Epiphone Korina Moderne

All of the features have been listed by other reviews.
Korina wood body, clear, glossy finish. Gold hardware. Black speed knobs. Electrical body cavity is sheilded with black sheilding paint. Soldering is great - no cold solder joints.

I play a lot of different styles, but I love using this guitar for a classic rock sound. I've plugged this guitar into a fender champ, pignose, straight into a mixer for live sound (I don't recommend this), direct into a Boss BR1600 recorder, but when playing out I mostly plug into a Fender M80 with a Mesa Boogie V-Twin pedal.

This guitar is quiet when plugged in and not played (no hum - humbuckers). It has a great sound on all settings. The bridge pick-up has a great ringing sound while the bridge has plenty of bass. My favorite position is both pick-ups because it is very well balanced. With a little experimentation one can go from a driving classic rock sound to a more mellow jazzy sound.

There is nothing about the sound of this guitar that I do not like.

The action, fit and finish has been great since day one. Only recently have I had problems but this is only because I've moved to Colorado and it is extremely dry here and the guitar was not used to such a large climate change.

The frets are smooth - no sharp edges. The pickups came with the right height. I have no idea if the music store set it up before my purchase.

My only complaints are the G string pings sometimes when tuning. I've not taken the time to pin-point the problem, but to me this is a minor issue. The other issue is that it does hang rather awkwardly using a strap. I wrap the strap around the top of the "wing" and this helps with balance and feel. Again, this is a minor issue.

This guitar has held up with some live playing. I don't play out a whole lot any longer. However, I puchased this while I was in the military and it has held up during multiple moves.

I have used this on a gig with this being my only guitar and I wouldn't hesitate using it again.

I have never had to call/email Epiphone.
I believe the warranty is 1 year.

I've been playing and/or teaching for 30 plus years. I own a Gibson Les Paul, SRV strat, DeArmond hollow body, a Strat I pieced together, and a few acoustic guitars.

I would be angry if this guitar were lost or stolen and I would try and replace it. I've always wanted a Moderne guitar, but since the original Gibsons are expensive collector guitars I know I'll never have one. When I found this, I knew I had to have this guitar even if it didn't play well - it would make great wall art. However, it plays GREAT!!

As others have said - this guitar turns heads and makes for great conversation starters.

I wish it came with a case and I cannot seem to locate one. Epi's web site is no help in this matter either.

Korina moderne made in Korea 2000 only 300 copies.
The factory was the nr. 1 choice for Gibson, awarded by Gibson.
License Gibson parts.
Today the factory builds Shine guitars.

I play hard rock and the moderne is solid like a les paul-explorer.
I play it with a marshall combo.
Rich full humbucking sound great on clean and full distortion.
It's singing like a lespaul on rhytm pickup (solo)

Some adjustment are needed, factory setting=almost non.
Needs the usual setup for guitars not adjusted yet by a guitar tech.
Very well built almost as good as original Gibson.

Yes it will manage live studio anything.
Surely a main guitar.
Finish is great.

not yet

I been playing for over 30 years I have 2 strats, it's no Fenders. 1 Marshall combo.
If it where stolen I would try to buy either a Gibson or Epihone, right now it's one Epi moderne for sale at E-bay.
I love it, it's a dream come true for me. I wanted one for many years.

I got the Moderne from a lokal store here in Oslo, Norway 3years ago on sale for about 300 usd. It is made of korina (some kind of african mahogny), and has a set in neck with 22 vintage sice frets, gold hardwear, 2 humbuckers, and a tunomatic style hardtail bridge. The pickups are made in the far east, but designed by Gibson, and it has got vintage kluson style tuners. Looks realy nice and classic. A bit like a dissabled flying V.

This guitar sounds great. I play mostly 70-80s hard rock/ metall, and some blues, and its sound sits between an SG and a LesPaul. I did change out the bridge pickup with a Gibson 498T pickup, and that made it sound even better, but overall it sounded realy god as it was as well. I play it thru my Marshal tube halfstack, or my POD2, and it sounds better than my 73 SG, and my 79 Strat, and they are not half bad either.

This guitar is realy well built, but the setup was realy bad. I had to dress and recrown the frets to get the action down to where i wanted it, and adjust the trusrod. It had a huge relief to compensate for 2 proud frets in the middle of the neck. I allso did some work on the nut to get on a set of 10-56 guage strings, and intonated it, and it has been perfect ever since. The pickup selector stopped working after 10 min, so I put in one from alparts, but apart from that I have had no problems. Now it plays as well as my friends 2002 Gibson LesPaul, so I am happy.

After a propper setupp, the only thing that has failed is the pickup switch, and that was 3 years ago. I have used the guitar a lot, and only cleaned it, lubricated the nut, and changed strings, and it has been totaly reliable. It allso still look brand new, but I treat all my guitars well, so I would not expect anything else. The finish seem to be as good as on my SG, and a lot better than my 79 Fender strat.( it fell of during the 80s ) The gold on the bridge were I rest my hand is slightly discolored, but the rest looks as good as the goldcower on my Gibson bridge pickupp, so it seems a lot better than on older guitars with gold hardwear. I would not play a gig without a backup with any guitar, but I think this guitar is totaly reliable.

The sticker on the guitar sed Limited lifetime Warranty, but I would not expect more than the 2 years warranty I have from the shop according to Norwegian trading laws. When I told the shop about the pickup switch they gave me 2 new ones, and said they used to fail, so I used one from Allparts instead, and dumped the 2 epiphone branded ones in the trash.

I have been playing guitar for more than 25 years, and had a lot of guitars, and I think that with the work I have done on the guitar I have got a great looking wery unusual guitar that plays and sounds as good as a Gibson 76 Explorer for a fraction of the price. If it got stolen, I would replace it if I could, but I think it would be realy difficult. I spoke to the Swedish company that imports them, and they said it had been sold only 14 in Scandinavia, and less than 100 in all of Europe, So I would probably do the same modifications to a secondhand Epiphone korina Explorer or Flying V instead, since they are easy to get, and dirt cheap. I think these Epiphone guitars are great walue for your money, and they are stil cheap if you have to have them set up by a pro, witch is something even expensive guitars can benefit from.

2001, Korea, 22 frets, 2 volume, 1 tone, IDK what pickups they are but they look like the standards on les pauls, passive elec, nothing looks more kickass than korina, Tune-O-Matic w/ a stop, Pretty crappy tuners (wish i could replace em but i feel the overall look would be destroyed if i did), If anyone knows a case that fits this please help! Right now i use a Kase bass gig bag (seriously, finding a case for this is murder)

I play a variety of music, and it seems to pull that off pretty well (it tends to go in a more bluesy direction). I use it with some crappy crate amp but it seems to run on that pretty well. it can get really bassy so dont go insane when setting the EQ, and it didnt handle too well on the high distortion.

Put all that aside and listen to this: this guitar has such a nice tone on clean, that i wouldnt really reccomend using alot of distortion because its just soo great on a low dist setting.

I got it used and i can tell this guy didnt take too much care to the setup. The finish was flawless and everything was fine except the buzzing. i just brought it in for a setup and now its perfect, im pretty sure the buzzing was from a bent neck not a low action, but i dont care, i dont mind a high action anyways

of course the gold will fade, but it looks soo nice w/ the gold hardware that its worth it. the wood actually seems pretty solid but its the finish im worried about. it looks as if it'll last.

Didnt have to talk to em, and idk if the warranty applies to me because i got it used

Great looks
Great sound
Great quality
Great value
And limited made
=great guitar

if it were stolen or lost, i would try to get it again, but i would really like to get the gibson.

Its seriously a great guitar for looks and it also has a unique sound added in.

If anyone can tell me A CASE THAT FITS IT, or TUNERS THAT LOOK EXACTLY THE SAME BUT ARENTY WEAK i would GREATLY (and i cant exagerate that enough) appreciate it!


And coz everyone seems to do this...i also have an epiphone zakk wylde custom les paul, and a shitty epi sg 310 (i basicly use it for experementing), plus a decent epi pr-160 acustic

Epiphone Korina Moderne - Mfg. in 2000 in Korea. 22 frets. Solid Korina wood. 2 volume, one tone control. 2 Humbuckers(Gibson, I think).Gibson style tune-o-matic bridge and stop tailpiece. Kluson style tuners. I wasn't sure what to rate the features but the essentials are all there.

Suits what I play fine: Hard rock,pop, punkish stuff. Play through a Peavey trans tube amp. Has 200 watts and cost $200. That's about a dollar a watt.Can you say "Turn that thing down?"!!!!Guitar is not noisey at all. That's why man invented the humbucker. Sound is very lively with lots of color. Only dislike: Fairly muddy bottom notes-but I expected that.Great sound anyway, overall.

Factory adjustment was average. Had to adjust truss rod, raise bridge.When finished, I got rid of the buzzing, but the action then ends up a little higher than I like. Just a tiny bit. But no big deal. Workmanship is excellent except for 2 things. The neck pickup isn't at the same angle as the pickup ring (it's supposed to tilt downwards toward the neck.Probably caused by the pickup hitting the wood in the routed pickup cavity). No big deal. Also the neck strap button is a little crooked. Once again, no big deal.

I've only had for a few months, so it's hard to tell how it will last. I don't like gold plated stuff. Depending on your acidity, gold plating doesn't seem to last. Just look at a vintage Gibson Les Paul SG Custom and it's usually pretty crummy looking. So I just try to keep it clean and hope for the best. As for a backup, you'd always want one.

The only time I contacted Epiphone was to ask how many of these Moderne guitars were made. The answer: They didn't know. Would they be able to find out? NO. They don't give out that information. I guess it's a state secret. I guess it doesn't matter anyway cause all I know is that I got one and I certainly don't regret it! Maybe mine's the only one ever made and the few you see on e-bay are cardboard air guitars!!!That MUST be it!!! I was going to rate this category at 1 but I don't think it's fair to bring the overall rating down for this guitar just because of some knucklehead.Therefore.....

I've played about 15 years. I have a De Armond Jetstar(fabulous), 1965 Guild Polara,2 guitars I built, and am getting a Burns Bison in a week. I would replace if stolen. What do I love?The Sound, the color (a radiant golden yellow) the style. This a guitar I wouldn't part with. Ilove rare guitars and thanks to Epiphone I got a version of the rarest model ever made or NOT made, however you look at it.

2000? Korean "re-introduction" of the 1958 Gibson Moderne. Pickups and electronics as noted elsewhere. Korina body with what looks to me like a maple neck with a scarf-jointed headstock. 22 fairly flat jumbo frets. Tune-o-matic bridge with the larger posts (good thing). No case available from Epiphone (found an ESP LTD V case that works). Build quality is noticably better than many Epiphones I've checked out.

I'd have to agree with Steve on this one. Mid-rangey and good for Brit blues, Southern rock, etc. Not quite as much sustain as a LP but very useable (a lttle compression helps). Ever notice how on most two humbucker guitars the middle position gives a somewhat un-focused and thinner sound? Not on this quitar, it sounds very good and I think it may have something to do with the location of the bridge pickup. It is further away from the bridge than normal and I think results in a more in-phase sound with the neck pickup. I mean in-phase string vibrationwise not electronically. At least that' my theory.

Everything was fine except for the intonation which was easily adjusted. Neck strap post was off-angle a bit. Neck joint was tight and the finish where the body meets the neck was nice and not overly applied (this is the first place I look for sloppy finish work).

I would not use any guitar at a paying gig without a backup, period. That said, this guitar will most likely survive most situations. Remember that a considerable amount of real estate is hanging past your right elbow. Your bass player will thank you when you take that into consideration.

Also, a couple of other things to note. I replaced the stock tuners with the Gibson/Grover diecast jobs. This require enlarging the holes a bit (DO NOT use a drill, a rat-tail wood file works fine and you won't split the headstock) and the locating hole on the tuners lines up exactly with the hole that you made when take the old tuners off. When I was filing the holes I noticed that the headstock black color extended into the hole and stayed black after I filed it. Apparently this is a plastic veneer over the headstock wood. This would explain how seemlessy the Epiphone logo blends into the headstock. This is the first time I've seen this done, I don't know if it's a bad thing but I will be checking for separation down the road.

Otherwise, this is very good value for the money (if you can hang with such a funky looking design). Sound-wise, it is very close to my Les Paul, which set me back 1039 clams (yes I know I spent to much and yes, I am still kicking myself in the butt for spending the extra money just to see "Gibson" on the headstock.)

N/A

Playing 20+ years. Other equipment includes a Gibson LP Studio DC, an Ibanez GAX70, a Warmoth LPS homebuilt, Fender Frontman 25R, Mesa Rocket 44, and two Crate GX15 amps (don't ask).

The model reviewed was purchased in March 2001; probably built in 2000. The stuff already mentioned: Korina (a type of poplar, I believe) body and neck, w/natural finish, set neck, 22 frets, rosewood fretboard, all gold hardware: 2 Gibson humbuckers, stoptail, 3-way toggle, 2 volume, 1 tone control.
The tuners are vintage Gibson-style, and these have always been problematic (even originals) unless handled with care...

I have always wanted a Gibson "other" model, having owned Les Pauls, SGs, and various hollowbodies - Flying Vs never really did it for me, and older Explorers and Firebirds were always out of my price range or in awful condition. So, when i saw this low-priced knock-off, I thought I'd give it a whirl. Results:
I immediately felt like playing nasty, slow-note blues with bends and vibrato galore - I felt like the spirit of Eric Clapton (circa early-Cream) was gnawing at me.
I also play jazz and more "fusion-like" rock stuff, but the sound and feel of this guitar seemed to demand British blues!
Since this guitar came with a Danelectro "Nifty-Fifty" small (15-watt) amp, designed to look and sound like a vintage practice amp, I first played it through that. I expected to be underwhelmed - wrong!
The amp aside (thoroughly deserving of a rave review of its own), the guitar delivered more sound than I expected for the price and pedigree (or lack of one). Smooth and "creamy" in the bass (neck) pickup, crunchy and clean in the treble (bridge) position, and a nice combo in the middle.
Played through a 1982 Marshall JCM 800 (2x12") 50-watt combo, this guitar still maintained its integrity at low and high volumes - no resophonic squeals, or mid-range feedback one might expect from economically-priced guitars. It stood its ground (soundwise) against a '69 SG Custom and a '78 Les Paul.

Everything on this guitar was set up just fine - I'm not sure if this was done at the factory or at the store I purchased it from, but aside from lowering the action a bit (a cinch - neck is true and no fret buzzing occurred w/.010s on board), I have no complaints. In comparison, I picked up a couple of similarlarly priced "shredder"- type guitars - gorgeous wood, etc. - and found the necks awful! The neck on the guitar I purchased (which I chose from among four of the same model - none "awful") is a comfortable less "perfect" version of a standard Gibson neck - fairly ft and rounded, slightly curved fretboard, with an excellent finish on the neck (back). Fretboard is decent rosewood, nothing to write home about, but definitely quality insofar as density and grain.
All around, fit is excellent, wood components are well-matched (I did have the luxury of choosing), hardware is fine!

I have owned (and played) over fifty guitars in my lifetime, and am quite conscientious regarding the "care and feeding" of my instruments. Therefore, I cannot imagine anything short of dropping this guitar that would inhibit its longevity.
(I must mention here that, due to the extreme angle of the 3rd and 4th string poles at the top of the Gumby-inspired headstock, string longevity for those two could be a potential problem.)

It came with a "Limited Lifetime Warranty", which I assume means that standard parts (tuning pegs, pick-ups, etc.) would be replaced. I have never had to return a "defective guitar".

I have been playing for over thirty years now, many of those semi-professionally (part-time income) and some of those "pro" (full-time, recording, etc.) I currently own about thirty instruments of different makes and functions, and have a small home studio. Amps range from vintage stuff to newer "modeling" amps. I tend to prefer vintage effects, and old-fashioned sound-shaping.
This particular guitar fit my desire (I hesitate to say "need") for a low-cost vintage Gibson sound-alike to a "tee" - unlike a previous reviewer, I believe I received more guitar than I paid for, and I would purchase another Epiphone in a heartbeat (given the opportunity to try out the guitar first, again). I also own two Fender Stratocasters which were Hecho En Mexico priced similarly to the Moderne, and although I like those, I compare the Epiphone Moderne I own quite favorably, due to all the attributes mentioned previously in this review.

The new Korina Moderne model is the latest offering in the 1958 Korina Replica series from Epiphone. They are not "Reissues" because Epiphone never issued them in the first place. Couple o' pickups, volume, tone, wood, metal, plastic... the usual fare. I hate their crappy electronics, fretjobs, plastic nuts, and more.

These korina guitars tend to sound good, barring the pickups and electronics which are more often than not, crapola. Depending how poor the one you try out was made, some sound a bit better than others. Generally, nice fat slicey tone on the neck, and a thick slicey tone at the bridge. If I were to buy one simply based on the looks and tone of these guitars, I'd be happy. BUT read on my friends...

Setup? These guitars have no setup. They're barely playable out of the box. Epiphone is so cheap that they can't even spend another two bucks and give you a real bone nut, like on Fender's Mexican guitars which are ALOT cheaper. Instead you get that stupid piece of plastic there, which I've even seen on their $700. guitars- how ludicrous! Can you imagine paying seven or eight hundred bucks for a Strat and getting a plastic nut with it? Almost every Epiphone guitar LOOKS real snazzy. That's what gets you to buy them, and that's what you're really paying for. Infact, I've been shopping for a '58 Korina V for over a year now that's good enough to play live with, but the quality's just not there. You COULD say, "well what do you expect for $600.?"(that's what they cost with the case). I think you could expect alot more for the money- WAY more. Take a look at those flying V's- it's even hard to find one that's got the input jack-plate screwed on straight- how hard is it to just center it on the guitar before screwing it on? Gimme a break!

Poor quality thru and thru. The korinas are very light guitars, and the wood is very soft; if you whack it a little bit, it's gonna dent. The electronics are usually poor: microphonic pickups, scratchy pots (some don't even work at all), and the worst fret jobs I've ever seen on ANY guitar in ANY pricerange. Some of the finishes are even sloppy. My poor music retailer's had a bran-new V at his store for a year now, and he can't sell it because the neck is so warped and the frets are rising out of the fingerboard. He can't even fix it.

I ordered a bran-spankin'-new korina Explorer from them last year. It took 7 weeks to finally arrive. I went to the music store to pick it up, and when I got there I took it out of the case and it was gorgeous. But, as soon as I started to plink the strings, the frets were cutting into my hand, and the first 9 frets were not seated into the wood all the way. We called Epiphone, and they were very considerate, but they said it would be about two months to get me a replacement because they were backlogged. I was like, "hey man, why don't you take care of ME first since I already paid you 2 months ago?!" So, the guitar went back, I got my money back, and that was the end of it.

I've been playing since before Noah built the Ark. I've owned more guitars than I can count. I also do repair work, which includes everything except fretwork. I currently play Gibsons, Fenders, and Alvarez acoustics, and I play professionally. I know a good guitar and I know a bad one. Epiphone guitars in my opinion, are among the poorest quality guitars in the pricerange. I've spent alot of time lately comparing them to Fender's Mexican guitars. To me the Epiphones looks are all that they have going for them. For the price of a korina model or their Les Paul model and a case, you can get TWO nice Mexican Fender guitars with a "real" headstock, not some dopey-looking thing like on the Epiphone "Gibson" line. You won't see too many bad reviews on the Epi's because everyone who buys one is so happy about their new purchase, they just have to get on Harmony Central and tell the world. But, you wont see any REAL pro's using them, just come-and-go's like "Everclear". My opinion is, buy a Mexican Fender and a combo for the same cash as one Epi guitar, or save your money for an even better Fender or Gibson.

'58 reissue sharkfin shaped body, korina body and neck, natural finish, set neck, 22 frets, rosewood board, 2 humbuckers, stoptail, 3way toggle, 2 volume, 1 tone, gold hardware.

This is a reissue of the (in)famous Gibson Moderne - which was designed in 1958 along with the Flying V and Explorer. Thought to be ugly by some, this guitar never saw "real" production until 1983, when gibson reissued it. Made for only about one year, this design was only available to those with money ($2K will get you an '83 model) until 2001, when Gibson launched the Moderne again but this time under the Epiphone name.

Made in Korea, set up in the USA, and has "limited edition" on the back of the headstock.

The top half is flying V, while the bottom half is a long curve, with a cutaway. Sits on your knee, unlike the flying V. Headstock is a large oddball shape, with center posts to direct the strings to the tuners.

I gave it a "7" b/c the guitar has some nice features (set neck, gold hardware, etc), but is designed to be more vintage. (ie, no locking tuners, drop-d tuner, fancy inlays, quilt top, etc)

I play mostly rock and blues. This guitar fits right in. It kinda has a V sound to it. Double humbuckers with a stop tail on korina. Not bright like a LP, and not overpowerful either. Slightly muddy (with current pickups) and "warm and jangly". Set up with 9's, which feel very light. Once I lower the action a tad, raise the pickups, and string up some 10's this guitar should sound like a V, but maybe a touch less sustain.

I'm playing it through a Line6 Flextone - so I can get just about any sound out of the amp.

Rating "8" - hey, it sounds pretty damn good but it ain't no PRS.

Fit and finish is ok. Action is a tad high and intonation out a bit on the E and A strings by the 15th fret+. Set up with 9's, which feel so light on this 24.75" scale, that it needs 10's for my taste. Bridge pickup was a bit low, but within tollerance. Some gunk on the freboard past the 22nd fret came off with some rubbing but left an odd indentation in the wood. Frets themselves are well dressed, but not as meaty as I'd like them to be.

Rating "7" b/c of the gunk stuff, intonation, and action - but that's a critical judegment. Most epi buyers aren't expecting 100% perfect setup. (Set up was done in the USA by Gibson, as per sticker on back of headstock).

Just got it, so I can't say how it will hold up - but everything on it seems to be solid. Hardware seems of good quality, though the gold finish has been known to wear. Frets seem a bit "meatless" so after a couple years of playing, might need to be refretted.

I don't gig now, but if I did - I'd bring a backup no matter what guitar I was using as my main. Nothing on this guitar indicates it will "crap-out" during a performance though.

Rating "8" - looks good now, but unsure how the years will treat it.

Never dealt with Epiphone before, but I don't expect much trouble from them. They're not going to give you the individual attention as some smaller makers, but I also bought it through a large chain store, so if anything goes wrong with it, I'll take it back.

Not sure how long the warranty is - I guess as long as the other Epis. It didn't come with any of that info.

Additional Comments:
The guitar was on sale and also come with a free Danelectro "Nifty Fifty" guitar amp. A deal I couldn't pass up. What it didn't come with was a case - and that's where I figured the store would make some money on me, by making me pay $150 for a case. Well, it was worse than that. They were shipped without cases, and b/c of the odd design, didn't fit into any "standard" cases they had. So, I took it out of the store in a rain/sleet storm wrapped in 2 plastic bags. If you're gonna buy one, bring or buy a gig bag for this axe.

My credentials:
I've been playing for about 13 years now. I currently own 2 G&L ASATs, a Fender foto-finish tele, a Gibson LP Special w/P90s, a '75 Ibanez LP, a Roland G707 synth guitar, a Carvin V220T, a couple Urchins, and some others laying around I've forgotten about. This Epi is of decent quality, almost up there with the 70's japan copies by Ibanez, but this one is new.

I'm a big fan of this guitar, but never was able to afford one. Now thanks to Epiphone and guitar superstores, I'm able to buy a guitar that looks like the original. I think Epiphone has it's place - where people can buy Les Pauls with flame tops, Flying V's and Explorers and not pay out the nose for one. The added bonus on this Moderne is that they used the original headstock, unlike all other Epi models. Now I might get the '58 Korina Epi V to compliment it.