Two weeks ago, I was at work and I was, let’s say ... distracted, by a 1991 CE I saw on sale (see part 1 http://forums.prsguitars.com/threads/ngswe-part-1-ce.19199/).
While eating my lunch, I checked out an Andertons video about a Gilmour-inspired Strat and I thought: “Yes, I definitely need a Strat now … I don’t actually liked how they felt when I tried them, but it makes sense to buy one as many of my favourite players play one and … you know what? This all-black Gilmour one is cool. Maybe I will just buy a regular black one and change the scratchplate, if I can’t find an all-black one which … bla bla bla …”.
Truth is I’ve never considered to really go and buy a Strat also because I wanted to try a 305 first. I’ve never found any 305 for sale in Italy, though I’ve looked for it, but it would make sense to try one, or I would always regret not having had the chance to compare them.
“Ok, I can’t buy two guitars (yeah, right …), so what if I buy the CE, which is cool but not exactly what I want, and then I find a 305 just after? I would regret having bought the CE, so it’s better to check, just to be sure that there is no one nearby, so that I can go and buy the CE without distractions ...”
I did not believe my eyes when, a minute later, I found this:
Not only this is the first 305 that I find not too far from me, but it’s exactly the one color/board wood combination I would have chosen. And it’s in perfect shape and the price was surprising too.
What to do then? First, tell your wife that you might end up buying two guitars. On Saturday, if you are still alive, go and test the 305, then if you like it, buy the 305. Then, on Monday, go and test the CE, then please be serious and buy also the CE only if you really really love it, even more than you expect.
A few sounds:
https://soundcloud.com/jacopoj/305-clean
https://soundcloud.com/jacopoj/305-crunch
So far, super happy. As said, I have no significant Strat experience but I love the sound of this, as it does not seem too thin/harsh but it has that “thing” anyway. The satin neck is convenient, especially in this season. Bending is much easier than on the stoptailed Paul’s Guitar (I assume it’s because of the trem, don’t know if string brand can affect this, but gauge is the same). The tone knob does this thing (http://forums.prsguitars.com/threads/guess-the-guitar-quiz.19155/) that, at around “1”, removes the highs without sounding too dull or muddy and that’s an additional option that does not hurt and that I was not expecting.
The finish is so thin you can clearly see the wood, in direct sunlight, despite it's all black.
Best thing is that, after a few minutes, it inspired me to play this: https://soundcloud.com/jacopoj/napule
Nothing special at all, but when the instruments suggests you to do something you never did, it’s doing a good job.
I’ve lowered the pick-ups following suggestion found in a Scott Groove video, in theory, to make it sound more quacky. Does it work? Maybe. I should do better comparisons, but unfortunately the screws are very hard to turn and some were already ruined when I started, so I don’t want to play around too much, not to come to the point where I can’t move them anymore. It would have been easier if there were screws to mount/unmount the pu and screws to regulate height were not the same.
I was not able to lower the bridge as much as the others, so they might be a bit uneven.
Any experience/suggestion on this lowering thing and on the fact the screws are very tough?
I was thinking anyway to remove the pu and change the screws, putting new ones, not to have problems with any of them becoming too ruined to be used (any maybe using shorter ones, if I want the pu to stay low).
All in all, this has been a very special weekend for me, so I’d say thanks to the forum which gave me all the information that brought me to this
While eating my lunch, I checked out an Andertons video about a Gilmour-inspired Strat and I thought: “Yes, I definitely need a Strat now … I don’t actually liked how they felt when I tried them, but it makes sense to buy one as many of my favourite players play one and … you know what? This all-black Gilmour one is cool. Maybe I will just buy a regular black one and change the scratchplate, if I can’t find an all-black one which … bla bla bla …”.
Truth is I’ve never considered to really go and buy a Strat also because I wanted to try a 305 first. I’ve never found any 305 for sale in Italy, though I’ve looked for it, but it would make sense to try one, or I would always regret not having had the chance to compare them.
“Ok, I can’t buy two guitars (yeah, right …), so what if I buy the CE, which is cool but not exactly what I want, and then I find a 305 just after? I would regret having bought the CE, so it’s better to check, just to be sure that there is no one nearby, so that I can go and buy the CE without distractions ...”
I did not believe my eyes when, a minute later, I found this:
Not only this is the first 305 that I find not too far from me, but it’s exactly the one color/board wood combination I would have chosen. And it’s in perfect shape and the price was surprising too.
What to do then? First, tell your wife that you might end up buying two guitars. On Saturday, if you are still alive, go and test the 305, then if you like it, buy the 305. Then, on Monday, go and test the CE, then please be serious and buy also the CE only if you really really love it, even more than you expect.
A few sounds:
https://soundcloud.com/jacopoj/305-clean
https://soundcloud.com/jacopoj/305-crunch
So far, super happy. As said, I have no significant Strat experience but I love the sound of this, as it does not seem too thin/harsh but it has that “thing” anyway. The satin neck is convenient, especially in this season. Bending is much easier than on the stoptailed Paul’s Guitar (I assume it’s because of the trem, don’t know if string brand can affect this, but gauge is the same). The tone knob does this thing (http://forums.prsguitars.com/threads/guess-the-guitar-quiz.19155/) that, at around “1”, removes the highs without sounding too dull or muddy and that’s an additional option that does not hurt and that I was not expecting.
The finish is so thin you can clearly see the wood, in direct sunlight, despite it's all black.
Best thing is that, after a few minutes, it inspired me to play this: https://soundcloud.com/jacopoj/napule
Nothing special at all, but when the instruments suggests you to do something you never did, it’s doing a good job.
I’ve lowered the pick-ups following suggestion found in a Scott Groove video, in theory, to make it sound more quacky. Does it work? Maybe. I should do better comparisons, but unfortunately the screws are very hard to turn and some were already ruined when I started, so I don’t want to play around too much, not to come to the point where I can’t move them anymore. It would have been easier if there were screws to mount/unmount the pu and screws to regulate height were not the same.
I was not able to lower the bridge as much as the others, so they might be a bit uneven.
Any experience/suggestion on this lowering thing and on the fact the screws are very tough?
I was thinking anyway to remove the pu and change the screws, putting new ones, not to have problems with any of them becoming too ruined to be used (any maybe using shorter ones, if I want the pu to stay low).
All in all, this has been a very special weekend for me, so I’d say thanks to the forum which gave me all the information that brought me to this
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