To get the best sound from the instrument, I really had to dig in, and because of this, the guitar performed slightly better for flatpicked approaches than fingerpicked. But it doesn’t have the richness, the deep resonance, and responsiveness typical of the best vintage or modern examples.
Overall, the guitar has a warm and handsome voice. It’s even possible to bend the strings without too much effort. Electric guitarists in particular will appreciate how smoothly the neck plays and how discouraging of fret-hand fatigue it seems to be. While some players might find the neck to be thin, others will find its comfortable C profile to be an improvement over the vintage style. Out of the box, the AJ-45ME has a perfect setup with a comfortable action in all regions of its relatively short-scale neck, 24.75 inches. This level of craftsmanship would be befitting of a much more expensive guitar.
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There are no obvious defects in the satin finish, and the guitar’s innards are smoothly sanded and free from the typical traces of excess glue. Its genuine bone nut and saddle are cleanly notched, and its 20 medium frets are smoothly crowned and polished. True to its name, this Masterbilt is well built. And not only does the pickguard feel flimsy, it has an unfortunate wacky shape that completely obscures the rosette on the treble side.
The distinctive headstock, with its asymmetric crown and old-fashioned script logo, bears the influence of Epiphone’s 1930s Masterbilt archtops.Īll in all, it’s a handsome guitar, though the satin finish does detract from its vintage vibe and won’t develop the patina that occurs with age on the traditional gloss nitrocellulose lacquer finish. The guitar’s mahogany neck is capped with a rosewood fretboard, the same species used for the bridge.Ĭosmetically speaking, the J-45 is recalled in some of the AJ-45ME’s details, like the un-bound fretboard with simple dot markers, the upside-down bridge, and the deep sunburst finish, ranging from a toasted brown at the soundboard’s outer edges to a sunset amber in the center. The AJ-45ME is built from an excellent complement of tonewoods: a Sitka spruce top, with hand-scalloped Sitka bracing, and mahogany back and sides-all solid, a definite bonus for a guitar in this price range. While a brand-new Gibson J-45 will set you back more than $2,000, the Epiphone AJ-45ME has a street price of a cool $599-a modern-day workhorse, for sure. When Gibson introduced the J-45 in 1942, it sold for $45 (about $645 in today’s money) it became known as the “Workhorse,” on account of its affordability to working musicians and its durability. What’s more, the AJ-45ME is cheaper than the original article, adjusted for inflation.
But the slope-shouldered guitar has the sort of warm, honeyed sound characteristic of the classic 1940s flattop to which it pays tribute-namely, Gibson’s J-45. With its satin finish and slender neck, Epiphone’s Masterbilt AJ-45ME has a decidedly modern feel. Hey, fellow guitarist! is here to support you with fantastic articles (like this one.) If you like what we do, please give $1 (or whatever you can afford) in support of our work.
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