Epiphone Limited Edition "1958" Korina Flying-V Electric Guitar, Alpine White via Amazon Flash Deal - $259

You can never have too many guitars.

hate buying guitars online...

Quote from Fujita : hate buying guitars online...

Yeah, me too. However, anytime I had a problem with one received from Amazon I either received a brand new guitar shipped overnight or a significant discount.

sad i missed this...would have bought it in a heartbeat...

Quote from Am_I_Evil : sad i missed this...would have bought it in a heartbeat...

Amazon has run it twice this year for the same price. Hopefully they'll run it again for you. However, the '58 Korina V is no longer in production (according to the Epiphone site). This limited edition in alpine white is not on the Epiphone site (never was) and seems to be exclusive to Amazon and one other site in Japan.

Got mine yesterday.

First impression: this is a beautiful guitar.

Let me say first that this is my first Epiphone guitar. I've steered away from them because they don't say "Gibson" on the headstock. I guess I was in the school that thought Epis were Gibson knock-offs of some kind. But, I've wanted to own a Korina guitar for some time (since I saw the first review in a Guitar mag). I didn't want to dump $1k on another guitar, and when Amazon ran this V last time as a lightning deal I missed it. So, I decided to watch for it and figured eventually they'd run one again. I didn't hesitate this time around when I got an alert on SD(thanks again, Fakethesnake!) I jumped on it.

The Finish:

Had a scuff on one edge, guitar polish took it off. There are two dimples in the paint the size of a pinhead (prolly a dust speck while painting), on the back side of the body. So, it's not 100% perfect, but real close. I'm pretty particular when I buy a new guitar, so 90% of people probably wouldn't notice the dimples.

I had reservations since these are made in China now, but those concerns were quickly put to rest after I unboxed it. All in all, no complaints. Just a beauty. Pictures don't do it justice.

The action out of the box:

A little higher than what I'm used to. It was set up in USA by an Epiphone tech. String height, 12th fret: L6, H4, and 1st fret: L2, H1. No string buzzing AT ALL. Strings, a little dirty. I may get this beaut professionally set up at some point, but for now I'll just replace the strings with some EB Super Slinkys.

The sound:

This is really where this guitar shines. Wow, just wow. I've read many threads about the Korina guitars and their superior sound and sustain. Playing one in a store just doesn't give you an accurate sound comparison. I plugged this into my Marshall 100W stack, and just WOW. The sounds is amazing, like none of my other seven guitars. (No, I do not have a $3K Gibson Les Paul Custom or anything of super high value, but I do have some nice guitars. Maybe one day the wife will have pity on me and get me that LP Custome I've always wanted. Haha) The sound this V produces is just amazing. It is an incredibly full sound, and as others have noted a bit heavy on the mids which I just love. It sounds like none of my other guitars. And, yes, it sustains and sustains. Incredible sustain. I am truly impressed.

The playability:

Wow, this thing is LIGHT. This is easily the lightest one I have, including a Dean Baby Z that I bought for my daughter. How in the world can a guitar this light make such full, warm, and robust sounds? It must be the Korina wood. This is a blessing for my aging/aching back.

Can it be played sitting down? Yes! It took a few minutes, but I got used to it very quickly. I have an Explorer, and the arm rests much in the same place on the V as it does on the Explorer. Maybe playing an Explorer for 27 years made the transition easier.

Is it neck heavy? Yeah, a little. Sitting down you don't notice it. Standing up, yeah, it is a little bit. It is not horrible, though. I tried a few different straps until I went with one that has a suede underside, and that solved the problem. The suede was just enough scuff to keep it from neck dipping. Problem solved! I'll get a 3" strap for it, I think it will make it even better while standing.

The tuners:

These are one thing I'm not 100% wowed by. I get it that they are vintage 14:1 ratio tuners. They seem a little hard to dial in for me. The jury is still out on them, but I may someday be in the market for some Grover 18:1s. I'm in no hurry. Amazon runs the gold ones for $35 a set occasionally. Although, I definitely do NOT want to have to drill new holes on the back of the headstock. I don' want to mess up this beauty.

The conclusion:

Wow, just wow. I don't see me changing anything on this V anytime soon. I read a lot of people change pickups, truss-rod plates, knobs, electronics, etc. Tuners, I can see maybe one day changing -- *maybe*. Anyway, I love it. I simply love it.

Zero problems with Amazon delivery. Zero problems with the guitar, other than two dimples in the paint on the back of the body. Zero reasons to return it.

Congrats to everyone who already has one, and to anyone who will get one before Amazon is out of them and the new ones are gone forever.

Price has fluctuated. was up to 800, right now @371.

I'm tempted, but can wait until it goes down to 250 again.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/...PDKIKX0DER

Quote from gasman : Price has fluctuated. was up to 800, right now @371. I'm tempted, but can wait until it goes down to 250 again. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/...PDKIKX0DER

$362 now hehe

BTW, this is my absolute favorite guitar now, moreso that my Gibson explorer. I do see a new set of grover tuners in the future.

Quote from gasman : Price has fluctuated. was up to 800, right now @371. I'm tempted, but can wait until it goes down to 250 again. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/...PDKIKX0DER

$350 now

Quote from eeddings : $350 now

Tempted. My buddy who worked at guitar center had a used gibson v for 300. I think i'd do this at 300 though.

Quote from gasman : Tempted. My buddy who worked at guitar center had a used gibson v for 300. I think i'd do this at 300 though.

I would jump on that used gibson v for $300 in a heartbeat, if it were available and not a melody maker.

$346 today

Quote from Tardcore : If I was right-handed, I would have gotten in on this in a second. I seriously considered jumping on it anyway as a possible lefty conversion, but the last thing I need is another project guitar right now. thanks for the post! keep those guitar deals coming!

One left of this one $285 (open box - like new)
http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-li...ition=used