A secret of the Epiphone Prophecy Les Paul hiding in plain sight
There is something about the Epiphone Prophecy Les Paul that's right in front of your face, and you probably didn't even notice it.
Sometimes there is a legitimate reason the Epiphone Les Paul is in fact a better choice compared to a Gibson because they offer something Gibson doesn't.
This is one of those guitars.
Is it the mahogany body? The carved maple cap with AAA flamed veneer? The asymmetrical SlimTaper neck? The ebony fingerboard? The GraphTech XL nut? The Grover locking Rotomatic tuners? The Fishman Fluence humbucker pickups with push-pull coil splitting ability?
No.
While all those features are great, there's something else.
This Les Paul has 24 frets.
I'm not a 24 fret guy, but...
Some players really like a 24-fret neck. As for the 24-fret Strat, I've talked about that before and you can get one right now.
This Epiphone is the 24-fret Les Paul, which you can also get right now.
Out of all the features of the Prophecy Les Paul, the 24-fret neck is its best feature as that is the one thing you cannot get on a Gibson Les Paul regular production model.
Oh sure, you could ring up the Gibson Custom Shop and have a 24-fret Les Paul built, but why would you place that order, spend thousands and wait months when you can get the Epiphone Prophecy Les Paul right now?
With the Epiphone, this is the as-close-to-Gibson-as-possible Les Paul as you can get, and it is a premium model from the brand. All the fancy dan stuff is loaded into this guitar.
No, it will never say "Gibson" on the headstock, but if you want that 24 jumbo fret Les Paul, Epiphone has it with the Prophecy model.
Shorter scale guitars with the most bang for the buck
You can go short without spending too much nor getting something too cheap.
The standard scale lengths for electric guitars are established by Fender and Gibson. The Fender length is 25.5 inches and Gibson is 24.75.
I'm going to talk about guitars which are shorter than a 24.75" scale length while still being adult-sized. Anything shorter than 24.0" is literally kid-sized stuff, such as any Ibanez miKro (22.2" scale) or Squier Mini (22.75" model), both of which are cheap in price.
You can go expensive with short scale, such as the Fender American Performer Mustang. While that is a fine guitar, there are other options lower in price that are still great.
These are three guitars which I feel you get the most for the money when you want something shorter than 24.75" without it being a kid-sized guitar, without it being a cheap build, and getting the most for the money.
This is technically not a short scale but a shorter scale at 24.50" (hence 245 in the model name), which is still shorter than the Gibson 24.75".
I have openly admitted before that this is not my favorite PRS model (I think the Mira is much better but that's a 25" scale).
However...
I recognize that this very specific model is exactly what some players are looking for. It's got the twin humbuckers, it's shorter than a Gibson while still having a familiar Les Paul layout and certainly looks nice enough.
Also, there is a "belly cut" carve in the back, making it a very comfortable playing it seated or standing.
You do have to like the humbucker sound to like this guitar. If you like the Les Paul or SG, then you will like the PRS SE 245.
Gretsch G5220 Electromatic Jet BT
This is also technically not short scale but shorter at 24.60", which is the realm of Gretsch guitars. Typical to Gretsch goodness, the G5220 Electromatic Jet BT looks gorgeous. But it's more than just a pretty face. The mahogany body is chambered for lighter weight, and the pickups are Gretsch's "Black Top Broad'Tron".
The Gretsch to your ear should sound brighter compared to the PRS. If you're the type of player that leans more towards the clean side instead of overdriven and distorted tones, or you just appreciate a brighter sounding humbucker, you want the Gretsch.
This guitar is a legitimate short scale at 24.0".
You may be thinking, "Why not just get a Squier Classic Vibe Mustang instead and spend less?" You could do that, and would get a fine guitar, but then you have to deal with a traditional build Mustang.
I'll explain.
Both the Fender Player (Mexico) and Fender American Performer (USA) Mustang are hardtails with no tremolo system present, no phase slider switches and ridiculously easy operation. You get two bright-and-spanky single-coil pickups, a 3-way selector, alder body and a maple neck. Plug in and go. Nice and easy.
The Squier Classic Vibe on the other hand has all the old-school Mustang stuff on it. Namely, the Mustang vibrato system and the phase slider switches.
A very quick rundown of the phase slider switches: Above each pickup is a switch with 3 positions, which is ON OFF ON. There's a reason ON is there twice. If you put both switches to the rear ON position or both to front ON position, you get a two-pickup in-phase sound. If you put one switch to ON rear facing and the other to ON front facing, you get a two-pickup out-of-phase sound, which is best described as a "choked" tone. This means with traditional Mustang wiring, you get a total of 4 possible sounds. Rear pickup alone, front pickup alone, both pickups in-phase, both pickups out-of-phase.
You might be thinking, "That sounds great, so what's the problem?" The problem is that it's basically impossible to quick-switch pickup positions while playing the instrument. With the Fender Player or American Performer Mustang, quick-switching pickup position is easy, just flick the pickup selector toggle. With traditional phase sliders, you can't do that and must deal with those tiny switches.
The Squier CV Mustang isn't bad by any means, but the Player and American Performer are far easier to get along with.
Which is best for you?
Rock sounds that work best with overdrive: PRS SE 245.
Best looking of the bunch with brighter sounding humbuckers: Gretsch G5220 Electromatic Jet BT.
Brightest sounding with the shortest scale and easiest to get along with: Fender Player Mustang.
With any one of these, you're getting something good that's shorter than 24.75" while still being adult-sized and sounds great.
My take on the Fender JV Modified '60s Stratocaster
Is this the true dream late-'60s design Strat players have been wanting for years?
I played one of these recently with the intention of buying it, but I didn't. On paper, this guitar is perfect. In reality, it's a different story.
For those not aware, my favorite Fender headstock design of all time is the 1968 and 1969 Stratocaster. I literally just saw a real one in person recently at the time I write this. I also recently bought a new Squier Affinity Strat specifically because of the late '60s-ish big design.
The Fender JV Modified '60s Stratocaster at first glance appears to be the perfect "modern '69". Same logo treatment, great color, none of the annoyances present on the real '69, and extra modern goodies.
Some quick specs: The JV comes in one color, Olympic White with urethane top coat, and that's totally okay. 25.5" scale, 9.5" fingerboard radius, medium jumbo fret wire, "Vintage-Style Single-Coil Strat" pickups (I don't know if they're alnico or ceramic), basswood body. There is a push-pull for Tone 2 to add in the neck pickup for positions 1, 2 and 3. The headstock face is glossed while the rest of the neck is satin finished.
Unlike the real '69, the truss rod adjustment is at the headstock; this is a very welcome thing. There isn't any black there on purpose to conceal it as much as possible and is smartly done.
So in other words, it totally looks like a '69 but is a very modern guitar, hence why it's a "modified" model and not a reissue.
Perfect, right?
Nope.
Some guitars you just can't connect with
The JV is a made-in-Japan guitar, and it is high quality construction. The build was great, no problems with the frets nor the nut nor anything else.
There are only two things I can nitpick about the guitar. The push-pull on Tone 2 was a little stiff, and the color of the neck could have been a little better. That's it. Again, both are nitpicks and there is absolutely nothing wrong with the rest of the guitar.
I just could not connect with the JV, even though I really wanted to. This was the design I wanted and it totally has the look. But after playing it, there wasn't enough there to win me over and buy it.
If you're not nitpicky like me...
...then you will love this guitar. It's 100% Strat through and through, modern in all the right ways with that oh-so awesome '69 look. And with the push-pull you can get some Telecaster-ish sounds out of it too. The guitar needs nothing and no upgrades are required.
I couldn't connect with the guitar personally, but don't let that stop you from getting one. Japan definitely built this one correctly.
However, if the price puts you off (and it probably will), remember the Squier Affinity Stratocaster. That guitar is a cheap way to get the big headstock Fender look.
This is why some guys can't stand the CBS era Fender Stratocasters
This will explain to you why some guys really don't like CBS era Fender electric guitars.
Firstly I should note that yes, you can absolutely get lacquer finished "made like they used to make them" guitars from Fender today, and easily. All you have to do is buy any Fender American Original series model, and you get the sound, the lacquer finish, all of it.
What I'm specifically talking about here are the older guitars when Fender was CBS owned and they decided to stop using a nitro top coat. More on that in a moment.
I attended a guitar festival this year. While there I of course saw a whole bunch of vintage electrics. However, what I was particularly looking for were Fender Stratocaster guitars made from 1968 to 1970. I found 4 of them, including a 100% original 1969 Fender Stratocaster with cloth coated wiring (which is the more desirable compared to wiring without cloth). Price: $13,500.
Did I have any intention of buying? No. But I wanted to see it anyway mainly for two reasons. Look and feel. I really wanted to get up close and personal with one of these, and did.
It's generally agreed upon that Fender stopped using nitrocellulose lacquer as a top coat in the late '60s. What year exactly? I could not find a direct answer, but it's speculated the urethane top coat began in 1967.
A few words about the '69 price tag before continuing. Yes, the price of the '69 I saw is what this guitar sells for these days. It's 53 years old at the time I write this, the example I saw was in near-mint condition, and somebody will buy it (if it hasn't been sold already). In other words, the seller did have it priced at current market value.
Now I'll talk about the feel first, then the look.
The '69, to be brutally honest, feels what I call "industrial cheap". This is a cost-cutter CBS era Strat, and it definitely felt like it. Both the neck and body have a very plastic feel to it.
Only when you actually touch one of these and feel it in the hand do you understand why some guys really dislike CBS era Strats so much. It goes far beyond the look, which I'll talk about next. My recently acquired new Squier Affinity Stratocaster has a better feeling body and neck when compared to actual vintage '69 Fender.
As for the look of the guitar, I'll talk about the neck first and then the body.
The best looking part of the guitar is the headstock, mainly because of the logo treatment. Seeing the thick black font, the STRATOCASTER "swoop", the WITH SYNCHRONIZED TREMOLO underneath and the busy look of what's going on there just oozes with cool.
The second best looking thing is the fingerboard; it's a nice dark wood (when oiled properly which this one was) that really sets off the fretboard inlay markers nicely.
As for the appearance of the back of the neck, totally awful. It's a no-tint clear gloss urethane finish and just looks like cheap discount lumber.
Where the body is concerned, one word describes it best. Dull. The '69 sunburst finish is muted and lifeless, even with the near-mint example I found. This dull look isn't because the guitar is 53 years old; it came from the factory looking that way. It's no wonder the Black and Olympic White finishes look better, because sunburst does no favors for the '69.
Why would anybody buy one of these?
Somebody would buy this for reasons similar to why I bought a plywood bodied 1989 Squier Stratocaster. If you're chasing after a specific something that only a very particular year can bring no matter how bad it is when compared to other years, that's what you get.
The late '60s CBS Strat will never be as valuable as the early '60s or the '50s Strats, and there's no denying that. But that's not going to stop anybody from buying one who really wants it. Maybe somebody who was 15 in the mid-1980s picked up one of these back when they were dirt cheap as his first guitar and now wants another. He'll spend the 5-figure price tag to get one.
Would I ever own one of these personally? No. I could actually get used to the dull appearance and don't mind the plastic-like feel of it. But what I can't get used to is the truss rod adjustment location at the heel (the neck must come off to perform a truss rod adjustment) and the 3-way pickup selector. Fender didn't standardize the 5-way switch until the late 1970s.
Yeah, I could change the 3-way to a 5-way, but as for the neck, the truss rod adjustment location can never be changed. And I'm not about to take the neck off a guitar over half-a-century in age every time I need to make a small adjustment to the bow of the neck.
I now understand better now why some guys can't stand this particular generation of Stratocaster. Guys who know the early '60s Strats would pick up the '69 and have nothing but vitriol for it.
I also understand that for some, the '69 is a dream guitar. Just not mine.
Also, if you're on the fence of whether you like the CBS-era look or not, the Squier Affinity Stratocaster is a cheap way to find out. It doesn't matter that it's a Squier guitar, because it's about whether you get along with the larger headstock or not. The only way to know for sure is to buy one and find out for yourself.
Kurt Cobain's guitar is worth $800,000?
Cobain's guitar is going up for auction and is speculated to be worth $800,000.
Kurt Cobain's Fender Jaguar auction is said to be worth $800K on the high end.
Ridiculous? Yes. Totally ridiculous. But somebody with a very large bank account who loved the '90s very deeply will buy this guitar. It won't be known until after the auction if this guitar actually hits the $800K price later in May, but it will be interesting to see what it sells for.
Cobain's Jag is a 1969 model in Lake Placid Blue with matching headcap, a competition stripe, and is a lefty. However, this is not the only guitar Kurt played. Fender does sell two new Artist series models which can obviously be bought for way less than $800,000.
Before getting into that, it should be noted that if you really, really want a Cobain style '69 Jag that looks exactly like his does, the Fender Custom Shop can build one for you. If you can't afford the giant price tag for the actual Cobain '69 Jag, just call Fender and have them make you one.
But let's say you can't afford the Fender Custom Shop price tag. What's left after that? This is where the Artist models come in that you can buy today.
First is the twin humbucker Fender Kurt Cobain Jaguar in lefty. A right-handed model is also available.
Second is the Fender Kurt Cobain Jag-Stang, also in lefty with a right handed version available as well.
Both guitars are suitable for high-distortion grunge style music and no guitar upgrades are required, meaning you don't need to do any pickup swaps or anything like that.
On a final note, you might see the Fender Vintera '60s Jaguar Modified HH in Sonic Blue (right handed only) and think yeah, maybe get that? Don't be so quick with that decision, because while a good guitar, it's not exactly a bargain. The Cobain Jag-Stang is lower in price than the Vintera, and the Cobain Jaguar is only $70 more.
In other words, if you're going to get a Kurt Cobain style guitar, specifically get a Kurt Cobain Artist model, because you're not really saving anything getting the non-Cobain model that has similar hardware.