Epiphone BB King Lucille

Made in : 2003, Korea.
22 frets
Pickups: 2 humbuckers with 6 way vari-tone control H/H
2 volume and 2 tone, 3-way pickup selector and 6- varitone
Hardware: gold
Nut width: 1.68"
Neck: set, maple
FB-Inlay: Rosewood-block
Binding: B-N-H
body material: laminated maple
Top: laminated maple
tailpiece: TP-6 fine tuning
Finish: Ebony
Grover tuners

I bought this guitar second hand. mostly play the blues. and a bit of everything else... it is at the end of the day a bb king guitar... dont expect to play heavy metal on it...if you want distortion.. works fine on it... i run it on a vox vt 30 and works like a charm.. the only thing i will suggest is that.. get brighter strings..it is very versatile, by adjusting the varitone it can sound like a single coil. the only complaint is... when the varitone is changed the pickups loose power, and the neck pick ups seem more powerful than the bridge.

I dont know what the factory set up is but it was just beautiful when i bought... the best set up ive ever..the grover tuners work perfect. it never went out as far as i remember.

The guitar is 6 years old and it still seems quite new. but then again its a hollow body, dropping it and all will be risky... i love this guitar more than all the others put together, so i'm very careful with it, just incase

Never had to deal with em

i own a standard fender strat and first act vw garage master..i wouldnt ask for anything more... its the best guitar ive owned and i love it.

I've just taken delivery of this beauty, bought second hand through ebay for the capital sum of ??320. I've had it for about a week now and just can't take my eyes off it!

I won't bore yo uwith all the features because other people have listed them extensively elsewhere in other reviews on this page.

Mine has an ebony scratchplate without the Epiphone "E" logo on it - I don't know if it came that way originally or if the previous owner changed it. I don't mind either way as I think it looks fine the way it is.

Otherwise it looks like a factory-standard item, manufactured in Korea as it says at the back of the headstock.

The pick-up selector switch has a solid feel to it - you almost have to push it quite hard to change positions, but I think that give it a "well-made" feel - it certainly doesn't feel like there's a problem. Also, the tone and volume controls roll round with a reassuring solidity and the tuners similarly feel taught and secure. This guitar was shipped in a cardboard box all the way from Fife in Scotland down to me in London and, amazingly, was still in tune when it arrived - I think that speaks volumes for the quality of the instrument - all that bumping around and the tuners still held nice and sure.

The bridge is a slightly odd, although not at all unattractive, shape. I haven't quite worked out how the fine tuners work - I suspect they're not totally necessary but they in no way detract from the appearance of the guitar.

Picking it up it feels robust and solid. Quite heavy - heavier than my Telecaster but probably not as heavy as the Les Paul I used to own.

Otherwise, the appearance is, as I say, absolutely gorgeous. A rich dark, shiny black body, beautifully encased in cream moulding all the way round the body, and the gold hardware just makes it look quality.

Overall, I'm delighted with the look and feel of the guitar.

I haven't cranked this up fully yet - I live near a police station so I want to avoid the gendarmes running round to hit me over the head with a truncheon.

However, at "acceptable" volumes the guitar has a full, fat sound as yo'd expect from a humbucker. The multi-selector switch gives you different shades of sound. Like other people say in their reviews, you can almost get a Telecaster-like twang out of it, plus lots between.

I find the two pickups complement each other well and seem well-balanced. The bridge pick up, while still warm and full, can give you something approaching a 60s jangle-like sound, while the neck pick up oozes beef and throatiness. Almost like the warmth of a good shot of quality malt whisky sliding down your throat on a cold winter's day.

There's nothing I dislike about this guitar's sound. I like the sound of humbuckers - I even had one of my Teles converted with a couple of Seymour Duncan pickups. I remember I fould the sound of my Les Paul (Classic model) almost too powerful, but I feel I can control the sound of the Lucille a little easier. I'm pretty happy.

Like I say, this is a second-hand guitar so I don't know what adjustments the previous owner made. Everyone has different tastes when it comes to neck shape and action. I don't like my action too low - I feel you need to be able to get "under" the string to be able to bend it properly. If the action is too low you can find your finger just slips off over the top of the string when you bend it. I had my Tele's action adjusted when it was in getting its Seymour Duncan's fitted and, if anything, the guy made it too low, which still annoys me a bit.

The action on the Lucille is, conversely, probably just slightly too high for my liking - I'll play with it for a bit longer and see how I feel with it, but I might take it in and have it adjusted - ever so slightly - to be a little bit lower.

The neck is also slightly fat for me - depth-wise. I like the broadness of the Telecaster neck - broad but slim is good for me as my hands aren't the biggest. The Lucille is ok but, if I had one wish, it would be for a slightly slimmer neck.

The bridge and the nut look fine and solid so, apart from that minor whinge, I'm pleased with it. I'm going to knock down to an "8" though for the neck...

I'm a 47-year-old accountant but I have recently, for the first time since I left school, started playing in a gigging band again. We write our own stuff - mostly rock/indie/punk style and have done three gigs so far around London with another couple lined up - it's great fun being back on stage again and making a noise with an audience in front of you!

I'd love to play this live and I think I will at our next gig in October (2009) - we'll be playing in a club near Kings Cross. I think the guitar will certainly stand up to the abuse of live playing, certainly in terms of its ability to produce a good, solid sound.

I'd be slightly nervous of getting too many scratches on it though... the lustre on the finish is so beautiful it would be a shame to damage it - but that's the proce you pay for playing live. I believe a guitar is there to be played - you can't just lock in a cabinet or stick in on a guitar stand and look at it.

I'm very prepared to risk a little colateral damage for the sake of cranking this guitar up in a live environment. I'd certainly take my Tele along as a back-up - but then that's just a sensible insurance option as you can never assume you won't break a string mid-way through a set.

However, I appreciate lots of people will love this guitar for its looks and might not want to risk taking it into a pub to thrash around - therefore I'll mark an "8" again for this category.

I've never, ever dealt with customer support from ANY guitar manufacturer or dealer. So - no opinion.

Overall I'm really pleased with this. I've always liked the 335 shape and what I like about this is the fact it doesn't have f-holes. I don't know why that appeals to me so much - it just does.

Like I said, I'm 47 and have been playing off and on since I was about 13. I had a break from guitars in my 20s, but re-discovered my passion for them when I hit 30. I've never looked back.

I've had lots of guitars in my time - I currently have two Telecasters (one Mexican, which I put Bareknuckle pickups in and one Highway One, which is the one I put the Seymour Duncans in - a Little '59 at the bridge and a mini-humbucker at the neck. Both lovely guitars). I also have a Gibson Les Paul Faded double-cut, with P90s, which makes such a sweet sound - and a Tokai "Rockinsbetter" Rickenbacker bass copy. I play through a Peavey Delta Blues 30 watt valve amp when I'm in London, and I also keep a Laney LC 30 watt valve amp up at my flat in Scotland. The Laney is truly a gorgeous amplifier - I must swap them round at some point as it would sound so good playing live.

I've had Stratocasters and Les Pauls in my time as well, but never really got to love either of them. I think, with the purchase of my Lucille, my guitar collection is complete (famous last words!). I feel I've been lucky to have a job that pays well enough to allow me to indulge my passion for guitars. I should also say my son has a rather lovely cherry red Epiphone Casino, as well as an Epiphone Les Paul and a Squier Strat - like father, like son!

if I lost the Lucille, would I replace it? Probably not, but only because I don't think I could justifiably spending that amount of money again - and my girlfriend might just kill me - but I would certainly miss it if it disappeared. Possibly more than I'd miss my girlfriend if she disappeared...?!

Anyway, thanks for reading this far - if you're thinking of buying a Lucille my advice would be "go for it - what have you got to lose?". It's a lovely instrument, well-crafted, good to play and sounds excellent. Good luck.

The guitar was bought about a year ago from a big on-line dealer. It says made in Korea on the headstock. You are probably familiar with all the features of "Lucille" - but for those that don't know - here's a list of some of the many features of this fine instrument.
It has a set maple neck, with 22 frets on a rosewood fretboard with beautiful block inlays. The neck shape could be described as a "full" "C" shape, as it fills my hand nicely, without being overly fat. It is a semi-hollow body guitar without the traditional "F" holes and of the traditional ES-335 shape. According to the company, the body is made of laminated maple, like it's more costly Gibson brother. There is a removable plate on the back for access to the pots and switches. This makes it much easier to get to the electronics if and when any maintenance becomes necessary , as opposed to having to work through the "F" holes on a standard ES-335 type guitar. It has two Epiphone brand gold humbucker pickups. The controls are a tone and volume control for each pickup and a three way pickup selector switch. The selector switch positions are; neck (up), both (middle) and bridge (down). One of the distinguishing features of this guitar is it's Vari-Tone control. This gives you 6 (six) different tonal options to compliment the tone and volume controls. The literature about the Vari-Tone tells you the decibels reduction and which frequency it affects. That didn't tell me much - however, my ear tells me that each position is very usable. With #1 position being the full humbucker sound, #2 being a smoother humbucker sound and #'s 3 through 6 going to a progressively more single coil, or treble, sound. So ... I can get the sound of humbuckers or single coils, and more, with the Vari-Tone control. Very nice!
It has gold hardware which include 18:1 gold Grover tuners, a tune-O-matic bridge and a nice TP-6 fine tuning tailpiece.
It's finished in a rich glossy Ebony (Black), and is so well done that it looks like it's several feet deep!

I play mostly Blues these days, and I like artists like BB King (obviously), Buddy Guy and Eric Clapton, plus I like the older instrumental pieces too - as in The Ventures type of music.
Now to the sound of this guitar.
Ahhhh ... The Sound! This is another area my Epi Lucille really shines in! I don't know what was wrong with the previous reviewers sound, but this one sounds GREAT - much like the other reviews I have read. It gives the full humbucker sound all the way to a very convincing single coil sound - plus more! Another point in it's favor is the switching had NO noise - zero noise!
The amp I'm using is a Fender Cyber-Twin SE. For those not familiar with this amp, it has 50 amps built into it. So there is a variety to work with. It cut to the chase - this "Lucille" guitar sounded good with all that I used. As for what sounds it can do - I saw a video review of this guitar on youtube that had one part where he (yogisizzle, I think) kicked into some very heavy sounds. I don't play those myself, but his review proved that the guitar is very capable of doing that without any problems. If you like BB Kings sounds and you can't get it with this guitar - it is not the guitars fault.
No dislikes at all with this guitar! It's a winner - and a keeper.

The only area this guitar was not perfect in was in the adjustments of the pickup height and the intonation. The neck pickup was just a little high - to close to the strings. And the bridge pickup was a little low - a little to far away from the strings. Which combined made for a slightly noticeable change in volume when switching between pickups. The intonation was off, but not by much. After a few minutes of adjustment all was good and it notes true all the way to the 22nd fret. The craftsmanship of the wooden parts of the guitar, the finish and the assembly of the guitar is great. It could not be better. If it had not been for the minor adjustments mentioned above being off - it would have been perfect in this category too. That's the reason for the one point reduction in score.

It is asked - Will this guitar withstand live playing?
Given that it is a semi-hollow body guitar, which is considered to be not as rugged and tough as a Stratocaster style guitar, it will hold up as well as the best of the semi hollow bodies - and it's Gibson brethren. But like the rest of them that are semi-hollow and hollow - they "break" easier than the Stratocaster type. It just goes with the territory of this style guitar - and is not the guitars fault.
The hardware and finish seem tough enough to last for years. It has been said that the gold finish will wear off soon. However, I have only one small spot on the bridge piece for the bass "E" string that is showing some wear. I suspect that it is because that is where I rest the palm of my hand while playing.
The strap buttons seem very solid. No hint of coming loose yet.
Is it dependable? - In a word YES.
Would you use it without a backup? - YES, I have and will again. (except for taking extra strings along)
I don't feel that the possibility of the gold hardware wearing off is sufficient to take away from the score. "ALL" guitars with gold hardware are said to do that.

I have only dealt with the company about "another" Epiphone guitar, and that was years ago. It had some problems with the pickups and they replaced them. They offered to replace them for me, if I would send the guitar to them. But since I could do the job myself, plus it got me back in business quicker - I had them send the pickups to me and I installed them. They worked just fine and I have had NO other problems with any Epiphone I have ever had.
This Epiphone BB King "Lucille" guitar has no problems that I can see or hear. So I don't expect to need their help or to need any warranty work. I don't know what Epiphones warranty is, but from past experience, they seem to stand behind their products.

How long have I been playing? I started too many years ago, in 1964 (or was it '63 ??)
I researched this guitar before buying. I read everything I could find about it - mostly good and the very little bad (one review, if I remember correctly) Even BB Kings comments about the Epiphone Lucille were very positive!
If it were "lost" or stolen - I would "WANT" another one, but at todays prices - I doubt that I could buy another - and that goes for most guitars out there right now.
Is it "worth" what it costs? - To that I would have to say - Is ANYTHING worth what it costs now-days?
Parting comment - I love everything about it and hate nothing. It's my #1 guitar, and has been since I got it. But everything has it's maximum worth - no matter how much I might 'love' it.
The rating below is considering the much lower price I paid. For todays prices - deduct 9 to 15 points. (yeh .. I know. it's a 1 to 10 point system - but you get the idea)

I think we know what this is. Basically an ES 345 with no f-holes, or, if you like, an ES 335 with Varitone, stereo jack outs (and no f-holes.) Made in 2007 in Korea-- Unsung.

22 frets, laminated, solid sustain block up the centre, two bucker pups, black, very black, with binding, 5-ply on the bod, single on the neck, block inlays, Grovers, TOM Bridge, TP6 tailpiece (why?) Mickey-Mouse ears-- You know the thing. Came with a very nice case-- big impro on the old Epi ones. Has all the features a Gibson one got.

Well, this is the kicker, isn't it? Basically it sounds sh-- dreadful with the stock pups. The neck pup is just about liveable-with, but the bridge pup-- oh dear oh dear oh dear. Just horrible. This is how bad-- I took the bridge pup out and swapped it for a dead basic ??13 GBP (About 20 USD) pup off ebay (they claim it's British, though) and it wipes the floor with the Epi pup. Just totally demolishes it. I thought the old neck was kind of okay in a funky sort of way, but it's got to be for the deep-six too now.

With the new pup it sounds just like it should. Acoustically it sounds great with plenty plenty resonance and sustain and the Varitone is useful. (Though more so with decent pups.) So the only problem is the lousy pickups. BTW, the absence of f-holes neans there's an inspection hatch in the back-- much easier to swap pups than on a normal archtop with all that messing around with bits of thread.....Thankfully.

I got this cheap as clearance stock, but still-- what are they thinking? There's just no excuse for this.

All very very good. Excellent player's tool, great neck, great action, really lovely finish. I am lucky cause I can do a back to back with a fairly recent comparable Gibson, and it's easily as well finished. No issues here at all. Very well done indeed. You have to remember these guitars, and the modern Gibbos, are all made on CNC cutting machines. The machines don't know if they're in Korea or not, and the software that runs them is the same. Excellent detailing too though, simply no flaws.

The fake gold is the usual wipe-off, but real Gibsons come with that too these days. Still I'll knock off a point for that.

Only had it 2 months, seems as solid as I'd expect one of these to be-- it's not a Strat though, treat with respect.

Who knows? I did buy it from Peter Cook's in London, and they were great, as always. I'm sure if it had had real probs they'd have fixed it (rubbish pups don't count for warranty...)

Okay okay I'm no longer admitting how long I've been playing-- if your mum got pregnant with you after a gig, I might be your dad, let's put it that way. Trust me, I know about this stuff. This is a really really great guitar, totally let down by hopelessly inadequate pickups. I bought it for slide-- I just like 335-types for slide, don't worry about it-- and it is great. I can swap from normal playing to slide and back, no hassle.

I was kinda hoping that after all these years I would finally buy a Korean guitar that, at last, was just right, and in all senses but one, this nails it. It feels, looks, and plays really beautifully-- but with the stock pups it sounds dismal. So, do yourself a favour-- if you're going to buy one of these, budget for some decent pickups, and you'll have a really fine guitar. However, for the price, you shouldn't have to do that.

THIS IS A NEW, 2008, KOREAN MADE EPIPHONE B.B. KING LUCILLE. IT IS A SEMI HOLLOW BODY LIKE THE ES 335, BUT WITH NO "F" HOLES. 22 FRETS WITH A ROSEWOOD FRETBOARD AND BLOCK INLAYS. 2 HUMBUCKERS AND ALL GOLD HARDWARE, INCLUDING AN LP-6 TAILPIECE WITH FINE TUNERS. IT IS DOUBLE CUTAWAY WITH EASY ACCESS TO ALL 22 FRETS PLUS SOME EXTRA FOR SLIDE WORK. THE NECK IS PERFECT. I AM NOT SURE ABOUT THIS, BUT IT SEEMS TO STAY A CONSTANT THICKNESS AS YOU GO UP THE NECK. MOST OF MY GUITARS SEEM TO HAVE A GRADUAL TAPER AS YOU PROGRESS HIGHER UP THE NECK. I LOVE THE NECK. THE GUITAR IS BLACK WITH A WHITE/CREAMY BINDING INCLUDING THE NECK AND HEADSTOCK. THE PICK GUARD IS TORTOISE SHELL AND REALLY SETS THE GUITAR OFF MORE SO THAN I BELIEVE A STALE MATCHING BLACK PICK GUARD WOULD. THE 4 KNOBS FOR VOLUME AND TONE ARE OF THE CLEAR, SPEED TYPE KNOBS. THE KNOB ON THE VARITONE CONTROL IS A CHICKEN HEAD BLACK KNOB THAT SELECTS 6 POSITIONS ON A GOLD CIRCULAR BACKGROUND. THE VARITONE REALLY GRABS YOUR ATTENTION. IT WAS A WHILE AFTER I STARTED PLAYING IT BEFORE I NOTICED THE "F" HOLES WERE MISSING.

I MOSTLY LIKE THE BLUES AND ROCK. I FOUND THAT I CAN GO FROM PLAYING MY FAVORITE CLAPTON OFF "FROM THE CRADLE", TO SOME HARD ROCKIN' BOOGIE FROM AC/DC, TO ERIC JOHNSON'S "CLIFFS OF DOVER" OR "ZAP". I RUN THIS AND ALL MY GUITARS THROUGH A VOX TONELAB LE AND INTO A FENDER '65 TWIN REVERB CUSTOM 15 REISSUE AND I USE A MORLEY A/B TO TAP INTO THE OTHER CHANNEL FOR A STRAIGHT CLEAN SOUND. THE GUITAR IS VERY QUIET. I ONLY GET AMP NOISE WHEN TURNED UP LOUD. NO POPS WHEN USING THE VARITONE. IT JUST HAS THE NORMAL SWITCH SOUNDS EVIDENT IN ANY SEMI HOLLOW WHEN SWITCHING BETWEEN PICKUPS. THIS SWEETHEART IS CAPABLE OF WONDERFUL TONES. 1ST POS. IS STRAIGHT GUITAR, VARITONE IS BYPASSED. POS. 2 IS B.B.'S FAVORITE. POS. 3,4,5, AND 6 GIVE THE GUITAR DIFFERENT SOUNDS AND DIFFERENT CHARACTERS YOU CAN EXPERIMENT WITH. ADD TO THAT 3 DIFFERENT PICKUP COMBINATIONS FOR EACH VARITONE SELECTION AND COUNTLESS VOLUME AND TONE KNOB ADJUSTMENTS. WELL, YOU SEE WHERE I AM GOING. THE PICKUPS ARE VERY RESPONSIVE WHEN THE VOLUME POT IS BACKED OFF. I CAN REALLY FIND COUNTLESS COMBOS FOR DRIVEN ROCK, CREAMY BLUES, CLAPTON'S WOMAN TONE, AND RESPONSIVE GUITAR WORK WITHIN THE SELECTIONS THIS GUITAR HAS TO OFFER. LUCILLE IS A LITTLE HEAVIER THAN A 335, BUT IT IS WORTH IT 10 TIMES. THE NECK WAS THE NICEST EXTRA THAT I FOUND. IT IS VERY NICELY DRESSED AND I FOUND IT TO BE THE BEST FEELING NECK I HAVE EVER PLAYED. IT COULD ONLY BE MORE PERFECT IF IT WAS NOT PAINTED ALONG THE BACK. IT ALSO HAS A STEREO FEATURE ON IT THAT ALLOWS YOU TO PLUG INTO 2 AMPS AT ONCE. IF THE MONO JACK IS USED, BOTH PICKUPS GO THROUGH ONE AMP. IF BOTH JACKS ARE USED WITH 2 AMPS, THEN EACH PICKUP WILL BE ROUTED TO A DIFFERENT AMP. I REALLY DON'T KNOW WHAT PRACTICAL USE THIS HAS, BUT I FOUND THAT IF THE REAR JACK IS USED, THEN ONLY THE BRIDGE PICKUP IS ACTIVE AND THE PICKUP SELECTOR SWITCH CAN BE USED AS A KILL SWITCH.

ONE WORD. PERFECT! I DIDN'T REALLY WANT A GUITAR WITH "LUCILLE" B.B. KING ON IT. I ESPECIALLY DIDN'T WANT A BLACK GUITAR. BUT THIS GUIATR PLAYED THAT WELL.

I WOULD PLAY THIS LIVE. I WILL PLAY THIS LIVE. I PLAN TO BUY A BACKUP. MAYBE EVEN SELL A FEW OTHER GUITARS THAT JUST BECAME OBSOLETE. WILL I PLAY WITHOUT A BACKUP? THAT'S A STUPID QUESTION. WHAT IDIOT WOULD? NOT UNTIL THEY MAKE THIS MODEL WITH AND AUTOMATIC STRING FEED IN THE E,B, AND G STRING POSITIONS THAT AUTOMATICALLY GO INTO TUNE OR THEY BEGIN TO MAKE UNBREAKABLE STRINGS. HEY, WE CAN BUILD SMART WEAPONS THAT CAN BE GUIDED INTO A 2 FT VENT SHAFT, BUT UNBREAKABLE STRINGS? PRIORITIES I GUESS.

I AM AN INTERMEDIATE PLAYER. I JAM WITH MY FRIENDS AND PLAY LIVE. IN GENERAL, I PROBABLY SELL MYSELF SHORT. I HAVE 3 STRATS, 2 TELES (ONE WITH A KAHLER WHAMMY SYSTEM I INSTALLED AND A JIM BEAM DECOR), A GIBSON ES 175 CLONE, A KRAMER STRYKER, A G&L SB-1 BASS, AND A FENDER ACOUSTIC. THIS GUITAR GOES TO THE FRONT OF THE LINE. I WENT INTO A MUSIC STORE DURING AN EXTENDED LUNCH BREAK JUST TO BROWSE. I ORIGINALLY WANTED TO GET AND SG AS MY NEXT GUITAR. THE TAILPIECE, VARITONE, ABSENCE OF "F" HOLES, AND THE NECK ALL MADE THE CHOICE FOR ME. IF I WERE TO MAKE A SIGNATURE GUITAR, THIS WOULD BE IT ONLY I WOULD WANT WHITE, CHERRY, AND WALNUT FINISHES W/GOLD HARDWARE AVAILABLE IT NATURAL UNPAINTED NECKS AND A TOGGLE SWITCH BETWEEN EACH VOL AND TONE CONTROL FOR COIL TAPPING. UP POSITION WOULD BE SINGLE COIL SELECTION. I DID HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO COMPARE THIS GUITAR WITH A GIBSON USA MADE LUCILLE. YOU CAN BUY 4 OF THESE FOR 1 OF THOSE. IF THE HEADSTOCKS WERE THE SAME SHAPE YOU COULDN'T TELL THE DIFFERENCE FROM A DISTANCE AND I REALLY DON'T THINK YOU CAN TELL THE DIFF IN THE DARK PLUGGED IN. ACTUALLY, I THINK YOU STAND A BETTER CHANCE OF GETTING MULTIPLE GUITARS PLAYING ALIKE WITH THE EPIPHONE THAN YOU WOULD BUYING THE GIBSON. I KNOW FROM EXPERIENCE THAT 2 LES PAULS OF THE SAME STYLE WILL NOT BE THE SAME COMING FROM THE FACTORY.

For the technical specs I refer to the epiphone.com page for the BB King Lucille.
I must say though mine came with Golden Grover tuners, it seems not all of them have them.
Mine is bought january 2008, Made in Korea.

Perfect guitar for blues. And "although" Epiphone and not Gibson, if you do not sound like BB King with this guitar, it will be because of your technique. Of course you need to fiddle around a bit with your amplifier and pedals. I use a Fender Hotrod Deluxe in clean sound with two Boss pedals, a distortion and a Compressor/sustainer, for just a tiny bit of overdrive. Varitone in position 2 and switch in the middle or at the bridge humbucker and it just sounds like BB??s guitar. The guitar is not noisy at all, surprisingly, maybe because of the lack of f-holes. It only screams when you make him to.
The sound is the blues-sound I have searched for all these years, Creamy, strong, soft, the guitar responds very well to your will.

Action is perfect and with no string-buzz, very low. Frets seem to be medium-jumbo, perfect for bendings. Pickups have a full humbucker sound in varitone position 1, and in position 2, BB??s favorite, produces a little loss in lows which gives that "poppy" BB King guitar sound. I have really found no flaws as yet.
Mine works fine, perfect, no complaints.

I just had the guitar for one day, so I cannot judge the durability of it, but having said that, I also have a "simpler" Epiphone DOT ES??335 model, that I have gigged and recorded with, and it never let me down. But I like to maintain my guitars in good condition, just like my car. The only thing that happened to my first Epi is the contact fuzz of the switch, which is easily to repair with a special contactspray.
Personally I d never gig without a back-up, a string can always break, even on Gibsons and Fenders.

Playing for 24 years now, have Gibson ES 335, Epiphone DOT 335, Fender stratocaster, Squire Stratocaster, Hofner Beatlebass, Ibanez SDSR (orwhatever) bass, Fender acoustic, Morris acoustic, epiphone acoustic, a few spanish guitars, keyboard.
I would certainly replace this guitar if it got lost or stolen.
I love this piece. It sounds like it should sound, it plays like it should play, it is lovely to look at, it "dresses" well, hhaha.
Particular sound for Blues in my opinion, but suppose jazz, sixties rock, fifties rock will do perfectly well as well.
Relation price/quality; in my case fantastic

2 volumes & 2 tones knobs, 6-way Varitone switch, 2 Humbuckers, Stereo outputs, Rosewood fretboard with block inlays, Closed semi-hollowbody with triple ply binding... That's about all the main specs.

I play mainly Blues and Country, occasionally I dabble in Jazz and Rockabilly.

First of all this guitar can put out some very smooth tones and once you've spent enough time fiddling around with the varitone switch and all this guitar can do you'll most likely find your perfect settings and stick with them as long as you have it. I usually play through a Fender Blues Junior with BillM mod's or my Peavey Valveking. Through these amps the guitar sounds creamy and smooth. Through my solid state Roland it loses some of it's smoothness, but that is the main fault of solid state amps.
The bridge pickup is quite bright and with the right settings sparkles without being to harsh. The bridge pickup is quite mellow and can produce a very good jazz sound, but even with the tone rolled all the way off it does not become to dark (only my opinion.).

The Varitone switch can produce a wide range of pickup sounds ranging from full output humbucker to thin single coil.
However I have one rather large problem with the Varitone switch. That is how much the output of he pickups is cut by the switch, so on certain settings from 4-6 the amp has to be turned up very loud just to be able to have the volume at a comfortable level. As soon as you put it back to the first it is to loud for playing in a home environment.

Overall I really like this guitars sound and don't really think it needs the pickups replaced but that is only my opinion. It has a very well balance sound and suits playing blues/Jazz extremely well.

First of all I know some people unfortunately get lemons when buying Epiphones... I was lucky enough to get one which is remarkably put assembled. There is NO flaw at all that I can find and I have owned this guitar for 3 years so I've got to know it well. Binding, paint work, inlays, Frets and hardware have all been installed to a very high standard, I couldn't have asked for more.

One small problem was that the volume and tone knobs were not pressed on very straight but thats an easy fix.

Gold hardware will not wear very well... I have no problem with this as it make it look well used. If you do have a problem and think it looks tacky simple fix is... Buy new pickup covers!

My model doesn't have Grover tuners but stays in tune very well so I haven't bothered replacing them.

Output plugs nuts came loose after a couple of months, all Epiphones do this but all you have to do it is get a little bit of nail polish put it on the bottom of the nut and screw it back up... All is fixed.

Guitars neck was very straight and the guitar has very low string action. I'm very happy with this guitar.

I've used this guitar for quite a few gigs and quite a lot at home. Gold rubs off easily and screws oxidize quickly (Maybe it's my sweat as my strings get ruined very quickly.). Finish is really tough and hasn't started to fade at all.

After a year my toggle switch started playing up... Cleaned it with contact cleaner and haven't had a problem since.

I think I could rely on it but I almost always have a backup just in case.

Shop I bought it from services the guitars. Don't know how good Epi are but I've heard they are really good... Shop I bought it from I wouldn't bother with.

I think it's a limited lifetime warranty.

Been playing 5 years, Own too much gear. From high end stuff to... Not very high end stuff.

If it were lost or stolen I'd probably get one again if I knew it would be as good.

I really like the wide variety of sounds I can get from this guitar, also it's just a pleasure to play. It looks great and so far hasn't really done me any wrongs. By that I mean I haven't had to spend any money on fixing it or modifying it and has never quit on me when I need it.

When I got this guitar I was also looking at a Dot but forgot about it as soon as I saw this guitar, it just looks so good. When I plugged it it just felt right and so my mind was made up.

If you love blues this guitar is fantastic, but it will do most styles without any trouble. From my experience with it you can't really go wrong with it as you get good value for your money. Only thing i have to say is i suggest you try it out in person as well as something similar... Go for a walk or home and think it over. Go back the next day and try the guitar again and try another similar and then make up your mind.

I hate to do this, but its worth it if others, like me, fall into this trap.

I originally wanted a Gibson 335 but couldn't reach to the new ticket price in UK of around ??1800. But I tried one and was disappointed in the finish. I didn't have the chance to really wind it up, so can't vouch for its ultimate tonal character. But 'outa interest I tried a Shearton and that seemed better made although didn't quite have the creaminess of the Gibson - nicer neck though. So I thought I may get a Shearton and put the classic 57 Gibson Humbuckers in. Then I looked at the colour options, and realised only the black appealed but it didn't look so good with the maple showing through the 'f' holes. So, I looked again and concluded that the Lucille looked fabulous having the closed top and in addition, had the circuit from the original 355 - with the Varitone and of course STEREO out! Well, that was the clincher and I ordered one (nowhere had a stock model).So if I couldn't have a Gibson 335, I could at least have a classic make (Epiphone once out sold Gibson and had better European distribution than Gibson hence their need to acquire or die!) that lovely 335 body and a design that was just that bit special and of course 355 stereo circuit.

When it arrived in the shop, all were standing round looking and coo-ing and ahh-ing - I was so proud. At the same time I had ordered a classic white Gibson Les Paul Studio and that too looked fabulous... (My way of at least owning one Gibson!).

Out of the Les Paul and Lucille, the Lucille had me hooked and stole my time. With such a variety of tones to explore (6-way varitone) and catching glimpses of myself playing it in the mirror(!) it was irresistable. BUT it doesn't have that creamy warmth of a Gibson 335. It does however have classic early Rock 'n' Roll tones and will spew forth Blues tones 'til the neck falls off! It 'chanks' more than 'Thums' if you get my drift.

Now here's the rub. Lightly dusting it, I noticed that the first fretmarker was split clean through. Also two of the upper register frets had parallel double divots that would mean new frets as dressing them out would make for uneven playing and string bending is a major part of this guitar's playing style. So, sadly it had to go back to be replaced.

Number 2 arrived. The Varitone box was loose and the 6 setting was dull on the neck PUP. I argued it shouldn't be this way and it was replaced.

Number 3 arrived. The Varitone switch was loose and the box shunted again and same defect on Setting 6 but the body also had far too many long (albeit fine) scratches all over it - bearing in mind you buy these for aesthetic as well, not acceptable. The case also was cut and scuffed.

Number 4 arrived. Better finish, (not as good as number 1) and seemed OK body-wise and sounded bloody good too through a Fender Hot Rod 2x12 in the store, but got it home, and still had to polish out some scratches where careless fingernails had caught the body round the vol/tone dials... they didn't come out completely... and then thought I'd try out the stereo - No stereo from Neck PUP! So, goes back and this time as no more stock in the distributors store, has to undergo a bench repair. The shop tech looked at it for 3 hours while I waited... couldn't solve it. So goes back to distributor. 5 weeks on they can't get a wiring diagram from Gibson, so going to make a circuit up out of other parts!!! So I have finally called a halt to proceedings. Sadly the Les Paul had a bad neck and that too gone back (same manufacturer and distributor!).

I would not buy this again as I also realised the limitations of the non-Gibson PUPS when compared to sheer quality and dynamics of the Les Paul's and, the Gold finished parts looked pissy thin and cheap in the flesh and there is no way you could enjoy this guitar and not tarnish it or get some wear marks on the balck finish - and then it'd look shite. So be warned about that on any cheaper make that has guilding/dark body finish. They look brilliant in the shop/catelogue, poor 5 years on. Having said that I'd have dearly loved a Black 335...

Well, they are trying to sort it, but for the price(s) and level this (and the Gibson LP) are, should be perfect out of the case...

So all I have now is couple or so photo's of that first black beauty. I have done a deal to replace the LP with a new perfect example, take the refund on the Lucille then and pay a bit more and get a Satin Cherry Gibson 335 at what I hope is a special to me price. However I have to wait until they BOTH arrive in UK in about 6 MONTH'S TIME!!!

I remember writing and posting some comments before that first model had to go back and I had been worn down by it all:

"It is an absorbing guitar and I have unearthed those old blues tones easily, but have found that if you finger pick (and I don't!), then it is as if some old, smokey, pained-expressioned black guy is standing in the room with you! No kidding, it simply sounds awsome and with just a hint of dirt in your mix, it's as if you are in some wooden shack in the deep south, Jim Beam, sweat and cherroots fill the air. Full clean is ear-shatteringly brittle/bright and those Chuck Berry tones ring out.

"A downside is the stock strings are too heavy for me and the action a little high and a couple of frets need dressing, so today I have extremely sore figer tips! (and I have been playing a lot recently and there were nicely 'knarrled'!!). It makes playing swiftly very difficult. It is heavy too.

"It doesn't though, seem to want to illicit those soul/funk tones that many Motown 335 users loved, but then I have a Telecaster for that and now, an arsenal of other guitars... Whatever it is, it is so different from the others ('73 Fender Strat, Yamaha SG2000S, Hofner E457 Archtop, a custom telecaster Gibson Les Paul) that ensures its purchase was founded."

Sad isn't it?

Good luck with yours if you do...

See the first example in its glory:

http://www.4shared.com/file/15331965/9f01aad1/Lucille_MG.html
http://www.4shared.com/file/15331888/7ef191d5/Lucille_angle1.html
http://www.4shared.com/file/15331917/3e4e5d3a/Lucille_Stereo.html

Mine is a 2003 model made in the "Far East" (as are most Epis)by someone that I would like to meet someday. 2 volumes, 2 tones and a Varitone switch. Dual humbuckers and stereo outputs.You already know the specs if you are reading this.

I would say that this would fit most people's playing style with the possible exception of hard core Country pickers. This guitar gives such a classic Gibbie 335 and 345 sound that it is scary. No noise whatsoever on any of the 3 toggle positions. It can be a little bottom end heavy, but after some minor tweaking, it's perfect. Blues, Classic Pop and Rock and Jazz is where it will outperform most guitars in any price range. I use it through a Fender Deluxe reverb, Twin, Blues Deville or a Princeton 65 and get the same results everytime.It can get as down and dirty (on a Saturday night) in a bar gig, as you want it to.Think Steely Dan! Or, it can clean up beautifully for even a Jazz trio. Personally, I really don't care much for the Varitone switching because I can achieve all of the same tones through a good e.q. The only other thing that I really don't care for is the weight of the guitar. This is one heavy piece of wood.It makes my Gibson 335 feel like a ukelele.

Top of the line fit and finish. Action is always personal taste. But, I have never had to change mine. I got lucky. The fine tuners on the bridge are handy if you can retrain yourself to not always reach for the peg head tuners, you'll do fine. But, I do alot of palming and they tend to get in my way on occasion.I've played the Gibson counterpart "Lucille" many times in my life and I honestly cannot seem to justify a price difference of hundreds and hundreds of dollars for what I consider snob appeal because of the name.

I've played with it maybe a dozen times on stage and only had to tune it once. So, in my opinion the guitar will stand up to playing on a nightly basis but I'm sure the "gold" hardware will take it on the chin over time.Buttons,pots,toggles, tuners, nut, bridge seem very solid.I've never used it without a back-up, only because a big part of my sound is centered around the Stratocaster. However, I would not hesitate for any reason to have it as my main stage guitar.Very dependable!

Don't know and hopefully, I never will. I have my own techs for that work. But, I have heard of nightmares about almost all companies. You know which ones that I am talking about!

30 plus years as a pro and I own Fender Twins, Blues Deville, Princeton 65, Kustom Wav210, Fat Strat(2003), Gibson ES335-TD (1974),
Jagmaster,Jay Turser JT-LT, and a 1970 L.P. This guitar suits almost all of my needs, with the exception of the Strat.It sounds just as good, if not just a little better than my 74' ES335 ( but I would never part with that piece of history). Epiphone has quite a history in itself, let alone during the Beatles era, and I am aware that there is alot of junk out there. But, that being said, this is a "top of the line " model for this company and it really shows! Not only through it's tones but in it's craftsmanship and playability. The only question is this: Do you want to hang it on your wall to look at as a beautiful piece of art or do you want to take it out of the house and play it as it was meant to be played? Either way you will be satisfied!

Georgous looking guitar. All black, with 5 ply white binding and gold plated metalwork. Stereo with twin outputs. Top of the Epiphone range. Made in 2002 under the supervision of Gibson, in Korea. A 335 without the sound holes, so no feedback issues. Twin humbuckers (which sound suprisingly like my Gibson 335 and I wonder if they are fitting Gibson made units in these?). The rotary tone control is useful for changing from Strat to Gibson 335 sounds. The bridge has micro adjustment. Came with a good Epiphone hard case.

I play mainly 60s and 70s rock and roll covers on the club circuit, through a Marshall DSL 601 valve combo and a Fender Twin Reverb 100w. Effects are a wah and DS1 pedal. At gigs, you cannot tell the difference in sound between my 335 or my Lucille!! Has a rotary 6 position tone switch, which is (I think) a coil tap on 3 of the settings. Sounds are from a Gibbo 335 with humbuckers, through to the mid position setting of a Standard Strat - good enough for anything I play really. I am certain that it is better to buy a top of the range Epiphone, rather than a bottom of the range, basic Gibson, because you will get so much more for your money and the quality is better.

I am comparing this to my 1997 Gibson 335 and to my 1992 Gibson SG Standard. The finish on my 2003 Lucille is to a far higher standard all round. This is of course comparing a high end Epiphone to two mid range Gibsons, but it is clear to me that in recent years Gibson have allowed their standards to slip. I have had the action adjusted to suit me, but I have also had my 335 adjusted to suit me too.

I have regularly gigged with it across Europe over the last 3 years, alternating between my Gibson 335 and the Lucille. I have just had one pickup cover on the 335 replaced, as the chrome was peeling off (sweat and pick scratches) but at the moment the gold plating on the Lucille shows no sign of wear. Built to be gigged - no doubt about it.

3 year warranty, I think.
Never contacted Epiphone.

Been playing on and off since the 70s. Like the sound. Adore the looks. Quality, top end kit, which is an equal match for my Gibson 335 in the sound department and is a lot more flexible, but it really beats it hands down for looks.

2000 Korean (what's made in the usa anymore?)
22 fret maple neck
lam maple body ebony finish
2 humbuckers w variatone switch

I think...plese read any guitar manufacturers website disclaimer. the one that says we reservr the right to subtitute material without notice to the consumer...Hmmm not good if i'm buying a high end guitar

I play blues and jazz. BB king, T-Bone Walker, Albert King...
I use a Peavy Delta Blues 210 Tube amp. I don't use efects as they are not gonna make my playing sound any better.Lucille has a variaty of tones available with the variatone switch. I feel effect pedals are a way for manufaturers to get more money out of you. you wanna sound better here's a revalation... Practice!

I had Lucille setup by a pro at the local guitar shop. Setup it a matter of objectivity by each individual player. I have mine setup to my needs. yours should be setup to your needs. ( string gauge and action ect.)

I have not gigged with Lucille but would be proud to as she is real pretty and sounds great. The hardware on any guitar should last as long as it is well cared for. ( I had a gibson les paul for years and the metal pitted as any metal would after so long)

I've been playing the blues for over 20 years Lucille is my only guitar. She's a classy looking guitar that's why I chose her. I enjoy playing her. I don't play real fast. I'm no guitar whiz and never will be, but when your out playing and bring a smile to someones face thats a great feeling. I pick up Lucille and play her alot and she never let's me down.

This is an update to my original review of 11/26/2001

1999 Korean-made
22 frets
Laminated maple top
2-volume
2-tone
6-position Varitone
3-way PU selector
2-Humbucking Epiphone PUs
Rosewood fingerboard with block inlays
Super-glossy finish, blacker than black
ES-355 style guitar minus f-holes
ABR-1 bridge, TP-6 tailpiece with fine tuners
No idea what brand of tuners they are, they work OK
Gibson scale-length
No case included, I bought that separately

The Lucille admirably suited my music style, but I didn't like playing it seated. It is a very heavy guitar. Really heavy for a semi-hollow. I play through a Mesa/Boogie Studio Caliber DC-2

It can produce a huge variety of tones. Unlike Les Paul-type guitars, the volume controls act independantly with the PU selector in the middle position.

Bear in mind that the one I first took home, the rosewood fingerboard had parted company with the neck. I took it back to the shop and it was repaired. They had a second one and I was allowed to choose between the two.

It was set-up well when I took the second one home. I never adjusted the PUs. There were no flaws on the second guitar.

I would never recommend using this live. It's far too fragile to throw around. I would hate to have to repair the instrument.

The gold has worn quite badly from the tuners. I didn't ever put a strap on it - I only ever played it seated, those strat buttons look untrustworthy to me.

It was repaired under warranty - but not by Epiphone, by the jokers at the shop where I bought it

I got hold of my long-sought after Ibanez AR305AV Artist. After that, the Lucille was barely played. I recently did a comparison between the two guitars and I found that the Lucille had a much nicer neck than the Artist - BUT the Ibanez has more useful features than the Lucille and is a lot easier to play seated. Why do I play seated? I record a lot of my music on my PC.

The burning question I should have asked is "Do Epiphones hold their value?" The answer is, no they don't. Try selling one for its true worth. I recently decided to trade my Lucille for a new Fender American DeLuxe Strat. Not the G&L Legacy I originally wanted, but the Strat with S1 switching.

Let me state here that the Lucille is a lovely guitar, if you buy one you will not be disappointed (like I was with my first one). If you change the PUs and attach a decent bridge and tailpiece, put on some decent tuners, you will keep it for life. Just don't play it seated, your arm will ache after hanging over that big body of the Lucille. the only reason I can't go higher with my rating is that Korean-made Epiphones don't hold their value.

My epiphone is a 2002 B.B King Epiphone Lucille semi-hollowbody. This guitar was made in Korea.
Specs:
Frets: 22
Body: laminated maple back and sides
Neck: Mahagony
controls: 2 tone, 2 volume, varitone, pickup selector.
pickups: 2 epi humbuckers
hardware: gold everything
finish: ebony (awesome finish!) flawless.
Body style: gibson 345 style or 355 with no "f holes"

I would of liked to see multiple binding on the neck as well.
The first day I got this guitar i couldn't stop looking at it! it is a beautiful all around guitar.
I like the "lucille" inlay on the headstock and the gold plated truss rod cover with "b.b king" engraved on it.

I researched this guitar, not much info out there on this guitar, hence, this is why I decided to write a review. I play mostly blues/jazz. I own a Washburn J-6 montgomery jazz guitar. I wanted a second guitar that is a little more versatile for all round if i wanted to play more than just jazz.
As far as sound goes, This guitar really impressed me. I've had it for a week now and i'm still findind new guitar tones and sweet spots. I read the reviews on the pickups that others had to say about them. I think the pickups are quite good for my liking,not crappy by no means. No doubt, the seymour duncan's may be nicer, never tried them. I believe most of the tone will come from your finger tips. When others play my guitar, it sounds different. so go figure. I bought this guitar in hopes of getting a b.b king kind of sound. i've played strats for years, and was a die hard strat man. I've become bored with the sound of a strat, everyone plays them nowdays. So, i decided to buy a hollow body, The " J-6 washburn", what a guitar. And now the B.B king epiphone. Another nice guitar.
I'm a sucker for vintage looking instruments as well, so initially this guitar was appealing to me. After hearing it plugged in to a fender amp with no effects, I was won over by its various tones. This guitar will keep you busy exploring all the beautiful tones it has to offer. I've come close enough to emulating that "king sound".
Not to hard to come close with this guitar and the right amp.
5 years ago, i probably wouldn't of liked this guitar sound, but my ideal tone has matured these days. Owning a hollowbody jazz guitar such as the J-6 washburn has changed my view of tone. This guitar with the right amp will turn heads for blues styles. I'm a stevie ray vaughan fan as well for years now, and although it's not a strat sounding guitar, when i play stevie stuff on it , it sounds so interesting and different for a change. I've noticed that this guitar will make you want to play different styles of music. By saying this i mean, Every time I changed a tone setting I start playing things fron SRv to chet atkins, kenny burrell, even b.b king now!, for goodness sake its been that long since i've had the bridge pickup on, i even played "crazy train" by ozzy ozbourne..hehehehehe and I havn't played that song since i started playing guitar 15 years ago. But what i'm getting at is, songs that you'd tend to steer away from because you don't have that "tone or sound on your guitar" you may love playing it on the b.b king epiphone. This was the case with me.
I'm not picky about sound issues, if it sounds good to me , then its good enough. its all in the finger tips mostly, unless your playing a "Sears catalog" cheap guitar for $99.99
Come on face it! I've played gibsons, 335's b.b gibson, the difference to me is not worth paying thousands more for!!
My Motto: If the guitar doesn't compliment my playing, i won't buy it. This guitar makes me sound great, i wouldn't call it a beginner guitar. I've done recording before and i would record with this guitar. It's a personal taste, i like this kind of sound, raw!!! no effects, just tone!! if you have to use effects to get a great sound out of a guitar, i would not buy it in the first place.

When i picked it up in the music store, i played some stevie ray vaughan licks on it...everybody just looked over at the guitar like they were impressed with the tone of it. It just broke through all the "noise" in the store and stood out.

When I picked up the guitar it was out of tune. Don't you hate that? why don't they tune their guitars at music stores more often! The strings were dead but still sounded nice enough to know that the guitar had a great tone. The guitar was set up nicely. I will change string gauge though, right now it has 9's and i will put 10's on it when i get the chance. Only had it for a week now. As far as i can see, the guitar has no real big flaws unless you look through a mafnifying glass and search for them. i'm very happy with this guitar so far! The pick-ups were adjusted quite nice as well, i did raise the neck a little to my liking. I know this guitar will be 10 times better with 10's on it!

I play at home, my gig days are over now for a while, I have a 7 month old boy now and he takes up a lot of my weekends. I only have experience gigging with strats.
I like the gold against black finish. very expensive looking.
The fine tuning tailpiece hasn't caused me any problems, I don't even notice it until I actually look at it. it look real nice though.
I'm sad to hear that the gold will wear off with time. Oh well.
Strap buttons are solid, heavy guitar though, solid block through the body and the mahogany neck i guess.
I always like to gig with a backup, but if i had no choice i wouldn't be a wimp, sure I'd gig without a backup, wouldn't miss the opportunity for a gig these days.
this guitar seems to be solid and durable.
I treat it like a baby though, it is very pretty...i can't help but treating it like a lady, hahaha

didn't have to deal with epiphone yet

I've been playing for 15 years, or since i was 12. I've come to know what good tone is by hearing and playing so many different guitars over the years. The B.B king epi is quite the guitar for getting a great tone. I play this guitar with little distortion, if you play blues, even jazz you will love the sound of this guitar for the price. Plus, if you want to upgrade the guitars electronics ,hardware etc, you have a great solid foundation to work with.
if it were lost or stolen, i will buy another eventually or look for a second hand one. I want to keep this guitar for my son Jacob. I have a feeling this guitar will be with me and ny family for years to come.
If you own a strat or some other guitar and are looking for a different guitar tone..don't hesitate to try one. I did, i no longer have a desire to play strats anymore, i'm quite partial to the sound of a hollowbody now.

Take care. if i have any problems with this guitar I will be sure to write and update.

This is a 2000ish BBKing Lucille, made in Korea. It has 22 frets, laminated maple top back and sides. 2 tone, 2 volume, pu selector, varitone and 2 humbuckers. Mahogany neck. Beautiful finish, flawlessly done. Just don't get any dings on it, because it is impossible to repair, you will never match the finish, which is the trouble with these finishes. anyway...It has cheesy gold plated everything. The bridge is quite cheap, the tailpiece is unfortunetly equipped with fine tuners, not that there anything "fine" about them!! The tuners are smooth, but the gold plate disappears if you breathe on it!
The neck has a beefy feel to it, which i like. The inlay on the fretboard is quite tasty and the fret work is first class. The QC on this guitar is top notch. The value and bang for the buck are very high, regardless of some components being a little cheesy, it is a relatively inexpensive guitar. THe case is very nice and sturdy.

Well, i did not like those humbuckers at all, so i changed them. When they were removed, my technician showed them to me. These things are covered in glue!!!! No wonder they sound like crap, they are covered in the stuff!! I put a Seymour Duncan Jazz in the neck and a '59 in the bridge. AHHHH! Sounds soooooo good.
I play a kinds of stuff with this guitar. I find the varitone very versatile, i can go get all kinds of sounds with it. It's not a small guitar, and it is a little on the heavy side, but it is fun to play, I really like it. I got rid of the stoptail and put a gold Bigsby on it and presto, a classy hot rod!! I removed the black round tone and volume controls and put smaller cap-like gold ones and lowered the pot stems a bit to accomodate the smaller height of these new controls. The guitar looks amazing with the gold controls and Bigsby.
I removed the tuners and put on a set of tulip gold ones i had from another guitar, and i changed the tune-o-matic for a german one, much better! I also put in a better rhythm switch, that was a chore due to the wiring, but worth it. All these changes cost me money, but i bought the guitar used for $600.00CDN, so it still ended up costing less than a new one, and it blows them all away. Heck, this baby blows some Gibsons away!! At some point i will redo all the internal wiring, but that is a later rainy day project. I give it a 6 rating because i did have to change those awful pick ups, didn't I?

I bought it used, albeit slightly used, it did not have a scratch on it! The guy who was selling it did not like the sound! So why did he buy it???? Why did he not do something about it???? He lost $500.00!!!I got a great guitar for $600 plus $250 in extras!!!! The best $850 guitar i have ever had!!!
The action was rough when i got it, the strings dead, but you gotta see thru all that when looking at a guitar. The fit and finish, like i said, is top notch. BB should be pleased (although i have never seen him play one!! why would he??? He's got the real mccoy!!
Noisy pick up selector, as i said, and i changed it.

It can stand up to live playing, but God forbid you ding it, like i said, these finishes are hard to match when repairing. So this one stays in the studio. The finish will last, the gold plating will not.
I have removed all of the parts with the original cheesy gold plating. The strap buttons are solid. You can depend on this guitar. I would always use a back up. Playing with one guitar all night is dull.

NOpe

Been playing a long time, own alot of guitars, buy em, sell em, trade em, keep em, what have you. If it were lost or stolen, i would wait for the opportunity to find another used one, as i feel they are too expensive in Canada new. ($999.00)
I love the look and feel of it, i got rid of what i hated. My favorite feature is the varitone, which is wicked with the Duncans
I compared this with a few used "335" ish type guitars:
A Yamaha SA 800, a Tokai something or other, and a Washburn 35, and another EPI, the Sheridan. All those were around $450 to $600. Decent guitars for the money. When i saw Lucille, all bets were off!!

2 Volume, 2 tone controls. 2 Humbuckers with 3 way selector switch. Varitone control with 6 positions although mine can only select 5 of them. 22 frets. Beautiful ebony finish, a real looker. 2 inputs, one mono, one stereo and you can use both at the same time if you wish!

I play rock/blues/soul/punk covers with a Zoom fx box to model the sound. This guitar has a very rounded bluesy tone as you'd expect and i tend to use the middle position humbucker selection. I always have the Varitone set to 1 for maximum power and tone and I have had some rave reviews from audiences. If you turn the varitone down you can get a wide variety of tones. I play through a Fender amp set to clean and use the FX box for distortion/delay etc. The biggest problem when playing live with this guitar is it's weight but i have got used to it now. The guitar needs a minimum of 10's on it and has a fatter D shaped neck than many guitars.

The action is a little higher than on my Yamaha Pac 1230s but not too high for rhythm playing which is what I do mostly. The only problem I have had is that the strings cut into the bridge and kept snapping but I gather this is a common problem with Gibson/Epiphone bridges and is easily remedied with a small file. The finish is quite superb, I have had mine for a few years and the gold still looks OK.

This has become my preferred live guitar although I would never gig without a backup. The strings have gone a couple of times because of the bridge but if you keep an eye on it you should be able to prevent that happening too often. The strap buttons are fine if you use a decent strap. I had to get the wiring sorted out once because I lost sound from one of the pickups but it was a straight forward repair for the guy who did it.

This guitar looks fantastic and sounds really good. The fact that one of the varitone settings doesn't work is of no concern because the other 5 more than cover my requirements. This guitar is fine for blues/rock/soul etc. Probably no good for heavy metal or thrash though!! To the guy who said he was too old to play live I'd point out that BB himself is no spring chicken!

Same as first post but my tone Controls work very well.

I think it sounds very nice for what I paid for it. Very Versitle!

I'm giving mine a 9 but mine was professionally setup from the place I bought it from. No blemishes out of the box but I do agree with previous posts about the gold Tuners

Typical Over-seas Epiphone. Cheap switch and pots but great other than that.

never delt with

I have 9 Guitars and this has been one of my best bang for the buck deals. For the sound quality, finish, and Features I would have paid more for the guitar.

Mine is a 1999 BB King Lucille, made in Korea. There are frets a-plenty, enough to keep me happy. (OK then, 22)

Controls; 2-volume, 2-tone, 6-position Varitone, three-position PU selector. It's fitted with two gold-plated humbuckers with black mouting plates.

The body is laminated maple finished in Ebony with gorgeous binding around the body, headstock and pickguard. The neck is bound in plain old white with black dot markers along the upper neck binding.

It has Epiphone and Lucille in pearl on the headstock, there are also large pearl block inlays on the fretboard. The neck is rosewood.

The humbuckers are Epiphone. I can't find any information or model numbers for the pickups, so I have no idea whether or not Epiphone use these same pickups for the high-end guitars or throughout the whole range.

The finish is quite stunning. No blemishes that can be seen without going into minute detail. The buffing was first rate, no swirls or obvious polishing marks. The paint has barely perceptible 'orange-peel' effect. All in all a well-finished instrument.

The body is a double cutaway, semi-hollowbody based on an ES-355 without 'f'-holes (I guess you already know the deal). It has two jack-sockets, one for mono - both pickups, and a second stereo for the bridge pickup (in which case the first socket becomes the neck pickup).

The bridge is an ABR-1 type thing with those pesky screw-retaining wires. Total pain in the nether regions. It also has a TP-6 tail-piece. Ditto regarding it's painfulness. It also falls off if you decide to remove all the strings at once. The adjustable fine tuners of the TP-6 are not for me. It just makes string changing a chore. One hand holing the string in tension, one hand turning the tuner and struggling to keep the string in the fine-tuner.

The tuners are anonymous but work well. The gold-plating wears off just by looking at them!

Ah, but the neck. Slim and thin. Just right for me.

The guitar didn't come with a case. What a story there is attached to that! Briefly, I had the guitar and what I thought a suitable case on lay-by for three months. When I made the final payment and took her home I sat down to play her. I noticed that the neck had split up by the nut. Holy Big Bummer, Batman! They'd supplied me with the wrong case for the guitar and the neck had been held bent for three-months by the case. Profuse apologies and some great luthier work later, I wound up with a replacement guitar and the right case (yes, they had two Lucilles in the shop, so I took the second after much comparing of the two.)

What I have noticed on this guitar is that it has two serial numbers. One is stamped into the back of the headstock, and another is stencilled directly over the top in white. Gibson's explanation for this: "Why you have two serial numbers on there I am honestly not sure. There was probably a mix-up at the factory (your guitar was built by Aria in Korea) and they assigned the number underneath to more than one guitar."

My music style is Blues. Electric, "turn that racket down" Blues. Give me those minor pentatonics baby and I'm in flattened-seventh heaven! I use 10-46 strings and she bends to perfection without straying too far out of tune. I'm not the best player on the planet, but she can growl and wail for me when she needs to.

My amp is a Mesa/Boogie Studio Caliber DC-2. The only pedal I have is a TU-2 tuner. Me and Lucille do the rest.

Epiphone pickups are known not to be the best. However, my Lucille sounds sweet enough to me. I don't use the Varitone very much at all, barely would I go beyond three. And the tone controls are almost useless. You can't back off the tone 'a little'. It's all or none. It may as well be a switch rather than a knob. But that's OK cause my fave sound is with both pickups selected, bridge pickup tone rolled right off.

The guitar was set up by the shop where I purchased it. However, I had to do the intonation after about 6 months. Change in weather and all that. I adjusted the string heights in accordance with Gibson's recommendations. The classic Epiphone 'noisy PU switch' was cured by careful application of appropriate electronic instrument noise eliminator. I think it was CRC or something like that. I like the smell, my wife thinks it pongs! The nut looks like it could be bone - but I don't know if it's the original Epiphone fitted nut or if the guys at Clef Music fitted it.

I have to state here that I don't play in a band. I'd love to, but I don't think anybody would be interested in a 52 year-old bald git. Even so, I'd never gig her. She's far too fragile for my liking. I wouldn't want to tarnish her gorgeous looks. So she stays at home. The gold-plating will be gone from the tuners in another couple of years. The strap buttons are ridiculously small. You'd be out of your mind to trust your guitar to those miniscule excuses for buttons.

Since I don't gig I can't answer the last point other than to say that you will bust a string. Depend on it.

Well I've only contacted Gibson regarding the serial numbers and to get some information on the correct case for a Lucille. Both times they were prompt and answered my questions to my satisfaction.

I've been rattling the fretboard for over 30 years. I have a Yamaha FG-300 acoustic (read the reviews elsewhere oh HC). Lucille was my first electric (50th birthday present). My orginal choice was for an Ibanez Artist solid body but I could not find one anywhere in Western Australia. My next choice was an Epi Casino. I phoned Clef Music in Perth and they assured me that they had one in stock that I could try. They didn't have a Casino as I found out when I got there. What they did have was a Sheraton II (it was natural finish and so tempting) and the Lucille. I spent a couple of hours playing both and finally decided to go for the Lucille.

If it was stolen I wouldn't buy another. Really I'd prefer something I could regard as being a little more robust. I'd be tempted to spend the insurance money on a G&L Legacy, black with maple neck...

I can't beleive that my review is the first for the Epiphone BB King Lucille! I spotted one recently mistakenly placed in the Gibson BB King reviews, so that makes only two of us who have put pen to paper (well, you know what I mean).

And the late-breaking news is that an Ibanez Artist is making its way to these shores any day now. An AR305AV finished in Burl Mahogany. The guitar I've wanted - no, lusted after - since 1983. And it's all thanks to a fellow Aussie and Artist owner. Paul, you know who you are. You're a diamond, mate!

I tend to post occasionally to UKMG so regulars there will know who I am.