Epiphone 500M ukulele???

mrplatypus70

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I was just wondering if anyone but me had one of these? I like mine a lot, to me it sounded way better than the new Martin I tried (although that could have been the wimpy clear Martin strings). If anyone has one or has played one please give your opinion, thanks.
 
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No, I do not think they make them any more glad I got mine when I did. I did not play mine a lot when I first got it, it was just too small after playing guitar so long. Now I have gotten used to it and put Worth strings on it which made it way louder, I play it more then anything else and after 3 years it sounds better then ever.
 
thats how the cookie crumbles for manufacturers...they get pigeonholed into one or two markets, which isnt really a bad thing.

Epiphone is really just low/mid range acoustic and electric guitars. They make a mandolin and apparently made that uke, but nobody knows that stuff and frankly nobody cares because why would you spend $500 on an epiphone mandolin when you can choose from a dozen kentucky mandolins alone lol, not to mention morgan monroe or michael kelly etc (manufacturers that focus on folkstyle instruments). Why am I going to buy a $3000 yamaha acoustic guitar when you can get a Martin, Taylor, or Gibson not to mention Collings and some others that really specialize in higher end instruments. Dont get me started on Guitar Center banjos!

Gibson and Martin can pull it off because they are industrial monsters, but for everyone else...I just dont think the cost/benefit ratio is there for them or the desire to really push into a new market to where the ratio can become worth it. It can be a shame, but what can you do? I would love a breedlove ukulele, but unless they go big into that market, I'll never be able to afford one.
 
thats how the cookie crumbles for manufacturers...they get pigeonholed into one or two markets, which isnt really a bad thing.

Epiphone is really just low/mid range acoustic and electric guitars. They make a mandolin and apparently made that uke, but nobody knows that stuff and frankly nobody cares because why would you spend $500 on an epiphone mandolin when you can choose from a dozen kentucky mandolins alone lol, not to mention morgan monroe or michael kelly etc (manufacturers that focus on folkstyle instruments). Why am I going to buy a $3000 yamaha acoustic guitar when you can get a Martin, Taylor, or Gibson not to mention Collings and some others that really specialize in higher end instruments. Dont get me started on Guitar Center banjos!

Gibson and Martin can pull it off because they are industrial monsters, but for everyone else...I just dont think the cost/benefit ratio is there for them or the desire to really push into a new market to where the ratio can become worth it. It can be a shame, but what can you do? I would love a breedlove ukulele, but unless they go big into that market, I'll never be able to afford one.

:agree:Well said, but isnt that everyones dream: To have an incredible quality ukulele (like a kamaka) at the price range of a low end model? Yes it is also my dream but alas, I dont think it will ever happen. (sniffles) a man can dream right?:iwant:
 
Epiphone Masterbilt guitars are great instruments. The uke was a "Masterbilt" also, and really a great instrument. Musician's Friend had them before the big growth in ukulele. Epiphone has the market muscle to make it stick, but, all they had were that solid mahogany and a solid koa model in the $800 range (both soprano). If they had greater diversity in their line of ukes, they would have sold more. They also needed to market them properly. They didn't.
 
yeah, you would think these business types wouldnt jump into a mid/high end range to start with...ukes are not like guitars. Guitars are everywhere and are a market for everyone...ukes have a smaller, more specific market (until the revolution). Why dont they realize that if I'm spending 800 on an uke...its not going to be on the one and only epiphone ukulele with no reputation...its going to be on Kamaka or the like. Epiphone does not have any recognition by the ukulele buyers, so why wouldnt you pump out QUALITY low end ones. Duh...you they can afford the venture. Fill the market with NICE low end instruments to get your name out there, gain respect and credibility...then go bigger. Besides, until they establish a good rep w/in the uke community, there is no glory in owning a $800 something with epiphone stamped on it. Masterbuilts are good admittedly, but they are like $400 acoustics...barely middle range IF THAT. The do not carry any mystique at all in the guitar community, and even less in the ukulele culture imho. They aint gibson and they aint martin. At $800 you getting into the market that wants a specific name branded on their instrument...and that is something you have to earn.

I'm thankful big companies dont care...long live the little man!!!
 
I have never played the $800 koa Epiphone ukulele, the one I have was $250 with a hard case at guitar center. It is solid mahogany, nice and dark with nice grain pattern. The nut and saddle are bone, intonation is dead on. I think for the price I paid it is great quality. I agree Epiphone did not do much to market the ukuleles they sold, it seems like they only sold them at guitar stores and at the Guitar Center I go to the ukuleles are way up on a wall where someone has to get a ladder if you want to play one! I think guitar center could sell a lot of ukuleles in the $100-$300 range if they had a selection and put them where people could get at them! I also agree with some people wanting to pay for a name brand and paying way more then they should. For example I have a Gibson Les Paul Custom, which I got in the 80's for $550 used. It is a great guitar but now they go for over 3,000!!! That is INSANE; I love mine but would never pay that much for a guitar. On the other hand I also have a Squire Tele that cost $120 and it is also a great sounding guitar so how can you justify paying so much???
 
i dunno, I never heard of it or seen it...hence the lack of marketing. GC sucks at marketing anything other than guitars, amps, keys and drums. I worked at one and was the only guy who could play everything in the acoustic room...everyone else played only guitar.

That being said...who cares that they have mandolins or ukuleles because the ones they stock in the store typically suck or are never tuned...even if they were decent or in tune, you cant ever reach them to play. The ONE ukulele I ever saw in the store that I liked was a Cordoba...it was a decent sounding uke but not the same. I would consider a $200 epiphone or something of the like, but bottom line is, we'll probably never know cuz most of the non-guitar items are only stocked online for GC stores etc.

dont get me started on GC banjos!
 
Are you sating these ukes are $800 in the US? That would make them about £500 in the UK but they are actually £179 here http://www.guitarampkeyboard.com/en/78687
Are they worth considering at that price?

Ian.

No, Pippen was talking about a solid Koa version that Epiphone also made the price here for the mahogony one was $250 (or it was three years ago)
 
i dunno, I never heard of it or seen it...hence the lack of marketing. GC sucks at marketing anything other than guitars, amps, keys and drums. I worked at one and was the only guy who could play everything in the acoustic room...everyone else played only guitar.

That being said...who cares that they have mandolins or ukuleles because the ones they stock in the store typically suck or are never tuned...even if they were decent or in tune, you cant ever reach them to play. The ONE ukulele I ever saw in the store that I liked was a Cordoba...it was a decent sounding uke but not the same. I would consider a $200 epiphone or something of the like, but bottom line is, we'll probably never know cuz most of the non-guitar items are only stocked online for GC stores etc.

dont get me started on GC banjos!

I have two non-guitar instruments I got at guitar center, both Epiphone, the ukulele and a mm-30 mandolin (about $160) and I think the ukulele is very good quality for a mid- level instrument and the mandolin is a decent lower level instrument, it is playable and has a decent tone, no it is not anything like a Gibson or a Weber I am not really a mandolin player but I know people who have real nice ones and they are way better then mine, but mine is way better then the cheap Rogue mandolins from MusiciansFriend.com that are only a little cheaper. So I would not say all the non-guitar instruments at GC are crap but I agree 100% that they are stuck somewhere where you can't reach them and the person who comes to help you will not even know how to tune it, never mind play it!
 
I tend to overstate things...you understand that more in person. I'll be more mindful of my online posts:)

they arent all crap, and yes they are WAY better than rogue...BOUND TO BE. You could guess that w/o ever seeing or playing one lol. You can only go "up" from rogue.
 
Are you sating these ukes are $800 in the US? That would make them about £500 in the UK but they are actually £179 here http://www.guitarampkeyboard.com/en/78687
Are they worth considering at that price?

Ian.

That's a good price for the mahogany version. The $800 (USD) is solid koa with lots of bling.

The mahogany uke is solid wood and a beautiful instrument and the ones I have played were absolutely beautiful and sounded great, but, I wanted one and never got around to buying one. Too late now.
 
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