Epiphone Broadway

The Broadway is a basic hollowbodied archtop electric. It differs from many archtops on the market by being truly hollow. Its single-cutaway design is close to that of the L5, and allows fairly easy access to the high notes. The top is laminated, rather than carved. Two fairly generic humbuckers are built into the body and some OEM Grover tuning keys are also standard. Pickup selector switch and dual tone/volume controls make up a pretty standard electrical configuration.

Finish is a very light blond and is quite attractive. It will be interesting to see how it ages. There are a few very minor blemishes, but they are difficult to see and don't spoil the appearance at all.

The bridge is a rosewood bridge without adjustable saddles (ie, it's not a tuneomatic). While this worried me somewhat going in, it actually gives me pretty good intonation with my chosen strings. Could be an issue with skinny strings, but that's not what this guitar is about.

No case is provided. This is not a good thing, since an archtop guitar is inherently more fragile than a solid body. I purchased an Epiphone Jumbo hardshell case, which fits the guitar well.

I bought this guitar purely for jazz. My days of distortion and string bending are far in the past, and I wouldn't have considered this guitar for that type of music. For jazz, it sounds great. One of my primary needs was for a guitar that sounds good acoustically, since I'll typically be playing with little or no amplification. In that sense the sound is a combination of the acoustic and amplified components. A bit of fill from my Valve Junior amp combines nicely.

But you won't be able to tell much about the sound using the factory strings. Aside from being kind of skinny (.011 first string), they just don't sound very good. The acoustic sound is midrangy and honky. I replaced them, first with Gibson L5 strings and then with D'Addarios. The larger gauge (.013-.056) makes all the difference. The guitar is substantially louder and much more full-bodied. Sounds like a real jazz guitar.

At this early stage, the pickups seem just fine. I've been able to get useful sounds out of both pickups and from combinations. Many owners of this guitar seem eager to swap out the pickups ASAP. I'm going to bide my time and live with them a while. You can easily ascertain that I'm not really about high output.

One thing that will make you a little buggy if you play acoustically is sympathetic resonance. There's quite a long stretch of string between the bridge and the tailpiece, and it sings right along with you. A ribbon of cloth woven between the strings will fix it. Rubber grommets do a good job, too.

I recently had a chance to spend a week with a Washburn archtop (Oscar Smith). While it had its merits, the Broadway is lighter, with better tone, better action, and more acoustic power.

The guitar was set up pretty well. Since one of my first act was to upgrade strings (with heavier gauge), I got to set it up all over again. The trussrod was easy to adjust and new tensions seemed to come to balance within half a day or so. Frets were well-dressed. Overall, the action is pretty good. Over the next year or two, I'm sure I'll do a touch-up here and there, but that's been true of every guitar I owned.

Pickups needed a bit of adjusting, but they always do. This is driven by both strings and amplifier. But since the humbuckers have individual string adjustments, this is easily accomplished.

The one place where I'm withholding judgement for a while is the tuning pegs. They're Grovers, but we can safely assume they're not high-end. The guitar holds tune well while it's in the case, but tuning is a little, um, mobile as you play. I'll play with the tension screws on the pegs for a while, but I can see moving to better tuners at some point.

This guitar feels pretty solid and I expect I could gig with it. But then, I don't jump around like I used to, so the guitar won't receive those extramusical shocks. I see from other reviews that switches may need replacing over time. I'll just have to see about that. I do appreciate the fact that there's a rubber shock mount under the pickup selector switch.

If you play standing up, then you'll need to be careful in your choice of a strap. The upper strap button is positioned in such a way that the wrong strap could pull it away from the body.

So I'm rating this as a 5, since the guitar doesn't have enough mileage to know for sure.

I've contacted customer support a couple of times to ask questions about the guitar. They got back to me very quickly. If the guitar ever needs service, I hope they're as responsive then.

The warranty is a limited lifetime warranty that excludes instruments that have been modded or mistreated. Seems fairly standard, but you never know until you test it.

I spent my late teens and twenties playing guitar professionally. I played sporadically for another ten years after that and then set the instrument aside for a couple of decades while I pursued other things. In my day, I owned many guitars--Gibsons, Fenders, Voxes, Hagstroms and many more. My musical interests started as rock and ended up as jazz and classical.

In resuming playing after so many years, I looked for a guitar was was jazz-centric, good-sounding and reasonably priced. The Broadway has been excellent in this regard. It's not for everyone: it's one big guitar, noticeably heavier, and it demands a solid technique.

The Elitist model of this guitar may be a nicer instrument. Certainly bits of fit and finish may be improved. But the standard Broadway doesn't feel cheap and (once you remove the stick-on 'E' from the pickguard) it doesn't look cheap either. It's a great choice for an old geezer like me or for a player who needs a first jazz guitar.

This Epiphone Broadway Antique Vintage sunburst was made in Peerless Korea in 1997 and is a single cuttaway typical jazz hollow body large archtop 17" largely based on the Gibson L5 (with F holes) but for the frequensator tail and neck (tree of life). Mine has some significant modifications as I replaced the original stock pick ups for USA Gibson Humbuckers classic 57 (neck) and 57+ (bridge), frequensator by a US Bigsby B6, Nashville type roller bridge, and Gretsch style control pot covers/strap buttons. Tuners are I believe Grover (OK but not quite stae tite). Hard case is quite a decent Epiphone badged one.

I originaly wanted to buy a Gretsch 6120 or Duo jet to get Gene Vincent's Cliff Gallup sound with the help of a HH Multi echo and a HH Performer/Fender Twin Amp and simply could not afford It. This guitar proved to be an excellent purchase (second hand) and after my mods, I managed to get one of the most beautiful 50's clean sound any one could hope for (in fact very similar to Cliff). Which raised the question: Are we sure Cliff Gallup recorded on a Duo jet? The sound is truely amazing, playability worth any top guitars if not better (and I played a few). It is simply irresistible!!!

I do not know how the guitar was set up originally, but I would say pretty good at the moment. Not a very low action as one would expect from a jazz but this suits me.
The let down is perhaps very much on some of the finish (not necessarely noticeable to others but certainly to me). The pickup selector is not too great, the pots are a bit noisy, and some of the details are not too brilliant! I love this guitar but I am being honest. This is not an Elitist nor an L5 CES. But then again It was very cheap.
The days of the ET-290 and other crestwood are far for Epiphone.

I only use this guitar at home and I am sure that It will last for years to come. However I do not think that this guitar would have survived well playing 8 months every night during 4 years like I did when I was a member of the rock and roll group The Crazy Caps in the south of France (80's).
It is a beautiful guitar, fun and fairly well made, looks like a million bucks but not for the hard working musician.
I would have a backup: Bigsby are superb but they do get out of tune.

I was trying to replace the pickguard and contacted Gibson: They directed me to the UK distributor which does not seem to sell this part. So not too impressed. Although I will not judge a make as brilliant as Gibson on one experience.

I own a Gretsch G6121W Round up with dynasonic, a Fender Twin amp, a HH multi echo (vintage 1979) a HH Performer 150 Watts (early 80's) a Roland TD3K drumm kit, Ludwig/Tama kit (originally a drummer you see).
This guitar is one of the best any one on a budget could buy and after mods sound as good as any top Gibson. I play It very often and I am amazed every time...I chose this one over a new Joe Pass as It was 200 times better and over a white Falcon (price!!!!). If it was stolen I would hunt the thief to the end of this earth to retrieve it.
If unsuccessful I would purchase the same in Elitist and do the same mods again. If Gibson would only produce the same as my version (minus the imperfections yet remain competitive)they would make an absolute fortune with 50's music lovers.

Mine is a Vintage Sunburst color.

Wood bridge, all original configuration, no alterations has been done.
This one has a spruce top that really give a nice "cling" to the tone.

It has all features I need, but it would be nice to be able to move the saddles to intonate the guitar (wood bridge). Thc pup selection switch might need to be replaced, it makes a "skritchhhh" noise when I switch between pickups.

This guitar as a VERY nice jazz sound. It's not as fully as deep as a Gibson, but it has a very enjoyable sound, with AND WITHOUT an amplifier.

I would say that it is "better" that the Ibanez archtop series.

The frets make some noises, but I think that it has to do with my strings. I should use one step lighter gauge with maybe flatwounds. The noise from the frets can however be avoided with a good playing technique (the tone is all about technique anyways :))

I do not like the fact that the plastic around the microphones makes "buzzez" here and there when playing acoustically. This noise does not however sound in the amplifier.

Nice dark woody sound. Very full and rich. I play with bridge pickup, and the Tone on about 4, this gives a nice jazzy almost "bumpy" sound.

The action could be set a little lower, but then I would have more fret noises so... I feel that this guitar has a little bit of too high action for my taste. Maybe I dislike the action because I tried a Gibson ES 175 before buying this ;)

There is a sharp edge on the pickguard that is not supposed to be there. It is not visible though and it is not in the way whan playing. Other than that I cannot find any flaws.

Nice looking guitar! Very beautiful!

I can depend on this one. I would use this without a backup ( for jazz gigs).

The hardware MIGHT have to be replaced sometime in a distant future. The pickup selector makes some noise in the amplifier when switching between pups (this does not bother me as I only use the neck pickup.

Even though I have given this straight nines (9), I am going to give it a 10 in overall rating, because it was so cheap! A real bang for the buck!
If you are looking for a cheap giggable jazz guitar, this is the one! I would not buy the Ibanez archtop series (they have very ugly lightening flash on the headpice :)).

This is a beautiful guitar with superb tone. I believe that with the right technique, this guitar can sound like pat metheny and also more like a "traditional" jazz guitar.

Finish: Vintage Sunburst (Tobacco). Tune-o-matic bridge added to allow better intonation. 25.5 scale. Gibson Classic 57 pickups added as upgrade (although EPI pickups are really not that bad). I give it a ten in this category because it has all of the features needed for a archtop/jazz guitar.

Nice, full, deep clean jazz sound. I use bridge pickup exclusively. The tone knobs are much more responsive than other Epiphones and Gibsons I have owned or played. It sounds best with the tone rolled off for a true jazz tone. Excellent for a guitar in this price category and higher.

I can't comment on the factory set up as I purchased the instrument used. However, I was amazed at the workmanship and very impressed.

Like any archtop, it takes a little more care, but honestly it seems like it will endure. I don't think you should ever play a gig without a backup, but I'm very confident in the reliability of this guitar.

Have never had to deal with Epiphone (I own two...the other is a Riviera). Haven't heard much positive about their customer support.

YOU CANNOT BEAT THIS GUITAR FOR THE VALUE!! Yes, there is some difference when compared to a Gibson for instance, however not several thousand dollars worth of difference. It is great for what it is designed for......jazz, early rock, etc. Don't plug it into a high gain amp and complain about it. Its not designed for that. If you're looking for sweet tones and a very playable neck/fretboard, then serously consider this guitar.

Epi Broadway, i believe i have a 2006 model... made in korea... natural finish.... you know the rest of the story

like other reviewers have said, this is a JAZZ BOX. it sounds best CLEAN with some REVERB....

before i bought this guitar, i had been 'borrowing' my band mates epi dot deluxe, and i really loved the neck pickup tone, and the way the neck felt in my big hands moreso than my trusted fender tele. so i decided to buy one for myself. however, i played a bunch of hollowbody and semihollowbody guitars, and this broadway was the one that sounded the best to my ears.

WARM WARM CLEAR CLEAN LUSH RICH FULL.... get the idea?

i play rock music and the only tone this guitar doesn't do well is the "pumpkin sound" ie big fuzzy creamy distortion. but everything else sounds great.

the action from the factory was a tad high for my taste. easy fix
the pickups are just right. if anything i might heighten the bridge pickup, but only to make it have more bite.

i haven't found any flaws yet, i have had it for a month. the toggle switch seems flimsy, but if it breaks i'll just get a gibson. everything else seems to be up to par.

reliability and durability have yet to be seen. only 1 month with it so far. always have a backup at your gig, just because. so far it's been trouble free and i have played it every day since i got it.

i play this or a "partscaster" (american parts) thru a boss gt3 into a 1980 silverface fender twin reverb. twin stays at master volume 8, channel volume 2.3, treble 8.5, middle 8.5 bass 4.5 reverb off. plug in any guitar straight in and you'll find out if it's a good instrument. the only time i dont' play the broadway is when i'm going for that pumpkins tone... then i get out the tele.

i played a bunch of archtops and semi hollowbodys, a bunch thru various clean amps, and the broadway spoke to me. it was too expensive, but sometimes you just gotta spend some money.

i think it's rediculous that it didn't come with a case at all. i told guitar center if they wouldn't give me a hardshell case then no sale. they threw in the hardshell case for free.

i've been playing for 14 years.

The gold plating on this guitar is a waste of time. It will be gone within the first year resulting in an older look.The stock Frequensator tail doesn't add much to the looks.(replace) The rosewood bridge takes some fussing to get the guitar in tune. The bridge on this particular guitar is too high for my liking (replace)I don't like grover tuning pegs so they'll be going soon. The plastic nut is really bad (replace)the input jack shorts out because it is loose and needs some work (again)and change the tail.

The pickups are fine but I screwed them down. I put on a set of ghs burnishe pure nickles roundwound 009-42 and they sure brought out some great sounds from this guitar. (Also try Gibson Brite Wires and flatwounds)The tone is fantastic for jazz and would be very suiting for large orchestra playing and advanced solo playing.

The antique black spray paint over the honey colored spruce sound board looks cool if I were wearing chaps and a ten gallon hat and had my name pasted in day glow pink,white and green lettering on the sound board. The binding, inlay are great.As I say, the antique sunburst looks like a guitar for a country band. If your playing jazz go for the natural finish.

This guitar is great for jazz and at the price it would be hard to go wrong.Do some replacements (if you like) and you'll have a great jazz guitar that will last for years.

Been playing for amost 40 years. Would I buy this again YES! (but not the antique sunburst finish)

Very nice looking guitar.I have changed pick ups to Gibson 57
Classics, saddle to Grap Tech, bridge to Gibson tune-o-matic and tail piece to Gretsch/Bigsby vibrato.

This guitar works perfect in rockabilly,blues and rock'n'roll.I play with plastic thumb pick and brass(cobalt plated) fingerpicks. 011-strings and late 70's Fender Deluxe Reverb(Blackfaced mod). In rockabilly stuff I use Dynacord Echocord S62 for slap echo. No other effects.Pick up-selector is most in middle position...

Guitar needed some work, but mainly everything was ok.

Everything is ok.

I've been playing 32 years. I own also National Duolian 1931 and Kay
archtop from 50's. These are my blues machines...But at this moment this Epiphone Broadway is the most important guitar for me ...it works.

This is a Korean made Broadway from around 2000? that I bought used, but in excellent condition. The top is an arched laminated spruce with laminated maple sides and back. The neck is painted, but is likely mahagony w/ a rosewood fingerboard. The headstock is the large retro Epi style with a tree-of-life inlay and no-name cast tuning machines. The neck is inlayed with pearloid block and triangle markers. The body has multiple bindings and the shell pickguard is thick and bound as well. There are two Epiphone humbucker pickups, the usual four control knobs, and a 3-position toggle switch on the bottom upper bout. The cutaway is venitian style. The guitar is finished in a sunburst that fades from a honey to a dark cabernet. The tailpiece is a Frequesator type and the bridge is rosewood. All hardware is gold plated. The guitar comes with a flat plywood case.

I have read people slamming this guitar on other sites. Incredible as it seems, some people actually think they can play heavy metal on this guitar (Ted Nugent and his Gibson Byrdland excepted)! This guitar is fully hollow, without the center 2x4 found in ES335 type thin lines. Additionally, it is a spruce top intead of maple giving it an even richer acoustic sound. It's not as acoustic as say the Epi Zepher Regent, but much more so than the Epi Joe Pass, Riviera, Sheraton II, et al. It will not handle being overdriven or an environment with alot of feedback. This model was made for accentuating the acoustic tones of a cleanly amplified guitar. BB King string benders should look elseware as well. The thicker gauge strings that are designed to bring out the best in this guitar don't bend well. Nor is the wooden bridge ideal for bending. Look to the thin lines with stop tailpieces and lower action for that style. This guitar is made for jazz, period. It has a fine unplugged sound (to me this is most important). Plugged in with a touch of reverb will dial you in to that classic jazz sound. The spruce gives this guitar it's unigue sound, but at the price that it is more vibration sensitive than a similar maple top model. If it was based on acoustic sound alone, I would give it a 10, but the pickups sound muddy and it is difficult to achieve a sound that is both loud and clean. My practice amplifier may be part of the problem and I intend to replace the neck pickup and go to a larger amp.

The finish of this guitar is really unbelievable. For all the binding, there is only one small flaw that I could find and that was a razor thin gap between the neck and one edge of the nut. The inlays are near perfect (are all these now done with a lazer?) The gold finish is awfull, however. This must be the thinest electroplating ever. I can see keeping the cost down, but I would rather have thick chrome than thin gold. If you buy a guitar like this, be prepared to fiddle with the bridge as intonation is approximate at best. I have heard of people replacing the bridge with a metal adjustable version, but I think that would sacrifice the acoustic tone that makes this model special. The toggle switch is another dud. It goes in and out in the middle position and should be replaced. The pickups should be replaced, but not an immediate concern. I do all of my playing in the neck position and may replace just that one.

This guitar easily takes live playing and is a solid product as one would expect from an Epiphone in this price range. As I said, the gold finish on the harware is very poor. I would rather pay another $50 for thicker plating or have had it done in chrome. For those that like a vintage look, you only have to wait a few months and the hardware will take on a 50 year fade. Like I said, the toggle switch is a POS, but can be replaced for a couple bucks. The tone/volume knobs are nothing special and should be replaced based on looks. Everything else is solid.

Never dealt with them, nor to be honest would I ever try.

I've owned may guitars and play in many styles as the mood takes me. Don't get the wrong idea, I love the string bending blues styles of the three Kings as well as rock through death metal distortion and have played those styles on a variety of solid and semi-solid body guitars. IMHO this guitar wasn't meant for those styles. Think chord melody. I compared this guitar to the Epiphone Zepher Regent and Joe Pass models and the Ibenez Artcore models of similar price.

2004 Epiphone Broadway, Vintage Sunburst, Made in Korea. Features have been summarized here alraedy (no changes for 2004). The binding, tort. shell pickguard and nice headstock inlay bump this to a 10 for a guitar in this price range. The Ibanez Artcore series (hollowbody) is close in features.

A very rich, full sounding guitar as expected with a big hollowbody like this one. The sound, through a Polytone MBII is very articulate. The guitar came strung with a set of 12-54's (roundwound, plain 3rd), which are fine. I have no intention of replacing the stock pick-ups, although I had planned on it before buying it. They really are nice sounding. Quiet, mellow, full, clear, no muudy lows or piercing highs. Good range of tone control with the two tone pots and volume control's perform well. The three way toggle switch is fine. Quiet and no problems. Perhaps Epiphone (Gibson) has reacted to the past criticism of this? Feedback at volume is no different than any other hollowbody. Easily controlable. I compared this to the Ibanez Artcore series and the Epiphone was clearly superior sounding to my ears. The Artcore was a bit "nasal" sounding, with weak highs and muddy lows at volume. In fairness, the Artcore was $300.00 (Can.) cheaper than the Epiphone.

Superbe. Simple as that. I am so anal about fit and finish. I checked inside with a small mirror and was impressed with the neatness. No glue drips or wood shavings. Wiring was neat and tidy and securely harnessed together. The nut was absolutely perfect. I'm wondering if the store touched it up? It was profiled properly, string slots cut just right (not too deep). Man, Gibson should take serious notice here. Frets were well done with no sharp edges or high spots. Tuners were straight and aligned (again, Gibson should take notice!). Floating bridge was cut properly. I don't know how many guitars I've gone through with consistently sloppy work in one or more of the above noted areas, including many Gibsons and a few Fenders. Full points earned here.

I will give a no opinion here, because I would be speculating. The finish and construction are top notch, I have no quams there. I expect the gold finish to eventually wear off, it's always so cheesy and lame.

I have no experience here.

I really can't fault anything on this guitar. I tried an ES-175, which sounded quite nice, but had some sharp fret edges, a finish flaw, and a binding flaw. It was $3,100.00 Can. No thanks. I have been playing for some 20 years and favour jazz and blues. I've owned a ES-135, a 137, a 335. I currently have a 333 and a Telecaster. I play professionaly and will not hesitate to use the Broadway. The neck is comfortable, the frets are well done, and the pick-ups are excellent. Drawbacks include a low re-sale value (if that's important to you), and the "stigma" of an imported guitar (jazz circles are very conservative). That seems to be changing though. I have to honestly say, in my opinion, that the Broadway rivals Epiphones own "Elitist" series, and certainly the Gibson stuff. it is a noticeable step above the Ibanez Artcore series in sound and build/material quality (but it's more expensive as well). You really do have to play one though, and grab an ES-135 or 175 for comparison. You can draw your own conclusions. I am extremely pleased with this instrument and am looking forward to many years of enjoyment from it. Well done, Epiphone.

I suppose my broadway was made in Korea like most other epiphones. It's a standard model and with an antique finish (which i find very nice by the way, surprising for a rather cheap guitar).
I got myself a hard case with that because i carry my guitar everyday at school (i study music) and i am quite satisfied by the fact that it doesn't get untuned so easily like other archtops.
I use .012 flat rounds and may i suggest to anyone using a broadway guitar to try flats once. they are fun to play with and sound very nice. a problem is in deed the wooden bridge, which not only cannot be tuned to perfection but i guess will have to be replaced one day because everytime you move it a little wood comes off.

This may sound weird but i like the fact that the screw that it used to tighten the neck or to loosen it is easily accessible, which i haven't found in that many guitars i tried.
For example, the strat (bleh) i have is terrible for that matter.

I bought this guitar for the sound it offered me... i must say that with tone set to 4 and flat .012's i am *VERY* satisfied concerning the sound. i can sound a little like pat metheny cough cough :)
no problem here

Action has 3 dead spots i've discovered so far... this is my only meaningful downside of the broadway i proudly own... i like to have a rather low action and my tenth fret sounds dead on the a and the d strings and there is also a dead spot on the thirteenth fret on the d string. the finish is really nice, it looks awesome.

here is another minor problem i've had with the guitar, like a lot of epiphone guitars (i heard) the controls get loose after a little while. the jack also tends to get loose after a while.

weirdly enough, i had problems with the pickup selector (the guitar stopped producing sound sometimes when i set the pickup to the middle) only when i first got it ... after a week or so it simply stopped happening.

I don't know yet if the guitar will live longer than a year ;)
The wood for this guitar, if it is used properly seems like it will in deed survive years of intense practice. the knobs though seem like they will fall off in a few months, unfortunately. but i consider this as a minor problem that can easily be solved.

i don'tk now and i don't want to know how epiphone will answer my problems. i'd rather not make use of their international help and go to my nearest guitar techie

I am 19 years old and i have been playing for 11 years now. I study music at school.
I currently also have a Godin Artisan ST which i also like a lot.
Oh and I have a Mexican/Japanese/American/Idon'tgivea* stratocrapster i paid 50$ in case i have to pop gigs one day. /me pees on it.

I chose this one because i like playing jazz and my godin artisan st, while having helped me a lot with jazz, sure sounds thin compared to this hollow body semi-acoustic. I thought it was a perfect compromise for my needs and my financial situation.
(oh and by the way pardon my (sometimes) bad english grammar, my native language is french)