Epiphone Masterbilt DR-500MNS

Classic dreadnought, natural satin, grover open tuners.

Three years ago I bought a Epi Masterbilt AJ500M that sounds just amazing. The sweetest tone I heard from any acoustic guitar, including high-end Martins and Gibsons. After hearing a rumour that the Masterbilt series would be discontinued I felt I had to order another one... So I did, but this time I bought the DR500M model from an internet shop. I never ordered an unheard instrument and I will not do it again. I thought I was safe from having good experience with the series. I was very disappointed when I got the instrument. OK, it sounds quite good, but nowehere near my AJ500M. It had less bass and much airier mids. I do not hink this has all to do with the slightly different body shape. Still, considering the price, it is a defnitely a great sounding guitar.

What disappointed me most was the finish. There were regions showing sandmarks under the satin finish. The black paint on the front of the head were applied very thick.

However, the worst thing about this guitar was the fret work. The neck must not have been straight when it was fretted. After fretting the guitar, it was fretsanded so hard, that the frets from the 11th fret and up lost about 50% of their height.

In addition, the frets were not rounded properly after being sanded. They where left flat from sanding, which lead to bad intonation in hte upper register.

I returned this instrument. However, my AJ500 still works great after three years though. Once I hit it so bad two of the bracings got loose. After a luthier fixed it, it sounds just great again.

I bought and returned the instrument from/to (the largest?) european "cyberstore". They quickly returned my money excluding all shipping costs. Still I am quite disappointed that they sended me this poorly set up instrument at all. It should not have passed both factory and shop inspection. In their ad they also said a soft case would be included. Of course I expected the same great soft case I got with the AJ500M (a well insulated, plush interiour case with hygrometer). However, it was packed only in double cardboard. No case at all. I did not get what I ordered. This was the first and last time I buy a musical instrument over internet.

Still, looking for sound only, I think it is hard to beat this guitar. However, the quality of the finish and setup seems to vary.

This guitar is a dreadnaught with a Natural Satin finish on the sound board. The sides, back and neck are Mahogany. Not sure of the tuner brand, but they are the old open gear type. The neck is just right for my taste. Nice and comfortable, not too fat, and not too thin. My timing was bad when I bought this. They used to give a rigid case with a hygrometer with the guitar. Well, I'm here to tell you, they stopped that. This is a brand new instrument, and it was put together in China and set up by the Epiphone people here in the USA. THe guitar has 20 frets and is solid wood entirely.

People have said the sound of the instrument is stunning or awesome. Those are definitely the 2 words that describe this guitar's sound. It is rich and full on the bass and the treble side are just bright but not tinny sounding. There are overtones you can hear that only enhance th amazing sound. I have only had this gutar a week, but thus far I can find nothing at all that I dislike about it.

The set-up was perfect right out of the box. I changed the strings the first thing because the ones on it were a mite tarnished. The saddle was superbly fashioned, and the nut was superbly made. I inspected the guitar for about an hour and did not fine the smallest flaw. This is one well built instrument.

I cannot imagine this guitar not being able to stand up to any kind of playing. The hardware seems just fine, but then I've only had it a week. I've always wondered why the manufacturers don't put 2 strap pins on these guitars. This one came with only the end strap pin. I hope the warranty isn't voided when I have another strap pin installed. Thus far I have no reservations that this guitar will be dependable, and last for years. This guitar will need no backup on stage.

I have yet to have to call the company for any problems.

I have been playing guitar for 46 years. I currently own a Fender Stratocaster, and a Fender P-bass.
I would definitely buy another Masterbilt DR500M should this one get run over by a car or stolen. Over the last 46 years I have played cheap guitars and high end guitars, and this Epi is toward the higher end guitar scale.

Dreadnought body, solid mahogony sides, sitka spruce top and rosewood fingerboard.
Made in China and checked by Epiphone USA before shipping to store, the guitar came with a really good semi-hard case, bit of a cross between a gig bag and a hsc with the epiphone masterbilt logo stitched onto the top, it also has a built in hydrometer.
Epiphone do a good job of checking these models and mine is a beautiful guitar with no problems at all, there does seem to be alot of these about that are factory seconds, available even cheaper, i`m not sure if this is a good thing or not!

This is the best bit, for the money you get an all solid guitar, with a very full rich sound straght out of the box. Good bass response but not overwhelming, very clear mids and a defined treble, i hate that sparkly sound you usually get from cheap guitars. Each note of the chord is clear and the sustain is very good, i play all sorts of stuff and this is a great all round guitar, volume is very good and makes it a great fingerstyle player, but equally good strummed, the projection really is excellent.
I can honestly say there is nothing i dont like about the sound.

The action is a little on the high side but i dont want to lower it as i wouldnt want to risk effecting the volume or tone.
The grain in the top is beautiful and i like the satin finish.
No problems here at all.

Just one fault here really it doesnt come with a second strap button, to me personally this isnt a major problem as i always sit down when playing acoustic so dont use a strap.
The hardware is i think based on the old Epiphone guitars before they were bought by Gibson so this means alot more quality than the usual standard they put out, for instance bone nut and bridge and the all solid woods.
I`m sure you could use it live with no problems, but i should imagine any pro musician would have back up

No experiance with them so cant comment

I cant say enough good things about this guitar mainly because for the money you pay you get a sound only available in the big bucks category.
My ratings might seem low, but lets face it a 10 can only go to the best of the best, i`ve seen reviews on here for guitars rated 10 way too much.
I`ve played alot of guitars and normally wouldnt touch Epiphone (acoustics) with a ten foot barge pole, but these guitars really are different, at last Gibson have allowed them to make something with some quality and sound, its a million miles away from the normal rubbish they chuck out.
If lost broken i`d replace it without hesitation, in fact i might buy something else from the range anyway.
This is quality at a low price, a rare thing, and talking of rare there doesnt seem to be many about here in the UK ( i got mine from the states) so i guess it will hold its value well.

Satin finish on Sitka spruce and maple. Dreadnought, standard scale. 14 frets to top. The top is bookmatched, quartersawn, solid Sitka spruce, about 18 growth rings per inch. The back and sides are plain sawn clear maple, both book matched. The maple neck is glued up out of five pieces for the neck and headstock proper plus a glued on heel. The maple neck is continuous through the headstock. The headstock isn't scarfed on. The frets are tall and narrow and make the guitar uncomfortable to play.Open tuners remind me of my old Stella.Made in 2007 in China.

Very bright, loud sound. It really rings chords and is also good for fingerpicking. Much louder than my Gibson J-50, as well as louder and brighter than a friend's Martin D-18. I play it all the time, but my fingertips are killing me.

The slots in the nut for the strings are very tight. Tuning is difficult, with a lot of tugging above and below the nut and big jumps in pitch when the strings finally move. The guitar is very pretty, clean finish with no visible flaws.

This guitar seems very solid, very well made. The tuners look cheesy and will probably be replaced. I would play it without a backup. It's so loud I can't imagine strumming it hard enough to break a string.

The warranty is void if I change anything, so it won't last past the new tuners.

I've been playing for forty years. My J-50 is too valuable to take anyplace, and my A&L and Angel Rosados with cedar tops were starting to sound dull. I bought the new Epiphone online after reading all these glowing reviews. Nobody said anything about the brutal frets. It sounds great, but is rough on the fingers. Maybe opening up the slots in the nut will lower the strings a bit as well as helping with the tuning. If it were stolen I would get something different.

I've had my previous guitar for 28 years and wanted something new. I looked at everything on the wall at Guitar Center in my price range and chose this guitar. It is the sweetest guitar I have ever owned. I especially liked the solid wood construction, no laminates. The case is very nicely made and very attractive. The only negative for me is the open gearing on the tuners, I prefer the closed type but they do work very well and are probably more in keeping with the theme of this model.

I play mainly cords and am not a professional. I was looking for a very mellow, rich tone which this one has. A couple of people who know guitars said it sounded more like a cedar top than spruce. It has no buzzing or harsh sounds, plays very easily and sounds fantastic.

I've seen many guitar reviews, maybe I was lucky but the action set at the factory on this guitar was perfect and I am very critical of that. The finish is flawless and the wood beautifully matched and assembled. Everything was perfect, no adjustments needed etc.

I haven't had the guitar very long but it looks like it is very well built and the finishes are fine. Strap button is solid, I added a second button for the other end of the strap.

I have had no issues with the guitar, no problems at all. I did go back to the Guitar Center to have the 2nd button installed and was really surprised to learn they did not have a tech on site to install it. I had to go to another store to get that done. This might become a big negative if it needs even a minor adjustment as they said they have to send it out for anything that needs done. I rated it a five based on the dealer more than the factory.

I've played since I was 15 and I plan to retire next year, so it's been quite a while. It's the nicest guitar I've ever owned. I have an Aspen AD38 which I bought new in 1978, so I'll probably keep this guitar for the rest of my life.

It is selling on the internet music stores for $548, I bought it at the presidents day sale for $399, so I am very happy with the guitar as well as the guitar.

sitka spruce solid top, mahogany back and sides. dreadknot, old school open style Grover machine heads. Mahogany neck, rosewood fretboard, hard gig bag included (epiphone masterbilt stitched into the side). neck joins body at 14th fret. made in 2006. Also contains a tortouise shell pickguiard, diamond shaped fret inlays, offset crown headstock, "stickpin" inlay on headstock, a few other nice little accents as well that really set it off.

sounds absolutely amazing. deep full bottem end, bright clean high end, and all without losing a nice mid-range as well. Sounds equally good fingerpicking or flat picking. Very quick neck, I play lots of blues, country, and rock, its an amazing axe for any style.

This is getting into the negatives... The action sits a little high out of the box, I've lowered the action just a tiny touch on mine. The overall finish is sweet, but mine came with a bit of a warp in the top due to the "scalloped bracing" in it's construction. I've also had that corrected by installing a strep inside it. This involves drilling a hole in the bridge (not cool at all). The hole is covered cosmetically by a rosewood dot plugging the hole. Two days after bringing it home from that surgery it started coming apart at the back seam. We glued and clamped it back into place. It's been fine since, but I've only had it since christmas! Not exactly "Master Built"...

I don't play shows, but I imagine mic'd properly this would be an amazing guitar for those acoustic sets. As long as it doesn't get hit with a beer bottle it'd be tottaly fine. It's a strong built guitar.

I've had it repaired twice, The strep was $75, but I bought it there so he only charged me $50. The crack repair was free.