Overwhelmed by the variety of guitar models

[Varulvsnatt]

Hey! I'm an Argentinian in Spain looking to get a good hollowbody guitar. I don’t have a store nearby, and the recommended models plus the variety online are confusing my poor brain. Even many suggestion posts seem old (not because the guitars are bad, but because they’re discontinued or hard to find used here).

I’m looking for a guitar with a dark, mellow tone. Of course, a Gibson ES-175 is the dream, but honestly it’s out of my league right now.

I've been looking at the Pat Metheny Ibanez models, but the different versions are just confusing. The GB10 sounds too bright to my ears, though maybe I’m just listening to the wrong YouTube videos. Could I get a darker tone just by rolling down the tone knob, or is the guitar naturally bright? Unfortunately, I can't find one to try myself.

I’ve read about Eastman too. There seem to be a few used ones online. Any recommendations?


I love Yuji Toriyama’s guitar sound, but I don’t know what model he plays. Any idea?

I'm looking at 2k euros approx.

Usually I applaud variety but companies like Ibanez just looks like Apple at this time:

Ibanez GB10

Ibanez GB10SEFM

Ibanez GB10EM

[Sleeko]

Epiphone Broadway may fit the bill.


Access to this page has been denied

[Mick-7]

I love Yuji Toriyama’s guitar sound, but I don’t know what model he plays. Any idea?

I'm looking at 2k euros approx.

It's a Sadowsky archtop, no longer made, likely beyond your budget.

There are multiple threads on this topic here, you may just want to review them.

[AllanAllen]

Epiphone Broadway may fit the bill.

This. A modern Broadway is my baseline, all I want is a Broadway with no cutaway and a single P90.

[Cunamara]

I’m looking for a guitar with a dark, mellow tone. Of course, a Gibson ES-175 is the dream, but honestly it’s out of my league right now.

How come no one is ever looking for a bright, strident tone? It's a joke, just a post I've wanted to see on the forum: "I'm looking for a guitar with a bright, strident tone to play jazz." But you know, Charlie Christian, Barney Kessel, Grant Green, Johnny Smith, etc., had bright tones, as does Peter Bernstein; it was mostly after Jim Hall that everybody's tone started to sound like there was a blanket over the amp. Guitars mostly want to be bright, and archtops were designed to be acoustically bright and cutting. Trying to make them dark and smoky is kind of going against the grain.

I've been looking at the Pat Metheny Ibanez models, but the different versions are just confusing. The GB10 sounds too bright to my ears, though maybe I’m just listening to the wrong YouTube videos. Could I get a darker tone just by rolling down the tone knob, or is the guitar naturally bright? Unfortunately, I can't find one to try myself.

Down the post you mentioned Yuji Toriyama as someone whose tone you like. I would not call that a dark, mellow tone. That's clear and pretty bright to my ears. He sounds great.

I have had a Japan-made GB10 since 1983. These guitars are capable of a wide range of tone from the bright, poppy Benson sound to dark and almost muddy. Roll the volume knob off to 7 or so and that will knock off enough of the very high end, adjust the tone knob to taste and there you go. Often I have the volume knob at 4-5 and with the hot pickups it still pushes the amp well. Mine sounds just as classic as my ES-175, although not the same. This is difficult to express- the GB10 is "quick" like a snare drum and the ES-175 is a little "slower" like a floor tom. There is not a lot of note bloom with the GB10 like there is with the larger ES-175, despite the Ibanez having excellent sustain. I happen to like that quick quality.

Used, a GB10 would be right around your price range (at least here in the US, I don't know European pricing at all). I am an enthusiastic supporter of these instruments, but I would recommend getting one made in Japan rather than in Indonesia or China. The quality of the Japanese Ibanez instruments is second to none and better than most, and the sound seems to be better from what I can tell from videos. Ideally, if you could locate one made before the mid 80s, those pickups are reputed to be warmer and smoother sounding. Also, best necks ever. Great necks. Fantastic necks. Did I mention that the GB10s have good necks?

I've never played a PM, so can offer no useful input.

The amplifier makes a huge difference in the tone you get. I don't know what amps are available in Europe to recommend for this other than my own rig: a DV Mark Raw Dawg EG250 head (the company is Italian; despite the name, it's a great clean sounding amp) and a TOOB Metro BG+ cab made in Finland. The TC Electronic BAM 200 is also highly regarded as a jazz amp for guitar, I have never tried one as availability has been very spotty.

I’ve read about Eastman too. There seem to be a few used ones online. Any recommendations?

I only have experience with one Eastman, an AR371CE about 10-15 years ago that I tried in a music store. It was a very nice guitar, played well and it was really easy to get a good jazz sound out of it. Looks like an ES-175 but has its own vibe and sound; there are many Eastman models and others here have a much better sense of them. The AR503CE seems well thought of.

The Epiphone Broadway mentioned upthread is a good option. I've played one, it was a good guitar. Also the Epiphone ES-175 Premium is reported to be a very good sounding guitar, although I've never even seen one in person.

[Peter C]

Check out the Ibanez PM3C