Gibson Guitars are some of the most popular and iconic instruments on the market, adored almost squarely across the board by players and music fans alike - but that level of adoration carries with it a price tag, one which Epiphone, a Gibson-owned company, attempt to alleviate as much as possible. One of their most successful releases is the EJ-200CE...
Now the Epiphone EJ200CE Electro-Acoustic Guitar is a popular beasty but why? Well firstly the EJ200 is based on the classic Gibson J200 Acoustic but comes with a slightly friendlier price tag of £299. It still has that classic look with the detail on the scratch plate and super-jumbo body.
Talking of super-jumbo, there is no hiding the fact that the EJ200 is a huge guitar. The super-jumbo was born when acoustic guitars had to compete in volume with the likes of a brass section - and before you could plug into an amplifier, the only way to do this was to make the body bigger! So ok, it has a monster body, but when you sit down and play this guitar it still feels comfortable to play.
With the guitar having such a big body you would expect to have a big booming bottom end, however Epiphone have used maple on the back and sides of the guitar, which really brightens up the sound. For the soundboard you have a solid piece of Spruce, which really gives you that beautiful resonance.
The 'CE' stands for cutaway electro so, as I’m sure you’ve guessed, it has a cutaway! Unless you have giant hands or have no need to get up to the higher frets this might come in handy.
The Electro part means you can plug straight into an amplifier and make yourself nice and loud! The EJ200 is fitted with Epiphone’s own Esonic 2 Pre-Amp, which you will notice has some unusual controls due to having two different pickups at your disposal. Firstly the Nanomag, which is a mini magnetic pickup that sits on the base of the neck of the guitar and gives you that bright percussive twang. Secondly the Nanoflex, which is a piezo pickup placed underneath the bridge of the guitar and gives you the more mellow depths of the instruments tone. As is now expected from most electro acoustics, you have a built in tuner which comes in incredibly handy.
When we get down to playing the action is great and they really do feel like a joy to play. Although the EJ’s don’t have the hefty price tag of the daddy Gibson they really do play well and have an incredible sound. The brightness you get from the maple and the volume from the body is something really special.
So if you haven’t tried one of these yet then come down to our flagship music store in Leicester and get your mitts on one!