check it out!There are two new limited edition reissue epiphone wilshires out. The first one is made by the Gibson custom shop in Nashville, limited to 100 pieces, and they want nearly 5K for it - FORGET THAT ONE. Yeah, it is a GREAT guitar a lot like a LP jr - but that price is STUPID. Paying $5 grand for a freeking entry level guitar is nuts. Real Kalamazoo Epi Wilshires from the 60s in good shape can be had in the $2500 range.
The other reissue is a chinese made one, with dual humbuckers, white finish, "batwing" headstock. This is the one I interested in (but no money at the moment). It has a mahogany body and neck, rosewood board, two epi PAF types, two volumes, two tones, tuneomatic (ABR type), block inlays, set neck. It appears to be a screaming deal for $269 including shipping from Musicians Friend. I will likely try to sell something to buy one.
I don't mind doing setup work and changing parts I don't like. I have a mess of pickups at the moment too. This guitar is a lot like the Japanese made Epiphone guitar that was my first "good" guitar that I bought by saving my money. Got it several years old and USED from Goldman's Pawn shop in the 70s. I am pretty sure it was a bolt neck Matsumoku guitar - much like some of the earlier Electras and Univox guitars. I paid around 90 or so bucks for it used in the 70s. It had two humbuckers too, and they were not that good as I recall (hey, I was a kid and it was an early Japanese guitar before the quality greatly improved and reached it's pinnacle).
That guitar is long gone. But I still remember it. It had a bolt-on maple neck, and that "steel reinforced neck - made in japan" bolt on neck plate that they all had back then. It was still a nice guitar, and had VERY LOW action. I put dimarzios in it. It had a weird vibrato bridge on the order of a jazzmaster or something of that nature, and a roller bridge that was not the best. It was 'neck heavy' too because the body was so light. I don't know what the body was - it was painted black.
This Chinese one actually may be a bit better than that one, since it probably has better hardware than the early ones, a mahogany body and neck, and a set neck. It will be better balanced. I expect the pickups will even be better as well. It pains me to recommend a Chinese guitar. But given the price and quality it is a bargain worth considering if you are into cool but different inexpensive guitars. Most electra people will dig that sort of thing. Incidentally, this was made in 2006 for a while, and a red version came out in Canada and Europe in 2007 (I would like one of those). So I think they just buy a batch of them from the Chinese and sell them all, then wait a year and do it again - and call it a limited edition Sounds like a Gibson sort of deal.
