Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Just bought a Epiphone EJ-160E John Lennon signature. Attractive guitar, feels good sounds good, although I have not played a Gibson J-160E so I can't compare, but for the price I'm pleased. It was made in China, for some reason I had thought it was MIK like my Casino

That's an interesting question....does $1000 get you that much difference between the EJ-160E vs. the J-160E?

I have a 1999 standard J-160 E with spruce top and P-100. It is a far superior guitar than the Epi J-160E I had for a couple of years. The frets and workmanship were terrible on the Epi even though it was brand new. it became a better guitar after I had the frets redressed. The neck on the Gibson and the overall build quality were definitely worth the $1200 I paid for it. I also added a Fishman Piezo under saddle pickup. It's a great guitar. Lots of Beatle nerds prefer the laminated top, ladder braced Lennon model, but I find the solid top makes it a better acoustic.

"... New Hofners are built just like they've always been built"

So are they going to need a neck reset in 15 years?

Word.

My V62 is three years old and already needs a reset! Bridge is maximum down, and the action's still a bit high from the 12th fret up for my liking.

The luthier I use shaved the bottom of the bridge both on the upper and lower pieces as well as shortening the metal piece the thumbwheels are on (very minor cut) and it really did the trick on my Cavern reissue. She did the same on the President bass I recently picked up and it was a very inexpensive fix.

Did the same to my '94 Music Ground Cavern too! Already drilled deeper holes for the adjustment studs on the V62. Of course the shaving of the bridge halves is next. But, she did leave the factory with not enough neck angle for sure. Slipped by QC for sure. Not really fair when you figure the steep asking price.