Last night I saw a recording mixer I’d been looking at was on sale at my local Center. I’ve had this square neck resonator lying around that’s only been played once in the last few months, and it had long earned its money back before that, so I thought I’d go see if there was a deal to be wheeled. Like everywhere right now, they were short staffed. So I had about an hour to kill while waiting for a trade evaluation.
Earlier this month I’d traded a bunch of old stuff for a brand new Gibson SG Standard, and wanted to know if all the internet side-eyeing was justified. After all, I’m a grizzled old man pushing 40 and wanted to see if I was out of touch with what the youts of today are playing. Being GC, you know that everything was pretty much taken out of its box and thrown on the wall, so I thought it’d be a good look at factory QC.
Out of the box, my Gibson played very well. The action was a little high and the neck was a bit thicker than SGs I’ve owned in the past, but it was a quick fix. It came out of the box covered in dust/buffing debris/case dust. It doesn’t have a flawless finish, if you look very closely you can see a few minor lines and streaks (ebony finish). It’s not a fancy guitar, but it looks, plays, and sounds great. Worth the money it would have cost new, for sure.
Everything at the store was played through a Marshall DSL100 Combo.
The other guitars tried were:
Squier Classic Vibe Jazzmaster: *Super* thick finish on the neck, and while the action was high, it was still very playable. I’ll be danged if it doesn’t have “Classic Vibe” oozing out all over the thing. The pickups had a more universal sound, more midrangey than what I’ve heard in other Jazzmasters. Very good tuners, slightly heavy body, would recommend.
Ibanez AZES40 (the strat looking one): Very high hopes led to very deep disappointment. Not at all like any Ibanez I remember. The neck felt dry and unfinished, borderline unplayable action. But the pickups sounded really good, it had good tuners and a stable bridge. If you’re willing to pay a professional to set it up (which adds cost) it could be a very good guitar.
Epiphone Les Paul Custom: It’s like someone made the perfect Chibson. If you’ve ever played one of those copycat imports, they look great but play terribly, won’t intonate, and have trash electronics. This fixes literally all of that. Played very well, great hardware. The knocks I had were that the finish was so thick it felt like it was encased in plastic and the neck flattened out weirdly around the first four frets. If you like how it plays, it’s a great guitar. Otherwise it looks like a Gibson, but plays, feels, and sounds like a lot of other very good import guitars. Would recommend. Buy this, never a Chibson.
Sire Larry Carlton H7 (the 335 looking one): Very similar to the Epiphone. It was sturdy and reminded me a lot of a Sheraton Pro II I used to have. Thick finish, but it plays and sounds great. Fat neck, slightly heavy body, in great competition for its price range. It has features I don’t like, but it’s an excellent guitar. Would definitely consider if I was shopping for a semi hollow in that just under a grand range.
Jackson JS32 Dinky (with locking trem): Almost unplayable. The action was bad, like deter you from playing bad. Zero finish, and it felt like it. Muddy pickups. Much like the Ibanez, I set my hopes way too high. While I didn’t play another one, I have to assume that this one was not loved on its way out the door and that there are better entry level guitars with locking trems out there.
LTD EC-1000: Despite its look, this had more of a production PRS SE kind of feel to it. Ridiculously light, super comfortable to hold and play, definitely not a Les Paul in many ways that are all really good. Thick finish (again) but quality components all around. The neck felt almost like a Gibson slim taper, and the passive humbuckers sounded big and full. Amazing value, would definitely recommend.
Kramer Baretta Special: Purple, no pickguard, single humbucker, single volume knob, vintage tremolo. Super stripped down. And I have zero explanation as to why this guitar was as good as it was. Super thin and fast (90’s Ibanez fast) maple neck, great high gain clarity in the pickup, cleaned up with the volume knob rolled back. Just plain fun. If you like a fast neck, Kramer is doing it right. Can’t recommend enough, especially at $189.
I really thought I’d like that Ibanez, and at the same time expected to pooh that Kramer. Get out and try stuff!
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