I got one of these at the beginning of 2024. It's fantastic. I took it straight to a local guitar tech because there was a little fret buzzing, and I'd heard of the inconsistencies regarding quality. He did a little tinkering, though nothing beyond the usual set up, and it sounds excellent.
I've Got mine since 2020 and it's a good guitar...Surprisingly perfect and well balanced in sound. Nothing to say..The only problem was some buzz on the lower strings that I solved raising the action, by putting a small spacer under the bridge....I've payed mine 'bout 850 euros at that time...
Great review. I've had the J45 for a while and been gigging it every week. I made a change to the electronics (put in a Rare Earth soundhole pickup), but aside from that kept it as it was. The sound does change and improve as it opens up. My only criticism really is that the fret wire seems a bit soft, but to be honest my old Taylor was the same.
Thank you! And I remember watching your Alvarez Masterworks vs Epiphone IBG video! Great stuff. I do agree that the pickups that come stock in these isn't anything special, but here recently I've been playing with a full 5 piece band so, my guitar gets buried anyhow so I haven't bothered replacing mine ha ha. Sadly soft fretwire does seem to be a common issue in budget instruments, but hey, once it needs replaced, in go the stainless steel frets!
I have a 2020 IBG J-45, built in Indonesia, it just keeps getting better with age, but it is a heavy guitar. Erything you're saying about "lighter guitar = better sounding guitar" has always been true in my experience. Gibson owns and operates the Epiphone factory in China, so they control everything from conditioning of the wood to final QA inspection... The Indonesian built IBG models were built by Samick for Epiphone. They do not get to control conditioning of the wood, they get a slice of time (usually a few weeks) where an assembly line is built adhoc for a certain model. They produce a certain amount, then the line is torn down and rebuilt later when they want another batch. Very nice guitars can and do come from Samick, but it's not the same as the company owning the factory... Epiphone always planned to move the IBG line to their factory in China, it just took time to get everything in place.
Hi Brian, I can’t find a thing that you said to argue with. Well done update. If folks check the 5th & 6th digits in the serial number, 23 is the factory code for Indonesia and 15 is the factory code for China. There are other China codes, but IBG and Masterbilt will only have one of these two codes. Great video, brother man 👍🏻
I have the 2020 Indonesian Samick made version of this guitar (2020 was the first year of production) and it has Epiphone deluxe branded tulip tuners (obviously made by Kluson from the quality, I have compared them with the similar Kluson tulip tuners, I have on other guitars) that are superb tuning heads that provide rock solid tuning stability. The move to Wilkinson lower quality tuners took place in 2021. First year of production is invariably the best with most guitar brands as that is when the brand is building up the reputation of the model. Also Worth noting that production of IBGs moved to the Epiphone facility in China in the fall of 2023. It was obviously always Epiphone's intention to move IBG and Masterbilt acoustic guitar production eventually to their facility in China once the tooling and skilled labour was in place as its significantly cheap for Epiphone to do this rather than job the work out to Samick who are btw one of their major competitors. Why give Samick the work when Epiphone can do it cheaper themselves? The lighter weight of the wood is probably because Epiphone in China are sourcing their wood from completely different sources compared with Samick in Indonesia 8500km away!
@@BrianMcCullarMusic I am real disappointed the path Epiphone has taken , true they were hurting Gibson but Epiphone had So many models they could have came out with and not copy Gibson. I have two early Masterbilt`s both made in China and they are great sounding vintage guitars. Thanks for the update !
@@thekycoffeebean Hopefully they get back to making unique new designs again! There's plenty of room for new and old designs if they just open their eyes!
It was pretty easy. The holes didn't quite line up though so I did have to drill new holes for the new tuners, but it was totally worth it! I'm glad you enjoyed the video!
Brian, where did you get the replacement bridge pins from, what size did you with, and did you have to enlarge the bridge pin holes to accommodate the new pins? Thanks, looking to upgrade the pins on mine.
I bought Crosby pins, I forget the exact ones but, I had to sand the pins so they'd fit into the pin holes. I did this by inserting the end of a pin into a rotating drill, then holding sandpaper around the shaft of the pin and actuating the drill so it sanded down until each as the needed size :)
Thank you for your response. I tried a set of Tusq saddles. They didn’t fit as they were too tight, however, was reluctant to bore the bridge holes larger. I like your idea of sanding the pins down to fit.
Do you have an inspection mirror and could you check and let me know what the bridgeplate wood is on this? You can put and inspection mirror through the soundhole and using a flashlight, generally it will either be rosewood (darker wood) or maple (lighter wood). Haven't been able to get this information, although most higher end US made guitars use hard maple on the bridgplate.
@@BrianMcCullarMusic Ok thanks, if you have an inspection mirror you don't actually have to do anything, not even loosen the strings and can do while its sitting in a hardcase.
I have an Epi Dove made in china , QC on it is good . My fretting fingers are my secret , they are not made in Indonesia or China . I think a lot of Tone is through the fingers .
I had an Epiphone Inspired by Gibson Hummingbird their thin , no volume , no sustain and I installed a bone saddle an tusk pins still not much difference , I ended up giving it away lol and bought a Yamaha LL16 D in Black installed a bone saddle and tusk pins on it and its got volume , good body and sustain and it ate the Epi for lunch lol
Sorry to hear that! I've personally had good luck with the IBG Hummingbirds but I have had the experience you mentioned with some the J-200s I've tried from the line, so it's definitely possible that there's some bad apples out there. That said, Yamaha makes a solid guitar so I'm glad you found an axe you prefer! :)
Wanna huge improvement in tone? Projection? Resonance with that guitar? Get rid of that 2 lb chunk of sound robbing rubber they call a pick gaurd on the top! I replaced it with a small ultra thin and hard pick guard... More like one you will find on a Martin or Taylor.. it is a sound board for Gods sake... The Gibson gaurds are thinner and MUCH harder material, gummy near rubber they use is AWFUL FOR THE TONE OVERALL!!
I do have a video I uploaded recently showing off more budget alternatives to the Hummingbird, perhaps check that out and maybe something there will be more in your price range! ruclips.net/video/ECxTjel_5PY/видео.html&t
I assume that'd be the Canadian price? USD it's $850. And I do agree that Yamaha makes some great guitars in that price range, I used to carry them in my shop! But I wouldn't say they were better or worse. Quality wise they were comparable, but with different intended markets. I sold Yamaha's mostly to bluegrass players, when I got second hand Epis like this in (we weren't a dealer for them), they usually sold to country and rock players :)
@@BrianMcCullarMusic try the slash j45 epiphone.....would not pay 200$ for that....sound cheap....chunky neck..... a yamaha ll16 put some 4000$ taylor/martin to shame
I got one of these at the beginning of 2024. It's fantastic. I took it straight to a local guitar tech because there was a little fret buzzing, and I'd heard of the inconsistencies regarding quality. He did a little tinkering, though nothing beyond the usual set up, and it sounds excellent.
I've Got mine since 2020 and it's a good guitar...Surprisingly perfect and well balanced in sound. Nothing to say..The only problem was some buzz on the lower strings that I solved raising the action, by putting a small spacer under the bridge....I've payed mine 'bout 850 euros at that time...
Great review. I've had the J45 for a while and been gigging it every week. I made a change to the electronics (put in a Rare Earth soundhole pickup), but aside from that kept it as it was. The sound does change and improve as it opens up. My only criticism really is that the fret wire seems a bit soft, but to be honest my old Taylor was the same.
Thank you! And I remember watching your Alvarez Masterworks vs Epiphone IBG video! Great stuff. I do agree that the pickups that come stock in these isn't anything special, but here recently I've been playing with a full 5 piece band so, my guitar gets buried anyhow so I haven't bothered replacing mine ha ha.
Sadly soft fretwire does seem to be a common issue in budget instruments, but hey, once it needs replaced, in go the stainless steel frets!
I have a 2020 IBG J-45, built in Indonesia, it just keeps getting better with age, but it is a heavy guitar. Erything you're saying about "lighter guitar = better sounding guitar" has always been true in my experience. Gibson owns and operates the Epiphone factory in China, so they control everything from conditioning of the wood to final QA inspection... The Indonesian built IBG models were built by Samick for Epiphone. They do not get to control conditioning of the wood, they get a slice of time (usually a few weeks) where an assembly line is built adhoc for a certain model. They produce a certain amount, then the line is torn down and rebuilt later when they want another batch. Very nice guitars can and do come from Samick, but it's not the same as the company owning the factory... Epiphone always planned to move the IBG line to their factory in China, it just took time to get everything in place.
Bought mine 2 years ago…Still LOVE IT.
Hi Brian, I can’t find a thing that you said to argue with. Well done update. If folks check the 5th & 6th digits in the serial number, 23 is the factory code for Indonesia and 15 is the factory code for China. There are other China codes, but IBG and Masterbilt will only have one of these two codes. Great video, brother man 👍🏻
Hey there Randy, I appreciate you popping over! And thanks for that info, I'm sure it'll be very helpful to potential buyers! Thanks!
I have the 2020 Indonesian Samick made version of this guitar (2020 was the first year of production) and it has Epiphone deluxe branded tulip tuners (obviously made by Kluson from the quality, I have compared them with the similar Kluson tulip tuners, I have on other guitars) that are superb tuning heads that provide rock solid tuning stability. The move to Wilkinson lower quality tuners took place in 2021. First year of production is invariably the best with most guitar brands as that is when the brand is building up the reputation of the model. Also Worth noting that production of IBGs moved to the Epiphone facility in China in the fall of 2023. It was obviously always Epiphone's intention to move IBG and Masterbilt acoustic guitar production eventually to their facility in China once the tooling and skilled labour was in place as its significantly cheap for Epiphone to do this rather than job the work out to Samick who are btw one of their major competitors. Why give Samick the work when Epiphone can do it cheaper themselves? The lighter weight of the wood is probably because Epiphone in China are sourcing their wood from completely different sources compared with Samick in Indonesia 8500km away!
I own an Indonesian made (Dec '21) Epiphone Excellente...... it's easy to Love. You could do a WorldTour with this Guitar. ♠️❤♠️
Let’s here the comparison.
Good point about bridge pins! Stock are v irritating
Agree 100% , Great review !
Thank you! I'm really glad you enjoyed!
@@BrianMcCullarMusic I am real disappointed the path Epiphone has taken , true they were hurting Gibson but Epiphone had So many models they could have came out with and not copy Gibson.
I have two early Masterbilt`s both made in China and they are great sounding vintage guitars.
Thanks for the update !
@@thekycoffeebean Hopefully they get back to making unique new designs again! There's plenty of room for new and old designs if they just open their eyes!
Great review! I like the new tuners. How difficult was it to changing them out? Did you have to drill new holes?
It was pretty easy. The holes didn't quite line up though so I did have to drill new holes for the new tuners, but it was totally worth it! I'm glad you enjoyed the video!
Brian, where did you get the replacement bridge pins from, what size did you with, and did you have to enlarge the bridge pin holes to accommodate the new pins? Thanks, looking to upgrade the pins on mine.
I bought Crosby pins, I forget the exact ones but, I had to sand the pins so they'd fit into the pin holes. I did this by inserting the end of a pin into a rotating drill, then holding sandpaper around the shaft of the pin and actuating the drill so it sanded down until each as the needed size :)
Thank you for your response. I tried a set of Tusq saddles. They didn’t fit as they were too tight, however, was reluctant to bore the bridge holes larger. I like your idea of sanding the pins down to fit.
Do you have an inspection mirror and could you check and let me know what the bridgeplate wood is on this? You can put and inspection mirror through the soundhole and using a flashlight, generally it will either be rosewood (darker wood) or maple (lighter wood). Haven't been able to get this information, although most higher end US made guitars use hard maple on the bridgplate.
I haven't looked inside to check for that but, next time I change the strings I'll check!
@@BrianMcCullarMusic Ok thanks, if you have an inspection mirror you don't actually have to do anything, not even loosen the strings and can do while its sitting in a hardcase.
@@guestguide2544 I don't sadly, not since the store closed. My only way to see inside now is with my cell phone.
I have an Epi Dove made in china , QC on it is good . My fretting fingers are my secret , they are not made in Indonesia or China . I think a lot of Tone is through the fingers .
5 oz ? Think you need to replace your scales
Lmao yeah I misspoke, I meant to say 5 pounds ha ha
I had an Epiphone Inspired by Gibson Hummingbird their thin , no volume , no sustain and I installed a bone saddle an tusk pins still not much difference , I ended up giving it away lol and bought a Yamaha LL16 D in Black installed a bone saddle and tusk pins on it and its got volume , good body and
sustain and it ate the Epi for lunch lol
Sorry to hear that! I've personally had good luck with the IBG Hummingbirds but I have had the experience you mentioned with some the J-200s I've tried from the line, so it's definitely possible that there's some bad apples out there. That said, Yamaha makes a solid guitar so I'm glad you found an axe you prefer! :)
Dude my Epi Bird would smoke your yammy. Sustain for days and my neighbours complain about the volume. It's sick.
WHO'S WATCHING IN 2026!?
what?
I'm typing this in 2026. If you can see it in 2024 time travel is now reality.
Wanna huge improvement in tone? Projection? Resonance with that guitar? Get rid of that 2 lb chunk of sound robbing rubber they call a pick gaurd on the top! I replaced it with a small ultra thin and hard pick guard... More like one you will find on a Martin or Taylor.. it is a sound board for Gods sake... The Gibson gaurds are thinner and MUCH harder material, gummy near rubber they use is AWFUL FOR THE TONE OVERALL!!
Sooooo true
Took mine off….. massive upgrade!
I can't afford $1200 for a guitar.
I do have a video I uploaded recently showing off more budget alternatives to the Hummingbird, perhaps check that out and maybe something there will be more in your price range!
ruclips.net/video/ECxTjel_5PY/видео.html&t
1200$ for a epiphone....wow......yamaha have so much better guitar for the same price
I assume that'd be the Canadian price? USD it's $850. And I do agree that Yamaha makes some great guitars in that price range, I used to carry them in my shop! But I wouldn't say they were better or worse. Quality wise they were comparable, but with different intended markets. I sold Yamaha's mostly to bluegrass players, when I got second hand Epis like this in (we weren't a dealer for them), they usually sold to country and rock players :)
@@BrianMcCullarMusic try the slash j45 epiphone.....would not pay 200$ for that....sound cheap....chunky neck..... a yamaha ll16 put some 4000$ taylor/martin to shame
@@sebg2086 I think that version of the J45 got discontinued
crap
You're certainly entitled to your opinion!
What’s better for the money? Just curious
5.8oz???? You serious 😮
Lol on my other channel here responding to this but, I meant 5.8 pounds. I misspoke in the video, sorry!