merciful-evans Posted November 14, 2021 Share Posted November 14, 2021 (edited) So having just sold a house to boost my meager pension fund, I nevertheless have some coin to spare. I've spent some already. I've also been looking at plenty of guitars (UK) pretty much every day and seen some sweet ones. I've not been out and played any so far. So far everything has been resistable. Strange but true. That could change if I play something, and I'll likely visit a couple of stores soon. Farnham & Guildford are not far off and I need to travel that way next month anyway. That would give me the chance to finally experience some Gibson ES-335s and maybe a Heritage H-530. There dont appear to be any FGN Masterfield Jazz's anywhere in England and I will not order anything online anymore. I need to play the guitars. If anyone has any suggestions for other hollowbodys I should consider, have at it. (I have played far fewer guitars than many of you). Edited November 14, 2021 by merciful-evans spelling Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdgm Posted November 14, 2021 Share Posted November 14, 2021 You are welcome to give me a shout if you are coming up this way. I just tried p.m'ing you but it won't work. Remember I have an ES-175 (albeit with Bigsby). Best wishes 🎸 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merciful-evans Posted November 14, 2021 Author Share Posted November 14, 2021 34 minutes ago, jdgm said: You are welcome to give me a shout if you are coming up this way. I just tried p.m'ing you but it won't work. Remember I have an ES-175 (albeit with Bigsby). Best wishes 🎸 So you have! Thanks. I've now deleted everything from my overstuffed inbox so I'll PM you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitefang Posted November 14, 2021 Share Posted November 14, 2021 Other hollowbody suggestions? Well, I don't know what all you already have, but do you have the Gibson ES 165 "Herb Ellis"? Whitefang Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RBSinTo Posted November 14, 2021 Share Posted November 14, 2021 If you are able, you should give some of the Eastman hollow body guitars a try. They are producing some wonderful, high quality instruments that here in Canada at least are priced much lower than their comparable North American counterparts. RBSinTo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cody78 Posted November 14, 2021 Share Posted November 14, 2021 I'd also suggest an ES-175 too. Amazing guitars IMO. Hard to find new ones at the moment as they don't seem to be making them. Obviously I'd recommend the other 2 Gibson archtops I own - an ES 5 Switchmaster and an L5CES, but the last time I saw an L5 listed it was £11,000! Mine was almost half that. I have 2 Epi archtops also - an ES 175 Reissue and a Broadway. Both of these play amazingly and are fantastic guitars for a fraction of the price of a Gibson and worth considering if you can find them. I think they still make Broadways? I'd also recommend Godin Kingpins. The 5th avenue is a beauty and has a great, loud acoustic tone. Gretsch Electromatics are great, but not ideal for a more jazzy sound I find. Playing rock, country, surf and other styles works pretty well on them though I haven't really tried or own any other archtops I don't think, so can't comment on any other makers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cody78 Posted November 14, 2021 Share Posted November 14, 2021 Oh, forgot that years ago I tried a wine red 165 Herb Ellis and it was very nice - obviously played pretty similar to a 175, but worth checking out. They used to go for around £1700 used about 5 years ago and always seem to go for less than a lot of other Gibson archtops, yet are equally superb. So I second the person who mentioned them. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidblast Posted November 15, 2021 Share Posted November 15, 2021 it's hard to argue with the word "ES-175".. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelly campbell Posted November 15, 2021 Share Posted November 15, 2021 Good luck with it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merciful-evans Posted November 15, 2021 Author Share Posted November 15, 2021 On 11/14/2021 at 3:38 PM, Whitefang said: Other hollowbody suggestions? Well, I don't know what all you already have, but do you have the Gibson ES 165 "Herb Ellis"? Whitefang I have a Gibson ES-339 Studio and a Hofner HCT-J17 (17" Archtop). I used to have a Epi Casino Coupe. I dont have the Herb Ellis but I'm aware of it, though dont know how it differs from a ES-175. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merciful-evans Posted November 15, 2021 Author Share Posted November 15, 2021 On 11/14/2021 at 5:18 PM, RBSinTo said: If you are able, you should give some of the Eastman hollow body guitars a try. They are producing some wonderful, high quality instruments that here in Canada at least are priced much lower than their comparable North American counterparts. RBSinTo I have tried a couple of Eastmans. Sadly their string spacing dont provide enough reveal for me (the real estate either side of the 2 e strings). I have the same problem with Telecasters. Its a shame because they sound great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RBSinTo Posted November 15, 2021 Share Posted November 15, 2021 38 minutes ago, merciful-evans said: I have tried a couple of Eastmans. Sadly their string spacing dont provide enough reveal for me (the real estate either side of the 2 e strings). I have the same problem with Telecasters. Its a shame because they sound great. I understand. Of my four acoustics, the one with the widest nut is my Washburn parlour, and while it has the least quality voice of the quartet, in terms of sheer playability, it is the one I like the best. If I could have my druthers, I'd druther my Martin, Gibson and Guild had the same neck specs as the Washburn. RBSinTo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveFord Posted November 15, 2021 Share Posted November 15, 2021 I would see how that 175 fits you and if the body is too big then go for a 335/45/55. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabs Posted November 16, 2021 Share Posted November 16, 2021 (edited) I keep looking at these... https://reverb.com/uk/item/44384504-gibson-nighthawk-2011-memphis-mojo-ltd-run https://reverb.com/uk/item/41518098-gibson-limited-edition-nighthawk-n225-custom-pinstripe-hand-signed-by-rick-harris-n-225-ohsc Or how about https://reverb.com/uk/p/fender-elite-telecaster-1983-1984?hfid=46214129&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=1726164661&utm_content=campaignid=1726164661_adgroupid=70264195649_productpartitionid=1257556539974=merchantid=117026534_productid=46214129_keyword=_device=c_adposition=_matchtype=_creative=391637461803&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI1KHT-NWb9AIVmbx7Ch3DHA7vEAEYASADEgIiOPD_BwE Edited November 16, 2021 by Rabs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparquelito Posted November 16, 2021 Share Posted November 16, 2021 I have always been a fan of Ibanez. I would utter a heresy, and urge you to try out an Ibanez jazz box, but that would probably get me banned. 😬 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparquelito Posted November 16, 2021 Share Posted November 16, 2021 This is my current one. I love it dearly. 😗 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merciful-evans Posted November 16, 2021 Author Share Posted November 16, 2021 13 hours ago, SteveFord said: I would see how that 175 fits you and if the body is too big then go for a 335/45/55. No it would be fine. The Hofner is massive & I'm used to dreadnaughts. I'm only going to play this seated anyway. Its not going to work for its keep. Quote I have always been a fan of Ibanez. I would utter a heresy, and urge you to try out an Ibanez jazz box, but that would probably get me banned. Thanks for reminding me Sparky. I have not seriously concidered Ibanez and theres no reason not to try them out. This gets me off the tramline mode of thinking. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merciful-evans Posted November 16, 2021 Author Share Posted November 16, 2021 (edited) 18 hours ago, sparquelito said: This is my current one. I love it dearly. 😗 I checked out Andertons and they have quite a few. Including... Prestige models! So those would be Fujigen builds. Edited November 16, 2021 by merciful-evans correction 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidblast Posted November 17, 2021 Share Posted November 17, 2021 ME,, if you're going to check out the Asian imports (and really no reason why you shouldn't) have you thought about Epiphone's Broadway? I had one and, I liked it. I played great and it sounded very good. The nut was a bit narrow for me, but you may not mind that. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merciful-evans Posted November 17, 2021 Author Share Posted November 17, 2021 It looks like it may not be worth my while visiting the stores after all. They are all advertising Guitars they dont have. Andertons have very little. You need to look at each model individually to see the 'Out of Stock' or 'Preorder' status on most everything. Even Guitar Village who used to pride themselves on only displaying stock models have now switched on a filter oprion to INCLUDE out of stock guitars. Looks as if I may need to wait a few months more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidblast Posted November 17, 2021 Share Posted November 17, 2021 1 hour ago, merciful-evans said: It looks like it may not be worth my while visiting the stores after all. They are all advertising Guitars they dont have. Andertons have very little. You need to look at each model individually to see the 'Out of Stock' or 'Preorder' status on most everything. Even Guitar Village who used to pride themselves on only displaying stock models have now switched on a filter oprion to INCLUDE out of stock guitars. Looks as if I may need to wait a few months more. same situation sill here across the pond. the supply chain is borked, and no one seems to be in a hurry to address it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabs Posted November 17, 2021 Share Posted November 17, 2021 2 hours ago, merciful-evans said: It looks like it may not be worth my while visiting the stores after all. They are all advertising Guitars they dont have. Andertons have very little. You need to look at each model individually to see the 'Out of Stock' or 'Preorder' status on most everything. Even Guitar Village who used to pride themselves on only displaying stock models have now switched on a filter oprion to INCLUDE out of stock guitars. Looks as if I may need to wait a few months more. You tried PMT? They havent got many Gibsons but last I was in there they had a load of Ibanez and others.. https://www.pmtonline.co.uk/products/guitar/electricguitars/semiacoustic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merciful-evans Posted November 18, 2021 Author Share Posted November 18, 2021 18 hours ago, Rabs said: You tried PMT? They havent got many Gibsons but last I was in there they had a load of Ibanez and others.. https://www.pmtonline.co.uk/products/guitar/electricguitars/semiacoustic I did check. They have next to nothing. Not that would interest me anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zigzag Posted November 18, 2021 Share Posted November 18, 2021 On 11/15/2021 at 8:09 PM, sparquelito said: This is my current one. I love it dearly. 😗 I went into a brick and mortar shop to buy a Godin 5th Avenue, but got side tracked and tested an Ibanez AFJ91 against an Epiphone Joe Pass. The Ibanez played and sounded MUCH better, so I walked out of the shop with it. The AFJ91's tailpiece cracked on its own within the first year, and I replaced it with a tailpiece from All Parts. I bought it to play jazz, and it was more than adequate. These days, I don't play traditional jazz, so I don't really want it anymore, and it doesn't get played. Of the eight guitars I currently own, I may get rid of it for that reason... should have bought the Godin. But don't get me wrong... except for the tailpiece, it is a very good value. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveFord Posted November 18, 2021 Share Posted November 18, 2021 What's there to think about? Go get jdgm's 175 and then look for a 335 and call it a day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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