The Epiphone Joe Pass Emperor II is a semi-hollow body electric guitar based on Epiphone’s Emperor guitar and named after late jazz legend, Joe Pass.
The Joe Pass Emperor features a distinctive trapeze tailpiece, twin humbuckers, and a laminated maple body with spruce top. All the hardware, including tailpiece and pick-up covers is gold. The 3-piece set maple neck has a rosewood fretboard with block inlays, and the tortoiseshell pickguard has a reproduction of Joe Pass’ signature. The guitar is available in antique natural or vintage sunburst.
According to Wikipedia “Joe Pass previously had a relationship with the Ibanez guitar company, but in the late 1990′s Epiphone released the Emperor II, claiming Pass had a hand in the design of the guitar. Epiphone had previously issued the guitar as just the Emperor and with Pass’s endorsement some subtle changes to the guitar were made (such as moving the pickup selector switch). While Pass endorsed the Epiphone he was more commonly seen with a Gibson ES-175″
It’s certainly true that Pass was more often seen playing an ES-175, but the Joe Pass Emperor has more in common with the Epiphone Broadway than it does with the other Emperor in Epiphone’s range, the Emperor Regent, which features a single mini-Humbucker. Both the Broadway and the Emperor Regent have Frequensator tailpieces, while the Joe Pass Empereror 2 has a trapeze tailpiece, similar to the one on the Nick Valensi Rivieria P94.
In the words of one proud owner the Joe Pass Emperor II is a “warm, smooth and silky affordable Archtop that delivers rich, smokey tones from jazz to blues.”
The vintage S/Burst is dandy, but dontcha just love the blondie….can`t stop druelling over this one….. stunning piece of kit.
I love the blonde one too. That pic doesn’t really do it justice. It really is a gorgeous guitar.
I’ve had my Joe Pass for nearly two years, now; and I love it. I thind the size fits me perfectly. It’s ergonomically correct for playing when seated or leaning back, and is exceptionally comfortable to hold. The playability is about a 9,on a 0 to 10 rating scale. I use 12-53 Gibson L5 strings, which I think duplicte classic jazz tone well.
The onyl criticsm I have is the excessively thick finish. The only thing I want to change is to sand down the thick gloss finish on the top only. I’ve done that to another Epi and had satisfactory results in “opening up” the tone. Not down to bare wood; but to leave a little to protect it from the environment.