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Originally Posted by Crm114
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10-25-2022 10:48 AM
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Love my Gretsch 5422TG, hollow-body, thin, great tonal variety, 24.6" scale. runs th gamut from a Jim Hall sound to a roaring rockabilly twang. Versatile, well-made, available used for around $600US, new at $899. look for a used Korean-made model for best bang for the buck.
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Guild Starfire IV ST Maple GRN
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The "logo tax" doesn't impress me on any brand, what does is what's IN my hand.
I have an Ibanez AS-103 and a Yamaha SA-2100 as well as a Gibson 335 and they all do what I need them to do as long I keep reminding myself that the git V-T/ V-T and EQ on the amp are there for good reasons, otherwise they could have easily put fixed resistors there! Needing / wanting to morph into a purist is not a blip on my RADAR screen.
Anyway I've had dud 335's, maybe more than other brands but the right one is worth the entry fee, and the journey to find it.
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Originally Posted by GNAPPI
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"The "logo tax" doesn't impress me on any brand, what does is what's IN my hand." GNAPPI
When I started playing in 1968, it was on a $25 Teisco from Woolworths Dime store. Two years of savings later and my first "real" guitar was a $200 "AIMS" telecaster copy with a flamed maple neck. Funny, those "lawsuit era" telly copies go for $2,000 on reverb these days!
In over 50 years of playing and working as a guitar tech, it all depends on the quality of the guitar in your hand! Period!
When your in the Recording Studio, nobody cares about the name on your headstock (unless you can't play it in tune... loll)
These days I own an upgraded USA Gibson HP Les Paul, 3x upgraded MIM Fenders, an upgraded MIM Martin, a highly upgraded INDY DAngelico, and an upgraded "hand crafted" CHINESE Hybrid Classical. They are all top-notch professional grade instruments, but a purist nob would say they're all crap (without even seeing them). His loss not mine!
Last edited by Old Guitar Player; 01-15-2023 at 09:47 PM.
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I've had a Gibson ES333, decent guitar. Good guitar, but I sold it. Someone mentioned theirs was heavy. Mine was light. I did hundreds of gigs on that guitar. The 498t pickup that comes standard in the bridge is a rock pickup and less useful for blues and jazz. I pullled mine for '57 classics but the 490 in the neck is actually just as good IMO and I wouldn't change it if I did it again. Action couldn't get very low without buzzing out. Slim taper neck needed quarterly adjustments to maintain best playability.
I had a Sheraton II Pro. Really nice guitar, great build quality. The 5 piece neck and action was incredibly stable and could be set extremely low and buzz free but like all chinese guitars it suffered from junk electronics, especially the selector switch and pots. The selector failed at a gig. Probuckers are decent pickups, a little hotter than a 57 classic. It had extreme neck dive thanks to the canoe paddle headstock so it was not comfortable to play standing. Thought about Bigsby-ing it to fix the dive but you wind up sinking more into the guitar than you paid for it so I also sold that one.
Also had the Epiphone 335 Pro. Decent neck and action but exceedingly junky pots, same cheap selector switch as the Sheraton, worse pickups.
If I buy anything China these days I just assume it will need upgraded electronics to sound good and be reliable. They aren't quality nor are they reliable from the factory. I would rather a guitar with decent stuff from the factory. I probably should've just bit the bullet and upgraded that Sheraton, it was a good guitar to mod to taste and the guitar itself was very well made and played impressively nice.
Currently using an ESP/Edwards SA series. Excellent guitar. Duncan '59 in the neck but the sh-14 bridge is a too hot for my tastes. Has a solid maple top and mahogany center block, so, slightly different arrangement than a standard 335. Net effect is ultimately the same. Low, buzz free action. Already racking up gig miles on this one.
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VT means volume tone. They're talking about the 4 knobs.
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Originally Posted by DawgBone
So, 50 years later I appreciate instruments solely for their quality and playability. So what that my Musicians Friend 2am "STUPID DEAL" INDY DAngelico SS arrived with a crappy wiring harness, and cheapish hardware. It did come with USA Seymour HOT ROD (SH2 & SH4) pickups and the craftsmanship was impeccable! So I invested $150 in a custom wiring harness, $150 for a TonePros Locking tailpiece and Locking Bridge, and $100 for a set of Grover Locking Imperial tuners. In the end a couple of hours on my bench dressing and leveling the frets, and replacing that harness and hardware, and I have a Semi-Acoustic Jazz box, that plays and sounds as good or better than an ES-335. It also has a 3 piece maple neck, so that if it slips off a stand the headstock won't explode! Plus, it's cool to play onstage (very retro looking) and I have less than $1200 in that guitar! Does someone really need to drop another $2500 just to say they have a Gibson ES-335? I think not!Last edited by Old Guitar Player; 12-01-2022 at 01:10 PM.
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Haven’t really bonded with Ibanezes. Probably better made than Gibson if you get a Japanese one, but those go for 2k up these days.
I think they have a different sound, a bit smoother, less ‘nasal’… but the slight nasality of the Gibson is one thing that works great live.
Be interested to compare with the Eastmans though …
And this came up today on my YouTube recommendation. I think Sire have got some of that 335 quality tonally… although Jimmy Blue Note had some reservations about Sire build quality
It probably depends on what kind of person you are - some people love to upgrade a diamond in the rough, others less so.
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Originally Posted by Christian Miller
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It seems that these Sire H7 have a narrow nut (41mm if I'm not mistaken)
May be a deal breaker to some (to me at least)
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Most of my guitars are 42.5mm-46mm, but my Deluxe Strat is a
"sort of" vintage 41.91mm/1.65 inch which I have grown to love!
But, vintage strats were considerably narrower than that, as they
also came with that "buzz friendly" 7 1/4" radius, which as a guitar
tech I HATED to work on! In the 70's that's ALL I saw at the shop!
"Get rid of the buzz, and replace my 3-way with a 5-way".
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Originally Posted by Old Guitar Player
I didn't like the five way switch either because it doesn't detent as hard as the 3 way and I'd knock it out of place during aggressive funky chord strumming. Also, if you are into playing loud the heavy detent is noisier when thrown and can be used to goose the rig into feedback. I never cared for the in between sounds, neck and bridge were where I lived at the time. I thought a floated trem gave better tone but goodbye tuning if you break a string. Can't say I'd ever go back to strats but they do have their appeal.
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V/T = Volume and tone. Some think that a git or amp should be set at a neutral setting and magically deliver the tone in their head, IMO that's silly.
Rahsaan Roland Kirk
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