Just for fun - That cheap NEW axe that surprised you?

[Tennessee]

I thought this might be a fun way for forum members to discover from others those "hidden" low-cost treasure guitars that come out once in a while, among all the cheap junk that we all have to sift through. I'm always trying to save a buck on a new axe, practice axe, or even a gift for an aspiring starter!

 

I have two:

Rogue Triple Lipstick. Although now out of production, it was a great surf guitar that made most Danelectro reissues look bad. Sometimes still available from online eBay stores, usually now about $200 as a buy-it-now. No tremelo, but three lipstick coils, grover tuners, delrin nut, mahogany body with that great heavy metalflake finish and one piece maple bolt on neck with recessed bolts. Got mine in Champange Metalflake for $133.

 

S101 EHL24 Jazzbox. I think now available as a Washburn Oscar Schmidt. Also still available in some places as the "Doughboy". This wonderful double humbucker unit full hollowbody is laminated maple, gold hardware, out of the Sejung Factory in Quixing, China. Made in the same factory as the Epiphone Joe Pass units. It looks so much like the Joe Pass, it's scary. Wonderful, full tone. Beautiful natural maple finish. (Also came in black, but I didn't trust what was under that paint!) Five ply binding, set neck, great inlays on the neck, just that gawdawful S101 sticker on the headstock. After you dumped the silly mahogany upper bridge and put on a standard $12 TAM on the mahogany bridge base, it became a sustain tone monster. Action is great, intonation just fine. Old time burnt orange clear top hat knobs finished off the unit nicely. A little on the big side, but a wonderful unit if you want to play some Johnny Cash. It does suffer a little from resonant feedback, being a big old jazzbox, so I mostly run it through an acoustic amp with an adjustable noise gate. $250 + $50 shipping.

So what's your find??

 

 

[picker]

A Johnson Delta Rose. Semi-hollow body, a little larger than a Les Paul, and deeper front to back at the butt end of the guitar. The stock 'buckers were okay, but when I replaced them with some GFS 'bucker-sized P90s, it woke up and sang like a bird. $100, and $60 for the p90s.

 

Jay Turser JS-135-kinda their take on an ES-175. Good sounding jazz box. Made the mistake of putting a Bigsby on it. Sounded better without it, and stayed in tune much better, too. It did look pretty sweet with that Bigsby on it, though...not sure about the price, it was part of trade, but brand new.

 

Agile Les Paul Goldtop copy with 3 P90s. The neck was a little thinner than I liked, but it sounded great. Barkish where a Strat is plinkish, but with some of that stratty stuff going on in the combination p/up settings.$225.

 

Sadly, I don't own any of those axes now. But I know the people who do, and they are all very happy campers.

 

 

[p90jr]

Squier Classic Vibe Duo Sonic. Was sitting in front of an AC15 the other day in Guitar Center. Anodized gold pickguard, maple neck and similar-colored body... looked so pretty that I had to play it, and I couldn't believe how good it felt and sounded.

 

Not sure it was that cheap, though. $325, I think... more than I've paid for a '65 SG special and other things...

 

I don't think there's any useless guitars, just uses for guitars you haven't thought of, yet.

 

 

[Bluesape]

A used Godin Freeway Classic can be had for under $300.00, and is on a quality par with a US Strat!

[desertbluesman]

I have an Ibanez RG321 I paid $272 a few years back. One of my all time favorite guitars. (once I filed the frets, and re-soldered the capacitor). I also have a $299 Agile Strat Clone it looks and plays very well. Both guitars were bought brand new on the web for those prices

[Caevan O’Shite]

It's been a while, but when tried out in stores, I really enjoyed the Godin Radiator series guitars- nice, vintage-y Gretsch-meets-Fender type tones, bonehead simple rock 'n' roll axes; and the then "new" semi-reissue Danelectro guitars, really great for the money, a lot of fun to play, especially the 12-strings.

 

Oh, yeah, almost forgot- while not "cheap", the various offshore-made SE models from PRS are often really great guitars for the money!

[p90jr]

Wow... never saw these before, but I'll have to check one out.

 

Kinda Ibanez Talman meets James Trussart...

 

http://www.chrisguitars.com/godin-radiator-black.jpg

 

 

 

[tony conley]

Ibanez AEG10NT

 

I dearly love my nylon stringed electric cutaway acoustic from Ibanez. They're always on sale for $299.99.

 

The guitar plays and sounds like a dream. Especially plugged in, it's quite beautiful. I remember thinking that it couldn't be as nice as I first thought, but it has proven me wrong for 2 years now. I've manipulated it into sounding like many guitars and instruments through EQing, tuning, effects, capoing, and playing technique.

 

If I couldn't go grab another just like it, I wouldn't sell it for a $1000. And it's the prettiest Tangerine Orange.

 

 

[Scott Fraser]

Kinda disappointed with an Agile LP copy I've had for a few years. Just won't stay in tune.

Again I'll crow about what a great axe my PRS SE Custom has been. Best neck in the stable.

 

Scott Fraser

[Crazy Fingers]

Picked up a Cort M600 while I was in Korea for $320 (that's the picture in my avatar). GREAT guitar! Would buy another Cort in a heartbeat! As a matter of fact, the next time I travel there, I'll get me another!

 

PS I think the MSRP for that same axe in the US is ~$450

[Tennessee]

Hey, p90jr, I saw one of those Vibe Duo Sonics the other day in Guitar Center. Almost popped for it right there. Friend of mine has one, loves the speed and the sound. And they are comparatively cheap.

And those Godin Radiator units are just really cool - but then I am partial to cellophane pickguards. Never saw the whole face of a guitar covered with that. Really handsome with the black.

 

[Gruupi]

For me it was the Carvin bolt kit guitar. I bought it just because I had always wanted to build a guitar. I didn't realize it would turn out to be such a great instrument. It became my main electric, replacing a Gibson ES 347 and an SRV strat. it sounded better and played better, and was very versatile. It wasn't dirt cheap but worth as much to me as any instrument money could buy.

[Caevan O’Shite]

...Carvin bolt kit guitar.

 

It became my main electric, replacing a Gibson ES 347 and an SRV strat. it sounded better and played better, and was very versatile. It wasn't dirt cheap but worth as much to me as any instrument money could buy.

 

Now, that's quite an endorsement!

[heshion]

1 - Dean Mach V; set neck mahogany. Thing looks like Gumby. Replaced the p'ups with a pair of 59's, gave it a great set up, and a custom graphlon topnut, along with some fret polishing. Came stock with Grovers. Thing plays like the dickens. Seriously sounds fantastic. Beats out a couple of my Custom Gibsons. $230 delivered on FleaBay, plus mods. Korean.

 

2- Students guitar -- Daisy Rock LP Special copy. Stock Grovers with decent topnut. Mother of toilet seat lam top. Already has push-pull coil splits. Came loaded with D'Addario XLs. Adjustments, setup and intonation were all pretty decent. Like... $250 delivered via UPS. Came with case candy and even a basic cable. And from Indonesia. Go figure. Sure surprised me. I was grimacing having to put it in my hands at first. But I had to advise the student that they could actually wait a while on getting it set up. Wow.

 

3 - For me -- Peavey HP Signature Select NAMM show. Basically a PRS rival on a beer budget. Set neck, african mahogany. Frets were a bit true, and it seemed like maybe it might have been rushed a bit for the show. But I'm REALLY picky on playability. So my luthier pressed in and glued all the frets, gave it a vintage bone topnut, great setup and outstanding level & dress. The stock p'ups in these guitars are nothing short of FANTASTIC. And I own 20 guitars - mostly custom shops. I've had numerous pro players tell me that my tone was killing them (in a good way) with this guitar in my hands. I had to drive over and basically repo it after loaning it to a friend, as he wouldn't turn it loose. The pickups are very airy, and they'll hit red zone and grind out a pretty hot lead solo without hitting any drive pedals. It's a no-frills workhorse, that plays looks and sounds GREAT! One of my only non-lacquer, poly-clear coated guitars, and really sounds just fine that way, surprisingly. $725 delivered from FleaBay, plus mods. Comes with a 'nod-to the 50s' faux brown croc case. Amazing. Literally. Peavey's USA guitars are waaayyy under-rated, most definitely.

[The Geoff]

My 'go-to' guitar is my 1979 Ibanez Studio ST-105. I've replace the pups with a DiMarzio PAF at the neck & a DiMarzio Dual Sound at the bridge (both wired to split to single coil) as I couldn't get on with the tonality of the original V2s.

 

I don't know if this qualifies as a cheap guitar as I payed £120 for it used (when it was at least $2 to the £1), but it has a superb action and is absulutely beautifully built. Fugi Gen- & Matsumoku-built instruments from, say, 1978 to 1986 are vastly under-rated.

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v213/geoffbyrne/Sale/P6050081.jpg

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v213/geoffbyrne/Sale/P6050082.jpg

 

G.

[p90jr]

Hey, p90jr, I saw one of those Vibe Duo Sonics the other day in Guitar Center. Almost popped for it right there. Friend of mine has one, loves the speed and the sound. And they are comparatively cheap.

And those Godin Radiator units are just really cool - but then I am partial to cellophane pickguards. Never saw the whole face of a guitar covered with that. Really handsome with the black.

 

The Duo Sonic Vibes are just fun little guitars. I've played some vintage ones that weren't, but they were probably neglected and abused... the curse of the entry-level guitar.

[p90jr]

My 'go-to' guitar is my 1979 Ibanez Studio ST-105. I've replace the pups with a DiMarzio PAF at the neck & a DiMarzio Dual Sound at the bridge (both wired to split to single coil) as I couldn't get on with the tonality of the original V2s.

 

I don't know if this qualifies as a cheap guitar as I payed £120 for it used (when it was at least $2 to the £1), but it has a superb action and is absulutely beautifully built. Fugi Gen- & Matsumoku-built instruments from, say, 1798 to 196 are vastly under-rated.

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v213/geoffbyrne/Sale/P6050081.jpg

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v213/geoffbyrne/Sale/P6050082.jpg

 

G.

 

Again, these are great guitars. I always thought they had a slight B.C. Rich influence in the design when I was a kid.

 

When I was 13 I saved up and went shopping to replace the Memphis Les Plywood Custom I'd started on. This was before the Squiers and the import Fenders, before there was a lot of price competition among music stores. I checked out the Pawn Shops, but though there were tons of Jazzmasters, Jaguars, Mosrites, Teles, Strats, Gretsch Committees, etc. around for cheap they were all in various states of disrepair and I was a kid and was put off and didn't know enough about fixing stuff. Fenders and Gibsons weren't cheap, all I could afford were the Firebrand line of Gibsons, and I wasn't impressed. Honestly, I didn't care for the Fender Strats and Teles at that time, anyway... or the Lead I or II which were in the range of the cash in my pocket... not for the ticket price,

 

Anyway, I ended up getting this weird little Yamaha:

http://www.dkimages.com/discover/previews/780/626583.JPG

 

It beat out the Ibanez Roadstar strat dopplegangers for me because it had a set neck. It was a great little guitar that was very well-made. I still have it, but I've grown and widened significantly since then so I look a bit silly playing it now. I've recorded with it, though. I think I got it for right at $600 brand new - not what I'd consider inexpensive these days but at that time it was with Strats listing at $899 or whatever.

 

The only celebrities I ever saw playing them were Kenny Loggins, who seemed to have them in various colors strapped on for years afterward whenever I saw him on TV, Alan Thicke (I think it was on his short-lived "Thicke of the Night" talk show when he'd do songs) and the lead guitarist in Men At Work (the entire band seemed to have a Yamaha endorsement or something).

 

With the fleet of guitars I have now, I really don't think any of them are really finished to the same level as this little Yamaha.

[Caevan O’Shite]

Fugi Gen- & Matsumoku-built instruments from, say, 1798 to 196 are vastly under-rated.

 

Uhmn, "1798 to 196"? Not picking, Geoff, just want to know what you mean there, maybe I'm just in the dark...

[simpleman3441]

That Ibeenhad doesn't look like you were! It's a perty lookin thing for sure. My first guitar was an Ibanez RG. I was about 14 and after I got over the look of it, I hated it. It wouldn't stay in tune. I didn't know anything about intonation back then either though... One of my students had an old Ibanez handed down to him that's in great shape. I don't know that I've played a guitar with action so smooth. Great lookin guitar, too. Tobacco burst. I'd have offered to buy it from him if I had the money. I needed a semi hollow body and got one of their artcore models. It's not a bad guitar. I keep it in my teaching studio. Nothing to get hot and sweaty over.

[p90jr]

but there's old Yamaha and Ibanez ES-335 type guitars that are amazing. When you come across one you'll know what I mean.

http://neworleans.craigslist.org/msg/1576618467.html

 

 

 

[Tennessee]

I do have a couple of restored Teisco Del Rays hanging on the wall in my home where I play. They look just so cool, both tobacco burst and one has the triple pickups with all those little switches, but I have to keep telling myself. "Wallhangers, they sound like s%$t, they don't stay in tune, action sucks, just leave them up there..."

[p90jr]

I had a herd of Teiscos and Teisco-made Silvertones, in high school everyone would give them to me if they were around their houses or in the garage or attic, and I would give them to people who wanted to learn with a lesson of a few chords. Still have a few... they come in handy for somethings, like when I get in the mood to play Jimmy Reed or Hound Dog Taylor songs.

[The Geoff]

Fugi Gen- & Matsumoku-built instruments from, say, 1798 to 196 are vastly under-rated.

 

Uhmn, "1798 to 196"? Not picking, Geoff, just want to know what you mean there, maybe I'm just in the dark...

 

1978 to 1986, Caev. Just typo's & corrected. No 'Dan Brown' codes in there.................

 

G.

[Lokair]

For Xmas this year I got my first strat, 100$ an american strat, no pick ups, no pick guard , no electronics. I added a 150$ loaded pick guard from the bay(from an american standard with HSS set up with the grease bucket wiring). This guitar has the relic look plus(the back of the neck is missing some fininsh), the modern tone I wanted and is now named "whitey"(a dig at Clapton fans). Great guitar for 250$, now just have to remember its 25.5 neck scale, around fret 12 I start loosing my feel and have to look at the neck.

Lok

[Scott Fraser]

Another cheapy I got a lot of use from was a $150 Blake I found at Rogue Music in New York. I've never seen another Blake anywhere, & I'm sure this is really a Cort, based on the body shape. It's a Steinberger copy, but with inwardly bowed sides, rather than straight sides. I got it to have a traveling practice axe, but it turned out to be a real nice gigging guitar too. I did a couple albums with it as well. It's retired now, replaced by the also affordable PRS SE Custom, but will always have a place in my collection.

 

Scott Fraser

[ambienttales]

cavean,

 

The Godin Radiator models (and to me any Godin guitars ) are superb and highly underrated and have so many offerings and options I think the 5th Avenue (either single or dual P-90) are out of this world and The Montreal (the two models) are great looking and sounding, only issue its hard to find dealers for Godin Guitars and if You do the inventory is low , incomplete or

has to be ordered. I hope that gets corrected. Rickenbacker took measures (for god or bad) in limiting options and models as their back log was so long. I think at NAMM 2010 PRS SE models really shined!

 

Take Care

 

 

[GuitarG]

This is an easy one, an Eastwood Sidejack in gold for $300 new. 2 P90's and a Bigsby, what's not to like? They had discontinued the model in the gold finish and had three left when I placed my order. It is an incredibly good sounding guitar, stays in tune and has a great feeling neck. Currently I use it in E tuning live, but use it in standard tuning in the studio all the time. I replaced the pots and cap and stuck a Lollar P90 in the bridge position. The orignal pickups sounded great but I had been wanting to check out one of the Lollars. It is a great guitar and I play it all the time.

http://www.catfishflats.com/images/Eastwood1.jpg

[djehuti]

I still love My Jay Turser JT 134DC. I picked it up for less than $400 with HSC back in 2002. It is still my favorite electric guitar to play.

 

http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q120/tehuti44/gear/gear011-1.jpghttp://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q120/tehuti44/gear/gear008-1.jpg

 

[stratcat2k]

Well, I've got a little no name ernie ball/ music man axis knock off that is just the sweetest little thing. to be honest, i have no idea how legit this guitar is, as it has no marks anywhere except for the logo of sx guitars on the headstock. however, having visited the sx guitars site, i see no mention of this axe as a current or former model. in fact, if anyone has any info on this axe, i would greatly appreciate it. i'll post some pics later on.

 

having said that, i got this axe for US$ 200 and it has a floyd tremolo (but i want to replace the bridge saddles for better ones), two humbucking pickups (which are ok, but i plan on putting in some nice dimarzios) a flamed (almost quilt-like) maple top or at least veneer, cream binding on the body and neck, and blah, blah, but it plays like buttah! although it may not be my main live or recording axe (actually i use an epi les paul with seymour duncan pearly gates pu's and a mim strat with dimarzio stacked humbuckers - yes, i tend to be cheap!), i find myself reaching for this no name axe more and more. i think that once i get the pu's squared away, it'll probably become my mainstay. In fact, if any o' y'all have any ideas on some good versatile pick up combinations (i play mostly classic rock, blues and a little funk, but you never know what may come down the pike), i'm all ears!

 

[picker]

...if any o' y'all have any ideas on some good versatile pick up combinations (i play mostly classic rock, blues and a little funk, but you never know what may come down the pike), i'm all ears!

 

Duncan sells a set that would be just the ticket, with a JB for the Bridge and(I believe) a Vintage '59 for the neck. They are 4 wire, and tapping the coils sounds great. The make a very versatile combination of tones.