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LOVED IT!
One of the best jazz sounding semi-hollows I've played. Looks like the block is not a full, solid block like a 335. It seemed more like a long sound post and the treble side was open.
Had a great jazz tone and loved the pickups.
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02-15-2014 06:16 PM
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Jack.
Nice to hear.
I've been LOVING mine for almost a year, now.
Every day I shake my head, not believing how much I love this guitar!
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Would you guys say this is comparable to an ES-335?
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not really. It doesn't have the sustain of a 335 and it's got a more bright and transparent attack. I find the 335 to be thick and a little thuddy sounding. Great blues axe but not much air to the tone. The T386 has a lot of air to the tone and to me had a great jazz tone. I have used a 335 for jazz gigs and it can certainly work (adam rogers comes to mind) but it doesn't have much top vibration to the tone. The T386 does. I had a 186 at one time and my recollection is that the T386 sounds better but before you quote me on that, i'd have to play them next to each other.
Originally Posted by TonyD
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No, I don't compare it to a 335. It's got it's own thing. I tried to like the 335 for jazz, also the Ibanez AS200.
I like this one more.
Also, the price...
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agreed Ron. It blows away the AS200, Scofield, SA2200/2000, etc. For jazz at least. For blues/fusion the 339 sounds better and the 335 sounds better for blues.
The AS200 and the SA2200/2000 series are good but in a different way. Neither the ibanez or yamaha have a great acoustic jazz tone. (for lack of a better descriptive term)
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and to add some addl info , the sustain characteristics of the T386 would not make it a good fusion guitar for say, holdsworth or robben ford.
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Seems like quite a bargain at the $840-ish it seems to be going for. The specs says Kent Armstrong humbuckers -- based on the guitar's price I assume the Korean-made PAF-style ones? I like those a lot.
John
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My first thought when I got mine, was to change the PUPs. Hasn't happened. Not likely to.
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either korean or chinese. People crack me up with paying $500+ for pickups. Magnetic pickups are not rocket science. I think TGP has gone a long way into making people think they need to spend hundreds of dollars on pickups. The schallers I have in my Eagle sound amazing and the pickups in the T386 sound wonderful. Originally Posted by John A.
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Bought a t386 almost a year ago, unbelievable guitar. Glad to see it mentioned again on this forum. Don't let the price fool you, easily compares to guitars twice as much.
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Thanks as always guys! I just noticed they have the T486 model with Duncan pickups and an ebony fretboard too. Seems like a great guitar at a killer price point.
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not convinced duncan pickups would be an upgrade. I'm kind of liking the rosewood board on this. The rosewood and the maple neck are a good combination. I kind of feel like the ebony/maple might be too bright Originally Posted by TonyD
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Hey Jack. That does make sense about the ebony/maple neck combo being a too bright. Do you think you're going to get one of these to replace your 339?
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already did. Originally Posted by TonyD
Not only did I love the sound of the T386 but it's arch and thickness were more comfortable for me and it feels more like an archtop than a solidbody. I loved the idea of the 339's body but after practicing several hours a day for a week, I couldn't get used to the feel.
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Oh that is awesome. What color did you get?
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red, cuz that was what was available, lol
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Is it comparable to an es 335 in weight?
thx
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no, it seemed a little lighter. 7.5lbs (ish)
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Jack, what strings are you using/planning to use on it?
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not sure, probably .011s. Maybe ernie ball. I was using daddario rounds on my 339 but I feel like the daddario strings are way to rough feeling. I think they have changed their grinding and polishing specs and it's very disconcerting. I don't know if ernie ball makes their own strings or not but I'll probably try their .011 set
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Totally agreed w/ you on this guitar Jack! Fantastic value and as far as I could tell the p/ups were very good sounding as well. My only wish is the neck would be a bit fatter.
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Jack, does the T386 sound pretty similar to the Sadowsky Semi that you had?
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no , very different. It has more openness to the tone. A little more hollowbody quality to it. But it doesn't have the sustain or thickness to the sadowsky so whereas the sadowsky could straddle the fence between fusion and jazz and maybe leans a bit to the fusion side, this guitar leans a bit to the jazz side. Originally Posted by Blues Fuse
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I had a T386 in my hands for only a short time, but got an excellent impression from this guitar. It felt solid, balanced, responsive. A great feel IMO, played well.
Was pondering finding one used when I finally found a Epiphone Elitist Riviera, which turns out to be such a good semihollow for what I do, not sure I'll need another.
MD
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