Epiphone J.C. Wino, Yay or Nay?

[Pancreas]

Hey Group, I've got my finger on the trigger for a new Epiphone Les Paul Custom Jerry Cantrell WINO.
As I am unable to physically try one out, I was hoping someone here would chime in with their personal reviews. I know it's a beautiful looking guitar, but I don't know how it plays or sounds. Any Wino owners out there?
My biggest concern is neck size. My Epi '59 has (for me) an almost perfect neck profile. And I'm not the biggest fan of the neck on the regular Epi Les Paul Custom.
Thanks!

 

[Hecubus]

I played the Wino and the Koa top on Saturday.

The neck is a lot more rounded than the D shape of the regular Customs. It feels more like a Gibson 60s slim taper but a touch thicker. It will likely be noticeable thinner than your '59.

It sounds incredible. The bridge pickup is really hot and not great for cleans, but nails the AIC tones. The neck pickup sings. It is the best playing Epiphone I have tried as far as feel. I am not crazy about the color. It really is a dark wine red/ oxblood and you have to look really hard to see the grain. That is, of course, all my personal preference.

For not much more than the regular Custom, you get a case, a better feeling neck, and superior pickups. If the looks match your tastes, it is a no brainer.

 

[rjwilson37]

Love it, one of the best guitar purchases I have ever made. The pickups that come on it are fine, especially the new 98T Pro in the bridge. I did replace the Alnico Classic Pro in the neck with a SD 59, but that is just my preference.

 

[NightShift88]

Superior pickups and feeling neck is highly subjective, I prefer the specs of the regular Custom to the Wino. Very nice guitars though.

 

[syco]

feeling neck

You've peaked my curiosity . Could you elaborate or was this just a typo ?

 

[NightShift88]

You've peeked my curiosity . Could you elaborate or was this just a typo ?

Not a typo. It’s a slightly D feeling shaped neck which I like a lot. Everyone has different preferences when it comes to neck shapes, so there are no absolutes and it’s a bit silly to say that A guitar has a better feeling neck than B guitar…it ultimately comes down to the player. Be your own best judge.

 

[syco]

I understand now . Thanks !

 

[rjwilson37]

Correct, the neck is not too Slim, a custom Slim Taper neck with a great feel to it. The great feel is that it is very comfortable and easy to fret/play anywhere on the neck. It is similar to the new Standard 60's necks, maybe just a tad bigger, but not by much. Not as big as a 59 neck, so it still has a nice smooth and fast easy to play feel to it.

 

[Pancreas]

I played the Wino and the Koa top on Saturday.

The neck is a lot more rounded than the D shape of the regular Customs. It feels more like a Gibson 60s slim taper but a touch thicker. It will likely be noticeable thinner than your '59.

It sounds incredible. The bridge pickup is really hot and not great for cleans, but nails the AIC tones. The neck pickup sings. It is the best playing Epiphone I have tried as far as feel. I am not crazy about the color. It really is a dark wine red/ oxblood and you have to look really hard to see the grain. That is, of course, all my personal preference.

For not much more than the regular Custom, you get a case, a better feeling neck, and superior pickups. If the looks match your tastes, it is a no brainer.

Thank you! That's not the first time I've read that is the best feeling Epi out there. I appreciate it.

 

[Hecubus]

Superior pickups and feeling neck is highly subjective, I prefer the specs of the regular Custom to the Wino. Very nice guitars though.

You are totally right. My observations were based on my preferences playing the two back to back. On the neck profile, I can see if you play classical or thumb always on the center of the neck that the D shape would work well. I thought that the Cantrell worked better for chords that use the thumb since there were no shoulders to get in the way. The D shape was not a big issue, but it was one of the things that made the two guitars seem different.

The pickups on the Koa top were OK and nailed the slightly hotter PAF sound. The neck on the Cantrell was more articulate and less compressed than the Koa top and the bridge had higher output to drive a tube amp (I was testing through a Marshall SC20 which is like a 20 watt JCM800 with no pedals). To me, the bridge had a tighter low end but the highs were not shrill. It sounded similar to the Duncan Custom pickup. Someone else said it reminded them of the Gibson Dirty Fingers pickup. Again, this is subjective and my opinion, but I would have replaced the pickups on the Koa top but would have left the Cantrells in (at least for a while ). If I was using the guitar solely for blues and 60s classic rock, the Cantrell might get a pickup swap. However, for AIC, Ozzy, G'N'R', it hit the mark.

I suggest playing both as personal preferences can make a difference.

 

[grady31]

Love it, one of the best guitar purchases I have ever made. The pickups that come on it are fine, especially the new 98T Pro in the bridge. I did replace the Alnico Classic Pro in the neck with a SD 59, but that is just my preference.

Nice video . Thanks for sharing .

 

[Pancreas]

Nice video . Thanks for sharing .

Thanks for the review, I just put in a pre-order for one. It seems like they're sold out most everywhere. Now the waiting game.........(which I really hate)

 

[NailedIntoBarrels]

Reassuring to hear these don't have the same necks as the standard Custom, I was so disappointed when I played one as on paper the rest of the guitar is awesome. Very close to pulling the trigger on a JC Wino, seems like an awesome guitar. Kind of holding my cash and waiting to see what happens to the world and energy prices come winter!

 

[rbraad68]

I went with the regular custom due to cash on hand. For what I would have had left of the JC when I got done swapping everything out. It would not have made sense to buy the JC. But from reading you guys comments on how the guitar played and sounded?? Plus the neck profile does peak my intrest in this guitar. I just got back to work and prob be a couple months before I can afford a roll of toilet paper let alone another guitar. I think I want to check one of these out. Prob make the 2 hour drive to Dallas and check one out in person. I would love to find just the husk of one of these that would be my best bet.... Here is what a 2022 Custom looks like 2 days after getting the guitar !!!!

 

[rjwilson37]

I was jamming today on my JC Wino, and wow... What a fantastic guitar. I did have the nut changed over to a bone nut as well as had the tech give it a fret dressing. But this guitar is really sweet, you couldn't ask for a better guitar, especially under 1k.

 

[noodlingguitars]

I played one at a store yesterday. I was this close to getting it but I really don't need another guitar... ... for the time being. Love the color, the fretboard and the feel of the neck.

 

[syco]

I played one at a store yesterday. I was this close to getting it but I really don't need another guitar... ... for the time being. Love the color, the fretboard and the feel of the neck.

Send some our way .I haven't seen any in months .

 

[rbraad68]

I played one at a store yesterday. I was this close to getting it but I really don't need another guitar... ... for the time being. Love the color, the fretboard and the feel of the neck.

I would love to find one of these in a husk even one like that one guy was selling on Ebay with the neck repair. I don't need the hardware just the wood