taylor? Not a Goodall? A LOWLY Epiphone?!
Wait just a minute... this may be an Epiphone, but it's not what you might think it is. Epiphone is a division of Gibson and has been since 1957. But Epiphones have always been the lower-priced versions of their Gibson counterparts because they aren't made here in the USA. Cheaper labor, perhaps cheaper parts... you get the idea.
So here we have these Masterbilt (yes, it's spelled that way) guitars which are made in China. Do they compare to the Taylors? Yes, and no. The wood quality is nowhere as good as what is on a Taylor. The workmanship, although pretty good is not up to speed either. You can see glue marks along the insides of the guitar. No way you would see anything like that on a Taylor.
But the sound... well, that's comparible! In fact, I think this Epiphone might even be better sounding than the Taylor DN3 dreadnought I had! The Epiphone has really rich bass that I can definitely feel when I strum it hard. It's warm sounding, but wait... it's also got good brightness too! This guitar ROCKS!
The nicest part is the price... it's just a fraction of the Taylor DN3! I can seriously say that if you want a guitar well under $500 that is made with a solid top and with solid back and sides, this should definitely be on your list to check out!
The most popular model in this line is the AJ-500R which is the Advanced Jumbo body shape. But if you want a dreadnought, check out this DR-500R.
By the way, the finish on these guitars are satin. But not on mine... anymore! I took Meguiar's Scratch-X (a car finish rubbing compound) and took out all of the satin. This guitar is now fully 100% GLOSS! I had done a similar thing to the Taylor DN3, but could only achieve semi-gloss on the Taylor. Not so with the Epiphone! The satin finish on this guitar can be fully glossed!
I tried to show some of this gloss on the photos here. But in person, you have to see it to believe it! Wow!
What? Not a Taylor? Not a Goodall? A LOWLY Epiphone?!
Wait just a minute... this may be an Epiphone, but it's not what you might think it is. Epiphone is a division of Gibson and has been since 1957. But Epiphones have always been the lower-priced versions of their Gibson counterparts because they aren't made here in the USA. Cheaper labor, perhaps cheaper parts... you get the idea.
So here we have these Masterbilt (yes, it's spelled that way) guitars which are made in China. Do they compare to the Taylors? Yes, and no. The wood quality is nowhere as good as what is on a Taylor. The workmanship, although pretty good is not up to speed either. You can see glue marks along the insides of the guitar. No way you would see anything like that on a Taylor.
But the sound... well, that's comparible! In fact, I think this Epiphone might even be better sounding than the Taylor DN3 dreadnought I had! The Epiphone has really rich bass that I can definitely feel when I strum it hard. It's warm sounding, but wait... it's also got good brightness too! This guitar ROCKS!
The nicest part is the price... it's just a fraction of the Taylor DN3! I can seriously say that if you want a guitar well under $500 that is made with a solid top and with solid back and sides, this should definitely be on your list to check out!
The most popular model in this line is the AJ-500R which is the Advanced Jumbo body shape. But if you want a dreadnought, check out this DR-500R.
By the way, the finish on these guitars are satin. But not on mine... anymore! I took Meguiar's Scratch-X (a car finish rubbing compound) and took out all of the satin. This guitar is now fully 100% GLOSS! I had done a similar thing to the Taylor DN3, but could only achieve semi-gloss on the Taylor. Not so with the Epiphone! The satin finish on this guitar can be fully glossed!
I tried to show some of this gloss on the photos here. But in person, you have to see it to believe it! Wow!
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