Welcome to the club Gordon. When you get some courage, please post a picture of you and your Epic. We all love pictures here! BTW, your entry level Epic is genuine ALEMBIC through and through. I owned a few top end Alembics and a very bizarre custom, and my Epic has the same level of craftsmanship and attention to detail as the most expensive and elaborate Alembic money can buy. That's because the same wonderful artists make them all with love and magic. My Epic has a thin veneer under the fingerboard just like a Series 1. All hardware has threaded inserts, and all covers fit into precision milled pockets. No hack craftsmanship. Open up the control cavity and check out the electronics. This is not what you find in the cheap Asian copy guitars. Silver paint conductive shield, gold contacts, trim pot gain adjust, printed circuit board. Some of these features the BIG companies feel are too costly to mass produce, so you won't find them on their guitars. Pity, you won't find my hands on their guitars either! Enjoy it, play it, and soon you won't be able to look back either!
Kris
