Hello all. First post for me. Quick back story: I'm a 43 year old that has been a drummer since 13. A few years back, I pursued playing guitar. I've dabbled with the guitar since I was 12, and always had a bit of a natural knack for it, but just started taking it "seriously" a few years ago.
Since day one of playing on the reg, I have been on the quest to find "the one." During that quest, I've owned at least 6 new USA Gibsons (LPs, Juniors) and a mix of USA/MIJ/MIM Fenders (most recently a brand new '62 Jap Tele and a '52 Blonde Road Worn). My most recent Gibson was a 2014 LPJ in Vintage Burst. As with ALL of these guitars, I never really bonded. During this process, I also got a first hand look at the HUGE variation in quality control from both manufacturers, both good and bad.
Fast forward to last week. I sold my '14 LPJ (actually a very nice guitar) on Reverb. On a whim, I stopped at my local Guitar Center with the intent of maybe buying a USA Strat. As per usual, the selection sucked. Quite by chance, I got a glimpse of the salesman unboxing a guitar and putting it on display. It was a Bernie SE. I thought to myself, "that's a damn nice looking guitar." Now on any other day, I would have chalked up the SEs as just another "Epiphone-type" quality import guitar... which I typically find totally uninspiring. Yet something inspired me to test drive the Marsden.
It took a whole 30 seconds for me to realize what I had been missing. Why did I wait so long to try one of these? Why were they so far off my radar? I was stunned. Straight out of the box it had near luthier quality setup. Perfect intonation on a stopbar? Shocked. I've had problems getting $1300 Les Paul intonated this nicely. Action? Nice & low with zero buzz. Superb fret ends & leveling throughout. Fit & finish? Flawless. When was the last time I saw a flawless brand new Gibson? Maybe never. Best of all... it was priced at $456. Yes, brand new out of the box for $456 at Guitar Center. In my standard fashion, I asked if he could cut me a deal. He looked them up on the computer and said, "these are supposed to be $649... I don't know why this one is marked $456, but I can't go any lower." I was checking online prices at the same time on my phone, so needless to say, I scraped it up at $485 out-the-door with tax. I felt like I got a steal. Still kinda surprised.
Anyway... you get my point. I've joined the dark side, and I'm never going back. I'll probably do a NGD post soon, but I wanted to share my experience and introduce myself first.
Since day one of playing on the reg, I have been on the quest to find "the one." During that quest, I've owned at least 6 new USA Gibsons (LPs, Juniors) and a mix of USA/MIJ/MIM Fenders (most recently a brand new '62 Jap Tele and a '52 Blonde Road Worn). My most recent Gibson was a 2014 LPJ in Vintage Burst. As with ALL of these guitars, I never really bonded. During this process, I also got a first hand look at the HUGE variation in quality control from both manufacturers, both good and bad.
Fast forward to last week. I sold my '14 LPJ (actually a very nice guitar) on Reverb. On a whim, I stopped at my local Guitar Center with the intent of maybe buying a USA Strat. As per usual, the selection sucked. Quite by chance, I got a glimpse of the salesman unboxing a guitar and putting it on display. It was a Bernie SE. I thought to myself, "that's a damn nice looking guitar." Now on any other day, I would have chalked up the SEs as just another "Epiphone-type" quality import guitar... which I typically find totally uninspiring. Yet something inspired me to test drive the Marsden.
It took a whole 30 seconds for me to realize what I had been missing. Why did I wait so long to try one of these? Why were they so far off my radar? I was stunned. Straight out of the box it had near luthier quality setup. Perfect intonation on a stopbar? Shocked. I've had problems getting $1300 Les Paul intonated this nicely. Action? Nice & low with zero buzz. Superb fret ends & leveling throughout. Fit & finish? Flawless. When was the last time I saw a flawless brand new Gibson? Maybe never. Best of all... it was priced at $456. Yes, brand new out of the box for $456 at Guitar Center. In my standard fashion, I asked if he could cut me a deal. He looked them up on the computer and said, "these are supposed to be $649... I don't know why this one is marked $456, but I can't go any lower." I was checking online prices at the same time on my phone, so needless to say, I scraped it up at $485 out-the-door with tax. I felt like I got a steal. Still kinda surprised.
Anyway... you get my point. I've joined the dark side, and I'm never going back. I'll probably do a NGD post soon, but I wanted to share my experience and introduce myself first.
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