This is in my opinion one of the better Epis. I'm not much on Korean guitars but this one has defininitely got plenty of merit! I had obtained this guitar a little over a year ago from an avid collector (he had over 300 guitars at the time). It was purchased new at a large local Epiphone/Gibson dealer. This particular guitar came from the 97 NAMM show which is where the dealer purchased it. I have no real way of verifying this but the collector had no reason to lie to me. It was originally a trade for a guitar I customized for him and this was the least expensive of the three he offered.

This Del Rey is not like the later production cherry bursts which looked more like "pre-school neon lipstick bursts" and the beautiful bookmatched pinstripe flame can be seen through the finish all the way to the binding. Another thing that sets it apart is the heel has a lower profile than later production. I have had two other new Del Reys, a transparent charcoal, and a brandywine transparent, but neither held a candle to this one so they didn't stay long. The model never really caught on, which is sad.

I will need to clear up a few popular misconceptions. First, the Del Rey is neither a copy of a PRS nor is it an Epi copy of a Gibson DC. It is actually the last Epi offering in the Crestwood line (if you don't know what a Crestwood or Olympic is, check on www.gbase.com and search for the model, they're cool). I wouldn't associate it with the Coronet either as the Korean version was pretty darn klunky. Second, OBL pickups (which originally came in the guitar) are not made by Bill Lawrence, they are Korean, although I won't dispute the design is quite similar and they are WELL made. I have a REAL Bill Lawrence (not a stew-mac) in my PE-R80 and it is an entirely different creature.

The double-octave (24 fret) neck is slim and FAST. The frets were leveled and crowned exactly like the early 70's SGs with low, wide "Fretless Wonder Frets". I am heartbroken Gibson abandoned them. Those frets were like playing air! The body is nicely carved giving a bit more mass than it's earlier flat-faced predecessors improving sustain. The sealed, die-cast tuners are smooth and precise. The action can be set rather low with little fret buzz although I wouldn't call it a "shredder".