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Post by Michael Messer on Feb 23, 2020 10:05:24 GMT
Hi Kris I am familiar with Retrograde guitars. I have seen one and while it was well built and had its own style, I believe at this time they are somewhat overpriced. To get a high price for a handmade guitar, the maker has to have built a reputation from making and selling a decent quantity of instruments. While I am familiar with the maker's history, that is not enough to do it. That reputation has to be earned. Among my closest friends are luthiers and I saw how they built their reputations and their businesses over time. They didn't tell the world they were great luthiers, the world eventually told them that they were great luthiers. While the guitars might be very nice, something to consider is the resale value, and I believe that at this time it would be an investment gamble. I hope that is helpful. It is an unbiased opinion. Shine On Michael.
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Post by leeophonic on Feb 23, 2020 10:19:00 GMT
Or a leap of faith ….. I take the stand if I want it buy it, not looking as an investment purchase, there is the consideration to not pay OTT prices and I would hazard a guess that should be your consideration. A conversation I recently had if you anticipate not re selling in the short term and enjoying it in the long term then it is money well spent. This whole thread is really about trying to help with steering towards the best fit/choice, I do not always get it right 1st time and you may never be settled always looking for the eternal Golden fleece or whatever. Is that GAS The thing is with electric guitars it is a very deep ocean, pickups, effects, Amps etc etc, a cheap £100 ex Woolworths Kay can be made to sound fantastic, the best consideration may be to try electric guitars without plugging them in, as the great ones are good without electrickery…. Lee
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Post by pete1951 on Feb 23, 2020 11:02:39 GMT
Or a leap of faith ….. The thing is with electric guitars it is a very deep ocean, pickups, effects, Amps etc etc, a cheap £100 ex Woolworths Kay can be made to sound fantastic, the best consideration may be to try electric guitars without plugging them in, as the great ones are good without electrickery…. Lee Cheap guitars through good amp usually sound good Expensive guitars through bad amp usually sound bad. If the guitar is too cheap you might not want to play it, so an expensive guitar through a good amp will also sound good!
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Post by Kris on Feb 23, 2020 11:13:23 GMT
Or a leap of faith ….. I take the stand if I want it buy it, not looking as an investment purchase, there is the consideration to not pay OTT prices and I would hazard a guess that should be your consideration. A conversation I recently had if you anticipate not re selling in the short term and enjoying it in the long term then it is money well spent. This whole thread is really about trying to help with steering towards the best fit/choice, I do not always get it right 1st time and you may never be settled always looking for the eternal Golden fleece or whatever. Is that GAS The thing is with electric guitars it is a very deep ocean, pickups, effects, Amps etc etc, a cheap £100 ex Woolworths Kay can be made to sound fantastic, the best consideration may be to try electric guitars without plugging them in, as the great ones are good without electrickery…. Lee The beaten up old Kay works for Jack White! It is indeed a deep old ocean! I’m going to go out and try a few. Years ago I had an SG and a Tele! I should have kept hold of those, they are on my “to try” list now!
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Post by Kris on Feb 23, 2020 11:15:03 GMT
Hi Kris I am familiar with Retrograde guitars. I have seen one and while it was well built and had its own style, I believe at this time they are somewhat overpriced. To get a high price for a handmade guitar, the maker has to have built a reputation from making and selling a decent quantity of instruments. While I am familiar with the maker's history, that is not enough to do it. That reputation has to be earned. Among my closest friends are luthiers and I saw how they built their reputations and their businesses over time. They didn't tell the world they were great luthiers, the world eventually told them that they were great luthiers. While the guitars might be very nice, something to consider is the resale value, and I believe that at this time it would be an investment gamble. I hope that is helpful. It is an unbiased opinion. Shine On Michael. Thank you Michael! They are very beautiful instruments but the price tag is steep. It’s always a huge gamble if you can’t try before you buy.
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Post by slide496 on Feb 23, 2020 12:00:32 GMT
Hi Kris, I've tried a couple of roadworn kay archtop guitars here in NYC, they are large though not particularly heavy, I'm not really set up to repair an vintage archtop if a brace goes or if it needs internal repair so I passed. If you are receptive to looking into the older models for slide maybe you want to consider the one that snakehips plays, the Silvertone 1448 that Robbie McIntosh plays, the Kay K-161 Thin Twin, the harmony stratotones are some musicians choices as well as the vintage supros from the 50s. Dan Auerbach plays some models along those lines like the Silvertone 1338 etc and there is a equipment rundown on him as well as Jack White on equipboard.com The harmonys are generally shorter scale so for reference here's the database to check the specs. harmony.demont.net/myguitars.php
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Post by Kris on Feb 23, 2020 12:09:21 GMT
Thank you Harriet, great info. I’ve often mused over older instruments. It’s incredibly tempting but I think I’m in your camp of preferring something that is not going to need huge amounts of TLC. I’m not equipped or experienced enough to operate!
I think at this stage I may be leaning towards a Tele, perhaps a slimline semi hollow with one humbucker, or maybe duel humbuckers, I’ll have to have a play around and see.
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Post by Kris on Feb 23, 2020 12:21:41 GMT
Also wondering if anyone has any comments on the Gretsch Electromatic? Do hollow bodies have big feedback issues?
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Post by biscuit on Feb 23, 2020 19:24:26 GMT
I think at this stage I may be leaning towards a Tele, perhaps a slimline semi hollow with one humbucker, or maybe duel humbuckers, I’ll have to have a play around and see. I have a Tele with a 4 way switch, the 4th position (both pickups in series) is great for slide. Quite an easy mod, or try a Baja Tele which has the S1-switch, which also does the trick.
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Post by blueshome on Feb 24, 2020 9:21:57 GMT
I use mainly a Korean Danelectro U2 plus a Martin flat top with an early 50s d’Armond pickup for the Elmore sound through Fender valve amps.
The Martin has been laying around I played as I find the neck a bit skinny and the tone a bit sweet for the country blues I play compared to ladder braced guitars. I have the d’Armond on long term loan.
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Post by Michael Messer on Feb 24, 2020 10:30:16 GMT
Also wondering if anyone has any comments on the Gretsch Electromatic? Do hollow bodies have big feedback issues? Kris, The only sure way to find out is to try one, but I don't think Gretsch guitars are particularly suited to the type of sound that you are looking for. However, I do agree that it is a very cool looking instrument. I am also not convinced that modern Gretschs with a retail price tag of less than £300.00 are anything more than lookalikes. Shine On Michael
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Post by pete1951 on Feb 24, 2020 11:47:06 GMT
I use mainly a Korean Danelectro U2 plus a Martin flat top with an early 50s d’Armond pickup for the Elmore sound through Fender valve amps. . Phil has (as recommended by many, me included with reservations) taken similar guitars and amps to people who already have a ‘killer tone’ . One thing of interest is that the Danelectro U2 ( the U2 is very lightly built , very different from most Gibson’s Fenders etc) and the Tele recommended by ‘biscuit ‘ have their pickups in series.(Phil may not use the 2pickup sound , hopefully he will tell us ) . I have re-wired several guitars to do this and the sound does ‘thicken up’ which I like. Pete I have just realised that my main guitar (a 60s Burns ) has standard wiring, even though 2 pickup Burns guitars were usually wired in series, time to get the soldering iron out!
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Post by Deleted on Feb 24, 2020 13:23:04 GMT
I say also +1 for the Danelectro short horn type of thin hollow body. I had a Jimmy Page model and it was very soulful sounding great for slide. I would caution that the Telecaster is a very bright sounding and unforgiving type of guitar more suitable for chicken pickin tone. I know JP used it to great effect on the first Led Zeppelin album, but with a lot of processing. It sounded to me that you were looking for “organic” blues guitar and amplifier tone without add-ons...and to me that is single coil pickup and tube rectified tube amplifier.
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Post by pete1951 on Feb 24, 2020 18:15:08 GMT
Re:tube (valve) rectification. Most of my amps have a valve rectifier , I tend to have them turned up a fair way, and the more you turn your amp up, the more effect the rectifier has. If your using an amp at low gain there is not much difference with that of a solid state rectifier . Pete Many people I know have Fender Blues Juniors, which have solid state rectification.
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Post by Kris on Feb 25, 2020 0:20:01 GMT
Apologies for all the asks and bouncing from idea to idea but any thoughts on modern D’Angelicos?
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