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LarryUK

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Posted

I really rate my Yamahas. To be honest I think Yamaha makes as good a guitar as Gibson.

 

I have a sunburst 1992 Yamaha SG2000 (I changed the pickups to Bare Knuckle Mules)with ebony fingerboard and a good action. It plays as well as a Les Paul and has better higher fret access.

 

My other Yamaha is an AE12 jazz box (approx 1974) which has been refretted (good job), spruce top and an excellent tone.

Posted

The other obvious choice is Fender in fact I was a fender man long before I had my Gibsons.

 

Has a PRS SE for a short while but dint like, also have a '95 Washburn N4 which is a great rock guitar.

Posted

I really rate my Yamahas. To be honest I think Yamaha makes as good a guitar as Gibson.

 

I have a sunburst 1992 Yamaha SG2000 (I changed the pickups to Bare Knuckle Mules)with ebony fingerboard and a good action. It plays as well as a Les Paul and has better higher fret access.

 

My other Yamaha is an AE12 jazz box (approx 1974) which has been refretted (good job), spruce top and an excellent tone.

The other guitarist in a band I was in during the 80's had a Yamaha SG. It was a great guitar. Easily as good as a Gibson.

Posted

I have a low end LTD F250 and really like it. I only paid $100.00 for it so expectations were low but it plays real nice. I've also played the ec-1000 at the store and it felt and sounded great. Last year I picked up a Schecter C-1 Hellraiser that needed a lot of work just because it was never cared for but I got in shape now and find myself playing it more and more.

Posted

I very much like Yamaha acoustics, I have an FG180 that I've had since I was a child, and an AC3R which I bought a year or two ago. I was very tempted by a Taylor costing several times the price of the Yamaha, but the Yami was just as good, and when I changed the strings I think it was better. The Yamaha did come with their own brand strings which were awful.

 

Ian

Posted

So much good stuff around nowadays...

 

IMO...

 

Acoustics:-

 

Taylor

Guild

Yamaha

Breedlove

Ovation

Eastman

Peerless

Takamine

 

Electrics:-

 

Fender

Gretsch

Deusenberg

Gordon Smith

Godin

Rickenbacker

 

V

 

:-({|=

Posted

Well, I do have more Gibson's, than any other brand. BUT, I love all the other's

that I have (USA, or AIUSA Epi's, Gretsch, Ric, and Fender) for their particular

unique tones, and playability. And, they're all as well made, for their style/type,

as my Gibson's.

 

CB

Posted

I absolutely love my old US made Hamer(Chaparral Custom)

 

It wasn't a cheap guitar. It was around the same price as a Les Paul Custom at the time.

 

In fact, it is what replaced my 69 Custom that was stolen.

I had insurance with replacement coverage.

So all I had to do was walk in, pick out a brand new Custom off the wall, and take it home.

But I didn't.

 

And I don't like saying this on this forum but the truth is, I didn't like the feel of the new customs at that time.

They felt nothing like what I was used to. Not saying they were bad,, just nothing like my old Custom.

 

So, I went off and searched for the closest thing I could find that felt similar.

 

I ended up taking that Hamer home. It has a beautiful ebony board and the frets that I like.

And it was about half the weight which wasn't a bad thing.

Oh by the way,, I hated the color. But I bought it anyway.

I will never sell it.

 

I also have a Korean Hamer. It's a really solid guitar but lacking the quality hardware and pups of the US made guitar.

But still, very nice to play. And solid.

 

So a big nod for Hamer from me.

Posted

Besides the obvious offerings from Fender or PRS, which are fine instruments in their own right. Here are my choices.

 

I love my Ibanez JSM100 Scofield guitar, incredible player, very smooth and fast. Love the compound radius. I choose this over a Gibson 335 and glad I did. Many of the Japanese Ibanez guitars are top notch instruments. I also enjoy my EVH USA Wolfgang, another great playing guitar, I am really considering a Wolfgang Custom Deluxe.

Posted

I have to say my 2002 Yamaha Compass GA is a surprisingly good sounding and playing guitar. It sounds excellent jamming with a HB, and sounds very similar to the HB.

 

Also have a Guild GAD m120e, after extensive rotation of strings and action set up, it is a little sweetheart too. My main jamming partner always grabs the Guild or Yammy first.

 

But when recording the HB is still the preference.

 

 

 

Posted

If you can get them on your side of the pond take a look at the Canadian maker Prestige Guitars

I live in Canada and have never heard of them. :unsure:

Thanks for the heads up, they look fantastic. Next time I am in Van, I will need to try one out.

Posted

If you are specifically referring to electric guits...

I love my Epiphones, period. They can be upgraded to the teeth with Gibson or a plethora of incredible boutique hardware and pickups. They are built like tanks. Can be had for a bargain any day any time. I have started a DIY thread in the Epiphone Lounge called Buffalo Bob's Casino overhaul to exemplify this point. No the new Chinese versions are not (in my opinion, and it is simply an opinion) as good as the older Korean ones. The Earlier Japanese versions are tops but pricey in their own right.

Once you get the thermonuclear plastic glop (polyurethane) of em, you have a great starting point for a good if not great guitar.

This is also a great way to go if you play out...leave the $ 5000.00 vintage les paul at home. I have overhauled several early Korean Les Pauls, (and will again). as far as a players guitar They act like, feel like and can with the right work and parts sound like your baby tucked in her case at home...

My two cents worth...

 

Buffalo B

Posted

I used to be sold on USA guitars if it wasn't made in USA I wouldn't have it. But I now own three made in Japan guitars, so I would say Ibanez and Epipiphone made in Japan 70s and 80s take some beating!!

Posted

ha!! I've been observing this and notice it took 10 replies until the letters PRS appear!! LOL!

 

My band mate has had a few Shecters that I was sort of impressed with

 

The there's Hammer (The USA ones from the 80s were quite sweet)

 

if you like the Gibson sort of build / design, there is also Heritage

 

(I had a H575 with a Birds Eye Maple figured top that was really quite the looker)

 

the upper end Ibanez and Yamaha's are not going to dissappoint anyone either

 

the George Benson (from Ibanez) is I think going around $3k. and they look delicious

Posted

Martin, Eastman, Seagull, and Yamaha acoustics have all impressed me.

 

Washburn, high end Epiphones, Gretsch, Godin, Micheal Kelly, Guild electrics, especially semihollow and hollow bodies have impressed me.

 

Low cost options would be high end Jay Tursers (they make a killer semihollow), Washburn (the Idol series electrics are great low cost guitars), high end Squiers (the CV and VM series, or special editions can be outstanding for the money guitars).

Posted

Actually I'm impressed with the quality of the Chinese Epis. The last cupla years they upgraded pups and such and as some have noted, and I'll concur, they're 90 percent of a Gibson at much lower price. I personally cannot imagine putting in another cupla hundred for Gibson brand pups and pots when the ones there ain't broke and work fine.

 

Epi Masterbilt line is in the Gib/Martin area for quality of playing and sound. Some complaints about the AE versions' wiring but not the end of the world. Epi flattops are "low end" but if set up, play as well as far more expensive guitars. A point on that: My PR5e is considered a cheapie, but when run through a board, I had some Brit video guys with music experience figuring it sounded as good as any they'd heard.

 

Eastman appears to be an exceptional value, too. I have one and the overall construction, playability and sound is as good as anything I've had my hands on in 50+ years.

 

Martin... Never cared much for them in terms of the necks.

 

Bottom line to me is that there's far more difference in how a guitar sounds and plays depending on strings, setup and technique all matching than there is in brands. To me a relatively inexperienced strummer doesn't really sound any better on a J45 or D28 than a skilled picker on an Epi or Tak.

 

Any brand that's been around for five-six years or more should be okay if the picker is comfortable with the instrument when it's strung and set up to his or her technique - not what somebody sez the picker should be using. As for "tone," that's so variable on strings and technique - and what kind of amplification is used, if any, that I'd say it's more a matter of what trips somebody's trigger. Problem is that run "electric," so much is in the amplification.

 

Then too, guitar companies can have good and not so good years. One poster liked a Washburn but my only experience with one brought it back on trade in months for a similar but far higher quality Epi that was in the same price category.

 

I've never cared for Fender-type necks and the shorter fretboard radius. I like their basses.

 

Bottom line is as I've said before: We're in a huge paradise of general guitar quality. We have playable and good sounding choices ranging from the $100 range up to works of art in the $2,000 and up range. True works of art over $4,000 US.

 

But I think too often we're chasing "tone" with pups, price tags and amps rather than emphasizing matching any guitar through setup and strings to one's own technique. Maybe that's not a big deal if pounding heavy strings on a flattop with a flatpick, but I think once one gets beyond that, it's a huge deal. Ditto playing an electric the same way and then adding dozens of stomp boxes and paying quadrillions for tube amps that never hit "the" tone because the player hopes to make cash cover for lack of technique and a balanced approach to a quality sound for listeners.

 

Yeah, I sound more like a classical or jazz guitarist in the above comments, but I think it holds true regardless of music genre.

 

m

Posted

I heartily agree with above comments as far as technique (and set up) is concerned...

Also as far as acoustics are concerned I will keep my Epiphone masterbilt till I croak, It suits me, I like it, nuff said...

Posted

I have to throw out here, the made in japan Charvels from the mid to late 80's

 

The "model" series.

 

I have owned several of these over the years, still have one, have played many others and they are a great guitar.

They can be had for very fair money right now used.

 

Granted they may not be for everyone as they are usually lumped (unfairly) into the "shred" super strat category, but they really are great players that come with decent pickups and hold up well.

 

the model series had from entry level up to neck through/bound neck and headstock beauties.

 

At this point in my life, they are really the only non-USA guitar that I still look for.

 

As far as their new ones, I am craving a tele but meaner......lol. I checked out a USA Charvel with two Duncan humbuckers and a Floyd for 900 that was very very impressive.

 

NHTom

Posted

I'd rate Vintage, (brand) by Trevor Wilkinson, right up there, if not a little bit better even, with Epiphone!

 

Trevor Wilkinson was a personal friend and student of Seth Lover; the father of the PAF (as was Seymour Duncan too) and Wilkinson pickups have a serious edge over many of the lesser brands!

 

I have 2 of the Vintage V100 Les Paul style guitars; my V100GT GoldTop which is akin to an R6 but with a 60's neck, and my V100PGM; Peter Green '59 Burst replica complete with the magnetically out-of-phase pickups and they are simply sublime!

 

I also have one of their VS6 (SG style) guitars, and while the pickups on that are stunning; the bridge humbucker is purposely unpotted to give a raw vintage (Seth Lover style) edge to the tone, it has neck issues that make it a cantankerous adversary, so as I've noted before, I named it; "Johnny Reb." I've relegated it to my slide axe tuned to Open-E because I can't keep a stable action setup on it...

 

With Vintage the good ones are simply superb and the less than perfect ones can be a handful to deal with... So far I absolutely love the Vintage V100's and I'd recommend them to anyone looking for a more economic Les Paul style guitar!

 

IMG_3978_zpsaa4f70ca.jpgIMG_3975_zps90328a46.jpgIMG_2879_zpsa1c88dd1.jpgJimiMacsVintageV100s_zps41a3ac77.jpg

Posted

Early 1980's Matsumoku built Aria Pro ll guitars. [thumbup]

Absolutely. I have a Matsumoku built Westbury Standard. I just played it yesterday; it's over 30 years old and still plays and sounds great.

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