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Went to Mak of Mak’s Guitars in Central London. I had no idea it was still there under new ownership. Tried several of the Comins that sound amazing on Youtube, They felt sweet and the necks were like silk,
but, can't quite describe it, to my ears there seemed to be a whole frequency range missing though the Fender Reverb Deluxe they had there.. Hung them all back up.
Trying to post an image of what I bought but it won't allow me.. can't upload from computer not can I paste from URL.
Keep getting: "Page unresponsive" in several browsers.
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11-08-2022 12:27 PM
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Probably because they are semis. Awesome guitars, but a semi is never going to have to body of a full hollow.
Originally Posted by Maxxx
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what did you go for? I need to know! Originally Posted by Maxxx
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See the "For Sale" section here. There's one closer to you (Europe). Not in the greatest shape, but it might be a way for you to play one for a while to see if it's what you really want. You could always flip it if you find a better one.
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Update:
Well.. I made 2 separate trips to Mak's jazz guitar shop in central London (that was 4 trains and 4 busses there and back each time Arrgh!!)
https://www.maksguitars.co.uk/
Spent more time with the Comins, felt great, lovely necks.. and on Youtube they sounded sweet, but in person on a Reverb Deluxe they were somewhat flat and lacking in a full rounded tone for me.
Then I began working my way through the Eastman guitars.. they too sound nice on Youtube.
As I was hungry for a hollow-body and after all that long travelling back and forth I bought an Eastman AR805CE
https://www.eastmanguitars.com/ar805ce/
Sounded 'ok' on the shops Fender Reverb Deluxe but I needed to try it at home. I hoped it would be a beautifully warm, thick and somewhat dark jazz guitar. But when I plugged it in and played it at home on my new Roland JC40 it sounded very cold and has no sustain whatsoever. Compared to the other guitars I had here it sounds almost dead. It did not sing to me.
The body was also incredibly microphonic in that even touching anywhere on the body came right through the amp. The same thing you hear when you tap or rub anywhere on a light violin body. I’m not a big fan of overly acoustic guitars.
As my first ever purchase of a hollow body guitar I have to say this was a bit disappointing for a guitar that was almost £2,600. I'm afraid it will have to go back.
I not actually just Benson obsessed lol..
My all time favourite jazz guitarists can be narrowed down to 4 individuals..
Wes Montgomery
Grant Green
Early Joe Pass
Early George Benson (before his R&B funk/soul period)
The base tone I seek and would be happy with can be heard on these two clips. Both Ibanez guitars.
I know it was mentioned that Benson did not start using Ibanez guitars until 1997 but he can still get that incredible tone from them.
As we can hear here..
I would be more than satisfied with a tone even close to this..
So I guess it's back to searching for a new Japanese GB10.
PS: Got a call from Thomann in Germany yesterday, my order for the Japan GB10 is still live with that was ordered 9 months ago and is scheduled to arrive to them December 28th.. I have all toes and fingers crossed.
As soon as that arrives I'll probably get a Fender 68 Custom Reverb or similar to compliment it.Last edited by Maxxx; 11-12-2022 at 07:31 AM.
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Oh no! Sorry to hear of your woes - but it is all part of the process and it sounds like you are getting close to a good outcome Originally Posted by Maxxx
Update:
Well.. I made 2 separate trips to Mak's jazz guitar shop in central London (that was 4 trains and 4 busses there and back each time Arrgh!!)
https://www.maksguitars.co.uk/
Spent more time with the Comins, felt great, lovely necks.. and on Youtube they sounded sweet, but in person on a Reverb Deluxe they were somewhat flat and lacking in a full rounded tone for me.
Then I began working my way through the Eastman guitars.. they too sound nice on Youtube.
As I was hungry for a hollow-body and after all that long travelling back and forth I bought an Eastman AR805CE
https://www.eastmanguitars.com/ar805ce/
Sounded 'ok' on the shops Fender Reverb Deluxe but I needed to try it at home. I hoped it would be a beautifully warm, thick and somewhat dark jazz guitar. But when I plugged it in and played it at home on my new Roland JC40 it sounded very cold and has no sustain whatsoever. Compared to the other guitars I had here it sounds almost dead. It did not sing to me.
The body was also incredibly microphonic in that even touching anywhere on the body came right through the amp. The same thing you hear when you tap or rub anywhere on a light violin body. I’m not a big fan of overly acoustic guitars.
As my first ever purchase of a hollow body guitar I have to say this was a bit disappointing for a guitar that was almost £2,600. I'm afraid it will have to go back.
I not actually just Benson obsessed lol..
My all time favourite jazz guitarists can be narrowed down to 4 individuals..
Wes Montgomery
Grant Green
Early Joe Pass
Early George Benson (before his R&B funk/soul period)
The base tone I seek and would be happy with can be heard on these two clips. Both Ibanez guitars.
I know it was mentioned that Benson did not start using Ibanez guitars until 1997 but he can still get that incredible tone from them.
As we can hear here..
I would be more than satisfied with a tone even close to this..
So I guess it's back to searching for a new Japanese GB10.
PS: Got a call from Thomann in Germany yesterday, my order for the Japan GB10 is still live with that was ordered 9 months ago and is scheduled to arrive to them December 28th.. I have all toes and fingers crossed.
As soon as that arrives I'll probably get a Fender 68 Custom Reverb or similar to compliment it.
I think you'll be very happy with your GB10. One thing to note - per my earlier comments about the pickups being hot and bright - is that GB is reported to have his pickups rewound by Seymour Duncan to match the spec on the earlier GB10s (less hot, less bright). If you find yourself unhappy with the pups when your guitar arrives (and I hope you don't), I would certainly recommend giving Aaron Armstrong a call (Kent's son, based in the UK, in Kent as it happens) to work some magic
Finally - I don't think a JC will ever nail the jazz tone you are after, especially GB's...he certainly seems to favour the Fender amps. Remember to turn the mids up and if you get one without a mid control, remember that bass and treble on 5 isn't 'flat' - so put both on 0 and then adjust from there
let us know how you get on
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Oh wow Evans thank you for that.. I just gave Arron a call and had a chat, he said he can certainly check out and take all manner of readings on the GB10 pickups and either do a custom rewind, change magnets etc and shape the tone to my requirements if they feel to hot or bright and darken and thicken the tone as well as add warmth if desired.
Worst case scenario about £50 cost.
Although I have not had a chance to properly play a GB10 I remember about 30 years ago a French jazz guitarist friend of mine bought one and let me have a diddle for maybe 20 minutes. I immediately loved its tight solid balanced feel, stunning workmanship and craftsmanship, neck and fretboard were perfect and
the tone simply delicious in every way.
That thing oozed sheer quality. I could feel the power in it just waiting to get out.
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The hot pickups on the GB10 are the secret sauce of that instrument. Mine is 41 years old now, I've had it 36, and I've been happy with the tone of those years. George and Jeff Hasselberger at Ibanez (at the time) knew what they were doing. These are great and tremendously practical instruments.
I rarely have the volume knob higher than 4-5, which rolls off some of the high frequencies but still leaves an output similar to most other guitars with the volume at 8-10. The attack is a bit softer with the volume knob rolled down and the tonal character is warm and fat. If you want a bright, poppy, Bensonesque sort of sound then having the volume knob higher will get you that, just turn the amp down. I prefer a softer almost Jim Hall sound and the lower setting brings me into that ballpark. Although, let's face it, nothing will ever sound like Jim Hall on his ES-175 except for Jim Hall on his ES-175- and I'm no Jim Hall- so it really is just a ballpark. The tone knob is adjusted to taste.
I find that the GB10 is pretty adaptable to whatever amp is on hand, more so than many other instruments. My 17" archtop, for example, is pretty particular about what amps it sounds good with.
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but from his imagination ... Originally Posted by Maxxx
I think you are absolutely correct Woody.. an infatuation with Benson but failing to realize that the tone of his I loved did not come from any of his Ibanez guitars.
If I understand it correctly Mr. Benson used big archtops like a Guild among others on the early albums of the 60s. The GB10 was designed in the late 70s to give him a stage guitar he can abuse and that doesn't feed back as much as a hand carved big archtop on loud stages I think. I have no idea if he used it for recording.
Speaking for myself after dreaming about the GB10 for like 30 years I eventually bought one. And I love it. Though it's a heavy built (and can be played louder than I'd want or need) the tone has acoustic properties I like. It's also robust, holds tuning very well and has good and versatile pickups. Even with the .013 flatwounds it plays very easy and the tone can go from warm jazz to bright funk – it even plays well with a little bit of drive.
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What strings were these set up with? I came to the conclusion that the kind of gauge of strings make a lot of difference. Maybe even more than the guitar. A tone like George Benson's calls for heavy flatwounds. Originally Posted by Maxxx
Here's Dan Wilson on a semi with chromes I think.
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Hi Maxxx, I just read you want a sunburst. Are you able to try a GB10 SE? I tried these in the local shop and think they are nice guitars. I was not able to compare side by side with my GB10 but my impression was really good.
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I really like Dan Wilson’s playing, but not this tone… for picking as hard as he does, I would want to still be able to generate a warmer tone. A GB10 won’t break as easily into that thinner, plinky tonal range, at least not with heavy flats, IME. Not sure if it’s his amp or the guitar or his picking, but a GB10 can sound much warmer than this. Benedettos always sound bright to me, anyway. Still a great player, though. Originally Posted by guavajelly
Last edited by yebdox; 11-13-2022 at 12:32 PM.
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As already said and shown Benson, and in fact a ton of other players with GB10's get that same gorgeous tone from stock Japanese GB10's. That guitar simply has that sound even if your not him. You don't have to be him. It's in the guitar. Originally Posted by guavajelly
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Strange, I feel the complete opposite. His playing/phrasing/vocab does nothing for me. Sounds like shards of glass in my ears. Originally Posted by yebdox
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A 10 yrs old interview with the man himself.George Benson: Still the Coolest of Cats - Premier Guitar
Notable infos, : he used a D'Angelico for many of his greatest playing hits (as many of you know..)
Medium picks (fender )
T-i strings but he also used round wounds 012...
Tone and volume at full, he controls the output level from his amps.... J. Kreiberg and many others do that too but J.K uses a volume pedal for control after he gets the tone he wants from his guitar.....obviously, he (J.K.) doesn't have the tone at full....
on the last 2 vids, both Ibanez (GB 10 and GB 30 ?) have what looks like cleverly done "tape" inside the F holes....
Great Benson playing on all the videos of course....
S
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I played an LGB30 once and it was lovely Originally Posted by Maxxx
Update:
Sounded quite like a heavy built 175 to me
Cor that Jess Lewis is great ....I
Thanks for the heads up Max
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Jess is banging! And these guitars pack a serious punch.
Shows that you really can't go wrong with any of the Ibanez GB models whether your style is a gentle caress or you are a blistering firecracker!
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Wow, tough crowd
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i see a ton of japanese gb10s on reverb
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OP in the UK.
Sometimes it feels it might be easier to build your own out of a fireplace.
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Dan Wilson's one of the young lions. Love his playing. Love his tone on the Benedetto in that video. Suits the song. Goes to show how tastes differ. Originally Posted by yebdox
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i think it sounds great. I don't hear that as thin and plinky. I hear it as a modern extension of george benson's playing. Dan has almost always used a semihollow. He was playing a howard roberts fusion for years. I sold him a tom painter guitar but it fed back too much for him...I don't know for sure but I thought he used thomastiks... Originally Posted by yebdox
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there's a bunch there too https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_f...efLoc=2&_sop=3 Originally Posted by Christian Miller
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one comment for the OP, i just read where you said you like new guitars. This is just my personal taste but some time ago, dimarzio (who makes the pickups on the GB10) switched to very high output, very bright, very high winding, ceramic magnet pickups. The original GB10s had alnico magnets and the pickup sounded somewhat like a johnny smith pickup. When benson gets his pickup rewound, he gets them wound to the original spec. I think it's dimarzio who rewinds them. At any rate, the original guitars with the warmer pickups sound a lot better to me...I'm thinking about getting my gb10 neck pickup rewound to vintage specs.
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Indeed. ‘tough crowd’ Originally Posted by Jabberwocky
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