Anyone ever play an early '90s Gibson ES-350T?

[jzucker]

no, for that price I think I'm going to go for a tal farlow instead. What do you guys think of the tal?

[vinnyv1k]

I LOVE Tal Farlows. Weight wise about the same as a ES350T. I have 2 Tals. Of course 1 has a broken headstock. I go to court on the 14th with my lawsuit against UPS. Neither the Tal or ES350T are light guitars. Close to 8lbs. I never had feedback problems with a Tal. A 175 yes. My Tal's have great tone but I have heard some guys say they sounded dead. Luck of the draw I guess. At higher volumes my Tal sounds better than my L5 IMO. Neck profile is exactly like a L5. Same neck different fretboard. Best Gibson bang for the buck. If I could only have one guitar it would be a Tal or a X500D.

[jzucker]

the 350T i played was light. 7lbs(ish). The tal I played was about the same, maybe a tad heavier. Nothing close to 8lbs.

But I'm getting ready to buy a Tal. Screw this 350T stuff, lol.

[Archie]

no, for that price I think I'm going to go for a tal farlow instead. What do you guys think of the tal?

If you get the right one, they are irreplaceable, not only in looks but tone and feel. Not saying the best but a good TF is a very fine guitar. Very comfortable, very nice mellow tone with a nice enough bit of air.

The only thing I would say is, go 90's. I have had two, one from 96 and one from 2012. They couldn't have been further apart in terms of tone and feel. The 2012 was horrible, stiff, rattly, toneless, sharp sounding etc. The 96 was perfect, everything you would want it to be.

[jzucker]

If you get the right one, they are irreplaceable, not only in looks but tone and feel. Not saying the best but a good TF is a very fine guitar. Very comfortable, very nice mellow tone with a nice enough bit of air.

The only thing I would say is, go 90's. I have had two, one from 96 and one from 2012. They couldn't have been further apart in terms of tone and feel. The 2012 was horrible, stiff, rattly, toneless, sharp sounding etc. The 96 was perfect, everything you would want it to be.

the one i'm looking at is a '96. What's a good price on a mid '90s Tal Farlow?

[vinnyv1k]

Jack I didn't say 8lbs I said close to. To be exact the weight of my 2014 Tal is 7.4lbs compared to my 59 175 at 6.1lbs so it is borderline with your weight limit issue. A good price for a clean 90's Tal is around $3k but if it is a special one it is hard to say. My 2014 is a real special Tal. I wouldn't sell it for what I paid for it. Weight is not a issue with me. I always play sitting with no strap. Size is a issue though. I prefer 17" over !6". Fits my body better. I have to hunch over more with a 16. The Tal is my perfect size. 3x17. Sometimes I get shoulder pain playing my L5. You wouldn't think 3/8 of a inch in thickness would make a bit of difference but in my case it does. Tal's are like 175's. Some sound great and some don't. When you get a new plywood guitar the wood still has a lot of moisture in it from the pressing. IMO it takes a few years for a laminate to start sounding real good. My 2010 175 sounded dead when I first got it. Now it sounds glorious and has also gotten lighter in weight so it is my belief that just like a carved archtop a laminate needs time to open up too.

[Archie]

I found my 90's tal to be very light, yet my 2012 (which was particularly bad year as gibson were up to all sorts of shenanigans to avoid bankruptcy, including flooding dealers so they looked like they had orders coming in), to be pretty heavy.

I would not say they were a heavy guitar.

[Archie]

the one i'm looking at is a '96. What's a good price on a mid '90s Tal Farlow?

Cant say Jack its a UK/U:S thing. You're better off asking your fellow Americans on this one. 96 was a fine year though by all accounts.

Also I just thought of a way better option than a 350T (imo). The Guild SFII

I had a SFIII (Westerly) and you can get benson on that all day long and it will do funk, pop, etc. I'd actually say its the most versatile guitar I've played and light too. Also not that expensive.

If you haven't played one, I thin they are the most underrated jazz guitar there is. I would happily have one, if you can get on with the Guild neck, which can be thin but very very fast.

[Chas350-t]