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hi there,
i'm looking for a new guitar and these are more or less my options within my budget:
guild starfire iv
yamaha sa2200
ibanez 335 copy (i don't remember the exact name)
I play guitar professionally and I'm looking for a sturdy and agile instrument:
normally I play with 0.12 flat wound thomastick (these are the best strings i've ever played) through a yamaha vr-4000 (sort of jazz chorus roland copy)
Right now i own only a heavy modded as-73 (tonerider alnico iv, bone nut, new bridge) and I'm thinking about an upgrade because i can finally afford it, and i feel it's limiting my possibilities having such a cheap guitar. Before i played more funky-rock-fusion stuff and i had a wonderful ibanez s-prestige so i know what a good instrument means.
I tried the yamaha: the finish and the playability are very good, but maybe too neutral in regards of the sound.
What do you think about starfire's? I'm afraid they are more on the rockabilly side of the equation, but the guilds i tried in the past had a very very fast neck.
For the ibanez, they seem to be more bluesy, and i play straight ahead jazz.
Maybe there are other options that I didn't consider?
thank you in advance,
frankie
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09-03-2016 09:40 PM
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A couple of other possibilities...
A used Gibson 135
Godin Premiere
Epi or Gibson 339
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Peerless Monarch?
2b has a Peerless Cremona for sale $ 1299. This is an incredible value.
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D' angelico ex-ss? Coming gcs-1?
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I would love to find a semi (for feedback resistance) that sounds a little more.....well..... hollow.
Brought my D'A NYSS semi to my rehearsal big band this week. Worked great for solos, no fb or low-note woofing. But the rhythm tone, eh. Could not get that acoustic-y airy Nestico/Basie/FG sound that you get out of a full hollow archtop. ( But the horn guys commented on how good I sounded. Made me wonder
)
Last edited by Woody Sound; 09-03-2016 at 11:28 PM.
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(for fred)i didn't even know they existed! thank you man, they certainly look stunning: I'm really afraid of full arch tops because of right hand positioning, though: that's the only reason i don't want to buy one.
(for woody)
without going too much off topic, try this for traditional sound with a semihollow guitar (it worked for me)
step 1: 0.13 d'addario or more (d'addario's pull more kilos than others strings of same diameter i tried)
step 2: raise action (very very high for me it was one pinky at 12th fret)
step 3: take a gipsy pick, add little fingernail, if you like it
step 4: good neutral amp and directional mic on neck
it's not like the l-5, but itìs believable: of course you trade lots of speed for sound.Last edited by asafasadi; 09-04-2016 at 08:13 AM.
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Do i understand right? My pinky is 10mm thick. Sounds quite impossible to me to play a chord properly above 5th fret with so high action. And i doubt that is possible to compensate the intonation problems which arise. (No offense, just astonishment)
Originally Posted by asafasadi
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Hey there frankie, Originally Posted by asafasadi
Just a note about the Starfire. It's got the pickups with the blister raised surface on them? I love these, and they're great sounding, very unique among semi's. Very vocal. There's something about Guild pickups that's very unique. It's the choice of pickup for Jim Hall when he had Jimmy D'Aquisto build him a guitar.
The Starfire was also Kurt Rosenwinkel's guitar of choice for a long time during his formative years, (which, come to think of it, he passed to his brother when he went onto a Yamaha).
A lot of it comes down to feel. As far as the Ibanez, it'd depend on the particular model. The 103's were a really good quality working instrument, and the 200's especially from the early 80's are a dream to play if you can find them. It depends on the model when it comes to Ibanez; they're all pretty good in the value department and QC but different.
I love those Guilds though. They seem to be consistently overlooked in the discussion. Check it out, give it a good shake and I think you'll hear/feel something unique. Then you decide if it's you.
David
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Seventy Seven Exrubato is a great semi too. Bob
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The Epi 339 is a very nice git. I tried a used one at GC recently and I had to use restraint to not buy it... too many guitars (ex wife haunting my conscious decision making process) which is quite true :-) Originally Posted by Doctor Jeff
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(for jazz note)I've read a little about freddie green and he used extreme action: I used those settings and i agree that are quite extreme: anyway if you have a good guitar and adjust the truss rod often you won't have many problems.Remember also that you will play mainly drop 2 with only the first three voices, and these voicings are always moving, so even if you encounter some minor tune issues nobody will really notice, being mainly rhythmic the role you have in that situation.(some theorised that especially on fast tunes actually freddie played only the d string muting the others, even if the fingers moved like he was laying drop 2 on the fretboard). i remember that i had problems when playing 1 revolt of Bb7sharp11 with the pinky on E string playing D, often it would go under the string if i wasn't careful.
(for TruthHertz) this is the guitar in question, the emerald green looks amazing, anyway.About the ibanez, yes that's true, but a 200's vintage is hard to find here in italy.
Last edited by asafasadi; 09-04-2016 at 10:05 AM.
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A used Eastman El Ray might make you very happy.
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An early Ibanez AS200 (think John Scofield) is probably out of your budget, but its less expensive cousin the AS100 had the highly desireable super 58 pickups (very close to PAFs) from 1982 onwards and could well be worth a look.......
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I have a Godin Montreal Premiere. I think used it is in your budget.
Does many things well. Look for my review here.
I have had the following guitars as my "jazz" boxes.
- Ibanez AS 73
- Aria AR71
- Eastman AR810CE
- Gretsch G5120
- Epiphone ES 339
- Spruce topped semi-hollow body Tele partscaster.
I like the Godin the best.
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Used 335 and be done with it.
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Outside of a vintage ES-335 (which is my point of comparison for excellent semihollows), here are the best semis I've tried, in order of preference:
- Epiphone Elitist ES-335 '63 Dot RI. Outstanding. I did not care for the stock '57 classics at all. With a pair of Seth Lovers installed, just about perfect. No help needed on playability or neck feel. Great guitar.
- '75 Guild SF VI. Not many of these around. Blinged out version of their SF IV, with gold hardware, ebony board, bigsby. Right up there with the best 335. Worthy stock p/us. Given how good this guitar was, I'd say SF IVs are well worth checking out. The same excellent p/us were stock on these right up until the early 90s sometime. Replace then by either a similar looking p/u which is not the same - but not bad - or Duncan '59s (IMO, not great.)
- Peerless made Epiphone Riviera, mid 90s. Not an elitist, a MIK epiphone called the Riviera, though most came with full size humbuckers rather than the minihums found on vintage Rivieras. I had one of these, and was quite surprised at how close the feel was to a vintage 335. Way better than expected. The electronics (as with most asian guitars) were better off upgraded. And that includes the p/us. But the basic guitar was quite good.
MD
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I'm surprised no one has suggested the Heritage H535. They are top of my list, especially with so many custom options available if bought new. On the used market, it is difficult to find a better bang for buck semi.
Another suggestion would be one of the many high quality Ibanez semi-hollowbody guitars they make these days. They have a dual target market thing model going on, with their high end versions being made in Japan, with very close, low cost versions made in China or other Pacific Rim countries...all with excellent quality...just different price points. (see below examples)
Take a look at the two Scofield models...The first (JSM10) aimed at a low price point, and the second (JSM100) targeting a more high end sector of the market.
JSM10:
Hollow Bodies JSM - JSM10 John Scofield | Ibanez guitars
JSM100:
Hollow Bodies JSM - JSM100 John Scofield | Ibanez guitars
Good hunting!
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I have a JSM-10, and I can attest that it's a FANTASTIC guitar and a great value for the price. The fit and finish are top-notch, it plays like a dream and sounds great. I like using the neck pickup with the coil-tap switch in the rear position (I can't remember if that's series or parallel, but it's the sound I like best). With the tone and volume rolled off a bit, and the proper amp set up, you can a really good straight ahead jazz sound. It's not going to be the classic archtop sound, but no semi hollow will give you that. It also has the versitility to do fusion, blues and rock sounds as well. Originally Posted by Gitfiddler
Obviously, it's designed to get the Scofield sound, and not withstanding the fact that it's impossible to actually nail Sco's exact tone without having access to his fingers and brain, it gets pretty close.
I'm hardly an expert on every guitar out there, but from what I've seen and played, Ibanez has got some of the best value-for-dollar guitars out there. I've yet to play an Ibby that I didn't like. The low end ones are solid, decent axes, and the high end ones, IMO, hang right in there with the best on the market.
The JSM-10 has a different vibe than the ES-335. I mean, they're in the same neighborhood, but on different blocks, if you take my meaning.
If I had the cash to burn, I'd probably pick up a JSM-100 as well. I'd be interested to see what the compound raduis neck adds to the experience.
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Boston Joe~ Thanks for jogging my memory...I completely forgot to mention the compound radius neck profile of the JSM100. I own one and it has a fantastic neck!
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Eastman makes very nice semi-hollowbodies- the 186 and 386 are good instruments at a nice price.
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Old thread but the Ibanez LR-10s are great as well. Nice Brazillian boards on them as well, and usually fairly reasonable.
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I've had the SA2200 and the new AS200 side-by-side and the Yamaha sounded SLIGHTLY jazzier (less bright and thin) than the Ibanez - but only slightly. Both tend to be on the bright side and a little less woody and organic than one would want for straight-ahead.
The Godin - take a look at the centerblock. Like Sadowsky's Semi (the best out there but pricey) it is a hollowed-out core and, by design, is going to be more open and airy sounding. This is better for jazz but not so much for blues and rock so it depends on your intended purpose. But it's a big design difference and departure from the 335 concept and all of the clones thereof.
Having said that, you really can't beat a great 335 (you just have to be patient in finding a great one).
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