Thoughts on Seventy Seven Albatross?

[John A.]

I'm interested in hearing what people who have played a Seventy Seven Albatross (MIJ, not "Japan Tuned) have to say about what it's like, especially in comparison to a traditional semi-hollow. For context, I have a Seventy Seven archtop already, so I know and like the brand, especially the neck and the overall craftsmanship). I'm contemplating cashing in the semi I have for something a little smaller and with a neck that more closely matches my other Seventy Seven and my LP (which has a '50s profile neck).

I recently played an ES-339 with roughly that neck profile and a really liked it (but did not like the $3500 price tag). Does an Albatross come close to the sound and feel of a 339 or 335 (or similar), or are they more like, say, a double-cut LP. Also, how is the balance? Do they neck dive? It's Impossible to find one in a shop to try.

[Gilpy]

I had an early (made in Japan) Seventy Seven Albatross. Since you own a Seventy Seven, you already know about the flawless workmanship and playability of these guitars. I particularly liked the pickups on this model, a warm full sound but not at all muddy. I've owned three Seventy Sevens and they all had the same full neck.

I would describe the sound and feel as being more like a semi-hollow than like a Les Paul. I found the guitar to be versatile and used it for jazz, R&B and rock gigs. The guitar is small and sits on the lap much like a Les Paul only much lighter.

My albatross did not neck dive, but I am very sensitive to having guitars that hang properly on a strap. I guess you could say it was slightly neck-heavy, nothing extreme. So I put a few lead fishing weights in the body cavity to balance things and it hung fine.

I thought it was a great guitar with a wonderful tone. I only sold it because I prefer thinner necks.Here's a picture of mine, plus one of a Koa Hawk that I had, just because it's so pretty...

[Hammertone]

A variant on the Albatross was the Albatross SC Jazz, but very few of those were made. I got mine from a member here. No neck heaviness. Wonderful guitar. Vastly superior to any ES-339. The sound is much more like a Gibson ES-446 / 336 than a solid-body Les Paul of any sort. It has a solid spruce top and solid mahogany rims/back. It has a very small maple block that provides support to the bridge and tailpiece.

[jim777]

Mine felt great and played great, but I hated the pickups, which were not original. They are very nearly les Paul sized though.

[2bornot2bop]

Buy it, while it’s still affordable. I’m a 77 fan!

[DustinG]

Anyone else here with any experience with the Seventy Seven Albatross Jazz? I've been considering it (along with some ES-339 and ES-335 style guitars), but there's very little info out there about these. They're tough to find, and Seventy Seven is apparently in the process of revamping their lineup.

[Mick-7]

They're tough to find, and Seventy Seven is apparently in the process of revamping their lineup.

There are quite a few of them for sale on Reverb and eBay now.

[DustinG]

There are really only 3 Albatross Jazz models on Reverb. The 4th is a listing a custom build, which takes 10 months.

[Mick-7]

There are quite a few Japanese dealers selling them though, e.g., on eBay:
https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw...batross+guitar

But my point was only that forum members normally reserve the term "hard to find" for guitars that rarely come up for sale, and I regularly see the Seventy-Seven albatross model for sale.

[jzucker]

I'm interested in hearing what people who have played a Seventy Seven Albatross (MIJ, not "Japan Tuned) have to say about what it's like, especially in comparison to a traditional semi-hollow. For context, I have a Seventy Seven archtop already, so I know and like the brand, especially the neck and the overall craftsmanship). I'm contemplating cashing in the semi I have for something a little smaller and with a neck that more closely matches my other Seventy Seven and my LP (which has a '50s profile neck).

I recently played an ES-339 with roughly that neck profile and a really liked it (but did not like the $3500 price tag). Does an Albatross come close to the sound and feel of a 339 or 335 (or similar), or are they more like, say, a double-cut LP. Also, how is the balance? Do they neck dive? It's Impossible to find one in a shop to try.

no, it's nothing like a 339. I have some demos of the Albatross on my youtube channel including some live gigs. It's a great sounding guitar. Neck heavy if you stand and play though. It has kind of a mini archtop sound, a little benson-esque due to the spruce top. If you're looking at a maple top albatross, I can't help ya.

[DustinG]

no, it's nothing like a 339. I have some demos of the Albatross on my youtube channel including some live gigs. It's a great sounding guitar. Neck heavy if you stand and play though. It has kind of a mini archtop sound, a little benson-esque due to the spruce top. If you're looking at a maple top albatross, I can't help ya.

Do you prefer the Albatross to the ES-339 and other ES-style guitars?

[jzucker]

Do you prefer the Albatross to the ES-339 and other ES-style guitars?

Tough answer because the 339 and 335 (the latter of which I own) has kind of a classic gibson vibe. It's sort of like a mini 175 whereas I see the albatross like a mini L5. For that classic 175 vibe, the 335/339 gets that post metheny ascetic but the albatross has that more modern vibe IMO.

[DustinG]

I had an early (made in Japan) Seventy Seven Albatross. Since you own a Seventy Seven, you already know about the flawless workmanship and playability of these guitars. I particularly liked the pickups on this model, a warm full sound but not at all muddy. I've owned three Seventy Sevens and they all had the same full neck.

I would describe the sound and feel as being more like a semi-hollow than like a Les Paul. I found the guitar to be versatile and used it for jazz, R&B and rock gigs. The guitar is small and sits on the lap much like a Les Paul only much lighter.

My albatross did not neck dive, but I am very sensitive to having guitars that hang properly on a strap. I guess you could say it was slightly neck-heavy, nothing extreme. So I put a few lead fishing weights in the body cavity to balance things and it hung fine.

I thought it was a great guitar with a wonderful tone. I only sold it because I prefer thinner necks.Here's a picture of mine, plus one of a Koa Hawk that I had, just because it's so pretty...

Why did you end up selling the Albatross?

[Gilpy]

Why did you end up selling the Albatross?

Great guitar that i gigged regularly for a couple years. But the neck profile, while not huge, was thicker than I prefer.

[DustinG]

Have any of you had a chance to play one of the Seventy Sevean Albatross Jazz JT models?


The JT (Japan Tuneup) models are made in China and set up in Japan. Curious about the build quality of them, and how much of a step down the JT models are compared to the MIJ models (which are very tough to fine these days).

[jim777]

The earlier JT models were made in Indonesia; I don't know what year they moved to China. My (limited) understanding of the JT models is that they are very similar in quality but with more 'modern' thinner C shaped necks.