Epiphone Masterbilt DR-500MCE Acoustic-Electric Guitar

Comments about Epiphone Masterbilt DR-500MCE Acoustic-Electric Guitar:

Wow was my first impression on playing this guitar unplugged. The volume and depth of tone are unmatched at this price range. Workmanship is excellent with solid top and back. I especially like the neck which is non lacquered matte finish. It just feels great in you hands. If this guitar had no electronics I would still give it the high marks, but this one really shines plugged in with the Esonic NanoMag. Everyone who has picked this up and played it can't believe the sound out of this thing for the price. I have a Gibson Hummingbird that I love dearly but it was close to 4 times the cost of this. I was always reluctant to throw the Gibson in a bag and take it over to friends and parties so I started looking for a mid priced box. For a guitar in the $600 range, you won't find a better value or with better electronics.

Comments about Epiphone Masterbilt DR-500MCE Acoustic-Electric Guitar:

I recently purchased this guitar from Guitar Center Dayton. At first, I went to GC to purchase the new Breedlove C250 plus. As I was taking a final look around the show room, I stumbled upon this guitar. I picked it up because of its gorgeous looks, not expecting it to be much because of the price and because of previous Epiphone acoustic guitars that Ive owned and had issues with. I was overly impressed with this. Aside from it being such a beautiful guitar, it has amazing tone (good blend, not to bassy or too bright), low action, and it plays great! It was more impressive than the Breedlove I was prepared to purchase. When I plugged it in, the nano mag pickup really shocked me with its clear, solid tone. I play live about 3 times a week, so Im really picky about finding a guitar that sounds good unplugged, but more importantly, a guitar that sounds good through a system. And this one made the cut. The Epiphone eSonic2 preamp system sounds amazing as well and the preamps tuner works like a charm. The Grover tuners do a great job at keeping this guitar tuned. Over all, this is an amazing guitar and you cant top this for the price.

Comments about Epiphone Masterbilt DR-500MCE Acoustic-Electric Guitar:

I've been searching for an acoustic for quite a while. I was looking mostly at Taylors, Martins and Breedloves (in the 600 - 800 range) and finally played this and loved it. I was a bit of a snob thinking Epiphones are a sub-brand but after reading a lot of forums about the cheaper Martins and Taylors, a lot of people were pointing at these masterbilts. It's made in China, but if you look at the 'American' brands �ۡ���� all of their guitars at the lower price point are made somewhere else. Breedlove's Atlas series is Korean and Taylor's lower end models are made in Mexico. All of the above also have some sort of laminate back and/or sides. That said, I think you really get a lot more for your money with this guitar. It's ALL solid wood and sounds fantastic. The electronics are great and it looks beautiful. If you're looking at the Martins and Taylors in this price range, pick one of these up and give it a strum.

Comments about Epiphone Masterbilt DR-500MCE Acoustic-Electric Guitar:

I've played many guitars and own many acoustics.I bought this guitar as an open mike nite guitar where alot of people have their guitars all lined up ready to play and occasionally someone without permission starts using the wrong guitar.With that said I didnt want to bring my Taylor or Breedlove.What I didnt expect was the incredible sound the 2 pickups produce and the craftsmanship was right on.I will say this guitar out-shines guitars costing many times more.Buy this guitar and put the others away.I've played for 42yrs now and play out alot.This is my choice of acoustic guitars for any situation.Any level of ability will be satisfied from novice to advanced like myself.Hey,its 1/3 the price of a comparable Martin.Believe me,I own several Martins and they're bench-warmers now.

Comments about Epiphone Masterbilt DR-500MCE Acoustic-Electric Guitar:

Picked up an acoustic -electric by another popular manufacturer that was hanging on the wall at Guitar Center and thought I liked the feel, sound, and action. That was before I took the Epiphone DR-500MCE into my hands and felt the immediate delicate balance which far surpassed the "other brand" Unplugged , it was hands down far superior,but when I plugged the unit into the first amp that was handy ,I was completely blown away with the beautiful sound (clean) that I heard coming out of that little(used Fender amp) I couldn't buy this Guitar the day I tried it out,but it is definitely on my wish list. It has the true acoustic sound even when amped without the "feedback" normally associated with A/E guitars,especially within close range of the Amp. I give this guitar and it's Electronics a 5 star rating.

Comments about Epiphone Masterbilt DR-500MCE Acoustic-Electric Guitar:

I've been playing guitar for 20 years. Building guitars for 15 years (electrics). I wanted an all solid wood guitar with a bone nut and saddle. I didn't even look at these. I went through a number of stores trying everything in the $1000 to $4000 price range. I even went to some luthiers that build acoustics locally. Then I found out about the Masterbilt series. Everything I wanted, and a fraction of the cost of anything else I was trying...and this guitar blew them all away. I couldn't believe that a $600 Epiphone sounded better than a $4000 Martin or Taylor. But it did. I was so impressed with the guitar, that I told another customer who was trying Martins to try one of the other Masterbilts. We both bough Masterbilts. One thing I will say, this guitar sounds good with whatever strings they put on it...but it sounds 10 times better with a set of Elixir strings. Better sound balance and projection. There may be other string brands that sound awesome on it, just realize when you try it out, that whatever you buy for strings will sound better than what comes on the guitar.

Comments about Epiphone Masterbilt DR-500MCE Acoustic-Electric Guitar:

Taylor Knock Out. I recently sold one of my Taylors and was looking for a new and different replacement for it. Money wasn't a huge issue, I just wanted to find a lot of features, solid wood, and good tone. Don't get me wrong, I wanted something below $1,000, but if the right one would've come along over that I would've bought it. The Epiphone Masterbilt DR-500-MCE was the one I picked. Coming from playing Taylors, I'm used to that balanced trebly and punchy sound. This guitar has it plus a bit more on the bottom end. The dual pickup system and preamp are fantastic for the price point - actually fantastic for ANY price point. The preamp takes lithium ion batteries so it last longer than the 9 volt driven units. The guitar comes with a bone saddle and nut, solid mahogony back and sides, nice tuners, a solid sitka spruce top and a pretty nice fit and finish overall. On the negative or neutral side ... the guitar doesn't come with a strap bolt on the neck - you've got to install one yourself. It also doesn't come with a hard case. I bought a decent one for $70 bucks. Mine also accidentally came with the standard saddle. When I noticed that, I took it back into Guitar Center and they swapped it out for one of the compensated bone saddles. These Epiphone bone saddles are very nice ... compensated for the B string, plus the contact point across the top is compensated for string intonation. So, its actually angled on the guitar, plus the B sting compensation, plus additional intonation compensation on the bone saddle itself. My test on guitars is to play an open D string, along with the 11th fret of the B string and the 10th fret of the high E. It's basically a D-major triad. Anyway, this little chord tells me right away if an acoustic guitar has good intonation. When I play that chord on this guitar it sounds better than on my Taylors - who are slightly off. The last thing that I'll mention about the bone saddle is that it puts a little extra "snap" in the stings. I'd played a regular composite saddle for a few days and that one rounded out the sound just a bit. Overall, very happy with the fit and finish of the guitar. I've been playing for over 10 years and consider myself really picky about acoustics and tone. I should also note for full disclosure, I don't play with a pick on acoustics. So its possible a guy who picks everything could pick up the guitar and not be as happy with it as I am. I've been really surprised by this guitar and the features. Sounds awesome through a P.A. or my Marshall acoustic amp with minimal adjustments. I'm not sure I would've bought it without the preamp and pickup system it comes with as I think those things really make it what it is when amplified.

Comments about Epiphone Masterbilt DR-500MCE Acoustic-Electric Guitar:

Today I went to Guitar Center looking for this guitar that I have been looking at for a few months. The second I picked up this guitar, I knew that this is the guitar for me. For fun, I played a few $3,000 guitars, and this $600 guitar played as well, if not better than most of them. This guitar has a beautiful finish that I can't take my eyes off of. It sits perfectly in my hands. If you want to play classical, rock, pop, blues, jazz, show-tunes, or more, this is the guitar for you. Overall, it's an awesome guitar.

Comments about Epiphone Masterbilt DR-500MCE Acoustic-Electric Guitar:

That is the best word for this guitar. I just returned from GC Tacoma and put one of these beauties on layaway.Scored a "used" vintage burst MC500ce without a nick or scratch on it for 399!!!! WHAT A STEAL!!!! Trust me I did a ton of online research and went out and played a ton of 300 t0 600 dollar acoustics and this guitar beat em all GET ONE YOU WILL NOT REGRET IT!

Comments about Epiphone Masterbilt DR-500MCE Acoustic-Electric Guitar:

I play about three nights a week, my main guitar is a Gibson Chet Atkins SST. I have played Taylors, Takamines, and Breedloves and all the other guitars in this price range $500-$699 and the Masterbuilt is the best guitar I have played. This guitar feels and plays like a Gibson! It has great action and has a crisp sound-BUY THIS GUITAR.

Comments about Epiphone Masterbilt DR-500MCE Acoustic-Electric Guitar:

I'm 30 years old...I learned on an acoustic that belonged to my dad 21 years ago and since then I've played hundreds of acoustics over the years but never actually owned one for myself since I'm traditionally an electric player. I was in the market for something decent and affordable because I knew I needed one for various aspects of my music endeavors (gigs, session work, teaching, etc) so I had placed a layaway order for a mid-grade Takamine at the GC in Marietta, GA knowing I'd be in the area and could try it before I bought it without having to pay shipping. After trying it out and deciding that it was ok but not worthy of purchasing, I asked the salesman what else he had in the price range. He pointed to a couple of Yamahas which were very unexciting and then said, "Oh yea...try this one out." He pulled his ladder over to one wall and climbed up and brought down a DR-500MCE from the very top row and gave me the rundown in the specs. After hearing what he had to say, I gave it a try. I literally couldn't believe how good it sounded and had to do a double take at the price versus tonal quality aspect....and there was a $100 instant rebate offer going on at the time so it ended up only costing $499. So, this is an all solid guitar in the $5-600 price range...what's the catch right? Well it does take some time for the neck to get broken in and the fret work isn't the greatest. But those things are fixable with a quick truss adjustment and a few other routine adjustments. Nothing out of the ordinary and fairly common in any brand and/or price range. Not enough to shy me away at all. It has never ceased to amaze me but the real test for me? Session work. Last week I had a two-day session with an up and coming country/pop artist who is working on a $9,000 5-track EP. My point here is that quality matters in this scenario. I brought this guitar in and set it in the stand along with my American Strat & Tele, Gibson Standard SG, and American Deluxe Jazz Bass. Keep in mind that this was a very professional studio with lots of high end gear...not a place you'll find a Masterbilt being recorded on a typical day. So when it came time to track acoustic, the producer jumped out of the control room and handed me his Taylor 710 before I could even reach for my Masterbilt. After checking it, he and the engineer quickly decided the Taylor was too harsh and handed me a higher end Martin which they liked much more in the mix. After tracking the first song on the Martin, I told them I was going to switch guitars for the next track. I picked up the Masterbilt and about midway through tracking, the producer (who couldn't see me from the control room) came around the corner apparently to see what guitar I had picked up...I wish I could describe how shocked he was to see this guitar in my hands. There was no question that it had beaten out some of the best acoustics in the business with flying colors. The kicker? We weren't even using the on board electronics!! Just the guitar mic'd with a dynamic mic so the guitar was doing the work by itself...not the electronics. If we incorporate the electronics, which we still might, I can't imagine how lopsided the contest will get in favor of the Masterbilt. Bottom line is that you need to trust me on this one...buy this guitar. Yes I'm "young" but I've spent all of my life around guitars and I've played more than I could ever care to remember...both acoustic and electric. If you're looking for an acoustic in this price range...STOP! You just found EXACTLY what you're looking for.

Comments about Epiphone Masterbilt DR-500MCE Acoustic-Electric Guitar:

Initially purchased the guitar from the GC store. As with other guitars purchased in-store, they don't provide the owners manual, patch cord or other items that come in the box - not that they are very important but I like having things like that. I did purchase a set of Elixir light and put those on immediately after getting the guitar home, shined it up to remove fingerprints and it sounded great. The only problem was some fret buzz on the big E in the first 4 fret positions. Took the guitar back and the guitar tech adjusted the neck and then discovered the 4th fret was a little high. Rather than fixing, they ordered a replacement and it was shipped within 4 days. The replacement guitar was flawless. Neck and action was set perfectly. The DR500MCE almost seems too good to be true when you consider the craftsmanship, solid wood front, back and sides and dual pick ups. This guitar sounds amazing both plugged-in and unplugged. It has a very warm tone with more bass than the Taylor 110 that I own, but not quite as bright. It's well balanced. It has surprising appointments for the price, beautiful binding that extends all the way around the headstock, nice fretboard and headstock inlays, real bone nut and bridge and grover tuners. Epiphone did not scrimp on quality. The built-in tuner was accurate and matched the measurements of my korg tuner and makes very effective use of green and amber LEDs to allow you to dial in the tuning, including accurate half-steps. I bought this guitar for my son and we both love it. In my opinion it is superior to it's price-peers and competes favorably with guitars in this price range

Comments about Epiphone Masterbilt DR-500MCE Acoustic-Electric Guitar:

This review is about the process of online buying not just the guitar. From final click to delivery by UPS took 4 business days, so if you order on a Monday you`ll get it by the end of the week. NOt bad at all. The box looked pretty beat up when it got to my door. Not much care was taken when packaging this instrument which I really have an issue with. There was almost no padding between the guitar and the front of the box. I opened it and there it was, so be carefull if your using a knife to open the box. The whole thing looked pretty shoddy. It looked like someone threw in some brown padding paper then threw the guitar on top and sealed the box. More care should be taken when shipping something that cost almost $700. Online buyers may have beady eyes but we want the same quality as everyone else. The sour taste in my mouth went away soon after playing the guitar. It came out of the box set up and ready to play. There was very limited fret buzz but not terrible.It sounded full and gorgeous and i am very happy with it. Still in the back of my mind I`m worried about damage caused by shipping. Overall a very good instrument.

Comments about Epiphone Masterbilt DR-500MCE Acoustic-Electric Guitar:

I got this beautiful guitar for chirstmas...i picked this one out after trying many different guitars from several guitar shops. I tried yamahas, fenders, ovation, takamine this one beat them all. Obviously a high end martin, taylor, or gibson is gonna beat it (not by much though) but this is worth the money and a great deal considering its all wood and sounds better then most guitars in my opinion. i was worried with the electronics and cutaway it would take away from the depth and warmth of an acoustic but its way warmer then my old "jumbo" guitar. the neck is so so so awesome it feels amazing. you can't go wrong with this epiphone.(never thought id say that).

Comments about Epiphone Masterbilt DR-500MCE Acoustic-Electric Guitar:

I read many great reviews, so I decided to get one online, so I didn't try it first, as I should have.
I'm a professional musician, and I've been playing guitar for 20 years now. I owned Taylors, Gibsons and Martins, and I have to say this guitar is pretty well built, and is a very nice sounding acoustic. The woods are great, satin neck feels great, the action was good, but I lovered it some more, and had to correct a small bow on the neck...but I don't consider it to be a problem. My main guitar is still Martin DC16GTE Premium(also mahogany), and it looks like that's not going to change any time soon. Comparing those two: the sound on Epiphone is somehow more on the treble side (brighter), definetly a bit louder, but Martin still has more defined tones.
Plugged in, there's no comparison, Martin is a monster (Fishman Prefix Premium Blend preamp). The preamp on Epiphone is small, with thin and tall potentiometers that are just not so convenient for quick on stage use...and turning the volume knob produces some kind of static noise, and now I'm in the process of exchanging the preamp wit a new one from Epiphone. But even then, I think I will just get a Fishman preamp, and install that one. The sound coming out of the Esonic2 preamp is just terrible. They say it should be more natural, something like combining piezo pickup and internal mic (which I have on Martin), but as I said, it's not even close. The nanoflex pickup is just bad, the eq knob does very little change to the sound turned all the way down, and up. It doesn't pick up any knocking on the wood, or any of that vibrations that internal mic, or even piezo would pick up. And the nanomag is in my opinion totally useless piece of equipment on acoustic guitar. Maybe I just have a bad working preamp, but I'm doing this review based on what I got for my money.
So, just two eq knobs that do very little change to the sound, and I can't seem to find any usable sound setting.

Comments about Epiphone Masterbilt DR-500MCE Acoustic-Electric Guitar:

I must agree, I happened to pick this up to play by curiousity at GC. I couldn't believe what I was hearing and feeling, I used to have a bottom of the line Epi that was nice to play but dull to hear. This thing is beautiful, I like the darker finish which was why I picked it up. Even with the dirty worn strings on it, it sounded great. I fell in love with Yamaha's as I have no budget for the Taylors I love, but this kicked all my purchases aside. This will soon be mine, One month... One more month. *pee in pants a little.

Comments about Epiphone Masterbilt DR-500MCE Acoustic-Electric Guitar:

I have owned this guitar for about 6 months now and I have to say I have yet to be disappointed. I went to guitar center dead set on buying an X series Martin, after getting there I tried about about 20 different guitars and narrowed it down to this one, a martin, and the 110e taylor. I went back and forth for about an hour and a half playing all of these plugged up and un plugged. They all played great but this guitar had a clearer tone than the others. The sound is almost as bright as the taylor and almost as deep sounding as the martin. The pick up system is very good and really makes this guitar shine. However, this guitar sounded better than the others unplugged as well. Th quality of this guitar is top notch. It needed no set up what so ever with absolutely no fret buzz and the action was perfect. I wanted a guitar with a gloss finish but having other guitars with satin finishes I really liked a satin finish neck (easier to play on). This guitar has a gloss finish on the body and satin on the neck, it's the best of both worlds. After having this guitar for 6 months I've only changed the batteries twice after the pick ups started to sound week. Batteries are expensive (around $6). I didn't think the tuners were going to be great on this guitar but I was wrong. It stays in tune very well and there is absolutely no play in the tuners. Overall this is with out a doubt the best acoustic electric in the $500-700 price range. Even though I find this guitar to be perfect I highly recommend playing all guitars in the price range to find which one suits your style best but my guess is it will be this one.

Comments about Epiphone Masterbilt DR-500MCE Acoustic-Electric Guitar:

I bought this guitar (Epiphone Masterbilt DR-500MCE) about 6 months ago from GC in Novi, MI. I had a top notch Taylor that was stolen out of my apartment. I felt like someone had kidnapped my child (I clearly don't have kids). In my head I never thought I would find a guitar that sounded, played, looked as beautifully as my Taylor because I had it for so long and was so comfortable with it. My plan was to save for a while and try and find another Taylor that was as close to the one I had previously. I stopped in to GC to see what they had and play them all in hopes I would find what I was looking for. I think I played every single Martin, Taylor & Gibson they had in the room. On my way out the salesman was unpacking a guitar that they had received that day. He told me to try it out before he put the price tag on it etc. I CAN'T thank that salesman enough for convincing me to play it! In my opinion, this guitar sounds every bit as good as the Martin, Taylor & Gibsons (I actually think it sounds better). In terms of playability, tone/sound, looks & feel there's definitely not another guitar on the market that rivals the value of the Epiphone Masterbilt DR-500MCE. It's also extremely durable, I take it everywhere I go, even to work and on average I play it ~6-7 hours a day. I've replaced the strings 6 or 7 and other than that I haven't had to make a single adjustment. Sounds great unplugged and great with a nice amp. I've literally gone online and TRIED to find a credible poor review of this guitar and have yet to find one. Once you play it you'll definitely understand why that is.

Comments about Epiphone Masterbilt DR-500MCE Acoustic-Electric Guitar:

Traded a Taylor 110 for this. Really happy with the decision! Great tone, really solid, great guitar for the $$$.

Comments about Epiphone Masterbilt DR-500MCE Acoustic-Electric Guitar:

This Guitar is worth every thing you pay for it. I used it at a recording session two weeks ago and they were all impressed. I'm no kid, i've been playing quality guitars for 50 years and believe me when I say this is a quality guitar. Go try one out, the guitar will sell itself. Bob