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New Joe Bonamassa Epiphone Amos Signature model?

viper007

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 26, 2007
Messages
1,631
My Amos V arrived today and I am thrilled with how nice it is!
It is ABSOLUTELY a SOLID 2 piece body. No veneer, on this one at least.
Fret work is nice and smooth. Love the neck.
Pickups sound nice, although a set of Seymour Duncan Amos pickups will be going in soon.
The only thing I’m not crazy about is the pea soup colored tulip tuners, but those can be easily changed.
One thing I was very happy to see was that the case is Brown. I could have sworn the pics I saw showed the case was black, but I’ll have to go back and look again.

Overall, this was a big win for me!

Any pics?
 

Uncle Gary

Active member
Joined
Oct 15, 2006
Messages
2,431
I was wrong, guy traded the Amos V in. https://parkwaymusic.com/product/epiphone-ltd-ed-58-joe-bonamassa-amos-fling-v-used/

No affiliation besides being a happy customer for years. Thing looked pretty mint while i was there.

I was up there Monday (2-19) and played one. It must have been another example, as it was listed and priced as "new". Unlike the first one I played there this one was definitely "veneered" (you had to look very hard, but you could see it around the heel cap). Sounded great though an amp, and the neck was just about perfect for me. Woodwork was impeccable and the veneer was almost invisible. The only issue was a finish crack on the treble side of the neck joint. For that reason, I put it back.

Besides, I literally don't have room for another oversized guitar case in the apartment. I'd still like one, though.
 

Stevie C.

Member
Joined
Jun 17, 2011
Messages
126










With the exception of the Peasoup Green tuners buttons, which will be replaced shortly, I absolutely love this V!!
Can't wait till my Seymour Duncan Amos pickups get here! :dude:
 

akstrat61

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Joined
Feb 16, 2004
Messages
1,845
I find it hard to believe that some of them are veneered and some not?:hank
 

Stevie C.

Member
Joined
Jun 17, 2011
Messages
126
the veneer on the top of this one is clearly visible.

I could be wrong, but I don't think so..
The line you are seeing in the photo is certainly not seen in person.
I can clearly see, when holding the guitar in hand, where the grain runs right through the line that was created by routing over the edge, and on to the side of the body.
I really think it is just in the photos that people are seeing what they think is veneer.
And I am not buying the whole some have veneer, some don't either..
 

Big Al

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Apr 24, 2002
Messages
14,537
I could be wrong, but I don't think so..
The line you are seeing in the photo is certainly not seen in person.
I can clearly see, when holding the guitar in hand, where the grain runs right through the line that was created by routing over the edge, and on to the side of the body.
I really think it is just in the photos that people are seeing what they think is veneer.
And I am not buying the whole some have veneer, some don't either..

Steve, that is clearly veneer. It is a nice looking guitar, for sure, but it is veneer nonetheless.
 

akstrat61

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 16, 2004
Messages
1,845
How did you conclude some are not veneered ?

Quote Originally Posted by Stevie C. View Post
My Amos V arrived today and I am thrilled with how nice it is!
It is ABSOLUTELY a SOLID 2 piece body. No veneer, on this one at least.
 

John Galt

New member
Joined
Mar 6, 2018
Messages
5
Hi guys, joined the forum today just for this thread.

I purchased my JB Amos on 12/14/2017 at Big Apple Music in New Hartford, NY, the day after they received two of them, I got the lighter of the two. The owner indicated to me that these were the first two shipped to dealers. I would like to try to confirm that . . . After all, this is Joe B's hometown.

It is an amazing keeper guitar. It is definitely a veneer top and back . . . ~but~ the veneers are on a two piece Korina body, no butcher block like on all the Epi 58 V's I have seen. And it has a scarf joint on the headstock. So what? It functions just fine ;) $899 is a friggin steal for this guitar, I predict they will be a sleeper 10-20 years down the road . . .

I think some of you get really wound up on this "veneer" thing when it is not warranted. Fercrisake, the 1953 original Les Paul Gold Top was a carved Maple top ~laminated~ to the body :/ . . . get over it. Ya, I can see the "butcher block" thing, not my cup of tea either, why not just use plywood or particle board, LOL . . . . the fact is the Amos is definitely a cut above the Epi 58 Korina V and worth the extra money. I had a Gibson reissue V (not the 58 Korina) and it was no where close to this guitar..

Anyway, that is only my opinion.

So . . . I wonder if there is any interest in starting a serial number registry here . . . mine is 17102301962. I assume they are sequential, I have seen two other serial numbers that were purchased several weeks after mine, they were 40-50 numbers higher.

Peace \ /
 
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Big Al

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Apr 24, 2002
Messages
14,537
Answer me this, IF the guitar has a solid two piece body, are you following me? IF IT HAS A SOLID TWO PIECE BODY, now think about this, WHY VENEER TOP & BACK??

What possible reason is there? You veneer to cover up or disguise. WHY is the center seam in the crotch wider than any other seam? How do you know the sides aren't veneered?

Doesn't bother you? Good, glad for you. You paid more than $899. Closer to a G than that, something I wasn't willing to do, for my own good reasons. Don't lecture us about what is important or quality. Veneer is an issue as Epiphoney is being deliberately deceitful about these. It also gets fuzzy when wrongly described here as non veneer.
 

John Galt

New member
Joined
Mar 6, 2018
Messages
5
Answer me this, IF the guitar has a solid two piece body, are you following me? IF IT HAS A SOLID TWO PIECE BODY, now think about this, WHY VENEER TOP & BACK??

What possible reason is there? You veneer to cover up or disguise. WHY is the center seam in the crotch wider than any other seam? How do you know the sides aren't veneered?

Doesn't bother you? Good, glad for you. You paid more than $899. Closer to a G than that, something I wasn't willing to do, for my own good reasons. Don't lecture us about what is important or quality. Veneer is an issue as Epiphoney is being deliberately deceitful about these. It also gets fuzzy when wrongly described here as non veneer.

The reason is simple, to hide a less than desirable grain pattern. If these were indeed ~two~ pieces of Korina they would be much more than $899 and therefore outside Epiphone's target market ;) Veneer makes these affordable for chumps like you and me. Check out pics of the originals, they WERE two solid pieces and the grain is nowhere near as nice as these with the veneer . .

Show me where Epi specs this as solid two piece Korina, they don't, you are being deceitful with yourself. LOL!

Actually I paid less than $899, got the employee discount ;) THAT is less than 1/200th to 1/300th the cost of an original and I get a very ~nice~ copy of an unobtainable iconic guitar for a price I can afford.

Peace \ /
 

Uncle Gary

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Oct 15, 2006
Messages
2,431
The reason is simple, to hide a less than desirable grain pattern. If these were indeed ~two~ pieces of Korina they would be much more than $899 and therefore outside Epiphone's target market ;) Veneer makes these affordable for chumps like you and me. Check out pics of the originals, they WERE two solid pieces and the grain is nowhere near as nice as these with the veneer . .

Show me where Epi specs this as solid two piece Korina, they don't, you are being deceitful with yourself. LOL!

Actually I paid less than $899, got the employee discount ;) THAT is less than 1/200th to 1/300th the cost of an original and I get a very ~nice~ copy of an unobtainable iconic guitar for a price I can afford.

Peace \ /

Okay, I posted before reading your reply about the veneer.

Update: I went back to Parkway Music yesterday and brought home my very own "Amos" Flying V. Apparently this was the second of the two they had. This one has a veneer on the top and back, but is much lighter weight than the first one they had. At home, it weighs 7lb. 6oz. on my digital fish scale ("fish scale"-get it?). This is almost a pound heavier than the '98 Epi "korina" V I used to own, but not an issue to me. The guitar feels light and balances well on a strap.

I must admit I'm impressed with this guitar. The neck is just perfect for me, not too big, not too small, and the woodwork is very neat. I've owned Gibsons that weren't assembled as nicely. Pickups sound great and I'm sure it will sound even better once I get some decent strings on it (I haven't wanted to stop playing it long enough to mess with it yet).

I certainly didn't need another guitar, but I couldn't pass up the opportunity to own a replica of an iconic Gibson guitar for a tiny fraction of the cost of the real deal.

To be sure, it will get a few mods when I'm in the mood. If I like something, I'll mod it. it's part of the fun. As mentioned, the "snot colored" tuner buttons will have to go, so a new set of tuners is on order. Also, the guitar should have taller pickup rings. Gibson rings won't fit, but DiMarzio rings do, so a set of them is on the way (and longer screws for the bridge pickup ring). Down the road, I want to replace the Asian selector switch and jack with Switchcraft parts and maybe the pots as well. The specs say "CTS" pots, but the splines are metric coarse splines, so I don't know if they are or not. I know about the splines because I had to remove the knobs and nuts to cleanly remove the pickguard plastic and to install some knob pointers.

Oh yeah, mine is 17102302319.
 
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Stevie C.

Member
Joined
Jun 17, 2011
Messages
126
Well, I'm still not convinced it's veneer, but either way I think its an awesome guitar and well worth the money!
The tuners themselves seem nice to me, so I'll just be replacing the gross green buttons with new ones.
I'll also be putting the Seymour Duncan Amos pickups in this weekend hopefully, as long as this friggin' snow storm doesn't delay their delivery..
I'll probably swap out the tuners and caps too at some point with USA made CTS and Pio caps.
 
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