Cheap (Inexpensive) Archtop Alert!

[Greentele]

I just got this emailed to me today from Rondo.
BIG body, floating humbucker.......but that volume knob has to go!

I'm a big old sucker for these!

Douglas WNO 640 SBR at RondoMusic.com

[TommyD]

Nothing wrong with the volume knob location. It's handy, and easy. Note that the PUP is a floating one. The knob in the pick guard means no holes in the spruce top. I don't like the fake ebony tailpiece covering the metal one.
If you wanted a guitar for jobs in unsafe neighborhoods, this is the one! (I'm old enough to have had my fill of being scared on the streets!)
tommy/

[82Benedetto]

Looks to be great bang for the buck like most of the stuff Rondo puts out.

[Greentele]

I hear that! Ha!
Yeah...the knob looks kind of out of place....I meant that the Gibson style gold looks mismatched in color. A darker one would look better. Being on the pickguard is good tho.
It's really hard to tell if a guitar like this would hold any promise at all. But I like that huge body.

[Norman931]

If past experience is a measure, that is a great price on a great guitar. I'm afraid it would be a tad big and heavy for me though.

[randyc]

Well .... my opinions are not <ahem> always tactful ... so here goes:

If I propped that thing on a gold-plated stand in the middle of my living room, the least-informed, crack-smoking teen thief would doubtless leave my house ... empty-handed.

Cheers,
randyc

[Drifter]

Not a bad idea at all, Randy. You could use it as a scarecrow to divert thiefs from the real treasures you have.

[killacon]

It's only cheap looking because the top's painted a solid color... I bet it's an great deal on a worthy low-end archtop.

[Bunyip]

Douglas guitars get a pretty good wrap on the Agile Guitar Forum.

[Greentele]

Here is where they're made.........Korea
::: Shine Guitars (Saein Musical Instrument Co.,Ltd) :::

[mongrel]

Originally Posted by Greentele

Here is where they're made.........Korea
::: Shine Guitars (Saein Musical Instrument Co.,Ltd) :::

The parent company is in ROK but it is almost certain the model in questions in made in PRC because of its price. If this was a Korean model, it would probably be in the $500-600 US range due to the difference in labor costs in the two Asian nations. That doesn't necessarily mean its an inferior product, but I wouldn't buy until I tried one. For a few dollars more (like the film title), a used Korean-made guitar with similar features might be a much better buy.

[Greentele]

Mongrel,
That does make sense.......humh.....I thought I really found the "bang-for-the-buck" bargin of the century!

[mongrel]

Originally Posted by Greentele

Mongrel,
That does make sense.......humh.....I thought I really found the "bang-for-the-buck" bargin of the century!

There's a guy who owns a ratty pawnshop nearby and his main business is buying gold jewelry for the bullion content. With the recent price of the metal, he is doing very well buying low and selling at market. He's also a great guitarist and has a bunch of the cheapest beaters and SS amps in his shop. A couple of years ago I made my bi-monthly visit jus to see if he had any gems for cheap, and saw a couple of brand new L5 clone archtops hanging on the wall. S101's, made in the People's Republic of China. Extremely nice feel, OK acoustic tone, and similar to the good Korean mades plugged in. He told me he paid like $165 a piece for them and was asking $250 but would have come down to $190-200. I didn't buy one because I had just gotten a used EPI Joe Pass but would have if I didn't have the EPI which I paid $450 for. My Joe Pass was made, coincidentally, in the Saein factory in Inchon. I've been intrigued by the Xavierre semi-hollows, especially the one that clones a Casino. Watching Ebay for used Xavieres, Agiles and Douglas's, especially the Agile ES-295 looking model, I haven't seen any used ones. I think that may mean that those who buy them like them enough to keep them.

[tonedeaf]

Sure looks like an Eastman 8xxCE series. Right down to the "King Tut" tuner knobs (which, thankfully, they have stopped using). The ebony tailpiece cover and bridge are near identical. The headstock looks like someone took a quick swipe with a router just to make it look a little different.

http://www.soundpure.com/resources/o...d0f166f-56.jpg

[monk]

Good looking guitar but at 8.5 pounds it outweighs my Tele by 1.5 pounds.

[BigDaddyLoveHandles]

Originally Posted by monk

Good looking guitar but at 8.5 pounds it outweighs my Tele by 1.5 pounds.

Heck, the Ken Parker Olive Branch only weigh 3 1/2lbs!

[randyc]

weird-looking stuff

[BigDaddyLoveHandles]

Originally Posted by randyc

weird-looking stuff

Parker archtops? Yes, and expensive! And not the traditional jazz archtop sound, either. I guess I like the oddballs, and the way he mounts the neck on a post, for raising and lowering, is unique:

[derek]

Originally Posted by BigDaddyLoveHandles

Heck, the Ken Parker Olive Branch only weigh 3 1/2lbs!

I saw and hear that guitar last weekend in Montreal. Had zero desire to play it though.

[SamBooka]

I wanted to try it but there was some dude bogarting it all the time.

[Jake2009]

Originally Posted by Greentele

Mongrel,
That does make sense.......humh.....I thought I really found the "bang-for-the-buck" bargin of the century!

This might not be an Ibanez PM100 or GB jazz axe or Gibson... but I am not going to knock a guitarist who can only afford this guitar and play the sweetest music from it.

Let the critics and players who are better than Joe Pass, Benson, Metheny, Wes, Pizzarelli and make MORE money than all these greats combined bash this budget guitar.

It was a cheap 1961 Hofner bass Paul McCartney owned and played that got him where he is today... hold that thought, and figure out what I am trying to say.

[Dad3353]

Originally Posted by Greentele

...I'm a big old sucker for these!

Douglas WNO 640 SBR at RondoMusic.com

Good afternoon, Greentele...
Thanks for posting this. I have a Douglas 6-string fretless bass, bought for me as a birthday present by a thoughtful son. It's a very nice instrument (my other son has 'bagged' it, and plays almost nothing else now...); no issues, and a great bargain for its price. I would imagine that this guitar is equally worth its asking price. We cannot all afford vintage L5's, and, for my part, the 'quality' of my playing would certainly not do such a jewel justice.
It's about the same size as my Hofner Comittee, so no change there.
Perhaps I'll leave a printout of this hanging about; my next birthday is August...
(It's no coincidence; I get a cynical buzz from explaining to friends that my 'luthier' builds these guitars for me personally, with my name on the headstock... . Some actually believe me..!)

[MGI]

Is it real spruce top or laminate?
I doubt it's real.

[Open_Tuna]

Anyone played/seen this guitar?

[Jake2009]

Originally Posted by Open_Tuna

Anyone played/seen this guitar?

yes it is spruce, it is a laminated top, and it holds well next to an Ibanez, or Washburn. As far as the pick up... It sounds pretty good at this price. I did a listening test and could not tell the difference between this and a friend's Emperor Regent that goes for $700. He played both I was in the bedroom he was in the living room and the amp used was a fender frontman 212R with no effects just some bass and full treble.

I highly recommend the guitar based on this listening test. Up to you if your ears are that trained to tell the difference between stock and more expensive pick ups, which when recorded and compressed and tweaked with EQs you can't really tell if the person used a Gibson, Epiphone, or Ibanez.

[MGI]

Well, if it's laminated top, then there's no any difference, is it a Spruce or any other wood. Solid Spruce carved top and laminated top - huge difference acoustically. If you play thru amp - then yes, not a big difference.
For the money - it could be really good guitar.
Thanks!