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Good morning good people! Hope everyone is having a fantastic day. I recently took a gamble on buying a guitar online. Yes, a Languedoc copy from China! I had some luck in recent years with a different chinese built guitar so I decided to take the small risk that it was.
This hollowbody Languedoc was only $345.00!!!!! I could hardly believe my eyes upon inspection. I cannot find anything wrong. She is absolutely stunning! And then next, I restrung my new guitar (put heavier strings on - 11-46 gauge), was a little worried about binding or intonation issues but worked out good as can be without need of adjustments. Have not plugged her in yet, and I assume the Chinese go cheap on electronics. That is the only downfall, but it may sound great plugged in. Sounds so beautiful unplugged. Craftsmanship is A++++++.
If you are in the market for one of these I think you can get really lucky with Starshine on ebay. Look them up...they are producing a lot of these right now.
It is nearly identical to the one Trey Anastasio plays....just a wonderful guitar. Could not be any happier at this moment in my life.
Photos:
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04-22-2022 10:13 AM
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thanks for sharing the excitement
and good luck and a wonderful time with your new guitar.
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Cool, and it is probably safer for them to copy a small independent builder than one of the bigger corporations that might go after them financially.
Originally Posted by guitarvegas
Good morning good people! Hope everyone is having a fantastic day. I recently took a gamble on buying a guitar online. Yes, a Languedoc copy from China! I had some luck in recent years with a different chinese built guitar so I decided to take the small risk that it was.
This hollowbody Languedoc was only $345.00!!!!! I could hardly believe my eyes upon inspection. I cannot find anything wrong. She is absolutely stunning! And then next, I restrung my new guitar (put heavier strings on - 11-46 gauge), was a little worried about binding or intonation issues but worked out good as can be without need of adjustments. Have not plugged her in yet, and I assume the Chinese go cheap on electronics. That is the only downfall, but it may sound great plugged in. Sounds so beautiful unplugged. Craftsmanship is A++++++.
If you are in the market for one of these I think you can get really lucky with Starshine on ebay. Look them up...they are producing a lot of these right now.
It is nearly identical to the one Trey Anastasio plays....just a wonderful guitar. Could not be any happier at this moment in my life.
Photos:
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Thank you! Originally Posted by Filmosound 621
thanks for sharing the excitement and good luck and a wonderful time with your new guitar.
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I will post a clip soon. Need to let the new strings stretch for another day. I will probably post a clip unplugged, and also do a DI recording. Looking forward to it! Sounds so beautiful, I actually get a big smile on my face when I am playing it.
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Fun.
I can't tell, is it a "Phred," or another brand doing Languedoc copies?
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The only real difference is the scale of the neck. It is like a little less than an inch shorter than the one that Paul Languadoc actually built for Trey. His is the scale of a strat, and mine is the scale of a Gibson. Minor difference which bothers me none. Originally Posted by JohanAbrandt
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No it is not actually. The Phred starts at around $750.00 and you have to be on a waiting list.....you will be waiting for about a year to receive it after you order. Originally Posted by mr. beaumont
This is by a company that goes by the name "Star Shine" on ebay and they are in China ($345.00). I can't believe the quality and how good it sounds. I have never held an instrument in my hands ever in my life that sounded this good, ever! I wonder if Phred just gets their guitars rom this same company and have them put their logo on the headstock, then they jack up the price? I wonder. Would have to see them side by side to know for sure.
Amazing instrument!
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Looks great! Probably sounds, too. The only caveat is the woods, i.e. how seasoned and dry they are. If you are based in an area with central heating over the winter months, next winter will reveal how much fret ends will protrude. Hope not at all, of course.
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I live in Florida, and yes central heating however we do not use the heat much at all. Maybe two weeks out of the year. I need to find a case for this but have had no luck searching. It can sit in my Dot case but it is a little small for that case. Will a case protect the wood? Originally Posted by Gitterbug
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Actually, to my delighted surprise I just found out that it fits perfectly snug in my Epiphone Flamekat case! Perfect. Do you guys recommend that I keep it in the case unless I am playing it? Will being on a stand in the open air hurt it?
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Congratulations, and play it in good health!
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There was a recent discussion on the forum related to you question... leaving it in or out of the case. Lot's of good advice here:
Who uses a guitar case at home? (jazzguitar.be)
Nice guitar, btw. I'm a Trey/Phish fan... I love the sustain he gets from his Languedoc. Impressive. Enjoy.
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That's a beautiful and interesting looking guitar. Looking forward to your review once you put it through its paces.
Their Ebay description is very limited, but does state it is laminate spalted maple bodied.
Is it full or semi hollow?
How's the neck angle?
It doesn't come with a pickguard, and looking at the photos, the strings appear far from the guitar's body. Maybe that's just the photo angle?
Ebay Seller's description:
Korean Factory Starshine Languedoc Electric Guitar Spalted Top&Back Ebony Fingerboard Yellow Color
Body : Laminted Maple +spalted top veneering
Neck : Maple with ebony line
Fingerboard ?Ebony
Frets: 24F
Joint : set in
pickups : 2h
bridge : T-O-M with rosewood tailpieces
Hardware : Chrome
control: 2V 2T 3Ways
Nut: 43mm
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Full hollow. No pick guard. Neck is perfect! String height IMO is also perfect! Not a complaint I can find. Pickups are ceramic and most likely not very good but another day for that inspection and review. Pretty much the too good to be true guitar, but it actually is true! I have been saying my "thank you to God" like all morning. Again..."thank you God, you have blessed me on this day!". Originally Posted by Gitfiddler
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Me too, and thanks. Let me check out this thread.... Originally Posted by LifeOnJazz
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One more caveat. I used to have an Ibby AS-103, limited spalted maple version. It was a looker but the smell was awful every time I opened the case, which wasn't very often.
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What would Mr Languedoc think?
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He feels honored, that his guitar designs inspire so many musicians and craftsmen around the world.
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He told you that?
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I read somewhere that he has said all the knock offs are junk or something along those lines...guess what, hes right..Except i do like what Eric does at Crow hIll guitars..and Artingers are nice..Equators are cool, but the guy is weird and have heard a ton of horror stories...thats about it. I have a phred, its ok..finish problems, etc..i hotroded it out changed pickups and wiring...,the neck is ok, kinda chunky. but i travel with it, beat it up..who cares if it gets stolen, whatever... OPs looks like it is built in the same factory as Phred. with that tailpiece and inlays, same as my phred. Originally Posted by Litterick
I have been emailing Paul for over 10 years to get on the list to build a Langudoc but he has never emailed me back..and now his guitars are like 20k, forget it.....all the guys who i see have them now are Doctors and Lawyers and rich kids..who can barley play LOL.
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Hello, Well I do want to say that the craftmanship seems to be pretty stellar to my eyes. But then again, I do not have the real thing to compare it too. The guts I am sure are garbage (pick ups, pots, wiring, etc.), but that was expected. Originally Posted by jazzgtrl4
One problem I am having is that for 2 days now, each morning all the strings have dropped about a half step in tuning. I thought maybe the strings just needed stretching/settling, but I think it may be the tuning machines. Easy and relatively inexpensive fix, but still.....it is annoying. Great sounding instrument (at least according to my ears). You may feel otherwise. Everyone hears differently, and personally with lifetimes of preferences, etc. Will get something up soon to share....some kind of a clip or review.
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It may be from the same factory but look closely at the cutaways on the body. The Phred's cutaways are "rounded", and mine comes to a sharp point at the top of each cutaway on the body. I actually like mine better. Maybe that was one of the things, an easy differentiator that Phred had them do to make his be "his own", along with the logo on his headstock? Originally Posted by jazzgtrl4
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UPDATE!:
Checked out the pickups. I finally plugged her in and crossed my fingers, because this is where I was sure that the guitar would fall short.
Again, to my most delighted surprise she sounds wonderful! Beautiful! Amazing. I am amazed! I went DI into Guitar Rig 5 and used my normal clean amp tone which is a basic clean jazz amp pre-set which is one that I always liked.
This is my written review: Plenty of volume, very warm, VERY clean, brilliant tones, crisp and defined. Nothing muddy. Pretty sounds. An over all very useful set of pickups with interesting switches that produce small and intricate changes to your tone. Now I love the entire package 100%! Cannot wait to share some clips with you all. By the time I am finished I wouldn't be surprised if you guys go and place an order for yourselves! I mean it!
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Cool that you like your new guitar including the way it sounds. You may find yourself swapping the pots/switches and the pickups over time but that's just part of the journey. Play in good health.
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