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As the name suggests, this is a guitar inspired by the first semi-acoustic guitar, the famous Gibson ES-335.
Yet it has it's own vibe with the bindings borrowed from the 345 and inlays from the 175.
After playing fully hollow instruments exclusively for the last years my interest in "semis" was refostered by hearing two year old videos with my Ibanez JSM10 that I stupidy sold to a friend who is very happy with him – it became his main guitar despite owning an '82 ES-335 and later buying a top of the shelf Ibanez AS2000.
I could have just got another JSM10 but I looked around a bit and the Stanford caught my interest. I played one in a local store when I was first looking for semis some years ago and liked it. It was not available locally so I ordered one from a shop in Berlin.
The matt / semi-gloss nitro finish gives it a very nice worn-in feel. I don't care for the discoloration at the upper bout but it didn't bother me enough to choose the shiny red or blond versions. I tried the red version and much prefer the feel and look of this AV finish.
It plays just a s nice as my Ibanez GB10 (my benchmark for playability) and ES-330 VOS (thick neck) – the neck size is somewhere in between and the shape is perfect for me. Great fretjob too. And so far the finish on the neck doesn't get sticky from long playing sessions – which is an annoying disadvantage of the Gibson. I had the guitar for approximately 3 weeks now.
The no-name humbuckers are nice: open, dynamic, warm and bright. I have not much experience with humbuckers but feel no need to swap them out. I compared them to Ibanez Super58 (in my GB200 and my friend's AS2000), the Haeussel '59s in my custom made tele and whatever was in my friend's '82 ES-335 ('57 Classic ?) and to my ears the stand their ground. The brushed covers also look nice and fit the worn-in theme perfect.
The tone is inspiring to me – even with the skinny .010 set it came with it's not plinky but fat, percussive but also bright. A bit warmer and more hifi than my 330. I think that I like the bridge pickup better than the P90 in the 330. The neck pickup is different than the P90 but I like it too. We'll see how I like it on stage.
So far I'm happy with the purchase. I was considering a Gibson but the feel of the off the line instruments (I tried a satin and a figured version) was disappointing to me. I loved a '59 VOS but we're talking 5 times the price. I was also considering Ibanez (I sold my JSM to a friend – who then bought the AS2000) but liked the worn-in feel of the Stanford better then the shiny Ibanez Poly. The problem with an AS is that it is forever linked to John Scofield – while the Stanford has it's own style (within the variations of 335s).
I will gig the guitar tonight for the first time and let you know how that went.
Last edited by guavajelly; 06-02-2022 at 05:29 AM.
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06-02-2022 05:08 AM
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HNGD! Enjoy!
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Nice take on the open book peghead. It looks familiar but not like a copy.
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Right spiffy guitar! Congratulations, and play it in good health!
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I hadn’t heard of Stanford guitars till now
they look really great
I see they do a 330 type
and a 175 type
Its a german company yeah ?
do we know where they’re manufactured ?
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Not to spat but my first thought was, "Cease & Desist letter incoming in 3 . . . 2 . . . "
Originally Posted by Jim Soloway
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AFAIK it’s a trademark of Furch from Czech Republic, or at least it used to be. Originally Posted by pingu
Some of their guitars are so close to Eastmans that I wonder whether they are from the same factory.
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My feelings are Eastman made with slight headstock alterations. Wonder if it’s ex employees or actually just made for a music store?
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My understanding is that Stanford is a brand owned by german wholeseller Gitarre kaufen bei iMusic Network: Ihrem Gitarrengrosshandel | iMusicnetwork. The Stanfords are made in China, they may spec them out in Germany. I think Stanford started as a sub-brand of Furch, the Czech manufacturer.
i-musicnetwork also owns Maybach (High-End czech copies of 335s and Les Pauls as well as some own dedigns) and is the german distributor for Maton and Stromberg (they may also own Stromberg)
Yes, the guitar has some inspiration from eastman – the color is very similar. My understanding is that the headstock is borrowed from Larson guitars, a feature they share with the more expensive Maybachs.
Yeah, they do a very nice 330-inspired guitar with a long neck, too. Something I also consider, as there are always one or two tunes I like to go further up the neck than the 330 comfortably lets me. ;-)
Anyway what counts is what we can do with a tool on stage and in the studio. Last night I played a small club with my organ trio DOG, we opened for a jam session. I plugged straight into the house amp, a Bugera V55 (another inexpensive product designed in Germany and made in China) and got my sound within minutes of tweaking. I like a clean, warm tone with a tiny bit of tube compression and hair (think grant green). I've been playing my Gibson ES-330 for the last couple of years nearly exclusively so the sustain of the semi was something new to me. I mostly played the neck pickup, but switched to the bridge humbucker for A Go Go, a Scofield tune. Great tone and nailed this tone also (so much that I switched back to the neck to not sound like a Scofield copycat – he's a strong voice and very influential for a lot of players in my generation).
I had a good night, just a much as our organ player who played the clubs B3. ;-)
Anyway I think mostly my good mood and satisfaction is caused by being able to gig again after the long Covid-19 break. But a nice guitar makes me feel even better. I'm very happy with this new guitar – it's my trial back into the semi-territory. Time will tell if I prefer it to the 330 on the long run.
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