Any Epiphone Swingster Royale owners out there?

[WilburBufferson]

Reposting in the hopes of getting a response!

I've been on the hunt for a Gretsch hollow body for just over a year now. I've bought and sold five Electromatics: all of them were cool guitars, but none captivated me 100%. I think the right move would be to ante up for a pro-series, but $3K seems like a lot of money for what would be an occasionally used guitar. I do want a nice hollowbody or semi-hollowbody though.

I went to long and McQuade on the weekend to try out offerings from the 2016 line. And then, out of nowhere, I saw this: an Epiphone Swingster Royale in blue. I didn't get to play it long, but it seemed to be quite versatile with the series/parallel pick up switching. Made in Indonesia. GREAT range of tones out of it. It would seem to be a viable alternative to the Electromatic series of guitars.

Just wondering if anyone else owns one and what do you think about it in relation to the more traditional Gretsch offerings?

 

[Ironwolf]

Have you tried any Gretsch offerings from the new Electromatic line? They are pretty sweet. A big improvement from previous models, they are now Gretsch's mid range rather than bottom range guitars.

 

[WilburBufferson]

I did actually: that orange guitar beside the EPI is one of the new 5420s. It was nice, but not too different from the other Electromatics I mentioned earlier.

Looking back, one of the 5420s I sold was a real sweet guitar. The notes sounded big, and It really rang loud. It was early in my journey so I didn't know better. Now I do!

 

[JazzboxBlues]

Have you considered an Epiphone ES175 or ES295? Once you have a hollowbody you may use it more than occasionally.

 

[WilburBufferson]

Have you considered an Epiphone ES175 or ES295? Once you have a hollowbody you may use it more than occasionally.

Wowzers, that ES175 is cool!!!

 

[jbmando]

Wilbur, I got a Swingster about a week ago and after a setup I played it at church on Sunday. There are some very cool things about it. You can run the humbuckers in series or parallel, so you get a pseudo-single coilish sound without hum. I played the entire set with the neck pickup in series and the bridge in parallel and I really liked the sound. I think all the sounds are useful and some I like better than others. I can post a review video if you'd like me to.

 

[Ben Bishop]

I bought one about a year ago. It's not my #1. Visually great, but what should we do about the decals by the pots? There's no treble bleed so they get dark when you turn down. Fit and finish are good, There's no case that comfortably fits the Bigsby. Now I would wait for something more Gretschy.

 

[jbmando]

Decals by the pots?? Peel them off!

 

[WilburBufferson]

I bought one about a year ago. It's not my #1. Visually great, but what should we do about the decals by the pots? There's no treble bleed so they get dark when you turn down. Fit and finish are good, There's no case that comfortably fits the Bigsby. Now I would wait for something more Gretschy.

I watched a promotional video where they recommend taking off the Bigsby arm prior to putting it in the case. You need a hex key.

I think I'm pretty much decided on passing on the Swingster for the time being and going for the bees knees -- a Pro Series Gretsch. They do look pretty though. [emoji106]

 

[jbmando]

Mine goes in a case with the Bigsby pointing to about 4:00. It is a generic case I held onto from when it used to hold an Ibanez jazz box. I had to move the arm back about 3/4 of an inch but it doesn't affect how it works at all. I would not want to have to remove the trem arm every time I put the guitar in the case.

 

[metale]

I have one, bought last summer new in store. I also tried the following ones:

• G5420T felt short scale, didn't speak to me;
• Epi Broadway was my fav but the stock pickups were muddy;
• Casino didn't speak to me, thin neck.

The Swingster sounded very nice and looked bling, so I bought it and modded it.

image removed

I mainly use it on the default (parallel) setting which is what sets it appart from my other guitars. The neck is also very confortable IMO (full).

 

[sjruvolo]

I have an orange Swingster. I's very nicely finished and the neck is perfect. The only mods I did to the guitar were a B/W/B pickguard and Grover locking tuners. The case which Epiphone lists as the proper case fits perfect, the Bigsby wire arm has to be put in the 7 o'clock position and it doesn't have to be loosened or shortened, The guitar is very versatile as far as hollow bodies go. Epi Hollow or Semi-hollow bodies are very well made and sound sweet.
P.S. the sticker around the knobs come off...LOLView media item 32497

 

[brookdalebill]

I really like the MIJ Gretsch made in the last
14 years.
They are very well made, sound incredible, especially the models with TV Jones pickups.
They can often be found for good prices on CL.
They are admittedly more expensive than their Epi or 5 series import counterparts, but they are infinitely better guitars, IMO.
Save you loonies and twonies and get ya one.
It's worth it.
My 2003 Nashville Classic, that I paid $1500 for, is the best sounding electric guitar I have ever owned!

 

[jbmando]

******UPDATE*****
I bought the Epiphone Emperor case and re-set trem arm so that none of it sticks out the back end. Fits in case perfectly. That the Swingster will not fit in a case with the Bigsby does not compute to me. It's one of my favorite guitars. I love the versatility of tone and a couple of the pickup/phase combos are outstanding.