Guitars

[Edward]

My Fender 50s American Original & 60s American Original Precision Basses

There are many instruments I've admired over the years, but when it comes to bass I'll take a P bass every time. I have a nice one from Brandoni that is very much in the 62 style, but I still have a real hankering for one with a maple board. I bought the Brandoni used with an intention of putting a maple board neck on it, but when it got here it was just far too nice to hack about with. I do wish Squier would do a left hander of their 50s CV P Bass, with the 51-style layout and pick up. Any other bass I could want would - perhaps a Ric aside - be simply a P Bass with a differently-shaped body.

 

[Robert Heyer]

I fell in love with the P bass many years ago. I have tried everything since from Hofners to Rickenbacker's but always end up back with my precision.

There are many instruments I've admired over the years, but when it comes to bass I'll take a P bass every time. I have a nice one from Brandoni that is very much in the 62 style, but I still have a real hankering for one with a maple board. I bought the Brandoni used with an intention of putting a maple board neck on it, but when it got here it was just far too nice to hack about with. I do wish Squier would do a left hander of their 50s CV P Bass, with the 51-style layout and pick up. Any other bass I could want would - perhaps a Ric aside - be simply a P Bass with a differently-shaped body.

I fell in love with the P-Bass many years ago. I have tried them all from Hofners to Rickenbacker's, but always come back to the precision bass.

 

[Randall Renshaw]

Been awhile since I last posted here, and now have two good reasons for coming back.
Recently, in the same week, these two fine guitars were added to what you might call a small collection to join a Griffin, posted previously, and a Martin D-10E that I got about six months ago.
The Collings D2H-SB is a brand and model made in Texas that I’ve craved to own since 1990. It’s a hard punching, tone driven killer!
Closest thing I’ve played to compare with 30s vintage D-28 Martins; and have played many.
All Collings I’ve played sound great and superlative to most, if not all modern Martins, but I’d have to say that Bill Collings built this one especially well. Grain, or growth rings on the Sitka top are tighter than any I’ve ever seen. (around 40 per inch in some places)

This Martin HD-28LSV is also a tonal beast, but not as punchy or driven as the Collings.
It’s built, more or less, as a tribute to the late great, Tony Rice, who was one of the greatest flat pickers to ever pick up a pick.
I’m proud to finally be able to own a guitar that resembles his famous 1935 D-28 Martin known to all as, “The Antique”.
Rest in peace, Tony!

A group photo of my small collection.
Thinking of adding a Collings D1A-SB so I can play a mahogany axe.

 

[Rmccamey]

A fine collection, indeed!

Been awhile since I last posted here, and now have two good reasons for coming back.
Recently, in the same week, these two fine guitars were added to what you might call a small collection to join a Griffin, posted previously, and a Martin D-10E that I got about six months ago.
The Collings D2H-SB is a brand and model made in Texas that I’ve craved to own since 1990. It’s a hard punching, tone driven killer!
Closest thing I’ve played to compare with 30s vintage D-28 Martins; and have played many.
All Collings I’ve played sound great and superlative to most, if not all modern Martins, but I’d have to say that Bill Collings built this one especially well. Grain, or growth rings on the Sitka top are tighter than any I’ve ever seen. (around 40 per inch in some places) View attachment 475539


This Martin HD-28LSV is also a tonal beast, but not as punchy or driven as the Collings.
It’s built, more or less, as a tribute to the late great, Tony Rice, who was one of the greatest flat pickers to ever pick up a pick.
I’m proud to finally be able to own a guitar that resembles his famous 1935 D-28 Martin known to all as, “The Antique”.
Rest in peace, Tony! View attachment 475529


A group photo of my small collection.
Thinking of adding a Collings D1A-SB so I can play a mahogany axe.
View attachment 475524

It's hard for me to play my Collings OM Koa, I find myself looking at it all the time!

 

[Randall Renshaw]

A fine collection, indeed!



It's hard for me to play my Collings OM Koa, I find myself looking at it all the time!

View attachment 475668

What a gorgeous slab of tree!
I’d probably have to string it up with the wires running down its backside!

 

[sal]

Beautiful. I am still trying to learn

 

[Mighty44]

Been awhile since I last posted here, and now have two good reasons for coming back.
Recently, in the same week, these two fine guitars were added to what you might call a small collection to join a Griffin, posted previously, and a Martin D-10E that I got about six months ago.
The Collings D2H-SB is a brand and model made in Texas that I’ve craved to own since 1990. It’s a hard punching, tone driven killer!
Closest thing I’ve played to compare with 30s vintage D-28 Martins; and have played many.
All Collings I’ve played sound great and superlative to most, if not all modern Martins, but I’d have to say that Bill Collings built this one especially well. Grain, or growth rings on the Sitka top are tighter than any I’ve ever seen. (around 40 per inch in some places) View attachment 475539


This Martin HD-28LSV is also a tonal beast, but not as punchy or driven as the Collings.
It’s built, more or less, as a tribute to the late great, Tony Rice, who was one of the greatest flat pickers to ever pick up a pick.
I’m proud to finally be able to own a guitar that resembles his famous 1935 D-28 Martin known to all as, “The Antique”.
Rest in peace, Tony! View attachment 475529


A group photo of my small collection.
Thinking of adding a Collings D1A-SB so I can play a mahogany axe.
View attachment 475524

Beautiful! I love sunburst acoustics—congrats!

 

[Randall Renshaw]

Beautiful! I love sunburst acoustics—congrats!

Thanks, David!
The D-18 styled Collings I plan to get will have the really dark, almost black sun burst, sans any red stain. Once I can find one. Hard to locate since owners don’t like letting them go. At my age I prefer older guitars so I don’t have to wait for tonal maturity.

 

[Randall Renshaw]

Didn’t find a dark sunburst D1 Collings, but I did find a 2019 torrified Sitka topped mahogany beast that sounds especially incredible this week!!
It’s not old but doesn’t have to be with an oven baked top.
Anybody wanting a consistently great guitar doesn’t have to look any farther than any Collings model of your choice, imho.
Professor Randy @Rmccamey already knows.
These awesome musical things are proudly made in Austin, Texas and hard to beat.

 

[Edward]

Picked up my first new guitar since 2006 very recently. A Harley Benton MR Classic:

Harley Benton is a budget brand designed by the people behind German online guitar retail behemoth Thomann.de. They keep prices rock bottom by dealing direct with the factory, and selling them through their own retail empire. They're an entirely online operation ,so lower overheads.... They've become something a lot of folks rave about. I've been humming and hawing over a few of their models for some time, given hype is a thing. Then they brought out this lovely Mosrite-esque beastie. I've wanted a Mosrite style for a very long time indeed, mainly because Johnny Ramone, but there are no known left handed originals, and to date none of the repros (including the Japanese made guitars branded "Mosrite of California", but which have no connection to the original company) have done a left hander. I could go custom, of course, but somehow that never felt in the spirit of the original (and was more than I could justify to boot!). Enter this Harley Benton. At £200, I held out for some time in the hope they'd introduce the left handed model in any colour other than the sunburst. I'm rather over sunburst, given it's so normal for lefthanders to be only available in that option. Then they dropped the price to £156, and I cracked.....

I've not handled another example for consistency, but this really is lovely. The bridge feels cheap (forum buzz is this is a very common replacement, though I'm going to let it bed in and see if I feel the need down the track, rather than replace it because conventional wisdom says I should), but everything else is good. Plays lovely - I had to tune it up, but the set-up feels fine otherwise. No fret sprout. While I'd put the body end on a par with the best Squiers I've played (the body finish feels plasticky - imo very much in keeping with the overall vibe of the guitar), but the neck is really special - feels as good, quality wise, as my old American fender. Beautifully finished, really lovely, light satin feel. We'll see how it runs over time, but I'm impressed enough now that there are a bunch of other guitars in the Harley Benton Range I'm keen to try. As a hobby player, staring down the barrel of turning fifty in 2024, I'm having to finally accept that I will never be a rock star (at least not this side of some inadvertent, and rather unhealthy, posthumous cult), so it's getting harder to justify expensive bits. This is an entirely guilt-free purchase, and it's got me excited about playing again, which is great. I'm normally a very 'style stops at 1959' kinda guy, for the most part, but I have a magpie eye for quirky, sixties oddball guitar styles as well.

Photos here were taken in my office, where I had the guitar delivered. I've not quite yet fronted up to a Higher Power (that would be my wife) that I have it. Mrs Marlowe is very understanding - but equally, very understandably of the notion that I really need to clear out the stuff I don't play before I buy more. So this is now a good motivator to sell off the half doze guitars and stack of unused amps that need to go before this comes home (and/or before I buy that Gretsch Electromatic I have an eye on too!). Selling off the extra gear should free up space - as well as raising the cash for more too.... If HB bring this out in other colours left handed, I will be sorely tempted. They've got a guaranteed sale from me if they do a white one with the right pickups and plate style to ape Johnny Ramone's main guitar for all those years...


I know I'm very much in the 'new toy buzz' stage, but all the same, there's something very zen-like after years of chasing expensive stuff to find something as affordable as this (with Paypal pay in three and free shipping, it's costing less than my trainfares this month and next).

 

[Mighty44]

Fun—I’ve always wanted a Mosrite and should have bought one back in the 80s when they were still cheap, but I was too broke.

Always loved the guitar sound on that Ventures live in Japan album—overdriven with an edge you don’t generally associate with that band.

Enjoy!

David

 

[Edward]

Fun—I’ve always wanted a Mosrite and should have bought one back in the 80s when they were still cheap, but I was too broke.

Always loved the guitar sound on that Ventures live in Japan album—overdriven with an edge you don’t generally associate with that band.

Enjoy!

David

Yeah - Johnny Ramone bought his first one in Manny's NYC for fifty dollars in 1974 (granted, used, but all the same..); that's about $300 in today's money. A fraction of what and original (and most of the copies) go for now.

 

[Rmccamey]

Fun times! It is always nice when you find a diamond among the stacks of discount guitars.

But, it is hard to beat a big Gretsch!

Picked up my first new guitar since 2006 very recently. A Harley Benton MR Classic:

View attachment 524887 View attachment 524888
View attachment 524889


Harley Benton is a budget brand designed by the people behind German online guitar retail behemoth Thomann.de. They keep prices rock bottom by dealing direct with the factory, and selling them through their own retail empire. They're an entirely online operation ,so lower overheads.... They've become something a lot of folks rave about. I've been humming and hawing over a few of their models for some time, given hype is a thing. Then they brought out this lovely Mosrite-esque beastie. I've wanted a Mosrite style for a very long time indeed, mainly because Johnny Ramone, but there are no known left handed originals, and to date none of the repros (including the Japanese made guitars branded "Mosrite of California", but which have no connection to the original company) have done a left hander. I could go custom, of course, but somehow that never felt in the spirit of the original (and was more than I could justify to boot!). Enter this Harley Benton. At £200, I held out for some time in the hope they'd introduce the left handed model in any colour other than the sunburst. I'm rather over sunburst, given it's so normal for lefthanders to be only available in that option. Then they dropped the price to £156, and I cracked.....

I've not handled another example for consistency, but this really is lovely. The bridge feels cheap (forum buzz is this is a very common replacement, though I'm going to let it bed in and see if I feel the need down the track, rather than replace it because conventional wisdom says I should), but everything else is good. Plays lovely - I had to tune it up, but the set-up feels fine otherwise. No fret sprout. While I'd put the body end on a par with the best Squiers I've played (the body finish feels plasticky - imo very much in keeping with the overall vibe of the guitar), but the neck is really special - feels as good, quality wise, as my old American fender. Beautifully finished, really lovely, light satin feel. We'll see how it runs over time, but I'm impressed enough now that there are a bunch of other guitars in the Harley Benton Range I'm keen to try. As a hobby player, staring down the barrel of turning fifty in 2024, I'm having to finally accept that I will never be a rock star (at least not this side of some inadvertent, and rather unhealthy, posthumous cult), so it's getting harder to justify expensive bits. This is an entirely guilt-free purchase, and it's got me excited about playing again, which is great. I'm normally a very 'style stops at 1959' kinda guy, for the most part, but I have a magpie eye for quirky, sixties oddball guitar styles as well.

Photos here were taken in my office, where I had the guitar delivered. I've not quite yet fronted up to a Higher Power (that would be my wife) that I have it. Mrs Marlowe is very understanding - but equally, very understandably of the notion that I really need to clear out the stuff I don't play before I buy more. So this is now a good motivator to sell off the half doze guitars and stack of unused amps that need to go before this comes home (and/or before I buy that Gretsch Electromatic I have an eye on too!). Selling off the extra gear should free up space - as well as raising the cash for more too.... If HB bring this out in other colours left handed, I will be sorely tempted. They've got a guaranteed sale from me if they do a white one with the right pickups and plate style to ape Johnny Ramone's main guitar for all those years...


I know I'm very much in the 'new toy buzz' stage, but all the same, there's something very zen-like after years of chasing expensive stuff to find something as affordable as this (with Paypal pay in three and free shipping, it's costing less than my trainfares this month and next).

 

[Edward]

Fun times! It is always nice when you find a diamond among the stacks of discount guitars.

But, it is hard to beat a big Gretsch!

View attachment 529453

That's the truth. I have a very Gretsch-shaped hole in my collection. Unfortunately, they don't do much for left handers in the 5xxx series. I do have my eye on either a black 5420 or one of the Tim Armstrong models, with the aim of having it pinstriped in red and white down the line. I'd have to fit my own Bigsby (more likely a Goldo Les Trem), though. Gretsch only do 6xxx series lefties with a trem, as Bigsby don't do any licensed versions in left handed, and the 'real thing' works out too expensive for the target price for the 5xxx series. I'd also like to try some lefties from Peerless (who did make Gretsches in Korea for a long time), though finding a stockist might be hard. Harley Benton do some nice looking Gretschalikes in their range as "jazz guitars", though so far no left handers.

 

[Mighty44]

Fun times! It is always nice when you find a diamond among the stacks of discount guitars.

But, it is hard to beat a big Gretsch!

View attachment 529453

I’ve always wanted one of those with the hi-lo grin pickups.I’m sure it is a blast to play.

 

[Rmccamey]

I’ve always wanted one of those with the hi-lo grin pickups.I’m sure it is a blast to play.

Yes, it is. But it's getting harder to keep the old pots and switches in working order and the modern replacements I've found are not so great.

 

[Mighty44]

Yes, it is. But it's getting harder to keep the old pots and switches in working order and the modern replacements I've found are not so great.

I believe it. I did, of course, mean hi-lo TRON, though I’m sure the sound those things make can make you grin plenty.

 

[Rmccamey]

I believe it. I did, of course, mean hi-lo TRON, though I’m sure the sound those things make can make you grin plenty.

Yes, lots of grins for me. There's something very special about the sound of hi lo Trons through a 48 Fender Deluxe!

 

[Mighty44]

Yes, lots of grins for me. There's something very special about the sound of hi lo Trons through a 48 Fender Deluxe!

View attachment 530027

I’m sure! Has the binding held up on the Gretsch or have you replaced. My one effort to buy a vintage Gretsch (online) ended up in disappointment when it showed up and the binding was literally falling off in chunks.I researched the cost or having it redone and then returned it.

 

[Rmccamey]

I hear you. Yes, after all the many years the binding started falling off in chunks. I had it replaced during the Covid year at Lambs Music in Ft. Worth, TX. It took them several months to get the binding (supply chain issues - go figure!), so I borrowed my SILs Les Paul during the interim. I had heard price quotes all over the map, but Lambs charged only a few hundred dollars for the job (at the time). While the repair (and price) may not be on the same level as you might get at Gruhn's, my Gretsch is a player, not a museum piece, and I am very pleased with the results.

I’m sure! Has the binding held up on the Gretsch or have you replaced. My one effort to buy a vintage Gretsch (online) ended up in disappointment when it showed up and the binding was literally falling off in chunks.I researched the cost or having it redone and then returned it.