Epiphone Sorrento Semi Acoustic Jazz Guitar

Recently purchased a 1966 Epiphone Sorrento with Olive Green finish. This guitar has a single mini humbucker and a thin neck. Guitar was manufactured in Kalamazoo, Mich. at the Gibson factory from the info on the original build sticker viewable through the F hole.

The guitar has a nice mellow sound.This one's a keeper!

The guitar has aged well. It's missing the original pickguard

sunburst finish
thin neck
jazz guitar bridge
vintage tuners
made end 90s, I think, not sure.
laminated top
3-way selector, 2 volume, 2 tone.
S/S pickup, epiphone P90s (??).

Mine is a sunburst from the end 90s which I bought new here in germany. I usually use this guitar playing in a jazzy style, which it fits perfectly for me. with it's slim design this guitar is really versatile for a jazzstyle guitar. the P90 singlecoil pickups produce a very characteristic sound. and as it has two of them so you don't have to stick with the jazz sound. You may also rock this thing, but beware. this one is a complete hollow body guitar, no sustain block. heavy feedbacks at high volumes. it sounds pretty acoustic but it's not built like a top notch jazz guitar and so it does not sound like one of those. if you like something in between with a special sound this is the one to go with. but you have to look for a used one, they are not building these anymore.

Generell factory setup was so so. I had it adjusted by a luthier. after a couple of years the volume level knobs produce some scratching sound, I think I have to get this done soon. strings don't go through the body at the bridge and tend to start swinging which produces some strange sounds while playing. I got used to it. tuners work a little hard, but I don't have problems to use them. pickup selector may also be of medium quality, but in the end the thing works.
I lately attached 013 strings on this guitar which gives a lot of tension on the neck. I think a have to get it adjusted again, action is no longer good.

As metioned before this is a hollow body guitar which makes it a real lightwight. the backside of the coin is that you have to take care of it, as it may easily break. since i used it thankfully nothing broke.

Never dealt with them.

I been playing for 20 years, but not professionally. I love the distinctive sound of this guitar, I'm not really sure a gibson would outclass this one considering the price difference. I really like the shape of the body and the sunburst finish.

Foreign made circa 1998, 22 frets, lam. maple body with lam. spruce top, while the neck is mahogany, mine is in a Gretsch-like Orange. It has the usual two volume/two tone knobs, and the pickup selector switch. Great P-90 pickups.

To my ears, this is a great sounding guitar, it's bright and sparkly with punch on the top end and mellow on the bass end (although a little too mellow), and it has that great woody semi-hollow tone. The neck is nice and slim, pretty easy to play on. The P-90s are typically noisy, especially with high gain settings.

I can get the tones that I want out of it, mainly some pretty decent jazz tones out of the neck pickup and some convincing Beatle-esque tones out of the bridge pickup. Really good and reactive with medium to low distortion. Absolutely lush and gorgeous through a couple of vintage Fender amps I've had the pleasure to play through. Very high marks here for tone.

I consider most guitars, especially foreign made ones in need of pro setup, which I usually get around to within a month of purchasing a guitar. The guitar had numerous issues that I discovered after consulting with my local guitar tech. The input jack came loose at one point, and had it replaced. The fretwork was pretty sloppy, and I'll probably need to get the frets dressed in the near future.

I've gigged and recorded with it before and have had very few problems. (After a set-up that is...) The caps, pickup switch, and input jack, all have or eventually will be replaced, just a matter of time before those things fall apart on a foreign made guitar. I would have rarely gigged with it before a set-up. Other than that, It's been pretty reliable.

Never needed to contact them.

Overall this is a really good value, especially since I got it at half price at a music store long ago. (At the time I was searching for an Epiphone Casino) The issues I had with it were easily overcome with a good guitar tech, and if you combine it with a vintage tube amp, it's tone is rarely equalled. If this guitar were stolen or lost I'd HAVE to get a replacement for it, as it is one of my favorite guitars.

Got this jazz box off Ebay from a recycle-music type store in Chicago. It's a lefty, and apparently not many lefties are looking for this model. I am liking it alot, and it is quite different from my other guitars. It is the orange finish model, with the non-vibra tone tailpeice. This is my first P 90 equipped guitar, and I must say it smokes. Of course, the tuners are cheap and will go soon, but that's expected on Epi's. The serial number puts it at 1996. I found a decent hard case for it. I intend to use it for alot of clean-tone songs, but the distortion tone is way cool,too!

I got it for rockabilly/Beatles type sounds, and I am not dissapointed. It is little prone to handling noise, but I also play a Sheraton and an Emperor with a volume pedal, so I can control the feed back. The original P90's are both warm, yet detailed and barky. For single coils, I prefer these to any Fender-ey type twang. I can acheive tones that remind me of the old SG's with soapbars, and the front pickup can go totally jazz. I may take out the pickups and sent them to Lindy Fralin for wax potting. The P90 replacements are real expensive, and I have read they don't always give you the true P90 tone.

I had to completely fix this guitar up, but it turned out great. I polished the frets, oiled the board, cleaned the pots, lubed the nut, tightened everything up and intonated it. The action is great, but I will agree with others that the nut spacing is very narrow. I noticed Sue Foley used one of these. Maybe this is a good guitar for females or younger/smaller players. I have gotten used to it fine. The wood doesn't really have much figuring or flame, but it has a little almost "birdseye" maple reflection to it. Not bad for an import. It is shockingly light. If I add a Bigsby, it will double the weight!

I have no fears about this guitar live. It's only a Korean Epi. I get 'em to play out with, not for show or collecting. (but I do have every lefty model Epi makes). The poly finish looks super glossy and will protect it fine. I reccomend a hard case for it.

Epiphone discontinued this model, but service is never an issue with them. They once sent me a new bridge and pickup switch damaged in shipping. (For a guitar I won in a contest) I didn't forget that.

My other guitars have Sperzel tuners, TV Jones pickups and Bigsby's. This was my first taste of a hollow P90 guitar, and I like it better than the Casinos I've tried. Contrary to other posts, it sounds raw and awesome with distortion. Think of the riff to "Bad to The Bone".
I wish the pickups were already potted to decrease the noise a little. Sounds better with my smaller amp, as another user has said.
Binding,P90's,big, thin body, a great value for a budget archtop!

Mid 1990s (1994?) reissue of the original guitar, which was made in the 1960s. This is made in Korea. Standard model with 2 P-90 pickups. I looked a long time to find a sunburst one; can't stand the shiny orange color which most Sorrentos seem to be. The adjustable bridge is not very well made. The metal retaining spring is too loose. The bridge should eventually be replaced. The finish is a nice even sunburst for a budget guitar. The tuners are solid and work well.

Good for jazz and jangly pop. Not good with overdrive or distortion. Here's the interesting thing. I also have an Epi Casino, which is a very similar guitar in construction, but this one sounds better. More punch, sustain and tone. The pickups are more even from string to string, than the Casino's. The Casino i'm talking about is 8 years newer, so maybe they changed the pickup's internal design.

Very well done. My biggest complaint with this guitar is the narrow fingerboard. It reminds me of 1968 Gibsons. Might be great for someone with small hands, but just too narrow to play comfortably. I'm comparing this with a 2002 Epi Casino. That guitar has a very comfortable neck; wide and flat. Obviously, epiphone changed their neck specs at some point, but i wonder if all the the Sorrentos are like this.

Been playing 30 years. Owned everything form high-end to low. These are excellent reissues of a vintage guitar. If you can deal with the narrow fingerboad and single coil buzz, go for it!

I got one of the orange Korean reissue Sorrentos with P90s and Bigsby tp.

The main reason I am submitting this: I wanted to let other owners know one important discovery. A big part of the feedback problem on this guitar for me turned out to be not just the body resonating, but also especially the dogear p90 pickup covers were vibrating. I had tried just potting the pickups, that didn't help much. Then the store owner who sold it to me suggested I completely FILL the covers with molten wax. That really made a big difference. I strongly suggest completely removing the pickups first so you don't mar that cool finish.

Nearly every piece except the Bigsby has been replaced. I still need to replace the strap buttons. They keep coming loose.

There are some production shortcuts if you look closely inside the body and at the neck joint, etc., but for such a low price, this is a cool guitar. I changed all the electrical parts, the tuners, the nut, and the bridge, and still wound up paying less than I would for a real Gibson.

The P90s were cool but eventually I put in some Duncan Antiquity II minihumbuckers which, although expensive and take time to get, sound more clear and detailed.

I was OK with paying a little more than Guitar Center prices to support a small store like Crossroads. But if you can get one for under $400 like I see here, it's kind of a no-brainer.

Having a guitar this cheap encourages one to experiment with working on it yourself and trying new pickups and stuff. You can't really find out what you like until you try it on the gig. Now that I've gone through this process, I've realized that I prefer the tone of a semi-hollowbody to the completely archtop and so would probably start looking for a 335 if I lost this guitar.

This a 1997 korean production. This model is an "orange", it comes with a case. It has a bigsby tremolo (made by epiphone). The bridge is a tune-o-matic standard. It's a hollow body, a kind of "Casino sister" but with just one cutaway. The body is a laminated maple. There are 22 frets on the neck. The neck is really easy to play, it's like a 60' Les Paul style. The controls are 2 volumes and 2 tones (nothing else) with a 3 way switch. The pickups' configuration ? P-90 ! Yeah boy ! That's really hot ! The p-90 are made by Epiphone, but they rocks. Don't be suspicious, it's a very good job (that's not a LP-100 ah!ah!ah!).

I think that's not the best guitar for playing Satriani ! But for rock'n'roll, blues and jazz, this Sorrento is a hot machine. I'm a blues-rock player and for every vintage sound, this guitar satisfy me. You must try to play an old rockabilly or a Brian Setzer song, it's thunder ! But, just one thing : You must pay attention at the feedback. Don't forget, that's a hollow body guitar, so don't try to push the drive at 10 ! This guitar is like a horse, you must learn how to control it.

The thing the most important is : this guitar has a bigsby tremolo but it not have a too hard action. Ok, strings are 10-46, but it's really easy to play... for a 10-46 (more hard work you have on a Wildkat for example).
The finish is really good. The old trans orange is beautiful. Vintage look !

I think the durability is ok. I bought this guitar used, but it seem like a new old. The only bad thing is the strap buttons. It turn a little, so you must to screw on.

I don't have any problem, so why do you want I call the company ?

If you like vintage look, vintage felling and vintage tone at short price, this guitar is for you. If it were stolen, I could fight the world for find the same ! The day I bought this guitar, it was a surprise for me : I never had idea, when I woke up in the morning that I will buy a guitar today ! But I found it in the guitar shop, and I fell in love with the Sorrento. This guitar is like a horse : thoroughbred !

This is a newer model Sorrento, not the vintage one. This was made (quite well) in Korea. I assume the entire body is laminated maple. Two P90 pickups, 2 volume, 2 tone controls, three way pickup selector switch. One pickup is reverse wound so you get a humbucking mode in the "both" position.

These P90s sound just fine. Maybe some aftermarket replacements would sound better but these are fine. It sounds like it should: Hollowbody guitar with P90 pickups. Crisp, articulate jazzy tone on the front pickup and snarly, nasal on the bridge. I back the bridge tone back to take some of the edge off. But I mainly use the front pickup straight through a clean amp setting. With this guitar I am after the jazzy tone.

This guitar has a great looking antique sunburst. It probably has a synthetic lacquer, so it will sound terrible to purists who play it with their eyes open. I bought this used and the intonation and action were set up flawlessly. The action is actually closer than I'd like and it still has no buzzes. What does drive me nuts is this rattling of the front pickup on certain notes. It drove me crazy isolating this rattle. I though it must be some hardware or the tuners. I finally figured out it was coming from the pickup. You can't hear it through the amp, it's completely acoustic. But it drives me nuts playing at low volumes.

A lot of folks seem to want to "upgrade" components on these Korean guiats. Frankly, I find nothing wrong with these tuners at all. I feel no need to change them. The pickup selector switch is a little flimsy feeling. But again, it works reliably. The volume and tone pots seem just fine to me as well. They have the usual linear taper and no scratchiness at all.

Now, about this neck: It's a nice neck, very low profile - If that's what you like. But the width at the nut is just too narrow for me. It's nothing like my other electrics. When I switch from my 335 to the Sorrento it takes me a few minutes to adjust to it. It has the feel of a Jazz bass: normal over most of the neck but really narrow at the nut end.

As reliable as any other hollowbody I've owned.

I have been playing for 39 years. I own a bunch of guitars. I wanted something like a 335 with the P90s and this guitar fits the bill. It has a vintage, jazzy vibe. It definitely sounds and plays great. Better than any of several late model Gibson ES135s I have played. And for a fraction of the cost. But I don't much like the narrow nut width. Maybe they're not all like this?

1968 SINGLE PICKUP MINI HUMBUCKER SHARP CUTAWAY 100% ORIGINAL
WISH I HAD THE TWO PICKUP MODEL

SOUND IS GREAT ANYBODY WHO HASENT HEARD THE GIBSON MINI HUMBUCKERS
YOU SHOULD TRY THEM SOUNDS LIKE BB KINGS GUITAR

THIS GUITAR WAS SITTING UNPLAYED FOR MOST OF ITS LIFE WHEN I GOT IT
IT HAD GREEN TARNISH ON THE UPPER FRETS FROM NOT BEING PLAYED GUITAR
IS IN GEM MINT CONDITION NOT EVEN A FINNISH CRACK IN THE LACQUER
ACTION IS VERY LOW AND NO FRET BUZZ

MOST OF THE OLD SORRENTOS I SEE FOR SALE HELD UP VERY WELL FINNISH
WISE

BEING GUITAR IS A 1968 IT WOULD HAVE BEEN BUILT BY GIBSON THEY ARE
VERY GOOD AT STANDING BEHIND WHAT THEY BUILD

GREAT GUITAR WILL NEVER SELL WILL NEVER FIND ONE IN THIS CONDITON
EXCEPT FOR THE YELLOWED BINDING GUITAR LOOKS BRAND NEW I DIDENT
BELIVE THE AGE UNTIL I LOOKED UP THE SERIAL NUMBER

Mine is a 98 modes, 2 tones, and 2 volumes, chrome covered p 90's, the thinner neck allows for very easy playing

The sound on this guitar is amazing. I mostly play jazz with its thick tone, but I am also in a hard rock band and use it with a heavy distortion as well, the feedback is definately a problem but a little electrical tape over the f holes fix that problem (sort of), but the overall sound is breathtaking

The guitar contained no flaws, the only thing that has bothered me is that the pickup switch busted off, a cheap piece of plastic but I think I will take the guy's advice above and get a Gibson amber one to match the beautiful Chet Atkins like Orange. This Guitar is extremely easy on the eyes, no one has seen it and not complimented me on it

This guitar is solid, it is light, but trust me it can withstand moderate amounts of abuse. You get that kind of abuse on the road playing from East to West night after night loading everything in the trailer, it has been dropped, stepped on, fallen on, fallen off, thrown (not by me), been doused in strange liquids, and and played on solid for four and some odd years and still looks like it should be in a museum of Guitar Art

Never had a problem

If this guitar was stolen of course I would not want another, I would want mine, I would hunt down and murder the children of the idiot that thought to be so stupid as to take my Guitfiddle.

LEFT HANDED MODEL Features have been explained in earlier posts...mine was made most likely in 1997 and I a purchased this model for a gig opening up for Chuck Berry. She has a pretty "Gretsch" orange finish.

This suits fine for the delta 50's style blues that I play. I have a Jap Strat that I take with me as I break a bunch of strings on both. I plug my Sorrento straight into a '64 Bassman Blackface Head and 2X12 Marshall Cab. This guitar is extremely noisey. I have replaced the pickup selector switch in the two years that I have had it. I really enjoy playing with this cheaply made Korean balsawood flyer. It gives me a psuedo Chuck Berry/Keef Riff Hard sound. Switching from my Strat to the Epiphone requires me to pump up the volume on the Epi up a number or two...it doesn't scream...you have to work this baby.

Set-up was very nice. The finish looks great 20 yards away, very sloppy otherwise. The quality control on this line of Epi's sucks!! Other Epi's, including the Sherraton's are made much better.

This guitar is much like a newborn babe...you must be gentle or it will give you a headache. Hardware is cheap....I busted a tuner already...

For such a piece of shit Epiphone sticks behind their product. I will say that when I call about a problem they have sent me the replacement parts for free with in 5 to 10 business days.

Been playing for 10 years....I wish I would have had the opprotunity to take a close look at this guitar before buying and tried out the switches and pots. Since I am left-handed music stores keep a very low supply of lefties on hand, and usually Jap Strats when they do. The guitar does look pretty...it is funny, I play around 100 gigs a year and people (drunks) will alternately come up and praise my strat and then some other wanker will come up and praise the Epiphone. I will probably replace the P90's

Mine is a 1962 sunburst with 2 humbuckers. Not sure where it was made, but since it's a 1962, I'll bet it was in the USA.

It sounds great. I use a telecaster for rock and roll and I use this for a jazzy sound. Plug it into a Roland Jazz Chorus and WOW... This is really something special. When I plug it into my fender deluxe it sounds great as well, but i mainly use this guitar when I want a silky sound.

Best action I've seen. I saw this in the window of a guitar store. I too a look at it because it is beautiful. Not a scratch and when i played it, I was floored. The thing is almost 40 years old and there is no twist to the neck. Simply perfect. Every aspect of the construction is perfect.

It's 40 years old and perfect. What else is there to say?

Never had any problems.

Been playing for almost 20 years... This guitar for 14 years. If it was stolen I would definately want another but only if it was an old model like this one.

96 Model, overseas construction, hollow body, thin, 2V 2T , 2 P90's
Awesome Silver Sparkle Flake Finish, resembles Gibson ES-175

Smooth chunky warm sound overall, easy on the distortion though, as this thing'll feed back for days. And no, not the good kind of feedback, jimi. This is the case with these style of guitars, the full hollow body style. In other models like the Riviera, there is a block of wood that follows the center of the body, allowing for only the "wings" to remain hollow, thereby reducing feedback

Action, absolutely awesome, plays like butter.
Finish, well, it looks real nice, but upon closer inspection you can see the sparkle overspray in places on the binding. The binding is a little off on the florentine cutaway. It looks great from the audience, but up close, the finish is flawed (only in the way of overspray.)

I just got this guitar, but we'll see if it handles my ham-fisted approach to playing. I upgraded to Dunlop Strap locks, and will give it the road test soon.

I bought this over the net from a Music Go Round Store.
The sales people were extremely nice and friendly, but i doubt they would do anything (nor would i expect them to) in the event i would need them. I have a local guitar tech look over all my gear, so if i had any questions/problems, i'd have him peep it.

I've been rocking the scene in PA for over 10 years, and i have yet to find a guitar better than my early 90's Tele ESQUIRE reissue. I dropped EMG's into it, and it is like an extension of my body. All beat to hell, but well, well loved. 2 bridges and a fret job later, it remains the best guitar i have ever had. Paired with my Line 6 Flextone XL, i am prepared to take on the world. But, as mentioned earlier, i've got some meaty hands. I can tend to snap strings off in pairs. So, the need for a backup has been evident. I've tried many different brands, and finally decided to check out a hollowbody. Looks nice, sounds nice, will suffice as a back up. For now, that is. Haven't really had any road experience with it just yet, but who knows, maybe it'll surpass the tele for a while. I'm glad the sucker does not have the Epi-bigsby on it, as i've played around with a few that would not stay in tune to save their plywood covered asses.

This guitar is beautiful. It has the "Bigsby" type tailpiece with the two P-90's as the others have stated. It came with a great hard case that fits like a glove. It has the two tone and two volume knobs. I got it new but have replaced the white toggle switch cap with a vintage amber Gibson one to match my orange finish...it couldn't look better. I recommend this to any other "orange owners" for it matches perfectly.

I am running this baby through a VOX AC15 and it sounds incrediable. I would like to get a '65 Twin Reverb and see how it sounds then. I also use a VOX wah and a Danelectro Dan-echo pedal. This baby can wail. I also "try" to play slide on it and when I hit the right notes, my wife thinks I am playing a CD versus playing it myself.

This color and look is amazing. My wife could care less about guitars but wants this one on the wall. I must agree. I am a Beatle freak and was going to get a Casino but fell in love with it's sister...the Sorrento. The only unusual "marking" on mine is in the wood between the floating pickgaurd and bridge is. It looks like a wormy type scar on the wood that was there before it was a guitar. I like it. It doesn't look bad or like a second or anything. It adds character to it and feel lucky to have it. If I pivot the tailpiece bar up to use, it conceals it anyway. I try to keep it in view, I like the look.

I plan to have this a long time. It is a 1998 model (last year it came factory with the tailpiece) and still looks and plays brand new. There are no buckle scratches or pick rubs and I haven't even been being careful about that! The finish is bullet proof.

N/A

If this was stolen or lost, I would try to find one just like it within 5 minutesof losing it. I like it also, because it reminds me of my "dream" guitar. It looks a lot like a double anni Gretsch. I can't afford a vintage double anni Gretsch (even though my friend has a two-tone green one from the 60's that he will give me a deal on) so I enjoy this one. I catch myself staring at this guitar when I am not playing it.

As has been stated previously, this Korean built guitar is a single florentine cutaway thin hollow body made of laminate maple with a mahogany neck, two P-90 pickups, the usual two volume and two tone controls and a three way toggle for pickup selection. Mine also has the Epiphone equivalent of a Bigsby which they call a VibraTone. It also has Kluson style tuners with keystone type buttons ala Gibson.
I just purchased this guitar over the internet from GuitarWeb. I am quite surprised at how good this guitar really is. I don't know if the guitar was set up by the factory or by the folks at GuitarWeb, but it plays and sounds terrific, and the intonation is perfect. I am very happy with it so far.
The neck has a rosewood fretboard with 22 nice jumbo frets and a 24 3/4" scale length, which is my preference in scale length. The position markers are MOP dots.
The finish is striking. It is turquoise blue with white binding on the body and neck, a white raised pickguard and chrome pickup covers and a chrome tune-o-matic bridge with chrome plated saddles. A real eye catcher!
It has exactly the features I like in a guitar and I feel the overall quality to be first rate. I really like this guitar.

I play mostly melodic jazz standards with a smattering of blues, be-bop, and swing and this guitar fills all of my needs to a Tee. The sound is bright yet sweet and can get full and lush if need be. Not quite as lush as a good humbucker, but pretty darned close.
The pickups are no noisier than any other single coil pickup and they sound really good through my '65 Fender Deluxe Reverb. I am very pleased with the sounds this guitar makes and it stays in tune beautifully.

As i said earlier, I do not know who set this guitar up, but whomever it was did a great job! The action is nice and light with no fret rattle or buzz with perfect intonation. I did however change the strings right away, as I do not care for light gauge roundwounds. I use flatwound D'Addario jazz lights (.013-.052) which really sound sweet on this guitar.

I gave up gigging about eight years ago, but if I were still playing club dates, I would have no fear of using it without a backup. I feel the quality and construction of this guitar is as good or better than anything else in the market in the same catagory.
I will be doing a recording session in the not to distant future, and I intend to use this guitar on a couple of the numbers and am anxious to see how well it records.
The finish quality looks stunning and I feel it will last a lifetime. I could find no flaws in material or workmanship. It feels as solid and well made as my 1939 Epiphone Emperor.

The guitar comes with a limited lifetime warranty, but I don't anticipate ever having to use it.
I have not had the need to contact Epiphone's customer service, so I cannot really offer a valid opinion of their level of service. But, I am extremely happy with the service I received from Seth Brown at GuitarWeb. He took the time to give me an in hand description of the guitar and its features over the phone and then followed through on every promise that he made. I will do more business with this company, guaranteed!

I have been playing for over forty years and also own the 1939 Epiphone Emperor I mentioned earlier, a late model Epiphone Emperor II, an original 1954 Fender Stratocaster which I've had since new, a 1962 Fender Jaguar also purchased new, an early 50's Guild Manhattan with soapbar pickups, and an old Gretsch 6120 with DeArmond single coil pickups.
Would I replace this guitar if it were lost or stolen? Yes, I most definitely would. I feel it is a terrific instrument and would change nothing about it.
I find the quality of the Korean built (Samick) guitars to be exceptional for the price.

Like said below, its a laminated Maple body. Mine is a 91 by Gibson's reckoning(they were very helpful). Mine is a gold sparkle finish, similar to a Gibson ES295, and that's 1/2 the reason I bought it. This guitar screams Scotty Moore, etc. That said, it is _not_ twangy, you need to eq to get that kind of tone out of her.

P-90'S ROCK! They are a bit loud. As mentioned below, there are some feedback problems, but I solved this. At most decent clubs, or ones big enough for feedback to be a problem, you can mike your amp. This works better if you're using a low power amp(I have a Vox solid-state Pathfinder and a Fender pro Junior). I was relieved to see that my electronics were not the only noisy ones, as witnessed below, but the pots on mine are also noisy, which is a bitch on an arctop to fix, b/c you need to take them out to clean, through those tiny f-holes! But, all bitching aside, the tone is god. Smooth creamy blues, mellow jazz, early rockabilly, even a little bit on Ted Nugent(who plays a birland by Gibson, same concept, but w/ humbuckers) tomfollery.

The action is butter. All of my friends drool over it when they play, b/c they've never seen .10's with action that smooth. One problem, when you do raise the action(as you _should_ for heavier gauge strings, esp. flatwounds), it can be a bit stiff untill you've settled your trussrod adjustments, etc. It can take some fine tuning, but when you have it, even higher action is breezy. The only problem I have with the finish is that I bought the guitar second hand, and the binding is cracked in places. But, that could be, and probably is due to poor treatment of the guitar by a previous owner.

Other than feedback(which I pretty much solved) and the noisy pots, this is an excellent guitar to gig with. I'm going to have to differ with the other two submitters here. I've been playing for 4 years now, and I gig on and off both solo and in a 3-5 piece combo. I've yet to have trouble, but I treat it like a baby.

Never had to deal with them

This guitar has become known as my "other" girlfriend. Her name is Guinevere, b/c she's a princess! Seriously, before I bought her, I averaged a new guitar purchase or trade-in every 4-6 months, I've had her for a year now, and I have not even considered buying another guitar, other than possibly a cheap tele or tele-copy to bring back and forth to school, b/c I'm afraid to let her bounce around in my car too much.

I bought this Sorrento used 2 years ago but it is a 1996 made somewhere overseas (Korea?). It is a 'reissue' of the '60's models and is of plywood (laminated)construction. It has the standard Gibson-style control layout (2 volumes, 2 tones & 3-way toggle switch) which control the two P-90 single coils with chromed dog-eared covers. The body is made of flamed 3 or 5-ply maple and the neck is mahogany. The finish is transparent 'western' orange. Body style is like that of a Gibson ES-135 but a little slimmer and with 2 f-holes. The body itself is acoustic with only a soundpost below the bridge for support. All hardware and electronics are Gibson copies but good quality, including tune-o-matic bridge, trapeze tailpiece and 'kluson' style tuners (ugly milky green buttons)-chrome finish. Neck scale is 24.75" with rosewood fingerboard, 22 frets and plastic dot markers. Included in the hardshell case was a truss rod adjustment wrench and related paperwork. As far as features go, pretty basic but gets the job done.

My style of music is blues & original rock and the Sorrento is well suited for me. I had a Fender Roc Pro 700 for a short time and didn't like the guitar much through that amp but then it didn't suit even my better guitars so I got a Hot Rod Deluxe-a big improvement. Due to this guitar's hollow design/construction, you CANNOT use it for high volume playing conditions as it will just feed back and give a very bassy howl. If you are considering a similar guitar for gigging, I suggest you look into an Epiphone Dot or Gibson ES-135 if you have the means. For home use and recording, this guitar cannot be beat. It is rather loud unplugged with a great woody vibe that you feel even when plugged in to an amp. The pickups are fairly noisy as they are big single coils and the switch is also very noisy-strong leaf contacts give off an audible click when plugged in. It has a very rich sound all its own-no wonder the P-90 has come back into style. For my style, the sounds are perfect but I don't think would lend themselves too much for harder styles-clean and mild distortion tones are great but just turn to mud when you add too much overdrive. As such, I would not say that this guitar has much variety. Again for me, I really like the sounds produced by this guitar. I would consider replacing the switch though with an American component.

Since I bought this guitar used, I have no idea how it came from the factory. I do know that my local EPI dealer has to set up everything he gets from the factory. Whoever had worked on this one had done a good job. Pickups cannot be adjusted in height (are screwed to the body)-only polepieces can be adusted. As a laminated (plywood) guitar, there are no bookmatch seams. The finish of Epiphones I have seen is very good and this one has flamed maple for the body-I have seen 4 others in this color and none of those had any figure. The frets are adequate but leave a little to be desired-do not contain the high level of craftsmanship/finish as shown on a Gibson. I have noticed this is like a lot of other Epiphones in that they use wood that is sometimes slightly discolored. This has a couple of spots on the top and though is not a fault (after all it is a product of mother nature), I wish they would not use it under clear finishes. The plastic nut is cut well but needs replacement with a bone nut.

This guitar would be a pain to use live because of feedback problems but also feels a little delicate because of its construction. I would not subject it to gigging as I prefer a solid body. As far as hardware goes, the bridge and tailpiece should last okay but the tuners will have to go down the line-I have always hated these stupid things-once they get a little worn will never stay in tune and look ugly to start with. Like other Epiphones I have played, the bridge saddles seem a little high and tend to wear into your hand after a while-consider a Gibson replacement. The finish is nice and glossy and without blemishes although I cannot judge how it would fare under live conditions. However, I think these things are finished in a polyurethane which is tougher than lacquer. Strap buttons are the common variety-I usually put them in the case and put on a pair of straplocks. I think this is a dependable guitar for all but live conditions-again I think it feels to delicate to withstand live use. If you must play this one live, be sure to have a backup!

I think Epiphone offers a one-year warranty? Since I bought this one used the warranty was already void but have not had any problems with it.

I have been playing for about 12 years. I have owned both the best and worst of brands with lots of in between. I actually traded this guitar for a Gibson ES-135 and regretted it. I have since gotten rid of the Gibson and am thinking of getting another Sorrento or the Casino which is very very similar. If I do I'll try to get one with the Bigsby. I loved the finish-orange is my favorite color anyway. The woody resonance was the best thing about the guitar-just the way it felt when plugged in. The thing I liked least was the high volume/feedback problem. Does not compare all that well to a Gibson in terms of overall quality but is a good buy for the money. I occasionally see these for pretty cheap used-look around if you've wanted one for yourself...

Laminated Top, Korean made Gibson ES 135 Copy (single cutaway jazz box, but only 1/2 high)built in 1994. 2 P90 PUs, knobs and switches Gibson type (2 Volume, 2 Tone, 3 way switch)22 jumbo frets, 2 f-holes and NO solid wood under the PUs Chrome hardware and dot inlays in the palisander fingerboard.

A very jazzy or bluesy sound between a HB and a single coil. A bit like a warmer ES335 with a loooooonnnnnnng sustain. I play her a lot for recording and apreciate her very "female" character (I named her Scarlet, coz she behaves a lot like Miss O'Hara), her warmth and her fat, clean sound. The tone knobs really change the sound a lot and I recommend the neck PU with tone set to 6. That's where the Blues is! And you even can play her without amp at the fireplace. She is loud enough (like an acoustic with light strings).
BUT: Feedback is a major problem here. Not having a solid wood bar in the middle under the PUs, she is very, very problematic when it comes to playing loud. To put it short: If I am on a small stage or in a big hall (either very close to the amp or playing very loud) I can't use her, I will have more feedback than music. There is no workaround. The problem is the hollow body concept. If the guitar comes any close to the speaker, she starts a whistle that can only be stopped by cutting the volume to zero and change the place. Just moving a little (like with a solid body) won't do, because the body will resonate a lot more than you imagine. If you never never play live the sound might be a 9 (a bit more power for a 10!), but if you want to play live (and I do that a lot) the rating goes down

The guitar was perfectly set up. Action and intonation better than I would be able to do. This by the way was done by the shop, so I can't say what they look like normaly. It took some time to work the frets in, they were not 100% flat and smooth, and especially the G-string broke on this guitar more often than on all my others. The PUs stay in place all the time, no getting them up or down. The Tobacco-Sunburst finish looks very nice and adds with the greenish tuners an old-style look to this very fine instrument. (Another VERY strong advantage: The "Made in Korea" writing is a detachable and once you pulled it off, there is no mor hint for her asian roots. This is a major advatage if you want to show off with her). The Plug for the cable is very weak and badly placed. It comes out about 15cm/6inch below the beltstrap and one week after buying her I damaged the wood by letting a (straight) cable in and putting her to a stand. A little force applied and "crack". Repair was expensive and took two weeks. Get a 90? cable! I would prefer the cable to come out of the top, like on a Lucille. Also the PU switch is very loud. It is fixed next to the volume knobs in the top of the instrument two inches from the bridge PU. Whenever you change the setting, the mechanical noise of this is amplified through the wooden top. No workaround as well. Overall finish is better than OK if you consider her price! The problems are linked to the concept.

As I said: NO LOUD LIVE and VERY CAREFUL HANDLING. All this in capital letters. You can't repeat this often enough. I have two Stratocasters that I can rely on. This one is rather for recording or small clubs than for heavy live action. Still the quality of the hardware is good. It's just not for Ted Nugent style stage sports.

1 Year warranty and it didn't help, because I broke the cable plug myself.

I play the axe for 25 years and have been giving some 200+ gigs, so this guitar is by no means useful to me. I should have tried her louder in the shop, and I wouldn't have had that embarassing experience when I first played her on stage. Now that I own her for 5 years, I start to love her in a special way (Remember: I called her Scarlet O'Hara). There is a lot of music in her and I can't play it all yet. She is very different to my Strats. Those I take and I force them to play whatever I have in mind. Scarlet let's you play her music or nothing at all. A lot of my friends hate her and say, there is no tone to get out of that axe without violence (13-56 strings for a fat acoustic tone). But the longer I play her, the more I can learn from her. This may sound foolish, but our relation is a lot that way. I do not think I would ever buy one guitar like her again. I absolutely love her (HER not IT!), and I don't think I would try to replace her. She is very unique. So my rating must be a 10 from the heart or a 2 from the brain (no performer's tool). I prefer not to rate her at all. Before buying one check out the Epiphone Lucille or the Casino. Both have a lot of charme as well, even if I prefer the perfect looks and dirty character of my Sorrento.