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Finally picked up my budget jazz-box from Guitar Center hold.
The strings felt way too light, so I installed a set of 10-46 DR Blues.
Much better feel now.
Existing humbuckers sound pretty good for now.
Thought you'd enjoy a photo.
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1) 
2) Nice looking guitar! How's it sound?
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Welcome +1 
Samick made some really nice gits, enjoy it! Is it fully hollow or semi? I like the tailpiece.
If you notice any secondary twangy string sounds, I had this on my Cort that I pulled the Bigsby off of. The long bridge to tailpiece string length gave a low twangy noise I easily fixed with a strip of VelCro threaded between the strings in that long string spot.
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I had one eerily like yours. Gave it to a friend who lost everything in a house fire.
theyre decent guitars
Welcome
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What's the extra switch?
Make glorious noise with it, bud.
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That not a switch, they just put a switch washer thingie at the output jack.
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Welcome! Congratz! That tailpiece looks nice on a 335-model. For the other discussion that's going on elsewhere: the gaps of the 'wings' are narrow!
I would remove the plastic washers of the input and switch, but that's just cosmetic and because I am a freak ;-)
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Thanks, folks.
It seems to be pretty responsive with tone control. From what I have seen on internet images, the plastic output washer, arm rest, and tailpiece look aftermarket. The tailpiece is good, solid hardware, and I like it, but the extra plastic I could do without.
A few years back (15) I had an "orange-yellow" JZ model Samick Greg Bennett jazz guitar, but it was, as Trump would say, yuuuuuge. The wife nick-named it "Old Cheddar"... Good guitar, and similar quality build to this Vantage, but never could warm up to it.
Looking inside, there are 1 1/2" x 4" wood blocks stacked up right behind the bridge. Semi-hollow? The overall condition is superb, no nicks or structural issues. Light surface marks on the pickguard. The frets have some minor wear on the 1st and 2nd string positions all the way up to an octave, so it WAS played, just very carefully for a 24 year old instrument.
Glad to have this one at home. It was a toss-up at the store, but for a few hundred, I couldn't resist. Now have to brush up on my "weird" jazz chords...
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Last edited by ramsa; 02-19-2017 at 08:37 AM.
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Ah, so it is mostly hollow? I noticed it is thicker than an ES-335, but does it have 'full' depth? (Like the full size archtops.) That would make it more an Asian ES-150. Cool!
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The depth is one of the main features I love about this one. It is right at 3".
I thought the 335s were too thin, (I have owned 3) , and the full sized jazz designs too deep for my comfort zone.
This is more like a hybrid of the two, and still retaining the 335 shape. Maybe like a Gibson ES340?
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Yeah it's like an ES150 dcn but without the master volume knob those had.
I found some before and after shots of mine, yes it did have a small block just under the bridge only. 3 inches deep and the pickups were ok. I bet if you put some Seth Lovers in it it would be a real screamer.
Before
After mods
I banged around with it thru my Deluxe Reverb for a while. One of the reasons I liked it was I could sit out on the back steps and play unplugged and it was plenty loud, real fast neck. Then like I said a buddy of mine up near Asbury Park got burned out of his house, lost all his gear. So I gave him the Vantage and an acoustic for his son. The level of gear this guy had was amazing (a fully restored Moog, all kinds of other stuff) and yet he's wasn't crying, just grateful him and his bride lived through it... It'd be interesting if after 7 years you got it from him or his son... It's a small world after all...
You'll have fun with that. And again, WELCOME to our little nut house.
Last edited by BigMikeinNJ; 02-19-2017 at 12:06 PM.
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I have a big orange JZ4. Great guitar. I hated the pickup so finally after only playing it acoustically for years and years I put a Lollar Johnny Smith on it. Presto! I have more expensive American guitars but the craftsmanship on the JZ is probably the best...
...which has led to my recent and unhealthy obsession with the Korean Comins GCS-1SE...
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Big Mike,
You have a big heart to go with your name. You're a good friend.
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Just got the armrest off the top. No damage underneath, and just a faint suntan from UV light. Sometimes poly finish is not a bad thing. Removed the old 2-faced tape residue with olive oil. (Old display builder's trick)
VERY cool seeing other examples of the same model.
Next up is to lose the plastic washers on the output and switch hardware. I can hold the switch from underneath, but the output removal scares me. Any thoughts on keeping the jack up to reinstall the nut without dropping into body cavity? THAT would be a PITA...
LOL...
BigMike: This one has model number on label, but no serial on the label. It IS on the back of the headstock though...(decal)
I find it amazing that both your Vantage and mine have the ES175 style tailpiece... You never know... Didn't happen to keep a serial, did ya?
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Last edited by ramsa; 02-19-2017 at 02:31 PM.
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That's a cool guitar! My first decent electric was a Vantage solidbody which had a similar headstock. I like the quirky way the fretboard dots go to one side from the 12th fret upwards.
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Man! It must be the same guitar! What are the odds that someone else also put an Asian ES-175-style tailpiece on it?!?
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I was hoping BigMike was going to tell me it's the same, AND he did a pick-up upgrade on it...
LOL...
Can tell from the wood grain it is another guitar... Knobs are dark on this one also.
So there is another out there somewhere...
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Last edited by ramsa; 02-19-2017 at 05:57 PM.
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Getting better looking with less plastic...
One more washer on the output to go...
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Well the same Allparts or WDM tailpiece on both, I DO remember that I put the thing on. I did not have a drill or the right sized bit and my handy neighbor was away camping. So I sort of faked it and got one or two of the screws to start on the existing holes, but there was a third hole and I had no way to pre tap it so drove it by hand and I got to the point with it where I thought "no wait until Frank is around (the handy neighbor). So there was one tailpiece screw sticking out about 1/4 of an inch. I looked and there's one on Reverb but they want stupid high money for it, no wonder it's been listed like 8 months... LOL.
I am sorta flattered that you were hoping it was mine. Listen I did it because it seemed like the thing to do at the time. The guy is like a brother to me and I've seen him pay it forward to others a million times. Like I said it seemed like the thing to do at the time.
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The new Asian jazz guitars from Epiphone and others are $600 to $800 in same build quality and Korean made...
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I have a Samick that I fixed. This is what you might see if you examined the electronics.
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Wow.
Major surgery on that jazzer.
Here was the solution for removing the plastic washer without losing the jack inside the body.
Sharpen a pencil about an inch with a pocketknife, or Leatherman, and jam that sucker into the output firmly.
LOL...
It worked...
Last edited by ramsa; 02-19-2017 at 10:14 PM.
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Just out of curiosity, what is the depth on that thing? Nice guitar!
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Recommandations for Hollowbodies for $600 and under?
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