Guitar Man Friday Posted December 30, 2010 Share Posted December 30, 2010 Went to Mandolin Bros with the intention to buy an ES-335 but tried the Howard Roberts Fusion and fell in love. The feel and sound are incredible! Tone is so versatile. They had a lot of guitars there and I played them all...Gibsons, PRS's, Gretch's, Epi's, this one had them all beat as far as sound and playability are concerned. Not digging the gold hardware though. Anyone own one of these things and want to weigh in? Will these guitars retain their value over the years? I mean, to me, the name isn't as identifiable as say the 335 or 175 and wonder if that will affect salability down the road. It sounds amazing though. Anyone familiar with these guitars wanna weigh in on their likes/dislikes? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PP_CS336 Posted December 30, 2010 Share Posted December 30, 2010 Newbie, Are you kidding me? Howard Roberts is one of the premier jazz guitar players of his day (and still is...I thinks he's still alive). You got yourself a nice guitar there kiddo. Don't worry about the gold hardware. Just rub the guitar clean when you get done and it'll stay looking great. The gold will tarnish a bit over time, but that's part of the mojo you put into a guitar as you play it over the years. And BTW, it will keep or most likely increase in it's value over the years. It one of the top of the line Gibson semi-hollow guitars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocketman Posted December 30, 2010 Share Posted December 30, 2010 If it's good enough for Alex Lifeson then you know it's a good guitar... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6HKqrbWgGxs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milod Posted December 31, 2010 Share Posted December 31, 2010 I'd say if you love the guitar as a player, and it's an intact example that runs well through an amp, why not? It's a great guitar and each of us will have slightly different perspectives as to what constitutes "playability." You love it, you can afford it, why not get a great instrument that reaches out to you? m Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparky scott 29 Posted December 31, 2010 Share Posted December 31, 2010 Gee, I wish I could stumble upon something like that.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaxson50 Posted December 31, 2010 Share Posted December 31, 2010 Howard Roberts died in 1992, here is the one I used to own. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duende Posted December 31, 2010 Share Posted December 31, 2010 Went to Mandolin Bros with the intention to buy an ES-335 but tried the Howard Roberts Fusion and fell in love. The feel and sound are incredible! Tone is so versatile. They had a lot of guitars there and I played them all...Gibsons, PRS's, Gretch's, Epi's, this one had them all beat as far as sound and playability are concerned. Not digging the gold hardware though. Anyone own one of these things and want to weigh in? Will these guitars retain their value over the years? I mean, to me, the name isn't as identifiable as say the 335 or 175 and wonder if that will affect salability down the road. It sounds amazing though. Anyone familiar with these guitars wanna weigh in on their likes/dislikes? I have been lusting after a Howard Roberts for a while now, i am very jealous. Congratulations! Matt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kenW Posted December 31, 2010 Share Posted December 31, 2010 Was browsing the forum and came upon this thread - I've had a HR Fusion since 1996 - so I thought I'd join up and give you my 2p worth ... I bought mine from a shop in Dundee, Scotland - with and Ibanez Artist as part exchange - I ordered the Black and Chrome one - and payed £1180 - Gibson sent the shop the wrong one - the vintage sunburst - which should have cost £1400 - the shop very generously let me take it and waived the £220 difference :) It was my first Gibson and I have loved it every day since - I'm so glad it was the Sunburst - it looks great - the gold has tarnished but the neck and the ebony fretboard make it such a lovely guitar to play - the tone is great - I almost always use the neck pickup - with the tone set at about 3 - has a good deep and warm tone - the bridge pick up can be quite bright and punchy - not a sound I use - but it's there. It also distorts quite well and the centre block cuts out most (unwanted :)) feedback. I have played it through various amp modellers - Behringer V-Amp Pro, Yamaha DG-Stomp - and often into a Fender HotRod Deville - I recorded this album with a drummer - with the DG-Stomp going into the Fender - it's mostly free improvisation - I use a delay loop on the first half of the first track - just straight for the rest (skip the first tune if you don't care for delay) Edgework At Reverbnation The HR is quite light and very comfortable to play - I hardly use the "fingers" tailpiece - so it might be a bit superfluous - some commentators say it might kill some sustain - but I think the guitar sustains quite well. Hope you enjoy your HR as much as I have mine :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milod Posted December 31, 2010 Share Posted December 31, 2010 Ken... Talk about experimental jazz... Hmmmm. I went the other way - almost as though playing piano type arrangements of standards. But your playing puts proof to the pudding that the guitar is versatile and eminently playable. m Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kenW Posted December 31, 2010 Share Posted December 31, 2010 Ken... Talk about experimental jazz... Hmmmm. I went the other way - almost as though playing piano type arrangements of standards. For the last couple of years I was part of a more "mainstream" band with acoustic and electric guitar, double bass and a singer - we played 30's swing tunes (Paper Moon, Mood Indigo etc) some Charlie Parker and some Monk ... MySpace Monday Lunch So I got much better at playing round chords and II Vs etc - though I usually try to play notes from the scales than the specific arpeggios (might have time to concentrate on these this year !!). My comping has also improved - it was almost non-existent 2 years ago !! - I concentrate mostly on 3 or 4 note chords avoiding the bass notes and often the root - so not to stomp all over the bass player !! - but I've started to be able to do walking bass + chord lines when I play in guitar duos. I've also spent quite a lot of time working out Monk tunes - trying to keep the chords and the melody moving together - I'm not a great reader - it takes me an afternoon or more to work out a typical 32 bar tune - longer if it's hard !! But your playing puts proof to the pudding that the guitar is versatile and eminently playable. cheers ... What guitar is that in your profile - ES-175 - it looks great :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milod Posted December 31, 2010 Share Posted December 31, 2010 I sent a backchannel on my guitar and what I do with her. <grin> Anyway, your last link brought a "no such page" message... m Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kenW Posted January 2, 2011 Share Posted January 2, 2011 oh ok - here's the Monday Lunch link again !! Monday Lunch on myspace hope it works this time !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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