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What are your thoughts on Korean Epi's?


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Every MIK guitar that comes into my shop is there for a pup or hardware upgrade. The quality and setup is second to none. The {censored} they put on them is just that. {censored}. Upgrade to a bone nut, good pups, tuners and bridge and you got a monster.



Or a Faded/Worn Studio ;)

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I can only speak of my early 90's Epi LP. That guitar is a solid player. Swapped the pickups years ago and have had no reason to upgrade anything else. Feels, plays and sounds like a LP. Does it compare to Gibson USA LP standard? Probably not but for the price I think you'd be hard pressed to find a nicer guitar.

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Or a Faded/Worn Studio
;)


For 1/2 the $$$. As for the sticky neck syndrome, I've been spending 10 minutes with a red scotchbrite pad. I include this free with any work done if the customer wishes it. And about half do request this service.

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I absolutely love mine. I'm not really an LP guy or a Gibson guy, but I'm absolutely not a Gibson hater. I've owned 5 or 6 Gibsons, all bought used at decent discounts and I feel my Korean Epi is absolutely a better player than any Gibson that I've owned.

Mine is stock other than the GFS Alnico II pickups and a replaced bridge volume pot that was bad when I got it. I think I have about $150 in it with the upgrades. I should replace the nut... or at least work on opening up the B and G slots. Other than that, I would call it completely gig-worthy.

DSC_3239a1.jpg

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I have nothing but the greatest respect of EPI's, but if you want something in the same price range, you might want to look at Hagstrom. I just picked up a Super Swede and it is fandango:

haggy_002.jpg

The Coil Tap only improves the possibilities.

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I absolutely love mine. I'm not really an LP guy or a Gibson guy, but I'm absolutely not a Gibson hater. I've owned 5 or 6 Gibsons, all bought used at decent discounts and I feel my Korean Epi is absolutely a better player than any Gibson that I've owned.


Mine is stock other than the GFS Alnico II pickups and a replaced bridge volume pot that was bad when I got it. I think I have about $150 in it with the upgrades. I should replace the nut... or at least work on opening up the B and G slots. Other than that, I would call it completely gig-worthy.


DSC_3239a1.jpg



:love::love::love: Do Want....

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I have two.

1999 MIK LP standard plus top. Overall I love it. All the hardware is fine, and the construction is great. Some days I love the pickups, some days I don't. I may or may not put Burstbucker Pros in them at some point. The volume knobs are a little scratchy, but I'm the 3rd or 4th owner of this guitar, and I think it's seen some playing. It was filthy and horribly set up when I got it.


I also have a 2000 MIK Firebird VII. That guitar is perfect. Construction is fine, it looks gorgeous, and the pickups are some of the best I've ever heard on any guitar.

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Every MIK guitar that comes into my shop is there for a pup or hardware upgrade. The quality and setup is second to none. The {censored} they put on them is just that. {censored}. Upgrade to a bone nut, good pups, tuners and bridge and you got a monster.

 

 

This makes me think about the Agile AL-2000, the lowest cost Agiles. On the Rondo website, these say Made in Korea, in bold letters. I've bought Agile, Sx, and Douglas, all MIC, all pretty decent guitars. I'm really thinking about the MIKs. I'm wondering if they needed a batch of the AL-2000s, and the quickest they could get them would be thru a factory in Korea.

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I have had 2 Korean Epi's that were pretty good.
One I sold, and the other I traded for a 1960 cab.

If you like Korean Epi's though, you could always get an Agile?
They are made at Unsung in Korea, which is the factory that made many great Korean Epi's...

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This makes me think about the Agile AL-2000, the lowest cost Agiles. On the Rondo website, these say Made in Korea, in bold letters. I've bought Agile, Sx, and Douglas, all MIC, all pretty decent guitars. I'm really thinking about the MIKs. I'm wondering if they needed a batch of the AL-2000s, and the quickest they could get them would be thru a factory in Korea.

 

 

Im pretty sure all Agile guitars are MIK....

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This makes me think about the Agile AL-2000, the lowest cost Agiles. On the Rondo website, these say Made in Korea, in bold letters. I've bought Agile, Sx, and Douglas, all MIC, all pretty decent guitars. I'm really thinking about the MIKs. I'm wondering if they needed a batch of the AL-2000s, and the quickest they could get them would be thru a factory in Korea.

 

 

I totally missed this too...

 

All Agiles are made in Korea. Always have been.

Same factory that made many Epi's in fact..

 

Douglas and SX are made in China.

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I have had 2 Korean Epi's that were pretty good.

One I sold, and the other I traded for a 1960 cab.


If you like Korean Epi's though, you could always get an Agile?

They are made at Unsung in Korea, which is the factory that made many great Korean Epi's...

 

 

Really? Are the Agile's made by Unsung? My Sheri is an Unsung and it's great. I'll have to look closer at Agile.

 

The thing about MIK Epi's is that they can be made by one of several manufacturers. I like the Peerless ones the best, then Unsung, then the older Samicks then Saein.

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Really? Are the Agile's made by Unsung? My Sheri is an Unsung and it's great. I'll have to look closer at Agile.


The thing about MIK Epi's is that they can be made by one of several manufacturers. I like the Peerless ones the best, then Unsung, then the older Samicks then Saein.

 

 

Yup.

Unless Kurt has switched to a different factory in the last year or so.

The quality sure hasn't dropped off any.

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I have a 2000 MIK Goldtop LP and it is great. It may not be a Gibson but it is better in quality than the MIC ones that I have played.

 

 

True, I played a 2000 MIK GOLDTOP 56 too, made by samick. very nice playing, and very LPy. Does feel better than MIC IMO

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The three Korean guitars I have owned and I still have two of them are narrower at the nut. The narrower fretboard near the nut can be a real issue for some people when the fingers get crowded. I don't have an EPI and I don't know how much narrower an EPI is than a Gibson near the nut but try before buying.

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Mine is a 99' made at the Unsung plant. It is without a doubt the easiest guitar to play that I own. This is an old photo but it has undergone some great upgrades: Jimmy Page mod with push/pull vol/tone pots, Hoveland caps, SD 59' and Jazz pickups, tusq nut. I love this guitar better than any humbucking guitar I own.

EpiLPfullsideways2.jpg

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