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hallo all.
Yesterday i went to a shop to try the peerless guitars.I checked 2 models, the jazz city and the monarch.
Soundwise, i liked them.Both are 17x3, but monarch has a shorter scale and a float pup.I liked the sound of monarch better, but that is a personal thing.Jazz city sounds also very well.
Playability was O.k but i was not impessed.I have seen better necks in cheaper models.
What i dont like was the construction.It was not bad, but it was not good either.Imperfection of finish at neck join, not smoothness at soundholes edjes..
I looked inside of soundholes with a flashlight...i saw a plywood nekblock instead of solid wood.Also the necks have a heel splice, they arent one piece, they are three just like my epiphone broadway.
I looked the more expensive carved solid top cremona...it had plywood neckblock also..
I feel that peerless must have a better quality control.My epiphone broadway is cheaper with less imperfections and better playability.And soundwise is not worse...just different
However, that tone of monarch is really sweet
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11-20-2010 04:42 PM
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I'd love to hear more about this. I know that OilyWrag absolutely loves his Peerless guitars. Now I'm considering buying a reasonably priced archtop and will clearly seriously consider these guitars. Where I live it's a challenge to test out a variety of different brands and models. So, for those of you who have tried or own both the Jazz City and Monarch, or even an Eastman - how do you rank them on sound, playability etc?
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These are great guitars for price playabilty. As I said before on this site-am an avid Peerless fan.Regarding the build this factory made guitars for Gibson- Epiphone-Fender et all until they all switched to China.They have all the most upto date machinery-If you want hand carved individual you'll be looking at around $5000 dollars lowest-then still not sure how it will play-Play as many as you can before you buy -its the only way.Best of luck!
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From a reliability and stability point of view, plywood blocks make far more sense than solid mahogany, with little impacy on tone. I belivee this choice by Peerless is motivated by quality condsiderations rather than cost. Plywood of that thickness is actually quite expensive.
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Thanks for the insight and for shedding some light on (in) this guitars.
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It may not strike you as some sort of old-world archtop method, but in my opinion, the Peerless construction as you describe (ply and spliced heel) are as good a way as any (and better than some) of the ways to get the job done.
I suspect that Peerless is trying like crazy to find the right stratum in the rapidly evolving market. Must be tough for them. But for players, the choices for great guitars at all price levels has never been better.
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I hate the attached Headplate on Peerless guitars. That is such a cheap construction and should not be sold for the price they charge....
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Assuming that you mean the scarf joint to attach the headstock to the neck?
Funny enough, this is a very strong way to build a guitar. Thousands (and thousands,...) of Gibson guitars would not have needed a headstock to be re-attached if they had scarfed on the headstock. This would have avoided the short grain line through the weak area around the truss nod rut.
And check on how some extremely expensive classic neck/headstocks are made,...
Taste is a matter of taste, so definitely no argument from me as to what anyone likes or does not like. But a scarfed on headstock is not inherently a cheap way to build. It saves a slight amount of wood, but results in a stringer guitar in most cases.
Now glued-on "ears" on either side of a headstock are a simple cost-savings technique. No benefit, just cost reduction. Yet, nobody seems to object to an $8,000 guitar having this $1.47 cost savings maneuver - even when it provides the occasional odd grain match on the headstock.
Go figure.
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Yes, you are right. Even Warmoth builds their Les Paul Neck by attaching the headstock. And they stated that it is a very strong connection. It is a matter of taste. But it is definitely a cheaper way to build a guitar.
Originally Posted by NiAg
And a Luthiers nightmare!
Do the math: 500000 Necks x 3 Dollars saved per neck will be 1,5 Million Dollars!!!
The cheap ibanez Jazzboxes have a threepiece lenghtwise glued neck.
That is a fair deal. I think.
The Peerless Necks are made of 5 Pieces of small wood glued in every direction.
Maybe it is the purist in me that don`t likes a guitar made of "thousand" small woodpieces that made the Company save a few Dollars!Last edited by redwater; 03-22-2011 at 01:14 PM.
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The guitars must be good as a I see that Martin Taylor is now endorsing them
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Is true!! Originally Posted by jazzuki
The guitars must be good as a I see that Martin Taylor is now endorsing them
Martin Taylor and Peerless Guitars Jazz Guitar Scene
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Thanks-had already seen site.I have a Peerless New York which just plays great-dont care how it was made "but it plays and sounds good"Its Peerless hommage to D'Aquisto New Yorker.When you see Epi Elitist selling used on Ebay for £1250/1750 ex US(then you have about £300 vat and import duty)makes Peerless look extremely good value.Maybe I should be a salesman for them as I do go on about the marque! Cheers!
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Interestingly enough, I was in Ivor Mairants' shop in London's West End a little while back. They "used" to be Peerless distributors but I noticed that the brand had disappeared from their website.
As I walked through the door...on the wall were a Jazz City and a Port Town, definitely the same guitars. On closer inspection, they are being sold with Mairants' own name on the headstock...but they are the same guitars, are made by Peerless for the shop and seem to be at remarkably respectable prices accordingly....
Jazz Guitars - Guitar & Bass
Interesting..........
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please qualify your statements. Originally Posted by newsense
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Is it a better guitar now? Originally Posted by jazzuki
The guitars must be good as a I see that Martin Taylor is now endorsing them
Endorsing means someone gets some money for playing these guitars in public places!
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Re Ivor Mairants-not surprised really as Peerless made for a lot of Brands before they initiated there own models-I think the Robert Conti thinline model is made by them-By the way Epi Elitist is the "Byrdland model"
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That is the "real" benefit of attached headstocks. Originally Posted by mangotango
They can poduce the same guitars for different distributors with a switch of the headstock.
Check this out, it is a Peerless with just a different name:
Redwood Jazz 1 Sunburst New York - RETOURE -
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endorsing means many different things. If you're not a player with Martin Taylor's visibility it often means you get a discount.
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Peerless also made the D'aquisto homage guitar "D'Aspiranta New York" which I have. The build quality is excellent, has a fantastic action and good sound, although I have seen some reports where people think the pick up is underpowered and change it. That's not my experience. As these have been around for a good number of years and have been road tested by many, they probably stand as an excellent testament for the product, assuming the standard has been maintained on the "Peerless" branded versions, unless any one out there has other experience!
If anyone is looking for a second hand "Peerless" , look also for a "D'Aspiranta" you won't be disappointed.
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I have the need to jump in this thread, and I hope nobody takes it personally.
I've tried some Peerless models, and I find them pretty good guitars with a nice price for a factory made guitar. I've only spotted little flaws, such as a wrong screwed tailpiece, but nothing more.
Respecting the plywood neck block, it's atually better than a solid block of wood or several pieces, as its rigidity is higher, and if well glued, the neck won't lose vibrations in that joint and they will be transferred to the body with more energy.
The same principle applies to multi-layered necks. As long as the long pieces are glued cross-grained, the resulting joint will be stiffer than pure wood, as the fibers on one direction will prevent movement on the other. This isn't done in classical guitars as it's overkill with the tension those necks need to hold, but metal strings are a different animal.
As to the head joint, the same principle again. One-piece necks are a waste of wood and an inferior design compared to a cut and glued headstock.
Just ask any reputable classical guitar luthier, I've done it and they all agree on this. Another thing is that sometimes customers don't like what it's best, but what looks best because of fear of losing resale value (a total nonsense to me because if I happen to buy a guitar without some fancyness but better sound, and on top of that it costs less...for me the math is done. But hey, some just prefer flashier things.
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My thoughts on PEERLESSI have the Manhattan and the jazz city. they are great guitars and i gig with mine 4 nights a week. a few rough edges but they are head and shoulders above the competition in my opinion. i have how owned 16archtops under £1000. they win hands down....in my opinion . best of luck
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As I've mentioned in other threads, after months of research, I finally got my hands on a Monarch and a Manhattan last week. I have to say that the quality surpassed my expectations for the price, and I was also very pleased with the playability. Overall impressions were excellent. BUT, for me, neither guitar had the tone which I was looking for - that vintage, earthy sound of Kessell, Burrell and players of that ilk. After chatting with others about this, I think it is largely due to the amp I was using at the shop (a twin) and the fact that the pup is a floater not a built-in humbucker. If I can find a guitar soon which satisfies me more on the sound side, while keeping the price under 2,000 euros, I'd go for it, but if not, I wouldn't hesitate to take the Monarch and live with it until I a) become a better player, and b) can shell out for the 'right' guitar.
And we all know that for most of us, the 'right' guitar is always the 'next' one, right? "-)
cheers,
Tony
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Just to continue beating one of my favorite dead horses: When you talk about sounding like "Kessell, Burrell and players of that ilk," bear in mind that if you have listened to them extensively... Originally Posted by tonyknight
1. Most, not all by any means, but most of what you have heard Barney Kessell play was played on a plywood archtop with a set in single coil pickup...not a humbucker of any sort.
2. Most, not all by any means, but most of what you have heard Kenny Burrell play was played on a carved spruce archtop with a set in full sized humbucker.
3, To further confuse the issue, much -- not most, but much -- of what you have heard by Howard Roberts, who showed a lot of Barney Kessell's influence, was played on a plywood archtop with a floating mini-humbucker.
4. Joe Pass occasionally performed using a canoe paddle.
And you cannot say for certain what any of them were playing on any given recording (unless it was video-taped) without additional information -- like from an interview where they tell you unequivocally, "I played this guitar on that album."
The point being that the problem experienced was not due to the fact that the Peerless guitar has a floating mini-humbucker rather than a set in full sized humbucker.Last edited by cjm; 10-19-2011 at 08:10 AM.
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One big advantage of the Peerless Broadway are the f-holes.
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