Owned this guitar a little more than a month now. Cosmetically, the finish is excellent, with no real heavy clear finish over the very well done sunburst. The action was a little high and the intonation was off a bit. I straightened the neck and put on a bone compensated bridge saddle and the intonation and action improved to near perfection, even using a capo. The Grover tuners are good and responsive and the fret work is perfect. When you run your fingers down the sides of the neck, you don't feel one fret. The sound and tone of the guitar is wonderful,quite a bit less bass than rosewood which is expected with mahogany. So, with new 12-54 strings, a bone compensated saddle and Tusq bridge pins, the guitar sounds super, and to think how little it cost.I wish I knew how to replace the plastic nut with a bone nut. My only complaint was when I removed the protective film from over the pickguard, it left a very tacky residue that required a mild solvent to remove it. I never have played the Gibson Blues King, but this Epiphone really does sound very nice. I recommend this guitar to anyone, casual or pro.

I bought this mainly for the look as I had never seen one in a store to try out. I was quite pleased with the guitar. It sounds very much like you'd expect but has wonderful sustain and a clean fret board. Sounds great for 30s jazz and blues as well as newer stuff.

I bought this as a rebuilt for my girlfriend to learn on. My other guitars are a Gibson J200, Guild 12-string, Guild C0-2, Martin D-16. I am a little spoiled. This one looks nice, but the tone is muddy, even with good strings and the frets are very badly finished. You catch the sharp edge all the way up and down the neck on both sides. Wish we'd spent a little more for something else. I struggle with the narrowness of the neck.

I have had very good luck with Epiphone products. Dollar for dollar, I don't think you can buy a guitar with better tone. It is made with all quality, genuine tonewoods, making the guitar fantastic for its very modest price. The tone is awesome, it's not quite as deep as a full sized dreadnought, but what it lacks in boom it more than makes up for in sweet ring. The fit and finish are excellent, the neck is smooth, the frets are expertly finished. It tuned quickly, and seems to be holding it very well. I am not experiencing any noticable smallness of the neck, as I have read in other reviews. I find it very playable. This guitar is extraordinarily comfortable to play, because of its smaller size. The 00 size is perfect for just grabbing and playing. This is definitely a "keeper" that will probably become one of your very favorites. Bravo, Epiphone!

I own a Gibson L-4A and a Washburn Reissue Parlor Guitar. The Gibson is a pricey guitar for me. But I coughed up the dough for the wonderful deep and full Gibson sound. And the Washburn has just the right amount of twang . But I still crave a guitar that might fit somewhere in the middle of these two guitars. I looked at The Gibson Blues King. But The Blues King is just too expensive for me right now. Then I discovered The EL-00 which I think is an Epiphone copy of The Blues King. And Epiphone is owned by Gibson... so I took a chance. Of course... there are great and bad guitars in all price ranges... You do take your chances when you don’t play the instrument before you buy. But I lucked out. I couldn’t believe how amazing this guitar is for the price. It is very close in tone to my pricey L-4A. I mean CLOSE! It doesn’t “twang” like the little Washburn... but that’s OK. It is fun to keep looking. Just thought I pass along my experience. The fit and finnish is excellent. Again, for the money... I couldn’t believe the sound. If I had to be picky, the only thing that I personally would not design into these guitars is the raised Epiphone logo on the pick guard. But don’t let that stop you.