Epiphone FT-145 Acoustic Guitar Resurrected

All strung up and ready to go.

Here's the rejuvenated Epiphone FT-145 posing in the garden.

Now that it has a new bridge plate, bridge and saddle, it's usable again.

It sounds pretty good for a laminate guitar.  The main thing I notice is not a lot of bass compared to a solid wood dreadnaught, but that's to be expected.  And it does play in tune - the bridge placement worked out fine.  I strung it with medium gauge (.013) strings, so it's got decent volume.  It's no Martin, but it gets the job done.

The action is just perfect - about 5/64 on the bass side and about 4/64 on the treble.  It could actually go a touch lower without buzzing, but I like it so that you can get your fingers 'under' the strings for string bending.

A little closer look.  I polished it out and it looks good.  The new bridge fits right in with the overall appearance.

It would be great for a beginner, or as a 'beater.'  I'm taking a slack key guitar seminar later this summer and I might use it for one day of that.