Epiphone Biscuit

The reviews in this catagory are excellent, so this review will be short. I'm a 30 yeer electric and acoustic player who bought this as his first resonator to extend my blues sounds. Based on my prior experience, the guitar is small and a little basic looking - but very pleasing to look at. As someone said, could pass for an old-time resonator.

It's damn loud and gets very banjo-like bright with you pluck the strings. The bottom end is weak though. Playing on the upper frets the notes ring out brilliantly. Very satisfying.

This is as close to perfect as I could imagine for guitar at this price. OK, the chromed material could be a little heavier, and the cut-outs could be a little cleaner, and more intricate. And, other than the truss rod, not too many adjustments are available.

Realistically, the quality of the components, binding, unfinished mahogany and the whole package are exceptional.

I have a lot of pro equipment, pretty good knowledge about guitars generally. Considering you could spend $1.5 - 2k on a similar guitar you'd have to say the value of this thing is truly incredible. Maybe those National or Dobro owners could educate me on why their guitar are worth $2k more, but for the casual resonator player this has got to be the best deal going.

Epiphone "The Biscuit" Squareneck Resonator Guitar
The body is a quarter inch think three ply laminate, just slightly arched, with f-holes. The top ply is a wonderful red mahogany that looks like it's straight from Honduras, but that's impossible. The inner plys are probably endangered hardwoods from Borneo (I've been there), but they'll grow back in a couple centuries. Did I mention that this mahogany body is beautiful, dark, pretty shiny (not a satin finish, but also not the sort of French Polish finish you find on top end Martins), but with unfilled pores. The result is that this guitar has an utterly authentic look to it. It looks fifty years old. It looks like it should be in a black and white photo of some long-dead blues guitarist. As this is a squareneck, it also has a slothead, which I prefer, and the tuning heads face up. Much easier to tune when you have the guitar on your lap. The nickel-plated cover over the cone is very heavy, like an old chrome bumper. The cone is spun, not stamped. It's set into a ring of about an inch and a half of plywood. That makes me nervous, but I guess it must work. I read what another person wrote about unscrewing the cone, and wanted to do that. However, I bought this used from somewhat of an expert, a guy who has been a roadie for 20 years for people like James Taylor and Clint Black and says he has to change a dozen sets of guitar strings every night. He said unscrewing the cone wasn't necessary with the biscuit, and that it might lead to buzzes. He said it's a good idea with a spider type cone. So I left it. However, I did take off the tailpiece and glue on a thin strip of leather at the top end. This brings the tailpiece into contact with the cone cover, and it does wonders for the sound--really increases the sustain. The seller said that what works even better than leather is a little wedge of a hard wood such as rock maple or ebony, as the vibrations carry better. I'm not sure why these vibrations, transferred to the cover rather than the cone, add so much to the tone, but it really works. If you already have a decent spun cone but you want better sound for under ten cents, give it a try.

This is my first resonator guitar. My sense is that the trebles are amazing, but the basses are weak. That may be the way they all are, for all I know. However, I bought some great squareneck dobro videos from www.homespuntapes.com, and I find that I can exactly match any tone these experts are getting from their $3,000 resonator guitars. (Perhaps the best of them is Cindy Cashdollar, and she gets some of her best tones from a little Stella with a stencilled and spraypainted name on the head.) The difference between playing near the neck and near the bridge is even wider than with a regular guitar. Despite the relative weakness of the bass strings, I love the tone of this guitar. It can be sweet as honey, or it can growl and whine. Friends, don't waste your time with a bottleneck slide. Buy a good steel, raise those strings, lay that guitar on your lap, and go. You'll have MUCH better control, your speed will increase, you'll get a better vibrato, and it's easier to dampen the strings. I use a heavy, bullet-shaped Ernie Ball chrome-plated steel customized by the Smith Melobar with shaped plastic wings screwed in. This lets me keep my wrist and finger more relaxed, which any mandolin player can tell you increases your speed. And, of course, finger and thumb picks are as crucial for squareneck dobro as for Scruggs-style banjo picking. One thing I've learned is that with this resonator guitar, I can easily play guitar solos which don't sound right on a regular guitar unless it's highly amplified. Thus, that sort of Clapton/Hendrix wail that came from overdriving the amps is easily available acoustically with a dobro. I picked up Clapton's riffs from his version of "Motherless Children," for example, in about five minutes. I was shocked by how easy it was. But if you haven't played dobro before, do invest in some videos, and get some from several teachers. Don't try to reinvent the wheel.

Everything seems well made. This guitar belonged to some professional who gave it to the guy I bought it from because it wasn't what he wanted. The seller thought he was a fool, and so do I. However, though it hadn't been played much, the guitar has a couple of actual chips in the finish, in the 1/8" to 1/4" category. This suggests to me that the outer finish isn't too well attached to the wood. However, this doesn't affect the tone at all, of course, and as the guitar already looks 50 years old, it's not a problem. Just say "This was caused by a beer bottle thrown at me in a bar in Spit Hollow, Alabama, in 1934." But everything seems very sturdy and well-made, apart from that.

See above

Got some interesting e-mails from this roadie, but he's not a company.

Bought my first guitar, a $27 f-hole archtop, from a pawnshop in California in 1967. My best guitar ever was a Martin 000-28 slothead that had been run over by a car, but what a wonderful tone it had. I had to sell it so I could pay my school bill and take my final exams in college. If this Epiphone Biscuit were stolen, I'd happily buy another. It's a great little instrument and looks completely "authentic." (It doesn't look gaudy, like these nickel plated jobs, and it doesn't have little round screens that look like they were designed to keep birds out of the attic. And I've always disliked sunbursts on instruments.) Also, the price is great. If you wonder why I'm not giving this tens, yet I'm praising it this way, bear in mind that I'm trying to be honest.

1999 Epiphone "Biscuit" resonator guitar. Nice, stable, good looking mahogany laminate in a satin finish. (Let the doctors & lawyers playing bluegrass on the weekends buy the $3000 "tonewood" eye-candy machines, I'm here ta tell ya, kids, the sound comes from the pan on a dobro, and like on the original '30s models, this is cheap, punchy, and loud. Indestructible, too. Neck is 2 pc. mahog, spliced at headstock. (It's OK, kids, Taylor does it too) Single cone, spun, not stamped, Biscuit bridge (duh, really?) Yellowed binding on body, black binding on slim neck.

Blues & country. Good biscuit-dobro sound, super punchy and nasal. Compared to other cheap spider-bridge models, a little weak on the low string, but MIDRANGE!! good gawd, this thing will cut through. Added a McIntire pan transducer, run thru a tech 21 acoustic DI for EQ into PA. Plus Mike. Sound is accurate if trebs are cut. Might try Baggs Para Acoustic for the 2 bands of sweepable mids, this thing has 2 (count 'em) distinct regions of feedback. Volume pedal can save you momentarily. Overall, pleasantly surprised by the bang-for-buck ratio, whether on the couch, stage, or especially getting this little sucker on tape. Way good funky delta vibes for cheap, I.M.O.

This was set up from the factory as well as any Korean made electric guitar, which is to say, pretty good or good enough for a dobro. As has been said elsewhere, a little low for slide. So get an extension nut for $3 and lay this thing on your lap and get out your Craftsman 11/16" deep socket & have at it, you'll be real glad you did. Those square-neck spider-bridged Bluegrass Nazis have NO IDEA the sound and fun they're missing, and for cheap at that. Their loss. But I digress. I'm editorializing about sound & tastes & values in the Fit & Finish box. I like the satin. The fret edges are a bit rough, but it plays well fretwise w/o buzzes. (For $350 or whatever I paid I would begrudge this little wonder a buzz or two) The tuners are regular issue closed gear Epiphone (Gotoh, I think) and work really well. It tunes easily (and I change tunings a LOT) although something that looked more "vintage" would have completed the vibe a bit better. Just a wish. The intonation is pretty gosh-darned good for a cheap (did I mention this here thing doesn't cost a bunch?) instrument, let alone any dobro.

I'm not gonna mince words here. This thing's as tough as a '57 Chevy pickup, and maybe as aesthetically pleasing to some. It is consistent, utterly reliable, and the finish is cheap and will gain lots of character with hard use. To bring a backup would be an insult to the 1st, as well as cowardly.

Never had to deal with the Korean Sweatshop Division of Gibson, so I don't know.

Been playing 35 yrs, Own a Martin J40, Taylor 314, Old Tele, Old Strat, Epi fake 335 w/PAF's, numerous ancient worthless lap steels, numerous cantankerous tube amps, a Tech 21 #60, as well as some wholly unreliable lo-fi recording equipment. I play anything I can and quite a bit I can't, for my own pleasure as well as the annoyance of others. It's a great life. If this were stolen I'd have real respect for the theif. He'd either have done his research or is just stupid lucky.

Great looking with the F holes and dark colored (reddish brown mahogany) satin finish (no cheap glossy finish). The whole look of this guitar says "vintage". I have even considered "antiquing" the shiny chrome coverplate and tailpiece to give it an even more old look.

The neck is a just a tad too narrow for my taste in fingerpicking and slide. I was concerned by others reviews that it would be much worse than it is. It is not nearly as narrow as typical acoustic guitars these days.

I love this guitar. I use it for slide guitar as well as standard tuning blues and folk music. It makes almost any music sound primitive and back-woodsy. I previously owned a Regal round neck dobro which was also nice but this guitar looks better, was cheaper, and plays better. The sound is that great Dobro high lonesome sound.

The action was set up really nice for standard playing and is not bad for slide. I have considered raising it for better slide action but it would make it harder to play in standard. It seems a real good compromise.

The only thing I see is that the D string tuning peg is turned a little in the headstock. If you look at the face of the headstock it is a little asymetrical. The peg doesn't seem loose or compromised in durability

Everything seems very well made and durable. It has a real solid feel and look to it.

I own/have owned Ibanez AS semi hollow 335 style electric (great guitar). Peavey backstage amp. Sigma D2 acoustic. I did have a Regal Dobro resonator round neck. Misc. harmonicas. Harmony Banjo. Kentuckey KM150S mandolin, Grandpa's old fiddle.

I had trouble finding a store with the Biscuit in stock. If you are looking for a resonator guitar for under $1000 I don't think there is a better value.

Nice looking Mahogany that gets prettier with age. The body is smaller than a Dreadnaught and is equipped with one cone and a bridge that sets right on top of the cone. This type of resonator is for punchy bottleneck slide styles. There is not much sustain, but the volume is plenty.
The neck is a bit too narrow for my taste. A wider neck would make slide playing better.
The binding on the body is a vintage looking off white and really trims out the guitar well.
I have had many people approach me at gigs just to look at the guitar closer. Its good to have hanging around the stage, even if I don't play it much.

First thing anybody should do with this guitar is take the cover off it, and take the wood screws out of the cone. Cones are not supposed to be screwed down. Chances are that most imports come this way. They are probably screwed down so they don't fall out in the assembly line. The sound is good. I like the wood tone mixed with steel far better than an all steel guitar. The best place to play this guitar is on a bar stool un-miked and in open A or G tuning. It is essential to have bar room background noise mixed in with the sound.
I don't like it in standard tuning very much, however with a set of thumb and finger picks I can make it work.

Action comes very low which is not good for slide players, so I got a new bridge. The nut is cut for light gauge strings, so I had to cut them out a little more for mediums.
The finish is great. I like to let others play the guitar so I can sit back and look at it. It also sounds much better from a lsteners vantage point compared to the players. When playing a resonator it is like having your ear right next to a horn.

Super dooper durable. The neck has bowed a little more than it should, but it is probably because I raised the action. I am in the process of small periodic truss rod adjustments to straighten it.

Who cares--I got it from a typical modern day store with tons of BS but very little knowledge. Model year 1998, and purchased in the same year.

Been at it for 16 years. I own an EPIphone jumbo acoustic, which is my number 1 solo gigging machine these days. My Biscuit is used for my renditions of Delta songs that I end sets with. I also own 2 telecasters, one jazz bass, and one SG. Harmonica is my other main instrument.
If it were ripped off, I would not replace it. I would look for a model with a fatter neck, or just use my tele for slide.
Compared to othe imports that I have played it stacks up very well.

2000 model made in korea..spruce/mahogany top,mahogany back,sides and neck..ROSEWOOD fingerboard w/19 frets,dot inlays..24.75" scale. no poly finish{cool} medium frets..cone is spun NOT stamped..biscuit bridge..

bought it for blues/slide.louder than the fender fr50 and plays much better...nice even sound

guitar is set up nicely for finger pickin' and slide. no flaws that i can see..

seems to be built rather solid..really decent hardware..stays in tune

comes with a lifetime warranty..hope i never need it

been playing for 14 years or so,i own just about everything{too much to list}and really enjoy playing it all..this guitar is everything i expected it to be..and compared to 1500.00 for a dobro its a great value. i plan to add a pickup to the cone later on for distortion,but for now i will enjoy the downhome sound that this guitar creates so easily..maybe i'll purchase a dean chrome s later on,but i like the woody sound that the biscuit has for different reasons..