Epiphone J200 EC Studio Acoustic Electric Solid Top, Black

Initially I thought this guitar was somewhat quiet until I played it a second time. It has a rich, warm sound that doesn't have that jingly-bag-of-coinssound every time you hit a D chord (aka high strings area). The neck has quick action & feels similar to an Electric Guitar. Is nice to be able to add effects now to a real acoustic and amplify my sound, which you can easily notice even 5 feet from your amp.The nicest feature I enjoy of this guitar is the tuner. It's as easy as turning on, checking whether your string is too high or low, then pushing the button again to turn it off. The battery will last forever also b/c that's the only time it's used. The 3 different tone settings don't use battery power & can help you with any feedback from your amp, while modifying your tone.My biggest relief is that this guitar still has a decently loud sound despite it's cut-out near the neck & that the high string action doesn't sound changy.A non-electric version of this guitar (EJ-200) has no cut out and plays louder, but this one still compares since the sound is only slightly lower and you get a tuner/tone controls & can plug it into an amp.Pay attention to the bridge too. If you're looking for that EJ-200 and see that the bridge doesn't have the mustache design, it's not the same or as good. This guitar's mustache bridge with faux-bone inlays & pop-out string pegs add to this guitar's authenticity to it's sister Gibson J-200 guitar. It's a pain in the wallet to knock out $400 for this, but I'll do it for the guitar I want that will be with me for life. It was also shipped securely and the guitar was tied down nicely. Save the Epiphone box if you don't have a jumbo case & rest assured that your guitar will get to you safely.Buy this guitar!

Bottom line: Do you want to spend 4 grand on a Gibson J-200? You wouldn't be shopping on Amazon if you did. This is the next best thing for 1/10th the price - you will not find anything comparable at 400 dollar price point. Build quality is very high (crown inlays, mustache bridge, Grover tuners), finish is beautiful, and feel is excellent. Comes set up from factory with D'addario phosphor bronze lights. Have heard mixed things about electronics, but I find they are very rich in sound and you can plug in stereo and bi-amp it like an old Rickenbacker bass with two 15 watt amps. Big enough sound for any coffee house. Don't think it needs the cutaway, but you can't get it any other way. When they say it's guaranteed, they mean it - first one I bought had a twisted neck; they replaced it with brand new one in a couple of weeks. Highly recommended.

Got this beautiful guitar less than a month ago and played a couple of solo acoustic gigs. People were wowed by the way the sound of this guitar fills the space ( I played it through a Bose tower). Loved the feel of the fretboard. Though the body is a jumbo, it doesn't feel like a dreadnought. The guitar looks very attractive too and I had one person come over during a break just to admire the guitar. So now here's why I have given it 4 stars. The electronics were faulty on my guitar. The tuner switch didn't turn off automatically after I hit them to tune the guitar. The light stayed on till the batteries were drained out. This happened twice to me after which I decided to send it back. I also noticed a big hum building up during my second gig with the guitar - I moved my speaker away a bit and it went away but for the rest of the night I kept worrying if the hum was going to come back. There is a phase switch on the panel that's supposed to make it go away, haven't tried it to see if it works. The hum took me by surprise and I coudn't think straight right at that moment. I wonder if anyone else has had the kind of problems I have had with the electronics. The electronics panel requires coin batteries and it's a little awkward to slip them into the slot provided. The coins kept falling out of the holding clip. The guitars are made in Indonesia but I expect that the factory inspections will ensure that it all works properly before it's shipped out. Despite the hassle with the electronics, I like the guitar well enough that I have asked them to send me a replacement.

This is a high quality guitar for a reasonable price. The guitar and the case were delivered almost a week earlier than scheduled. The packaging was enough to through them off a cliff without a scratch. I have two other guitars that have be tuned very frequently, but this guitar has been holidng its tune for almost a month. The sound is warm, clear, and powerful enough to play without an amp. The majority of the one star reviews seem to be from 2 or 3 years ago and it seems that Epiphone made some drastic improvement since. I would give this guitar another chance.

I bought this know the reputation of Epiphone but I have had this guitar for 1 year and the sound is terrible. The high strings buzz but the 3 lower strings are fine. It appears that the neck is bowed in the middle. I tried to adjust the truss rod to no avail. I will have a repair shop take a look but I am not very happy at this point.

She is a beauty and plays as sweet as she sounds. I played it right out of the box without any major adjustments. The plug-in electric sound from the two pickups is a high-point - sounds fantastic. The action is nice and the fretboard feels almost as playable as an electric with the narrower neck. The only downside for me personally would be the size - I've never played a jumbo before and it's a little awkward at first. No regrets though - I have other acoustics that provide the more "normal" comfortable playing, so this jumbo provides that extra bottom-end and fuller sound that I can't get from the others. If this will be your only acoustic instrument, I highly recommend trying it out at a local guitar store before ordering to make sure it fits your needs. Overall, I love the guitar.