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New Joe Bonamassa Epiphone Amos Signature model?

Big Al

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Apr 24, 2002
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14,537
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.

I'm sure they are nice. but Open your eyes. Look at the crotch, the top center seam does not match the side seam. The veneer is also apparent.
 

Big Al

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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 \ /

Epiphone specs state SOLID AFRICAN LIMBA (KORINA) body. Now your being deceitful. Read the whole thread.
 

John Galt

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Mar 6, 2018
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Epiphone specs state SOLID AFRICAN LIMBA (KORINA) body. Now your being deceitful. Read the whole thread.

Semantics.

FYI definition of "solid":

adjective, solider, solidest.

1. having three dimensions (length, breadth, and thickness), as ageometrical body or figure.
2. of or relating to bodies or figures of three dimensions.
3. having the interior completely filled up, free from cavities, or nothollow

http://www.dictionary.com/browse/solid?s=t

It ~is~ solid Korina all the way through, just in two pieces and the veneers . . . all solid Korina . . . :) If you take that literally (as you apparently are) then it would be ONE solid piece of wood with no center seam . . . and we all know that's just silly. :spabout:spabout

aaaannnnd Nope, Epiphone does not spec ~SOLID~ AFRICAN LIMBA:

http://www.epiphone.com/Products/Designer/Ltd-Ed-Joe-Bonamassa-1958-Amos-Korina-Flying-V.aspx

So much anger . . :hmm good grammar is the difference between knowing your shit, and knowing you're shit . . :teeth

Peace \ /
 
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Stevie C.

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Jun 17, 2011
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126
I'm sure they are nice. but Open your eyes. Look at the crotch, the top center seam does not match the side seam. The veneer is also apparent.
Yeah, my eyes are open. But I’m not the forensic scientist/ guitar expert that apparently you are, but the seams look like they line up to me?
 
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Amp360

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Feb 16, 2012
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852
Weren't the JB Treasure Firebirds veneered as well?

I sanded down my JB Firebird for a refin and there was no veneer on it. Mine was gold to begin with.

The V looks cool but the price is a bit steep IMHO for what you get. I know a couple people who got them and love them so YMMV but I probably would buy a used Gibson for the money they're charging.
 

Stevie C.

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Jun 17, 2011
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I sanded down my JB Firebird for a refin and there was no veneer on it. Mine was gold to begin with.

The V looks cool but the price is a bit steep IMHO for what you get. I know a couple people who got them and love them so YMMV but I probably would buy a used Gibson for the money they're charging.

If I could get a Gibson ‘58 re-issue Korina V for anywhere near that kind of money I would’ve bought one of those too!
 

DrRobert

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Jun 12, 2003
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You guys shoulda met Al before he became such a gentle man! I suspect he's a little hot for two reasons:
1. Epiphone and JB are being coy about this. If they simply admitted it was a veneer, we'd all move on. But there'd be grumbling about the price because it is quite a bit higher than the less carefully put together but also veneer regular version. At least we wouldn't feel like they're trying to scam us.
2. People arguing that some guitars aren't veneer when they clearly are. Just admit it and move on. It doesn't change the fact that you love your guitar and got the deal you wanted. And hey, if history is any indication, you'll do well-when the original guitars are all sold you can resell it for a modest profit!
 

John Galt

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Mar 6, 2018
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You guys shoulda met Al before he became such a gentle man! I suspect he's a little hot for two reasons:
1. Epiphone and JB are being coy about this. If they simply admitted it was a veneer, we'd all move on. But there'd be grumbling about the price because it is quite a bit higher than the less carefully put together but also veneer regular version. At least we wouldn't feel like they're trying to scam us.
2. People arguing that some guitars aren't veneer when they clearly are. Just admit it and move on. It doesn't change the fact that you love your guitar and got the deal you wanted. And hey, if history is any indication, you'll do well-when the original guitars are all sold you can resell it for a modest profit!

Well said DrRobert :)
 

Big Al

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Apr 24, 2002
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Yeah, my eyes are open. But I’m not the forensic scientist/ guitar expert that apparently you are, but the seams look like they line up to me?

It isn't that they line up, Mr Magoo, it is a tight top seam and a wider side seam along with the obvious veneer everyone sees, but you. As I've said, not for me but great for them that want one, as long as the veneer is noted.
 

viper007

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Jul 26, 2007
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It isn't that they line up, Mr Magoo, it is a tight top seam and a wider side seam along with the obvious veneer everyone sees, but you. As I've said, not for me but great for them that want one, as long as the veneer is noted.

Do i know it's veneer? Yes.

Does it bother mer? No.

Do i love this guitar? Hell yes!! Been playing guitar for about 40 years and this it my 10th one. Maybe, but just maybe, my R8 come close to to inspiring my playing as this one does. And it sounds great to...:peace2
 

Stevie C.

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Jun 17, 2011
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Do i know it's veneer? Yes.

Does it bother mer? No.

Do i love this guitar? Hell yes!! Been playing guitar for about 40 years and this it my 10th one. Maybe, but just maybe, my R8 come close to to inspiring my playing as this one does. And it sounds great to...:peace2
Couldn’t have said it better!!
 

Big Al

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Do i know it's veneer? Yes.

Does it bother mer? No.

Do i love this guitar? Hell yes!! Been playing guitar for about 40 years and this it my 10th one. Maybe, but just maybe, my R8 come close to to inspiring my playing as this one does. And it sounds great to...:peace2

Hey, I think that's great. It is a nice, and affordable copy. I love my FB I and if you read the whole thread you'd see how excited I was about these. I wanted similar quality to my Firebird. IMO, it didn't meet that mark and I passed. I am not slamming them at all, just not what I was lead to believe.

I just wanted to be clear about the build as some keep pushing the lie about the veneer which only leads to confusion and misrepresentaton. If I'm the bad guy, fine, I'll be the bad guy but I ain't the one lying.
 

Stevie C.

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Jun 17, 2011
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Hey, I think that's great. It is a nice, and affordable copy. I love my FB I and if you read the whole thread you'd see how excited I was about these. I wanted similar quality to my Firebird. IMO, it didn't meet that mark and I passed. I am not slamming them at all, just not what I was lead to believe.

I just wanted to be clear about the build as some keep pushing the lie about the veneer which only leads to confusion and misrepresentaton. If I'm the bad guy, fine, I'll be the bad guy but I ain't the one lying.

Wow, first name calling, and now I'm lying? I love how people on the internet dare to insult people and be rude when they know the other person has no way of reaching their throat.. That never happens in person, since these type of people are pretty gutless to begin with..
I'm still waiting for someone to prove that it is veneer? I could care less which way it turns out, because I think its pretty awesome either way, but I sure as hell am not going to fold on what I think it is, based on what some pompous piece of shit says...
 

darkwave

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Sep 17, 2001
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I don't speak for Al, but I didn't read that as accusation of YOU lying - but rather a lie by Epiphone that is getting repeated enough to confuse the market. For the record, I have an Epiphone Elitist Sheraton I really love. I am tired of reading claims that it has identical materials and better workmanship than a custom shop Gibson, it simply does not, but it keeps getting repeated online. The center block is multi-piece, the finish is poly, and there are other quirks that are in line with its price point. I resent the misinformation, but still love the instrument. And as a mass produced instrument, it is unlikely to vary in specification significantly fro others unless it is a prototype, which is why some cheaper high volume guitars have flame veneer even if they have solid finishes - efficiency at scale production.

- Douglas C


Wow, first name calling, and now I'm lying? I love how people on the internet dare to insult people and be rude when they know the other person has no way of reaching their throat.. That never happens in person, since these type of people are pretty gutless to begin with..
I'm still waiting for someone to prove that it is veneer? I could care less which way it turns out, because I think its pretty awesome either way, but I sure as hell am not going to fold on what I think it is, based on what some pompous piece of shit says...
 

DrRobert

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Jun 12, 2003
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I'm with Douglas, I'm sure the "lying" Big Al was referring to was from Epiphone, not you Stevie! And, to be fair, it hasn't been out and out lying, it's been kind of "lay low" innuendo-AFAIK no one directly connected with the project has come out and said "yes it is veneer" or "no it isn't", they just sort of implied it wasn't by saying "solid Korina".
 

Stevie C.

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Jun 17, 2011
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Just started taking it apart to install my Amos pickups, and thought I'd upload a few gut shots for everyone to see..
 

Stevie C.

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Jun 17, 2011
Messages
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In the first photo is the bridge rout as I found it, and in the last photo, you'll see where I scraped the poly right down to the wood on the bridge rout to reveal just the seam of the wood. Where is this veneer everyone seems to be seeing??
I see grain that follows from the top right down in the bottom of the pu cavity as well as the control rout.








 

Stevie C.

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Jun 17, 2011
Messages
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I was pretty worried about what the Blackwood fretboard was going to look like in person, but I gotta say I love it!
Not only is it nice and smooth, it has a lot of dark brown in it too!
Not a lot different in color from my R8! :dude:


 

darkwave

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Sep 17, 2001
Messages
357
Looks nice - and I can see where you're coming from about the grain continuing down into the routes. The one spot that seems odd to me is the end of the tenon visible in the pickup route. It looks to me like the tenon runs past the pickup route, and you can see vertical seams coming up that sidewall, but then there is no visible tenon on the top surface underneath the pickguard. Nothing else look particularly veneered to me, but that spot seem very suspicious from what I see.

I remember when the older models came out and they seemed to be solid due to the rounded corners and other details. It was only after checking one out in person that I was able to see that they had used thicker pieces to conceal the sides so the router wouldn't break through veneer edges. Good problem solving for manufacture, and I respect them for that so long as they don't misrepresent it. That said, I would have no expectations of a completely solid guitar at that price from Epiphone, and if I liked the guitar, I would continue to enjoy it.

Cool guitar BTW.

-Douglas C.


I was pretty worried about what the Blackwood fretboard was going to look like in person, but I gotta say I love it!
Not only is it nice and smooth, it has a lot of dark brown in it too!
Not a lot different in color from my R8! :dude:


 

John Galt

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Mar 6, 2018
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In the first photo is the bridge rout as I found it, and in the last photo, you'll see where I scraped the poly right down to the wood on the bridge rout to reveal just the seam of the wood. Where is this veneer everyone seems to be seeing??
I see grain that follows from the top right down in the bottom of the pu cavity as well as the control rout.










Interesting.

Now I have to take mine apart. Thought I was seeing a veneer now I'm not sure . . . maybe it's the poly topcoat that makes it look like a veneer . . Thanks for posting those pics!!
 
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