EPIPHONE INSPIRED BY GIBSON J-45 AND J-200

By Paul Riario

Epiphone Inspired by Gibson J-200

J-45

► THERE’S A GOOD reason legions of diehard musicians proudly play Epiphone guitars — because they outperform more expensive brands and boast an undeniable quality-to-price ratio that’s hard to beat. Following in Gibson’s towering reputation for impeccable craftsmanship, Epiphone has recently taken a lockstep approach in vastly improving their Gibson-counterpart line of guitars by debuting “Epiphone Inspired by Gibson,” an extensive collection of iconic acoustic and electric instruments designed from the original Gibson blueprints. I zeroed in on the remarkable J-45 and J-200 acoustics —a sloped shoulder and a super jumbo, respectively — from the “Epiphone Inspired By Gibson” Acoustic Collection, which also consists of the J-45 EC, Hummingbird and Hummingbird 12-string.

FEATURES Both guitars share all solidwood construction, quarter-sawn spruce bracing, tapered dovetail neck joint, Indian Laurel (similar to rosewood) fingerboard with 20 medium jumbo frets, 1.69-inch (43mm) nut width and Fishman Sonicore under-saddle pickup and Sonitone preamp electronics with soundhole-mounted volume and tone controls.

Known as “The Workhorse,” the J-45’s classic sloped-shouldered dreadnought shape features solid mahogany for its back and sides, 4-ply ivory and black binding for the top and 1-ply ivory binding for the back, and a Sitka spruce top. The mahogany neck has a 24.72-inch-scale length with a comfortably rounded C-shape profile and a Sixties-style Kalamazoo headstock shape. Other appointments include a reverse-belly Indian Laurel bridge, J-45 shape Tortoise Shell pickguard, ivory button tuners and an aged vintage sunburst finish.