Epiphone EDBCTBNH3 Blueshawk Deluxe Electric Guitar

Epiphone guitars seem to have something of a mixed reputation with many reviews commenting on flaws or poor Quality Control whilst others reviews rave about superb quality and value for money. This review will fall into both camps.Anyone who is interested in the Blueshawk will already know of its history in relation to the Nighthawk, so I won't repeat that. In its own right, the Blueshawk is essentially a very good instrument with good tones and ease of playability. Played cleanly, notes can sound bright and clear. Maybe not quite in Strat territory, but not far off. Add some overdrive and it can growl with plenty of bass oomph or soar with searing trebles when you move down the neck. All that applies to many other guitars and makes so in themselves, none of those qualities makes the Blueshawk stand out too much from the crowd. Perhaps what grabs a lot of attention is the addition of the Varitone control which, for some, is great whilst for others it is a waste of time and additional cost. I remain rather ambivalent about it but on balance I think I agree that it's an added feature that isn't really all that necessary or important. The pair of P-90 Pro single-coil pickups do a fine if not spectacular job on their own and are only let down slightly by the fact that when you use the selector switch to shift through the 3 positions, the signal drops out for a millisecond when you make the change. If you use the selector more slowly, then that dropout becomes very noticeable.So what does the Varitone do - and not do? First and foremost it is NOT an additional tone control. As you move between positions using the 6 position rotary switch, you effectively 'jump' to what is often described as a pre-set frequency scoop. That word 'scoop' is interesting and accurate because it suggests that something has been removed. As far as I understand it, what happens is that at each position (except, of course, the 'off' position) particular frequencies are removed or reduced from the sound output signal. This has the effect of altering the sound but not in the same way as, say, a tone control nor a compressor.In practise you can just leave the Varitone switched off or you can use it to find a setting that appeals to you. You can then use the pull/push tone control to switch between the unaltered sound of your guitar or, in an instant, you can engage the Varitone. This is perhaps it's greatest strength and usefulness. You wouldn't want to be playing and fiddling with the Varitone at the same time. Thus, IF you do find a Varitone setting that you can use, you then have (in theory) up to 6 different basic settings as opposed to just 3 if you only rely on bridge - bridge+neck - neck selector positions. I say 'in theory' because what works with Varitone and one of those positions may not work as well with one or both of the other two positions.That, in brief, is the essence of why the Varitone is loved by some and ignored by others.Now for a few other comments ....When I received my Blueshawk, intonation was good with open strings and harmonics at 12th and pseudo 24th fret positions sounding very close. I checked with a strobe tuner and found only slight deviations along any string. The design of the bridge made it easy for you to make adjustments. What was not so good was the fact that two frets were proud and caused severe buzzing. With care, I was able to solve that problem. (Thank heavens for good Youtube demos by experienced luthiers. However, take care if you search because there are some awful demos out there. I especially recommend the two-parter "Guitar Fret Leveling Why and How" by Duncan Wallace).The shaping on the back of the Blueshawk makes it a very comfortable instrument to play, especially when you're sitting. The overall shape of the guitar is rather odd. It looks as if the bottom of the lower bout has been rounded off a bit too early and it has a sort of 'squashed' appearance which is not aesthetically pleasing.So - on balance, is it a guitar that is worth considering? I would say "Yes" but with the caveat that if you don't want the Varitone, then look at other makes or Epiphone models first. In all honesty I don't think it adds much that is really useful whilst it must add additional costs.

Great playing guitar.

Love this guitar , its well built and sounds great though my Roland 80 cube amp . I use mainly clean channel but it will also shred really well if you wanna drive it.The P 90s pick ups work really well too. This guitar is light and easy to play , I cannot recommend this guitar highly enough, Epiphone has got it spot on with this little baby. Its a lot of guitar for the money .