Epiphone

Description

The Ltd. Ed. Emperor Swingster Blue Royale is truly the Emperor of the renown Royale Series and features incredible Silver Sparkle binding on the neck, body, headstock, and archtop classic f-holes along with a spectacular Chicago Blue Pearl color finish. It features sterling Epiphone pickups, superb electronics, and rock-solid hardware you've come to expect from Epiphone.

Ltd. Ed. Emperor Swingster Blue Royale
The Ltd. Ed. Emperor Swingster Blue Royale features a hand-scalloped arched select spruce top with a laminated arched-back maple body, a combination that produces the round beautiful tone that Epiphone archtops are known for. The glued-in hard maple neck has an easy-to-play SlimTaper-D profile and a 24.75 scale length. The rosewood fingerboard has a 12 radius with 20 medium jumbo frets and features pearloid Emperor-style block inlays.

The headstock has the revered Epiphone œclipped ear style profile with the same vintage vine inlay pattern seen on prized vintage Epiphone archtops from the '40s and '50s. The body, neck, and headstock feature Royale-style Silver Sparkle multi-layer binding while the Epiphone-style f-holes have single layer binding. The rare and spectacular Chicago Blue Pearl finish is topped with a Royale Metallic Silver pickguard (with the iconic late-'50s era "E" for Epiphone) to make the Ltd. Ed. Emperor Swingster Blue Royale one of the most beautiful archtops Epiphone has ever produced.

SwingBucker Pickups with Royale Series/Parallel Switching
At the heart of the Swingster are Epiphone's new SwingBucker pickups, which feature a series/parallel electronics-switching package that outperforms all others in its class. Specially designed for the Emperor Swingster, SwingBuckers offer no-hum performance and feature classic Alnico-V magnets, enamel wire, and over-wound coils for the perfect combination of warmth and bite.

Two push/pull Tone controls with black Top Hats knobs with metal inserts allow you to change each SwingBucker's output individually from parallel to series wiring, creating a wide palette of incredible sounds ranging from warm humbuckers to "quacky" single-coil type sounds and everything in-between. Of course, any swinging machine needs a vibrato and the Swingster is no exception featuring a Bigsby B30 with original style "wire" handle, a favorite of archtop legends like Chet Atkins and Merle Travis.

Rock Solid Epiphone Hardware
The Ltd. Ed. Emperor Swingster Blue Royale comes with Epiphone's world-famous rock solid hardware including a "Pinned" Rosewood bridge with adjustable Tune-o-matic bridge for superb intonation and a rock-and-roll classic Bigsby B30 Vibrato tailpiece with wire arm. Tuning is fast and reliable with legendary Grover Rotomatics machine heads with a pro-level 18:1 tuning ratio and the Blue Royale Swingster is tuned up at the factory with renown D'Addario strings (10-46). Case sold separately.
Open Box Epiphone Limited Edition Emperor Swingster Blue Royale Electric Guitar Level 2 Chicago Pearl 190839106056
Open Box Epiphone Limited Edition Emperor Swingster Blue Royale Electric Guitar Level 2 Chicago Pearl 190839106056
Open Box Epiphone Limited Edition Emperor Swingster Blue Royale Electric Guitar Level 2 Chicago Pearl 190839106056

Features

Body
  • Body shape: Single cutaway
  • Body type: Hollow body
  • Body material: Laminated
  • Top wood: Maple
  • Body wood: Spruce
  • Body finish: Gloss
  • Orientation: Right handed
Neck
  • Neck shape: SlimTaper D
  • Neck wood: Maple
  • Joint: Set-in
  • Scale length: 24.75"
  • Truss rod: Standard
  • Neck finish: Gloss
Fretboard
  • Material: Rosewood
  • Radius: 12"
  • Fret size: Medium jumbo
  • Number of frets: 20
  • Inlays: Pearl block
  • Nut width: 1.68" (42.67mm)
Pickups
  • Configuration: HH
  • Neck: SwingBucker
  • Middle: Not applicable
  • Bridge: SwingBucker Plus
  • Brand: Epiphone
  • Active or passive: Passive
  • Series or parallel: Series
  • Piezo: No
  • Active EQ: No
  • Special electronics: None
Controls
  • Control layout: Volume 1, volume 2, tone 1, tone 2
  • Pickup switch: 3-way
  • Coil tap or split: No
  • Kill switch: No
Hardware
  • Bridge type: Fixed
  • Bridge design: Pinned rosewood with Tune-o-matic
  • Tailpiece: Bigsby B-30
  • Tuning machines: Grover Rotomatics
  • Color: Nickel
Other
  • Number of strings: 6-string
  • Special features: Body finish
  • Case: Sold separately
  • Accessories: None
  • Country of origin: Indonesia

Reviews

4.83

6 Reviews

100%

of respondents would recommend this to a friend

Filters
Best Uses
  1. Jamming3
  2. Practicing3
  3. Recording2
  4. Small Venues2
  5. Anything1
Cons
  1. Flat Sound1
  2. None at this time1
  3. Binding color not, "silver"1
Describe Yourself
  1. Experienced5
Pros
  1. Fun To Play5
  2. Good Feel5
  3. Good Pick Up5
  4. Good Tone5
  5. Solid Electronics5
  • Plays great, sounds great, looks great

    5

    Verified Buyer

    submitted5 years ago

    byJames t

    fromCharleston mo

    It's my daily player at home, such an inspiring guitar… it'll never replace my tele as my gig guitar, but that's ok

  • Well Worth It...

    5

    Verified Buyer

    submitted8 years ago

    byGREG

    fromundisclosed

    This thing sounds fantastic; very resonant unamplified. Getting a spruce top, additionally, makes it a great value along with its warm tone. Actually, I sat down with it yesterday and lost about 3-4hrs... I fell in love! I wasn't crazy about the Bigsby, but that almost instantly grew on me as well. The 'wire' is nice cuz it's not bulky or distracting. I usually play Esp/some Gibson, heavier type music, but I also like George Benson, Larry Carlton, & Charles Smith (K&tG), etc. (In fact G.B.'s signature series is what turned me on to spruce tops making a difference on maple-laminate-hollow-types). But This is the first hollow body jazz-blues-type guitar I've owned, and the tone is wonderful on the parallel setting/neck p-up. (HFO wonderful. HA!) They're all good, but she's the one you want for jazz stuff. It was between this and the Gretsch 5420t. I'm glad I went with this! Ltd Edition of course, but I bought it for clean, jazz note and chord sounds & It does so beautifully with little to do on my part except play. Whether chords, arpeggios, or solo-type playing, it's articulate and sustains nicely. Plus.... nice to look at! I'm not one for flash over substance. And luckily, with this, I don't have to be. But it is kinda gawdy in a rather stylish way. ..... but I still plan on getting the gretsch ;) though, this may satisfy me for awhile... I do love it. The sound is exactly what I wanted; it'll be hard to beat.

  • "This how a guitar should look and play".

    5

    Verified Buyer

    submitted9 years ago

    byR A

    fromMichigan

    As Stated before,This is what I've wanted and wouldn't pay. Quality through and through.

  • A Real Beauty

    5

    Verified Buyer

    submitted9 years ago

    byJerry

    fromRichmond, VA

    Sound is great. SwingBuckers are sweet and tone is full range. Sounds good unplugged as well (but obviously not an acoustic loudness). Intonation was right on out of the box. It was even very close to being in tune. Tremolo is effective and doesn't detune as I use it (as a tremolo). Now for the best part: This thing is BEAUTIFUL!!!! (yes, I'm screaming) The shade of blue with flecks and the binding are gorgeous. Inlays on fretboard and headstock are exceptional also. Quickly became my axe.

  • Love this guitar

    4

    Verified Buyer

    submitted10 years ago

    byN/A

    fromSan Marcos, CA

    After a proper set up (with new strings); feels great and sounds terrific. I put 11s on and with the extra knob switches this thing had incredible range. I was thinking of getting a Gretsch 5420 for a long time, but this guitar feels and sounds better to me. My only issue is I thought the binding had silver flecks. It does, but I was surprised that the material it's encased in is gold/yellow instead of clear. Nothing is perfect, I'm keeping it!

  • Great Playing

    5

    submitted10 years ago

    byPvt. Daniel Mallett 2nd NYSM/82nd NYSVI

    fromBROOKLYN NY

    Very Limited

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Q&A

Have a question about this product? Our expert Gear Advisers have the answers.

  • asked bycrosby

    fromFremont, NH

    This guitar looks much better in the review pictures (darker), the listing pictures on the site make it look very bright, even ridiculous. If it looks like the darker color (less light I'm sure but still) in the reviews, I want one! Can it be shipped to my local store in Manchester, NH before I buy it - to check it out?

    Open Reply -
    We cannot ship orders before they are purchased