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Stopped by the local music store to get some strings and saw a GB10SE on the wall. Here are my impressions.
On the plus side, the neck is fabulous. It seems ever so slightly wider and had a very comfortable D-shaped contour. The body was a nice size, although I wouldn't have minded 1/2" thinner. Played fairly consistently up past the 12th fret.
On the not-so-plus side, I thought the sound was kind of nasal on the neck pickup. (I didn't try both together.) These days I'm playing through a Chinese "Alnico 3" humbucker that I paid $35 for and, after listening to the GB10SE, I much prefer its sound. It's more open and rounder – more "traditional" if you will.
The guitar I played had a noticeable back-bow causing the G string to buzz noticeably at the second fret. And the 13th fret had a high spot that made the C on the B string buzz too. So, to my way of thinking, perhaps acceptable on a $600 guitar but not one costing $1,600.
All this aside, it would be absolutely killer with a full-size humbucker installed in the neck position. Like I said, my two cents FWIW.
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05-19-2024 06:19 PM
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So would the Ibanez AG95 at $750 be worth a look? Similar specs to the GB10 but with top-mounted fullsized humbuckers. At half the price of the GB10SE (or a fifth of the price of the GB10) I wouldn't expect it to be as refined as the GB10 guitars. Any comments on the AG95?
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I had an AF75 that I upgraded with Seymour Duncan Seth Lover pickups, TI Benson 12 strings, Artist-series tuners and a compensated rosewood saddle. All told I was into it about $575. My take on it is that compared to an ES-175D it was 80% of the guitar for 20% of the price. It sounded great in the sweet spot(s) and maybe not so great elsewhere, especially the low E string which became increasingly muddy and indistinct as I went up the neck. Also, there were notes on the B string that tended to jump out. Lastly, the design impeded access to the upper frets. A very shallow cutaway.
All that aside, for my level of development it was fine. The AG is the same thing with a slightly smaller body. They're all over the place for $350 used. And, at that price, they're certainly worth the money. Here's a clip of my AF75. You would expect the same with indentical upgrades to an AG.
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My take is that it's really worth to wait a bit, add the difference in cash and find a used Japan GB10.
I know it's easy to give this advice, but having been thru this scenario, the GB10SE is far from the GB10.
When I try to convince myself a good guitar is too much money, if I think of it, what in life gives me more pleasure and hapiness ? Well apart family and freinds, nothing. So I just stop trying to find reasons keeping me from being happy and go for it.
The flaws you have found on the GB10SE will just not exist on the GB10.
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Agreed and understood. That said, if I were to "go for it" I'd probably ask Jim Triggs to build me something to my specs (Byrdland-ish) and be done with it. I had a couple of his San Salvador models. Really nice instruments, just couldn't handle the 25-1/2" scale. Still and in all, I'd like to play a "real" GB10 (or GB15 better yet.)
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If you like the sound, your really can't go wrong with the GB10. Top grade build and a little Benson right in there!
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I agree with the others - hold off until you find the real deal. I never played the SE but read enough reviews that convinced me I wouldn't be happy with it. I kept looking around and found a '22 on Ebay for south of 2K but the guy seemed a little sketchy so I kept looking . I finally saw a mint '22 on Reverb at Dave's in Madison, WI and contacted them directly and found it was a consignment so I made an offer several hundred dollars under the asking price and it was accepted, plus I got free shipping and I couldn't be happier. Even if you don't get to play it, you can't go wrong because these guitars are just stellar and it's the only archtop I've ever bonded with and I've had a bunch of them: Peerless, Eastman, Gibson 165, Fender D'Aquisto, etc. Now, I will say that these are not the best if you want good acoustic quality as they're built like tanks, but, plugged in they are phenomenal.
Dialing in a parametric EQ
Today, 11:09 AM in Guitar, Amps & Gizmos