Review: Epiphone Masterbilt Century De Luxe Classic, an Affordable Archtop
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 5 ต.ค. 2024
- There was a time, prior to the advent of amplification, that the acoustic archtop guitar reigned supreme in American popular music. Guitarists in large ensembles relied on these robust instruments for their cutting, projective sound, which stacked up nicely against walls of horn and percussion. In the 1930s, Epiphone-then known as the Epiphone Banjo Co.-offered a full range of archtop models from spartan to luxurious, but phased them out decades ago as they lost favor with guitarists. The company is revisiting its roots with a new line of Masterbilt archtops, from the diminutive Century Olympic to the big-bodied Century De Luxe. I put the latter model to its paces and was duly impressed by its performance and value.
From the April 2017 issue of Acoustic Guitar
I’m sorry to see the negative comments about this guys playing and these guitars. I think people don’t understand what these guitars are about- listen to Eddie Lang from the late 30s and then come back and you’ll see the point of these guitars and what this guy is playing.
Good to hear it from you!!
Negative comments about that playing? How?
@@randyzeitman1354 there’s many negative comments below, I like the playing on this video!
@@AdrianWhyte Yes. I asked "how", not "where". They are extremely bored and not likely a person who would buy such an instrument. Any of them female? ... or liberal? LOL!
I'm sorry but what the fuck is this comment section? It's an archtop and his playing is just fine, no need to be rude. Thank you for this great demo man. I'm surprised by the piezo sound. Sure it's still a piezo but not terrible.
Super quality acoustic comping.
Great job, Sir!
Just got mine today! I love the sound and the feel. :-)
Nice 2 5 chunkin! exactly the way the guitar was designed to be played. Is the top formed or carved?
Thanks alot Sir, for playing this beauty. It makes my decision much easier - I´ll buy one ! - Jay
These guitars sound great, and this is a good demonstration of it.
Are you only allowed to play old music on these guitars?
if you lack imagination yes.
Yes. I’ve scoured the inter webs and it seems its a rule.
There is no such thing as "old music".
John What “old music” is he playing? Lol he’s literally just playing chords.
Nice demo. I played one of these at GC. It was a disappointment for me. Hoping for more. Night and Day in "D". Thank you for your demo.
Would like to have heard some single notes
For a second there I was all
‘Wait a second, why does a guitar review have end credits’¿
Somebody please play some Carter scratch on one of these. I’m so tired of listening to jazz when trying to see what acoustic arch tops I may (possibly after selling some plasma) be able to afford sound like.
I feel the opposite. When these were first released I wanted to know what they sounded like in a jazz context and all I could find was examples of plebs playing cowboy chords with them. This is the first time I’ve ever seen a jazz demo on this model.
(If epiphone had provided a jazz demo I would have probably bought one).
“- Brother Jimmy, said Joey the Lips. - I'm worried. - About Dean.
- Wha' abou' Dean?
- He told me he's been listening to jazz.
- What's wrong with tha'? Jimmy wanted to know.
- Everything, said Joey the Lips. - Jazz is the antithesis of soul.
- I beg your fuckin' pardon!
- I'll go along with Joey there, said Mickah.
- See, said Joey the Lips. - Soul is the people's music. Ordinary people making music for ordinary people. - Simple music. Any Brother can play it. The Motown sound, it's simple. Thump-thump-thump-thump. - That's straight time. Thump-thump-thump-thump. - See? Soul is democratic, Jimmy. Anyone with a bin lid can play it. - It's the people's music.
- Yeh don't need anny honours in your Inter to play soul, isn't tha' wha' you're gettin' at, Joey?
- That's right, brother Michael.
- Mickah.
- Brother Mickah. That's right. You don't need a doctorate to be a doctor of soul.
- Nice one.
- An' what's wrong with jazz? Jimmy asked.
- Intellectual music, said Joey the Lips. - It's anti-people music. It's abstract.
- It's cold an' emotionless, amn't I righ'? said Mickah.
- You are. - It's got no soul. It is sound for the sake of sound. It has no meaning. - It's musical wanking, Brother.
- Musical wankin', said Mickah. - That's good.
- Here, yeh could play tha' at the Christmas parties.
- Instead o' musical chairs.”
― Roddy Doyle
@@sesa1076 Haha yes I understand the point of view that jazz can become musical wanking. It can become very pretentious and frankly unlikable to anyone other than fellow jazz musicians. I don’t particularly care for that style of jazz myself either.
A point I would make is that “Jazz” covers over a century of music. It has a lot of variation. Up until the mid-40’s it was the music of the people. It was pop music, it was dance music. It was meant to be played at parties to get the crowd swinging. It wasn’t only for other musicians but rather for the people on the dance floor or for people to just listen on the radio and sing along. That’s the jazz I like and it’s the jazz that this particular guitar design was meant to perform. Hence my frustration that I couldn’t find a video demonstrating that.
Once bebop came on the scene jazz slowly went from being popular, charming, and danceable to being a niche act, all about virtuosity and complexity. It is often soulless I agree.
I don’t actually hate jazz. I just like to mess with it. That quote from the Commitments (great movie) is a great one for that. I’m actually a pretty big fan of early jazz. I love Dixieland, and swing, and all those places where country and folk overlap and intersect with jazz. Django Reinhardt is in my top maybe two guitarists of all time (the other, maybe David Rawlings, who interestingly enough plays a lot of complicated chords in otherwise country music) and one of my favorite albums is Night in Tunisia by Art Blakey and His Jazz Messengers which is uncharacterically modern jazz for me, but I think it’s great. There’s nothing better on a Sunday than The Ink Spots etc, Pretty much any early American roots music is my cup of tea. I’m actually in the market for a tenor banjo, both to play Irish music with my fiancée and to wail rhythms on, and they are no stranger to early jazz. I play almost entirely old style folk music and I have found that when I want to hear an arch top guitar, I can’t find anyone playing any chords on them, so we’ve apparently been watching each other’s videos. Cheers.
@@sesa1076 haha it sounds like we’re on the same page music wise. I play mostly John Fahey style “American primitive”, a little claw hammer banjo, and have been feebly attempting to learn to play early jazz and swing. I too listen to modern jazz from time to time (John Scofield and Bill Frisell mostly). I don’t play any Irish music but I listen to a lot of Pogues if that counts for anything haha
I ended up getting a Guild A-150. It’d not too shabby. It’s working for me quite nicely.
(I too like Dave Rawlings, I believe epiphone made a smaller bodied Olympic like his in this Masterbilt line). Sometimes I wish I would have tried that one instead.
Anyway. I’ll watch that movie. Peace
Omg those overtones harmonics from behind the bridge are awful... at 1:20 it's almost unbearable...
I suppose they'd be easy enough to prevent.
Same thing happens on a D'Angelico.
Night and day
These guitars are pushing near the $1000 territory in 2023.
Demo- no review.
you want to sell Epiphones keep that butcher away from them and back on the deep fryer.where he belons that was awfull . my Dog just ran out in front of a car he couldnt take it anymore .
What?
You certainly aren't talking about this playing.
Did you watch the video of yourself playing again, tough guy?
Butcher?? Haha!! Deep fryer? Awesome.
Come back when you know what music is.
I did hear the ringing that one comment suggested. As far as the "downstroke melody " ( whatever that means ) is concerned maybe this guy is trying to channel Freddie Green. Keep practicing, dude, you have a way to go. It's a guitar, not a pick axe.
It’s been three years-we hope your English skills have improved.
why is every review that I watch for this guitar people are all playing a dumb down stroke melody? it sounds bad.
It's a common jazz / big band rhythm style that birthed these guitars.
+polishbroadcast well I hate it.
You're right. There are one or two videos out there, where the guy shows different ways to "attack" the strings. I own one of these and can assure you it sounds awesome. This is not just a Jazz guitar.
Go for a punk guitar then.
these guitars are designed for jazz so thats who they are gonna try to market it to. also country
The Loar are MUCH better guitars for the money. These Epiphone "master built" guitars sound constipated. They must not violin tune their carved tops? And WHY do these no talent "guitarists" insist on wearing neck scarves anyways..?
every body knows they wear them scarves to keep the fore skin from flopping up over their eyes so they can empress people with their shitty playing m. besides he works full time killing pegons in the park .
You are rude. Where are your review videos? Obviously you have none, or you would keep your obnoxious comments to yourself.
You spell reel gud.
That’s a pressed top, not carved. For $600, these are great guitars.
Loars are terrible. Shitty frets. Badly built. Lousey necks with no care.
it sounds like a epiphone.....best chinese custom shop 🎸😎
Awful sound. The worst from China, so sad for Epiphone. I would have love this one...
It is made in Indonesia.
A feast for the eyes but a dogshit sandwich for the ears.
Nice scarf.. I suppose this was to lend credibility to your worldliness. What a silly affectation.
Melinda Manthey
Your default position is rude fucked-pig, yes?
It was winter time.
What kind of a man's name is "Melinda"?
I suppose he should be wearing some corporate shirt logo emblazoned on a T-shirt and a baseball cap?