Epiphone Masterbilt DR-500R

Got the satin finish, love it. Solid spruce top and rosewood body. Love it.
The case is a LOT better than I expected. Way beyond a gig bag, damn near a hard case. Tuners stay in tune, 'nuff said. I like the way they look (gold).

On acoustic, I like blues, (Stones, Black Crowes),Irish folk (Clancy Brothers) American folk (Seeger, Dylan), and bluegrass (Flatt and Scruggs, Allison Krauss, Ricky Scaggs). I find it delivers, strumming or flat picking. It's very, very responsive, and for the price, you will not find an acoustic with a better sound, never, ever!

I bought this used (but it was mint, with unused guarantee form) so I don't know how it came from the factory. The action was set low, I like it, but there was some buzzing, so it will visit the shop.
The construction really looks solid, the finish, fret work, purfling,
etc., was outstanding. For this price, nuts! (Is it just me, I've had a few Epiphones, and they all seem to have great construction and finishes?)

It seems pretty solid, time will tell. Had it for a month.
The construction looks excellent on the inside and out.
As for the finish, I really have no experience with a satin finish, but hey, wear is wear. Tuners are pretty solid.

E-mailed them with a question about the serial # designation of the model I was buying off E-bay, got a response that answered my question within 24 hours.

Started playing at 13 and I'm 53 now. Have owned and played quite a few guitars. Mostly for my own enjoyment, but have gigged a handfull of times with some pro friends down here in New Orleans. For the most part, I play electric. I have a Telecaster clone made by Jim Dicola many years ago(it plays like butter, baby),sold to me buy his friend in the Cocktail Doctors, (a hot surf band in NJ) an Epiphone Les Paul, (lost my '76 Gibson Les Paul Custom, don't ask, too painful). Any way, I digress.
I really love this guitar. It sounds that good. I picked this one for the solid rosewood body.
Wish I had got the pick-up. Really, really wish I had the electric pick-up version.

Full binding, Rosewood back and sides, Solid Sitka Spruce Top, Gold open Waverly style tuners, no electronics

The case is a very high quality "gig bag", it has a rigid structure making it almost like a hardcase with padding on the outside. It also has a built in hygrometer for monitoring humidity

What it does have is quality

Fantastic. This guitar's original strings were not to my liking so I switched them to Elixer NanoWebs which helped quite a bit. The rosewood body helps with fantastic bass responce but still retains a sparkley top end. The nice highs make this a fair guitar for light playing, but it really opens up nice when pushed hard. This is a LOUD guitar. The more you put into it the more it opens up. If you are into the D28 sound, this is it, only the top end is a little more clear making lighter playing more pleasing, the D28 has a bigger, rounder tone. Think of this as a happy medium between a Gibson J45 and Martin D28.

This plays better than any Gibson or Martin I've tried. The action was setup nice and low making the jump from electric to acoustic very easy. The neck is fairly thin and not at all wide. I could not find a flaw anywhere on the guitar.

The hygrometer in my case was broken. The glass was cracked, but it seems to be working fine. I was a bit bummed by it though.

I only play it in my home so I will not weigh in.

Don't know

A fantastic value. There are no other guitars in this price range that are even close. I mostly play electric but when I needed an acoustic I spent alot of time playing different instruments around the NYC area. I was looking at things in the 1500 to 2000 dollar price range and when I came across this guitar I knew I was done looking, nothing had the tonal balance or playablity of this guitar.

Mine was a new 21-fret DR-500R with solid sitka spruce top and solid rosewood back and sides, with the natural satin finish. Also has open-back grover tuners. This guitar has a great vintage feel, and all the appointments including the mother of pearl inlays on the headstock and split-diamond fretboard inlays help to clarify this. This is a remake of the original Epiphones that were made before the company was bought by Gibson, and the quality of the instrument is reflected by the same or higher standard of excellence. Only gets a 9 because it doesn't have a pickup.

This guitar has HUGE sound. If you pick hard, it bellows back at you. If you are fingering some soft notes, the guitar whispers soulfully. It is very responsive and is perfect for my folk, blues, and southern rock endeavors. It has a very rich, full sound with very defined and true bass resonating on all frequencies while not ignoring the mid and upper registers. It definitely has a very balanced sound, but each note is incredibly well defined. It has been called an "open" sound by many. Frankly, I love it. Gets a 10 becuase in this price bracket you can't ask for anything more.

The action from the factory was (and is, I need to get it set up) a little funky. The upper strings buzz around the 9th fret and the lower when played open. Just needs to be adjusted, but this may all be because it has a very LOW action which has a tendency to buzz when you really slam on it. The top is carefully bookmatched, the tuners are perfect, and the finish is consistent and does not hide any weird glue or manufacturing defects. I did find a small crack in the back of the instrument, near the neck joint, about 1.5 inches long, but this was apparently inflicted en route from the factory. a 10 for vintage excellence

THis guitar will withstand anything you throw it at, or break anything you throw at it. The hardware is very durable, and the finish while thin is very easy to clean and does not seem very susceptible to scratches. The strap button on the bottom (the only one) is very durable, and I plan to use this as my "playing" guitar in gigs and to learn new material for myself. A 9 for not being american made.

Epiphone was excellent with the warranty stuff. When I brought up the fact that I had a crack in the back, the music store where I got it from said it was not a big deal because if I were to call epiphone they would gladly replace my guitar. This guitar is guaranteed for its lifetime against "Defects in workmanship" from epiphone, and they would not give this warranty if they did not think that it would be worth it for them. A 10 for unlimited potential.

I have been playing for 5 years, mostly electrics. Before that I was a brass player in the school band, so my experience in musical quality runs pretty deep. I researched for about a month before buying this guitar, and I considered getting a 300-series Taylor or a Martin DM. This one really did have the edge on both of them... I love the shining, beautiful tone that comes out of this instrument and am still impressed by the incredible style that was put into its design. I am really proud of it, and the only thing I wish were better is the action, which is too buzzy. I do wish it had a pickup, but I've tried it miked up and it sounds GREAT! I chose this because of its incredible sound for such a low price, and because I have zero respect for Martin and Taylor's attempts to juice musicians dry for quality that can be had at a lower price. IF you're looking for a great entry-level professional guitar, this is a great choice for gigs and recording, provided you like the vintage look. I wanted to give it a 9.5, becuase of course it isn't perfect, but here's a 10, because it deserves the benefit of the doubt.

2004/05
Made in China, Set up and Finishing work USA
21 frets - 14 to the body
Solid sitka spruce top
Solid East Indian rosewood back and sides, solid mahogany neck
multi-layer top binding, along with back neck and headstock binding
Satin finish, very vintage look
Grover sta-tite Open back 18:1 ratio, Waverly knock offs, excellent tuners
East Indian fretboard with mother of pearl snowflake inlays, the fret work is FLAWLESS, Bone nut and Ebony Bridge
Includes a really nice case with a humidity gage

I play blues and folk fingerstyle, this guitar has smooth yet punchy bass likely from the solid rosewood body, yet has very accurate crisp highs, and the mids have round bold resonance. Perfect sound for what I play, however this guitar would do very well with country, bluegrass, and rock, not suitable for pop leads

the set-up is as good if not better than a guitar i had costume made to my liking.
the action is low, but not too low there is absolutely NO fret buzz.
The contruction is remarkable, if you didn't know any better you really would think this was a USA handmade guitar. bookmatching is done extremely well the woods are very fine, no glue or finish mistakes, the satin finish you will either love or hate, me i personally love it, it makes it look more like wood and less like plastic, which is especially the case with most over seas manufactured guitars. the binding isnt outstanding but its good, its especially good on the body. This guitar really is well done, you absolutely cant do better for the money!

I have only had the guitar 2 days, it seems sturdy but i wrote a review on a washburn about 9 months ago that seemed pretty sturdy as well and a few months the neck curled like a bannana... so ill give it a year and do a follow up...
But if i had to say something now it seems solid, the finish might be pretty sensitive however being that it is satin and naturally thin

the parts and constrcution is garunteed for life, i also bumped up the warranty for 40 bucks through the guitar center so pretty much everything is covered as long as i dont do it.

ive been playing for about 7 years now, this i 5th guitar i have owned (including an electric) and so far it is the guitar i am most pleased by after purchasing. Its sound very closely resembles a martin with its rich bass and round middles and crisp accurate highs, for 600 you really cant beat it, its 1/3 the cost of a d28 and the sound can rival it in several ways. Provided this guitar stands up to the test of time, i can only imagine it will improve with age as do most solid tonewood guitars do. If your looking for a guitar withen the 500-800 dollar range serioulsy look no further, and even if you looking for soemthing in the 1000-1500 range you might want to play this first and save yourself a few bucks.