I'm bummed

[scottb]

I just made a trip to a couple guitar stores and I played several archtops. Including a couple of those Ibenez Artcore models we discussed a time back.

I think I got a dud! I bought an Epiphone Broadway on Ebay a while back and it was new but had obviously been dropped and then repaired. The repair was pretty good and not too noticable. One of the pots and knobs were broken as well (easy enough to replace) I knew all this when I bought it and for the money I felt I still got a good deal BUT...

It's the worst playing Epiphone archtop I've ever played. Today I played a Broadway identical to mine, a Joe Pass model, an Epiphone Dot and they all played better than mine. Even about half of the Ibenez Artcore guitars played better than mine. Before I bought it I had played several Epiphone archtops and they were all better than mine too.

I got a GOAT and now I think I'm gonna have to unload it and get a new archtop.

Anyone want a Broadway? (guess this isn't the best time to ask, huh?)

[Soul Stream]

Seems to me, a guitar can almost always be repaired to good playing satisfaction by a good luthier.

[AfricaBrass]

I agree with Soul Stream, if you like the guitar, I'd get a good setup on it by a good repairman/luthier. I do believe that some guitars are dogs, and there is the possibility that a good setup might not fix it. My concern is: The guitar was already repaired by (it sounds like) a competent luthier. It should have been set up at that time... but changing string guages, etc... could throw the setup off.

If you're not really in love with the guitar, you can always sell it for what you paid, since you got such a good deal on it.

[scottb]

Besides assuming it was set up when repaired, I brought it the top luthier in town and told him since I got such a good deal on it I was willing to put some money in it to make it right and gave it to him.

He thought it might even need a complete fret job but when I got it back it seemed all he did was adjust the action. I could've done THAT! (and had)

For God's sake man fix the thing!

[AfricaBrass]

Besides assuming it was set up when repaired, I brought it the top luthier in town and told him since I got such a good deal on it I was willing to put some money in it to make it right and gave it to him.

He thought it might even need a complete fret job but when I got it back it seemed all he did was adjust the action. I could've done THAT! (and had)

For God's sake man fix the thing!

That's weird...

If I were you, I'd get rid of it and get something you really want.

I have gotten rid of all my guitars that I had issues (except a couple with sentimental value) that kept me from playing them.

[scottb]

Here's a question unrelated to this thread except it's about guitar gear.

How do you know when your tubes in your amp need replacing? Will it quit altogether or just sound bad?

My Peavey Classic 50 / 410 has been going strong for about 8 years. I don't play all that much but I seem to remember the life of a tube isn't THAT long.

[scottb]

If I were you, I'd get rid of it and get something you really want.

I just keep thnking that maybe it just needs a fret job but haven't had it done yet and am afraid if it didn't help it would just be a waste of money.

[Jim Alfredson]

Here's a question unrelated to this thread except it's about guitar gear.

How do you know when your tubes in your amp need replacing? Will it quit altogether or just sound bad?

My Peavey Classic 50 / 410 has been going strong for about 8 years. I don't play all that much but I seem to remember the life of a tube isn't THAT long.

Don't fret... tubes can last quite a long time. You should be able to tell when a tube starts going bad. The amp will lose power (ie, won't get as loud without distorting), lose fidelity, and overall just start sounding crappy.

[AfricaBrass]

If I were you, I'd get rid of it and get something you really want.

I just keep thnking that maybe it just needs a fret job but haven't had it done yet and am afraid if it didn't help it would just be a waste of money.

Does the guy mean that the frets need to be treated (filed, etc...) or actually replace frets?

If it's replacing frets, that might be expensive.

[7/4]

Here's a question unrelated to this thread except it's about guitar gear.

How do you know when your tubes in your amp need replacing? Will it quit altogether or just sound bad?

My Peavey Classic 50 / 410 has been going strong for about 8 years. I don't play all that much but I seem to remember the life of a tube isn't THAT long.

Both. Once I had a power tube fail on a gig and now one of my amps sounds real harsh in the treble dept. Nasty sound too.

[AfricaBrass]

I lost the reverb on one of my tube amps once. It turned out it was a bad tube. The amp itself didn't sound bad, but I guess that tube helped to power the reverb circuit.

[wolff]

How do you know when your tubes in your amp need replacing?  Will it quit altogether or just sound bad? 

Tube life can be very, very long. It can also be relatively short. Many factors involved having little to do with the tube, but also the circuit it's in.

I've never liked the idea of hearing tubes dying. At least in audio gear, it's a very gradual decline and I do not really notice it. That said, I do notice a bad tube in my phono stage fairly quickly, as they can get noisy when the cartridge signal is amplified 20,000 times.

Once or twice a year I test all my tubes with a tube tester. I also buy my tubes from someone who has the equipment and knowledge to test for things other than the 'life left' in a tube.

Edited March 4, 2005 by wolff

[wolff]

Just as important as the tubes are the capacitors and resistors in the circuits(especially in the power supply). Have these measured as they can go bad and off spec, too.

[scottb]

Thanks for the answers.

I think my amp has mellowed in a good way over time. Perhaps losing a bit of output, I wouldn't really know since I rarely crank it up. (did today and my Paul had those tubes growlin' It was awesome! My five year old came in my room and told me to cut it out, she and her sister were trying to watch Nick Jr.)

[scottb]

Does the guy mean that the frets need to be treated (filed, etc...) or actually replace frets?

I tinker around with my guitars quite a bit, rewiring, changing out pickups, adjusting truss rods, filing frets. This is the only time I've ever brought a guitar to the shop. I had worked on the frets quite a bit and the problem persisted so I was getting a little nervous to continue the filing. I eliminated probably 90% of the problem but I was afraid to keep going.

He talked about replacing the frets and starting with a clean slate. He felt like the neck kicked up a bit at the junction with the body and so there's a trouble spot for buzzes. I like a low action and the buzzes were driving me crazy! With new frets you could leave the frets a bit higher and compensate for the dip.

[AfricaBrass]

Does the guy mean that the frets need to be treated (filed, etc...) or actually replace frets?

I tinker around with my guitars quite a bit, rewiring, changing out pickups, adjusting truss rods, filing frets. This is the only time I've ever brought a guitar to the shop. I had worked on the frets quite a bit and the problem persisted so I was getting a little nervous to continue the filing. I eliminated probably 90% of the problem but I was afraid to keep going.

He talked about replacing the frets and starting with a clean slate. He felt like the neck kicked up a bit at the junction with the body and so there's a trouble spot for buzzes. I like a low action and the buzzes were driving me crazy! With new frets you could leave the frets a bit higher and compensate for the dip.

Thanks for the explanation.

Does your guy give you a really good rate? I would think that replacing the frets would be really expensive on a guitar with a bound neck.

I had a Gretsch from the early seventies that I ended up selling because my binding was rotten. It would have been really expensive to replace the binding on that guitar, or at least more than I wanted to spend.

Anyway, good luck with your guitar! I like some of those Epiphones.

[scottb]

Next guitar question:

Prelude: Currently, my best playing / sounding jazz guitar is my Epiphone Les Paul. The replacement pickups have a nice clean / rich tone. It's not ideal because it's not well balanced and it's a struggle to keep the thing on my leg! It is also my best AC / DC, Led Zep axe when I feel the need so I'd hate to lose it.

Actual Question: What would be a good guitar to maybe replace both my Broadway AND my Les Paul? Maybe a solidbody double humbucker style with good clean tones that was more balanced.

Answer to question: I'd answer myself and say a PRS but I can't spend $2000 on one. I played a couple nice looking CORT PRS rip offs today. One felt very good the other not so good. (I think they were M600s)

Follow up Question: Any others come to mind?

(I don't really need you guys, I'm doing pretty good just amongst my multiple personalities )

Edited March 4, 2005 by scottb

[AfricaBrass]

Next guitar question:

Prelude: Currently, my best playing / sounding jazz guitar is my Epiphone Les Paul. The replacement pickups have a nice clean / rich tone. It's not ideal because it's not well balanced and it's a struggle to keep the thing on my leg! It is also my best AC / DC, Led Zep axe when I feel the need so I'd hate to lose it.

Actual Question: What would be a good guitar to maybe replace both my Broadway AND my Les Paul? Maybe a solidbody double humbucker style with good clean tones that was more balanced.

Answer to question: I'd answer myself and say a PRS but I can't spend $2000 on one. I played a couple nice looking CORT PRS rip offs today. One felt very good the other not so good. (I think they were M600s)

Follow up Question: Any others come to mind?

(I don't really need you guys, I'm doing pretty good just amongst my multiple personalities )

I hope you don't mind, but I love talking guitars... Here's my suggestions to your question.

How about considering one of the Epiphone Elite (Elitist) series? They're made in Japan and priced about halfway between the USA Gibsons and the Chinese or Korean Epiphones. I would look at one of the hollowbodies (Gibson 335 style).

I think the Elite Sheraton is a beautiful guitar and it has the mini humbucker pickups. Another Elite model I like is the Casino. This is similar to a Gibson 330 (which was played by Grant Green). I have an USA made Casino and it is a great guitar. It is hollow (no center block) but looks like a 335. That's my main jazz guitar now.

The Elite series also has a Broadway model and a Byrdland model; both would make great jazz boxes. They're not really Les Paul replacements, but they're nice.

You also might want to look at a used Heritage. Their resale isn't that great and you can get great deals on those. Also, the Guild Bluesbird style guitars might be a cool option.

I'll shut up.

[AfricaBrass]

That Cort is nice also. I wouldn't mind finding one of their Matt "Guitar" Murphy models.

[scottb]

I'll shut up.

Don't. I'm like a little kid looking the through the Sears catalogue before Christmas when I get a Musicians Friend Catalogue.

I have 5 guitar now, have owned 5 others that have come and gone. That's not so unusual for a real musician, but I suck and only play around the house. What in the world do I need 5 guitars for? Having said that, I WANT more but so far have resisted. I go through periods where I really get into guitars then it dies down for a while.

[Soul Stream]

Not to be a drag. But I used to work in a pawn shop/music store. I found the more dissatisfied someone was with their guitar playing, the more guitars they bought. I've seen the best guitar players pick up the worst guitars and make them sound great...and vice versa. It's not so much in the instrument, as it's in your hands and head.

Not to single you out Scottb, I think all musicians do this. I would suggest spending more time playing and less time buying. I think you'll be happier with the results.

[Joe G]

[scottb]

I don't really expect the guitars to make me play better. I think my issue is that I dabble in mid level guitars yet want top level quality. I just can't justify paying a grand for a guitar. I've gotten most of mine in the $350 to $550 range.

It's also just fun to play with different guitars, get differnet sounds etc.

I think when playing is hobby and not a profession, you tend to change things up a bit more. When it's your living, it's more about the music you play not the guitar you're playing.

Also, getting a new guitar usually sparks my interest in guitar playing again and gets me practicing more.

[Soul Stream]

Scott, I know what you're saying. Still, a $500 guitar should be plenty for the average player. The guitar player I worked with who just got the Bob Dylan gig had two guitars to his name... one was a korean hollowbody fake jazz guitar he got for a couple hundred bucks and the other was a fender reissue strat someone gave him worth probably 500 bucks.

I know it's fun buying, but there's a lot of joy in playing too. It's easy to forget that sometimes. Don't underestimate your sense of self discovery.

[AfricaBrass]

I have a lot of guitars, but I can play them. I've been playing for 20 years and a guitar in my hand feels like it's part of my body. I may waste some time reading catalogs, but I've spent a lot more time playing.

I don't see anything wrong in having as many guitars as you want (or can comfortably afford). I've loved guitars since I was a child. They are works of art to me.

Scott, if you're ever looking for inexpensive, but well made Korean guitars, you should check out a music store from New Jersey called Rondo music. They've been having their own guitars made by a Korean guitar maker for a few years now and they're really a great deal for the money. Their brand name is Agile.

They have a two humbucker Jazz box model for $250. Here's a link to it:

Agile Jazz Guitar

The Harmony-Central guitar forums have been abuzz of them for a long time. I have a couple of their guitars myself. Actually, I designed one for them. Last year, on the Harmony-Central forums, they had a design a new Agile thread. I did and a few weeks ago, the guitar I had designed (with a little modification by them) appeared.

First guitar I designed

Second guitar I designed

Here's the link to my guitar designs that they used:

My guitar designs (warning to dial-up users - may load slowly)

Here's one of those designs: