Wyzsard
Friend of Leo's
These are getting good reviews
Anyone successfully (or Happy) found an affordable/cheap Slope Shoulder (J45) acoustic?
- Thread starter dreamingtele
- Start date
I’m thinking of pulling the trigger on a J45 Studio Walnut.
JL_LI
Poster Extraordinaire
There were a few considerations for me. I was looking for a guitar to leave in California for when I visit the grandkids. Sound and playability were more of a concern than body shape. Cheap and good are rarely found together. Affordable is different. Affordable means to me that even if I use a card for the transaction, I have cash on hand. New or very good condition used were the same to me. In my mind, off a hanger at GC is very good condition used at best.
I found this in a small mom and pop in Claremont. I liked it so much I brought it home. I found the receipt a few weeks ago. My wife was a great negotiator. In fact she bought it. The actual purchase was under $800. The cost to me was, let’s just say less than 800, more than zero.
The guitar is a Simon and Patrick Showcase Rosewood, Adirondack spruce over solid rosewood with a beautiful gloss finish. It’s bright and beautiful with a pick and clear and harmonically rich finger style. She’s a keeper, the guitar and wife both.
I found this in a small mom and pop in Claremont. I liked it so much I brought it home. I found the receipt a few weeks ago. My wife was a great negotiator. In fact she bought it. The actual purchase was under $800. The cost to me was, let’s just say less than 800, more than zero.
The guitar is a Simon and Patrick Showcase Rosewood, Adirondack spruce over solid rosewood with a beautiful gloss finish. It’s bright and beautiful with a pick and clear and harmonically rich finger style. She’s a keeper, the guitar and wife both.
I found the epiphone inspired by gibson used on craigslist for 120.00.
new strings, a cleanup, a little truss rod adjustment, i love it... it is a little stiff, but it sounds great and I'll break it in, I'm not done tweaking, I can get it slinkier.
dreamingtele
Friend of Leo's
Thank you!! yes its now included in the options!
between The BG160 and BG140, the 140 with the mahogany back and sides is the one I prefer..
dreamingtele
Friend of Leo's
will post in am. I keep it in my office at work.
I played ramblin fever this afternoon... one of my engineers (one of my favorite people) says it is his favorite song. I think he is being nice.
he says james taylor is 'too sad'
jack.plugg
Tele-Holic
- Joined
- Mar 31, 2003
- Posts
- 606
Thank you, telestratosonic...
I've owned a Guild DS-240 for a few years now and I'm delighted with it. It's very affordable, I recommend checking it out at least. I changed the pickguard to give it more of the J-45 look (but the original was OK tbh)...
as promised... such a deal...
dreamingtele
Friend of Leo's
Omg, I didnt know anything about this!! yes, it's pretty nice! spec sheet is also great, although it didnt tell if its a laminate or full solid?
and I think I need to budget for electronics if I want one of these.
dreamingtele
Friend of Leo's
beautiful!
I admit, I hated the SS body shape, but now, I find it more beautiful than a full dread or even my all-time favorite, the OM
Yeah I find a lot of manufacturers do this with wording, it reads: "solid spruce top and mahogany back and sides". So they say solid before spruce top but not before mahogany....which I'm pretty sure means "not solid mahogany". So I'm fairly confident it's solid top and laminate back and sides. I would check with the shop just to be sure, but I'm almost certain thats what it is but wouldn't want to mislead you if I've got that wrong as I agree the spec. sheet isn't totally clear. You could maybe fire Guild a message just to be sure.
I wasn't in need of electronics...I gig with my electrics but never with acoustic. Partly why I went with an affordable guitar, its purely a couch instrument for me but yeah that's a factor for you to consider.
I've had higher end acoustics and all solid ones, but this sits in a sweet spot for me and it's what I've settled on as my only acoustic. I think it punches above its weight.
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dreamingtele
Friend of Leo's
No worries, I didnt say you were misleading me in any way.. I see this in a LOT of companies.. They would mention Solid on the top but not on the back and sides.. Cort even had a range of guitars with Solid Top and Solid Back but laminate sides. LOL
It definitely sits in the right price range for me.. however, I wish it had electronics already! hehehe.. but thats no biggie!
Bangdapoontwang
Tele-Meister
dreamingtele
Friend of Leo's
Hopefully i get to try a few samples. The store near me gets around 2-3 max of the same model. But it’s an acoustic specialty store, so there might be quite a few different brands to try.
Looking to get some time off work today and visit.
dreamingtele
Friend of Leo's
Okay, trip report!!!
I went to a store near me and tried out a few guitars thats I’m REALLY interested on.
Untitled by D Y, on Flickr
Epiphone Slash J-45
Sigma (Solid) JM-SG45
Sigma (Laminate) JM-SG45+
Of course, for shiz and giggles, I tried and reference this beast for tone and feel. I wanted the 50’s one but they told me it just got sold 30 mins earlier and I was late. So it’s the 60’s model with the adjustable saddle.
Untitled by D Y, on Flickr
The three contenders for today;
SLash
Untitled by D Y, on Flickr
Sigma (Laminate) Left and Sigma (Solid)
Untitled by D Y, on Flickr
Another photo to prove all three are there;
Epiphone Slash (Front), Sigma (Laminate - Middle), Sigma (All Solid - Last)
Untitled by D Y, on Flickr
First impressions are, man all these three are SUPER LIGHT!!! I almost threw these guitars up in the air when I picked them up! The two Sigmas are equal in weight and the Slash, a little bit heavier.
And here’s them three comparison. This vid is short and actually doesnt really show everything but maybe enough to “hear” all three guitars. I apologize for the slopiness, the widths and neck profile, and string spacing were all new to me lol
In the end I chose between the two Sigmas…
The Epiphone, although VERY GOOD (fit and finish is also great), feels a bit cheaper than the two Sigmas. Dont get me wrong, the build of the Sigma felt closer to the Gibson J-45 60’s.
Guess what guitar I walked out with…..
Untitled by D Y, on Flickr
I went to a store near me and tried out a few guitars thats I’m REALLY interested on.
Untitled by D Y, on FlickrEpiphone Slash J-45
Sigma (Solid) JM-SG45
Sigma (Laminate) JM-SG45+
Of course, for shiz and giggles, I tried and reference this beast for tone and feel. I wanted the 50’s one but they told me it just got sold 30 mins earlier and I was late. So it’s the 60’s model with the adjustable saddle.
Untitled by D Y, on FlickrThe three contenders for today;
SLash
Untitled by D Y, on FlickrSigma (Laminate) Left and Sigma (Solid)
Untitled by D Y, on FlickrAnother photo to prove all three are there;
Epiphone Slash (Front), Sigma (Laminate - Middle), Sigma (All Solid - Last)
Untitled by D Y, on FlickrFirst impressions are, man all these three are SUPER LIGHT!!! I almost threw these guitars up in the air when I picked them up! The two Sigmas are equal in weight and the Slash, a little bit heavier.
And here’s them three comparison. This vid is short and actually doesnt really show everything but maybe enough to “hear” all three guitars. I apologize for the slopiness, the widths and neck profile, and string spacing were all new to me lol
In the end I chose between the two Sigmas…
The Epiphone, although VERY GOOD (fit and finish is also great), feels a bit cheaper than the two Sigmas. Dont get me wrong, the build of the Sigma felt closer to the Gibson J-45 60’s.
Guess what guitar I walked out with…..
Untitled by D Y, on FlickrI was going to add blueridge too. I tried a couple at Elderly a few years back.
But, they are another one where you really have to try each, since production
runs can be good and not.
FollowMyHead
TDPRI Member
I've played the Cort and I've played the Epi Masterbilt and, believe it or not, I'm recommending the Cort. Not something I would have done about 15 years ago (in regards to their acoustics), but the Cort is just a well built instrument. Fit and finish on par with value priced (but still more expensive) Martins. I found the Masterbilt to be relying on the name brand and, as such, falling to the pitfalls (poor/sloppy workmanship at a premium).
Edit: That's what I get for not reading to the end, I guess! Congrats on the new purchase! Good choice!
