Epiphone Genesis

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The sound is just great. I needed to redo the wirering ( the pot where scrachy and trey cut the sound sometime) but now every thing is ok and man this thing rocks. I play old stuff like AC/DC. Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath... the sound is realy full and you can tune it to what ever you like!!!

the finish is great ( there's a few nicks but thats my mistake)the white trim is now more of a creamish color and that just make the guitar look better. The only thing I'd do is slim the neck down.

This is like a tank. Its as tuff and as heavy as one. but you know what they say "the fat lady sings!!!" after having changed the pots on it. it could play live ( if i had a band that played live. hehe)

I got this guitar for the deal. And i wanted to get a second guitar to play a bit in the electronics. but it turned up , it sounds and plays better than my SG copy i have. so It now my main guitar!!! Plus on thing i like about this guitar, No one has one like this around or know that it is. SO it's not like a plain strat that every one has. and it looks cool too!!!

I bought this guitar secondhand in 1999 in England. The laqcuer (black) is almost perfect, except for some darkbrown spots coming through here and there. The binding has turned into some nice light yellow colour. Original humbuckers. It came in its original case. Everything smells so old!

Double cutaway, thick guitar. Regular chrome hardware, 22 frets, great and precise tuners etc. Two volume pots, one tone and a coil tap. Body and neck probably mahogany, there could be a top but you can't see it. Frets, for some reason were completely unworn! I believe the previous owner hardly played it. No rust though.

Made an educated guess that it was an early 80's guitar, similar to e.g. Ibanez Artist of that period. Only recently found out it was only made late 70's, early 80's.

It suits my style perfectly.. Ranging from Eric Clapton (bluesbrakers period) to Led Zep to Black Sabbath... It's a very versatile guitar, especially if you learn to use the volume and tone controls..

The coil tap does a good job of getting a (dark) strat sound.

Played it over a very clean amp first with its original pickups. This guitar has a lot of weight, incredibly deep bass tone. The pickups are not THAT good though, although they're ok for regular playing. Very clean, with a scooped mid sound. Neck pickup however is too boomy on low strings though. This all changed when I swapped the pickups to Gibsons.. An alnico in the neck and a Tony Iommi signature pickup in the bridge !!!

I own a Marshall JTM30. Paired with the guitar your sound can get very diverse. Clean sounds very good (Allman Brothers and Fleetwood Mac especially). The crunch sounds (for late 60's to 70's music) are very smooth, quite precise. The sustain of the guitar is really amazing but is probably not very different from Les Pauls.

Since the bridge is a Tony Iommi it's not surprising you can get a nice Sabbath sound, very controlled, very ballsy. Turn down the controls though, and you can play very clean.... before you scare your neighbours to shit again...

Pros:

- low bass tone (very tight)
- easy to adapt for different styles
- very full-sounding
- sustain

Cons:

- coil tap ok (not a strat though)

I had this checked by a luthier, who did a great job. Frets needed some work as it had hardly been played, neck adjusted, electrics redone. It could use some more neckwork to even things out.

The headstock is very long! Probably helps the sustain. However there is a problem with this in tuning sometimes (as I use quite heavy strings) on the E and A strings.

Quality of the lacker is fantastic (as new), although it can chip quite easily at the back where the plate is to the electrics.

The nut was replaced, since the old one was overcut in D. Now it's perfect. The binding is Ok, but it's cracked in the length somewhere down the neck... Adds to the charm though.

Overall: very sturdy.

I've played it live and it really cuts through. As I said, it's very sturdy, so I have no problems playing it (even though it's 20 years old).

Once sent Epiphone an email with some questions about the Genesis. They never replied. I don't think too many people know about this guitar...

Anyway it's secondhand...

Wouldn't want to lose it. It looks great, people are always curious...
Best guitar purchase ever!

In 2000, I purchased a Genesis Custom, sunburst finish. According to the Epiphone website, these guitars were in Taiwan from 1979 to 1981. It's based on the Gibson LP with a second cutaway, a pickup switch repositioned near the vol and tone cluster, and substituting a coil tap switch for the second tone control. The Standard Genesis features set-in neck, rosewood fingerboard with dot inlay (22 frets), chrome hardware. The Custom is the same, except features bound rosewood fingerboard with crown inlay. The Deluxe has gold hardware. Body is mahogany. Mine is the sunburst finish. I've seen black and red. Tune-O-Matic bridge has same familiar feel of almost any Gibson. Tuners are nice and smooth (appear to be Schaller) The two Gibson humbucking pickups have a volume pot for each (though the control for the bridge pickup is on the top on mine). There is only one tone control, but who plays with those knobs anyway?

I play Rock 'n Roll from the 60s & 70s and this guitar sounds great on about any song. I use a '75 Twin Reverb (silver face), a Ross (yes Ross) compressor, a DOD FX60 Chorus, and an Ibanez TS7 Tube Screamer. The humbucking pickups prevent any unwanted noise. The combination of pickups and dense wood (this is a heavy guitar) provides some of the smoothest sounds I've heard. And it's all across the spectrum. If you want bite, just switch pickups. More bite? Hit the coil tap. Epiphone's traditionally longer head (about 2" more than most guitars) makes it harder to find a case. I've played a couple of other Genesis' and have noticed a "ping" when tuning the second and third strings. Could be the nut.

Don't know what the factory settings were. I just bought mine a year ago. It was set up with .08 slinky's and a very low action. I took it to a luthier who did a great setup for only $18. Man, it's worth it. I use .10s and sometimes .11s. Can't see any flaws in original workmanship. There are some boo-boos from the previous owner, but that's to be expected. The finish has a tendency to crack around the controls, so be careful if you have to replace anything. I've heard that quality was superb at first, then dropped off. Mine is one of the good ones.

Mount a bridge and tuner to an anvil. Think it would stay in tune? It's not just the dense wood of the body that makes this a heavy guitar. The neck is thick, yet has a luscious feel. This guitar is all Gibson and meant to last a lifetime. I've taken it to gigs and never worried about using something else.

Because I bought it used, warranty doesn't apply in my case. And because it is so much like a LP, I'm confident that any reputable lutiher can maintain it.

I've been playing since 1966 with a leave of absence through the disco years. I own a '65 Gibson SG Special, an Epiphone Dot, a blonde, 2000 American Strat with a maple neck, a Grammer flat top, a Peavy T-60 from the late 70s. I don't want to lose this guitar. I'm playing it more than any of the others. I have another Genesis on the way and will buy more when I can find them. No wait!!! These guitars stink. Forget everything I've said. Don't keep them. Get rid of them. Sell them. (To me)

I got this guitar in seventh grade...so it's probably a 1979 or 1980 model??? I recall hearing it was made in japan.

This is a double cutaway. Imagine a Les Paul with two identically sized cutaways (above and below the neck) and you've got the idea.

Very heavy guitar. Bound neck, not bolt-on. Full gold hardware is starting to fade. I think it is mahagony (?) with a rosewood fretboard.

Thick black finish with white striped edges (mellowing nicely :-) and parallelogram fret board inlays.

Dimarzio super pickups, three way pickup selector, two volume, one tone, and a coil tap switch. The coil tap switch kills any hum problems, "thickens" up the sound, and seems to increase the gain somewhat. I have no idea how or why.

This guitar has the original Dimarzio super humbucking pickups which are VERY bright - bright - bright! I play through a Fender Super Reverb and with the bright switch on, this guitar is unbearably crisp. I have to muddy it up quite a bit to get the sound I like. Having said that - again I've played it for over twenty years - and I think I've grown to love and play music more to this guitar. So I think it sounds awesome.

When I got the guitar, I didn't know what "setup" meant. (Still not entirely sure.)Anyway I've never had it setup and it plays great for me. But after what happened in 1985 (see next section) there is an occasional rattle or buzz.

Durability? Let me tell you about durability...

In 1985 this guitar was dropped ON IT'S HEAD by my college roomate. The drop cracked the headstock down into the neck. I never had it fixed and the guitar stays in tune as well as any other guitar I have. That same year (in the same dorm) I stood up with the guitar cord under my foot and ripped the output jack completely out of the front face of the guitar! (Terrible design flaw.) Since then I have moved the output jack to the lower edge (where it should have been) and covered the busted woodwork with a hand shaped piece of engraving laminate (black surface, white core, like used on trophies or wall plaques.)

As for hardware - the tuners are still tight and silky smooth. I have YET to find a guitar with better tuners.

Everything on this guitar is rock solid - except the stupid idea of putting the output jack right on the face of the guitar!

NA

I've been playing for nearly 25 years - should play better and know more than I do but that's life. If this guitar were lost or stolen I would cry. It was my first "new" guitar, my first solid-body electric, and my biggest vote of confidence from my parents. This guitar could never be replaced. But I would immediately find another one anyhow.