Epiphone Emperor Regent guitar- I wanted an acoustic electric. I own several acoustic only guitars and did not want to modify them. I got it cheap as last years close out. Wonderful guitar that performs as well as some of the more pricey units on the market. Not overly fond of laminate top but still sounds very good. A very good buy and highly recommended

I just recently aquired this great guitar and the sound and tone is beyond words. I play in a Classic Rock & Roll band and the very first time I played it the whole sound of our band changed for the better. By far the best guitar I own and I have all the standards like Les Paul, Strat, Rick, PRS and I will play this before any of the others. You have to try it and you will be a believer.

I purchased my Emperor Regent about 1 1/2 years ago. It has exceeded my expectations and is the best playing/sounding jazzbox I have owned. I also own an Epiphone Deluxe with a factory installed mini-humbucker c.1964; one of the last ones to come out of the Gibson Kalamazoo, MI factory. I prefer the feel and sound of my Emperor to this beatiful antique. I did modify it a bit, by replacing the wooden bridge with a Tune-a-matic and the Frequensator tailpiece with a Byrdland style tailpiece. The sound is warm and the neck, after some adjustments for action(I use D'Aquisto D-220 nickelwound strings 12-16-22w-32-42-52) is just beautiful; a joy to play. Fit and finish are very good, the vintage SB well done. The 3.5 for quality was only caused by a faulty volume pot. The one on the guitar seemed to be a linear pot, either off or on. I replaced it with an audio curve pot and the problem was solved. I'm not the type to go nuts and send thing back for such a small expense. That was my only quality complaint. I've been playing for over 40 years and have played L-5's, ES-175's and others. I would recommend this guitar to anyone wanting a fine jazz archtop, whether beginner or experienced player.

This is simply the best sounding and playing archtop guitar I've ever owned. Amazing that this instrument is laminated, in all my days I've never had a laminated guitar or planned to either. It is a relief to just close my eyes and love this sound.........take a risk

I've owned an Emperor Regent for about 12 years. I don't play it as often as I used to- but every time it is a joy. It looks and sounds like a much more expensive instrument. They say that laminated tops don't age in, but to my ear it's improved significantly with age. I got mine from a shop and had to adjust the bridge height and placement- without much trouble- and intonation is great. I found that D'Addario "Chromes" flatwounds (.11's for me) have a great mellow jazz tone for this guitar- and are plenty long enough to use with the frequensator tailpiece. I usually have it tuned a 1/2-step below standard tuning. Tone is warm and fat though clear and bright, best when played through a heavier tube amp. Twelve years later, I still love this guitar and won't ever trade it for something else.