Epiphone Dot electric guitar
Epiphone Dot semi-hollowbody electric guitar
Saturday, October 8, 2011
In 1978 my aunt Kim purchased The Beatles’ 1962-1966 (“Red”) and 1967-1970 (“Blue”) sets, pressed in stunning red & blue vinyl. I listened to these records time and again, learning every song by heart. A little while later she bought the “White Album” on white vinyl and a standard Capitol-labeled “Let It Be” LP.
“Let It Be” turned out to be the one I identified with the most: much of the record is recorded live, and really makes me feel like I’m in the room (or on the roof) with the band. When I finally saw the “Let It Be” film years later on late-night cable, I was riveted to the rooftop performance at the end. I studied each of their performances: Ringo on his Ludwig drums, Paul on his Hofner bass, George and John on their matching Epiphone Casino guitars.
These were the first guitars I really made a connection with: the hollowbodied f-hole design hearkened back to Chuck Berry, Duane Eddy, and Chet Atkins (although they played Gibson and Gretsch guitars, the designs had similarities). It was an iconic rock & roll design: this was a guitar I needed to get my hands on.
Unfortunately for my budget, the Casino is the top of the Epiphone line. A mid-60s Casino, even as early as the mid-80s, fetched a price well into four figures, when my checkbook rarely held more than a couple hundred bucks (not often even that much). With college just a couple years away, and with my ’65 Ford Falcon in perpetual need of some sort of repair, spending that kind of money on a guitar just didn’t make any sense.
Over the years, I’ve owned and played several beautiful guitars, and still own most of them. But the Epiphone just never became a possibility until just a few years ago. In the late 90s, Epiphone introduced the Dot: a budget line guitar similar to the Casino, the Sheraton, and their cousin the Gibson ES-335, but with a very reasonable price. Where the other models still fetch anywhere from $800 to $2500 (new) and skyward (classic), the Dot retails for $599 and can usually be found on sale for about $350. I got mine at the local Professional Music Center for $325, and paid an additional $90 for an Epiphone-branded hard shell case.
My Dot is a 2010 model. I chose the natural finish because it looked like John’s and George’s stripped Casinos. It’s a heavier guitar than I expected, owing to the solid block of wood through the center of the body. This is why it’s called a semi-hollowbody: only the outer sections of the body are hollow. The solid section of the body gives great sustain like a solid body electric, while the hollow sections offer the warmth of an acoustic guitar. The neck is thin and comfortable, and the dual P90-style humbucking pickups put out a huge sound. It’s a great-looking and -sounding guitar for classic rock, blues and jazz, although I do find it feels heavy after a long session.
NOTE: John Lennon would have been 71 years old on 09 Oct, 2011.
Photo by Kathy Thomas