Post by Leonard on Dec 17, 2015 11:08:03 GMT -5
As I've posted over on the Gibson forums, I have recently got hold of a rare Epiphone version of Steve's Everly Brothers guitar (Gibson J-180).
Model No.: SQ 180 Neil Diamond
Year of manufacture: 2000
Place of manufacture: Korea
History: Bought in November 2015. Conversion for left hand together with setup by expert luthier in December 2015. Bridge slightly shaved off to lower the action in general, saddle and nut replaced with lefty, handcrafted triple-A parts. Black dots added to lefty side of neck. Pickguards and guitar strap knob left in their original places.
Sound and performance: clean intonation and low action. A rather tender player but that has, similar to the J-180, an offensive tonal character, with powerful mids being rich in overtones and high sustain. Well-articulated bass tones without much boom however (contrast to FT-79 Texan), producing an overall well-balanced sound between treble, mids, and bass especially when playing with a pick. Ideal for pieces and performances where the vocals take center stage (i.e., Cat Stevens & Co).
Description: Sporting a 1.55"-narrow (!) neck at the nut and a small jumbo body, the SQ-180 is Epiphone's version of the popular J-180 Everly Brothers by Gibson. The SQ 180 Neil Diamond Signature model differs from the standard model (SQ 180/EB) by ways of tone woods used (solid spruce top, maple back and sides), nonstandard saddle construction, finish (black-metallic), pickguard (a pair of two small interconnected diamond-shaped pickguards), fretboard inlays (diamonds), mechanics (Gotoh SG, partly gilt), headstock (Neil Diamond signature).
Photos:
Model No.: SQ 180 Neil Diamond
Year of manufacture: 2000
Place of manufacture: Korea
History: Bought in November 2015. Conversion for left hand together with setup by expert luthier in December 2015. Bridge slightly shaved off to lower the action in general, saddle and nut replaced with lefty, handcrafted triple-A parts. Black dots added to lefty side of neck. Pickguards and guitar strap knob left in their original places.
Sound and performance: clean intonation and low action. A rather tender player but that has, similar to the J-180, an offensive tonal character, with powerful mids being rich in overtones and high sustain. Well-articulated bass tones without much boom however (contrast to FT-79 Texan), producing an overall well-balanced sound between treble, mids, and bass especially when playing with a pick. Ideal for pieces and performances where the vocals take center stage (i.e., Cat Stevens & Co).
Description: Sporting a 1.55"-narrow (!) neck at the nut and a small jumbo body, the SQ-180 is Epiphone's version of the popular J-180 Everly Brothers by Gibson. The SQ 180 Neil Diamond Signature model differs from the standard model (SQ 180/EB) by ways of tone woods used (solid spruce top, maple back and sides), nonstandard saddle construction, finish (black-metallic), pickguard (a pair of two small interconnected diamond-shaped pickguards), fretboard inlays (diamonds), mechanics (Gotoh SG, partly gilt), headstock (Neil Diamond signature).
Photos:
