Epiphone Prophecy Extura Yellow Tiger Guitar Review

The radical designs of the Explorer and Flying V in the 1950s were so ahead of their time that production on the initial run ceased not long after their introduction. There was also a rarer prototype, so rare that only three are known to exist today: the Futura. Enter, the Epiphone Extura – a blend of the Explorer with the narrower waist of the Futura.

The classic mahogany body is topped with a AAA flamed maple cap and a Vintage Gloss finish, giving it an excellent look and even better playability. With 24 easy-access frets on a Slim-Taper neck with a contoured heel, shredding those huge arpeggios will be a breeze! The Grover Locking Machine heads and Graph-Tec NuBone nut keep you in tune while the Fishman Fluence pickups provide a modern versatility not seen before in a guitar like this! These active pickups include two different push/pull knobs on the tone and volume controls of the guitar giving you three different and usable tones. With both switches in the down position, the tone is purely Fluence – a modern, high-gain, active pickup perfect for modern rock tones. Engage the tone knob push/pull, and you have a sound voice like the PAF humbucker for a more traditional SG sound, and finally, the volume knob push/pull gives you a coil-split for those single-coil tones. There is an optional hard case, Epi-Lite case, or premium gig-bag available for the guitar too!

Epiphone is steeped in history and has been able to push the boundaries of guitar shapes and designs. This gives Epiphone a huge advantage in terms of the players they appeal to.

The Extura Yello Tiger is no exception, it is a beautifully outfitted guitar with features that belie its price. In the modern day, entry-level guitars made anywhere but in the USA, are not what they used to be – in a very good way! In fact, in a lot of instances, the price point of American-made, branded guitars is barely justifiable when put up against some of the mid-priced guitars such as those offered by Epiphone.

The Fluence pickups on the guitar sound great in all positions. Being active pickups, the coil-tapped single-coil sound is slightly stronger and more authentic than is usually found in passive pickups, and altogether very usable. Though not exactly a Strat or a Tele sound, it is close to them and certainly passable in a live gig that requires a single coil tone! This guitar has a look that will appeal to guitar players who want to stand out and let’s be honest, all guitar players want to stand out! The balance of the body shape works well in both a sitting and standing position and these contours actually make it a remarkably comfortable guitar to play. The contoured heel is a modern necessity for accessing those higher frets, and the Extura’s inclusion of this is something you might expect on a guitar worth more than this – a welcome addition to killer guitar. The headstock design of this guitar allows for a slightly straighter exit of the strings through the nut, meaning when coupled with the locking machine heads, makes for great tuning stability.

There is no doubt that this guitar makes a statement, albeit a pretty awesome one! The tonal versatility makes it a pretty special gigging guitar. It definitely asks for a certain style of music to be played on it but that’s not to say that it can’t do a lot of other things really well too! Check one out for yourself today!

More info via Epiphone Australia