To Phil and the HC reviews - Epiphone Masterbilt Century series

[Neal]

So carved or pressed..the way the professional forum experts have described the reasons and methods, like tap-tuning, shaving just that slight bit, listening for the tapped note, repeating, caressing, repeating...and finally having a top that will put a Stradivarius to shame, it sounds like it wouldn't be cost effective to do that. Unless it's just marketing, in which case it wouldn't matter, right? . Just get a top sized thick blank, CNC machine, and zip 'em out like you said.

[Verne Andru]

Got my hands on a Zenith in a shop yesterday. Excellent fit and finish. Very solidly built and a bit on the heavy side for what it is. I didn't get to try it plugged in but found the acoustic tone to be on par with a sightly over-built guitar. On picking up my Loar 300 when I got home, I'd say the Loar is lighter and the tone big and singing relative to the Epi [there's really no comparison between the two if you are an acoustic purist].

 

I'd say it sits somewhere between the Godin 5th Ave [pressed plywood] and The Loar [hand carved solid-tops] as far as acoustic volume and tone goes, which is what you'd expect from a pressed solid-top build.

[tbry]

Hey Phil, since you said ask...Have you ever compared a Taylor 14 series(Grand Auditorium) and compared it to a Martin 000 size? I think those are the approx same size. If not sub the right one for the compare. There are the 114,214,314,414 and so on. In Martin I am not sure model numbers. What I wanted to know is which MFG would have the most wide application across different styles all things model wise being equal.