Epiphone Emperor Swingster Hollowbody Electric Guitar

Comments about Epiphone Emperor Swingster Hollowbody Electric Guitar:

I have had alot of fun with this hollow body. This guitar is great for chord melody, solo jazz guitar playing. The shorter 24-1/2 scale is nice for this style because it's easier to stretch further, giving you more flexibility as far as unique voicings, and playing bass lines at the same time. I love the extra tone options you get with the push/pull button and the SwingBucker pickups are very nice.

Comments about Epiphone Emperor Swingster Hollowbody Electric Guitar:

My first experience with this guitar was when I went to see a friend's band. The band opened up with a great cover of Zep's "Black Dog" The riffs were tight, the vocals were great, but the best part of the whole night was this guitar. The lead guitarist brandished it like it was his sword in medieval times. This this sang like a 70's Les Paul, and had the looks of a gorgeous old 50's jazz box. After the concert I went up to him and professed my love for that sweet sweet guitar tone. He let me play it and I would be lying if I didn't say that this guitar played like no other axe I've ever played. I ran out and bought one the next day, and my dreams came true. Cranking this through my stack at home, not even the neighbors could complain about this beautiful tone. Owning a couple other guitars, this one made it's proud place in the Guitar Armada. I recommend it with all 5 stars.

Comments about Epiphone Emperor Swingster Hollowbody Electric Guitar:

First off I played the orange model at my local GC. The Grain and wood is very figured looking, it is a very beautiful guitar. Also the pickups can handle anything you throw at em'. I started by playing through a fender blues deluxe, it gives all the expected swing and blues, and excuse my pun, all that jazz:). But then i moved to a Peavey 6505 stack and cranked up the metal, all most no feedback and this guitar cut right through the distortion like it was a metal guitar players dream. The bigsby is a true thing of wonder, vibrato all the way without any loss of tuning. All i can say is BUY THIS GUITAR. When i get the money which wont be long because of this guitars amazing price, it will be added to my collection.

Comments about Epiphone Emperor Swingster Hollowbody Electric Guitar:

The sound that comes from this guitar is absolutely amazing. I went into a guitar center store and tried it and i had to buy it that day. my girlfriend killed me. i am still paying credit card bills.... worth it!!!!

Comments about Epiphone Emperor Swingster Hollowbody Electric Guitar:

This may well be No. 2 in my Epiphone collection. The Swingster is a twangier variation on the popular Joe Pass Emperor, retaining the traditional Epiphone fingerboard and headstock inlays, scale length and body dimensions. The SwingBuckers supply more control than the usual humbuckers and the Chet-style wire arm vibrato allows you to hold the arm while picking, unlike the limited range of the stock Bigsby. In person, the spruce top and the grained back are stunning, especially in orange (nice challenge to Gretsch). I do miss a pickguard as a place to anchor my pinky, a master volume would be useful like the Wildcat, and there is noticeable string resonance between the bridge and the tailpiece that needs to be muted. Note that the tuners are Rotomatics, not Imperials, and the fingerboard inlays are block, not thumbnails. A beautiful instrument!

Comments about Epiphone Emperor Swingster Hollowbody Electric Guitar:

I have to say I love this guitar, I checked out many different epiphone hollow bodies and this is such a great find for the price. If you love the classic hollow body clean sound as well as the crunchy distortion you can get out of it in more of a rock/blues setting, this is a perfect match. Highly recommended!

Comments about Epiphone Emperor Swingster Hollowbody Electric Guitar:

Love this Epiphone, absolutely love it. I don't know what Epiphone did to the pickups/electronics, but this does not sound like a sub-1K guitar! Truely amazing tones for rock and blues. Tremolo arm is very comfortable and doesn't put your guitar out of tune. Add it all up with the good looks and its a killer guitar.

Comments about Epiphone Emperor Swingster Hollowbody Electric Guitar:

Let's start with I love the Emperor series. This will make #3 for me. The quality is very good. The playability is great. I really like the 8 different sounds you can get with the push pull pot. This was one of the main features that made me choose this guitar. Mine is a Sunrise. This is replacing a Gretsch 5120.(5120 is going on Ebay today)There is nothing wrong with the gretsch but it is not a Emperor. I LOVE the Emperor Head stock!! All in all it is a great guitar for my budget, It is very versatile. I am going for Rockabilly but you can play a lot of styles on this guitar.

Comments about Epiphone Emperor Swingster Hollowbody Electric Guitar:

A quick review would be this is an Epiphone Emperor II Joe Pass with a Bigsby tremolo bridge and different pickups. I like Epiphone semi-hollow body guitars. They are relatively inexpensive but give the intermediate jazz guitarist or the not-so-rich musician an option of getting a good sounding semi-hollow body electric. Neck feel and fretboard layout are nice so you get a similar feel to a Gibson. Tone is for those looking for a more hollow nasal sound like Joe Pass. If you want a George Benson sound, go with Epiphone's Dot or Casino line of guitars. Electrics are wired like their Les Paul's, straight forward and simple. The tremolo bridge is what it is, fits its use for those performing oldies rock, e.g. Stray Cats/Brian Setzer.

Comments about Epiphone Emperor Swingster Hollowbody Electric Guitar:

I like the Swingster! I just purchased it from Guitar Center and it arrived yesterday in immaculate condition. I really like what Epiphone is doing right now with their electronics which are much better than their older humbuckers which had a tendency toward muddiness. These don't. Pros: Setup up great right out of the box Sounds much better than my Gretsch G5120 - pickups are much more sensitive. Bass / treble response very good. Plays every bit as good as my Gretsch (if not better) Well made from quality materials. Has a good feel. Serial/Parallel tone switches a plus, if you're into that kind of thing. I mostly was looking for an authentic archtop sound. This little gal has it! Cons: Made in Indonesia if that bothers you (doesn't concern me) No case Clear pick guard included but not assembled. Conclusion: I would not hesitate to buy this guitar online. The Epiphone Swingster is worth the money in my opinion. Much better guitar than other guitars in its class. As a matter of fact, I have played higher end Gretschs that impressed me less. Clear pick guard included but not assembled.

Comments about Epiphone Emperor Swingster Hollowbody Electric Guitar:

Although this guitar does sound good for the money I would still go with the Gretsch 5120. It has the sound that this guitar is striving for and where this guitars tremlo bar is stylish I think it's kind of out of place and does not feel as good as the one on the Gretsch.

Comments about Epiphone Emperor Swingster Hollowbody Electric Guitar:

The orange reminds me of the Sorrento (sic?) that Epi used to offer in the 90's but this is no thin-line semi with a block down the middle.....this is a country-twangin' or Rockabilly box that would be just as suitable for indie-pop or lo-fi stuff (the pickups are cute....but it's really tempting to put something a little more contemporary-sounding in there....). I thought that the trem was going to get in the way, but it doesn't at all and I've found some nifty experimenting to do with it. Overall another bang-for-the-buck'er from Epiphone.

Comments about Epiphone Emperor Swingster Hollowbody Electric Guitar:

Yeah, you'll kick yourself if you do that. I own both, and the Epi Swingster is by far the better guitar. The Gretsch's pickups are very low output and muddy sounding. The body and neck of the G5120 are fine, but thats about all. It ships with foam under the bridge. To get it out, you'll have to loosen the strings and you know the bridge is going to move on you. Also, If you want a decent sound from your G5120, you better plan on replacing the stock pickups with some TV Jones or something similar (if you can find anything similar) for a cost of close to $350, and then you'll have to change them out yourself or pay a tech to do it. Now your $700 guitar has become a $1,000 guitar and you still have a G5120. As an owner of both the Swingster and the 5120, my advice is go with the Swingster right off.

Comments about Epiphone Emperor Swingster Hollowbody Electric Guitar:

WOW! this guitar really sings,although i'd say this guitar is a bit on the expensive side, i think its a great deal for the guitar you're getting, beautiful clean sounds, great for jazz, really nice vibrato system, really unique, attention to detail is amazing, beautiful guitar.

Comments about Epiphone Emperor Swingster Hollowbody Electric Guitar:

Wow, this Swingster is something I have been looking for for years. The tones that you can get out of this guitar is absolutely fantastic. It plays so smooth and is just what I have been looking for. The pick up combo's are out of this world. Now don't sell it short on Jazz. When I got it back to Alpena, MI to my Luthier he looked at it and was impressed with the out of the box set up. I had him tweak it a little more and then he played it. On of the main features I like is the pinned roller bridge. When changing strings I wont have to make a pencil mark and be concerned about intonation at all. Wait until I get this gen back to Texas the guys are going to love it. He plugged it into a Blackface Fender and started with the Blues and ended up with some Jazz. He was as amazed as I was at the sound. It has a big sound and plenty of volume. The fit and finish is fantasticthisthsi Wine Red Swingster and Drew and Ray took good care of me at Guitar Center in Saginaw, MI on Bay Rd. I bought a Snark tuner to keep in the case and after tuning and playing it a while I put it up. sounds pretty good acoustically by the way. When I took it out a couple of days later it was still in tune. Gotta love those tuner. I bought the Joe Pass Emperor Case and the Swingster fits great with now wobble room in it. The Bigsby Arm just gets closed oeverythingrthing is great.

Comments about Epiphone Emperor Swingster Hollowbody Electric Guitar:

I love this guitar more and more as I play it. Bought the orange one in May 2013 and it has proven to be the best guitar for me. It's playability and sonic potential are amazing to me; the guitar sounds as beautiful as it looks! It sounds great acoustically, having a nice full, well-rounded range of high, mid, and low tones. The single-coil/humbucker switching is awesome, enabling a wide range of tone possibilities. The pickups are perfect for me as I can get nice clean twangy sounds and hot overdriven tones as well. My favorite is the neck pickup as it has the richest pallete of tones up and down the neck. I need to adjust my amp EQ to get maximum sonic benefit when switching from single-coil to humbucker mode; initially my amp EQ settings obscured the difference. The hardware is solid, quality stuff. The Bigsby is killer! no issues with tuning loss. I really dig the funky vibrato arm; it's a bit high but also out of the way and fits nicely in the palm of my hand so I can work wiggle stick while fingerpickin'. A bit of 3in1 oil helped it move more smoothly. The tuners are smooth, steady, and precise. The orange finish is bright and happy to me, and nicely showcases the wood grain, which I like. The body shape is perfect for me to hold on to; much more comfortable than my dreadnaught acoustic, former ES-335, SG, and Les Paul type electrics. Lastly, the Epiphone case for the Emperor works for this Swingster; the best fit is with the vibrato arm swung down just past the control knobs. This is the best guitar I have ever owned. It seems like the quality exceeds the price. I am still thrilled by this guitar and I get excited every time I play it or just look at it. Get it, it's great!!

Comments about Epiphone Emperor Swingster Hollowbody Electric Guitar:

Nothing I can add to what's been said. Just a great guitar at a price that's way below what it's worth. I highly recommend this guitar.

Comments about Epiphone Emperor Swingster Hollowbody Electric Guitar:

I did something with this guitar that I do not recommend. And that is, I purchased it without trying it out in the store first. That is because Guitar Center did not have any in their stores in the Atlanta area. They did have some similar models, but not this exact model. As for the guitar, it is a very good guitar. I think it is worth the asking price. I purchased the guitar to start practicing blues/jazz etc. The strings are a little heavier than I thought they would be, but I found out they're medium light guage (L5 electrics - 11 to 52) I think. Also, the guitar definitely has some weight due to the Bigsby tailpiece, I'm sure. However, it's not something you're going to be dancing around with and playing rock and roll - or at least I'm not. But, the guitar has a sweet sound and I'm happy with it. I also purchased a Fender Super Champ XD tube amplifier. It has a slight hum to it, but definitely brings out the quality of the instrument. If I had to do it over again I would.

Comments about Epiphone Emperor Swingster Hollowbody Electric Guitar:

I purchased the Swingster Royale version a few years ago in black and it is one of my favorite guitars! I think it has better features than many of its competitors in this price range. The black sparkle finish and binding are awesome. The sound is very versatile and the series/parallel feature is really great. I highly recommend heavier strings (I love 11s or 12s Jazz flats) vs the 10s that come stock, just for the Bigsby, the break angle isn't too steep. Mine came with slightly loose pickup rings but that was easily fixed. If you're in the market for a Hollowbody for jazz, blues or rockabilly definitely try this or the Emperor Joe Pass. Like I said in another review, this is so like a working man Silver Falcon.

Comments about Epiphone Emperor Swingster Hollowbody Electric Guitar:

I had no chance to play this guitar before purchasing, so I ordered it blind. I was not disappointed. The tone and feel are excellent, the tuning is rock solid, the Bigsby is usable and stable and the look is amazing. If I could, I'd knock off 1/2 star due to a couple of small cosmetic blemishes and also the fact that the included bracket for the pickguard is too long to fit on the guitar. We'll see if Epiphone can solve that one. If not, I can live without it since this is now my favorite guitar.