The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
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  1. #1

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    There's a bunch of posts about sub $1000 guitars here and I thought we could help folks who are just thinking about an archtop for the first time.

    Aside from the few mid price range guitars I have, there are a few remarkably well done guitars I bought on the cheap. Owning the two opposite ends of the spectrum gave me an objective look into what sounds great without being over the top expensive.

    Anyone who is looking for a guitar and is on as limited budget can serve themselves well by considering any of these. Note I obtained all of them at less than $500 with HSC's.

    1. Guild / DeArmond X-155. Acoustically one of the best I own, electrically excellent. A nice compliment to my Tal Farlow

    2. Epiphone Joe Pass (Korea) has a fantastic neck and tone out the kazoo. Closest big name is my H575

    3. Harmony 335 with new pups (DiMarzio and Schaller) easily as good as my Heritage Prospect

    4. Epi Casino stands shoulder to shoulder with my ES330L

    5. Aria PE-175 Herb Ellis could substitute for my ES175 in most situations.

    So, what do you folks have that you would consider viable substitutes for more well known archtops?

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    The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
     
  3. #2

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    Yunzi gypsy jazz style archtop. Amazing at only $900.


  4. #3

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    Wow, that one looks charming!

  5. #4

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    Note I obtained all of them at less than $500
    I got most of my guitars within the last years under 500€. Only one surpassed that figure. Got some good unknown European weirdos. Some (not a few) having solid spruce tops and some even hand carved plates. Many turned out as real keepers regardless of being hand carved or laminated... But who cares about old European weirdos.

    The Harmony you mention is a Korean one isn't it? TThe former US made Harmonys are sure bets. Killer guitars though some folks will never admit it. I had a bunch of acoustics, thinlines and full bodies and none was even mediocre. All were good, some excellent. Sadly their prices are rising and rising, but there are still chances of getting real Harmony bargains. Don't skip them.

  6. #5

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    I found this 1960 Guild T-50 on Ebay for $560 a few years ago.



    Its a 16" thinline version of the full body X-50.....sort of the unsung counterpart to GIbson's ES-125T

    Its a great jazz guitar (among other things). Had no expectations......its just surprised me to no end.
    Even though this one went cheap with all the funk and play wear, some much cleaner old "student" Guilds can still be found for very reasonable prices.
    Before it came to me, someone down in South Carolina had played it for years and it shows it.
    I think thats what got my attention in the first place!

    z
    Last edited by zizala; 04-04-2013 at 06:08 AM.

  7. #6

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    I really like my Godin Kingpin. Traded it for an old amp I didn't use plus some money. Total cost - with setup, ebony bridge, new electronics and Bare Knuckles Half-Note P90 - was 500€. Amazing guitar, incredibly versatile.

  8. #7

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    The Phillips Noveau 16 is an outstanding bang for the buck, unfortunately they're no longer produced. You see used ones selling on ebay in the $550-$700 range.

  9. #8

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    The Phillips Noveau 16 is an outstanding bang for the buck, unfortunately they're no longer produced. You see used ones selling on ebay in the $550-$700 range. I agree with jorgemg1984, Godins are quite nice.

  10. #9

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    Hello.
    About six or seven years ago, I bought a Classical Electro-Acoustic Guitar, new, from a company called Gear4Music, for the princely sum of £69 (about $99 US). It plays well and sounds great.


    Your LEAST expensive great sounding/playing guitars-gear4music-classical-electro-acoustic-guitar-jpg



    Music is the key that can open strange rooms in the house of memory.
    Llewelyn Wyn Griffith

  11. #10

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    Another happy Godin Kingpin owner here...the ultimate worry free archtop.

    I own other guitars that I play more, but the truth is, if all I had was the Kingpin, I wouldn't be held back in any way.

  12. #11

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    Well not a guitar, but a few years ago I bought a phenomenal elec bass called "Palmer" for about $250 new. Two pickups, active electronics, vol, balance, bass, mid, treble knobs. Gorgeous natural finish solid mahogany body, super straight full-scale rock maple neck with dark rosewood fingerboard, and NO INLAYS, way cool. Plays like butter, looks great, sounds fabulous for anything from jazz to funk and in between. Through my MarkBass it can't be beat. Sold my Fender in a heartbeat.

    WS
    .

  13. #12

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    I'm surprised that some solid body users - Telecasters and so on - haven't chimed in.

    My favorite "cheapo" - a Washburn Strat knock off with a Seymour Duncan Cool Rails neck pickup. Surprisingly full sound with a good amp. And the neck, though not like a Gibson. is thin, easy to play and fairly fast. Total cost, around $160.

  14. #13

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    Ok, here we go....

    Your LEAST expensive great sounding/playing guitars-dsc00190-480x640-jpg

    This is a Cort/Tanglewood TRG 1 bought second hand. It's designed by Jim Triggs and made in Korea. Maple neck and laminate body plus a few Jazzbow tweaks (VV CC rider, CTS pots and bone nut). It came with a Mighty Mite Humbucker which is fine but I prefer the cut of the CC. All in cost? £400/€470/$607.

    Your LEAST expensive great sounding/playing guitars-sdc11568-640x480-jpg

    Take one 'Phat' orange drop cap

    Your LEAST expensive great sounding/playing guitars-sdc11277-480x640-jpg

    And solder into a bog standard Squier J Mascis Jazzmaster (JMJM) rhythm circuit and you get a passable 'Phat' tone on yer plain 'G'
    Cost? £349/€412/$530 + a few pennies for capacitors & pots.

    I prefer to play the JMJM more as I can go from mellow to blues to rock at a flick of a switch. The neck is a peach.

    But the TRG 1 always brings an 'Ahh!' moment and I'm gone.......

  15. #14

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    I bought my Gibson ES 335 with a broken headstock...on ebay for $500. Luckily, I fix guitars...and I now own a guitar that is way above my price bracket. The guy told me his ex stepped on it with high heels. Sexy.

  16. #15

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    My Ibanez AS73, $400 with the case. This one isn't mine, but here's what mine looks like:

    Ibanez.com | Hollow Body Guitars | AS73

    I have the "brown sunburst." An unbelievable value for the money.

  17. #16

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    my old Aria PE-180 [Gibson Super 5 copy] that I got for $600.
    the orig owner had played it to death, frets worn to the board.

    a fret job later and it plays itself, it's my couch guitar and even sounds good acoustically believe it or not.
    I have lots of great high end acoustic archtops, but this is the one I play.

  18. #17

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    Loar LH-350. Plays really good and gets a great tone, for just 700 bucks. Sounds better than many more expensive guitars out there.

  19. #18

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    Your LEAST expensive great sounding/playing guitars-sheraton4-jpg
    I picked up this Epiphone Sheraton 10 years ago and it still sounds great. They're usually 350- 500 used

  20. #19

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    My practice/travel guitar is a Fusion Blues "Villager". It's a pretty rare bird as far as I can tell, however there were other models with f holes that are still hanging around music stores. It plays great, however like many asian guitars the "Chinese Johnny" pickup is a bit weak. Looking to upgrade the pickup soon. I paid $350.00 after seeing it collect dust for several years at a music store in Bakersfield.
    Attached Images Attached Images Your LEAST expensive great sounding/playing guitars-fb400vsb-jpg Your LEAST expensive great sounding/playing guitars-img-20120614-00003-jpg 

  21. #20

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    What kind of strings do you put on your Ibanez?

  22. #21

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    Quote Originally Posted by jazzbow
    Ok, here we go....

    Your LEAST expensive great sounding/playing guitars-dsc00190-480x640-jpg

    This is a Cort/Tanglewood TRG 1 bought second hand. It's designed by Jim Triggs and made in Korea. Maple neck and laminate body plus a few Jazzbow tweaks (VV CC rider, CTS pots and bone nut). It came with a Mighty Mite Humbucker which is fine but I prefer the cut of the CC. All in cost? £400/€470/$607............
    But the TRG 1 always brings an 'Ahh!' moment and I'm gone.......
    Well, ya beat me to it. I have the same guitar (in what I like to refer as "Gretsch Orange"), although mine is still entirely stock. (Hmm. Yours appears to have Tanglewood across the headstock, and mine says Cort. I was not aware of these shared models. Hmm.) Bought it back in 2004, used, for $390 (inc. used Gibson 335 case). I'm very, very happy with the Mighty Mite pickup, too, although I gotta say that your mods look very cool!
    I saw it hanging in my local Mom & Pop store back then, walked by... picked it up, thought about it... yup, entirely hollow, nice feel... went and plugged it in. Played for like 30 seconds (I'm usually much, much pickier), and I was immediately in love with the neck and the tone of this baby. WOW. Looked up from my playing at my (entirely too supportive wife), and she's got this look on her face of, Oh, my, that's nice. I played it for another twenty minutes or so—more having fun than anything else—and then I paid for it. Nope, no contest there! What a lucky find.
    Funny, but I was just playing this last night, once again appreciating what a wonderful guitar it is... and up pops this thread.
    Guys, be on the lookout for these TRG 1s. There's usually one up every so often for auction. IIRC, hmm...... yup, there's currently a black one on the 'Bay with a BIN of $400.
    Last edited by ooglybong; 04-06-2013 at 09:10 PM.

  23. #22

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    Quote Originally Posted by ooglybong
    Well, ya beat me to it. I have the same guitar (in what I like to refer as "Gretsch Orange"), although mine is still entirely stock. (Hmm. Yours appears to have Tanglewood across the headstock, and mine says Cort. I was not aware of these shared models. Hmm.)
    Great guitars indeed. Much respect for South Korean guitars here.

    Did I mention I have 2?Your LEAST expensive great sounding/playing guitars-040-jpg

    The blue one is stock, the gold has tarnished to a silver shade and the rosewood fingerboard has gone black with use. Both are set up with flatwound TI 13's.

  24. #23

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    Any thread praising the DeArmond X-155 and X-135 gets my vote! Right on Gnappi...talk about ridiculously priced!










  25. #24

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    Quote Originally Posted by jazzbow
    Great guitars indeed. Much respect for South Korean guitars here.
    Did I mention I have 2?
    The blue one is stock, the gold has tarnished to a silver shade and the rosewood fingerboard has gone black with use. Both are set up with flatwound TI 13's.
    Nice. Kinda like fire and ice. huh?
    I imagine that they now sound rather different with that CC pickup onboard, huh? I've never tried one before. What brand is it?
    And, yeah, Korean guitars are usually quite nicely put together, IMO. (I also have a Cort Neil Zaza signature model solidbody that is simply superb.)
    My "Triggs" is strung with D'A Chrome 12s. Oooh... Now I'll have to go play it some more tonight...

  26. #25

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    In this bad picture there's my Jazz box, which I bought for under €180,00 a couple of years ago:



    Since this picture, I've added a nice pickguard, an A3neck/A2bridge modded Duncan Jazz set, a hi-quality harness and Grover Imperial tuners.

    It's a MIK, an all-maple carved body, sides and neck, rosewood fingerboard copy of a Gibson L-5 CES, branded Tamaki, from mid-90s.

    It sounds wonderful both acoustically and through an amp.
    Last edited by LtKojak; 04-06-2013 at 10:07 AM.