Epiphone PR-6E

Solid spruce top, laminated quilted maple back, sides & headstock, mahogany neck, rosewood fretboard. Cutaway classical sized body with under-saddle pickup and pre-amp. Comes with gold Grover roto-matic tuners and gawdy-looking abalone rosette and body inlay, and glossy finish (mine has an amber stain). These were imported around 2005, most likely made in China, but not sure. The neck is fairly thick, but narrow. It's not easy to fingerpick with this baby due to the narrow neck/nut. Given the price, it's got nice features, just don't buy it for finger-picking.

I like the slightly crisp and bright sound of this guitar. It has good response to attack, and doesn't have a boomy bass, which I like. I suppose that's due to the maple back/sides, and smaller body. I don't really like the pickup/preamp sound, but that could be my amp; I don't have an acoustic amp any more. As far as sound, I like this guitar for my style, which tends toward classical and jazz.
Once again, for the money, it sounds great (don't trade your Martin for this Epi!).

This was a factory second, so keep that in mind. It really wasn't set up very well from the factory, which isn't surprising; many guitars are set up in a factory months or years before you see it. The nut wasn't cut right; the string spacing wasn't uniform, making it tough to play, so I had a new nut fitted. From there, I had to file the saddle a bit to bring the action down. Once I got it adjusted, it's a fine guitar. Oh, the finish wasn't very good as well, which I think is a major flaw with these models; most have flaws somewhere on the top. Not a problem, just looks funky. The bridge, neck, frets and other parts of the guitar are fine.

I don't gig, but I think this would stand up to live playing. Hardware is tough, joints look sturdy, and with a laminated back it should hold up pretty well. I'm not sure I'd play without a backup, if I were hammering it like Pete Townshend.

I've not sent this in for repairs, since it's a second. My experience with another guitar was poor. Warranty work was hard to get done, and when I finally shipped back to Gibson, the guitar wasn't fixed as it should have been. Don't buy an Epiphone for the warranty.

I've been playing for around 10 yrs, and am over 50. I've owned several acoustics, from Gibson to Guild (several). I also own hollow-body guitars by Epi and Gibson, and some solid body electrics from some outfit named after a car part. I bought this guitar as a cheapo acoustic, and because I love maple bodied guitars. The one thing I'd change on this would be the neck/nut and maybe the scale length, which is short (making the strings tighter & harder on the fingers). I don't know if I'd replace it if lost/stolen. Like most guitar players I'm always looking for the perfect guitar for me. I almost bought a Gibson Sheryl Crow this summer....very tempting. I guess this is a nice guitar for what I want, as I like the small body, the wood, the sound, and the fact that it's worth well under $500, which you can't say about the SC.