King Snake guitars

[Cobra5]

I did a fairly deep dive into vintage ES-125T’s a few years back, and found that you have to wait for a good one to become available and hope the price is reasonable. I even asked a few luthiers if they would consider making me a replica, and most declined or wanted more money than I wanted to spend.

I’ve seen that video with Emil playing the Muddy and it knocked me out.
It sounds fabulous in his hands!

[AllanAllen]

I’ve played a few ES-125s and if they didn’t have gibson screen printed on the headstock I’d say they’d be nice kindling. Kay/Harmony quality at a collector price.

[olejason]

Are these made in the same factory as Stringphonic, Archtop Tribute, Rozeo, etc.? They look pretty similar. I have a Stringphonic L-5 copy I've been pretty happy with.

[SOLR]

Are these made in the same factory as Stringphonic, Archtop Tribute, Rozeo, etc.? They look pretty similar. I have a Stringphonic L-5 copy I've been pretty happy with.

From the EU dealer

Hello everybody, i'm Michel.
They are made in Terada Factory by the Gretsch team, some parts and specs are the same. They also build the TV Jones guitars and many other brands. Terada is considered to be the best factory for hollow body guitars in Japan. Choosed wood, ultra thin alcool filler, open grain ultra thin 100% nitro finish. Only few beautiful colors for the finish are available. Pickups are made in Japan but not in Terada, each model have his own type of pickups.
The production level is very low, max 10 guitars for each batch. there is almost no stock. Many guitars are sold on order and the deadline is between 6 to 12 months depending of the model and finish.These guitars are not distributed in the US.
Comparing what is comparable....
If you search for videos, just search on Youtube, there is a lot of videos including few from my shop.
Here's some address :
KINGSNAKE YAMAOKA EUROPE
-HOME- | mij-guitars.com
KING SNAKE GUITARS | ??? ?????????
Do not hesitate if you have questions, best regards and stay safe

S

[Gitterbug]

To me it looks like archtop guitars, to some, are like red wine: the more obscure and exotic the provenance, the more enticing. We all know that 1K and less can buy a perfectly giggable laminate guitar by Epiphone, Ibanez, Godin and some. 4K and above opens up heaven's gates to coveted industrially-made guitars like Gibson and luthier-made masterpieces like Campellone or Elferink. In between, a jungle of new and used guitars, including those which baby boomers and their offspring need to part with.

There are no big secrets to making an archtop. Gibson has made them for a century. Bob Benedetto wrote the book. I also dare say: the quality and sound gap between 1K and 4K, from a working musician's point of view, has shrunk so much that resale value plays a bigger and bigger role in rational buying decisions, especially towards the higher end of the scale. This thread was started three and a half years ago. Hard to judge the progress King Snake has made. It's a buyer's market. Good luck!

Edit: The previous post appeared while I was scribbling mine. Terada? Nitro lacquer in Japan?

[Mick-7]

I used to catch the manufactrurers namesake in California when I was a kid, lovely creatures.

[SOLR]

Speaking about the 125 this recent find in the EU:

Gibson ES-125 CD
S

[Gitterbug]

Apologies for downplaying King Snake guitars. If they deliver the promise, fine indeed. However, there seems to be a discrepancy between the number of models offered and the capacity to make them in substantial numbers, for wider distribution. Personally, I'm also put off by the brand name. Even in Italian, Serpente Reale would not quite taste of a jazz guitar.

[andrew]

My guess is that the name is more blues-influenced than jazz. “Crawling King Snake”. A lot of those old blues guys like John Lee Hooker played the more budget friendly Gibson and Epiphone archtops.

[AllanAllen]

And the One/Two/Three Bone are ES5 style inspired by T Bone Walker.