Interested in a hollow-body. Whatcha got?

I have an Ibanez A53 and a Harley Benton 335 alike, would I like better? Yes I would, but with these I dont really feel justified on getting a more expensive one, they do it for me

 

The guitar in my avatar, a 1965 ES330 that I bought for about £1500 in 2008 although I've spent the same again on it over the last ten years working out the dishes of issues it had, including having the old amateur refin redone to its current glorious heather poly finish.

I've set up lots of Far East Casinos and they're a mixed bag. I find the Chinese ones mostly ok but the build quality is firmly in made to a price point budget guitar territory and they're not particularly luxurious. The necks often don't feel very inspiring to me. The older Korean ones are much more nicely finished and the only thing I don't like about them is the pickups which are very overwound - that's probably what I'd look for if I wanted a relatively cheap Casino. The Japanese ones are on a par with Gibson in terms of build quality, although the one I had almost certainly had the same pickups as a Korean version and an incredibly small neck. 80s Matsumokus and 90s pre-Elitist Teredas can still be found for around the $1k mark with a little patience.

As to whether my 330 is worth $2000 more than a Chinese Casino, each to their own but to me it's worth every penny more - no Chinese Casino has ever put a big silly smile on my face the way this guitar does.

 

I've been interest in the Guild M75 Aristocrat for a while now, but It's impossible to tell if it's an actual hollow body or a chambered solid body. I'm not interested in a semi-hollow, I want the full hollow sound. Guild describes it as a hollow body but also as a semi hollow--I can't seem to get a definitive answer on what it is

 

I am surprised no one has mentioned Eastman, They are putting out some great looking gear. I do not have any experience with them though. Thoughts ya'll?

 

I just bought an Eastman acoustic that is stunning quality, materials, finish, playability and sound.

It was half the cost of the famous name brand I bought 2 weeks earlier and was very disappointed in.
.

 

I'm a big fan of Xaviere (Guitar Fetish) products.

Check out your options here.



https://www.guitarfetish.com/Xaviere-Electric-Guitars_c_116.html

 

Excellent build quality, mostly great pickups on the current models (not on older ones).
I also like that most of them come with a wide 1-3/4" nut, but unfortunately, the necks are a bit thin for my taste.
I'm pretty sure there's a T64 or an AR503 in my future, I just have to run across a used one for sale locally...

 

Speaking of Eastman ... this one used will be a bit more than a grand, but certainly deserves a mention here:



After one vintage ES-330, 3 MIK Epi Casinos and one MIJ Epi Elitist casino, I was about to give up. None really satisfied. One of the MIK casinos played superbly, had decent P90s, but still not right. A deadness in the body. The Elitist casino should have been better. Was better, but not enough to keep. The vintage Gibson pickups just didn't have it.

I kept hearing about the Eastman T64v. Got two of them in my hands. No deal. Playability issues. The one pictured above was my last attempt. And it has what I always thought this type of guitar could deliver. A real voice, even unplugged. That old guitar feel and sound. The Lollar P90s are outstanding. The ebony board and SS frets (both of which I've never liked much in other guitars) somehow cooperate here to make the sound happen. If you can find a good one of these, you will be very pleased.

 

Single cutaways hollow bodies under $1K? Seems like there's a healthy amount of choices, particularly if you buy something used.

I have a MIK Gretsch 5120 that's indestructible w/ a comfortable neck. You might find it necessary to swap out the electronics and add a jackplate. But that's no biggie.

I've never played an Epi 50th Anniversary Sorrento or any of the Guild Newark St. models but think they look cool.

Sounds like a fun quest. Good luck.

 

Everybody likes a Gibson-scale hollow body seven string.

 

2 Epi's, an ES 335 Pro, and a '62 Sorrento re-issue . There is also the Gibby '59 Re-issue ES 335. There was this huge Epiphone hollow body in a studio I was in, around 7 or 8 years ago. I picked it up, now I have 3. The Epi gets played the most. The coil tap pups have a little more tone flexibility with my Katana 50 for the house.

 

I would personally go Gretsch or Guild
Chinese casinos look nice...but the pickups are harsh and one dimensional..mine had a weird buzz...tracked it down to vibrating switch...i made a little spring to put under the switch toggletop to stop it doing it...it worked fine but on a new guitar you really shouldnt have to muck about with it...the neck wasnt bad...but the frets were sloppily done...high E would snag under a fret end...not how a guitar should be shipped out at all
G5120 i had was a great thing out of the box once i rewired the thing and changed pickups even better
Try as many different guitars as you can till you "find the one"...
Yet i keep going back to this...my modded sheraton...semi i know but a good solid nice guitar
( i knowww...broken strings on her there...)

 

Here's my full hollow body The Loar LH-302t - a Gibson ES-125tdc in every detail.


I got it a few years ago for under 300 bucks shipped, used and I'm noting but pleased about.
The Loar is a much cheaper alternative to the Gibson reissues (hint, Chinese) but looks like they're going under.
So the used prices look to be rising.
Lloyd Loar worked for Gibson early 20th century and made their mandolins, I think.
He's more famous for being 1st to put the F'hole on a guitar.

 

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Most of the import hollow and semi-hollow body import guitars are coming out of the same Cort or Samick factory in China (last I heard). So just focus on the price and features you want. I have a Samick-made Washburn Oscar-Schmidt with upgraded pickups and wiring harness that plays easy and sounds great. Here's as good of a comparison as any.

Grote and Firefly are the low price leaders, if you're an auto-modder then I'd locate those branded versions.



.

 

that sheraton of mine is a samick one....and its a beaut...i got it dirt cheap with a nice hardcase...£120...modded it myself...frustrating job...its more or less gretsch wiring but with a twist

 

The current Gretsches are, in my opinion, WAY better than Ibanez, Epiphone, and any other guitars in your price range.

 

I have one of these arriving today. It's a D'Angelico Excel Series 175. Really was an impulse purchase. I have been looking more at Eastmans and Guilds, but the price was right, so I figured I'd take a chance. Retail on it is above the range that you want, but you can get closer in the used market. I'll post an NGD once I have it in-hand and can spend some time with it.

 

I had one, 2017 model. It was total miss, unfortunately. Sounded dull, some other little issues and just couldn’t get by of that disappointment, so off it went.

 

That's a beauty!

One correction, though: these don't come with stainless steel frets (unless that recently changed), just regular, high quality Jescar medium jumbo NICKEL frets...

 

Here's my XV-750 Xaviere, their " Rockabilly " guitar lol

I was attracted by the wrong looking lower horn (looks like a steer's horn)
It's a semi-hollow, has center block, one day I might put a trem on it.
They're quality instruments...but I managed to twist off the jack wires after twiddling with the nut.

...just went to their site - they've changed the lower horn ! glad I got this one, but the newer ones still look wrong, so, I might have to get one of those too.