Guitar thread

[68deluxe]

Originally Posted by bug67

Well, I went and played one. I gotta say, for $2400.00, I was sorely disappointed. There were areas where the vinyl was pealing off the chassis. And, the noise! Electronic interference and radio station noise. Buzzing and humming noise. Pretty much unshielded, electronic, poor quality control noise. No way in hell I'm paying that kind of scratch for something that sounds like it was put together by a 5 year old.

The Fender '65 Deluxe Reverb I played on the other hand...

I just got an Orange hard-wired tiny terror last year, kinda disappointing. I wish I would have jumped on the used Marshall tubed amp for $300 more.

[68deluxe]

Originally Posted by Jeffy

I wouldn't write off GC. Keep in mind that some brands require the store to have a fairly large stock on hand which a mom & pop can't always do. Those brands will also void their warranty if you don't buy them through authorized dealers.

Honestly, I have no problems going into a GC with all the other people. I end up walking into the Platinum room wich is usually empty anyway. That's where they keep their more expensive guitars. If anyone's in there a sales person will quickly appear out of nowhere. You can usually get 10-15% off if you ask for it as well. I'd get one sealed though. The ones they have hanging out front get handled a lot.

If I was buying an electric, I'd probably get a Squier Telecaster Classic Vibe Custom and a Blues Junior III tube amp. Or maybe a Gibson Les Paul Junior, Special or a Studio and the same amp. Would be really nice for blues/rock and a solid setup. I recommend not going cheap on the amp as that's another part of the voice of the guitar. A steril amp will make even a good guitar sound bad.

I've thought about getting a Casino but I think I'd want a ES-335 or maybe the smaller ES-339 for some rockabilly action. I keep dumping money into my Les Paul though. I'm thinking about changing the Tone-pro's bridge and tail piece with a Callaham.

Just about a year ago I was shopping for my birthday present. I had settled on trading in my 4 year old LP standard for a 58 Re-issue (R58). The biggest GC in the area had a huge LP sale that weekend so I went over there. They had scads of 58/59/60 re-issues but they were floor models that had been pawed and neglected for a few years. AND most did not come with certificates and/or OHSC. The best price for a 58 was $2995. I went to my local GC and got a 58 for $2495 and a decent trade in for my guitar. The salesperson at that GC told me the other store was famous for "losing" stuff in their warehouse. How can you lose a case??????

[68deluxe]

Originally Posted by josjor

Sorry, guys. I'm just not getting the $2,500.00 and up Gibson love. I sell a lot of different brands of guitars, and no, I'm not a Gibson dealer. But I take them on trade or buy them from people all the time. I have to say it: You can get a better guitar from about 20 other manufacturers for half the price.

There was a time when Gibson actually gave a damn about quality. Maybe they still do on something. But the fit and finish on every modern day Gibson I've had through my shop was barely at or even below the standards I see from other manufacturers $500.00 guitars.

IMHO, Gibson is the Harley of guitars: Nothing really all that special, but for some completely unexplainable reason, people are willing to pay a premium price for a mediocre product.

Flame on.

An un-believer. Ban Him!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Blakebird]

I dive in and catch up on this thread from time to time. When someone asks about a "decent beginner guitar that I won't outgrow", I see the usual Ephiphone and Squier suggestions - but don't see anyone mentioning Ibanez Artcores.
Not only a great guitar for the money, but you can get a variety of configurations.

I'll never let my JD Tele go....and I've become very fond of my Schecter C-1 which for the money ($750-ish) is an amazing instrument.
It might be marketed as the ultimate shredder guitar, but with the coil tapped active EMG's you can get a soft bluesy/jazzy thing going which is more my style.

I wish I hadn't seen the Black Friday mentions.... I've wanted to pick up a Les Paul Studio for a couple years, and an Epiphone Casino. I love P90's.

[DangerMoney]

Originally Posted by josjor

Sorry, guys. I'm just not getting the $2,500.00 and up Gibson love. I sell a lot of different brands of guitars, and no, I'm not a Gibson dealer. But I take them on trade or buy them from people all the time. I have to say it: You can get a better guitar from about 20 other manufacturers for half the price.

There was a time when Gibson actually gave a damn about quality. Maybe they still do on something. But the fit and finish on every modern day Gibson I've had through my shop was barely at or even below the standards I see from other manufacturers $500.00 guitars.

IMHO, Gibson is the Harley of guitars: Nothing really all that special, but for some completely unexplainable reason, people are willing to pay a premium price for a mediocre product.

Flame on.

There's a reason the Les Paul (and the Strat, Tele, etc.) are still with us and in demand after 50+ years: Nothing else sounds like them. Are there shitty sounding Gibson LPs? Absolutely. Are there great sounding LPs with excellent sustain being built today? Absolutely. Having said that, every guitar has it's own unique voice because every piece of wood is different and an LP is a blend of five pieces of wood and sometimes six (two-piece backs).


Some people buy $5000 used cars, some people buy $40,000 new cars and some people buy $200,000 cars. Does the $200,000 car deliver 40 times the performance of the used car? Hell no. But that's not the point.

[Jeffy]

Originally Posted by 68deluxe

Just about a year ago I was shopping for my birthday present. I had settled on trading in my 4 year old LP standard for a 58 Re-issue (R58). The biggest GC in the area had a huge LP sale that weekend so I went over there. They had scads of 58/59/60 re-issues but they were floor models that had been pawed and neglected for a few years. AND most did not come with certificates and/or OHSC. The best price for a 58 was $2995. I went to my local GC and got a 58 for $2495 and a decent trade in for my guitar. The salesperson at that GC told me the other store was famous for "losing" stuff in their warehouse. How can you lose a case??????

That's a really good deal. I know GC likes to play games with their guitars. The guitar is always priced at 15% lower then retail and the case is charged separably to bring it back to retail. That's a great deal though on a reissue. I'd like a R8. GC also has the GC Exclusive 1960 aka: G0 that's a good deal as well. MF now sells a exclusive 1960. http://www.musiciansfriend.com/guita...-guitar/h75254

I've been tweaking my 2012 std. so much, I've lost the yearning for a R8. I'm wanting to change the knobs to reflectors, add some thumbcutters and Callaham's steel ABR1 bridge and tailstop. I've already added PIO .22uf caps and changed the pickups to Skatterbrane.

I think my next guitar might be a Custom. I don't really care for 490R and 495T though.

[groop]

Originally Posted by josjor

What is simply amazing to me is the blindness of consumers to brand loyalty. I can have that Fender or Gibson hanging on the wall next to other brands that exceed the quality in EVERY aspect including price, and people will buy the Fender or Gibson first and pay me more for the privilege of doing so.

Oh, well. It pays my bills.

When I was younger, I couldn't afford a Fender or Gibson, but now I can. The problem is that the quality differences that were obvious between the 'premium' brands vs. the 'introductory' brands has narrowed. I have two crappy Fender copies now (they're both 10-15 years old) and am looking for something that will last. I live near Fendertown and my barber was also Leo Fender's barber before they both died. Lots of strats in Orange County. While I'd like to stay loyal to the US brands, I'm all if you've got better suggestions. I go to the NAMM show every year and I'm overwhelmed by the choices as I have no idea what I am looking for, other than a quality instrument.

[greygeezer]

I bought an Epiphone dot,( Gibson es335 copy ) a couple of weeks ago.
It looks, plays and sounds great! Had it set up by a guitar tech,all it needed was a little filing of the nut and one fret.
Very happy with it for less than$500.
The real deal is over $2500.

[BMW Kurt]

Epiphones are damn good guitars for 99% of us!

[Josephvman]

I have to agree with this.

Based on my last two new Gibson's, a 60's Tribute LP Studio goldtop, and 50th Anniversary Jeff Tweedy SG (both made in USA) I'm inclined to agree with you. Both play pretty well, but fit and finish aren't very good. I bought my brother a Schecter PT Telecaster for his birthday a few years ago, the shiny black with creme binding (really good-looking guitar) and the fit and finish was much better than than either Gibson, and the Jeff Tweedy SG was nearly $2k, compared to around $350 for the Schecter.

The LP Studio has a wonky, noisy pickup selector, and the P90's are very harsh. I think Fender does a better job with fit and finish on instruments under $2k. That said, I played a pretty cool MIM Tele Deluxe a few weeks ago that I considered buying, but the hardware was absolute junk on it. The tailpeice was so badly finished that you could cut yourself on the metal spurs on it. Overall though I think Fender's are more consistent, but a Strat is a simply instrument to make than a LP so maybe that has something to do with it.

It seems to me that only thing that really distinguishes the $300 Epiphone and Squire stuff from the $1000 instruments is the more expensive ones are made in the USA and have more bling. For the most part the fit and finish and the quality of the parts seem similar to me.

Originally Posted by josjor

Sorry, guys. I'm just not getting the $2,500.00 and up Gibson love. I sell a lot of different brands of guitars, and no, I'm not a Gibson dealer. But I take them on trade or buy them from people all the time. I have to say it: You can get a better guitar from about 20 other manufacturers for half the price.

There was a time when Gibson actually gave a damn about quality. Maybe they still do on something. But the fit and finish on every modern day Gibson I've had through my shop was barely at or even below the standards I see from other manufacturers $500.00 guitars.

IMHO, Gibson is the Harley of guitars: Nothing really all that special, but for some completely unexplainable reason, people are willing to pay a premium price for a mediocre product.

Flame on.

[David_Moen]

Acquired! VOX AC4TV under the Christmas tree for the man child this year. Should be good for dorm room use! Part of me thinks I'm lucky I don't play guitar, I'd be in some serious financial jeopardy!

[pox]

I knew I shouldn't have gone into GC !! But the Platinum room is quite often a treat as we don't have GC in Canada!! Anyways I did and found a pretty sweet '97 Gretsch 6120SSU Brian Setzer Nashville!! So no Xmas present for me this year, well not at Xmas anyways!!!!!! I thought it was a good deal for $1499 but pickguard is missing, eBay ???

[jdgretz]

Originally Posted by pox

I knew I shouldn't have gone into GC !! But the Platinum room is quite often a treat as we don't have GC in Canada!! Anyways I did and found a pretty sweet '97 Gretsch 6120SSU Brian Setzer Nashville!! So no Xmas present for me this year, well not at Xmas anyways!!!!!! I thought it was a good deal for $1499 but pickguard is missing, eBay ???

A 6120 for only $1500? Man, that's a deal. Pick guards are easy to find. Heck you could get one from Gretsch directly is you needed to.

Where's the pics?

jdg

[FPGT72]

Originally Posted by jdgretz

A 6120 for only $1500? Man, that's a deal. Pick guards are easy to find. Heck you could get one from Gretsch directly is you needed to.

Where's the pics?

jdg

Smokin deal. You better run fast you stole that thing.

[FPGT72]

Originally Posted by David_Moen

Acquired! VOX AC4TV under the Christmas tree for the man child this year. Should be good for dorm room use! Part of me thinks I'm lucky I don't play guitar, I'd be in some serious financial jeopardy!

He will like that amp....I have one. It will clean up nice down low, but still have pretty good tone at the 1/4w. setting while getting a bit dirty. Pretty nice little all around amp.....but it can get pretty darn loud....on the 4w setting and with enough to make it dirty it is pretty darn loud.