2005 Epiphone AJ-500RCSNS 12-Fret Dreadnought Guitar

I worked on two others of this same model some time back. This is quite a rare model and a bit sought-after in the working-man's acoustic world of today. It's basically a modern take on the old '30s Gibson Roy Smeck Radio Grande 12-fret jumbos and it features a solid, scalloped-x-braced cedar top over solid rosewood back and sides. The nut is 1 3/4" and it has a chunky, old-fashioned medium-bigger C/V neck profile so fingerpickers and old-time fanatics will enjoy the feel and spacing.

Every one of these I've played has sounded fantastic. They're loud, full-sounding, responsive, and just plain fun. I've owned 12-fret D-18 and D-28 models from time to time and these are on the same level soundwise. I'm a fan of the Normal Blake 12-fret D sound and these have it, though the cedar top gives them a little more "cream in the coffee" right-off the snap of the pick. They're interesting guitars.

Anyhow, it's got some minor wear and tear (finish-wise) but it's in good order and playing bang-on after a glorified setup. There's one older back brace reglue and I reglued the ends of 2 others, but otherwise it seems like it hasn't been mucked-with.

Repairs included: fret level/dress, back-brace end reglues, and setup.


Top wood: solid cedar

Back & sides wood: solid rosewood

Bracing type: x

Bridge: rosewood

Fretboard: rosewood

Neck wood: mahogany


Action height at 12th fret: 3/32” bass 1/16” treble (fast, spot-on)
String gauges: 54w-12 lights

Neck shape: medium-bigger C/V '30s Gibson-style shape

Board radius: ~12"

Truss rod: adjustable

Neck relief: straight

Fret style: medium/wider


Scale length: 25 5/8"

Nut width: 1 3/4"

Body width: 15 7/8"

Body depth: 4 7/8"

Weight: 4 lbs 9 oz


Condition notes: there's light scratching on the back here and there, minor scratching but a couple dings on the front, and the nut was swapped at some point. The bridge pins are brass replacements but they look neat with the gold tuners so I left them. The factory installed the pickguard at a slight wrong angle, so don't look at it too hard or it'll make you crazy. There are a few dings on the back of the neck as well and the endpin was drilled for a pickup but then the pickup was removed at some point. I fit a "jack to nowhere" to make up for that.


It comes with: a good hard case with some stickers on the lid (not pictured but it's good to go).





















 BLY1

Comments