Thin semi-hollow or hollow - $1200-1500

[tomems]

I'm looking for a thin jazz guitar at a very particular price point - about $1200-1500. Here's what I've come up with so far:

-Ibanez
-Godin Montreal
-Eastman

Are there others? Trying to stay away from the $899 ones and the $1999 ones...

[drbhrb]

Strongly suggest you check out Comins too:

GCS-1 | Comins Guitars

[goldenwave77]

Used Gibson 339's and Midtowns.

Do a search. Plenty of threads on this topic.

[Longways to Go]

Gibson 135

[Woody Sound]

I'm looking for a thin jazz guitar at a very particular price point - about $1200-1500. Here's what I've come up with so far:

-Ibanez
-Godin Montreal
-Eastman

Are there others? Trying to stay away from the $899 ones and the $1999 ones...

I'm curious as to your not caring about whether it's hollow or semi. As I'm sure you know, the two are very different sounding instruments.

[tomems]

Comins looks awesome!

I am leaning semi (I have a thick hollow archtop) but I don't want to totally rule out hollows - Eastmans, maybe a used MIJ Casino...

[BigMikeinNJ]

Eastman T146sm - 16 inch wide lower bout, a tad less than 2 inches deep - fully carved top and back. There are single and double pickup versions around, S stands for Spruce, M for maple (back). Find a used one in the "classic" (violin stain) or "vintage age". Think Byrdland but with a normal scale (25 inches) and slightly thinner. I had one in the classic stain which had been upgraded with Seth Lovers, really regret selling it but one of my cats needed a lot of work.

[John A.]

D'Angelico
Guild
Gretsch
PRS
Peerless

All have models in that price range new, and appreciably lower used.

ES 339 studio is advertised for $1600-ish in several spots that might take a lower offer.

If you're willing to buy used, there's tons of really nice stuff for around $1500, e.g., various Gibson ES models and Midtown models, Yamaha, PRS semi-hollows, US-made Guilds, Heritage, some Japanese-made Ibanez's. A lot of this stuff has somewhat higher asking prices, but don't be scared off by that.

John

[Jabbarn]

I happen to have one of these that I am looking to sell right now. It's in really nice shape. Case included. Asking $1,300 including shipping in the continental U.S. Please P.M. me if you are interested.

Eastman T146sm - 16 inch wide lower bout, a tad less than 2 inches deep - fully carved top and back. There are single and double pickup versions around, S stands for Spruce, M for maple (back). Find a used one in the "classic" (violin stain) or "vintage age". Think Byrdland but with a normal scale (25 inches) and slightly thinner. I had one in the classic stain which had been upgraded with Seth Lovers, really regret selling it but one of my cats needed a lot of work.

[Woody Sound]

Eastman T146sm - 16 inch wide lower bout, a tad less than 2 inches deep - fully carved top and back. There are single and double pickup versions around, S stands for Spruce, M for maple (back). Find a used one in the "classic" (violin stain) or "vintage age". Think Byrdland but with a normal scale (25 inches) and slightly thinner. I had one in the classic stain which had been upgraded with Seth Lovers, really regret selling it but one of my cats needed a lot of work.

Byrdlands are 17"

[Jim Soloway]

I have a Montreal coming in the near future. If you're considering one, make sure it's the newest model. They've upgraded the pickups.

[BigMikeinNJ]

I happen to have one of these that I am looking to sell right now. It's in really nice shape. Case included. Asking $1,300 including shipping in the continental U.S. Please P.M. me if you are interested.

Yours was the very guitar I was thinking of when I posted it.

And yes Woodysound, it is not 17 inches but it is very Byrdland like, I owned one. Loved it.

[sgosnell]

I have an Eastman T145, no longer made, but it's just like the T146 except with a 15" lower bout. I like it a lot. It's very loud acoustically (at least for a thinline) and plays very well after some setup work. I think it's hard to beat for a thinline. It doesn't sound like an ES135 of course, because it's fully hollow with a carved spruce top, but that's a plus for me. It's very light, not much over 4 pounds.

[christianm77]

I like the les Paul es concept

[tomems]

New list:

Ibanez
Godin Montreal
Eastman
Comins
Guild
Gibson LP ES

[jim777]

I have a sweet hollow 335 style Ibanez ASR-70 with P90s you could get for $400 But as Woody already said, there are differences between hollow and semi just as there are between humbuckers of various sizes and single coils as well. Going by price alone seems kind of like buying a car by price alone - station wagon or convertible?

That said (LOL), the Godin Montreal Premier is one I'd love to try, but I likely wouldn't trade my AS-200 for one.

[feet]

also a fan of the various used gretsches and elitist/mij epiphones to be had in that price range

[tomems]

Again, leaning semi-hollow, laminated, with HBs, but open. I saw Scofield last week (awesome) and came away jonesin' for an Ibanez. But I have a Godin Multiac Nylon Encore that I love and the Montreal looks amazing.

Regarding price, the three figure ones looks just OK, and the $2k ones are too much (probably!)

[Jim Soloway]

I'm not sure when my Montreal will be here. I ordered it early January and they said 9 weeks plus a week for shipping so it shouldn't be terribly far off. I promise there will be lots of audio and video as quickly as possible so maybe that will help a few folks in their considerations.

[Silentwiz]

I'll second the reco on the Comins GCS. Fabulous guitar.

[tomems]

I have a sweet hollow 335 style Ibanez ASR-70 with P90s you could get for $400 But as Woody already said, there are differences between hollow and semi just as there are between humbuckers of various sizes and single coils as well. Going by price alone seems kind of like buying a car by price alone - station wagon or convertible?

That said (LOL), the Godin Montreal Premier is one I'd love to try, but I likely wouldn't trade my AS-200 for one.

It went like this:

Me: can I save up to buy a guitar in late 2017?
Wife: yes
Me (internal monologue): STOP TALKING RIGHT NOW

[zizala]

I enjoy older Hoboken era Guild thin body T-100's and Starfires......you might try one of those.