The J's Have It

EPIPHONE INSPIRED BY GIBSON J-45 AND J-200

- Paul Riario

THERE’S A GOOD reason legions of diehard musicians proudly play Epiphone guitars — because they outperform more expensive brands and boast an undeniable quality-to-price ratio that’s hard to beat. Following in Gibson’s towering reputation for impeccable craftsmanship, Epiphone has recently taken a lockstep approach in vastly improving their Gibson-counterpart line of guitars by debuting “Epiphone Inspired by Gibson,” an extensive collection of iconic acoustic and electric instruments designed from the original Gibson blueprints. I zeroed in on the remarkable J-45 and J-200 acoustics — a sloped shoulder and a super jumbo, respectively — from the “Epiphone Inspired By Gibson” Acoustic Collection, which also consists of the J-45 EC, Hummingbird, and Hummingbird 12-string.

FEATURES Both guitars share all solid wood construction, quarter-sawn spruce bracing, tapered dovetail neck joint, Indian Laurel (similar to rosewood) fingerboard with 20 medium jumbo frets, 1.69-inch (43mm) nut width, and Fishman Sonicore under-saddle pickup, and Sonitone preamp electronics with soundhole-mounted volume and tone controls.