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grant acoustics?


blindboygrunt

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I did a bit of a web search too - and it appears that it's a recent brand of questionable origin with no claimants to it - which makes it likely it's something of a store or small importer brand unless there's a small luthier somewhere in North America making acoustic and AEs - which doesn't seem likely.

 

Another possibility might be that it's a small brand for non-North American sale.

 

The lack of a web site seems telling.

 

m

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If I recall, Grant guitars were made in Japan and imported into the UK in the 1970s and 1980s. The couple I have seen were pretty much copies of Gibsons. And yeah, Grant was the importer not the builder.

 

There was also a guitar builder out in California by that name but I don't know much about him.

 

I have never heard of a Washburn D4.

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Found this, but don't really know if this is it. http://www.yelp.com/biz/grant-guitars-fountain-valley-2 The information is pretty vague. None of the links lead to anything having to do with Grant Guitars. We all make our own choices, but keep-in-mind that there are a lot of lower-priced guitars that "kick butt," and lots of people own them and know a lot about them. Yamaha, Epiphone, Mitchell, Ibanez, and many, many more. I wish you the best.

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mistake in the guys email to me , the advert says D5 washburn

good grief :-s

 

 

all you guys across the pond , i'm located in ireland , chances are it will be the japanese grants from 70's

 

i'll go look at the guitars tomorrow is all i can do i guess

 

thanks for your inputs , much appreciated

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Yup... MIJ is made in Japan.

 

I can't speak to this particular guitar, but in the 1970s some of the Japanese guitars were equal to any mass market guitars made in that era. Period.

 

OTOH, some were continuing the 1960s trend of pretty horrid stuff apparently made from the wood of cheap orange crates or shipping pallets.

 

Unless the Washburn is old-old-old, you'll be getting an Asian piece that may not have the care of some 1970s MIJ guitars, I think. OTOH, it may be quite nice for your needs if the price is right - and the marque is well known.

 

I guess I'd say to play 'em if you can, and look carefully at construction. Very carefully. Then if the price is right...

 

m

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the guy is only looking a few quid , i'll check 'em out .

cant find a single image for a grant acoustic.

says it comes with a hard case . little info.

the washburn is 2 tone :-l , which i assume is sunburst .

makes me think the guy isnt a guitarist .

and he has no pictures :-s which is unheard of these days !

god knows what theyre like .lol

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All I'm gonna say is good luck - since you get to see 'em, at least you're not buying a pig in a poke as we say here.

 

Heck, if the price is that low you might wanna haul both of 'em home anyway.

 

m

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Or... possibly as with cameras, some tiny difference from a US model and a different model number of set of serial numbers to keep distribution patterns straight. <grin>

 

But if you're talking under 20, your money, heck, both could be okay. For example, I don't much trust or care for the Washburns I've seen around where I live but - a 2-fer for under your 20-75? If they're functional and don't have bad necks or such, I'd buy 'em.

 

m

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well guys , went and looked at the two guitars .

guy was a bit of a oddball . nice chap , but the lift didnt go all the way to the top . kinda wanted to get a shower after being in his house :-s

 

anyway , the grant was a nuce sounding little guitar , not based on a gibson after all but i think on an OM martin.

but , bridge was beginning to lift and there was literally no saddle left at all , like break angle was 179 degrees. was a shame because it had a lovely light build to it . slightly fat neck , like a kalamazoo i once had a go on.

the washburn didnt sound to bad but after the fourth fret or so i would need to grow a third arm to play it to enable me to use two hands to make bar chords such was the action.

nice slide guitar maybe :-)

upshot is .. if any of you see a grant acoustic for sale near you they are worth having a look at if you find one better looked after than this one was

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  • 8 years later...

https://www.facebook.com/Grant-Guitars-MIJ-sold-in-Scotland-531407206958127/photos

Grant guitars and accessories sold and distributed by Jimmy Grant between 1965-1985 in Scotland
 
 
James Grant music were the names of "Jimmys" stores in Glasgow,Edinburgh and Aberdean back in the Mid 60s up to the mid 80s. Jimmy imported different musical products from the far East , the manufacturers he used were Chushin Gakki, FujiGen, Dyna Gakki and possibly Terada?
The deal was that they would produce guitars that could be available and affordable to all level of players but be of a high standard and had Jimmys surname on the headstock.
The guitars were basically the same as the factory named versions but with a Grant logo .The end result was a beautifully made guitar sold at entry level,
The guitars were mainly Gibson and Fender clones, and were sold in the Grant stores, but to make up the orders Jimmy supplied small independent music shops across the UK ,and Ireland as well as Scotland, Jimmy also imported guitar effects pedals and accessories bearing the Grant logo.
the guitars ended when Jimmy sold the business and emigrated to Spain in the early 80s 
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  • 2 years later...

I bought an Epiphone Texan a few years ago for $350.00 that same reason.. (Not the USA).. Turned out to be a really good Guitar.. I see like everything else they’ve doubled!

You might try a new one.. If you like them, look on Reverb & find a good used one..

Here’s some info..

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/EMTTANANH--epiphone-masterbilt-texan-antique-natural-aged-gloss

Edited by Larsongs
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On 3/7/2023 at 2:25 PM, DanvillRob said:

I saw his photo and it stabbed my heart!

 

Same here. I loved his input here. He was a wise old soul and was so individual in his approach. I remember chatting to him and he said whenever he plugged in he had an Epi PR5E that he had strung with 10s. I asked him what his methodology was with it, and he said “all anyone hears is the player and the pickup…why make it hard for yourself? 10s are easy, a laminate guitar won’t feed back and the neck on my Epi is perfect!”

Couldn’t argue with that. I’ve no doubt he’s picking on in the great beyond.

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52 minutes ago, Jinder said:

Same here. I loved his input here. He was a wise old soul and was so individual in his approach. I remember chatting to him and he said whenever he plugged in he had an Epi PR5E that he had strung with 10s. I asked him what his methodology was with it, and he said “all anyone hears is the player and the pickup…why make it hard for yourself? 10s are easy, a laminate guitar won’t feed back and the neck on my Epi is perfect!”

Couldn’t argue with that. I’ve no doubt he’s picking on in the great beyond.

You know, he was VERY wise!    And he's right about what the folk hear and what they want to hear.

The VAST majority of people don't give a hoot about someone's 'tone'.... they care about hearing music they know or like.

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28 minutes ago, Murph said:

Very cool. I either didn't know, or forgot, he had a Youtube channel.

I've only heard 3-4 songs by Bob....but his stuff was very good, and enjoyable to listen to.

And who could ever forget his puns?   He was the master of puns.

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