broadway owners!

[eor]

hey, (elitist?) broadway owners! please discuss your instruments here. their feel, tone, possible applications (aside from the obvious) and so forth.

 

some big, kinda dumb questions:

 

ever play it with (a lot) of gain? what happens? what does it sound like?

anyone ever put a bigsby on one? a wire one, perhaps?

how does the solid spruce top differ from a maple top?

 

i'm getting the old crazy eyes again and it would be nice if someone could talk me off the ledge.

[Parabar]

Bwaaahhh-hah-hah! If you wanted to be talked off the ledge, you'd have asked for input from FORMER Broadway owners! Asking for input from CURRENT Broadway owners is only going to get you a bad case of GAS.

 

I've modded my Korean Broadway (Peerless) with an L-5 tailpiece (see my avatar), and recently I played on an 80's Gibson L-5CES that was marked at $6k in the store. My Broadway plays better with smoother action, and I didn't find the Gibby's tone at all superior. I also had a chance to try out a 70's Ibanez L-5 copy (being sold for around $2k), and while it was beautifully made, again, my Broadway beat it for both playability and tone.

 

I like playing it with overdrive -- it gets a great growly crunch tone, with a throaty, woody quality. It doesn't do the singing-sustain thing you can get with a solidbody or a semi, but it's got a distinctive and very appealing tone (to me anyway). I wouldn't choose it for hi-gain, metal-type shredding, both because the tone can get kind of thick and because of feedback, but it's great for jazz, rockabilly, country, R&B, blues, classic rock, funk, and world music applications. It contrasts nicely with acoustic guitars, and with a Hammond organ it's sonic heaven.

 

Spruce is a much softer wood than maple, so it vibrates and resonates more, which is why it's often used for the tops on high end guitars, violins, cellos, etc. Having the top made of solid wood rather than laminated also creates greater resonance, especially when played acoustically. The differences are more subtle when plugged in, and for some applications a laminated maple top may be preferable, as it is more feedback-resistant and produces a brighter tone. Gibson's ES-175, ES-350, Barney Kessel and Tal Farlow models, as well as Gretsch's White Falcon, Country Gentleman, Nashville and Chet Atkins models all have laminated maple tops, and are all much-beloved for their distinctive qualities.

[Svet]

Well, I won't be able to talk you out of it as I don't have anything negative to say about my Elitist Broadway. It obviously isn't designed to be used in high gain applications; as such you will have tons of feedback issues. I can't recall ever cranking my Broadway up with some high gain but I have done that with the Byrdland on several occasions. It was a lot of fun and it had a very crunchy sound. If you are looking for sustain you can forget it because it just isn't there. I have not modified mine at all so I can't comment on your bigsby concern. I personally would be a little apprehensive on using one on hollow body jazz guitar. That's not to say it can't be done, I just wouldn't.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well, perhaps I have one small gripe and that is I wish the Tail piece was like on the L5. That would really be somthing!

[Parabar]

Quoth Svet:

Well, perhaps I have one small gripe and that is I wish the Tail piece was like on the L5. That would really be somthing!

 

Not just something. It would be pretty much this, in particular (although mine's not an Elitist, but you get the idea):

 

[Svet]

Parabar, I love that guitar and I bet it plays and sounds excellent! I have an Emperor Regent that was made in Korea and it is a very nice guitar. It just goes to show that it need not be an Elitist from Epiphone to be a great guitar. Can I have your TP!>?! Please?!?! :)

[Svet]

LOL, I just pulled out my Broadway and put my Strat Deluxe down. I plugged the Broadway into a Ibanez ts 8 to an EH Holy Grail and then into my Fender Bassman. The gain and tone on the TS were maxed and I got to tell you, this combo sounds freaking awesome! It has a sweet classic rock crunch and the sustain is better than I thought it would be. I need to get some recording software and hardware so I can post some sounds for you guys. It is impossible to describe sound!

[Parabar]

*LOL* Well, I guess I can't blame a guy for asking, but I watched eBay like a hawk for a year and a half to find that one so, um, no.

 

"Hey mister, is that your Lamborghini?"

"Why yes it is."

"Can I have it for free?"

"Don't be ridiculous --- of course not!"

"Well, it was worth a try --- if you said no, I'd be no worse off than before I asked, and if you'da said yes --- I'da had me a free Lamborghini!"

[Svet]

LOL, yeah, I think I remember that whole saga a couple of years ago. Your patience sure paid off! It's fun playing the Broadway with all this crunch though the long scale and 12-54 set of strings don't make for easy bending!

[carverman]

Geez, I don't know how you guys can play those big jazz boxes on high gain..they feedback like crazy!

I had to stuff some acoustic foam underneath both p-ups to get the feedback down a bit. I've seen

some body use string dampers similar to rubber grommets after the bridge..don't know how that

works, but you can't have them to close to amplifiers.

Scotty Moore, who used to play an L5 for Elvis Presley, came up with a string damper that replaced the trc

cover on the L5 and came down over the bass strings in the first fret area. Don't see those anymore.

 

EDIT: I guess Pat Farrand makes those string dampers now..it does detract a bit from the appearance, but

if it's a problem.....

http://www.scottymoore.net/dampers.html

 

Anway, as far as the Broadway Elitist, the spruce top does have a very thin layer of veneer on the

underside to keep the spruce from splitting. I saw this when I removed my p_ups to install the foam

and change out the caps to orange drops.

[Svet]

Hey Carver, the volume was very low!!

[jo.schumi]

hi guys i have one of these big broadways... they feel very good just like a woman...

[carverman]

hi guys i have one of these big broadways... they feel very good just like a woman...

 

..and they feed back.."just like a woman".....wasn't that one of BB Kings songs?

[eor]

yeah, i figured the hollows would have a strange, buzzy, angry kinda tone. thick and muggy, like a swamp *** on a summer day. if you could harness it, i think i would be pretty cool.

 

but if i am not mistaken, aren't the elitist broadways laminated tops; solid maple plies pressed solid, as opposed to a carved 1 piece top (or mystery wood and sawdust glued together)?

[carverman]

but if i am not mistaken' date=' aren't the elitist broadways laminated tops; solid maple plies pressed solid, as opposed to a carved 1 piece top (or mystery wood and sawdust glued together)?[/quote']

 

The spruce top on my elitist Broadway is the same thickness as the Joe Pass Emp II (5mm).

 

As far as I can tell just from the p-up cutouts, looking at the edge of the wood, the spruce top appears to be

about 4mm and with a very thin layer (1mm) of birch? or some other wood glued to the spruce.

Now this could be just around the p_up cutouts to prevent cracking there, I don't know. The Emp IIs are

pressed spruce plywood tops, but I'm not sure that you could take a flat sheet of 4 mm (3/16")thick spruce

and press it to give it that kind of arched shape.

 

The flamed maple back seems to have the same figuring on the unfinished inside. As far as the sides, from

the only point I can actually see exposed wood at the jack hole, the sides are about 4mm thick with a very

thin layer of "white" wood sandwiched between the 2mm layers of flamed maple. This would be to prevent

the maple from cracking as well.

 

CONFIRMED: The Terada made Broadway IS a solid carved top with two support bars (1/4" thick by 3/4" high)

on each side near the f-holes. The bent maple sides have what appears to be mahogany on the inside.

This would be because 3/16 maple is very hard to bend, even soaked and the outside layer needs to be

thinner to allow bending. (This was viewed through the jack hole with a flashlight shining through the f-hole.)

Overall the Elitist Broadway is very well constructed with a lot of thought going into it's construction for

longevity, appearance and playability. Kudos to Terada's luthier skills.

[eor]

just a heads up for anyone who might want one: archtop.com is about to post a mint 2008 elitist broadway. asking price? $2000. :- hoping the asking price would have gone down on these, but no. especially for one that technically, isn't new.

 

and i played a regular one in a store today for a little while and it sounded fantastic. didn't plug it, but didn't feel a need to, either. much better than i expected. then again, it had roundwounds on it.