New Guitar Purchase - Samick Greg Bennet Lassalle Jz4

[guitarvegas]

Just ordered this on Reverb for $350! I am so excited, cannot wait for its arrival!!!

Heard nothing but great things about this instrument. It is in very good condition. I think it is from 2001. Serial number starts as S01....
Amazed....thrilled....and dizzy with suspense!

It also reminds me of Barney Kessel's ES-350....this is a "for life" guitar.

[nyc chaz]

If your guitar is half as good as the one i have,you are going to be very happy. That was a great price you got it for,they have been trending towards 1K in recent years the ones in excellent condition.Enjoy,definitely one of the best buys in a jazz guitar along with Barrington and the Epi 175 premium.

[guitarvegas]

If your guitar is half as good as the one i have,you are going to be very happy. That was a great price you got it for,they have been trending towards 1K in recent years the ones in excellent condition.Enjoy,definitely one of the best buys in a jazz guitar along with Barrington and the Epi 175 premium.

In addition to hearing great things, I also heard about bad things. I read that these Samicks have heavy gloss coat bodies, dead tone, etc. This one does not look like a heavy finish to me. And I heard the pickup and pots, etc are very weak. This artist series is the top of the line. Tell me more, tell me more!

Enlighten me....I pray that this is a very great archtop!

[Cunamara]

Name a guitar, any guitar. You will hear good things and bad things about it from different people. Any two guitars, consecutively produced by the same maker, can be quite different. You can only wait to see until you can play it as to whether it's a great guitar for you. I have played guitars that were great for other people and not so for me- and vice versa. It is certainly a better choice than another one you discussed on the forum. Samick makes instruments under a number of different brands including Greg Bennett Guitars, which are often good value for money. I haven't played a Samick guitar in a couple of decades, at least, but the ones I have played seemed well-made, played well and sounded decent.

Electronics is the easiest part to replace on a guitar like that other than strings, so if you don't like the amplified sound there will be options. Most of the time, EQ adjustments can make a tremendous difference and those are cheap or free.

Congratulations and good luck!

[guitarvegas]

Name a guitar, any guitar. You will hear good things and bad things about it from different people. Any two guitars, consecutively produced by the same maker, can be quite different. You can only wait to see until you can play it as to whether it's a great guitar for you. I have played guitars that were great for other people and not so for me- and vice versa. It is certainly a better choice than another one you discussed on the forum. Samick makes instruments under a number of different brands including Greg Bennett Guitars, which are often good value for money. I haven't played a Samick guitar in a couple of decades, at least, but the ones I have played seemed well-made, played well and sounded decent.

Electronics is the easiest part to replace on a guitar like that other than strings, so if you don't like the amplified sound there will be options. Most of the time, EQ adjustments can make a tremendous difference and those are cheap or free.

Congratulations and good luck!

Thank you! Will definitely post some clips soon after I get her on my lap.

[Mick-7]

In general the Korean made Samicks are of very good quality. The electronics do tend to be mediocre but that's to be expected at that price and you can replace them and still come out way ahead value-wise (and you only have one pickup to worry about).

I'm not familiar with this model though, do you know if it has the fatter neck you were seeking?

[guitarvegas]

In general the Korean made Samicks are of very good quality. The electronics do tend to be mediocre but that's to be expected at that price and you can replace them and still come out way ahead value-wise (and you only have one pickup to worry about).

I'm not familiar with this model though, do you know if it has the fatter neck you were seeking?

Yes, suitable indeed, for my liking. Neck like a 335. That works for me.

Reverb.com had another one that I almost bought (and it was a few hundred more), and it was blond with that fake flame maple finish. So glad this one popped up today, and it is my first choice out of every archtop I viewed on that site, and trust me...I looked at every single one.

[Mick-7]

Yes, suitable indeed, for my liking. Neck like a 335. That works for me.

Reverb.com had another one that I almost bought (and it was a few hundred more), and it was blond with that fake flame maple finish. So glad this one popped up today, and it is my first choice out of every archtop I viewed on that site, and trust me...I looked at every single one.

So it must be the HJ-610?
HJ | Samick Wikia | Fandom
Artist Series | Samick Wikia - "Also branded as: Aria Pro II FA-71"

[John A.]

In addition to hearing great things, I also heard about bad things. I read that these Samicks have heavy gloss coat bodies, dead tone, etc. This one does not look like a heavy finish to me. And I heard the pickup and pots, etc are very weak. This artist series is the top of the line. Tell me more, tell me more!

Enlighten me....I pray that this is a very great archtop!

No one can enlighten you. You'll have to figure that out yourself. That said, I had a Samick archtop (HF 650) for a long time. Different model from yours, but I'm guessing about the same level of quality. It was a good guitar; the build quality and components were very good. The tone was on the bright side, but entirely usable. The one big drawback for me (which took me a long time to figure out) is that the neck was quite narrow (IIRC, it had 1-5/8" nut and not much taper). Getting another guitar with a better neck profile for my hand gave me something of an epiphany about that. But Igot a lot of use out of it. IMO, thick finish is a complete non-issue with respect to tone. The pots and wiring never gave me any trouble.

[guitarvegas]

So it must be the HJ-610?
HJ | Samick Wikia | Fandom
Artist Series | Samick Wikia - "Also branded as: Aria Pro II FA-71"

No, it is a Jz4

[Cunamara]

Not a lot of videos of these, several that have what appears to be a top mounted P90 soapbar pickup and then these two with a floating pickup. Nice acoustic sounding floating pickup jazz guitars, doing just what they're supposed to do.

[Midnight Blues]

Nice! Congrats, HNGD and play her in good health!

[Doctor Jeff]

Nice guitar. What’s the body size? Wonder if they use the same molds as they used for the Epi Joe Pass?

Love Korean guitars. They sometimes require a little tweaking, pickup replacement, etc., but the construction quality is usually excellent.

[AllanAllen]

In addition to hearing great things, I also heard about bad things. I read that these Samicks have heavy gloss coat bodies, dead tone, etc. This one does not look like a heavy finish to me. And I heard the pickup and pots, etc are very weak. This artist series is the top of the line. Tell me more, tell me more!

Enlighten me....I pray that this is a very great archtop!

There’s always some cork sniffing purist who puts down anything that’s not a vintage L5. Especially online, the Samicks are good guitars.

[guitarvegas]

Not a lot of videos of these, several that have what appears to be a top mounted P90 soapbar pickup and then these two with a floating pickup. Nice acoustic sounding floating pickup jazz guitars, doing just what they're supposed to do.

So why throw a P90 on it? Doesn't that defeat part of what makes this guitar special?

[guitarvegas]

There’s always some cork sniffing purist who puts down anything that’s not a vintage L5. Especially online, the Samicks are good guitars.

I cannot wait to get it in my hands.
Someone gave me a set of cream colored soap bar P90's. If the plugged in tone sucks.....would the neck P90 I have be a good upgrade? I hate the color, I would have to replace with a black cover.
Good potential plan?

[Cunamara]

So why throw a P90 on it? Doesn't that defeat part of what makes this guitar special?

Just 2 different versions, I guess. Some people prefer a top-mounted pickup over a floating pickup. And some prefer the p90 over other options. So they can sell a guitar to both.

[guitarvegas]

Oh, I talked to the seller again, he said the guitar sounds good unplugged. Everyone has a different idea of what that means, I'll find out but feeling very hopeful.

[guitarvegas]

So check out what this says:

[entresz]

Years ago I tried a guitar very similar, but it had twin humbuckers. It sounded terrific! I have no idea what pickups were in it, but they sounded great.

[guitarvegas]

Years ago I tried a guitar very similar, but it had twin humbuckers. It sounded terrific! I have no idea what pickups were in it, but they sounded great.

That's good to hear

[guitarvegas]

You all know who Kent Armstrong is? I talked to him today....good conversation. If this pickup sucks, he said send it to him, and he will re-build it for me to his spec/standard for $111.00.
Not bad.
Then I take it to a local Luthier, and he can install it, along with new pots and wiring, etc....and get a set-up too. And going with flatwound 12's. I have high hopes for this guitar.
So a few more hundred bucks and this guitar will be ready for even the best of players out there.

[guitarvegas]

Not even in my hands yet, but I know this guitar is going to be for life. It is a feeling I get. I jumped on this the same day it was posted on Reverb.com. I searched every archtop on their site, and every one had a question mark, this one had all the right answers, and she never said a word. It was so easy for me....like being reunited with an old friend.

I said...."come home to me"

[garybaldy]

So it must be the HJ-610?
HJ | Samick Wikia | Fandom
Artist Series | Samick Wikia - "Also branded as: Aria Pro II FA-71"

So, is it basically the same as the Aria FA71? I have one of those.

[guitarvegas]

So, is it basically the same as the Aria FA71? I have one of those.

Yes and no. Mine only has the neck floating mini humbucker. Yours has 2 full size bucks.