Oscar Schmidt OE40?

**Wrogsprit** · 07-03-2023, 08:28 PM

Anyone ever try one of these? I have an Epiphone Les Paul 100 that's a bit too heavy but sounds good, and a Gretsch Rat Rod that is a decent weight, but it doesn't sound good for jazz.

I'm considering selling off some gear to get a used Oscar Schmidt OE40. Reviews online seem to be mixed. Some say it's great as is, some say they had to do a lot of work to get it playable.

**Doctor Jeff** · 07-03-2023, 09:54 PM

Originally Posted by Wrogsprit

Anyone ever try one of these? I have an Epiphone Les Paul 100 that's a bit too heavy but sounds good, and a Gretsch Rat Rod that is a decent weight, but it doesn't sound good for jazz.

I'm considering selling off some gear to get a used Oscar Schmidt OE40. Reviews online seem to be mixed. Some say it's great as is, some say they had to do a lot of work to get it playable.

That sure looks like an Epiphone Joe Pass. I’m guessing it started out at the Samick factory in Korea (though maybe moved to Indonesia later).

I have 2 Oscar Schmidt ukes, one a standard entry model and the other a very nice one in Koa and rather high quality.

It looks good, but I would imagine you could get an Epiphone Joe Pass or a Godin Kingpin for a similar price, with a bit more reliability in terms of quality.

**Wrogsprit** · 07-03-2023, 09:56 PM

Originally Posted by Doctor Jeff

That sure looks like an Epiphone Joe Pass. I’m guessing it started out at the Samick factory in Korea (though maybe moved to Indonesia later).

I have 2 Oscar Schmidt ukes, one a standard entry model and the other a very nice one in Koa and rather high quality.

It looks good, but I would imagine you could get an Epiphone Joe Pass or a Godin Kingpin for a similar price, with a bit more reliability in terms of quality.

Epiphone Joe Pass' are going for $500-600 online. I've seen the Oscar Schmidts go for around $300 some places.

I tried a couple Joe Pass' at GC before when they were still in production. A lot were pretty bad, but they might have been set up wrong/had really low action. I remember there were always a handful at the local GC and they were around $250.

**Doctor Jeff** · 07-04-2023, 07:45 AM

^^Yes but the Joe Pass signature on the pickguard improves your playing by 30%…

JP’s have appreciated a bit since I got mine in the late ‘00’s. They are going for $700-750 on Reverb, whereas the Oscar Schmidts are going for ~$400.

Don’t know what kind of pickups are in the OS. Of course, that’s always fixable. I put a Stew Mac Parsons Street Alnico 2 in my Joe Pass neck position.

Either one would probably be a good deal and a good base for upgrading.

**Trimshaw** · 11-07-2023, 10:26 PM

I was actually going to post a new thread about this guitar but I figured I'd search if anyone else had posted about and here we are! I bought one of these about a year ago for a great price but needed some work: broken nut, broken knob, broken pot, missing truss rod cover, melted? pickup rings, dirty as sin, strings, full setup. When I got it I put fresh Rotosound Monel strings (did not care for them) and a quick setup. Guitar played well, a bit heavy, but good volume unplugged. This was my second hollow body so I don't have a ton of experience with them as I sold my first one a while ago. Pickups weren't too bad, possibly ceramic, but decent warmth and clarity, if you are still starting out I would say they are good enough for now.

This past summer I decided to finish fixing it and do some upgrades such as:

Installed some PAF-style pickups lying around from a local winder
Found a truss rod cover that was close to the hole spacing on the guitar, it was a bit taller but I just redrilled that hole.
I was going to make a nut but I ended up buying a Tusq PQ-6143-00 which fit almost perfectly. When I took the old nut out, the nut slot was filled with paint and wasn't very flat.
Installed all new pots and knobs and wired to 50s Gibson style, also added a ground wire to the tailpiece to help with noise.
Knob Pointers
New pickup rings
Toggle Switch Washer
Frequensator tailpiece because I don't care for the Byrdland style ones.
T.I. Jazz Swing 13-53 strings (love em!)

I also gave it a nice setup and polished the frets.

Overall I think it's a great guitar, a quality setup is important but that goes for any guitar. It has a thicker neck compared some other cheaper jazz boxes, I like the longer 25.5" scale, I feel like type or brand of string could make or break this guitar but with T.I Flats it plays great. Obviously I did a lot of work on it but it was more because I wanted to than I had to. If you have any questions feel free to ask!

Oscar Schmidt OE40?-before-jpg

**treeboy** · 11-28-2023, 10:52 AM

Originally Posted by Trimshaw

It has a thicker neck compared some other cheaper jazz boxes, I like the longer 25.5" scale, I feel like type or brand of string could make or break this guitar but with T.I Flats it plays great.

Hey man, how does thee neck on the OS compare to other guitars like an ES175? I'm also checking out some OE40's but I feel like the way the neck feels is the most important factor here.

**Trimshaw** · 11-29-2023, 12:30 AM

The neck is pretty average compared to other guitars I own. Its about 22mm at the 1st fret and 24.3mm at the 9th fret and I would call it a "C" shape neck, so it's rounder and thicker than a Gibson 60s Slim taper and a little less round and thick than a Gibson 50s profile neck. Unfortunately I haven't had a chance to play a ES175 so I can't compare. I really enjoy the neck, fits well in my hand and don't have any issues playing chords but I enjoy a chunkier neck.