My New Elitist Lp, Help Answering Questions!

[gaston fuego]

Hi, i'm new here! my name is Gaston and i'm from Argentina. So, after a while looking for THE perfect guitar for my money i came across this epi elitist (ELITE, to be precise) honeyburst les paul standard by chance. It was sitting at the back of the shop, hiding among other guitars. At first, I was a little bit surprised and doubtful about its price because it was not thaaaat much more expensive than an average epi LP standard. I asked the clerk to tell me more about it and he told me the guitar was NEW (it hadn't been used by anybody, which i myself made sure to check, no signs of usage whatsoever) but it had been standing on the shelf for about 2 years. He told me he had bought the guitar fom someone that owned a guitar shop that had brought it from abroad but for some reason went out of business. The thing is, i bought the guitar and i'm so very happy with it. It plays fine and it looks gorgeous. But can you tell me where the TRICK is??? i mean, there are only a few of these guitars in the local market. The new ones are sold at about $1800. An average epi LP is about $600 and this elitist costed me $750. Why was it at the back of the shop? Why wasn't it sold in two full years, given its relatively low price? Too many questions, my friends. I hope you can help my answer them. Here are some pics. Cheers!

[diceman]

The only explanation that I can think of is that people didn't realize what it was. That is an amazing guitar, my friend - I have two of them. You got a hell of a good deal on it, as well - I don't think that you can get a new Elite/Elitist anywhere in the USA for under $1000 - and you paid what most would consider a good price for a USED Elite - and yours is "new old stock."

Congratulations on the new guitar.

I'm sure you know most of this, but your guitar is made in Japan at the Fuji Gen factory, has a vintage correct long neck tenon (neck joint), one pieced quartersawn neck, a bone nut, Gibson USA made pickups and switches, high end Japanese pots, a 2 piece solid back made of African Mahogany, a bookmatched maple top with a flame veneer, real mother of pearl and abalone inlays, Gibson style truss rod and correct headstock angle, and is in my opinion one of the best guitars on the market for the money - particularly at the price you got it for.

Not to put anyone down - but that is twice the guitar that a Chinese made Epiphone is - and you got it for a small % more than they are going for. Again, congratulations on an excellent guitar at an absolutely amazing price. I hope it serves you well. Welcome to the forum!

[dapses]

In my opinion, just be happy and smile... gratz

[stryker59]

its a sweet guitar!! congrats on the score!!!

[jkinnison90]

Wow you can an awesome deal on that guitar.

[hbucker]

Yeah, that was a great deal. The kind I'm always looking for when I go into guitar shops but rarely/never find. You got it for less than mint used Elitists go for in the U.S.

Congrats. My honeyburst is shown below.

[Gigan]

I didnt know they came in honey burst. Do they still ?

[Guido]

Originally Posted by gaston fuego

Hi, i'm new here! my name is Gaston and i'm from Argentina. So, after a while looking for THE perfect guitar for my money i came across this epi elitist (ELITE, to be precise) honeyburst les paul standard by chance. It was sitting at the back of the shop, hiding among other guitars. At first, I was a little bit surprised and doubtful about its price because it was not thaaaat much more expensive than an average epi LP standard. I asked the clerk to tell me more about it and he told me the guitar was NEW (it hadn't been used by anybody, which i myself made sure to check, no signs of usage whatsoever) but it had been standing on the shelf for about 2 years. He told me he had bought the guitar fom someone that owned a guitar shop that had brought it from abroad but for some reason went out of business. The thing is, i bought the guitar and i'm so very happy with it. It plays fine and it looks gorgeous. But can you tell me where the TRICK is??? i mean, there are only a few of these guitars in the local market. The new ones are sold at about $1800. An average epi LP is about $600 and this elitist costed me $750. Why was it at the back of the shop? Why wasn't it sold in two full years, given its relatively low price? Too many questions, my friends. I hope you can help my answer them. Here are some pics. Cheers!

Gaston, que suerte ver a otro argentino en estos foros.
yo me llamo guido y tambien soy de argentina...donde la conseguiste la elitist? no sabía que se conseguian aca...yo me compre una elitist custom, me llega en mas o menos 2 semanas de usa. tuviste un culo increible, lo que la garpaste.. te felicito por la viola

[Termanator7]

?? What?

[hbucker]

Originally Posted by Gigan

I didnt know they came in honey burst. Do they still ?

No. Only if you buy them used or in this case, N.O.S.

Sad but true.

[Gigan]

That stinks, Nice ya got one too hbucker.

[diceman]

Originally Posted by Termanator7

?? What?

(yes, many of our forum members are bilingual and from around the globe. Hell, my wife speaks 4 languages fluently. Its amazing how uneducated most of us Americans really are compared to other parts of the world. Since my wife isn't American, I may just be used to only being able to pick out bits and pieces of conversations - but in Guido's message, I see a greeting, that guido also lives in Argentina, and some comments on the Elitist. You didn't take highschool Spanish, huh? )

[overdriver]

Fate put it at the back of the shop just for you. Good deal great guitar enjoy. never look a gift horse in the mouth!

[gaston fuego]

hey guys! thanks for the feedback! i couldn't be happier with my guitar but i'm so paranoid that sometimes i think that it was wayyy too good a deal to be true hehehe. Anyways, diceman (thanks for the warm welcome!), i'm sure the guy KNEW what he got. He had this face an atittude of a 100% guitar savvy guy, I certainly doubt that he DIDN'T know. And the story he told me seemed sincere, even though you can never trust a salesman haha!.
Done with the english part of the post...now onto the Spanish part...

Hey Guido! como estás? un gusto che. La viola la conseguí en GUITAR SHOP de talcahuano de pura casualidad. Es la unica ELITE que encontré además de dos modelos nuevos ELITIST tobbacco sunburst que venden en Manny's a U$D1800 (una locura el precio) Yo la mía la conseguí a 2200 pesos cuando une epi LP nueva normal te la quieren vender a aprox 1900. La verdad que tuve suerte!! Te mando abrazo!

[diceman]

Gaston - its not that I think that the shop owner didn't know what he had, I think that the customers didn't realize what the guitar was, which is likely why it sat for so long without being purchased.

Again, welcome!

[overdriver]

Originally Posted by diceman

Gaston - its not that I think that the shop owner didn't know what he had, I think that the customers didn't realize what the guitar was, which is likely why it sat for so long without being purchased.

Again, welcome!

+1 and the customers not knowing and feeling the regular Epis, to them where just as good cheaper. So the guy sold the Elite for close to what he payed for it, just to get it out for the shop. Happens around me in the Country a few local shops get in, what I would call mid level guitars like Fender MIM classic guitars,Epi Eliitist and for the most part they do not sell, because the MIM standard,epi standard are cheaper. They sit around in those shops for years untill the owner sells them for close to ,or at cost.

In most cases shops pay 50 to 60 % of what the list price is, so good deals can be found from time to time at small shops that need money.

[Termanator7]

Originally Posted by diceman

(yes, many of our forum members are bilingual and from around the globe. Hell, my wife speaks 4 languages fluently. Its amazing how uneducated most of us Americans really are compared to other parts of the world. Since my wife isn't American, I may just be used to only being able to pick out bits and pieces of conversations - but in Guido's message, I see a greeting, that guido also lives in Argentina, and some comments on the Elitist. You didn't take highschool Spanish, huh? )

Well.. I already know a different language other than English, but I just don't use it that much. I'm actually not in High School yet. Still in Middle School. We had a chance to take Spanish as one of our classes for next year and I turned it down. I had soo many eight graders saying that it is really hard and that they give you loads of homework. And another reason why I turned it down was because the Spanish teacher is my Language Arts teacher for this year and she hates me (long story) So I don't think its a good idea to take Spanish next year. Maybe in High School though.

[Termanator7]

But I don't need to learn Spanish. I have a little tool called Google Translator hahaha.

[diceman]

Originally Posted by Termanator7

Well.. I already know a different language other than English, but I just don't use it that much. I'm actually not in High School yet. Still in Middle School. We had a chance to take Spanish as one of our classes for next year and I turned it down. I had soo many eight graders saying that it is really hard and that they give you loads of homework. And another reason why I turned it down was because the Spanish teacher is my Language Arts teacher for this year and she hates me (long story) So I don't think its a good idea to take Spanish next year. Maybe in High School though.

My limited knowledge of the Spanish language has helped me out on several occasions - I just took 2 years in high school 10 years ago - enough of it stuck with me to communicate the basics.

[gaston fuego]

Hey dice! now i got the idea. You might be right. There are very few of these guitars around here and many people don't know them. Me myself didn't know of its existance until a few weeks before i purchased, when i did an exhaustive research of data on the internet and found out. So it seems i really made a good deal! Thanks for the interest! By the way, i mentioned i'm a bit paranoid, didn't i? haha...question is, how do i make sure that the pick-ups are the stock Gibson USA ones and that they haven't been replaced?

[goldencd]

Originally Posted by gaston fuego

Hey dice! now i got the idea. You might be right. There are very few of these guitars around here and many people don't know them. Me myself didn't know of its existance until a few weeks before i purchased, when i did an exhaustive research of data on the internet and found out. So it seems i really made a good deal! Thanks for the interest! By the way, i mentioned i'm a bit paranoid, didn't i? haha...question is, how do i make sure that the pick-ups are the stock Gibson USA ones and that they haven't been replaced?

Check unscrew the pickup ring holder and check the back of the pickups. They should have Gibson style braided wire and have oval stckers on each saying "epiphone USA 50sr and 60st."

[diceman]

What Golden said. All of the Elitists should have the Gibson made pups - I'm sure you're good.

[Sony Oengui]

Tremenda viola chabon, tenes un orto terrible si todo lo que se dijo aca a verdad. Saludos desde Cordoba Capital. De a poco vamos invadiendo el foro los sureños.

[InnerRage]

Originally Posted by diceman

My limited knowledge of the Spanish language has helped me out on several occasions - I just took 2 years in high school 10 years ago - enough of it stuck with me to communicate the basics.

I hear ya. I took Spanish in Junior High and failed so bad that when I got to High School they considered me a lost cause and gave me an extra shop class instead. I became a cop & detective and after 20 years in the South Bronx- PRESTO, Yo habla espanol!!

[diceman]

I was a jailer when I was 20 years old - and had some inmates who didn't speak English. My limited Spanish sure helped then.

[Guido]

Originally Posted by gaston fuego

Hey Guido! como estás? un gusto che. La viola la conseguí en GUITAR SHOP de talcahuano de pura casualidad. Es la unica ELITE que encontré además de dos modelos nuevos ELITIST tobbacco sunburst que venden en Manny's a U$D1800 (una locura el precio) Yo la mía la conseguí a 2200 pesos cuando une epi LP nueva normal te la quieren vender a aprox 1900. La verdad que tuve suerte!! Te mando abrazo!

Que suerte tuviste...yo la verdad mucho por talcahuano no voy...y la mayoria de las cosas me las consigue un amigo de mi viejo de estados unidos. Pero si, aca te matan con los precios-una les paul custom, gibson, sale 16mil...se exceden bastante. me meti en este foro hace unos meses y de ahi con varios dueños de elitists (diceman por ejemplo) me di cuenta de que las elitist son basicamente gibsons solo que con el logo de epiphone y sin acabado de nitrocelulosa...mucha diferencia no hay. de nuevo te felicito por la compra, y te mando otro abrazo

[InnerRage]

Originally Posted by diceman

I was a jailer when I was 20 years old - and had some inmates who didn't speak English. My limited Spanish sure helped then.

Yeah, it's nice to have the upper hand. Never let em know you know....

[Guido]

Originally Posted by diceman

(yes, many of our forum members are bilingual and from around the globe. Hell, my wife speaks 4 languages fluently. Its amazing how uneducated most of us Americans really are compared to other parts of the world. Since my wife isn't American, I may just be used to only being able to pick out bits and pieces of conversations - but in Guido's message, I see a greeting, that guido also lives in Argentina, and some comments on the Elitist. You didn't take highschool Spanish, huh? )

yes, my main language is spanish, but I go to a school that offers a high level of english education, -btw, Im 14 and Im in high school, so im learning lots of things right now, but i spoke english since i was a little kid..

[Guido]

Originally Posted by diceman

Gaston - its not that I think that the shop owner didn't know what he had, I think that the customers didn't realize what the guitar was, which is likely why it sat for so long without being purchased.

Again, welcome!

no, dont think that.
I usually dont go lots of times to music shops, but when I go I always realize that the owners dont know ANYTHING about guitars, drum sets, etc. as I know more than them and nearly I give them a special class about an instrument
Its likely that the shop owner saw the guitar and said something like ´´huh, thats an epiphone with a different headstock´´ and just sold it as a normal epi
those things happen only in an ignorant country as Argentina

[Guido]

Originally Posted by Termanator7

Well.. I already know a different language other than English, but I just don't use it that much. I'm actually not in High School yet. Still in Middle School. We had a chance to take Spanish as one of our classes for next year and I turned it down. I had soo many eight graders saying that it is really hard and that they give you loads of homework. And another reason why I turned it down was because the Spanish teacher is my Language Arts teacher for this year and she hates me (long story) So I don't think its a good idea to take Spanish next year. Maybe in High School though.

Believe me, if you can learn a different language, learn it. even if its a pain in the ass, sometimes it can help you out