Epiphone AJ-100CE

Cutaway electro acoustic. Mahogany body and neck. Natural finish. Chrome hardware. No onboard EQ or volume etc.

Amazing sustain on this guitar and it sounds excellent plugged in but for some reason, at least on mine, when amplified the 4th and 5th strings sound muted compared to the other strings which are bright and loud in contrast. Its very annoying. I played around with the pup under the saddle (never seen one of these before) and it seemed ok visually.

Very dry fretboard, some good old wax polish sorted it out.

I lowered the action, it was about 8mm at the 12th fret and I got it down to 5mm.

The truss didn't seem to help to straighten the neck, if the truss was at the other end (nut end) I could have got the action lower.

The overall finish is excellent. I wanted to find a cosmetic flaw but I couldn't.

The top E string snapped when I first played it and tuned it up, dont know what strings they were but I put some extra light strings so they don't bend the neck as much. Its definitely a solid guitar, its very firm when you press down on the body, I had one that used to creak whenever you handled it.

Cheap guitar no biggy, i'd sooner lob it in the bin than bother with them.

If lost or stolen I would more likely try one of the even cheaper martin smith electro cutaway acoustic, they look like the ovation and have EQ controls and im curious to know how they play and sound cos they look very nice for under ??100.

Natural top, dark sides and back
Dreadnaught cutaway body
Closed tuners
Came with a cable and hex wrench for truss rod adjustment
Made in China
Solid spruce top
Shadow P-4 pickup, no preamp

I play acoustic rock and contemporary christian, and this fits right in with both genres. Bright sound, but not tinny, very good bass and mids. Some picks and strings make it sound completly different. It likes good strings. EXP strings make it sound best (or the best I have found so far). Other than liking expensive strings, no complaints as far as sound.

The action was very high, but it's a loose bridge, so it was an easy fix. Can barely see the bookmatch, very clean job. Bridge is wooden, and it's perfect as far as I can see. Neck was set very well. All fit and finish is very good. Painted joints instead of binding, I believe.

The body and all components except tuners seem very sturdy. I'm not sure about the tuners. A couple seem a little bit loose, but that may be imagination. The finish is hard, almost brittle, may chip off, but as long as there is no bumps and scrapes, you shouldn't have trouble. The strap buttons are standard, I doubt you could hurt them. I take it everywhere I think I might need a guitar. Have taken it a couple places (don't play away from home often), and have had absolutly no trouble with it. Am planning on starting a gigging band, and this will be my main instrument until I find something on the caliber of a Gibson or Martin very cheap.

Have had no problems thus far, so no real opinion here. Have heard good things, though.

Lifetime warrenty makes me think they'll probably be OK if I ever need them.

I am a somewhat advanced player, even though I've only been playing for about three years. I started on a borrowed '67 Gibson J-45, and returned it when I bought this. I also have played several other high end guitars. I also own a Peavy Raptor, that plays nicely to be as cheap as it is. If something happened to this guitar, another just like it would be on it's way as soon as I got the money.

Pros
Sound
Neck shape/size
Looks

Cons
Tuners
No preamp/onboard tuner

I did not really compare to other guitars. I read a few reviews, and this one had sterling reviews, and no other guitar I could afford did. I would like a preamp and onboard tuner, but for the price, I can afford a seperate tuner, and most amps have EQ, which is basically all the preamp would have done for me.