Tremendous value for the price. Great action, nice, sweet sound, I play it through an acoustic amp with great results. Good looking guitar, workmanship seems as good as either a Guild or Gibson.

I bought this Epiphone in Hong Kong at a good price. Maybe the conservative look is not suited to the local market. I own a few guitars-a Les Paul, a Music Man Silhouette and a Taylor, but tend to play this one more often as it sounds OK unplugged or plugged in without FX. Robust built, was tested by my mate the other night when dropped - no problem. The detail of the finish is not the best, being more of a show pony as opposed to a thoroughbred. Binding, for example, is not well matched and fretboard could do with some fine file work. BUT having stated the minor issues I would have to say the sound is sweet. You can use the tone pots 0 to 10 with effect, and blend in the two volumes to get a myriad of sweet tones. What you can't get is raw screaming tone, but that really is for another guitar type. Playability is similarly good without being a speed demon. I think for a practice instrument, or for a low cost jazz box, it is well worth a look.

Hard to tell the difference between this guitar and a Guild or Gibson archtop, in terms of playability and sound. A rare, excellent product from Epiphone (I don't recommend their other jazz boxes, many of which suffer from questionable workmanship and substandard materials). I give this guitar four stars. While you can get significantly more quality for a significantly higher price, you simply cannot beat the deal you get with this extremely playable and dependable guitar. The only drawback I've had over two+ years is that the finish on the pickups is starting to fade. Otherwise there is *nothing I don't appreciate about this guitar*. I own a Guild, a Fender, and another Epi -- but this is the only guitar I play anymore, on stage or at home.

I purchased this guitar about three months ago. I play it often and enjoy it very much. I do plan to put an ebony bridge on it in the next week or two. I noticed another reviewer had already changed over with positive results. The workmanship on the Joe pass I bought was perfect, I cannot find any flaws in the finish or binding, But the gold plating will have to be redone as it is wearing off on the tail piece wear I rest my wrist. I have owned a Gibson, Martin and now own a Taylor and this guitar is in the same class including workmanship and sound. I hope you enjoy your Emperor II as much as I enjoy mine.

I'm a lefty jazz player, and there aren't many options for low priced guitars. The Joe Pass felt great when I got it. I replaced the neck pickup with a Benedetto B6A (no longer available). That pickup got me the sound I wanted. I recently built an ebony tailpiece and I really like the sound now. It sounds more like a solid top. Very clean until you attack, then it sounds like a classic sixties style Gibson.