Epiphone Joe Pass Emperor II Electric Guitar (Used)
- Write a Review
- Product #518550
Legendary player; legendary guitar.
The Epiphone Joe Pass Emperor II Electric Guitar features a laminated maple neck and body; solid rosewood bridge; gold tuners and tailpiece; multiple bound body, neck, and peghead. Limited lifetime warranty.
Check the drop-down menu to the right to select colors and/or other options.
Features
- Laminated maple neck and body
- Solid rosewood bridge
- Gold tuners and tailpiece
- Multiple bound body, neck, and peghead
Click or call now to own this very reasonably priced and beautifully appointed jazz box!
Review Snapshot®
by PowerReviews(based on 80 reviews)
Ratings Distribution
Most Liked Positive Review
The real Story
As a guitar tech and Guitarist for more than 45 years, here's the real story on the Joe Pass Epi.I just set one up today and it is a very nice guitar. The bone ...Read complete review
As a guitar tech and Guitarist for more than 45 years, here's the real story on the Joe Pass Epi.I just set one up today and it is a very nice guitar. The bone heads that don't check their instruments now and then for loose stuff get what they deserve. I'll bet they also don't check their Oil, Water, and Air in their car either.A few years back, I looked at one and came a gnats hair away from buying it. The only problem with it is the pickups are way too hot. Lowering the pickups into the cavity will cure that bluesy grunt that the guitar has. Now a note to the fellow who had a problem with pickup screws: Don't touch those screws until you've gotten the right balance from raising and lowering the pickups. When all else fails, then you can go ahead and really screw things up by adusting them.The Joe Pass is a nice guitar but it ain't a $10,000 guitar and it shouldn't be expected to be.
VS
Most Liked Negative Review
Kick A@@ Guitar!!!!
I recieved my Joe Pass one day late but wow, it was well worth the wait. This is one beautiful guitar! It came set up perfectly right out of the box. I believe ...Read complete review
I recieved my Joe Pass one day late but wow, it was well worth the wait. This is one beautiful guitar! It came set up perfectly right out of the box. I believe it has 11's or maybe 12's. The feel is just right. Was definitely well beyond my expectations. The workmanship is flawless! Mine is a Heratige Cherry Sunburst with a deep flamed back. Binding is perfect, better than any of my Gibsons. (I own 20 Guitars) The gold hardware is gorgeous! Neck is so comfortable and the sound is just AWESOME! It has a Super Warm, Woody, Ballsy Sound! I own a Custom Shop ES 175 and wow, this guitar rivals my Custom. I'm a die hard Gibson freak so that comment doesn't come easy. The Humbuckers are nice, not quite as perky as the Gibsons but quits a nice sound. Very even volume from neck to bridge.There is not a buzz to be found on this guitar. Solid construction, Beautiful inlay work, Gorgeous Flame back, Plays like a dream, and quite easy on the eyes! Definitely recommended by John!!!! This is the first Guitar I've ever order from Musicians Friend. I have to admit I was very leary ordering a guitar sight unseen but I could not be more satisfied.My style is basically Rock but I branch out to all styles. This box can belt the blues!I own 3 Custom Les Pauls, 2 SG's, an ES 137, an ES 175, an ES 335, a BluesHawk, and a CS 356 Custom Built with my signature on the 12'th fret. This guitar ranks right up there with all these guys!If you're a Gibson person and like archtops...Buy One! If you can find the Cherry Sunburst, it's beautiful.
Reviews
Reviewed by 80 customers
Sort by
Displaying reviews 1-10
Previous | Next »
Comments about Epiphone Joe Pass Emperor II Electric Guitar:
I have always been a Fender fan. I own a Fender Jaguar that has a good rock tone and a very full sound. I had sworn never to buy an Epiphone but when I saw this guitar I just had to play it. The first thing I noticed about it when I played it was that it was considerably lighter than my solid ash Jaguar that feels like a boat on my shoulder. It looked very nice and had a nice, quiet, acoustic sound when it was not plugged in. When I plugged it in it had an even better tone. By playing with a Fender 65R I was able to get any tone I wanted out of it, from smooth warm Blues to Decently heavy rock. The action is higher than I am used to but the sound makes up for it. Overall a very nice guitar.
Comments about Epiphone Joe Pass Emperor II Electric Guitar:
I love this guitar. This thing gives you a great tone and is very affordable. I can get everything from clean jazz to a gritty Dan Auerbach sound. I've had it for about a week now and can't put it down. My only complaints are the cheap saddle and feedback. The feedback makes it tough to play with any kind of distortion or tube screamer peddle but can sound cool if you mute strings and learn to control it. But plugged in straight to my Fender Hot Rod Blues Junior (tweed) sounds amazing. Crank up the the power and preamp tubes and you can really hear that semi-hollow body difference. I highly recommend this guitar as you won't regret it.
Comments about Epiphone Joe Pass Emperor II Electric Guitar:
Overall, its a pretty nice guitar. Ive had the sunburst for over a year and it gives a nice sound. I have a 38W Fender amp and when you turn up the distortion, it gives a pretty bad feedback. Other than that it sounds good. Its not as good as my Hoyer Preestige but its got a good sound. I would recommend getting Humbucker pickups. This was my first guitar and Im pretty impressed
Comments about Epiphone Joe Pass Emperor II Electric Guitar:
See the previou review for my initial thoughts... After two weeks I am more impressed with the quality and playability. I needed to replace the bridge (saddle really) to get the intonation to set up, but after replacing the strings the set up appears very close to the stock rosewood saddle. I'll probably leave the ABR but it seems I may have had a bad string (??possible??)Set up with .010s and the ABR bridge the guitar sings. (KUDOS to Epiphone for keeping the same post to post / and post diameter dimensions, stock Gibson and Epiphone bridges fit factory correct. Excellent!)I run through tubes and solid state amps in different situations and the Emperor responds super to both situations. Different but very resonant, very responsive to amp tuning and placement. It is easy to get or cancel feedback. I'm really impressed with the electronics/ pickups. They got the balance (pickup sensitivity and wood harmonics) so the body vibration tunes to harmonics of the notes played. The body resonates to feedback with nice control and is easily shaped with string damping. Turned up, it demands attention and rewards for the soft touch. For a new guitar, this brings lots of color? tone? expression? out of my same old amps.Two weeks later.... love it! As for the L-5 comparison, maybe that is a little much, but this is an excellent starting point for most of us. There's always the lottery.....damn
Comments about Epiphone Joe Pass Emperor II Electric Guitar:
I got mine yesterday, so just one day of opinion. I am a really fussy player so I expect to set up my guitar once purchased. As an American I am sad to say the Korean work is excellent! and the American work is a little poor. Epi touts the USA pots and jacks etc... and has USA inspector stickers all over the back of the headstock, however, the input jack and pickup selector nuts were loose to the point of falling out. The input jack cannot be tightened (the nut is too large) so the input jack must be replaced (really quite easy if you are used to tearing the archtops apart, but unpleasant on a new guitar).The saddle is rosewood- compensated- adjustable. Horrible! Mine was so over compensated that the bridge sat backwards diagonal on the body. I replaced the rosewood saddle with an ABR gold bridge from an old LP and the intonation is much better and the bridge base sits squarely on the body.I want to say again I am really fussy, but the woodwork on mine is EXCELLENT! The tone and playability is great although the frets are skinnier than desired. Inlay and binding is perfect.I feel this is a great platform for someone who wants to build a C-4 or C-5 (although plywood) for $2,000. Replace the saddle/bridge, upgrade the elec hardware (tuners and tailpiece etc... seem great) and you have a really sweet high quality archtop for peanuts!
Comments about Epiphone Joe Pass Emperor II Electric Guitar:
As a guitar tech and Guitarist for more than 45 years, here's the real story on the Joe Pass Epi.I just set one up today and it is a very nice guitar. The bone heads that don't check their instruments now and then for loose stuff get what they deserve. I'll bet they also don't check their Oil, Water, and Air in their car either.A few years back, I looked at one and came a gnats hair away from buying it. The only problem with it is the pickups are way too hot. Lowering the pickups into the cavity will cure that bluesy grunt that the guitar has. Now a note to the fellow who had a problem with pickup screws: Don't touch those screws until you've gotten the right balance from raising and lowering the pickups. When all else fails, then you can go ahead and really screw things up by adusting them.The Joe Pass is a nice guitar but it ain't a $10,000 guitar and it shouldn't be expected to be.
Comments about Epiphone Joe Pass Emperor II Electric Guitar:
I liked Joe Pass. I like MF. I like Epiphone. But I do not like this guitar. I was cheaply made with poor quality control. I played it and really wanted it but the quality was so bad I bought a Samick which killed the Joe Pass and the Samick was less money. I have several guitars which cost a lot less and are really superior in construction and sound quality. I can not recommend this guitar
Comments about Epiphone Joe Pass Emperor II Electric Guitar:
Wow. This thing for the money cannot be beat. Great guitar to have on a stand for when that moment hits you. The quality is outstanding. I have an older one(89') and the wood is still perfect, no warping/bowing. How can they make a guitar so nice for so little money? You would be doing your creativity a huge favor by purchasing this guitar. Aside from a few issues with the electronics, as in cheap pots and pickup height adjustments stripping out, it has weathered the years very well. Great guitar, period.
Comments about Epiphone Joe Pass Emperor II Electric Guitar:
I bought my Joe Pass guitar over a year ago and have run into so many quality issues. Screws falling off pick guards, and going to plug in monster chord and seeing the plug screw fell and the only way to fix it would be to grab a coat hanger and fish it out... Started good sounded well at first but turned into a nightmare.
Comments about Epiphone Joe Pass Emperor II Electric Guitar:
I bought this guitar two months ago because I tried one in a store and was quite impressed...old jazzy sounds and cool sounding rock sounds...it does feed back a wee bit but with a little cae...it sounds perfect....this is my first hollow body and the attention to detail is amazing.....it's simply beautiful and a dream to play
