Anybody have favorite guitars that arent PRS?

[WA Paul]

I haven't taken the time to find a replacement for a new photo hosting service.. So I just posted the link to the builders site.

I met the Mike Delaney at a Blues festival in Daytona Beach Florida a few years ago.. So I saw this guitar and fell in Love with it.
I have the actual guitar that he uses on his website. I have couple of Godins but this one is the only one besides PRSi that get's any
Attention.

http://delaneyguitars.com/LaGrange.html

What a cool vibe!

 

[django49]

So many ways to play.......

 

[WA Paul]

So many ways to play.......

Quilt heaven on that one! What is the neck wood - beautiful figure! Snakewood board?

Does this have Ray Gerold pickups? Curious how they sound versus the Haussel 59s.

 

[django49]

Snakewood, in deed. "Pau Ferro Rosewood" for the neck. Frank tends to use either Gerold or Haussell, it appears. The Hollowwood and Sephir (below) are listed as Gerold Customshop, the Worntage as "Sunburst". But specs are not exactly easy to come by. The former are PROBABLY a bit closer to the Haussell 59s, where the Sunburst are maybe a touch more "vintage PAF" (perhaps closer to Hausell "Vintage" and "Classic", the latter for semi-hollow bridge position, seemingly). But then you are also comparing a semi-hollow type vs a hefty chunk of 'hog in the Orca 59, so it is not exactly a direct comparison.....Those 59s DO sound different in an Orca 59, a "regular" Orca and a Reitbergen".

 

[WA Paul]

Snakewood, in deed. "Pau Ferro Rosewood" for the neck. Frank tends to use either Gerold or Haussell, it appears. The Hollowwood and Sephir (below) are listed as Gerold Customshop, the Worntage as "Sunburst". But specs are not exactly easy to come by. The former are PROBABLY a bit closer to the Haussell 59s, where the Sunburst are maybe a touch more "vintage PAF" (perhaps closer to Hausell "Vintage" and "Classic", the latter for semi-hollow bridge position, seemingly). But then you are also comparing a semi-hollow type vs a hefty chunk of 'hog in the Orca 59, so it is not exactly a direct comparison.....Those 59s DO sound different in an Orca 59, a "regular" Orca and a Reitbergen".

Thanks. Love that Hartung. One up for sale now but gotta fix my roof!

 

[eclecticsynergy]

I've got a favorite Les Paul, a favorite Strat, and a favorite korina, among others...

Amaterasu, a Guitar Trader pre-Historic. Hand carved and my favorite LP ever since I bought her new back in '83. Just feels perfect in my hands after all this time, super responsive and a lovely crisp & woody character to the tone. Very inspiring, really does behave like a vintage axe. Of course, she's older now than '59s were when I first got her... Just as with my #1 PRS, I think of her more as a collaborator than merely a tool.

Here's a pic that shows her top a little better- not insanely flamed like some recent ones, pretty similar to many of the original 'bursts though.


Lady Blue, my favorite Strat. Refretted and refinished before I got her, but she was born in October '63. Supernaturally vibrant and absolutely sweetest sounding of the 25 or so Strats I've owned over the years. At the time (1981) friends said it was crazy to pay nearly a thousand dollars for any Strat, even if it had been an original 50s one. But I knew from the very first couple of notes I played that she was something very special. Never regretted it for a single moment. Plenty of old guitars have mojo. Lady Blue has magic.


As for korina guitars, I've always had kind of a thing for those. Mine include an '82 Moderne, two korina Explorers, and a korina Firebird as well as an '07 korina/Brazilian McCarty. But probably my favorite is this McNaught doublecut. Maple top but the neck and body are very lively black korina and it plays amazingly well; David makes these with his extreme version of a long tenon neck joint that goes all the way to the bridge. Great natural sustain, fat sweet tone from the stock RioGrande humbuckers. Nice quilt too, though that isn't what made her a favorite.



Also have a few others I like just because they're oddballs, different from the run-of-the-mill Gibsons, Fenders and PRSs.

 

[jxe]

spooky!

So many ways to play.......

 

[jxe]

omg what is that? and that?

I've got a favorite Les Paul, a favorite Strat, and a favorite korina, among others...

Amaterasu, a Guitar Trader pre-Historic. Hand carved and my favorite LP ever since I bought her new back in '83. Just feels perfect in my hands after all this time, super responsive and a lovely crisp & woody character to the tone. Very inspiring, really does behave like a vintage axe. Of course, she's older now than '59s were when I first got her... Just as with my #1 PRS, I think of her more as a collaborator than merely a tool.

Here's a pic that shows her top a little better- not insanely flamed like some recent ones, pretty similar to many of the original 'bursts though.


Lady Blue, my favorite Strat. Refretted and refinished before I got her, but she was born in October '63. Supernaturally vibrant and absolutely sweetest sounding of the 25 or so Strats I've owned over the years. At the time (1981) friends said it was crazy to pay nearly a thousand dollars for any Strat, even if it had been an original 50s one. But I knew from the very first couple of notes I played that she was something very special. Never regretted it for a single moment. Plenty of old guitars have mojo. Lady Blue has magic.


As for korina guitars, I've always had kind of a thing for those. Mine include an '82 Moderne, two korina Explorers, and a korina Firebird as well as an '07 korina/Brazilian McCarty. But probably my favorite is this McNaught doublecut. Maple top but the neck and body are very lively black korina and it plays amazingly well; David makes these with his extreme version of a long tenon neck joint that goes all the way to the bridge. Great natural sustain, fat sweet tone from the stock RioGrande humbuckers. Nice quilt too, though that isn't what made her a favorite.



Also have a few others I like just because they're oddballs, different from the run-of-the-mill Gibsons, Fenders and PRSs.

 

[Mike Duncan]

https://www.instagram.com/p/BY39A81lar8/?taken-by=mgd1148

 

[eclecticsynergy]

omg what is that? and that?

The six pics underneath the main three:

Vox SSC55 goldtop with the innovative CoAxe pickups that use a central coil with alnico rods, flanked by two rails, all surrounded by a noise cancelling coil. Each pickup has a three-way toggle to select various coil combinations for crisp, fat, or lead settings. Not really like a P90 or a Fender, these pickups kinda have their own thing going on. And their noise rejection is fantastic, they're incredibly quiet. Unique, massive bridge machined from a big chunk of aluminum. Prince used a doublecut version of this guitar for a while. It actually feels almost more like a Tele than a Les Paul. They were discontinued right after I got mine in '013. You can find the lesser Vox 33 series used sometimes, but you don't see the 55 Series very often. Too bad it didn't sell better.

Hagstrom F200-P, sort of like the bastard offsrping of an SG with a Strat. It has P90s and a pretty cool Hagstrom trem bridge. Previous owner swapped out the factory P90s in favor of noiseless Kent Armstrong Stealth90s. They're noiselss but a little more polite than your average P90. I'm thinking about keeping the neck and putting an overwound P90 at the bridge for alittle more grunt and snarl. I have one that Jerry Sentell wound for me that's looking for a home. Very thin, fast neck on this, with a resin fretboard. I had a resin board on a headless Kramer Duke back in the 80s and I didn't mind it- won't ever need oiling or conditioning. These recent Hagstroms (mine's an '014) are Chinese made but passable quality. It sounds pretty good, not unlike a P90 SG except that it's got a real trem that keeps its tune pretty well. Much more downward trem range available on this than you'd get with a Bigsby or a Vibrola. Not as much as a Floyd tho.

Silver sparkle MusicMan Albert Lee HH. Solid rosewood neck with a gun oil & wax finish, feels incredible in your hands. Custom pickups made for EBMM by DiMarzio and a cool five-way switching arrangement make it pretty versatile tonewise. Really an amazing little guitar, though the neck is small and quite narrow. Luckily I have long thin fingers and there are only a few chords where this becomes a problem for me. But it's definitely aimed at those with small hands. I REALLY like this guitar and can't part with it even though I know the neck really is too small for me. Still, it makes me feel like I have huge hands. If they made a fat neck version of this axe I'd buy one immediately.

Gold sparkle Eko 700, a genuine oddball. Cool though, in a cheap-60s-guitar kind of way. I got it for $115 on eBay a few years back. Strange all around, from the freaky Italian headstock design and cross inlays to the body (with a cutout for your right thigh) and quasi-Bigsby trem. And the back is silver sparkle. Pickup placement is oddly spread out; the bridge pickup is so close to the bridge that lead tones are quite bright, and the neck pickup is right up against the fretboard so it's very round. I got a DiMarzio Breed to fatten it up and a GFS Surf90 for neck position- I figure fat & juicy at the bridge and bright & chimey at the neck will give it great combined voice- but haven't found the time to install them yet. This isn't a guitar I play much but it was just too weird not to snap up, especially at the price. I got anothe Eko at the same time that's kind of Stratlike and that turned out to be a really nice guitar too, once it had better pickups in it. I'm still not sure whether these are consistently good or if I just got lucky. I named them Delta Eko and Eko Foxtrot. Here's a pic of Delta:


Next is the coolest, I think: a red & white Backlund 400. I love midcentury futurism and this one looks just like something out of an old sci-fi movie. My friends call it the Jetsons guitar. I named her JanetAir after the call sign of the unmarked red & white planes that fly commuter flights from Las Vegas to Area 51. Actually plays very well, although the strap button placement makes the balance slightly odd (I'll move the button to behind the neck heel eventually) and the switch placement so close to the neck pickup can be problematic when you're playing enthusiastically. I put an old Carvin C22B at the bridge for stronger lead tone but I wanted to keep the sleek look of no-hole covers. Todd Rundgren and Kasim Sultan are playing Backlunds on the Utopia reunion tour right now. They're made in limited batches and sold through Eastwood Guitars along with a couple other John Backlund designs. His guitars all have that totally cool retro-futuristic look. Check out some of his others:

Last but not least is a Johnny A signature from Gibson Custom. I'd wanted one of these for years, but it took me a while to find one with a stud tailpiece instead of the usual Bigsby. It's the only Gibson I have that uses a 25½" scale like Fenders. Between that and the ebony fretboard it has extra snap and punch with a slightly stiffer feel than most Gibsons. Back and sides are carved from a single block of mahogany, no seams except around the edge of the flamed top. Not a semihollow, it has no center block. But there are islands in the carve underneath the bridge posts and tailpiece studs, so there's no need for a floating bridge and trapeze tailpiece like most true hollowbodies. String vibrations go straight through to the back and it's very resonant indeed. Has the original-style 57 Classic/ClassicPlus pickups (before '05 when Gibson started using different wire on them) and she sounds & plays great. I named her Aurora. The neck is super and the build quality is really good. My only guitar made by the Gibson Custom Shop. Top is just gorgeous; finish is called Sunset Glow. Closeup pic of inlay pattern and the pinstripe in the ebony.

 

[jxe]

love the johnny a! and the jetsons.

 

[eclecticsynergy]

love the johnny a! and the jetsons.

Todd Rundgren with a Backlund 100 on the Utopia reunion tour. Second pic is Kaseem with one of his 400s, but for some reason it doesn't like to load for me- I have to right-click and choose View Image.

love the johnny a! and the jetsons.

 

[FirstFiveEighth]

Dare I say that I also have a 07 Gibson Les Paul Axcess that I adore? Will post pics when I reach my 3rd post

 

[geese_com]

It isn't an electric but my current favorite is my AJL 503 XO.

 

[veinbuster]

Well, since we’re showing pictures, I really like this. Binding is inlayed silver. One long strip of if.

The covered and etched GT90s are the bomb.

 

[FirstFiveEighth]

Dare I say that I also have a 07 Gibson Les Paul Axcess that I adore? Will post pics when I reach my 3rd post

As promised.

 

[bodia]

Well, since we’re showing pictures, I really like this. Binding is inlayed silver. One long strip of if.

The covered and etched GT90s are the bomb.

So cool!

 

[WA Paul]

Well, since we’re showing pictures, I really like this. Binding is inlayed silver. One long strip of if.

The covered and etched GT90s are the bomb.

Is this the one Ron Thorn did? I remember looking at your TGP thread a while back. Really beautiful work!

 

[veinbuster]

Is this the one Ron Thorn did? I remember looking at your TGP thread a while back. Really beautiful work!

Yes it is. I begged to be his guinea pig after he took an engraving class.

 

[prsrocker1988]

1964 Gibson SG Special.

It's in my hands more often than not.

I'm not all in with PRS, I use a lot of nice Fender and Gibson guitars. It's just that PRS IMO makes my favorite and the best new guitars out there. But I still like having a lot of options. I couldn't go all in with anyone.