George Benson GB 100 or GB 12 or GB 10? - Page 2

jorgemg1984 · #31 07-21-2011, 08:54 PM

Those are good amps, specially if you mod them. The Deluxe Reverb with a Neo speaker would be much lighter and I think it would probably get you closer to the Benson sound than a Polyotne. Talk with J Hale or Sound Island Music and see what they recommend you.

AprilSwiftHerbst · #32 07-22-2011, 02:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigMikeinNJ

The Deluxe Reverb (an OLD one, not the reissue) is probably my all time favorite amp - in my life I have had three - what they call "Blackface" Deluxe Reverbs - they just shimmer and sparkle. I believe the Deville is the one GB uses a lot on stage. Yeah the Deluxe is a little heavy but you know you need the big magnet speaker and cabinet size to get that golden tone. It's not something you can fake with a smaller amp.

One thing to remember (I used to try to emulate Pat Metheny's sound) no matter how well you match up the gear the sound and tone come from the hands and skill of the player. You sure are on the right track for Jazz Tone with what you already have.

Now i just wish my husband could play like George

Thanks for the info it seems what we have are really good already then. When i look at our videos the GB200 stands out most alongside the Gibson ES175 and the IBanez GB10.

Here are videos of our 3 guitars. Think i will make a video with the amps next to the guitars too.

‪Gibson vs Ibanez‬&rlm; - YouTube

YouTube Video

Quote:

Originally Posted by jorgemg1984

Those are good amps, specially if you mod them. The Deluxe Reverb with a Neo speaker would be much lighter and I think it would probably get you closer to the Benson sound than a Polyotne. Talk with J Hale or Sound Island Music and see what they recommend you.

Will we lose money or value if we mod anything? Isn't it better to keep to original?

jorgemg1984 · #33 07-22-2011, 02:29 PM

Hmm you would loose money if you had an original amp from the 50s / 60s. You will loose warranty if you still have it. But I don't advise you to start tweaking since its not your area, you will loose a lot of time in order to do it.

Your husband wont get George Benson sound even if he gets a good GB guitar, thomastik GB strings and a GB Polytone. The only way to get GB sound is being the man himself.

Is your main problem with the two Fenders the weight? Apart from that does your husband like the sound of the amps? I actually feel GB sound is much more Fender than Polytone. If the issue is weight than you must search for light amps and a Polytone GB is not a light amp at all.

AprilSwiftHerbst · #34 07-22-2011, 04:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jorgemg1984

Hmm you would loose money if you had an original amp from the 50s / 60s. You will loose warranty if you still have it. But I don't advise you to start tweaking since its not your area, you will loose a lot of time in order to do it.

Your husband wont get George Benson sound even if he gets a good GB guitar, thomastik GB strings and a GB Polytone. The only way to get GB sound is being the man himself.

Is your main problem with the two Fenders the weight? Apart from that does your husband like the sound of the amps? I actually feel GB sound is much more Fender than Polytone. If the issue is weight than you must search for light amps and a Polytone GB is not a light amp at all.

Wow you guys gave such great advice and all have so much knowledge thank you so much.

Yeah my husband said to me know matter how good the player is and what equipment he or she has - no one will ever sound like George Benson. There is only 1 George Benson

Now ... my hubby is away a lot on offshore oil drilling project, I am left with all these guitars and he told me to start learning how to fix intonations so that it will always be in tune.

My question is all his guitars have floating bridges and you could only fix the two E strings to get the intonations perfect. Now if i replaced all his bridges with a fix bridge that can tune intonations, will this drop the prices of his guitars? And will it make it harder to sell later on?

Thank you so much for the replies so far.

I know my husband is inlove with the GB12 but when it came out he had so many things happening to his life at the time the guitar was released. Now i am trying to full fill his love for that guitar and trying to buy or swap one with the GB200.

BigMikeinNJ · #35 07-22-2011, 04:34 PM

On the intonation, take the guitar to a tech, do NOT change the floating bridges - that's worse modding an amp. A good guitar tech can do what's called a "setup" and get the intonation right.

What happened with the two GB12s on eBay, did you contact either seller to see if they would ship to AU. By the way where are you in AU, I used to be engaged to a girl from Canberra. I worked for her dad, an opal importer, on the road as a driver/bodyguard... Great people.

You could always buy the GB12 and then locally sell one or more of the guitars you have locally. I'd say move the Gibson and the GB10 - with the money you get from the sales you would not only pay for the GB12 and shipping but also have money to buy a bunch of other cool gear, maybe buy him a "looper" like the Digitech JamMan Stereo - so he could lay down a rhythm track and then practice playing leads over that rhythm track.

Best of luck.

Here is a guy named Matt Otten using a JamMan - he lays down the rhythm track and at about 1:17 into the video he hits the playback and then solos over his own rhythm chords. Good way to teach yourself how to play.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hru7p...&feature=feedu

Klatu · #36 07-22-2011, 04:54 PM

Is that you watching the guitars in the video?

jorgemg1984 · #37 07-22-2011, 07:50 PM

Doing a setup on a floating bridge is a hard task, take it to a good tech or you will mess the intonation. Usually with my archtop if it doesn't need any fret work it will stay in tune for a very long time.

On your amp quest I would definitely stay with the Fenders and keep an eye for an used Polytone, i don't think they are worth the shipping, VAT and fees. Check the local ebay / craiglist. If you need something really light its a whole other quest and the Polytone wont solve that issue. Benson himself uses a DeVille so you are set with your amp.

AprilSwiftHerbst · #38 07-23-2011, 11:24 AM

Thank you all for the kind help.

What do you think of the Bridge: GB103B bridge ?? Is this a George Benson Bridge? it's on Pat Metheny's guitar. Should we use this bridge on our GB10 and GB200?

http://www.ibanez.com/HollowBodyGuitars/model-PM120

BigMikeinNJ · #39 07-23-2011, 12:57 PM

You should just spend the money on a thorough setup - when you replace the wood bridge with a TOM (TuneOMatic) you lost some of the woodiness of the stock bridge in the tone, all three of my arch tops have wood bridges wouldn't change them for the world.

Good luck

The_Dude · #40 07-23-2011, 01:21 PM

I have the Pat Metheny PM35 model and replaced the standard tune-o-matic bridge with a rosewood bridge. I get a much better tone and no string buzzing. I used a Peterson Strob Tuner to setup the intonation on 1st and 6th string. To my surprise, the intonation is very close to dead-on across all strings.

AprilSwiftHerbst · #41 07-23-2011, 02:29 PM

Ok it seems we should just leave the guitars and amps alone - seems like we have all we need then.

Thanks for all your help everyone.

BigMikeinNJ · #42 07-23-2011, 03:58 PM

You know your husband has quite the arsenal for a guy wanting to emulate GB... I would sell the Gibson and use that money to try to land one of the GB12s online. One thing about bidding on auctions on eBay, placing an opening price bid does NOT guarantee a win, most serious bidding happens in the last 60 seconds, actually the real hardcore bidders hang back and make their move within the last 5 seconds. Watch the lower priced GB12 auction, that opening price is a massive deal - watch what happens in the final moments... I'd move on that bad boy if I had the money, but frankly I'm pretty set on guitars.

And if you do choose to go after one of those guitars on eBay, contact the seller via the ASK THE SELLER A QUESTION and tell them you want to bid and understand if they WOULD ship to AU you realize the shipping cost is steep... As I said in an earlier post most sellers want an uncomplicated transaction and PREFER selling only within what we call the LOWER 48 STATES here in the US...

This has been a fun thread.

Jabberwocky · #43 07-23-2011, 11:24 PM

Sorry, I would recommend that you stay away from ebay. Buy from someone like Joe Vinikow of archtop.com or J.G. Stewart of myjazzhome.com . Joe, especially, gets these guitars once in a while and you will know what you will be getting. So, you pay a little more. Ebay is a minefield. There may be bargains out there but since you're in OZ, know that returning a guitar is expensive and difficult and ebay sellers know that.

AprilSwiftHerbst · #44 07-24-2011, 02:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jabberwocky

Sorry, I would recommend that you stay away from ebay. Buy from someone like Joe Vinikow of archtop.com or J.G. Stewart of myjazzhome.com . Joe, especially, gets these guitars once in a while and you will know what you will be getting. So, you pay a little more. Ebay is a minefield. There may be bargains out there but since you're in OZ, know that returning a guitar is expensive and difficult and ebay sellers know that.

We are scared of Ebay Scams

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigMikeinNJ

You know your husband has quite the arsenal for a guy wanting to emulate GB... I would sell the Gibson and use that money to try to land one of the GB12s online. One thing about bidding on auctions on eBay, placing an opening price bid does NOT guarantee a win, most serious bidding happens in the last 60 seconds, actually the real hardcore bidders hang back and make their move within the last 5 seconds. Watch the lower priced GB12 auction, that opening price is a massive deal - watch what happens in the final moments... I'd move on that bad boy if I had the money, but frankly I'm pretty set on guitars.

And if you do choose to go after one of those guitars on eBay, contact the seller via the ASK THE SELLER A QUESTION and tell them you want to bid and understand if they WOULD ship to AU you realize the shipping cost is steep... As I said in an earlier post most sellers want an uncomplicated transaction and PREFER selling only within what we call the LOWER 48 STATES here in the US...

This has been a fun thread.

Is the Gibson ES 175 a better guitar? than the Ibanez GB 10 / Gb 200? It has the bridge my husband wants to put on the Ibanez guitars. So he is thinking of putting the bridge from the gibson es 175 to either the gb 10 or gb 200.

BigMikeinNJ · #45 07-24-2011, 02:33 PM

Comparing the ES175 to either the GB200 or GB10 is like comparing apples to oranges. It's not a good group to compare. The GB10 has a spruce and floating pickup (the 175 a set pickup)... The 175 has a laminated top and back, the GB200 a carved top and back (or more accurately a spruce top and maple back). The 175 is all maple - the finer (older) 175s had a maple body and mahogany neck - I think Gibson switched to a maple neck in the 70's - that maple/mahogany combo gave it a bright yet warm sound (like a mahogany body and maple top give the Les Paul it's warm singing sustain but brightness).

I think if you had both the GB10 and GB200 setup well by a qualified tech you'd end searching for another guitar. As I said changing out that wood bridge top for a TOM is gonna drastically brighten up the tone... Yuck if you are after the GB sound. He does NOT use a TOM on any of his guitars.

Now to really confuse you - watch some recent videos of GB, especially where GB is singing a lot - LISTEN carefully and you hear all this great guitar work going on while GB is holding a microphone. It's his rhythm guitarist Michael O'Niell.... The guy is laying down some serious chops - and he's playing usually on a Yamaha Pacifica or another Yamaha that is more Les Paul in shape - BUT it sounds like GB playing... It'll drive you nuts. It's all about the player and his technique

‪George Benson - Love X Love (live, 2007)‬&rlm; - YouTube

listen to Mr. O'Niell about 1 minute in - you SEE him and his strat looking Yamaha Pacifica at about the 5 minute mark...

IanD · #46 07-24-2011, 04:59 PM

If you are still here in Australia I would forget trying to get a Polytone. They would be hard to find and overpriced. My opinion, and i have had two Polytones, there are far better jazz amps around. I believe the Evans amps are about as good as you can get for jazz. They provide great service and we can get them here quite easily and cheaply through one of their agents.

PM me if you would like the Evans agent's name. Alternatively if you want to go second hand, I am considering selling my Evans RE200, it gets very little use as I'm not playing much jazz these days.

PS Hope you are enjoying our wonderful country.

AprilSwiftHerbst · #47 07-24-2011, 06:15 PM

Look at this photo this guy doesn't have wood bridge at all and that looks like a benson bridge to me how come he has the brass bride tom type?

Quote:

Originally Posted by IanD

If you are still here in Australia I would forget trying to get a Polytone. They would be hard to find and overpriced. My opinion, and i have had two Polytones, there are far better jazz amps around. I believe the Evans amps are about as good as you can get for jazz. They provide great service and we can get them here quite easily and cheaply through one of their agents.

PM me if you would like the Evans agent's name. Alternatively if you want to go second hand, I am considering selling my Evans RE200, it gets very little use as I'm not playing much jazz these days.

PS Hope you are enjoying our wonderful country.

After the way Polytone have treated my genuine call to buy their amp (they hung up on me and put my phone on block) i will never buy their amp ever. I have never heard of Evans let me look into it thank you for the info.

my husband bought all his guitars from George at Kosmic Sounds - they used to have this young man there that serviced our guitars but he no longer works there and there is this other long hair lout that is just so rude. We now have to look for a new place and don't know where because we are in Perth Australia

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigMikeinNJ

Comparing the ES175 to either the GB200 or GB10 is like comparing apples to oranges. It's not a good group to compare. The GB10 has a spruce and floating pickup (the 175 a set pickup)... The 175 has a laminated top and back, the GB200 a carved top and back (or more accurately a spruce top and maple back). The 175 is all maple - the finer (older) 175s had a maple body and mahogany neck - I think Gibson switched to a maple neck in the 70's - that maple/mahogany combo gave it a bright yet warm sound (like a mahogany body and maple top give the Les Paul it's warm singing sustain but brightness).

I think if you had both the GB10 and GB200 setup well by a qualified tech you'd end searching for another guitar. As I said changing out that wood bridge top for a TOM is gonna drastically brighten up the tone... Yuck if you are after the GB sound. He does NOT use a TOM on any of his guitars.

Now to really confuse you - watch some recent videos of GB, especially where GB is singing a lot - LISTEN carefully and you hear all this great guitar work going on while GB is holding a microphone. It's his rhythm guitarist Michael O'Niell.... The guy is laying down some serious chops - and he's playing usually on a Yamaha Pacifica or another Yamaha that is more Les Paul in shape - BUT it sounds like GB playing... It'll drive you nuts. It's all about the player and his technique

‪George Benson - Love X Love (live, 2007)‬&rlm; - YouTube

listen to Mr. O'Niell about 1 minute in - you SEE him and his strat looking Yamaha Pacifica at about the 5 minute mark...

LOL you are so right he sounds like George Benson. Did you see his pick guard? It broke off at 4:40

IanD · #48 07-25-2011, 01:31 AM

If you are in Perth give Perry Ormsby at Ormsby Guitar & Repairs (08) 9336 5861 a call, he would be able carry out any work you need done on your husband's guitars.

AprilSwiftHerbst · #49 07-25-2011, 04:45 AM

I just bought the line 6 pod x3 - no idea how to use it.

Plugged it in to the computer using usb and plug our guitar in. The computer can see the device and record the sound as i strum the guitar but i cant hear my guitar real time

even after plugging the head phone into the pod x3

does anyone know how to get the head phone to work with pod x3?

AprilSwiftHerbst · #50 07-27-2011, 05:18 AM

Ibanez George Benson GB12 Archtop Jazz Guitar - eBay (item 320730686945 end time Jul-29-11 10:00:12 PDT)

Just saw this item on ebay - trying to do a swap with him using our ibanez gb200 but he said his guitar is worth a lot more than ours

BigMikeinNJ · #51 07-27-2011, 06:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AprilSwiftHerbst

Ibanez George Benson GB12 Archtop Jazz Guitar - eBay (item 320730686945 end time Jul-29-11 10:00:12 PDT)

Just saw this item on ebay - trying to do a swap with him using our ibanez gb200 but he said his guitar is worth a lot more than ours

Go back and look earlier in this very thread I pointed out that one and one other with a lower starting price. The lower priced one ends Thursday. BUT the big hurt for you is they are both in the U.S. and most folks will not want to deal with you because of the shipping hassles. Guys that are forced to sell on eBay incur great fees - not only the seller fee but the PayPal fee - AND want to ship and have it done, in hand at the buyer's end in a matter of days. It's just the way it is.

NOW, the seller that has the higher priced GB12 you mentioned thinks his guitar is worth more, in a way he is right. The GB200 is a model easily for sale at any Ibanez authorized dealer that carries their arch tops - AND the GB12 isn't - it had a limited run and you rarely see them, much less TWO of them running at the same time... Re read the thread and see my comments to you about asking the seller if they'll ship to AU and mostly realize all serious bids happen in the last few moments...

You would probably be well off finding one in AU if there are any.

AprilSwiftHerbst · #52 07-28-2011, 03:02 AM

Would i be stupid to encourage my husband to trade in both his ibanez gb10 and gb200 for the gb12? Is it worth that much will it go up in prize?

skiboyny · #53 07-28-2011, 05:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AprilSwiftHerbst

Would i be stupid to encourage my husband to trade in both his ibanez gb10 and gb200 for the gb12? Is it worth that much will it go up in prize?

Hi April,
Fore what it's worth I had a GB-12 sold it some time ago. It's a ornate piece very pretty, but as a guitar it's not worlds apart from the GB-10. As an investment, the whole line doesn't seem to increase in value like Gibson does. In terms of the Benson sound the GB200 that you already have is the ticket. You can broaden your search to include the 100, same guitar and it was produced in larger numbers. If I still had my 12 I'd trade you in a minute for the 200 it's just more of a guitar IMO. Good luck it will turn up.

BigMikeinNJ · #54 07-28-2011, 05:14 AM

No a trade is not a good deal for you - selling the GB10 or GB200 there where you will get top dollar for it (if you can find a buyer) and buying a GB12 or GB100 if they come along would be smarter. In America a GB10 in sunburst is worth between $1500.00 and $2000.00 depending on it's year and condition (a natural finish always gets more money). A GB200 would get around $2000.00 to $2500.00 (they only make sunburst) depending on condition.

If you have the capital to bid and pay for one of the GB12s (understanding that the seller WILL ship to you EMS) then buy one of those and sell the GB10 - that would be my "move" - the GB10 and GB12 have floating pickups - so your husband would have GB's floating pickup sound covered - and the GB200 with it's set pickups for that GB set pickup sound.

It's a lot of jockeying back and forth but welcome to GAS: Guitar Acquisition Syndrome... Say you skip these two guitars and save money for now, you can contact japanese sellers on eBay

koiz-guitar
hisashi0731
MEESTURSPARKLE

and have them locate one for you. They always seem to have them every couple of months. I think EMS shipping from Japan to you would be a little cheaper (probably about $160.00 american dollars).

I got on eBay and tried to find Hisashi's seller id, then when that failed went over to Ibanez Collector's World and looked there - low and behold I had pretty much the same conversation with you there back in May of this year. Good luck, if you decide to wait and not bid on one for sale now your an ALWAYS save your money, contact those three dealers in Japan and have them look - that's where most of the GB12s are anyway, Japan. Oh but I told you that back in May, silly me for forgetting.

Good luck

BigMikeinNJ · #55 07-28-2011, 12:35 PM

AprilSwiftHerbst · #56 07-28-2011, 02:46 PM

Ok thanks I am going to do what you all said. Save the money and contact Japan seller instead might be safer as well because ebay is full of scammers

Someone told me before that a Gibson has better resale value like our Gibson ES 175. I was told that the older they are (depending on condition) the higher the price.

BrightSizeLife28 · #57 07-30-2011, 11:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by IanD

If you are still here in Australia I would forget trying to get a Polytone. They would be hard to find and overpriced. My opinion, and i have had two Polytones, there are far better jazz amps around. I believe the Evans amps are about as good as you can get for jazz. They provide great service and we can get them here quite easily and cheaply through one of their agents.

+1. Love my Evans. Great clean sound.

jorgemg1984 · #58 07-31-2011, 06:27 AM

Trying the new Ibanez Wholetone would also be an option: 15 4 ohms speaker might get you close to the George Benson Polytone and you can almost for sure get it in Australia and its very cheap, you wont loose that much money if you don't like it.