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Epiphone FT-140, i LOVE my WIFE! (she bought me...!)



Summer NAMM 2007 Coverage » (Austin, Texas: July 27 - 29, 2007)
Home Guitar Guitar Reviews Epiphone FT-140

My wife bought me this FT-140 in 1978 when she was my girlfriend. I
believe she paid $110.00 for it then. I am a actually a drummer and
don't know a whole lot about guitar details. I can play most chords
and I use it to work out songs for my band. I have never played it
hard or used it in gigs, as I said, I drum. I never really thought
about how old it is until now, so I thought I'd look it up on the
internet. It is in excellent condition - there is not a single scratch
on it anywhere. The guitar player in my band loves it's soune and is
always trying to get me to sell it to him, but I won't. Sorry, I can't
give all the playing details that guitar players like to hear, but to
me it sounds great.

I'm told it was made in the mid-70s; 20 fret, dreadnought body, no
frills, tuners are basic and mine now needs replacing. No electronics.
Says 'Made in Japan' inside.

What a wonderful sound! I love my FT-140 and rarely hear any other
acoustic that even comes close, including very pricey guitars. The
heavier the strings the better the tone, of course, certainly up to
(Martin or d'Addario) Mediums that I usually use. It becomes more of a
fight to play, but worth it for the ringing sonorous tone.

Set up was a bit lousy, but work on the bridge and top nut pays off in
bringing the action down to very playable levels at all frets. No real
faults otherwise.

Played live in acoustic sessions when it blows everything else away; I
only wish I could play it better. It has been dropped, knocked, sat on
and thrashed to death and still is just as solid as ever. Fine for any
pure acoustic gig.

Never have ...

for the spec of this guitar (it was pretty much an entry level
instrument i think), the sound is fantastic. it has a very even sound
(as someone else here said) - no booming bass, no tinny treble - just
a good even range and LOTS of volume. with a fresh set of light guage
martin bronze strings, this old bird can really strut it's stuff. i've
sampled many entry/mid level guitars over the past 17yrs of playing,
and none of them come close.

*well, actually with only one exception...my brother bought a Simon &
Patrick cedar-6 new for ?230, and admittedly the sound of it is simply
stunning (easily equaling my mates matured Martin D-18) - but see
durability for more comparison.*

i have gigged it a fair bit, playing alongside the D-18 and also
recorded both together in studio - the FT140 really doesn't sound out
of place. i used a schaller country & western & external mic for
studio, and more recently moved onto a fishman NEO-D passive - which
sounds much better.

Action, Fit, & Finish : 10
finish is holding up well for it's age - infact it looks great! it may
have what some people term "crappy" open tuners - but they are
flawless - this guitar holds it's tuning brillianty, and i can be a
very heavy strummer...

Reliability/Durability : 10
never let me down yet. gigged lots and taken numerous bumps and
thumps. top edges of the headstock have worn a bit, and i had the
first 5 frets re-ground a few years back.

certain that you can't get an entry model of this quailty these days.
this was built to last - and will probably outlast me - and i'm only
33!!!

Dreadnought body of I believe all laminate woods (spuce top, mahogany
back/sides). Mine was of (I believe) late 1970's vintage and IMO was
comparable to other guitars of it's ilk. Made in Japan and I think
Japan was making some quality guitars back then. Tuners were kinda
cheap bar style, but worked well.

Very good IMO Full sounding guitar. Not especially basey or bright.
Just even.
Didn't like the 1st fret right next to the nut. As w/most Epiphones
I've played w/this feature, it made an F chord difficult for me. I
have no problem w/F on other guitars.

The action on mine was excellent. Very low w/no string/fret buzz. The
Top wood was nice w/the common Epiphone pattern that has grain that
kinda looks like twin racing stripes going vertically.
No flaws that I found.

I think it would withstand live playing. I bought it used and the
finish was in good condition save for some belt buckle scatches on the
back.

Hobbiest/couch picker for 35+ years.
Guitar sounded good and played very well except for making an F
chord.
My favorite feature on it (as w/other Epiphone FT models) was the 1
3/4" at nut neck width. If I was looking for another guitar w/1 3/4
neck, I'd definantly consider the FT 140.
I only owned it a couple of months before I traded it in on a pawnshop
FT 145 Texan.

It's japanese, about 1975 perhaps .... it used to have a sticker on
the back of the headstock claiming such, long since disappeared. I
obtained it from a friend at college - the story goes I bought an
esquire (yes, a real one) from a guy on a houseboat and my friend came
along for the purchase. he was a deadhead freak (this was 1975 ...).
anyway the college residence was warm, very cosy and dry and the
guitar must have had a siesmic shock from being brought from the boat
into that environment and within a short while it became a bit
unplayable. I was distraught, of course .... but my friend was more
practical, and offered to do a deal with his acoustic and some ###
balance, and he rescued the esquire with a new neck, etc, and I wonder
if he still has that guitar today. because I've still got the
epiphone, 30 years later and (like all the other reviews say) it is a
friend for life ....
yes, it has a few knocks, dings and scratches - once it fell of the
peg above my hearth and split along the base. a million thanks go to
www.kinkade.co.uk for their open-heart surgery, back in '93 or
'94 ..... I remember also some bowing was occurring with the lower
body and I was advised to sell it - an english guitar repairer
(guitarzan, long since gone) added some wood under the base of the
neck to stop the movement and it has been fine ever since. that was in
about 1980 .... jeez, I've known that guitar a long time ...

like others point out, it seems to have the neck of a typical electric
guitar. the action is cool, there is no physical demands made on the
player here. being an omniguitarist, this - I guess - is why I kept
it. it was useful to play 'electric' stuff on it, even though the tone
was bright and clear in its own right. it's fine for picking,
strumming, hammering, tinkering .... need I go on ?
a few years ago I got a mimesis soundhole pickup added, the output
coming thru the strap-peg. mmesis have since been bought out by
fishman - I think maybe this pickup is an early prototype of the rare-
earth which sells for super-bucks. I joind in a workshop run by john
renbourn a few weeks ago and he was extolling the virtues of this
(mimesis) pickup, so I thank my guitar guy for doing the right thing
then.

I've played since 1975 and was in my first band in 1979. I own 15
instruments, about 10 of which I wouldn't hesitate to gig with. I play
mostly acoustic rhythm and tend to rotate two six-strings -- a Korean-
made Alvarez AJ60SC jumbo cutaway with the Mark V electronics (Mark V
Electronics, Inc. 8019 E. Slauson Avenue Montebello, CA 90640
http://www.markvelectronics.comTel: 800-423-FIVE (orders outside
Canada) 800-521-MARK (orders in Canada) 213-888-8988 (catalog/info)
Fax: 213-888-6868) and a Japanese Takamine (WEST L.A. MUSIC #1 11345
SANTA MONICA BLVD LOS ANGELES, CA 90025 Phone: (310) 477-1945 Fax:
(310) 477-2476
www.westlakepro.com) FD340SC with the very odd AD1 Acoustic DSP
digital pre-amp that burns two AA batteries in 8 hours -- and an
Alvarez AJ60SC-12 twelve-string guitar, matched to the six-string. The
FT-140 just can't fly in the same strata with those, but I don't
expect it to. I think might try to replace it if it were stolen or
lost, but I'd spend more time trying to land a Gibson J-200 first. But
for what it is, the little FT-140 has been a loyal friend, and I
expect to keep it on permanent loan forever!

Jap-iphone acoustic, spruce (I guess) top, mahogany (I guess) sides
and back, open **** tuners, basic, basic guitar....not a bad thing,
read on, true believers......

This guitar has been by my side for a very long time, ever since I
walked into Herman's Pawn Shop, heard a lovely voice speaking to me,
it was HER! Can't say I was taken by her looks, but, 85 smackers? I
spent three times that in the bar the night before, so I took her
home. I have NEVER looked back! It has got to be my best decision to
date (sorry wife!). It has a deep, rich, tone with a hint of
glassiness over the top that binds the sound together. There exists no
bargain like this anymore today. If you can get your mitts on one, by
all means, DO IT!!!!

The finishes are all done well, the hardware is chinsey, wadda ya want
for 85 samoleons? SOUND! That is all that matters here.

I treat it like whore, have taken it on many canoe trips, doubles as a
paddle, hit a friend in the head with it, she bears the scars but will
not talk about it! Sounds the same as when I rolled the dice with her,
although she is twice as ugly now. The case was toast a long time ago
(POS). A little personal history, my Mother knocked it over and broke
the headstock, I was crushed! It took me years to effect the repairs,
when I finally did, she sang again! I had her for about 1 year before
my toddler son knocked her down and broke it in a completely different
spot. I cried. Instead of fixing it, I found a neck on E-bay for a
nominal price and am as happy as a pig in sh*t.

Guitar Quote of the Day for 8/5/2007. "When I end up doing licks, it's
usually because I've run out of ideas." - Scott Henderson