Epiphone AJ-45 Acoustic

This is a plain acoustic guitar with no features that don't exist in 99% of other acousitic guitars. It's an advanced jumbo so it's big.

I love the deep, resonant bassy sound of this guitar. Very rich tones and fairly loud in a crowded room.

The action had to be adjusted slightly for my tastes. It's fine now. Occasionally I have had problems with intonation but with a little patience and fine tuning it comes alongs quite well.

Very nice vintage sunburst finish and fairly tough - I've dropped it once on stage and no harm done. However, I've had to replace one of the plastic tuning pegs because it just broke one day while I was tuning. I don't know if this was a factory defect or if tuning pegs are occasionally prone to this kind of thing. I live in a very dry climate at a high elevation which can reak havoc on sensitive instruments. As for the long term durability - I've only had it for about 4 years so the jury's still out. I do notice that it does seem to need more setting up now than when I first bought it.

I have been playing guitar for more than 20 years and this is the second acoustic guitar I've owned. My first was a small Yamaha and this Epiphone, though not perfect, is vastly superior. I also have an Epiphone Casino and I used to play a Fender Strat. I'm partial to Epiphone because of the Rich tones - They are not the easiest instruments to play becauase they tend to have slightly thicker necks. Noodling is easier on thinner necked guitars, but the rich, rockabilly tones keep me coming back. Despite it's flaws I love this guitar.

This is the first, new acoustic guitar I've purchased in over ten years. I had been looking at the Gibson CL-20, and at about 1/2 the price this seemed like a good deal. I think it's a replication of the Gibson AJ-50, which also influenced my choice.The top is Spruce with mahoganey sides. The fret board is rosewood with 20 frets. The machine heads are "retro," which is a euphamism for "cheap." However, the rest of the hardware seems to be durable. I shaved about an eighth of an inch off the bridge to improve the action (which did not result in any buzzing). No pickups.

Coming off of playing an Ovation for a few years, I appreciate the full bass the guitar has. I've recorded it several times using a Sure SM-57, and am satisfied with the result. As my bones start to deteriorate, I find myself leaning more towards acoustic pop and away from the Bob Mould-treble-screaming Fender sound. This guitar is a good transition instrument. It produces a clean, loud sound, without the ear-splitting treble.

I yanked this guitar right out of the box and didn't really expect it to be set up properly. As I mentioned, I shaved off some of the bridge to improve the action, and will probably shave off a little more. The machine heads creak and have a tendency to snap sharp when you try to tune, but this seems to have improved with use. Harmonics were fine.

I have no reason to think that the guitar is not durable. Another review mentioned that the saddle was cheap. Although bone would be better, I see no threat of the saddle coming loose or breaking off. The solid build of this guitar was an attraction. Never the less, it's not a bad consideration to look at a bone saddle.

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This guitar was a compromise. It's playability is similar to the Gibson CL-20, after which I have lusted for about 10 monthsr, but it was about half the price. In a dead room, the thing sounds great. If I go into my kitchen, where I get a little reverb if I leave the bathroom door open, it sounds even better. The only thing that annoys me about the guitar is the lack of a second strap latch near the base of the neck. I'm not used to having the strap hook behind the nut, so the guitar has a tendency to fall to my right (under my strumming arm), causing me to compensate by turning my body a little to the right. If I play for more than an hour, I end up going in circles, getting dizzy and throwing up. But it's worth it.

This is a 1998 Korean-made acoustic, I think 24 frets. Solid spruce top, no electronics. The sides are mahogany, as is the neck, and the finish is antique sunburst. Nice retro grover-style tuners. I didn't buy a case because i have one already that fits it. It's a basic acoustic guitar with no added pickups. The neck scale is 25 inches, with gibson-style jumbo frets.

I play mostly classic rock and pop - Beatles, etc. and this guitar sounds great with them. Very good sound once I replaced the saddle. I love the sound of it.

Setup was decent - I ordered it by mail from Florida and it was even in tune in the box. Action fine. Saddle was a crappy factory piece that doesn't look good enough for even a music store bargain bin of saddles. I had a compensated saddle already and had this installed soon after i got the guitar. As i said, action good, no buzzing. No finish flaws that I could see -- beautiful finish all over. No glue slop inside or outside of the guitar--braces look firm, all binding is smooth and well-glued on. The bridge pins are ebony wood; not very sturdy looking but they are doing their job so far. Nut isn't the best- bass strings sit on top of it somewhat. It sounds like it needs lubricating -- when i tune strings i get that little "plink!" sound as they travel not very smoothly thru the nut.

I don't play live much but I'm sure it will stand up. Finish looks durable. Strap button is ebony wood, so far it is holding up. I'd use it w/o a backup.

The standard Epiphone limited lifetime warranty comes with it. I've not dealt with the company so far. The only work I've had done on it was local -- saddle replacement. I hope that doesn't void the warranty, but it needed a good saddle.

I've been playing about 18 years, I have a Seagull S6 acoustic, an Epiphone Viola bass, and an old Sigma 12 string. I'd definitely buy this beauty again if it were stolen, although I might look into the John Lennon acoustic model, more expensive but a bit more upscale and with a P90 pickup. I loved the look of it in the catalog, and the price was excellent thru the store Almost Music. About all I wish it had were better bridge pins, possibly a better nut, and a better saddle from the factory.