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Originally Posted by Paul in Colorado
My beef with them is that I own a '66 Epiphone Riviera. Epiphone's to me were always their own line and and quality wise were right up there with anything Gibson made.
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I have no experience with the "offshore" Epi's so do not have clue about tone and playability.
But I understand where you are coming from. If you were an Epiphone fan, it is hard to think of these guitars as less expensive clones of Gibsons cuz at one time they were great guitars in their own right and not only the equals of acoustic and hollow body electric Gibsons but in some cases surpassed them.
For me, ever since I picked up my first "bikini" logo Epi, I have had a soft spot in my heart for the New York made acoustics.
I have been playing a 1956 FT-79 for the last week or so. It is one of the very last NY Epi's made. Sadly, ya can see shortcuts in its manufacture as the company prepared to change hands - dot inlay on the board instead of block inlays and cheaper tuners. Still a fine sounding instrument.
If there is a bright spot, the demise of Epiphone led to the creation of Guild Guitars.