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Good post.
Originally Posted by ChrisDowning
Definitely true. At a certain price point the quality is pretty consistent, but at the lower end, there's the dumb luck principle. I was at the store a few years ago, teaching, where they sold less expensive guitars, and every once in a while you'd get one that, just by sheer chance, was really nice.
But you have to play all of them to find it, and not dismiss all of them based on one particular instrument. I've got a buddy who always finds gems at garage sales and such, but he's not really looking at the name on the headstock.
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11-18-2015 10:06 AM
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I have a theory that when you strip away the extra money for bling and name brand ...
The more money you spend the better your chance of getting a good guitar ... and the fewer you will have to play to find a good one
and the less money you spend the more guitars you will need to sample to find one of the good ones
The quality on cheap guitars has improved by leaps and bounds in the last 20 plus years so the number of guiitars you have to try out to find a good one is diminishing IMHO
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The same is true for high end instruments sometimes that collection of bits aren't a good relationship. Originally Posted by ChrisDowning
Other comment in this day brick and mortar shops are disappearing so getting to play first is hard, especially Jazz boxes. So return policies are become more and more important. I recently bought a guitar online like I plain didn't like in multiple ways, so I returned a guitar for the first time. Lucky for me there was a minor problem with the pickup switch, but it was enough they took the guitar back and didn't even charge me restocking fee or return shipping.
So to the original topic I don't care if a guitar is high or low end if it's a good guitar I will like it and use it.
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Epiphones are awesome!
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I ended up getting an Epiphone Joe Pass Emperor II hollow body which only cost me a little over $500 with the hard shell case, and I have been quite pleased with it!
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Used Guild is a good option too.
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If you can wait until the end of January, Ibanez will be shipping a fresh batch of the SJ300's then. I've been thinking about getting one for myself. I used to have an AFJ85 with a Super 58 pickup in the neck that I miss a lot. The $1,299 price of the SJ300 is pretty good considering it comes with an ebony fretboard/bridge and solid spruce top.
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Seventy Sevens Hawk series are great guitars, thinline or deep bodies, fully hollow handmade in Japan. Bob
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A used peerless monarch is a great instrument, every bit as good if not better than Gibsons I have owned.
On a budget, an Eastman ar371 is a good instrument.
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there are plenty of well made ibanez artcores, just gotta find the right one
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Agree with finding a good Ibanez or Eastman 371.
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I can strongly recommend the AF105 NT; it's my favorite axe and cost me only $400. I have guitars that cost over $3K and I still gravitate to the Ibanez!
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I own af105f and this is really nice guitar for the money. I recommend it but also you can find some eastmans, peerless...
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True, but you won't find them for $400. Originally Posted by asedas
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You may also want to check out the Godin line of archtops.
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agreed , I played a really nice lgb30 in a shop the other day ... Originally Posted by nick1994
but all the lower end Ibz jazz boxes all come off the same cnc machines in China so you just got to play a few and pick a good un
the artcore expressionist have decent alnico
pus (the basic artcores have fairly nasty ceramic pus which you'd probably want to change but still an absolute bargain
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If you can afford to invest $1K-1500, Peerless and Eastman make some nice instruments. If your budget is lower than $1K, the Ibanez Artcores are good values. I own an AF125 Custom and it's a nice guitar. You can probably find an AF125 for around $750-800.
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In the $600 - 1k range,in my opinion:
Cort Larry Coryell LCS 1 and 2
Ibanez FG 100 - the forrunner of the Joe Pass model and the Pat Metheny models
Yamaha SE 1200(laminated top) and SE 1200s(solid?,spruce?) solid top.
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I agree that "second tier" brands such as Cort, Washburn and Hagstrom all produce viable choices at sub $1K price points and may be good entry level products. Originally Posted by MackBolan
I was not aware that Yamaha has an archtop in its current production. I have always liked Yamaha archtops.
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Epiphone Broadway's a nice choice. Pretty too.
Have a look-see;
Last edited by Sleeko; 12-15-2015 at 08:21 PM.
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I love my Epiphone Broadway. It's not an "elitist" but it was made in the Peerless factory and is a wonderful playing and sounding guitar.
I also love my Loar LH650. Carved solid spruce top, carved solid maple back/sides, basically a copy of a Gibson L4c. It needed some set-up but once I did some work on it, mainly leveling frets, it's a honey. And it cost me about $750.
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I ordered a Hagstrom HJ-800 a few weeks back. Hopefully it will arrive in a few more weeks. Fingers crossed that I get a good one. It is based off of the Jimmy D'Aquisto design but with a somewhat unique characteristic of having the neck join at the 16th fret, and Hagstrom necks are known to be fast players. Could be fun. I know it isn't top tier, but I hope that I get some pleasure out of it. Originally Posted by jazz.fred
Last edited by lammie200; 12-15-2015 at 09:16 PM.
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A friend of mine has one of the Chinese made Hofners....it's a great budget axe.
But y'all know what I'm gonna say. Godin Kingpin. Professional grade instrument: nothing needs an upgrade and it's ready to play out of the box. Leaves Epi's and Ibanez and everything else under 1k in the dust and glow of an 1/2 inch thick finish.
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But y'all know what I'm gonna say. Godin Kingpin. Professional grade instrument: nothing needs an upgrade and it's ready to play out of the box. Leaves Epi's and Ibanez and everything else under 1k in the dust and glow of an 1/2 inch thick finish.
Yep I knew it was coming!!
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i've owned a godkin kingpin, eastman 371, and now have a loar 650. i guess i'm well versed in cheap archtops. Originally Posted by mr. beaumont
they're all superb guitars that can hold up to professional level use. the eastman and loar cost roughly the same (i bought all 3 used) and the kingpin was $350 when i got it on craigslist. thats a good deal, but the godin is always a bit cheaper than the others.
the quick and dirty comparison-
i can't say i specifically liked one guitar better than the other two. they're all different. one thing worth mentioning is that the fit and finish on the loar doesn't look as top notch as the other two- however the quality of wood on these loar guitars is stunning. it sounds and plays fine, but if you look close you'll find details that are sloppy. the tailpiece on mine was mounted a little funny and i had to take it apart to bend it so it wouldn't make contact with the top anymore.
for a guitar that sounds good acoustically as well as electrically, the loar destroys the other two. the acoustic sound is top notch. i occasionally put bronze strings on it. you would NEVER know it's not a $3,000 guitar from that sound.
the eastman is what it is, laminate with a mounted humbucker, 175 copy... amazing jazz guitar plugged in.. very punchy and pleasant sound.
the kingpin has top notch fit and finish, and though it shouldn't matter, is the nicest looking guitar of the bunch by miles. i always liked the sound of the kingpin unplugged, but its too quiet for realistic use. the p90 sounds awesome and the tone control has useful tones from top to bottom. the Godin also had the most reliable/stable neck out of the 3.
so, the godin wins for reliability and versatility. the eastman wins for plugged in straight ahead jazz sounds. the loar wins for acoustic power as well as amplified capabilities. i think most people who try all 3 guitars would agree. oh, and the godin of corse wins for looks. wonderful finish on those.
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