1970s Epiphone ET-290 Solidbody Electric Guitar

Mr. Dave owns this cool old '70s Epiphone and he just brought it by to have the pickups swapped back to the originals (he'd had Burstbuckers in it for a while). The originals sound great and interesting but are a fair bit more microphonic. Still, I think it's an improvement to have it sound a little more "its own thing."

These are Japanese-made guitars that ape the look of the older Crestwood/Wilshire models. I'm pretty sure Matsumoku was the manufacturer. It's a quality instrument, though, with an SG-like quick, stable, and easy neck with tons of fret access, a nice reverse-painted pickguard, and good fittings throughout. The only weak point, really, are the old tuners -- but that's true of most vintage guitars, let's be honest...

The sound is decidedly masculine and aggressive with a warm, fat, neck pickup voice and a cleaner, brighter bridge. I found myself liking the middle position a lot -- it has a little bit of a Stratty or minihum quality to it.

Repairs included: pickup swap, glorified setup work.

Body wood: mahogany-like center with flamed-maple veneer top/back

Bridge: ABR-style

Fretboard: rosewood, bound

Neck wood: maple, multi-piece

Pickups: 2x original humbuckers

Action height at 12th fret: 1/16" overall (fast)
String gauges: 46w-10

Neck shape: slim C

Board radius: 9.5"

Truss rod: adjustable

Neck relief: straight

Fret style: medium-low

Scale length: 24 3/4"

Nut width: 1 9/16"

Body width: 13"

Body depth: 1 3/8"

Weight: 7 lbs 9 oz

Condition notes: it's all-original (save the gator sticker) and in good order throughout. The finish is fairly clean but does show average usewear and light scratching here and there. The hardware all shows wear to its plating. There's an extra pickup mounting hole in each pickup surround and the surrounds are extra-large so it would be hard to find a replacement set. The frets have a hair of wear in first position but not enough for me to bother leveling/dressing them.

It comes with: a presumably-original case.