Introduction.
At the back end of 2021 I got really interested in ‘Jazz boxes’, big bodied semi acoustic guitars that were perfect for jazz and blues.
What really caught my attention was the new release of the Epiphone Emperor Swingster, a big bodied semi-acoustic, that had an added feature of being able to put the pick ups into parallel or series with each other thus bringing about a bunch of tonal options.
These guitars looked and sounded great on YouTube videos but sadly my local PMT store in Cambridge didn’t have one to try out and I didn’t have the budget to order one.
Anyway, without having access to one, I therefore ended up trying the equivalent Gretsch Electromatics and Streamliners and weirdly, after a while my search switched to weird PRS guitars such as the PRS SE Starla which I eventually purchased.
Today I happened to be in Cambridge and thought I would have a look around PMT with the idea of trying out a PRS Paul’s Guitar and as I looked around for the PRS, the Forest Green Swingster was staring right back at me. Sometimes you just have to do the right thing!
So this article is my review of the Epiphone Emperor Swingster in Forest Green. Obviously I would have loved to have gotten my hands on the blue one but that was not to be (good job too as I may have done something that my wife would have regretted!!).
If you simply want to know how it sounds then check out the video below where I demo my Jazzy and Bluesy riffs in PMT Cambridge, whilst they were playing their death metal tracks through their sound system!!
Initial Impressions
The forest green colour and styling with the gold speckle binding is simply gorgeous. The gold hardware elevates the look of the guitar. The whole guitar looks stunning but if I was to criticise it then I would say that the two volume and two tone knobs seem cheap and take away from the guitar's aesthetic a little, as they don't match the styling. On trying to pull one of the tone knobs to activate the parallel/series switching, the knob came off in my hand!
The knobs can be easily changed for better ones, but in terms of first impressions I felt slightly disappointed. For a guitar where clearly so much attention to detail was evident, it felt like Epiphone had simply bunged on the cheapest knobs that they could find right at the end of the process to make a fine guitar. This was not a deal breaker but I would have preferred to have not seen this. Hopefully the feel of the guitar and playability would be more impressive.
The playability of the Epiphone Emperor Swingster.
When I play different guitars I find I play differently depending upon the style and feel of the guitar. In this case I found myself wanting to play lots of rhythm and less lead guitar. For me this guitar feels like an acoustic, not a surprise given the depth and style of the body.
The Swingster sang beautifully especially when both pickups where engaged at the same time.
I really hoped to enjoy the push/pull tonal features but they left me unimpressed although this tonal capability is useful.
Given the' 'Gretschy' nature of the guitar I was glad that there wasn't a master tone knob. It meant that the controls were simpler and functional.
The licensed Bigsby comes with a wired handle which was great ergonomically and it was connected to a Locktone Tune-o-Matic bridge. The tuning seemed very stable despite the Bigsby but when playing a guitar like this you wouldn’t really look to ‘dive bomb’ in a Floyd Rose kind of way. It is simply not that kind of guitar. I tend not to use trems much and so I am not the best person to judge a Bigsby but whilst it did seem a little course in terms of movement, on the whole it did seem to do a good enough job.
In terms of the playability of the guitar, the neck felt wonderful. Totally in keeping with what I would expect from a vintage feeling guitar neck and it was very comfortable to play. Whilst it is not a rose wood neck (it is Indian Laural) it was awesome and whilst the fretboard was not as dark as rose wood I thought it looked and felt great.
For a hollow body this guitar felt heavy, not that this bothered me as it gave me a sense of good build quality and the whole thing felt good to play. The body is made up of layed maple and the neck is classed as a slim taper profile with a length of 24.724”.
The Tone?
I absolutely loved the tone of this guitar. The Swingbucker pickups don’t sound like the Broadtrons from the Gretsch equivalents which was interesting and the tonal variations using the push/pull gave some lovely sounds.
When dialing up the gain and overdriving the amp that I was using, I was expecting the hollowbody to feedback uncontrollably but it didn’t and so I was able to induce some and pull it back when I needed to.
When playing clean, I noted that in the middle position there was a nice mix of bass and treble lending itself to nice jazz tones and in bridge position the treble tones cut through lovely for lead work.
Final Comments.
At about £700, this is a great guitar. I would happily use it for my blues set. This year I have tried the Gretsch Electromatic 65420T, the Gretsch Streamliner 2420T and the PRS SE Hollowbody ii. If I was forced to purchase a guitar from this list I would find it hard to make a decision between the Electromatic and the Swingster. The Swingster might edge it due to the simplicity of the controls and the clarity and variety of tone compared to that of the Gretsch black Broadtron pickups.
If I got one I would of course have to go for the Blue sparkly one and be prepared to upgrade the knobs!
Find out more about the Epiphone Emperor Swingster by clicking here.
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