# Epiphone ET-290; should I or should I not ?



## Joe-Bin (Feb 27, 2017)

I am thinking of buying an mid 70s MIJ Epiphone ET-290 for $350 at a local pawn shop. Do you guys think it might be worth that or should I try and get it cheeper? Or should I even bother with that model.

Please give me your opinions.

Thanks,
Joe


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## Kerry Brown (Mar 31, 2014)

You're actually asking a group of gear addicts if you should buy a guitar? Of course you should buy it. If you're looking for an excuse search for Epiphone Crestwood on Reverb. $350 looks like a very good price.


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## Tone Chaser (Mar 2, 2014)

I have a 1976 Epiphone ET-290.
It is one of my favorites and has been for quite a while. Has it been hanging in the shop for a long time or just recently show up?
Is it molested, or appear original?
Just ask them for their best out the door price: you just might be surprised.
I would buy another for that price. In B.C. that isn't much money. Going out to dinner a couple of times costs that much.
Those guitars set up really nice. Two of the neck plate screws under the neck pickup may need to be shortened if you lower the action and adjust the pickups. Mine actually interfered with lowering the neck pickup.
These guitars actually have a nice jazz guitar tone, and can nicely overdrive a tube amp. Add an old school fuzz, compound it with a phaser, vibe, trem, or some other simple mod pedal, and be prepared to smile.


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## Joe-Bin (Feb 27, 2017)

<quote>You're actually asking a group of gear addicts if you should buy a guitar? Of course you should buy it. If you're looking for an excuse search for Epiphone Crestwood on Reverb. $350 looks like a very good price.<unquote>

LOL,... Excellent point; what was I thinking; I guess I will go and buy it then, as long as someone else hasn't beat me to it.
It is still good to hear others opinions though


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## Tone Chaser (Mar 2, 2014)

It is also lightweight, has a slight bellycut, and can fit in a Fender case (some of the fitted ones as well). The original American Epiphones were intended to be direct competition with Fender products.


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## Robert1950 (Jan 21, 2006)

Does it have a set neck or bolt on neck? Either way, It is a good price.


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## Tone Chaser (Mar 2, 2014)

It should be a bolt on neck that looks like it was designed to be glued.


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## Joe-Bin (Feb 27, 2017)

Tone Chaser said:


> I have a 1976 Epiphone ET-290.
> It is one of my favorites and has been for quite a while. Has it been hanging in the shop for a long time or just recently show up?
> Is it molested, or appear original?
> Just ask them for their best out the door price: you just might be surprised.
> ...


I think it is a fairly resent arrival, and it is in its original case. It looks to be in good shape aside from the normal aging and a sticker that someone has put on it at some point in time.
I think it might have had the tuners upgraded, as the grovers that are on it are different than any pictures I have seen. I think I will go down there tomorrow and make a deal on it if it is still there.

Thanks for your help,
Joe


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## Joe-Bin (Feb 27, 2017)

I bought the guitar. Got it for $300 + $35 in sales tax. It has some issues, but they are miner.
I will be posting a new guitar day thread later this evening with picks.
Thanks to all who posted info in this thread


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## Joshua Caole (Dec 6, 2017)

I know this is old but what were the issues you had with it?


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## Tone Chaser (Mar 2, 2014)

You might have to send Joe-Bin a private message. 

When you click on his name, he hasn’t been on the forum since the middle of January.


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## Tone Chaser (Mar 2, 2014)

I own one of these. I can only speculate, that a guitar, that old, that has been through how many hands, needs a little TLC, and personal setup.

If you love Japanese necks from that era, it will not disappoint. These can set up with extremely low action, with the ease and ability to do elastic bends. Find the pickup height for sweet jazz like tone, add pedals and be amazed.

Mine has been put away with many others due to circumstances beyond my control. Once the house is back in order, it will be either back on the play daily rack, or up for sale. Too many guitars, too little time, and I can actually see that it just be time to try and thin down, as guitars keep trickling in. I can’t stop the leak.


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## sambonee (Dec 20, 2007)

Buy it or stand aside. Lol. 


Any quality Japanese guitar is always worth $400


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## Joshua Caole (Dec 6, 2017)

Im just trying to get some pictures up of the bridge of mine to see if anyone could give me some advice. Thanks


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## Tone Chaser (Mar 2, 2014)

OK, you made me dig it out. Believe it or not, it is intonated the way I received it.

The saddles are all in the same direction on mine. You would figure that the saddles are on backwards for the bass strings.


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## Joshua Caole (Dec 6, 2017)

Just trying to get the photos to work, basically I have lost the saddle on the top e string and the whole bridge is corroding so im wondering if i should just replace the whole thing.

I already have to at least replace the input jack and maybe more electronics. The scratchplate on mine is broken round the pot at the bottom and so am dreading taking that off to do the work.


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## Tone Chaser (Mar 2, 2014)

And now I took a look at several other similar bridges, American, Chinese, Indonesian, Japanese. Interesting how some saddles are all the same way, others are half and half.

Time waster of the day.


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## Tone Chaser (Mar 2, 2014)

Corrosion is patina to many. Some knock it off, others leave it alone. I don’t like furry stuff hanging on to the raised flakes, so I knock them off. Do that too much and there is no gold plating left. A tooth brush, hot water, some compressed air and care.

Finding another bridge is possible, but post hole size, spacing likely requires thought. Sometimes there is a name on the underside of the bridge that can possibly help with identification.

Originality is important to many, but finding a saddle piece from something else similar, might be made to work.

Just verify the solder joints are good, no broken wires, spray Deoxit in the pots, work them. I just revived original Fender pots that were under water and had excessive growths of colourful fur on/in them.

It makes me think about how I paid big dollars to luthiers to ‘repair ‘ guitars. And I never got an explanation, or at least a story about what was done. Thank you internet.

I had an original pot in a 1968 Fender that was squeezed out of round. I hand honed it until a input plug fit. So try spray and Scotchbrite in the input hole.


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## Joshua Caole (Dec 6, 2017)

So this is the guitar I’m talking about

4-EAB267-F-E0-B6-4437-9-FE5-9-E21-A26-F515-C
35598-B02-B56-D-4-B64-B567-915-ECE5-F8-DFD
F29-D3378-17-A1-4-BBE-93-B8-A190075801-B5

I found this article
Massive Makeover! See a Vibey '74 Epiphone Get Totally Transformed | Premier Guitar

I don’t want a bigsby though. Just want to have the same as it is now just not flaky and going to rip your strings off.


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## Joshua Caole (Dec 6, 2017)

Anyone able to give me an opinion on switching the bridge and stopbar or cleaning it? It feels pretty degraded.


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## Joshua Caole (Dec 6, 2017)

I’m just about to buy a new bridge and tailpiece as having the saddle missing plus how degraded they are its just not worth wasting time trying to clean them. 

Does anyone have any decent recommendations for a replacement?


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## nnieman (Jun 19, 2013)

I don’t think you can go wrong with any brand name ones - gotoh, allparts etc
Make sure the post spacing is the same.

Those are pretty crusty I don’t blame you.
Are you going with gold or chrome?

Nathan


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## Joshua Caole (Dec 6, 2017)

A combination of wd40 pliers and an allen key was required to get the strings off. 

Im thinking of going with chrome as im not a huge fan of gold. 

I’ve never had roller saddles on anything and was thinking of possibly just going cheap chinese built to try them out like these Adjustable Roller Saddle Tune-O-Matic Bridge Tailpiece For Gibson Les Paul LP SG | eBay


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